Make Believe Places & Magical Spaces

snowballz buttons revisited

2012-01-30T16:38:00.001-06:00

I finished two buttons over the weekend, and the plastic self cover buttons came in the mail, so here how they turned out! I have to say that I like the aluminum buttons better. The plastic just doesn't seem to work as well, and the backs didn't snap on as tightly. I might save the plastic buttons for another project with thinner fabric, and get myself some of the metal buttons to work with for the remaining snowballz buttons.

Today I was sketching, trying to come up with some new, looser cross stitch designs that would have more of a painterly feel to them, with more gestural line and blocked in color. Here is what I worked on this afternoon...

We'll see how it all comes together in the next couple days!

snowballz buttons

2012-01-28T09:31:00.001-06:00

As you might have figured out, I am on a button kick. Last night I stayed up and goofed around with some teeny tiny snowmen and today I am going to start stitching a few of them to try out on self cover buttons.

Each of these fit within a 20w x 20h grid and should work on size 60 (1 1/2 inch) buttons.

Finished my first painting in class on Thursday night, so I need to go through my scraps for pieces of fabric to put together a new canvas. I am quite pleased with the way the first one turned out. Images coming, will take a few pics on Tuesday night at class. It is quite abstract, and really textured and it felt great to be working with something other than my usual comical illustration.

I've also crocheted some lacy little flowers with hand-dyed cotton crochet thread that I hope to snap some pictures of today. But for now, it's time to go grocery shopping. Okay, I need to finish my coffee and then I am off to do some shopping!

more buttons

2012-01-26T13:59:00.002-06:00

I finished a couple more button designs earlier this week and of course couldn't wait for my self cover buttons to arrive, so I went and picked up a few from Hobby Lobby just to get them put together. The yellow-all-sunny-and-lemondroppy ones are done with DMC Color Variations and scraps of yellow hand dyed jobelan I had on hand. The second set are done with Needle Necessities threads I had in my stash, stitched on 28ct. stormy grey hand dyed jobelan from Wichelt Imports.

Now off to teach a drawing class to a class of little artists!

cross stitch buttons

2012-01-24T13:43:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I couldn't wait for the self cover buttons to arrive via the mailman. Today when I was out picking up some yarn I found some buttons to try out, and here they are...the first of my cross stitch buttons!

These two are 1 1/2" buttons, and I used some bits of Needle Necessities cotton floss. I am really quite giddy over the way they turned out!

(And I might have to go to the fabric shop to pick up more buttons if the mailman

doesn't bring mine right now!)

Spoonflower Fabrics

2012-01-23T18:36:00.002-06:00

I had at one point been working on translating my cross stitch designs to quilt fabric design with a fabric company. Things have stalled (indefinitely) with that collection, and so I have decided to give another collection a whirl on Spoonflower.

The panels are my Snowball of the Month patterns, all 12 fitting on a yard of fabric. The other two are complimentary tosses. I will be ordering test swatches next week, and if they work as I'd like them to, I will make the fabrics available for public purchase. I would also like to work through a few more fabrics for the collection.

And one Halloween print...

I have three sets of cross stitch button covers ready to go! Now I'm waiting for the buttons to arrive. I am really excited about how they are turning out. They are quick to stitch and so there is this instant gratification! I think I will put a bunch of them together in a pattern booklet. Tonight I am going to give a shot to making a few snowmen. It will be a challenge as the smallest I've worked with the snowmen is the Snowbugz series and they stitch up at about 40w x 40h. The surface area for these size 60 buttons is under 20w x 20h. So we'll see how it goes. Might end up with just some grinning snowmen heads!

sketching & crocheting

2012-01-21T17:40:00.001-06:00

The last few days I have been doing some gestural sketching exercises, partly for my drawing class and also just because I wanted to see how much I could still do seeing as most of my drawing in the last few years has been pretty cartoony and illustrative. So here are some samples of 30 and 45 second sketches.

I have been crocheting again too, even though I swore I was going to put the hook away for awhile. I made the mistake of walking through the yarn section at the craft shops, and grrrr here I am with a basket full of cotton and bamboo once more. I really enjoy making granny squares, and I found a few really interesting variations to the traditional pattern. But for now, I am just working one great big one...

In cross stitch news, I started one of the abstract thread paintings yesterday, worked awhile on it this morning too and just did not like it. The colors were not pulling together right. So I scrapped that piece for now, and instead picked up one of the button designs I had played around with. I have ordered self covering buttons from Etsy, so hopefully I will have something to show next week!

Watch Me Draw! sessions start up this next week too, and I've three new teachers to train in and go to their schools with them for a few classes, so we'll see how much time I have left over to continue with the things I have been working on this weekend. Lots going on, but it's all fun!

kicking around ideas

2012-01-20T16:20:00.002-06:00

Today I was looking for a special button for a personal project I was working on, and just couldn't find what I was looking for. (Yes, hard to believe with the collection of buttons I have amassed over the years!) I wanted a cloth button with a lot of color and texture. While I still haven't found what I wanted, I did sit down and play with some ideas for creating what I needed, and then I played some more.

I have been looking for some new ideas for interesting cross stitch patterns, and I might start a series of button motifs. These two were made using "bits" of some abstract digital art I had done and each motif stitches under 20w X 20h and -should- be suitable for 38mm (size 60) buttons if I have done my math right!

I could even do up some teeny tiny snowfolk!

Now, I think it is time for a nap. Cold and snow and too early out of bed have combined to make me one sleepy stitcher, and I do enough frogging as it is when I am wide awake!

The Emerald Forest

2012-01-18T13:29:00.002-06:00

Finished today! The Emerald Forest is the second in my 'tree series'. It uses one color DMC Color Variations floss (4045) and is stitched on Dusty Green jobelan from Wichelt Imports. I used a mix of multi-colored bugle beads, which will also be included with the pattern, but the design would be easily adapted to just about any embellishment a stitcher wanted to try. There are also half stitches tossed into the is one to give it a little more texture.

Next up? One of my abstract thread paintings. I've been wanting to give one of these a shot just to see where I am at in their development. I will be posting my progress as I start working with this new idea.

productive day!

2012-01-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

I finished the two baby quilts I was working on, and I tell you all a little more about them later this week. I am just so happy to have them done and they'll be delivered tomorrow to the one I made them for. I'm not sure what it is, but I just cannot sleep anymore. Even with the freedom to have a proper sleep in today, I was still up at 6:45am. It did give me a full day though to finish the quilts and then scoot right into stitching after lunch, and I was able to finish (finally!!) Lil' Flakes: Snowfall #4.

Each of our four little friends stitches up at about 40w x 40h, give or take a stitch or three. I stitched mine over two threads on 28ct. Babbling Brook hand dyed jobelan from Wichelt Imports. They all use DMC threads. They're a quick stitch and the perfect size for so many projects.

The next project I believe will be The Emerald Forest. I found these really pretty bugle beads that I think I am going to use instead of the seed bead mix I had originally planned on using.

2012-01-13T20:39:00.003-06:00

I am working on two quilts...the details and story behind them will come once I've finished them completely! They are made with flannel shirts and cotton muslin. I completed the first tonight, and will tie and bind the second one tomorrow!

Now off to stitch for what remains of the night!

this & that

2012-01-12T21:46:00.000-06:00

Well, the bottom fell out of the thermometer and we are finally feeling a Minnesota winter, although we are still sorely lacking in the snow department. I've several friends that are being hit pretty hard with the white stuff in other areas. I would gladly take some of it off their hands if I could. Maybe we could work out an even swap of some sort. I hate the cold-cold, but love the snow!

I have finally gotten around to doing something with one of the hanks of wool that I dyed with kool-aid. I think these will be worked into a scarf, or I might felt them, although I am really kind of liking the lacy feel they have now. I purposely left the tails to possible tie them together. I don't know yet. A lot will depend on how many I end up with.

It took me all week, but I think I have my school schedule figured out. I dropped my sculpture class because a seat opened up in printmaking. Well, I didn't look close enough at the number, and it was a class that I really didn't want as it was screen printing and I wanted italiano relief. I just do not have the time to commit to the outside of class stuff that the screen printing class would require, so I tried to find something that would work. I added German. And then I dropped it. The books wouldn't be available for a week, and I was already a week behind, and every kid...(yes kid) in the class had German in high school and I thought to break into pig latin just to be amusing. It was too much.

So, I plucked a bit of fluff out of the book. It's an English class...but one that tugged at me. Film Studies: Animation I had the class today and I LOVED it!

And then, the biggest decision of all.

I have gone back and forth between the BA and the BFA. I finally settled on something completely different that I had not considered before.

I am going to tack on one more semester and work on my BS to be an art teacher.

Stay tuned, as it could change again tomorrow, but I'm feeling pretty good about this.

a couple more

2012-01-08T10:10:00.001-06:00

In between snowman stitches, I have continued to play around with some floral and abstract "thread paintings". I really liked both of these, but I think I still need to do some editing as they use way too many thread colors for pieces that finish under 100w x 100h. Yet, in order to achieve the feel of paint, of one color blending into the next, I don't know that I can dump too many of the colors. The tulips use 80 colors of floss, and the red dahlia uses 72 different colors.

I had hoped to finish Lil Flakes #4 this weekend, but I was having some inner ear problems yesterday and by the time I started feeling better, I was really not in the mood for anything other than sleep!

I also want to do something with the wool I kool-aid dyed, even though I promised myself that I would set the crochet aside for a time to concentrate on the cross stitch However, I *do* have time between classes...I think a ball of yarn and a hook might somehow, mysteriously, appear in my book bag!

saturday stitches

2012-01-07T10:18:00.000-06:00

The sun is out again today, and it looks like it might shape up to be another out of the ordinary January day in Minnesota! We still are without snow here, and things are just too dirty and brown for my liking. The warmer temperatures of course are tolerable. I do not miss the temperatures that leave you frozen to the ground if you pause in your step. I know, I know. We've still got at the very least, three months to make up for what we did not see in December!

This morning I finished charting the next in the tree series, The Emerald Forest. As its name implies, it is stitched with emerald floss. I worked it with full stitches and then played around with some areas of half stitching. I ran across a really nice mix of emerald beads that I also used in the last Snowballz design, I *Heart* You. I think I will use these again with this design.

What I like about the tree designs is that they are so simple, easily adaptable to color changes and embellishment changes. I also started charting two florals for a series I am thinking about for spring.

These are fairly large pieces, finishing up around 100w x 80h. I was just really drawn to the colors in these images and they are translating pretty well. Will see what becomes of them! They may just end up tucked away on the "one day" shelf.

Back to school on Monday! Very excited...a painting and printmaking class, a drawing class and Ancient Art History. It is shaping up to be a very exciting semester. I cannot wait to get into the studio again!

ideas for painting & drawing

2012-01-05T18:07:00.000-06:00

As I get ready to start another semester of classes, I have been giving some thought to what direction my work will take. I have two semesters left, and a senior exhibit and I've nothing to show yet! I have been playing with different images of trees, some are photos I took myself and others I have collected from stock photographs. I have a tree in a local nature preserve that I am especially fond of, and I think I might work a little more with images of it through the seasons and in different weather, lighting, etc. In the meanwhile, this is what I played with today.

