Sew Nerdy

 G'day mates!  As I type this, I sit in my brand spanking new craft room, I'm giddy over it.  I can't wait until every last thing is in it's place so I can show you! 

So, I never shared the super exciting news that I'm currently being featured in my first professional show, at the Bear and Bird Gallery in Florida.  I could hardly believe it when I was invited and practically fainted when I first saw the flyer.  There are some major names on there.  I'm talking huge!  Check it...

Now can you see why I'm so starstruck?

 

This is my piece.  (This picture is actually from the gallery's flickr account.  Typical me, my hasty last minute photography job turned out terrible.)  I started it back when we were visiting Vegas and it took forever to complete.  I'm aware that it is not my best work but I am happy with it, overall.  I managed to incorporate some nice detailing in the speakers, which I weaved to look more realistic, and the screen glows in the dark!

The wood grain was actually a last minute addition.  I wasn't happy with just the tinting and thought it needed a bit more something.  I'm glad I added it though, it seems to be the part everyone likes the best.  (This photo is from my phone but shows the true coloring a little better.)

I had hoped to complete a few more pieces for the show, but this one took soooo long.  Lucky for me, that mean's that I have rad, nerdy, project that's about three quarters of the way done, just waiting to be finished up.  Yay!  Crossing my fingers that this one sells, that would be so amazing.

Well, that's just one of the many things I've been meaning to share with you guys.  Will my new workspace bring me a new burst of creative energy and motivation to blog?  Let's hope so.  Can't get any worse, right?  Bye, off to finish beautifying the new space and give myself a mani-pedi.

Christmas Cheer

Hi, guys!  How are you all doing?!  I'm pretty good.  Working my behind off, wish I could say literally, with tons of extra hours at my job to get ready for the holiday.  Although it's been decorated at my job for months now, I'm starting on the house now.  

This may not look like much now, but pretty soon all this stuff will be made into one of the cutest darned wreaths you've ever seen.  I can't wait to finish it!  Can I tell you that wrapping this thing is taking forever?!  Although Dillon did give me some advice that will probably make the next one go a little faster.  We'll see...

Besides being festive I've been busy stitching up a few things for my etsy.  This is a custom request I received, ready to head out to it's new home.

So, yeah.  That's pretty much what I've been up to lately, working and working on embroidery.  Exciting life, I know.  To make it a little more exciting, I think I'm going to give my blog a bit of a make-over.  Any suggestions?  I really want to change the layout so that I can share bigger pictures with you.  These seem a bit small for my liking.  I don't know, you tell me.

Be back soon, hopefully with a wreath!  (If all this wrapping doesn't drive me crazy first.)  Bye!

Quotable

Guess I should have made this a "Words on Wednesday" post, but you guys have waited long enough for me.

As promised, this is the quote I'm stitching techni-color dream style for my shop.  I laugh pretty much every time I think of it.

The lighting is a bit off since it's late here.  So, in case you can't read it well it says, "It's hard to stay sucker free in the land of the lollipops."  My guy and I were watching a prison documentary, one of those terrible "behind bars" type reality shows on MSNBC or Discovery when I heard this.  (And this is why I watch TV with my notebook.)  The interviewer asked an old pimp how he ended up in prison and that was his response.  I couldn't help but think it was hilarious and terrible, all at the same time.  Pretty much classic.

Yeah, I guess I'm pretty ridiculous for stitching the wisdom of a crazy ol' pimp, but seriously.... I love this quote.

Oh, Geez!

My goodness, it's certainly been a while.  Far too long in between posts lately.  I promise I didn't forget about you guys, I've just been busy.  I know that's a pretty lame excuse considering that some of the best bloggers out there wear a million hats at once.  Add to that feeling a bit down, and it doesn't leave much motivation for blogging.  However, there are a ton of things to share with you.

Here's one!

 I've been making a ton of stuff for my etsy, including some more "paper doll" pieces.  As soon as I can get a good picture of it, I'll share here and list it.

Besides stitchy stuff there is lots of other interesting stuff going on in my life.  I'm on the hunt for a new job and a new roomie.  I still have my current job, I'm just looking to move on.  As for the roomie, that's kind of a long story.  It's not working out with the current one at all, she's pretty much a joke.  After her black-out drunk incident that ruined my super nice Calphalon counter-top grill and filled my entire house with thick smoke....at 3 in the morning, we could no longer tolerate her stupidity.  It never ceases to amaze me just how far some people can go on empty.  Anyways, change is in the wind.

