FPC Finished!!

Well, here it is, the finished FPC for my mother! I agonized a lot over the design on this, wanting to "pull a Sharon" and encrust, knowing that Mom loves that sort of thing. However, I gritted (grat? grot?!!!) my teeth and kept repeating "It's going through the POST office, Sarah..." in order to tone down anything that would get caught, ripped, or otherwise murdered on the face of the card.

Once again, silk threads in a red chain stitch, both connected (the heart outline) and individual (the droplets above the 'L') by Vikki Clayton of Hand-Dyed Fibers, NAYY, just like to give my friends support, moral or otherwise (VBG). The fabric is by Wichelt, the red beads covering a red feather stitch are Mill Hill, and the variegated thread on the edges is satin stitch by machine using Gutermann's.

Be thoughtful, be more!! and I'll be back!

54-40 Again!

I don't know my fascination with this shape, but it will turn up a lot in my work. For right now, this is a doodle cloth. I like to think and reflect those thoughts with a needle and thread, so I guess this is where my mind is headed this month. The figure is on 14-ct. Aida, sparkly, with turquoise DMC thread, my most favorite color.

TAST or 6x4?

These two differently styled hearts were an experiment with fabric and floss. It's Hardanger, of course, but neither of the fabrics are "proper" Hardanger fabrics, and neither is the floss, technically. I liked the final result of both.

OMG, I'm SMOKIN'...!!! Another WISP....

I just finished this sachet a few minutes ago! It's done with outline stitch, silks courtesy of Vikki Clayton of Hand-dyed Fibers. The ribbon is from a stash that either my mother or grandmother had given to me...now I know why WE KEEP EVERYTHING!!! God forbid if I had thrown that ribbon out just an hour before I got the idea to do this sachet!!

As a matter of fact, I actually did that once. I had a gold-print long dress from the late 1950's (no, NOT mine, you smarty-pantses!!), sleeveless. I tossed it outside into the big trash bin *absolutely sure* that I would never need it. HAH. That afternoon (this was a couple years ago), I got my materials for the "Sleep with the Angels" project through CQMagOnline. Well, immediately I knew I *had* to have the gold, so I dashed back JUST as the trash truck pulled up and snagged my bin. Screaming like a maniac, I managed to catch them in the nick of time and snatched that bad boy gold dress back quicker than a frog can snap a fly (gee, I DO have frogs on the brain!!!).

NEVER THROW ANYTHING OUT. NEVER. NEVER. NEVER. (VBG)

(Lordy, don't let my DH see this, he'll torch my stash.....)

THE GIGANTUOUS FROG...

LMAO!!! Need I say more???

Who's got a name? Leave me a comment...(VBG)

Catching Up with My WISPs...

Well, here's a WISP I just finished, to give my DH, that just needs to be framed. The actual stitching is finished, and it actually did not take me that long! It's a pattern I got from somewhere, I *think* a Leisure Arts leaflet. DH and I have a frog thing going...when we were first courting seven years ago, I commented that I was so glad I had done with frogs, I had had to kiss too damn many of them to find my prince!! He retaliated by giving me a 6" high ceramic frog with a crown, a scepter, and a royally red cloak! But I've upped him...besides this adorable little Frog Angel, I also found a GIGANTUOUS stuffed green frog about 3' long including legs. I tried to get DH to take the frog along on the truck to use as a reading pillow.

DH was not amused. (*gives a sweetly evil grin*). Undissuaded, I perched him on the sofa where, when we're watching TV or reading, DH surreptitiously sneaks said froggie under his head for, yup you guessed it, a reading pillow! (*collapses in laughter!!*)

I do enjoy working others' stuff to relax, and for that reason, if nothing else, I *am* enjoying this whole WISP (Works In Slow Progress) effort. Kudos to Sandi at Delightfully Crazy for having proposed the project, and to Sharon B. for continuing to bravely blog about her WISP pile, along with many others. I'm a bit of an infrequent reporter of my WISPs, I'm afraid, and I *do* have rather a few!! Oh well, if nothing else, we'll all have one less New Year's Resolution to make in (YIKES!) just seven months...right, everyone??!!