These are digitally manipulated images of the same image of dead trees, but I am going to try to do them in acrylic paint, oil or chalk pastels and graphite pencil.

The next three images are from a picture I took of my favored tree, and I think I will explore these further in colored pencil and paint, either water color or acrylic...or both!

I *had* to stop by Michaels today to pick up a few things, so I of course was *forced* to walk through the paints and brushes and canvas (oh my) and I think I added about two dozen new items to my wish list (or the just as soon as you have a 40% off coupon in hand list!)

Now off to pick up the boy from school...weiners and potato chips for supper...and a night of stitching!

oh, and I spent my Christmas money...I'm such a nerd.
I had been looking for-eh-ver for a Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) action figure. FINALLY the Season 3 set showed up on eBay. Unopened even! (and look! Sheppard!) Now that might not be a whole lot of fun for me, as I really want to set them in strategic places in my little office/creative space for inspiration and the occasional unscheduled gate activation. I will figure it all out later. Right now, I'm just over the moon that I found them after such a long search!
My sister snatches up Star Wars stuff, me, I'm all about the Gate.

hey hey kool aid

2012-01-02T14:23:00.001-06:00

I have wanted to try dyeing some of my own yarn and while I had heard about using Kool Aid as a dye for protein fibers, I had not really considered goofing around with it until a knitting friend of mine mentioned it. Neither of us were sure if it was something that would work! So after doing a bit of research over the weekend, I went and got a skein of natural wool and some Kook Aid packets and proceeded to break the skein into two hanks. One I dyed on the stove top using a mix of black cherry and pink lemonade with strawberry...

And another I did in the microwave in more of a "hand painted" fashion...

The wool sucked up all the Kool Aid and the water turned clear, and when I rinsed the yarn, no color ran free of it. It was really quite fun and I look forward to experimenting some more!

i heart you

2012-01-01T13:41:00.003-06:00

Finished today!

The newest snowy friend finishes at 96w x 115h. I stitched my model on Star Sapphire jobelan from Wichelt Imports. The seed beads on his pompom and scarf edge will be included with the chart. DMC flosses and Kreinik #4 braids are used in this as well. I think I will start on Lil Flakes #4 this afternoon. I was digging through old files, and realized that the last bunch of Lil Flakes was released in 2008!

Yep, time for another round of the little guys!

Windy and cold out, (and to think, it was warm enough yesterday for thunder, lightning and rain!) so it is the perfect afternoon for obscene amounts of coffee broken up the the intermittent cup of black chai and a lap full of string and embroidery things.

And I think I will finish up my day with a few more chapters of my current book.

Aye, a grand start to 2012!

new year's eve

2011-12-31T21:15:00.000-06:00

First there was booming thunder and lightning.

Then rain. RAIN!

(I had to double check my driver's license just to make sure I was where I thought I was)

Minnesota, December 31st.

Last year? 40 inches of snow by December 28th, 2010.

And then, just when I thought about getting the lawn chair and summer clothing out from the back of the closet...

Big beautiful wind driven fluffy wet flakes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Things have been set right once more.

(I know, Shan...shhhhhh! be careful what you wish for!)

Productive day...finished a piece and should have it photographed tomorrow. I finished up the first draft of my novel that I started for the NaNoWriMo challenge. Researched vendors for natural yarn for dyeing as I am going to play around with some natural dyes in the new year. (And I think I have a couple of pals that will be willing to try out the yarn and give me an unbiased opinion as to its quality) Two new designs sketched and charted, bits of new Wichelt Imports needlework fabric sorted and a few chapters

read in GRRM's A Dance With Dragons.

Now its wine and The Big Bang Theory marathon.

light in the woods

2011-12-30T10:06:00.000-06:00

On one of my many wanderings about Rasmussen Woods, I snapped a few pictures of the sun coming in through the tops of the trees.

I have started looking at some of the pictures for a variety of reasons; to ready myself for my upcoming painting and drawing classes, (even my printmaking class!), to keep working on some of my digital painting skills, and to see what I might piece together for future needlework projects.

Most know of my fascination with trees. They are often the subject matter of my sketching and I have folders filled with pictures I have taken and others I have come across in my web wanderings.

This morning I found myself well into coffee pot #2 playing around with these images, first in Photoshop and Illustrator, and then in Pattern Maker. Kind of weird and different, but I'm kind of diggin' the results.

Cross Stitch Version

(I really liked this one!)

Cross Stitch Version

It is finally snowing! Not the big fluffy flakes, but hey, at this point, being through December with nothing on the ground, I will take whatever I can get! Off to stitch for awhile, and then I might just go tromp around in the wonderful white stuff!

handpainted threads

2011-12-27T15:12:00.002-06:00

Handpainted Cotton Floss

Another trio of handpainted floss.

Just a couple of examples of what I hope to get better images of tomorrow when the light is better. We were out shopping earlier today, as the kids had Christmas money they wanted to spend, so we did not get back to house in time to catch the sun before it had found its way over the house...to the side without the good windows! But I am quite pleased with the way these threads painted. I will be putting some in my Etsy shop very soon.

Right now I am trying to get caught up with printing for Hoffman, and I keep running into snags. Thought I had more paper, then I run out of bags, and the ink I got was faulty. Something that rarely if ever happens to me, but it meant another trip out to the office supply store.

I have done all I can do today, so I think its time for some chai and stitching to wind back down.

thread painting

2011-12-22T10:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Winter Solstice!

As I worked my way through my first pot of coffee this morning, I was running through Etsy looking at pretties and drooling over so many things that I wished I could experience with all of my senses instead of just my eyes. I was seeking some inspiration, a nudge of sorts, a lightbulb moment.

With the new year just around the corner, I am still finding a blurred creative direction, although I have narrowed it down to a needlework focus. I have always been in awe of textile artists that dye and use their own fabrics and fibers, and it came to me. There it was. Really sort of obvious, when you think about it...

So I have allll of these Jaquard textile paints. I have more white cotton 6-strand floss then I know what to do with. It may be string, but it is still cotton and could be treated the same way as a hunk of muslin that I had loved painting on before.

So I played, and here are the results!

Once dry, I will heat set them just as I would fabric, and then see how they stitch up. I had played around with Easter egg dyeing tablets before to color floss, but the colors were too pastel-y for me, and the colors did not set very well. Maybe I will include a skein of this in future designs, or maybe I will just use it in the finished pieces that I plan on working through in upcoming months. Whatever I decide to do, I am just kind of tickled that I've found a way to stretch and explore while still holding closer to my creative direction.

Now off to wrap the rest of the presents and make another pot of coffee!

designing and stitching

2011-12-20T11:02:00.004-06:00

The morning provided me with a lot of wonderful natural light streaming in through the living room window, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to stitch without my lamp! Yay Sunshine! (Now if we could only get some SNOW) I feel quite accomplished with what I was able to stitch, and really think I can get the newest Snowballz pattern, I "Heart" You, out right after the holiday weekend.

I've got fabric on the way from Wichelt Imports, so I am waiting until it arrives before deciding what I will do next. I have several pieces charted and ready to go, but I am not quite sure what I am in the mood to do!

I had a wonderful class yesterday for Watch Me Draw with a group of kids that were eager to create, and I came home afterward wanting to do the same! I found myself up until the wee hours again goofing around with a few things I had scribbled in one of the various sketchbooks that have on more than one occasion threatened to take over my house.

A couple of abstract concepts...

CM Designs 2011

And something I have been wanting to do for awhile now...Lil Flakes #4

Lil Flakes #4 CM Designs 2011

The coffee pot has run dry and the sunshine has gone up over the house.

Guess that means its time to wander out!

abstract cross stitch concepts

2011-12-19T09:42:00.002-06:00

Late last night and this morning I spent some time working on a few abstract concepts for cross stitch. They are based on pastel drawings I had done some time ago tangled up with my more recent fascination with circles and metals. I had originally thought to work with textiles and take a slow cloth approach to my translations, but after putzing around last night and waking in the middle of the night with more thoughts about it, I thought I might try some of this with my first love, cross stitch!

These have charted up much like I paint. There are a lot of colors involved, on average 40 per piece. The pieces are small, but I think that they will be all the more dynamic because of the number of colors. They are definitely a departure from my usual whimsical stuff! More to come, but for now I am off to finish up a hat on snowman and wait for the mailman....I need my plastic bags so I can finish up a few pattern orders for a patient customers!

saturday stitches

2011-12-17T14:50:00.004-06:00

I spent the morning editing the newest Snowballz addition, I "Heart" You and watching "How To Train Your Dragon" (love that movie!). "Thank you for nothing, you worthless reptile."

Got a good jump on putting down a few stitches too. Mind you, the colors on this are not exactly how it will stitch up as Pattern Maker has its own thoughts as to what a thread color looks like! The hat and scarf are a mossy variegated blend of greens, one of the DMC Color Variations, and the embellishments on hat and scarf are two different Kreinik #4 Braids.

I never did get motivated enough to hit the thrift shops today, so instead of getting started on the textile composition of one of my earlier sketches, I went browsing through a few more images.

Old and crumbling architecture catches my eye often. These are a few that I stumbled upon from stock photography sites. I have long thought to go out and take my own pictures of old barns and other abandoned buildings, not so much for the actual building but because of the lines and spaces, the textures.

Maybe that will be one more thing I will add to my 2012 List.

odds & ends

2011-12-16T11:23:00.000-06:00

It has a busy, productive week. In an effort to locate my dining room table again, I decided to finish up a few projects and make some progress on a few others. The felted cover to the art journal I was making has been sitting on the table since finals week, so that was my first task. With old sheet music gesso'd and some other recycled newsprint torn and ready, I finally put the thing together

I liked the end result so much that I think I am going to keep this one. I rarely create for myself, but this piece just really resonates with me. I needed something to take with me to the woods to keep my sketches and my thoughts sorted, and I think I have found it!

I found a camel colored wool scarf with little flecks of cranberry and wedgewood blue speckled through it at the thrift shop last week. In the spirit of slow clothing and giving new life to things set aside, I started working with the wool roving I had, needle felting multi-colored leaves along one edge. Where it will go from here, I am not quite certain, but this is where I am at so far.

There might be some embroidered stems added soon, or maybe some woolen threads woven in.

Yesterday I made a trip to Lakeville for a Watch Me Draw meeting. Traffic cooperated, and there wasn't the road construction I anticipated so I arrived pretty early. I found a coffee shop, and decided to get warm (the wind was a butt chiller yesterday!) and maybe do some sketching. Well, I got my coffee, sat down, and reached into my purse that I always have a sketchbook tucked within. Hmm. No sketchbook. Next best thing?

Napkins!

I got to thinking about my previous blog entry. About metal and circles and translating all of that to cloth. Now to raid my stash and see if I have anything to get started or if I have to (insert feigned sigh of disappointment here) go out and look through all the old clothing and fabrics, textiles and linens at our thrift shops!

circles

2011-12-14T19:17:00.004-06:00

I spent a rainy afternoon sorting my image "library". I have an extensive collection of images that I have collected over the years, some that provide inspiration, others that are stock photos that I snatched up, sure that I would use them in something one day. Most of what I have collected appealed to me because I could see the images translated to another medium.

