Molly of the Little Snowballz

Molly is finished! The "M" of the Little Snowballz series is stitched over two threads on 28ct. hand-dyed Pink Dahlia jobelan from Wichelt Imports. It, like the others in the series, uses only 8 colors of DMC floss and she finishes at 54w x 96h. She is named after my daughter.

Charting new designs and finishing another

It has been a good couple of days.

I am backstitching "Molly", the next of the Little Snowballz. I hope to have her finished and up on the website by the end of the day tomorrow. There are two new designs ready for stitching, and I can't decide which to pick up next.

Nathaniel, the "N" in the Little Snowballz line is ready to stitch, and I also have the cross stitch version of the Habitat for Humanity card design prepped as well. I am leaning toward that design a little more, what with the last two releases being Little Snowballz.

Today was also spent charting other new designs. I have a new Flakey Friends design almost finished and ready to slip into the rotation, and thumbnails for a few 2010 charts were scanned and colors selected.

Another Little Snowballz Completion

Lucy, the latest Little Snowballz design, has been finished. I am working now on Molly Lorraine, named after my daughter. She's a quick stitch, and I hope to have her completed by the end of the week. It just depends on how bogged down I am after holiday nomming and how much snow I am stuck shoveling! Woke up to three more inches of fresh powder this morning, and weather reports indicate that we could get up to eight more on Christmas. I am grateful for family in town and snowtires.

I finished all the gifts for my family and am really pleased with how everything turned out. It felt really good to do things with my own hands, even if when I started out going "handmade" this year it was because of puckered purse strings.

I have "roughed out" my design plans for 2010, and have set a goal of four new releases a month. The year will see a wrap to the Little Snowballz series, hopefully by early summer. I have had requests for another Lil Flakes, which would make a total of four blizzards. There will be a few more additions to the Fern Folk Series, and quite possibly a few more Flakey Friends.

I've also found myself drawn to the beauty of English gardens and the secrets they might hold. Wee folk, gnomes, fae, and bugs with brightly colored, gossamar wings. Spiders spinning webs of silk, delicately woven strands that catch the sunlight just so. I would like to capture some of that magick, some of that 'saw it from the corner of my eye' feeling in a new series of designs.

I do believe in faeries.

Off to find coffee and Q-Snaps. Happy Yule, One and All!

Quiet Musings

There is nothing more self-destructive to society in general than to believe that art is a luxury that should be slashed from educational and governmental budgets, removed form our personal itineraries, and stashed away until times are better. Now, more than ever, we need art, music, theatre, and writing to lift us up emotionally and to remind us of ideals and values that are not dependent on income or earning potential.
--Loretta Benedetto Marvel, Mixed Media Artist/Author.

As long as you draw breath, you have at hand all you need to create.

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself. --Ethel Barrymore

End of the Semester

With a bit of time before my last final of the semester, I thought I would write a bit, an attempt at getting my thoughts sorted for the upcoming weeks and what I would like to accomplish.

Last week saw the production of my greeting card for our branch of Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. It was a project that we did for our Intro to Graphic Communications class, and my design with a dozen or so others were selected for print. It was really a neat experience to see the project through from designing to the four-color press and to know that the cards will be going to benefit a very worthwhile organization.

I need to finish my December Palette Challenges. I had intended to get one done each week, but there just hasn't been enough time! Decided I will be happy to complete the two, the first based on the coral reef palette, the second for the sprout palette. My school schedule for the next semester starting in January will allow me more time to spend at the studio and I hope to explore things a bit more.

A trip to Office Max today to pick up ink and paper so I can finally get the last Hoffman Distributing order off, and I hope to settle in with some stitching. I am an afternoon away from finishing "Lucille", the "L" in the Little Snowballz Series, and I just wrapped up charting "Molly Lorraine", thus putting her on deck for the next release.

Things have been very tight here financially since my return to school, and Christmas looks to be very unique. I have always made a lot of my gifts, but never given all handmade things. I am actually excited about it. My family has never gotten caught up in the commercial side of the holiday, and our gifts have always been simple, but this year marks the first that I will truly be following my handmade pledge. I have a week to finish!

It is also time to map out the 2010 cross stitch designs plan. I know I want to finish up the Little Snowballz Series, and there are a few more Fern Folk ready to chart. I have another idea, but it is slow in forming. An afternoon with colored pencils and sketchpad might be in order.

-30 Windchills & Hockey Games

Been inside all day because outside isn't an option!

Lots of snow, but the wind is the issue now.

It has been a fairly productive day. Played awhile in colourlovers.com and came up with the palette for next week's challenge.


Color by COLOURlovers

Caught up with friends I haven't spoken with in some time and prepared for final exams next week. I am very ready for the semester to be over with. It has been crunch time this last week, week and a half. While I am ready to finish these classes up, I do have to say that it has been a wonderful experience so far, and I no longer question if I made the right choice in returning to school.

Time to watch the last period of my Wild game and see if I can't put down a few more stitches before I find flannel and incense.

Week One Update: Let it Snow

Blizzard Warning for us fine folk here in Minnesota. Snow means stitching!

Palette Challenge:

I am just putting the finishing touches on my first palette challenge and hope to get pictures taken by the weekend.

I found swatches of fabric to match the palette I had created at colourlovers.com and then played around with some fabric painting using a method I had found in Cloth, Paper, Scissors using lace wrapped around a bottle of acrylic paint and rolling it over the fabric. I am really pleased with the results.

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Stitching & Designing:

Snowbugz 2 and Kenny of the Little Snowballz line have both been released and I have put them up on the website. I just finished Tristain Fernfrond of the Fern Folk Series.  He is stitched over two threads on 28ct. African Daisy hand-dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports and uses all DMC flosses. 

I just readied Lucy of the Little Snowballz series for stitching. She should be a very quick stitch and I hope to use my "blizzard time" wisely and have her out soon                   

December One

I believe there wasn't a November on the calendar this year.

Here I sit looking December 1st directly in the eye and wondering if perhaps the first true month of winter just simply ate the month before it.

I accomplished quite a lot. I have three new designs out and another almost ready for an early December release. Sketches are ready for charting and I have more ideas floating around in my head that are waiting for me to pick up a pen and put them to paper. Once the semester is over, I will have a few more hours in my day to see some of those things done.

I have started some thumbnails for my first Inspiration Challenge. This coming weekend I hope to get down to the studio to dig through scraps and beads and fibers to start laying it out. My daughter always tells me how amazed she is that I have so much stuff but still seem to know where everything is. I hope I am remembering just where that piece of teal gauze is tucked!

Next week I would really like to just sit and color as well. Maybe devote an afternoon to sketchpad and color crayons, or play with some pastels that have been neglected for too long.

I am anxious for the first snowfall. It sits in window wells and frosts the panes and makes time in the studio a very cozy thing.