Enough about that business, here's a happy looking preview of something I'm adding to my shop.

Intrigued?!  I'll share the rest with you tomorrow.  It's a hilarious quote that I will probably never forget.

Bye for now!  I promise from now on I won't make you wait weeks in between posts.  Pinky swear.  Have a craftastic night, lovies!

In a Pickle

 Today's post is brought to you by the word, pickles.  Yay for pickles!  I love 'em, do you?!

When I found out my partner in the Phat Quarter Food swap had the nickname, Gherkin, I knew I had to go with it.  So I made her a pickle jar, with my attempt at a label.  It says, "Leslie's World Famous Gherkins.  Petites with a punch."  Originally it was to be a patch, but I think this came out better.  Now if I could have just got a good picture of it.  Taking pictures of round things is hard!

 I guess the fabric I used for the words was too thin, I've never had it stretch out like that before?  Any suggestions?  It didn't seem like that when it was one the hoop.

 I started by plotting out a pattern on the computer, mainly to play with all the different fonts.  And to get the oval shape even, I'm terrible at that sort of thing.  I transferred it onto the green fabric with my trusty Clover pencil and stitched away.  Somehow my stitching turned out a little crazy in the word, famous.  However, I'm learning not to beat myself up and obsess over every little thing, so I went with it still.  Once the stitching was complete I cut it out with pinking shears and stitched it onto the orange felt.

The jar is an upcycled Trader Joe's coffee can that I covered with vintage green linen.  I couldn't quite get the back seam right, so I used some coordinating ribbon to cover that up.  Not thrilled about that so I didn't take a picture, ha.  I finished up by attaching the vintage foodie trim with tiny dabs of hot glue.  Then I glued the entire patch onto the jar.  Added some felt to the lid, done!  I filled the jar with goodies and sent it on it's way.  My partner, Leslie, liked it, so I'm happy!

Ok, once I share pics of the foodie pieces I've received lately, I promise- no food posts for a while.

I made this kitty for Connie as part of a swap we had.  She was kind enough to send me the largest Q-Snap you will ever see in your life.  It's made to be a floor stand for hand-quilting and I'm going to put it do good use.  Baby quilts here I come!  No, there are no little ones in our near future.  I just want to start small with my new hobby.

I found the canvas on sale at the craft store and fell in love with the circular shape.  I bought it with no particular project in mind, and now I wish I had picked up a few more.  Not for stitching though, it was a major pain as it was primed for painting.  Next time I stretch my own canvas for mixed media stuff.

Despite having a cute little dog named, Girlie, Connie loves cats!  Being a kitty lover myself, I wasn't lacking in cat patterns.  I used a vintage pattern that someone had shared in the Hoop Love flickr pool.  I've long since printed it out so I'm not sure who the original maker was, sorry folks!  Then I lightly tinted it with watercolors and stitched it for more definition.  I used Perle cotton and regular embroidery floss, divided into various #s of strands. 

I'm so glad that she liked it.  I'm always happy to send off things to a good forever home!  Speaking of which, I've got tons of happy mail to post about.  Including a package for a lovely lady from the land down under.  She will love me and hate me by time she get's the giant box of swaptastic stuff.  I decided to create one last goodie to make up for my tardiness and you know how that goes....takes forever.  I feel like the naughtiest swapper ever, I'll probably decline swaps for a year now!  Anyhow, more coming soon!  See you later, dolls.

It's Been Bugging Me!

It's kind of been bugging me that since getting my license I haven't added any Sublime Stitching stuff to my etsy.  So I took a break from some of my bigger projects and swap pieces, which can get a bit overwhelming, to make some things for the shop. 

Like this little guy!

This comes from the "Garden Variety" pattern.  I stitched it with DMC Cotton, Metallic, and Rayon floss.  The piece is mounted in a 3in x 4in oval hoop and is ready to hang.  Even the back looks cute, with a coordinating felt covering the stitches.  It'll be in my shop later today!  

My guy said I should have arranged it vertically in the hoop.  What do you think, would it have looked better?  Maybe I'll try another one that way.

I'm also working on some bees for the shop, from the same pattern.  I'm just loving how they're turning out, can't wait to show you.  Be back soon, guys.  Have a craftastic day!

Words on Wednesday!

Today's words are brought to you by The Big Lebowski!  For anyone new around these parts, I should tell you, I'm a "quoter" and a fan of all things Coen Brothers.  So naturally, I quote this movie just about everyday.

However, I don't really get the chance to work this one into everyday conversation....if ever.  For those of you confused, do yourself a favor and go watch The Big Lebowski. 