As I went through some of my images of metal, I came across a lot of circles and hoops, manhole covers and ship porthole windows. As I cataloged them, I studied them a little closer and picked out a few that I am going to work with over the weekend.

I have always been fascinated by the circular form. These particular images felt very organic to me, which left me wondering if I could capture that element with fiber and cloth.

Time to sketch out some of my thoughts!

The White Tree

2011-12-13T13:17:00.003-06:00

It started as one of those 'wake up at 3am, grab your sketchbook' kind of designs,

and today I finally sewed on the last button "leaf".

It is a fairly simple design, using only one color that can be easily swapped out depending on the stitcher's preference. I used DMC Color Variations 4090 to give the tree some very subtle definition.

The piece is stitched over two threads on Wichelt Import's 28ct. Chocolate Raspberry 100% linen.

I have been collecting buttons for a very long time, and wanted to do something with all the white ones I have. The patterns will include about three dozen buttons, varying in size and material, but this pattern is simple enough that it could be adapted to any colors and any buttons, beads or whatever embellishments the artist might want to experiment with.

The last craft show of my season was over the weekend, and afterward I found myself with this a deeper need to clean out and slow down. It is an itch I've had for awhile now. I have long been drawn to the idea of slow living, to get away from commercial, mass produced clothing, to cook instead of drive by fast food and an even faster life. In an attempt to put myself a little firmer on that path, I did a few things this weekend that I felt very good about, and now I want to keep moving on this new path I've put myself upon.

I completely gutted my closet. What is left is what I wear. A handful of favorites that bring me comfort and are 'me'. The things I thought to get rid of were looked at, and a few set to a pile of things that I want to redesign. Rip apart, put back together. The rest were bagged up and taken to the Salvation Army along with all the hats I had left from the shows. I know that someone will benefit from wearing them instead of me having them back in a dark corner of a closet. That bright flowered shirt that is not authentic to me will find who it really should belong to and the black coat with the shoulder pads will fit into someone's wardrobe!

I have left myself with five shirts, three sweaters, a couple of pair of jeans and a funky jacket that I forgot I even had as it was buried beneath all the things that I never should have bought in the first place! I kept a couple scarves that I have crocheted for myself, something I rarely if ever do.

It was very cathartic. I open my closet now and I see me.

Up next on the Q Snaps? Another Snowballz addition...

Now I am off to teach ten eager artists how to draw a Nutcracker!

illustration

2011-12-09T11:27:00.001-06:00

I have had several people coaxing me to use some of my cross stitch designs in other mediums. Here are a few of my Snowballz and Flakey Friends designs reworked in Illustrator. I plan on offering some of these at the craft show in St. Clair this weekend.

I also did a few of the Fernfolk series which turned out really nice as well.

Now off to lunch with my mom and sister!

Any bets that they will tempt me to make a second trip to the thrift shops afterward?

felting, trees & art journals

2011-12-08T09:06:00.001-06:00

I worked into the wee hours last night just because I was stuck in "just one more stitch" mode. I got a bit further on the first attempt at a handmade journal. There is still some surface work to be done on the cover, and it will need more pages, but it is coming along nicely. I found old sheet music at the thrift shop that I plan on coating with gesso, and I know I have more interesting papers in the studio at my mother's house. Maybe this weekend!

Another bit of felting I started on yesterday afternoon. I am not all together sure what I am going to do with this. It is more of an experiment then anything else!

And finally, some revisions to my whole button tree concept...

...and now, off to start stitching branches!

Button Tree

2011-12-07T08:50:00.001-06:00

As noted in my previous blog post, I have started working on a series of trees. This one will eventually be a pattern for others to work with. I have this piece of rich chocolate linen from Wichelt that I am going to use, and I think I will stitch it with either DMC winter white orone of the Weeks Dye Works colors that has a btle variation to the color. The branches will be embellished with buttons, probably white as I have jars of the things!

I might try and make the thrift shop rounds today as I haven't been treasure hunting in awhile and I am feeling the need! A bit of printing to do today too, and I need ink. The thrift shops *are* all on the way to Office Max. I think this is a sign!

Of Mice & Snowmen

2011-12-06T12:43:00.001-06:00

*Finally*

Finished & Released

Of Mice & Snowmen

Stitched over two threads on 28ct. hand-dyed Jobelan, watercress, from Wichelt Imports using DMC floss and Kreinik braids. The finished size is 91w x 87h. Available on the website and also soon through

Hoffman Distributing Company.

I started working with the wool last night too, and thought that I might try my hand at making some unique art journals as I have a lot of ephemera paper, handmade papers and other bits that I think bound together would really be appealing. I am very fascinated with trees, and this is what I have started to felt. I will be adding some needlework to it as well.

The next needlework project/design is a spin on this same concept. I hope to finish up the chart today so I can start stitching tomorrow! It will use a lot of buttons and more embroidery stitches than cross stitch. It should be a quick stitch.

For now though, I am off to spend some time with a group of talented young artists with Watch Me Draw. Polar bears with chalk pastels! Such messy and delightful fun!

wool for felting & other randomness

2011-12-05T15:57:00.001-06:00

So I have this image in my head combining my love of needle felting and needlework in general. I ordered some wool from a wonderful shop, Headley Grange , and it arrived today!

(Image from Headley Grange Etsy Shop)

It is just yummy and the colors are beautiful. It is going to work perfectly with what I have in mind.

More to come as I get working!

Almost finished up Of Mice & Snowmen , the next in the Snowballz Again series, and I finally got all the things beside my Stitching Chair sorted. Feels much better, although I still need to get all my floss sorted so I know what I need to pick up besides the usual white, winter white, black and brown-black!

There are also some new Kreinik threads that I simply need to order, and I have come to realize that my fabric stash has become seriously depleted! Time to trot off to the Wichelt site and put an order together!

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Old Main Village Craft Fair

2011-12-04T20:07:00.001-06:00

Today's craft fair was at Old Main Village in Mankato, MN. The fresh snow the night before did not stop shoppers from coming by. It was a lot of fun and fairly successful, and they served very yummy cheesecake and coffee. It was a shorter show, but I almost think I liked it this way!

Stitching & A New Book

2011-12-02T14:24:00.001-06:00

I spent my morning stitching, and I hope to get a bit more done this afternoon. I took a break to take my textbooks to the book store for buy-back, and I found myself with a little more money then I thought I would. So, I made a trip to JoAnns for some odds and ends I needed to finish up a few things for the craft shows, and as I usually do, I stopped to look at the books. (And drooled a little.)

This book, Crafter's Devotional 365 Days of Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Unlocking Your Creative Spirit by Barbara Call just jumped out at me. Well, actually, it fell on the floor as I tipped it forward to see what was behind it.

I picked it back up and paged through it, and immediately stuck it in my basket! I have attempted a 365 Days of Creativity thing before on this blog, and gave up about 100 days in as things just got too busy for me to try and do something separate from my usual work every day. I think I might try to experiment a little with the new year and at least be thinking about something creative every day if nothing else! There are some really neat things in this book and I look forward to exploring it further. I have a few other books with daily inspiration and ways to put art into your life every day. I like to think I have done a pretty good job of that already, but I know there is so much more out there that I want to dig into and learn about, even if I never actually *do* some of it.

Book Description: "There is something elemental shared among artists and crafters, regardless of chosen medium: creative energy. Crafters dabble, collaborate, muse, and make, all in their own way and on their own timeline. For all crafts, there are established techniques to follow but wild, innumerable ways to experiment, using the basics to launch crafters to new heights. Crafter’s Devotional can aid that launch. Each day of the year is given its own focus, on which the reader will find a daily dose of craft content that inspires, instructs, and illuminates."

I also stopped at Michaels for some yarn as they had the Loops & Threads Country Loom brand on sale. I created a new scarf with the skein I had and really liked the way it finished. So now its off to crochet some more even though I said I was done and ready for the shows!

Cotton Crochet Scarves

2011-11-30T12:37:00.001-06:00

With two shows left to attend, I have been busy working through the last of my cotton yarn and creating a few scarves. Here are a few completed in the last few days. As this show season winds down, my goal is to have used up some of the odds and ends I have around here as I ready for 2012 and a more focused creative drive. These scarves are made with Bernat cotton yarn and Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton.

For any that are regular readers of this blog, you have probably noticed that it has changed again! That in itself probably isn't a big surprise, as changes have been made frequently since I started blogging. In the spirit of the fresh creative start I hope to make in 2012, I wanted to bring all of my "stuff" together, kind of a one stop hub for all of my art-stitch-inspiration-zenny things that I want easy access to and want to give readers quick links to as well. I hope it grows into a place where we can share tutorials, goals, support, thoughts and wisdom and bazinga! moments.

I love to collect, and I love to share.

Be it words, images, ideas, color, texture, dreams and junk and all things found and fabulous

more tinkering and repurposing

2011-11-29T17:14:00.001-06:00

These are some of the pieces I have put together for upcoming shows. They use my own digital textures, bits of broken jewelry, dominos, vintage postcards and pieces of yardstick.

Two more days of classes and I am free for a few weeks! Still so many things to do and I am still looking for those two ever-elusive-extra-hours to tack on to my days, but I am finally feeling like I am getting something accomplished!

finished free form embroidery exercise

2011-11-27T20:25:00.001-06:00

Not quite sure how I arrived at this odd little tree after what I started yesterday, but here it is! I keep waiting for some wee face to poke itself out of one of the windows.

I also spent some time today trying to get familiar with blogger's new features, something I had tried to do once before and found myself frustrated. But after looking at a few other blogs, I discovered that there were some benefits to making the change.

I have added tabs to the top of my main page. Each goes to a new page where I can better organize my images, quotes, thoughts and inspiration, all things that I had always crowded the sidebar with. It is the first step in my quest to organize those things in my life that I can organize!

blustery day, chai tea, and the long wait for the mailman

2011-11-26T13:56:00.001-06:00

I started my day by double-checking my word count for NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month) as I hit the magical 50K late last night and woke this morning wondering if I had only been dreaming. I had some very odd dreams last night, including one that had me getting up around 3am because I thought I had forgotten to take my insulin. I don't take insulin. It took me a good half hour of staring at the ceiling to wake fully to that realization!

Needless to say, I did hit the 50K plus a handful of words, verified the novel with NaNoWriMo and was given a certificate and a little badge for my accomplishment. I've still a ways to go to finish the novel, but I am halfway there and it was such a rush to push myself to write this story. I think I am going to keep writing through December and try to have a first draft done by the start of the new year.

The skies look about as dark as they did at seven o'clock this morning, and while I enjoy a day inside goofing around with this or that, I had really wanted just a smidge of sunshine so that I could make a trip down to the woods to snap a few photographs. It is now approaching mid-afternoon, and it does not look to be getting any brighter, and the howl of the wind left me wandering instead to the tea kettle. A cup of black chai tea (or maybe I am on the second now) paired with some really cheesy movies on ScyFy has made for a relaxing day none the less, and I've managed to put together a few more things for the two shows I have coming up.

