late night embroidery

I like to take a day or two, sometimes, to step back and just play. It is my way of refreshing and renewing, stirring things up a lil bit. While I am thoroughly enjoying the pieces I am designing for cross stitch right now, I still find myself pulled to do something random. To start at Point A knowing full well I may never find Point B, and if I do, chances are, there won't be any straight line involved. 

These small bits of embroidery, usually of the hoop art or art quilt variety, are usually the result. The gratification is usually something that comes quickly and provides me with the 'fix' I need to go back to the more precise work that comes with the cross stitch design and model stitching. 

I tried something different with this piece, edging it with lace I had hand dyed with Easter Egg tablets.

Available in my Etsy Shop, carolynmanningdesign

Now back to my regularly scheduled stitching program.

yucky weather, time to stitch

Was in the mood to do a little free form stitching while enduring this lovely blizzard.

And, an update on the Emerald Star design. Snow day tomorrow, so I am hoping to finish this one up.  I'm thinking I am going to create an overlay of "quilting" stitch and leave it as optional in the design and include images with the pattern of what it would like with different quilting patterns.

Now I need a cup of coffee and the biggest quilt I can find to curl underneath.

stitch and paint.

Stitched outlines, watercolor wash on a recycled flour sack towel. Waiting until it dries and then I will go back in with additional stitching. 

Also working on this, and not sure yet where it goes from here. Might even be finished. I'll decide after it sits for a couple of days!

the flowers always break through

Okay, so sometimes it really pays not to give up on a piece.  I was ready to set this one aside for a little while until my daughter looked at it and commented that she thought it was really cool. Now, my daughter has always been very supportive of my work, but mind you, I usually have to give her a "Hey, Mol, what do you think of this?"  When she picked this up even before the second bit of stitching and commented, I figured that was my sign.

I started putting down the second layer of random stitching, and suddenly the flower beneath was kind of peeking through. I added another bit of deep grape stitching and I found myself thinking about how all those green things find their way through just about anything; cracks in the pavement or the hard, dry earth. 

When I was painting in college, a lot of my work was like this.  Some of it made no sense to anyone other than me.  After this piece, I'm thinking that I might revisit that space.  Think a little more (but not too hard!) about things breaking and birth and how the two do co-exist. 

Now off to blow up my printer with round two of  'gotta get to the post office yet'!

more stuff.

What a productive and relaxing weekend.  After putting down a few more flowers on the new design, (which I am falling in love with more and more with each x I make!) I shuffled through some sketches and stitched up two little 4" hoops.

I doodle a lot. I've a shoebox full of little images that I've done over time, some on scraps of paper, some on napkins, old envelopes. Not only did I find joy in sifting through the illustrations (stirred up a few memories!) I reminded myself just how much I enjoyed the simple stitch. Quite meditative, and the end result made me smile.

Not only do I have a shoebox of paper scraps, I have two more filled up with what were meant to be quilt blocks in a wide variety of colors and patterns. I picked them up at a thrift store, and they were poorly cut. I've played with them off and on, but finally nabbed a few bits that called to me and made these fabric brooches. 

Worked with both my sewing machine and with hand embroidery, embellished with a few beads. 

Getting myself pumped up for a Creative 2014.  I've dropped one of my part time jobs (I am -so- not meant to work retail) and in doing so, I've freed up some time to reacquaint myself with my right brain. We've sort of lost contact over the last year!

Now off with me! More flowers to x and a bit of icy weather moving in that I need to get ready for.

stuff.

An unexpected day off has left me getting my 'create' on. Have spent the morning with my coffee and some good animation on television starting with How To Train Your Dragon rolling into Kung Fu Panda. That got me started.  Now I'm listening to my Golden Girls in the background while I update my pages. Some serious stitching going on this morning. Finished up a hoop for Etsy and started laying down stitches on the model for my new floral heart design. 

This stitching is a bit rough around the edges, really rather random. I used a sketch I had made on a napkin as my inspiration, and I tried to stick as close to the sketchiness of the image as I could while stitching.  The fabric is a linen napkin from my stash of this and that, pieces I picked up a various thrift shops and flea markets thinking "hmm, this still has purpose."  

Now, back to needle and thread, she said with a grin.

Perch, Magnets and Embroidery

some new things

Newest of the Whiskerkins Collection, "Hip Hop & Bob"

Rolled, recycled fabric scraps, inspiration coming from the things that grow on the side of a tree.

Rust dyed muslin sack cloth, watercolor wash, hand stitching

Newest design finished yesterday, My Meeces which is part of the Whiskerkins Collection

And some goofin' around with crochet dream catcher tidbits