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!

Eight-Year-Olds, Dude.

Holy smokes, 3 posts in one day!  Can you believe it?  Yep, you are that special.

Remember those errands I mentioned on Thursday?  One has been a long time coming.

That's right!  I finally finished The Jesus!!!  Took long enough, huh?  Poor Shannon had to wait forever for him.  I'll be honest, I set him down quite a few times.  Ready to give up and completely start over.  Unsure of my choices and a wee bit over the purple, after having it in several of my recent projects.  But I kept on truckin' and he's finally done.  He's arrived at his new home and now I can share some pictures with you.

(Click for a larger view.)

I ventured a little beyond my usual embroidery style, incorporating paint into this piece.  Feels good to bring my two loves together.  And of course, I had to fit in some metallic floss, even if I was embellishing a bit there.  Perhaps that'll end up being my signature.  I'm not much of a glitter/bling girl but I can never resist the urge to bring a little shine to my pieces.  I don't really know why.

The whole thing is stitched with DMC.  I only used 7 colors and the thickest was 3 strands.  Last time I made my own pattern for the piece.  However, this time I was inspired by the cover art for the book, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski, illustrated by Bill Green.  Which is a hilarious read, by the way.  It had to be kid friendly and surprisingly, there are hardly any pictures of him online (that don't involve him licking a bowling ball.)

This was the first time that I signed one of my pieces.

I still don't know how I feel about it.  Part of me thinks it's a bit presumptuous, like it really matters, right?  And then part of me thinks, well, I would sign a painting.  So, I'm not really sure.  What do you thing about signing pieces?  Does it make me look like pompous ass?  Honestly.

Free Form Fun!!

Free form
Originally uploaded by Giggly Mama & Fam

Check out what I got in the mail right before I went to Michigan. An awesome, one of a kind, free form embroidery piece!! Sent to me from the lovely and talented, Shannon aka Giggly Mama. Not only was I super thankful to receive this piece, I was humbled by the Mama's stitching skills. Just check out that Satin Stitch, holy cow. This lady is AMAZING!!!

When asked about the straight lines running across the design, she explained that it illustrates, "Feeling a little trapped in my mind. *showing my crazy*" I thought it was so fitting that this piece went to me, as that is how I feel a majority of the time. Stitching really does help to keep me sane.

Since she already knows what she's getting from me, I guess it wouldn't be spoiling the surprise if I let you guys in on it. Shannon requested a piece featuring Jesus Quintana. That's right, The Jesus, from The Big Lebowski. (I have a feeling I'm going to be stitching that movie for a long time.) That's fine by me though since it's pretty darned great. I'll have a sneak peek of the progress later in the week.

Thanks for looking, I hope you have a creative day!

Tarjetas.

Local

Newspaper and junk mail on Bristol.

This one stems from a desire to have our household only eat food from within 100 miles of us.  We are lucky enough to live in an area where there are tons of options for locally grown, (award winning) organic food.  However, with the lifestyle we lead now, it's not always possible to eat this way 100% of the time.  Someday though...

The Dude Abides

Paper clippings, embroidery floss and coaster on Bristol.

In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of the Coen brothers.  The Big Lebowski is one of the best movies.  Ever.

Oh, Christmas Tree.

Paper, glitter, metallic embroidery floss, plastic charm and beads on Bristol.

I had to get a Christmas one in there.  I love how the beads look on this one.

Thanks for looking.

May you have a warm holiday surrounded by those you love!

Bummer.

This tray was fairly organized with buttons sorted by color, style and age.  However, it is no longer so pretty.  Yeah, an open-top tray probably wasn't my best decision but I was feeling adventurous at the time.  Hell, I'm surprised it took so long.  This was my first spillage mishap in almost a year of storing buttons this way!  I thought it was funny, so I grabbed the camera.  I give you Button Madness '09!

"Yep, that's going to slow you down," says Chunk.

Sure does look pretty though.

Ohhh, shiny!

My favorite button!!

A few good buttons managed to stay in the tray.

Little Natasha-"Don't worry Mama!  I'll help you."

Not pretty and organized like before, but at least they are in the tray.  I think I found them all...

I was laughing the whole time because all I could think of was this-