I finished up the little embroidered tree I had started yesterday, and came across one more small hoop which I used for a small floral motif. A larger hoop framed the "canvas" for an abstract, free-form embroidery. I might mix this one up with some other found objects, but I am really putting it together as I go as part of my exercise to move past this creative block I've been weighted with. I also found sheets of "prompts" that I think I will use again, tossing all of them in a hat and drawing them one by one as I work.

Now I am off to check the mail. Expecting some supplies to finish up some of the found object jewelry. The weekend is just getting started, I have already gotten a lot done, and if the tea holds out I might get a lot more accomplished before Monday comes crashing in!

“The soul should always stand ajar. Ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”

- Emily Dickinson

stitching and jewelry and found "stuff "

2011-11-25T15:43:00.000-06:00

Trees mean a lot to me. I started some time working on designs in both cross stitch and embroidery, and have decided to take a different approach in creating this series. Rather than sketching on paper first as I do with my other designs, I am stitching and working things out with threads as I go. This is what I did this morning after I shook off the After-Thanksgiving Day lethargy!

I had read an article the other day that gave me the push in this direction. I have been struggling with the direction of my artwork and had found myself with face plastered up against one of the biggest creative blocks I have known in some time. The blog post suggested a way to work through this; to simply pick up a needle and stitch. Free-form embroidery, simply putting down color and stitch as it comes to you. I decided to try this with the image of this tree I had in my head.

Earlier this week I finished a few more bits of jewelry made with found objects, bits of wood and paper ephemera. These are really a lot of fun to do, and I am thinking of ways to work some needlework into future pieces as well.

Bracelets made with re-purposed wood, sheet music and vintage postcards

Charms and pendants made with wooden dominos, old wooden yardsticks and broken jewelry

I am always on the look out for interesting bits of this and that, both to collect for myself and to use in my artwork, especially now that I have studio classes again. A recent run through eBay and Etsy has provided me with some neat stuff, but I had one find in particular that tickled me. These two nifty little bits!

They are vintage Hawaiian game pieces. 19th century hand-carved hardwood domino tiles that I have been told are also calledalso called "Bones". They were found in Iliwei, Honolulu. They are really quite heavy in your hand and have a really neat look to them. What I will do with them, I am not quite sure! They are pretty close in size to regular dominos, and I think they would look really unique on a leather thong or vintage chain.

I have a paper to write and then I think it is time for left over pumpkin pie!

Ephemera & Upcycled Jewelry

2011-11-22T19:17:00.001-06:00

I have always been fascinated by found objects and finding new purpose for old and seemingly worn out things. Even though I plan on shifting my focus primarily to my needlework designing in 2012, I know that I will still dabble with some of the repurposed jewelry to sate my need to tinker with stuff.

These are some of the pieces I have done in recent days. This charms and pendants in this group are made with paper pieces that I manipulated digitally and then printed, adhering each to repurposed wood. I added a bail and a ball chain. They are quirky and fun and very different!

I came across some old wooden yard stick pieces and had a bunch of vintage postcards complete with pencil writing on the back and stamps. This is what I've done with some of those components. I intend to show some of these at the craft market in St. Clair in a few weeks.

Always on the look out for things for mixed media creations, and I will really be watching now with the classes I am enrolled in for next semester. I need to replenish my beautiful junk stash. Lots of painting and sculpting ahead of me!

Mapleton Day Care Center Fundraiser Craft Show

2011-11-20T09:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first of three shows I am participating in over the next few weeks. The show was in Mapleton, MN and was a fundraiser for the day care center. Many vendors, and if the weather had cooperated we would have had more traffic then we did. But all in all it was a good show.

(These images snapped with my cell phone, so I apologize for the quality!)

After the next two shows I will be hanging up the crochet hook to focus on my embroidery and cross stitch needles instead, a change in my creative path for 2012 that I have to admit I am really very excited about.

What I am also very excited about it that my mom is once again creating! We just got her a space beside me for the St. Clair show coming up in a few weeks. She is so talented, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with. Years ago, she and I did shows together. She made the cutest gift bags and I made gift cards. (The designs for the cards actually became some of my first cross stitch designs!)

One of my favorite childhood memories? Watching her draw shorelines when we camped using the charcoal from the campfire. She maintains that she got the bug again while cleaning out some of the old craft stuff in the pantry, but now she is really very excited about playing again. I think its great. We've been able to see her dining room table now for far too long. It's about time she covers it with all the amazing things she dabbles in.

Now I am off to stitch and drink coffee and peek out the window from time to time because that blanket of white covering the grass just tickles me, not to mention it provides perfect inspiration for a few new smiling snowman faces!

inspiration

2011-11-15T09:49:00.000-06:00

I have always been fascinated by tapestries. The hours that it must have taken to complete these staggers me, and the skill, the workmanship, leave me in awe. These designs were created without benefit of all the gadgets we have now to make such work easier. I would one day like to work my own tapestry, planning the design from pencil sketches without use of the computer or my charting programs. Even something small, just to remember how it really feels to let the threads do what they will, to see the image emerge in unexpected ways.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Fleeing_bayeux_tapestry.png

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/06/129306-050-B9250F29.jpg

Now off to school with me! And then, an after school class with a delightful bunch of kids to draw!

crochet, cross stitch, crazy. not necessarily in that order!

2011-11-14T12:10:00.000-06:00

Running to get ready!

November 19th

Mapleton Day Care Center Christmas Craft Show

December 4th

Old Main Village Christmas Show

December 10th

St. Clair Christmas Show

I *think* I am ready. Just using up some odds and ends yarn for the scrap happy hats and scarves and I have used the last of my hand twisted fabric yarn for scarves. Some of the models of my cross stitch designs have been taken out of the boxes they were tucked into as far back as 2006 and have been finished either as hoops or pillows.

In a way, this is like a purging for me as I get ready for 2012. I keep changing my mind about what I should be concentrating on and what I should set aside for awhile. Every time I think I have it figured out? (read a couple posts below!) I change my mind yet again. I set up a new Etsy shop that I changed three times before I just closed it, even before I put anything in it. I am in a rut and just feel as if I do not have something unique enough, different enough, from all the other amazing things on Etsy to warrant a new shop. So, Fuzzy Stitches will remain open, and for the time being empty as I work through this little glitch in my creative spirit.

I have so many ideas tumbling around in my head for cross stitch designs, including some things that involve embroidery and very different embellishment, so that will be my focus in 2012. My itch to explore other mediums can be addressed in the studio classes I have Spring semester.

That's the plan. At least until Friday!

too many things, not enough time, so...

2011-11-10T13:34:00.000-06:00

As I recently confessed here, I have been trying to do too many things. While the quality of my work is not suffering...yet...if I continue to try and produce a large body of work, something is bound to suffer. No matter how hard I have tried, I have not been able to find an extra two hours to tack on to my day!

So. I found myself faced with the question of 'what to do?'.

I sat down with a piece of paper and wrote down all of the creative pots I have had my mitts in over the last year. Then I created lists. How much do I really like engaging in the art? How much is it costing me? Are the materials readily available or am I spending more time looking for things then actually creating? Which of my many indulgences really held my interest and ultimately the interest of others as I put my work out there for others to look at and possibly purchase? Those questions and others I asked myself, compiled the lists and then looked for trends.

What did I discover? Cross stitch and needlework designing (no surprise there!) topped all my lists as #1, and I can say without any doubt, I am a needlework designer.

I made the decision going into this that I was going to whittle things down to cross stitch and one other handcraft. What I found as I sifted through my 'data' was that crochet came in right behind cross stitch. I have recently found myself very fond of cotton yarn, and have made the decision to try and work with as much of it as I can.

I love natural materials, and recycling and repurposing are very big in my artwork. But, finding suitable materials has been very hard lately and I found myself falling into that 'it takes more time to find the stuff then make the art' category again. I will still make my regular trips to the thrift shops. Treasure hunting brings me joy. But I am not going to fill up my house with bits of stuff that may or may not find way into my work. If I purchase it, it is going to have an immediate purpose. I need to get back to listening to the inner voice again.

I have three craft shows coming up. I have worked all the remaining hand-plied art yarn into scarves and hats, and the other things I have in my Etsy shop will be going with me to the shows. Fuzzy Stitches will soon be phased out, and once I have created some new pieces Hooked On Cotton will open. I am hoping that this paring down and weeding out will help bring me focus again. Trust that I will still be looking and oohing and ahhing over things that I would love to try. I just plan on trying to reel in those impulsive tendencies to go and buy all the things I need to try it.

Look! You can see the dining room table! That in itself indicates that I am quite serious about bringing my focus in as the table has always served as a catch-all for everything creative.

This is the first all cotton free-form crochet scarf I am working on. I need to pick up one more skein of this yarn. It is the I Love This Cotton variety from Hobby Lobby.

I just registered for spring semester classes as well, and am just tickled. The class schedule will allow me to really dig into my new position as program director with Watch Me Draw and still give me lots of studio time for classes and my artwork outside of class. The classes? My second intermediate painting class (which should be interesting as I had the FIRST of the intermediate classes in 1987!!), drawing, beginning sculpture and ancient art history.

Oh! And with the encouragement of a dear friend, I decided to revisit my love of writing, and am giving the National Novel Writing Month a go. A month of writing, trying to achieve the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. You can follow me over here to see how I am progressing! Hawthorn

Crochet & Ephemera Tiles

2011-10-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

I made a few more flowers over the weekend. Yes, cotton!

And I had a few bits of graffiti-themed images that I manipulated and printed. Working with wooden circles this time instead of squares, I made this set of four charms. They are 1 1/2 x 1 1/2.

While digging through my stash of papers recently, I came across a stack of old old postcards that I had found at the thrift store some time back. Using this one from 1908, I made a set of charms. One is actually the writing from the back of the card and another a partial stamp and postmark, the other two the black and white images from the front of the card.

Now off to school to try and sort a sculpture that just refuses to cooperate with the vision I have for it!

Of Mice & Snowmen

2011-10-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Am just getting ready to sit down and start stitching the next in the Snowballz 2011 series, Of Mice and Snowmen. A few more flower embellishments finished late last night as well.

I am finding that I really like working with cotton yarn. Perhaps it is because the feel of it is familiar, having worked with cotton embroidery floss for so long. It just feels so ...right. Wool does too, as I really dig the natural fibers, always have. But there is just something about cotton. The yellow flowers are made with cotton. The pink with felting wool. Both are equally soft. I think I am going to dig around for a cotton supplier.

I am also crocheting a few children and baby hats with the sugar and cream cotton yarn.

Then maybe one for myself. ;D

crochet flowers

2011-10-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

While I have put away most of the other bits of this and that to concentrate on my cross stitch designing, I do still have some time to crochet in between classes or while I am waiting for the kids to get ready in the morning to take off for school. Crochet flowers are the perfect pick-up and create thing for me, and easy to transport. Here are my latest. I need to sew in these pretty little beads that I found at a flea market and then they'll be finished.

I used this yummy bulky wool meant for felting.

After they were crocheted, I felted the whole works in hot water and soap.

They are really fuzzy and colorful and fun!

I also made a few larger flowers with cotton yarn. These three white blooms are going to be worked into a scarf, I *think* with some others I made that are a variegated daffodil yellow and white. OR, I might do a free form crochet purse. I'm not sure yet. These I have just sat and worked on in those spare moments when there is not enough time to get out the cross stitch.