Be inspired, be creative, and I'll be back!

What Spurs You On?

Sharon B. blogged for her Sunday post on creativity. The inspiration came from Serena Fenton's Layers of Meaning, to which I also subscribe and had gotten the heads-up. Serena had come across a post from gapingvoid about creativity. Sharon picked her ten top favorites and challenged us to pick our top ten faves, too. So here are mine:

1. Ignore everybody (my PERSONAL favorite!!! (VBG)).
2. The idea doesn't have to be big, it just has to change the world. (Well, I don't know how world-changing I am yet, but the more I learn, the more I strive).
3. Put the hours in. (Having played the piano for more than forty years, and been a concert and recitalist pianist during my pre-teen years, I am here to tell you there are NO overnight miracles...but work does bring its own rewards).
4. You are responsible for your own experience. (Unless you're about to be hit by lightening!)
5. Everybody has their own personal Mount Everest that they were put on this earth to climb. (Life is not easy, but how are you going to learn otherwise??!!...those of us who have an entire Mountain Range obviously will have IQs of at least 300 eventually!!!!)
6. Don't try to stand out in the crowd; avoid the crowd altogether. (This is my second personal favorite!!)
7. The world is changing. (Better change with it...stagnation produces mold!!!)
8. Merit can be bought; passion can't. (If it's not from the heart, it's not worth producing, IMHO.)
9. The choice of media is irrelevant. (Thank goodness I don't have to be a Rembrandt!!)
10. Sing in your own voice. I switched order a bit and put this one last because in a way it sums up all the others. And, for me, besides the fact that I LOVE ignoring crowds (Extremely big grin!!), it means the most.

OOOOOPPSSS!!!

Again, my apologies, to Corina this time...She lives now in Colombia, not Romania, but her pix are still gorgeous, and she generously gave me a link in her comment to her cousin's Yahoo 360 site, where Veronica shows what she can do with the photos. I can't get the link to publish herein the post, but it's VERY worth it to go to her comment (in the just previous post about her Seahorse) and cut-and-paste the link in your navigator or search box and go feast your eyes!

Be adventurous, be creative, and I'll be back!!!

Seahorse in Needlework

marina
Originally uploaded by corinas.

Still relaxing...I found this piece in the Flickr photostream of my Corina. I admire her talent and work; plus she has some gorgeous pix of Romanian gardens and plants. Go visit her photostream, and she has a blog, also!!

Art Dolls: Marj's Cone Doll, side view

cone doll side
Originally uploaded by Marjorie from Illnois.

Look at this! I couldn't resist; I like to check Flickr before I go to bed -- it relaxes me to see everyone's wonderful work. I just love the colors here; this is a side view. Go check out Marj's other projects on Flickr!

ADDENDUM to NEWS FLASH...

BTW, I'm still working on my sidebar -- I've still got quite a few links to move and reorganize, so please be patient with me!!

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

Hey, everybody! Earlier I posted about how thrilled I am that my friend Lenni has had the opportunity to put up her work up on a website. However (mega-apologies, Lenni), I got the name of the site wrong, although my link was correct. Abel Designs is Lenni's wonderful husband's web design work. Lenni's site is: Lenni Abel: Art Quilts. I have corrected my sidebar entry, and I am SO sorry, Lenni! But everyone would have ended up there anyway since I got the link right (do not EVEN ask me how I made that!). So, GO VISIT LENNI's LOVELY QUILTS!!!

So be good, be creative, be happy! And I'll be back!!

Sampler Prep

I'm in a small group of women participating in a band sampler RR. Samplers are an interesting breed of needlework. I'll cover more about them in another post. For the moment, I wanted to post a pic of this one on which I'm working. The photo was taken a bit ago, as my band is almost done. But I wanted you to see one of the ways to prep a sampler. The red threads are are J&P Coats sewing thread, back in the day you could get them 3/$1. No, I'm not telling you when day, except the dinosaurs WERE gone! I use red as my prep thread because it's easiest to see. Anyway, Norma's sampler is a gorgeous shade of pumpkin, and my red threads go horizontally at every five count. Normally I'd grid it at 10ct x 10ct, but my design was planned to be more horizontally oriented rather than vertically. Again, samplers WILL be covered further in future posts.

