I'm still in holiday mode here at Three By Sea, as J's 2nd birthday (a weekend-long affair with my family) was this past weekend, and I'm off to my sister's for my niece's birthday this coming weekend. What can I say? Apparently family planning is a foreign concept with my sister and me! At any rate, this will be my third trip out of town in six weeks for a family get-together. One of these days I'll be caught up and back to a normal routine. One of these days...

In the meantime, I wanted to share a preview of some designs I'm testing and playing with. Forgive the photos, they're quick work-in-progress shots.

My starfish design in brown ink on tan linen.

A new palm block print printed in turquoise on cream linen.

A new wave motif printed in navy on white flour sack.

One of my favorite things about the new wave motif and palm tree block prints is that I was able to recycle an old block into these two new designs. So long stingray design, hello palm trees and waves. I'm still playing with the wave motif, trying out different designs and patterns. I also want to expand my color choices this year to include some more neutral colors for those wanting something a bit more subtle and serene as opposed to bright and beach side.

You may have noticed the first two items are printed on linen. I'm thinking of moving to linen permanently in the near future. I love the absorbency of flour sack for daily kitchen use and how easily it accepts ink when printing, but I'm having a hard time finding quality towels in a size that doesn't require me cutting them down and sewing new hems, thus adding to labor costs. I'm receiving more wholesale/bulk sale pricing inquiries, so I need to consider that when sourcing materials and pricing items for my shop. Plus, I've been testing this linen out and I'm falling in love with it more and more with each washing.

I'd love to hear any feedback, suggestions, or requests for designs/colors/items you would like to see in the Three By Sea shop in the upcoming months.

Take care,
Nic