That's my name- Don't wear it out!

J5 is alive!  I worked on this over the weekend.  Not only is it my loving tribute to MJ but it's my name too.  Everyone calls me Jackson or Jackson5.  When Dillon and I got together he called me everything except Jacquie.  Like Jack Rabbit, Jackknife, Jacket, Jack-o-lantern, Jackhammer, Jackpot.... thankfully Jackson is the one that stuck!

Unable to decide on a good fill stitch for the J/5 I settled on French knots.  Hmmmm, I'm learning that I like to torture myself.  The knots themselves are easy-peasy but they're so time consuming.  I like background entertainment while I'm stitching, and just this section lasted through all of Godfather II and half of III.  (Yeah, you can tell I'm not actually watching it if I'm putting on the "gem" that is Godfather III.)  Despite that fact that I was fueled on by boredom and booze it got old quick, had to put er down until Monday.

Sketchy

Part of the reason I'm maintaining this blog is to catalog my work and watch my progress.  So, not everything will be a masterpiece but with the good comes the bad.  Another reason is to try to be more productive.... I've been a bit stagnant these last few months.  I'm hoping that by sketching everyday that I'll get back into the swing of painting everyday.  Just to get a brush or charcoal in my hand and get the ol' juices flowing through the arm again.  As much as I love stitching I'm feeling a little confined with all of the tiny stitches.

 

These are a few sketches that whipped out in a hour or so.  Both are in charcoal, unfortunately they're a little cramped as my book doesn't quite fit on the scanner. 

My baby, Tequila, napping.  Since the papasan chair is roughly the same size as his bed, he's been convinced from the day we got it that it's his living room bed. 

 

Just some jars.  Ugh, I have a horrible habit of making things look like they're floating.  

Need to work on those shadows.

Holy Craft Batman!

When it comes to crafty stuff, I just can't help myself. My stash is HUGE and it just keeps getting bigger! I have supplies for crafts I haven't even learned yet? Strange? Yes. A bad thing? No, I'm just prepared.
Lately I've been bulking up on supplies through thrifting. It also helps to feed my hunger for all things vintage. Yay for two birds with one stone! You just can't find some of this at big box craft stores. I try explaining this to my man but he'll just never get it. He just shakes his head and opens the trunk for me as I try to explain how awesome it all is. Usually I'm too giddy to spit it out coherently. Ahh, love. I'll never understand it.

Check out these beauties:

Some of my favorites. Never thought I was much of a pink girl.... guess it turns out I was wrong!

All vintage fabric. Best part about it, the store sold it by the pound.

The reds.

mmmmm, texture.

The pinks.

Rainbow goodness. Can't get over the super 80's one, I'm going to hate cutting into it.

That's right, it's velvet. Yeah, baby. This one is way to crazy to capture it all on film. There are about a dozen different design element thrown on there.

And last but not least. A nice jersey cotton covered in golf stuff. Got it to make something for the Fam, they just can't get enough golf. I'm thinking little drawstring bags for tees and such.

Yeah, I derive way too much pleasure from hoarding craft supplies, but I'm ok with that.

Happy Anniversary!

A big congratulations goes out to one of my favorite websites- Happy 1st Anniversary!
Thanks for all of your hard work and inspiration!
If you haven't been, check it out:
www.mrxstitch.com

Wow, I feel special!

My first time in the "Hot New Projects" Category. Hopefully a sign of many more to come?
Ha Ha, that sounds horrible, I'm just so excited! Thanks fellow crafters!

Fig 1. The Underpants Worn by the Rat

Oh yes I did! I'm a huge Mary Roach fan, so much so that I'm afraid I'll be one of "those" people one day. You know the ones- they show up at a book signing and proceed to make an ass
out of themselves, exclaiming too enthusiastically, "I'm your biggest fan!" Her books are laugh out loud funny, hard to put down and guaranteed to be memorable. If you haven't read them you must turn off your computer and get one in your hands ASAP.
This little guy appeared in her latest Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Don't want to get into it too much; I'll leave it at- cotton vs. polyester?

Just black floss on unbleached, cotton muslin. I used two strands for everything, except the whiskers are one strand and the undies are three strands- for a little more texture.

His little drawstrings look like antennas! This was so quick and easy to stitch up,
I might do a series. Fancy undies! Questions, comments and rude remarks are always welcome!

Kyle's Custom Towels

Kyle requested these...such a long time ago too. I finally got around to making them last week. I was trying to avoid that damn Terry cloth. I'll take metallic floss over terry cloth any day! I feel like the lettering is a bit wonky...especially on the Whores one. I'll just have to chalk that up to the nature of the materials, oh well. Kyle insisted they were great and he'll display them for his lovely guests, ha ha.

YoYo Madness!

My first attempt at YoYos! As always, when trying something new, I can't just make it simple. I decided to make them super tiny...

I'm making them into barrettes to put on my etsy. Like these....

Verdict is still out. I think they're cute, especially for a little girl
but I don't know if they'll sell. Whatcha think?

My first post!

Well, never thought I'd see this day. Me, a blogger? Strange, I know. I'm planning on using this site to document and shamelessly promote my work. As an artist and a craft junkie I want to get my stuff out there, get advice, do a bit of networking and in the end, perhaps I'll make a friend or two. Wish me luck...