Buck & Gene

2011-10-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

Buck & Gene CM Designs 2011

I finished it today! The tribute piece for my Dad and his cousin, Eugene.

~loves~

hoopin'

2011-10-23T18:08:00.000-05:00

I have boxes of my finished cross stitch designs and I have decided to start finishing some of them to give as gifts and to offer on Etsy. One day I might decide to do shows again, but by then, these designs will more than likely be discontinued! Although, I did just send a reorder off to Hoffman for a Flakey Friends design that came out in 2007!

I had hoped to finish up Buck & Gene this weekend, but ran out of DMC 4045 Color Variations, and of course the only place I can get more of it in town is closed on Sundays! grr. So, tomorrow will have to do!

So, with that project stuck, I picked up other things. I have two holiday artisan shows coming up, so I have been working on hats and scarves, and I finished up the chart for the next cross stitch desgin as well.

Of Mice & Snowmen..CM Designs 2011

Busy week coming up! Hope to have a lot to talk about by the end of it!

felting flowers and a few more tiles

2011-10-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

I came away from a recent trip to the thrift shop with a bag of yarn of various types, textures and colors. A partial skein of light turquoise wool was crocheted into flowers and then hand felted with hot water and soap. After rummaging around in my button stash for pretties to center them, this is what I ended up with!

I also finished up two more sets of the ephemera tile charms...

I purchased a new drill, and gave it a try on the grungy tiles!

I have a midterm take home test that I really need to get to this weekend, but I am struggling with putting down the stitching. I want to finish Buck & Gene! I am so close to having it done. A compromise, perhaps. A morning of coffee and stitching, and then I will hit the books.

There is always tomorrow too... :D

46 instead of 45

2011-10-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

I told myself when I turned 40 that at 45 I would be making art my full time career. That I could declare myself an 'artist'...forgoing the usual "I work (here) and my needlework designing is a nice part time income. A hobby." Well, today marks my 46th birthday. So I am a year behind. But, I have made some changes to my reply when someone asks me what I do for a living.

I am a needlework and textile designer and artist, and, I am a Program Director for the Watch Me Draw art program in Minnesota. I am an artist. I have gone through, and continue to go through periods of 'have I done the right thing?' and 'am I being selfish?' as it's not been an easy road to get where I am right now. It is still very frustrating, and I still struggle with finances and trying to right the errors I made as a foolish young adult who did not think that the choices I made then would still affect me some 25 years later. But I am doing the work. I am gaining ground.

‎"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud."

-Emile Zola

Ya know, that sounds like a pretty good plan

for the second half of my life.

embellishments

2011-10-16T10:07:00.000-05:00

The last few days I have been playing around with my ephemera images and some of the digital illustration bits I had put together, using them to create charms and pendants for jewelry making, scrapbooking, and possible embellishing art quilts and future cross stitch designs. Addicting!

I have also had a few requests for more crochet flowers, and so I have started crocheting a few again. They are quick and easy, and a good project that I can pick up when I have a few spare moments. The perfect way to pass the time when I am waiting for the kids to finish up something at school, or even in between classes myself. Not to mention the fact that I still have a lot of itty bits of this yarn that just seem to speak of flowers!

I made the commitment to really focus on my cross stitch designing, but I do miss crochet, and these little blooms make it possible to keep the commitment and still indulge in some of the other needle crafts that I enjoy.

These were done with sugar and cream cotton yarn and measure about 3 inches across. I centered them with found blue buttons that I have collected over the years.

I think I am finally caught up with the printing and the purchase orders to Hoffman Distributing, so I can settle in with coffee and my newest design, Buck & Gene, a quick stitch that I might even finish up today! After that, I might work on a piece that I am going to submit to Just Cross Stitch magazine for consideration. I miss magazine work, and part of my new drive is to explore magazines again. It has been a few years, (quite a few years!) but I remember the joy felt at seeing my work published in a magazine for the first time. I still smile !

Glittery Garland (Snowballz)

2011-10-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

Finished! Glittery Garland joins Snow Blossoms in my new line of Snowballz designs. I am including a bead and button pack with these patterns, each different, as I usually do with passion to work found and repurposed beads and buttons into my designs. Each stitcher can decorate their garland in their own unique fashion. The design stitches up at 83w x 83h. I used Wichelt Imports' 28ct. Watercress hand-dyed jobelan, stitching over two threads with DMC flosses and Kreinik #4 braids.

Buck & Eugene

Next up, a design inspired by my Dad and his cousin Eugene. Dad passed away in March of 2010, and Eugene, September 2011. Both men lived with a genetic disorder and stubbornly fought for many years. At Eugene's services, there were so many memorable pictures, including a few of Dad and Eugene having been fishing. They were friends as much as they were family, and those pictures touched me, leaving me to create this. Always in my heart, both of you.

(And Dad...I remembered your suspenders. ~loves~)

the comfort of books

2011-10-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

A trip through the thrift stores today left me returning home with a few new books for my collection. I really need to talk to my brother about building a library on to my house. Or, I can just wait until my son leaves for college and let the books take over his room instead! After all, he won't be moving back home, right?

Beadpoint, Journal Making & Silk Painting

Treasures of Tut, African-American Artists, Van Gogh & How To Draw What You See

I finished one set of the wooden ephemera tiles to my liking, and one larger focal square. I found some wooden tape measure pieces and wooden puzzle pieces in a shop on Etsy, and they'll be arriving soon. I plan on seeing what I can do with those as well.

Backstitching my latest design, Garland. I hope to finish it up tonight and have it posted tomorrow!

embellishments

2011-10-08T17:24:00.000-05:00

While I have been working on new cross stitch designs, I have been trying to find new and fun ways to embellish the work. I like to include buttons and beads and sequins in my pattern packs, and have in the past used a lot of found beads and buttons giving each person's piece a one of a kind finish. I had thought about making ceramic buttons, but they can get too heavy. So today, I played a bit with wooden tiles and my own ephemera and graphics on them.

1 1/4 x 1 1/4" tiles

1 3/8" x 1 3/4" tiles

They have been fun to experiment with, and I will post pictures of them again when I have finished with the varnishing.

I hope to have the next Snowballz design done as well by the end of the weekend. I found this really neat bag of beads at a flea market, and I plan on embellishing this design with those little bits of colorful glass. It has been a productive weekend so far!

the return of the snowballz

2011-10-01T16:19:00.001-05:00

Just finished today! The first of the new Snowballz line, Snow Blossoms. Recommending Babbling Brook hand dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports, 28ct. (stitched over two threads), and DMC flosses. Two different Kreinik #4 braids to give this one a lot of sparkle. The snowflake sequins and seed beads are included too. Finished stitch size, 94w x 106h.

Next up? Another for the Snowballz Collection, which I've yet to name! This one will feature a string of found buttons and beads held firmly by snowy hands!

I am feeling a little more focused now that I have put away the other things I was playing with. I know that I will eventually pull all of the yarn and other fabric goodies back out, but for now? I have a lot of needlework designs that need my attention, and I feel better not being split in so many directions. (As much as I still want to try so many things!) I can give my attention to all those whimsical things bouncing around in my head, knowing that the other paths will still be there when I want to walk them again.

creatively scattered

2011-09-29T15:42:00.000-05:00

As I sat today in my anthropology class it occurred to me.

I am scattered.

There have been so many creative things that I have wanted to try to do, and while I am happy that I have explored, I find now that my direction as an artist is blurred. There are so many things that influence me that it has, to some degree, become overwhelming. And that is saying a lot as I am not typically one to feel overwhelmed about much at all.

I had been kicking all of this around for some time and had taken steps to try and bring some focus and direction to the creative process, narrowing my work down to fiber and textile related exploration. I thought I had cleared some things up for myself, but now, I am finding I need to whittle it down even further and go back (at least for awhile) strictly to the cross stitch and needlework designing and exploring those things related to it.

My art supports me and my family now. It is my career. The other things I want to try are now hobbies, and I need to remember that.

I packed up the yarn. Put away the spindle. The fabric paints are boxed and everything is up in the cupboard. I am going to let the Etsy shop remain as it is until the first of the new year. At that point, I will take a look at things and see what I want to do. Either it will close, or I will revamp it.

two new scarves

2011-09-19T22:33:00.000-05:00

I completed two scarves over the weekend. The charcoal and black scarf above is made with recycled yarns, ribbons that I hand painted and embellished with a handful of black mother of pearl buttons. Some real, some faux. The second scarf shown below is another I made with my hand twisted/spun fabric and fiber art yarns, one large skein and another smaller one that I had worked beads into.

As soon as I can get good photos, they will both be going on Etsy.

Lots of stitching going on right now too!

2011-09-17T09:12:00.000-05:00

They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!

--The Lorax

"The Lorax" Dr. Suess

"Catch! calls the Once-ler. He lets something fall. It's a Truffula Seed. It's the last one of all! You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds. And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs. Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back."

"I am the Lorax, and I'll yell and I'll shout for the fine things on earth that are on their way out!"

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."

my flakey friends are back

2011-09-16T16:38:00.000-05:00

I decided to return to some of the series of designs that were favorites of stitchers. The Flakey Friends, a trio of goofy snowy-sorts was always one of my favorite series to design. They started in 2006, and the last design was released in 2009. Well, here they are again! "The Gift of Friends" is available on my website now, and will be available through Hoffman Distributing very soon! This piece stitches up at 96w x 72h. I stitched my model over two threads on 28ct. Thyme hand dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC threads and Kreinik #4 Braids.

Next up?

A return to the Snowballz!

The first..."Snowflake Garden"....

I also crocheted two scarves using my hand-twisted recycled fabric and fiber yarn that I will be photographing over the weekend if the weather cooperates! I am really pleased with how they turned out.

Now off to stitch! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

2011-09-15T16:18:00.002-05:00

♥ “I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~~ Maya Angelou

odds and ends

2011-09-11T14:46:00.001-05:00

This weekend was spent finishing some projects, starting a couple of new ones, all in an attempt to keep myself busy and focused on something other than things I have no control over. After finishing the blooms for a bouquet of crocheted flowers I am sending my friend, (a picture will be coming once I get the stems on them) I worked for awhile on two pieces of hoop art.

I still need to finish the backs on both of them. The first is an exploration in needle weaving and uses recycled needlepoint yarns and scraps of fabric for the background. The floral is simply a crocheted circle centered with a vintage button. Leaves and stem done in satin stitch on a bit of hand-dyed jobelan that I had left from a cross stitch project.

I also wanted to see what I could crochet with a skein of my hand twisted fabric yarn. I chose this skein...

And this is what I whipped up last night...

Very loose, mostly triple crochet stitches and lots of knots and texture. When my daughter gets home, she is going to wear it so I can get a picture of it. I really enjoy crocheting. Almost as much as stitching (something that I need to get back to as soon as I finish this post!) I have another skein that I was quite drawn to when I had finished twisting it. It is cotton muslin that I hand painted in grassy watercolored greens. There is a lot of natural taupe twisted in too, and a thin strand of metallic gold.

I had recently purchased some wool roving to make felted beads with, and so I made a few this morning...