I made this little piece for stitchy pal, Alaina aka SpidersPaw.  She is such an amazing artist!  I highly encourage you to check out her work.  Please be warned some of her work contains sexual subject matter, so don't check it out at work!

Funny story, I found this in a bag of vintage linens someone gifted me.  It was with a whole bunch of other bookmarks that already had embroidery on them, so I was excited to be able to stitch on this one.  My guy saw it and thought it was some sort of fancy pantyliner.  Ha, silly boy!  Perfect quote to indulge his crazy notion, don't you think?

So, this is my third Lebowski piece, I wonder how many more there will be in my future?  I'm also wondering if my post will be blocked by safe filters, ha!  I'm off to cross of some thing off my to-do list before work.  See you soon.  Have a craftastic day!

P.S.  Don't be uncomfortable, Vagina isn't a bad word!

Grumpy Ol' Guy

I recently stitched a grumpy ol' gargoyle.  More specifically, The Spitting Gargoyle from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  I've always had a thing for monsters and gargoyles, ever since I was a kid.  When I was younger I had a bunch of small stone statues of them, too.  I think I had three different sizes of this guy.  That collection seems to have been lost in transit during one of our moves.

 It's hand-stitched using black DMC, ranging from 1 strand to 4 strands.

I framed it so that I could enter it in the local county fair.  I love the frame!  This is the best pic I have of it, I'll get a better one when I get it back.

I didn't win at the fair, but I'm glad I entered.  It makes me feel like I'm actually doing something with the pieces I make, instead of them just laying around gathering dust.  This piece also got something better than a fair ribbon, it was featured as a "Stitchgasm!" on one of my favorite sites!  It's chock full of so much amazing stitchy stuff I can't even begin to put it in words.  Check it out.

More monsters and beasts in the works.  I had a crazy lion I was working on but I took a short break  from it and now the pattern I drew is worn off-boo!  I can't decide whether to scrap it or try to figure out a way to salvage it.  Gahhh, I hate that!  I might take a break from stitching for a few days, I'm craving paint like a mad woman at the moment.  Thinking I'll rest my wrist and get the whole arm moving around in front of a nice, big canvas.  See you soon, my dears!

I'm a Bookworm- Part 2

I realized as I looked at my Happy Hoopy Wall that I never showed you guys what I got in the Phat Quarter Book Themed Swap.  I'm terrible! 

I got this little lovely from Salvaged Mutiny.  She's a talented stitcher who makes costumes while traveling the world on a giant cruise ship.  Find her on flickr or check out her blog!

Check out all the detail in the trees!   Isn't that awesome?  I love fairy tales, especially the dark ones, so this was right up my alley.  I'm certainly a lucky gal.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight.  I'm off to bed so I can get up bright and early for the morning shift at my work.  See you tomorrow for Snapshot Friday!  Sweet dreams, kids.

M-O-M

That title stands for "Man, oh man!"  As in man, oh man, I have to stop writing, "See you tomorrow!" I just look like a flake.  I've been crazy busy with my paper dolls project over the last few days.  I kind of gave up on it yesterday though.  I had washed and pressed it, then threw on a few more beads after tinting.  It was looking great, except for the hoop marks.  I don't know why they won't come out, I've never had a problem before.  Anyway, I decided to submit something else and I'm walking away from it for a while.

Or that title can count for this piece.  You decide.  I stitched this piece a while ago using a Sew Lovely Embroidery pattern, from their Mad Ink set.   

 I used one of those faux wood hoops that everyone loves so much.  This was my first time using one, so I can't really form an opinion just yet.  It's most likely just me, but I had a little bit of trouble with it.  Probably because I didn't stitch the piece it, I transferred it into there.  Let's just say, I need more practice with them.

It's stitched on a vintage bed sheet, the same one that I'm using for the paper dolls project.  I haven't experimented with it too much, but I'm starting to dig stitching on patterned fabric.

Alright lovelies, I'm off to work.  I have no desire to go today.  I'm sore as heck, but I'm going to suck it up.  I'm taking a small project to work on during my break, then back to the big stuff when I get back home.  I'll check in later tonight, this time I'm for reals.  If I don't, I fear I'll never catch up.  Later, have a craftastic day!

Weekend Update!

I wanted to share a bit more of the project that I'm working on at the moment.  It's pretty big, so I hope that I can get it all done in time.  Anyway, here's more!  Not necessarily the best shots, but better than the blurry teaser, that's for sure.  They're "paper dolls" can you tell?