Be good, be creative, be happy! and I'll be back!

Another Very Cool Blog with FREEBIES

Well, yet again I LOVE following everyone's links. I found an adorable blog with great art and awesome sharing. The name of the blog is Kissy Cross, and she is now listed in my sidebar. The site is in German, but you'll always understand beauty in embroidery and the word "Free" is similar all over the world!! Definite worthwhile, so go visit her!!

Be creative and be happy, and I'll be back!!

Art Opps Don't Grow on Trees!

Under my Great Opportunities heading there in my sidebar, you should check out ArtGroupDFW. There are a LOT of studios and show opportunities in my particular area, and I bet there are great show opportunities near you, too. Do a Google search, and I know you'll be surprised with what you find!

The Artist's Way

Several months ago, a group of us from various art disciplines got together and started our own Yahoo! group here to study it together. The group is moderated by Aisling d'Art, and we also have a blog here. Many of us finished the 12 weeks, many of us got sidetracked by life.

Those of us who got sidetracked decided to go through it again. We go at our own pace. Sometimes some of us will take a couple weeks on a particular chapter. Sometimes a chapter get skipped and then returned to.

Either way, the feedback and shared insights are tremendous and add a whole 'nother element to a fascinating opportunity.

I just wanted to make this opportunity available again...I know a recurring theme in blogs lately is how to get past the BOULDERS of blah and back into a Creative Mode. So if you are interested, beg, borrow or buy a copy of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I picked up my copy at Barnes & Noble (NAYY), it's the nearest bookstore to my home. And come join us !!

There Are Some AWESOME Folks Out There...

My friend Lenni is an incredible woman. And I know a LOT of incredible women! Lenni's a quilter, and a member of our Survivor Challenge group (from the Quilting Arts list). She has finally had a wonderful opportunity to open her own website to showcase her beautiful work at Abel Design. Please go visit her site and be inspired!!

Be good, be productive, and I'll be back!

Blog, Flickr, What's Next??!!

Well, in addition to Flickr accounts for Needlelace and More, and Pulled/Drawn Threads (see sidebar), I've started another account, called Ever Embellished -- it's a public account. Please feel free to join it if you'd like, and post pictures of your own stitching embellishments! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's projects...my philosophy is that if it's important enough to spend time doing it, then it's important enough to be shared!

Irises!

Several years ago, when DH and I first got together, his mother had a twenty-foot long bed of iris in all the imaginable colors. She decided to move, so she gave us six. For the first time, this year they bloomed --what a lovely shade of purple they are!

Of Mice and Men (well, actually, birds!)

I can't always get out of the house. My "field trips" tend to be my backyard. But my yard is fixed up kinda cool, it's sort of my haven, and I love to watch which birds come in when. My particular favorite is the mourning dove, I just love their calls. And my most memorable -- well, have YOU ever been dive-bombed by a barn swallow??!!

Anyway, it's great for sketching and idea-grabbing, but what if I want to implement an owl or some other bird which doesn't reside within my fence?

HAH -- we go to the 'net!! So, I've added two links to my sidebar -- one's under Education, "All About Birds" -- attracting them, watching them, identifying them, and WONDERFUL pics! AND, under "Go Visit, Really Worth It", I added the Cornell LIVE-FEED BIRDHOUSE NESTCAM. Wow, is THAT phenomenal!

I forget who it was recently, Acey maybe? who had pics of a barnowl from Italy, TX, a town not too awful far from me, just down the road a piece. (Of course, if you're from somewhere large like Texas, Alaska, or Australia, you'll know the ramifications of that phrase...VBG!!) Anyway, the pics were great, and it's so fun to also be able to watch them on the live-feed birdnest cam.

Well, that's all the news so far...be good, be productive, and I'll be back!!