I plan on embellishing them, most likely with little gold seed beads, and they (hopefully) will be worked into the next scarf I am going to make with the green fabric yarn.

I participated in a craft show yesterday, and it was fairly successful, but I came away from it with something I had not expected beyond the sales. I talked at length with several other artisans there, and I realized that I really do like making the things to be used by others in what they do. But...

I really miss creating pieces myself.

I guess maybe I am evolving in my work. I am not sure. I guess we will just see where I step from here.

my thoughts scattered

2011-09-09T12:53:00.001-05:00

I am trying very hard to find my creative spark right now. A very dear friend of mine is very ill and for all extent and purposes, a world away. A very big part of my life for a very long time, and having spoken to her almost every day over the last several years, I feel very empty without her voice, her words, her spirit.

Her son is amazing, and has kept me in the loop as much as he is able. I wish there was more that I could do.

Sam and I spoke of visiting each other next summer. We even joked about buying an RV and just becoming an older version of Thelma and Louise. We would need to win the lottery first of course. I have a box ready to mail to her filled with the crafty things she liked to do that I had kept forgetting to take to the post with me. We had just swapped soup recipes.

And we have written the most amazing stories together. Cried, laughed. Laughed some more. It has always been effortless, that collaboration. And our friendship, it has always been effortless as well.

I keep watching my messenger service for a 'hello sunshine'...those two words, I have read from her daily. I believe I will see them again one day.

Sam and I share a love of tea and coffee. I had promised her a container of my homemade tea blend, and also some of the Italian herbs I grow. I just brought in the last harvest, and bundled them to dry. These will make their way to you, Sam...

Lavender, mint, lemon balm and bee balm...basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano...sage...and last, a bit of the tarragon and sage blend.

Rest, love. Recover.

I will be here when you remember.

Two peas, always.

~hugs & kisses~

sunny little flowers on a crisp autumn morn

2011-09-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

I had come across a huge bag of tangled up wool and wool blend tapestry wools in a recent thrift shop spree, and after sorting, untangling and washing, I had enough to make this group of colorful little flowers.

I dug out my little handbook of crochet motifs and appliques and intend to make a few different flowers next with what is left of the bag of yarn. There wasn't enough of this lot that was 100% wool or I would have felted these.

Having finished Snowy Snapshots yesterday, I was faced with the fact that I did not have anything else charted and ready to go for the next piece! I had plenty of sketches scanned and ready to work with, but nothing charted. I decided to return to (for at least a piece, maybe two) our old friendly trio, The Flakey Friends.

Flakey Friends: The Gift of Friendship

I have always loved these guys, and had a stack of drawings that I always wanted to get back to. So, here we are! The Gift of Friendship (tenatively named...any that know me, know that the names of these things often change a few times before I settle on something!) is charted, and I am ready to start stitching! Here's a peek...

For now I am working with DMC flosses with this one, as well as Kreinik braids to add some sparkle and texture. I'm still debating beadwork. More to come!

Snowy Snapshots...New from CM Designs

2011-09-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

Today I finished the first of my new cross stitch snowmen series, "Snowy Snapshots". The pattern pack includes three "portraits", each is 60w x 60h and stitched with DMC floss. I used Summer Sky hand-dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports for my fabric, 28ct. over two threads. The beads, snowflake and button will be included in each pattern pack.

I've put the pattern up on my website as well (www.carolynmanningdesigns.com) and our three new friends will be winging their way to Hoffman Distributing Company soon!

another fabric group & a few found flowers

2011-08-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I finished up another group of fabrics. These, like the others, were done on scraps of muslin using both Jaquard and Tulip fabric paints. The red and green abstract on the left is coming up a little "pinker" in the photo then it really is. The red is closer to the red in the piece on the far right.

I have been working on flowers again as well. I haven't been able to find old wool sweaters to felt, so I have been working instead with scrap yarn and crocheting the flowers, then centering them with found bits of jewelry and broken pieces that I have been collecting.

Stitched for awhile tonight too, hoping to have the final portrait done for the new cross stitch release!

fabrics and fibers

2011-08-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

Today's fabric painting adventures

All painted on cotton muslin scraps from The St. Peter Woolen Mill.

And a few experimental crochet bracelet/cuffs I have been playing with the last couple of days using recycled wools and found buttons...

I have "revamped" my Artfire studio. (See link on side) It had previously been all scrapbooky grapic stuff like my Leaf & Dirt Papers shop on Etsy (which I am going to eventually phase out as well, or maybe just leave it there as it is without adding anything else!) Now, the Artfire Studio will contain finished pieces, mostly accessories such as jewelry and scarves, made from the same recycled and found things that I use in my Fuzzy Stitches shop on Etsy. (Did you get all that?)

So...what ultimately will be left standing once the smoke clears...

Fuzzy Stitches on Etsy

Leaf & Dirt on Artfire

and of course CM Designs where you will always find all my cross stitch and needlepoint designs and news!

stitching and painting

2011-08-25T18:19:00.000-05:00

It was a day of making sure that this was never empty...

My professor was gone today, so I was left with an unexpected day without classes. With homework looming (and a weekend to push it off on to) I decided to try and dig into some of the projects that I have been puttering with now for weeks.

I played around with the paints again, working on some fabrics for an upcoming show and Etsy.

I have been trying to work on fabrics that will coordinate so that I can bundle them up instead of offering them individually. After a show two weeks ago and people suggesting that I make this change, I thought I would give it a try. It does make more sense, seeing as the fabrics are one of a kind, it opens up options for what they can be used for if there are more pieces to work with.

I am painting these on muslin remnants from the St. Peter Woolen Mill. I like the idea of using scraps. It holds true to my desire to reuse and recycle.

The fabric below was one that I did before. The two images above are fabrics that once dry, should work with this piece.

I also finished up the second of three snowman portraits, a new cross stitch design series quite logically called..."Portraits". These snowman photo ops will come with three in a pack, and most likely have embellishments included. The usual found buttons, beads and ribbons.

And now, with the coffee cup empty and evening upon me, I think it is time to open something else dark and wonderful. It's Guinness time.

busy!

2011-08-17T19:33:00.000-05:00

It has been a crazy busy few weeks! I am currently twisting and plying lots and lots of my recycled fabric and fiber art yarn for shows and for my Etsy shop, and now within the next few weeks, the yarn will also be available at Mary Lue's Yarn & Ewe here in Mankato. I am also working on a looser twisted art yarn for locker hooking that I hope to see made available at The St. Peter Woolen Mill. I am very excited about both ventures with both of these long standing local businesses.

Here are a few of my recent skeins...

The flame orange above was plied with cotton muslin that I hand painted and scraps of a wool blend yarn. The other larger skeins above that were make with recycled sweater wool and various cotton fabrics, some of which I have hand painted as well.

I still need to find time to stitch! Maybe this weekend I will let the drop spindle cool off and pick up the neglected wee snowman that has half his eyeballs and stick arms done!

Pinky and Blue ready to make the trip to The Peddler in Rapidan on Saturday for a art and craft show there! I f you are in the area, stop by!

the last few days....

2011-08-11T15:28:00.001-05:00

I am still experimenting with hand painting fabric art yarn and am really starting to feel like I am developing a style with it. There are so many beautiful and unique fibers and yarns being made now by so many talented artisans. I wanted to develop something that is unique to me and my hand. Today I painted two lots. Both done on recycled white bed sheets that I first tea dyed, and then went to work with Jaquard fabric paints.

This was inspired by all the licorice at the Apple Barn this last weekend!

The inspiration for this came from freshly cut grass and dandelions! (WHICH I do not believe are weeds!!)

I keep a journal beside my bed. In it, I try to write every night the things that I am grateful for. It's something I started to do years ago after an Oprah show! That journal also serves as a place to scribble down my dreams. I often struggle with sleep, waking up thinking about what I should do, what I should try. It helps to write it down and let it go until the daylight hours when I really can do something about it! (Although I have been known to get up in the middle of the night to paint!)

Recently I was lucky to come across a lot of vintage handkerchiefs and I had been looking at them trying to decide what to do with them. Well, last week I had a dream, woke up and wrote it down, and this morning I finally got around to trying it out!

I have played with weaving fabrics before, but this time I took two of the handkerchiefs and wove them together. Next step, I need to stitch it all down and embellish it with this, that or the other thing!

Now I'm off to do just that!

Finger painting cotton muslin fabric

2011-08-09T11:56:00.000-05:00

Today I decided to really use my hands. Instead of paintbrushes or sponges, I dipped my fingers into the paint and went to work. I used Jaquard fabric paints in spruce and maroon. What fun! I just love paint on my hands, and I was reminded just how much I loved to fingerpaint as a kid.

Yesterday's adventure ended up as a 95 yard fabric ribbon hank.

Having sold a few skeins of the handspun fabric yarn on Etsy, I am busy trying to build the inventory back up for back to back artisan shows this weekend and next weekend! If you are in the area, stop by the Whiskey River Flea Market in St. Peter this Saturday, August 13th and The Peddler in Rapidan, MN on Saturday, August 20th during Dam Days!

Today's fabric yarn painting adventure

2011-08-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

After I finished up some of the "busy work" of printing cross stitch orders and wrappers for the skeins of art yarn for my first craft and artisan show next weekend, I sat down to slap on another coat of color to my latest batch of cotton muslin strips. There are three different Jaquard paints used in this one, including a metallic brown that I was not feeling very good about at first, but now that strips have started to dry and the colors blending a bit more, I feel a little better

I have yet to decide if I want to just knot this one up as rag ribbon yarn or if I want to ply it with some recycled wool yarn that I just finished cleaning up and drying.

For now though, it is time for tea!

Hand painting rag yarn

2011-08-05T08:05:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to settle back into some sort of routine with my work. Too much bouncing around and not really feeling like I am accomplishing much of anything! I did start an experiment however that I am excited about (so far!) Hand painting muslin rag yarn. It has been kind of hit and miss, as I am not sure exactly what I am doing...and am really trying to develop my own unique style of doing it.

I ripped cotton muslin into strips. The fabric was remnants I have been collecting as I wanted to continue with my quest to reuse and recycle! I wet down the strips, and with thinned fabric paints and a really wide brush, I just started to wash the color over the strips, bunching them up, letting the paint bleed through and spot the strips under the others.

The strips are drying now, and are a soft plummy rose color, with a shimmer in some spots where the opalescent paint was applied.

Once they are completely dry, I am going to go back in and add some less subtle "punch" to the color. I think. I don't know for certain, as I am really sort of liking the shabby chic, worn out feel I'm getting now.

I also finished the first of the Portraits cross stitch series and hope to get a little more done on the second before packing up to go camping for the weekend! My camera is stowed away with my things. Hope to find some inspiration out there in the woods.

Portraits...a new cross stitch series

2011-07-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

While I am still working on the Color Bittz Series, I have decided to begin another line based on snowmen again, calling the series (as of right now) Portraits. They will come in three packs again, and I plan on including repurposed embellishments as I did with many of the Snowballz line and the Snowflakes.

I had started creating a third installment in the Snowflakes series, (another will come soon, but....) and when I started cropping the scans, I began to see this new concept develop, of snowmen posing for their pictures. I have lots of images in my head for a long series of these! They are smaller too, so they stitch fairly fast.