I've gotten a considerable more amount done since these were take, but there's a lot to do.  I'm a bit worried about the hoop marks.  I've never had problems with them in the past, but they seem obvious and dark on this fabric.  It's strange really.  I'm going to wash the whole thing in Woolite when I'm done, but if that doesn't work them the whole thing is toast.  Wish me luck!

Be back later tonight with Caturday!

Snapshot Friday!

In one way or another, I tend to leave my mark everywhere I go.  Today's photo is an example of that.  These were a few of things that my honey found while cleaning out his car a few weeks ago.

What can I say? I like to be prepared at all times.  Actually I know at least two of those needles probably came from noticing them in my pant leg while we were driving around.  I have taken them and stowed them away in the little cubby under the handle in the door.  I'm like a squirrel, I also hide ponytail holders and lip balm there.  Although, this time of year is really not good for the lip balm.  Summer here means opening your tin of Burt's Bees to find the contents have shifted drastically, like the stuff in overhead bins.  

Ok, now I'm off on a tangent.  Blabbering really.  I'm suspecting it has something to do with not wanting to get back to cleaning the kitchen.  Oh well, I have to because I can't stitch until it's done.  See you later, with an update on my current piece!

Words on Wednesday!

See you tomorrow?  Wow, I was feeling ambitious when I wrote that, considering it was a holiday weekend.  I should have known that I would be more focused on stuffing my face with delicious grilled food and maintaining a frosty beverage at all times.  Although the "off to pet someone" part was pretty accurate.  Our babies got a ton of attention this weekend since it was both of us at home.

Last week I missed "Words on Wednesday" because apparently I can't keep track of time and realized too late that it was actually Thursday when I wrote it.  Oh well, turns out for the better anyways.  Looking back at it, it's a bit grumpy and depressing, reflecting my mood at the time.  Trashed it.  This week it'll be happy!

Today's words are, "Officially Licensed!"  I received my signed contract back and I am now officially licensed by Sublime Stitching!  Yay!  

It's crazy to think that years ago a little ol' ad for Jenny's patterns in the back of a Juxtapoz magazine got me started on this crazy embroidery journey.  Now I'm licensed by her company to sell items made from those patterns!  It's really mind blowing to me.  I never would have thought that a little curiosity about a new hobby would turn into so much, it's practically my life now.  I've learned so much and met amazing people, all thanks to embroidery.  It's nuts!

I'm happy that I can share this news with you, it's very exciting for me.  Now that that's done, I'm off to get in a little stitching before work.  Then I'll be back at it when I get home, I've got to get this thing finished by this time next week!  I'll share another picture soon.  I know that last one was horribly vague.  Bye for now!

Sneaky Peaky

How are you on this fine Friday?  Happy Canada Day to the readers in the North!  I'm home today and furiously digging into my to-do list.

As promised, a little teaser from the the project I'm working on right now.  It had to wait until today for a new picture, bad lighting last night when I came home from work.  Plus, the ones I already had were much too obvious.  I wanted an ambiguous shot.  So nice of me, huh?

Curious?  More to come soon, it's going pretty quick.  Probably because I'm really excited about it.  I have lots of smaller pieces planned around this concept.  While it's a very specific theme it still leaves room to experiment quite a bit.  That's probably my favorite thing about embroidery there is so much freedom to create different effects.  Ok, could I be any more cryptic with this description?!  You just have to see it to understand, I guess.

I'll be back later with "Snapshot Friday!" bet you thought this was it, huh?  Nope, just a sneak peak.  In the meantime, I'm off to blast records, stitch, clean my house (ugh!) and start a new art journal.  This one will be just for Sam, it's a swap long in the works.  A page a day for a whole month! I can't wait to see what Sam make's me, I love her style.  Anyway, see you again soon.

Won!

Here are the little brooches I sent to Alwaysinspired and Corvus Tristis for my giveaway.

The gals just mentioned some color combos they might like to see and I ran with 'em.  Alwaysinspired  (she got the purple one) mentioned that she sometimes she might pin it on a headband.   So she can wear it in her hair too, like the barrette style.  That clever girl!

I added a few more of these little guys to my shop and there is about a half a dozen more I need to list.  My to-do list is about 50 miles long at the moment, however, I'm feeling very determined to keep at it, full speed.  I'm proud to say that I've been pretty darned productive lately.  I just finished a huge embroidery and I can't wait to show you!

See you soon, I hope you have awesomely productive day, as well.  Ta ta!

I'm a Bookworm!

Two posts?!  On a Monday?!  I know, I'm blowing your mind here.  I have to confess that I've been dying to post this, so I just couldn't wait.  I recently participated in the Phat Quarter Swap.  It was my first swap in a while, as I've been feeling a little iffy on the subject lately.  With a theme like "Books" though, how could I resist?!  I got word that my partner had received her piece and loved it.  Yay, success!

Want to see it?! Okay, here!

I was excited to here that we share a common love of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, so I went with that.  This is based on a photo of him in his younger days.  I really enjoy making personalized pieces for people in swaps and it's even better when it's something I love too.  I rarely work in one color, so it's always crazy to see all the detail you create.

I also had the pleasure of learning a new stitch for this piece.  I learned the Turkey Stitch, thanks to a little help from Youtube.  I think it worked great for his mustache. 

So, yeah, that's one of the projects that's kept me busy lately.  Glad I could share it with you.  I hope it's generated some interest in you for Marquez's work.  If you've never read any of it, cruise by your local library and pick some up.  I'd suggest One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera.  Both are amazing, you won't be disapointed.

Thanks for tuning in twice today, guys!  You're the best :)  See you again later.

Two Little Birdies.

G'day, mates!  How are things?  Hopefully you enjoyed a lovely weekend.  I stayed busy with some stuff for my etsy, nothing too eventful to speak of.  

Just popping into show you this tea towel I made for a special lady, as a little thank you.  She took the time to surprise me with a sweet pressie and I wanted to show my appreciation.  My guy picked out the pattern for her, saying she loves birds!  

I'm not sure who originally made this one, probably Vogart, but it's apart of a "Day of the Week" Set.  (Sorry about that giant wrinkle, some of my domestic skills are less than stellar.)

This piece made me realize that my 24 Pack of Crayolas isn't cutting it anymore.  I need to splurge on the box of 64.....wait, do they still make the 101 box?!  I know they come out with awesome sets at Christmas time, but I don't think I can hold out that long.  I'm definitely hitting the crayon aisle on the next trip to Target.  I'm not so keen on the that brown color of the house but oh well, as my man Tim would say....make it work, people!

Well, I've got to fly away to work on some more stitching.  A few pieces to go up in shop and lots of happy mail to prep.  I hope you have a craftastic day, be back soon :)

Poofy Clouds!

Hey, guys!  Just checking in on this rainy Saturday.  I have to make it quick, I'm on my lunch break!  I wanted to show you a custom piece that I made for my co-worker, Liz.   

She's going to her family reunion this summer and every year an auction is held to fund the next year's reunion.  Isn't that such a good idea?  Well, she wanted to bring something handmade, as a lot of her family is into Art and crafty stuff.  She commissioned me to make something fun.  She told me to surprise her and this is what I came up with:

I was experimenting quite a bit with it, but I'm quite pleased with how it came out.  She loves it and that's all that matter.

Ok, I'm back now.... 5 hours later, didn't finish on my lunch break.  Dillon wins that bet, but I tried! 

Anyhoo, on this piece I used lots of different techniques and materials.  A tiny bit of machine stitching to join the blue and green fabric and attach the label to the back.  Then some applique with felt and fabric, a little bit of poly-fill stuffing and tons of hand embroidery.  I even used some divine twine for the mini-bunting....I love that stuff.  I wish I had a huge crafting budget, I'd get it in every color. Someday....

Here's a close-up for a little more detail.

I finished off the back by sewing a label to some oilcloth and gluing it to the inner frame.  Check it out!

So, I can't decide what my favorite part is, the mini-bunting or the poofy clouds.  What do you think?  

Hoping to check in with you again before the weekend is out, lots of projects and silly photos to share with you guys.  Enjoy a craftastic weekend!  See you soon!

To Hold Me Over.

A few of you guys already know, but I'll let the cat out of the bag.  I have a huge giveaway in the works, I'm totally excited about it.  I can't wait.  While I work on that, I figured I would have another small one.  You know, just to hold me over until the big one.  Can you tell that the anticipation is killing me?

I've gotten so much positive feedback about my Arcade Barrettes and Brooches, so I thought I would show my appreciation by giving away a few of those. The winners may choose a style already in my shop (more to come tomorrow!) or I will make a custom one just for you.

I'll choose two winners on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011.  To enter, simply leave a comment telling me about your favorite thing to make lately. These are among my favorites right now.  So, what do you love to make?  Cookies?  Crafty Stuff? Loud noises?  Tell me, I need to know!

Be back soon to tell you all about my fabulous weekend stitching with the gals!