I am almost done with the first, and hope to get a lot of stitching done this weekend!

I am also busy preparing for a few craft shows and flea markets where I will be selling the recycled fabric yarns and my hand painted fabrics. It should be fun! I haven't done the craft show "circuit" since my mom was involved in crafts and we sold her gift bags and my greeting cards together. Most of those greeting card designs actually became my first cross stitch patterns that appeared in many needlework publications way back when. Years ago now! Wow, I have been at this awhile!

absence...

2011-07-25T20:57:00.000-05:00

A lot has been going on that has kept me away from blogging, partially due to the fact that I've not really done enough creatively to make any regular posts. Some of what has happened has been tragic, leaving me with the need to be closer to my kids and my family, and now that there is some sense of a regular rhythm to my life again, I hope to dive back into creating. I've a few pieces in different stages of completion, and some shows to prepare for, so I should have more to share very soon.

More needle weaving and a trip to the thrift shop...

2011-07-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

I have continued to work on this piece and it is starting to build up a bit. It has been fun so far, and a nice departure from my structured needlework. Finally, a place to use up so many bits of this and that, fibers that are too small to use in other work but couch nicely in this. More as we go!

I mad a trip to the thrift shop this morning as well. It was on the way home from the post office after all!

I found a few sweaters to pull apart, some of which were wool and others a blend. I found a few cotton linens as well that will be ripped up for more of the fabric yarn.

Yesterday was spent merging my two Etsy shops. This is something I had thought about doing for some time, but just wasn't sure if I should. After a lot of consideration, I thought it would be easier for people to find my things if they are all in one shop. fuzzystitches is now the one stop shop for my fabrics and recycled fun.

CM Designs still operates under its own website, www.carolynmanningdesigns.com

Needle Weaving

2011-07-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

Some years ago I use to play around with heavily textured needle woven pieces using scraps of whatever I had on hand. I picked up one of my old books the other night and began paging through, and feeling as organic as I am right now, I thought I would lay something out and just stitch, letting my needle do whatever it thought to do.

The lighting on the last image was a bit off, the piece is a little cooler than the colors of the close up might indicate. This has been a fun experiment and a good review of some of the stitches I once used in work so long ago. More tomorrow!

Walking the Cat

2011-07-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

Finally! Completed! Walking The Cat, the 2011 installment in the Halloween series featuring Walking Jack 2009 and Walking the Bat 2010. Finished size, 106w x 88h, stitched over two threads on 28ct. Antique Copper hand-dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC floss and Kreinik #4 braids.

Part Two

2011-07-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

Today I finished getting all the leaves and blooms ironed in place, and with fabric pastels I colored in the trunk and branches. Once I have heat set the pastels, I will add some detailing with embroidery. I am fascinated by trees, and I am already envisioning a few more pieces along this same vein.

Now off to finish backstitching "Walking the Cat"!

Bringing applique and fabric paints together...

2011-07-15T13:37:00.000-05:00

The last handful of days I have been playing with the idea of combining the three things I love doing the most in one piece. Fabric painting, re-purposing fabrics, and needlework. After exploring some medieval work and the motifs within them, I started playing.

I started with some sketches, and this is the one I finally settled on working from. I like it so much that I think it will eventually find its way into the cross stitch design pile as well! With a box full of fabric pieces reclaimed from a sample book (see thrift store find in previous post!) and a scissors, this is the first stage of the work.

The tree will be painted and texture added, as will the leaves to some degree, with stitching using reclaimed needlepoint wool I have collected. A few more leaves to add, and tomorrow I paint!

A busy week with little to show for it creatively...and still...

2011-07-12T10:03:00.001-05:00

I had not realized it had been a week since I had wiggled in here! While I have been busy with a few things, life has a way of throwing those damned wrenches into the works. I am older now and not as good at dodging them as I once was, and my creative spark suffered for it.

A little bit of spinning done, wandering away from cottons for a couple of skeins, one made with silks and silk blends, satins. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and will get a picture or two snapped if the lighting gets better here in the house. A rather bleak and rainy day, not much natural light making its way through my windows today.

Late into the night I worked on some sketches for upcoming cross stitch designs including Snowflakes #3, a return to the world of the Fernfolk with Billy Berrybottom, Bernard's brother (say that five times fast!) and several new pieces for the Color Bittz series.

I have been digging around, looking through resources as my eye has been turned toward old tapestries and historical needlework, and most of last night was spent trying to combine this fascination with my cross stitch and needlework designing.

I have tried before to expand, to stretch my style. I will always be a tad more whimsical, but this adventure into spinning and fabric painting, into recycling and repurposing has left me wanting to look at that side of my art that is a little more serious, trying to capture my love for all things ancestral and beautifully worn out. I want a way to work in some of things I have found over the years.

So many things tumbled through my head last night as I paged through books and clicked through images. I found the Historical Needlework Resources Website , bookmarked it, and will be returning shortly to dig some more!

http://medieval.webcon.net.au/loc_england.html

http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/MI01602f04a.jpg

http://medieval.webcon.net.au/extant_gloves_frederick_ii.html

The gloves are amazing. I spent a good amount of time reading through the information about them, and then found myself navigating away from the page to other intriguing places to read more.

I look forward to returning to explore further, but for now, I'm off to stitch for a time, then maybe I will cozy up with a cup of coffee and a sketchpad.

Thrift Shop Find: Fabric Treasure Trove

2011-07-05T20:17:00.001-05:00

I debated today. Do I stay in and just stitch or paint or spin or do I go out and at the very least, stop at one thrift shop? I had to go to the bank, and one of my favorite second hand shops is nearly across the street...so, I went. And am I ever happy I did. Not only did I find remnants, curtains and old linens that will work beautifully in my spinning...

I also found this zippered plastic bag full of what I *thought* was pre-cut quilt squares. Packed full, $1.00 the ticket price. I'm thinking a buck. Even if I don't use the fabric, I can use the bag! Imagine my surprise when I get it home and I dump it on my craft*cough*dining room*cough* table and discover that it was not pre-cut squares for quiliting. No, it appears that these squares, varying from 1" to 6"x6" samples, were part of some fabric sample book. A few still had stickers on them, others did not. And they range from cottons to tweeds to silks, some quilted, some satins, each different than the last and I am just over the top giddy!

If I manage to get the lot sorted tonight, the creating begins tomorrow. Have some ideas already tumbling around in my head. Layers and stitches and tearing, oh my!

Creative 365: A Bunch O'Days...Putting us at 100!

2011-07-03T19:11:00.000-05:00

I really do need to get a new camera. Mine eats batteries! Not very eco-friendly at all, especially now that I am using it a lot more than I use to be using it. I finally located the battery stash that I had, (I really do need to get organized) and took pictures of the things I have been doing since last Wednesday's post.

Fabric Yarn Spinning, Rag Yarn tying and some Fabric Painting ...

And today was spent stitching the 2011 Installment of the Halloween "Take a Walk" Series

"Walking the Cat"

I managed to get from the tip of ghoulie's head to his chin done yesterday and today. It was a slow day getting out of the gate creatively today. I might need to take the day off tomorrow for the holiday and just do a lot of nothing, which sometimes can be a creative experience in and of itself!

Creative 365: Days 93,94 & 95 Fabric Painting and Spinning

2011-06-29T09:31:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple days I have been teaching another summer Space Odyssey Art Camp, the second of two camps I had this summer through the community education program I participate in. It's been great fun! However, it has kept me from the computer and getting posts up of what I have been doing in between. I spent some time spinning and painting, and today I am settling in to stitch for awhile before heading off for another afternoon of teaching.

7 or 8 recycled fabrics and recycled wool and cotton yarns reclaimed from a scarf

I think this is my mind's way of saying "Get in the woods!"

Peacock Feathers

Creative 365: Days 91 & 92 Spinning and Stitching and Contemplating

2011-06-25T11:21:00.001-05:00

Next week I plan on doing some more fabric painting. I took a few pictures at Rasmussen Woods earlier this spring and I've finally had some time to sort some of them. They've given me some fresh inspiration. (That and the new jars of paint I recently picked up with a whole lot of juicy greens and bright, fun floral-themed colors!)

I started stitching "Walking the Cat" as well this week. I am having a hard time getting excited about it. I think it is too early to be thinking about end of October designs! Once I get going it will move along as I really do like the design.

The new website is finished! CM Designs I am really pleased with how it looks. Far more consistent than the old site, and an easier web address to remember!

And, as expected, more spinning!

This one is 2-ply, using the same fabric throughout, a heavier cotton that was a table cloth in a pretty buttery yellow with pastel, abstract shapes throughout. I ripped it into strips about 1/2" each and plied those with two different colorful yarns, alternating about every seven yards. One of the yarns was recycled from a scarf I pulled apart, the other two tangled bunches I rescued from a local thrift shop. 100 yards total of this one!

This one is really unique. There are eight different fabrics in this one, so there are a lot of knots and loose threads tangling throughout. I plied it with a multi-colored yarn that was a wool blend in a scarf. I just love the texture in this one. 85 yards.

I probably won't get to much the rest of the weekend as the family has plans involving lots of food, campfires and miniature golf games. (weather permitting! raining AGAIN) So I guess my seafood pasta salad creation will have to suffice for Day 93!

Creative 365 bunch of days bringing me to 90ish, CM Designs First Halloween Release, Stackin' Jack

2011-06-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

Finished up the first of three Halloween releases for 2011! Stackin' Jack, stitched over two on 28ct. hand dyed Jobelan from Wichelt Imports using DMC floss and Kreinik #4 braids. Finished size 84w x 104h.

Starting on the 2011 "Walking" Installment..."Walking the Cat" next!

Also did some spinning...

Creative 365: Days 87 & 88, Spinning, Painting & Burning

2011-06-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

The sun is hiding today, so it wasn't a very good day to snap pictures of what I've been working on yesterday and today! So I took what I could, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow and hopefully the appearance of natural light!

I have been, you guessed it, spinning. I finished this 90 yard skein of 3 ply fabric yarn, made with many different fabrics, all recycled/upcycled from remnants and clothing that I cut apart. It's very earthy and autumn-y.

I also finished ( I think) a set of 4 8" x 8" quilt blocks. I painted all four after doing some stitching with rescued wool needlepoint fibers and attaching vintage mother of pearl buttons, some that I harvested off of the clothing I cut up for the fabric yarn, and others that I have found in my second-hand store travels. And then just to add something different, I ripped holes here and there and burned the fabric.

Tomorrow? I think it will be a photographing day, and if it is raining still and overcast? Stitching and coffee.

Creative 365: Days 85 & 86 More spinning

2011-06-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

I went rummaging around in the studio for fabric and fibers, looking for the tubs of stuff that I saved knowing one day I would have use for the bits that weren't big enough for anything else! Found them, and this is what I've done with them.

Five recycled cotton fabrics twisted with various fibers, man-made and organic, most also recycled . Spun on a top whoral drop spindle.

The yarn on the right is also done on a top whoral drop spindle, all recycled cotton fabrics and organic fibers.

I have also been working diligently on "Pumpkin Stacking" and hope to have it completed over the weekend if not sooner! Right now though, the house is in serious need of groceries.

And coffee!!

Creative 365: Days 83 & 84

2011-06-14T16:36:00.000-05:00

As if I needed anything else to try out! My new addiction....I received my drop spindles in the mail yesterday, and so I have been playing. Lots! With strips of cotton fabric (very very thin) and other bits of fibers, mostly wool and cottons, some silk, I started spinning with my top whorl spindle. The first attempts were pretty pathetic, but by the time I got to the red/blue mix, I had gotten the spin down and I'm pretty happy with the results! I have some vintage wooden bobbins, the big ones, and I intend to wrap this funky highly textured-knotty-recycled "yarn" on them.

The little card was first one I did, and I didn't get the twist right on it, but I kept it anyhow as it has this really highly textured and looseness to it that I liked. I intend to try and spin some of my own yarn as well once I get my hands on some wool roving.

Also made some good progress on the newest cross stitch design as well.

There is something to be said for rainy days!

Creative 365: Back to dyeing silk scarves with silk ties!

2011-06-12T15:04:00.000-05:00

While sorting through some of my stash today I found my bag (finally!) of men's silk ties and the china silk scarves. Nothing beats a rainy day of mystery dyeing, as that is definitely what you get when rolling up these scarves with the silk ties to transfer the color. I did three today, and would have done more if I had not run out of vinegar. It was fun, and I am quite pleased with the way these

These are the images right after I've unrolled them.

Now off to stitch away the rest of the rain!

Creative 365: Day 80 & 81 Fabric Yarn and Fabric Painting with a little cross stitch mixed in

2011-06-08T19:14:00.000-05:00

I've been rotating projects. Painting until I need to leave it to dry, ripping fabric into strips until my shoulder screams at me to take a break, and then stitching in between. I did manage to get a couple things done in the last two days though! Here is the latest fabric yarn creation.

Autumn Harvest

I really need to sit down with the fabric and crochet with it. This particular yardage really left me wanting to.

Oh, and I also finished a couple kiwis too, Sprinkles being my favorite!

And finally, the newest fat quarter...

Hawaiian Lei

I've got a lot of new ideas for upcoming fabrics. I just am stuck now waiting for my new paints to arrive!

Creative 365: Days 78 & 79: More fabric and Recycled Fabric Yarn

2011-06-06T08:40:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I spent some time painting, inspired by the petals of a bouquet of flowers that seen their last day, leaving petals behind on my counter top. I also had images of painter's drop cloths in my head for some reason. So that was what inspired me to paint the second fabric. It was a humid weekend, so they took a bit of time to dry and so I didn't get pictures taken until this morning.

While at the thrift shop some time ago, I ran across old cotton fabric that had been torn into strips and wound into balls. It reminded me of the fabric my grandma use to braid rugs with and I use to crochet with. I have so much fabric, (really? Can anyone have too much fabric??) so I decided to create a few recycled balls of this fabric yarn myself. They are knotted and all texture-y and just completely organic in their feel.

Herbs

Latte

Copper

Today my kiwi birds are going to get some eyeballs and other fun embellishments, readying them for their photoshoot this afternoon. Pictures to follow!

Creative 365: Day 76 & 77 Kooky Kiwis

2011-06-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

In one of the books I found while out on my Thrift Shop Hop I found this crochet pattern for the New Zealand kiwi bird. They take just a little yarn and are really fast crochet, and so last evening and again today I tried my hand at creating a couple of these flightless birds. Not quite done yet, as I need to get them into the studio to give them a little added flair with beads and maybe some other embellishments, but they make me smile and so I think I will make a few more. They're both made with rescued balls of yarn I also found at the thrift store. "Blue" needs eyeballs yet, but I have the perfect beads in mind for that!

Will post more pictures when they are completed!

Creative 365: Day 75 Painting and Thrift Shoppin'

2011-06-02T14:42:00.000-05:00

Before going to the hospital to visit my little sister who is having gall bladder and pancreas problems (and I might add was quite loopy when I did get there, lovin' the pain killers!) I spent some time painting. I was working on a fat quarter of cotton in olive, chocolate and real red.

I am inspired by many artists, but have been looking a lot recently at the work of Antoni Tapies and it is his work that got me started on this piece.

I made stops at two of our thrift shops today too, and found books and handkerchiefs and more yarn for more things that I will one day get around to doing! The books I found had some interesting things I would like to explore further. Egyptian art in needlework, Needleweaving, Stuffed animals, yarn animals.

But for now, time to stitch!

Creative 365: Day 74 Another New Bit

2011-06-01T08:24:00.000-05:00

I sorted through some scraps in the studio and came across a huge hunk of old flannel, actually two pieces, one in blue, the other in red. Also in the stacks of this and that, I found some stray bits of a navy cotton quilt fabric, none big enough for squares themselves, but perfect for this image that was starting to come into my head. Somewhere in the drawers I knew there was an old navy handkerchief, as I had looked at it recently and thought it would make a cute doll dress! Well, instead, I'm working it into this layered piece that is tumbling around in my head.

I'm not quite sure yet how I intend to sew the layers together. I've a handful of over-dyed threads and silks that I think would suit this and am leaning a little more toward a real rough and irregular feel. We'll see how it unfolds!

I also completed another hankie fabric and listed it in Leaf & Dirt...

Painting this afternoon and maybe a bit of stitching now that I have the next design ready to go!

New CM Designs Release: Color Bittz Petals

2011-05-31T13:40:00.000-05:00

Just finished the newest of the Color Bittz series, Petals. Another design without backstitching! It finishes at 103w x 96h. I stitched my model on 16ct. Twilight Blue Aida from Wichelt Imports. This design uses all 6 strand DMC floss.

Next up, something Halloweeny!

Creative 365: Day 71,72 & 73 Cross stitch designing & other stitching bits

2011-05-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

It's not been bright enough to snap any pictures of my latest painting adventures, but maybe later today I can get some taken as the sun is trying to make an appearance. Although it had me fooled yesterday, too. Peeked, then went and hid itself away.

I have taken some time over the holiday weekend to do a little more than paint, working on charting some upcoming cross stitch designs including the 2011 installment of the the Walking Ghost design. 2009 brought 'Walking Jack'. In 2010 I created 'Walking the Bat' and this year there will be 'Walking the Cat'.

Walking the Cat CM Designs 2011

I also have a few more ghosts that I intend to put out there this year as the Halloween designs always seem to be a favorite of stitchers. Here is a rough idea of the first of that group.

Picnic in the Pumpkin Patch CM Designs 2011

And finally, another Pumpkin Patch-y design...

Pumpkin Pals CM Designs 2011

I am almost done with the model for the latest in the Color Bittz series. I am calling it Petals. I think I will put th next in that series, a snowman with no backstitching, on the back burner (as I don't want to think about snow just yet!) and start on one of the Halloween pieces.

Off to stitch on this Memorial Day. Hoping everyone enjoys their day and the good memories of those that have gone.

Creative 365: Day 70 Wow....

2011-05-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Day 70....and today would have been my Dad's 70th birthday. Today my sister and I have plans to go visit him, and then to the bar to have a drink in his honor. Brandy, I am guessing. Or really, really cheap beer. The kind that they pay YOU to drink.

I did manage to get a little painting done this morning, wanting to do something organic-feeling as Dad always liked his flowers and gardening. Here is stage one, the second stage most likely not coming until tomorrow as I spill enough paint as is without adding liquor to the mix!

This is stenciled to start with in metallic paints of olive, gold and bronze. Tomorrow I will be adding a color wash and some additional detail. It is painted on a 20" x 20" piece of cotton muslin.

Creative 365: Day 69 More Fabric Painting

2011-05-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

Today I finished up the piece I was working on yesterday, the painting of the quilted remnant I found in my studio. I might add more to it tomorrow after it has dried and I can see if there is need for any more pigment.

Tonight I started another fat quarter of cotton muslin inspired by this...

And this is where I am at so far...

The fabric is pretty wet in this photo, and you can see some of the cardboard edge beneath it.

More tomorrow!

Creative 365: Day 68

2011-05-23T14:48:00.000-05:00

I was digging around in the studio today, looking for scraps of cotton muslin that I knew were there someplace and came across two pieces of fabric that I had purchased at the thrift store some time ago. They were one of those 'don't know what I'm going to do with it just yet, but I know I will do something one day' purchases.

Well now that I started painting fabrics, these two pieces set the wheels in my head to turning. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak....

I *think* the fabric was at one time a pillow case, although I'm not sure as it was cut apart when I bought it. But it has made an interesting canvas for painting.

I also spent a bit of time stitching today, the second of the Color Bittz series of no backstitching patterns.

And now, back to it!

Creative 365: Day 66 & 67

2011-05-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

Having picked up some different paints on clearance on Friday, I wanted to try them out (different brand) and see if they were something I would want to get more of. So, I did not have any real end in mind. I simply sat down and started painting.

It is taking some work, but it is slowly building to where I'm starting to feel a little better about it. The new paints are a bit thicker (Tulip brand) and they do not "melt" quite as well as the Jaquard and DynaFlow paints do. Will have to play with them a little more and see what I can do.

Make Believe Places & Magical Spaces

snowballz buttons revisited

snowballz buttons

more buttons

cross stitch buttons

Spoonflower Fabrics

sketching & crocheting

kicking around ideas

The Emerald Forest

productive day!

this & that

a couple more

saturday stitches

ideas for painting & drawing

hey hey kool aid

i *heart* you

new year's eve

light in the woods

handpainted threads

thread painting

designing and stitching

abstract cross stitch concepts

saturday stitches

odds & ends

circles

The White Tree

illustration

felting, trees & art journals

Button Tree

Of Mice & Snowmen

wool for felting & other randomness

Old Main Village Craft Fair

Stitching & A New Book

Cotton Crochet Scarves

more tinkering and repurposing

finished free form embroidery exercise

blustery day, chai tea, and the long wait for the mailman

stitching and jewelry and found "stuff "

Ephemera & Upcycled Jewelry

Mapleton Day Care Center Fundraiser Craft Show

inspiration

crochet, cross stitch, crazy. not necessarily in that order!

too many things, not enough time, so...

Crochet & Ephemera Tiles

Of Mice & Snowmen

crochet flowers

Buck & Gene

hoopin'

felting flowers and a few more tiles

46 instead of 45

embellishments

Glittery Garland (Snowballz)

the comfort of books

embellishments

the return of the snowballz

creatively scattered

two new scarves

my flakey friends are back

odds and ends

my thoughts scattered

sunny little flowers on a crisp autumn morn

Snowy Snapshots...New from CM Designs

another fabric group & a few found flowers

fabrics and fibers

stitching and painting

busy!

the last few days....

Finger painting cotton muslin fabric

Today's fabric yarn painting adventure

Hand painting rag yarn

Portraits...a new cross stitch series

absence...

More needle weaving and a trip to the thrift shop...

Needle Weaving

Walking the Cat

Part Two

Bringing applique and fabric paints together...

A busy week with little to show for it creatively...and still...

Thrift Shop Find: Fabric Treasure Trove

Creative 365: A Bunch O'Days...Putting us at 100!

i heart you