A secret revealed

It's nearly killed me to not talk about this, but I've been keeping a secret since last summer. And having worked on a few book designs myself during my career as a graphic designer, I know how easy it is to be bumped from a book at the last minute. I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it too soon. But I've seen proofs and the book is scheduled for release in a few weeks so I think it's finally safe to announce it to the world!



Back in July I was asked to contribute a project for one of my handkerchief pillows (the one shown here) to a book about modern crafting being written by Amy Spencer and published by Marion Boyars Publishing in the UK. Of course, I said yes, and wrote up a pattern and shipped the pillow off to London. Through a series of mixups that I won't go into detail about, the package went missing. Luckily I had taken photos (as I do with everything I make, because you just never know) and they were able to use them in place of the ones their photographer would have taken. Three months later, the pillow showed up at my door. I had to pay the return shipping from the UK to get it back but I was so relieved to see it.

Anyway, this is the book and it's filled with projects from crafters and small businesses that will be familiar to you. Like Subversive Cross Stitch, Gerbera Designs, Jill Bliss, and Angry Chicken. And I'm honored and thrilled to be part of the group.



The book is due to be released on February 10th and can be preordered from Amazon now. If you live in the UK you can preorder directly from the publisher and get free shipping. I can't wait until my copy arrives. It won't really feel real until I have the book in my hands :)

1.28 Updated to add that there's a complete project list at the publishers web site.

Stitch School: Coral Stitch

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Coral Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

vintage valentines

There's a new group on Flickr for vintage valentines. Come join if you have valentines to contribute or just stop by to look at all the cool old valentines members are posting.



You wear the 'craziest' hats
They nearly drive me 'bats'
Outside of that you're 'okay'
You're my valentine anyway.

See more from my collection here.

Studio Friday: INSPIRING DREAM STUDIO!

We get to see these wonderful studios, - how about not showing our own, but choose among the great studios we know about now? Tell us a little about why you like this studio, what you would like to do if you could work there for a day as it was your own, and, - if it is so, - you have learned from this studio/ artist? ~ mereteveian


©Tara Sgroi (photo)

This is the home studio of millinery designer Amy Hamilton. I clipped this picture from a magazine several years ago (Country Living, I think) and have it saved in one of my scrapbooks. It's a separate room off the kitchen of her old farmhouse in Ohio.

I love how clean and white it is. And I'm seriously crushing on those shelves along the righthand wall. Would I be more organized if I had shelves like that? Probably not, but this is a dream, isn't it? I bet when she's working and the studio isn't cleaned up for picture-taking, that her studio is messy, too.

A quote from the accompanying article—

"I have this old wall of post-office cubbies filled with trims... At night, I start putting together colors and textures. I'll develop an idea and the next day, while the children are in school. I'll actually make the hat."

Although we work in totally different areas, her process is very similar to my own. I gather materials for a project, then let them sit overnight (and sometimes longer), walking past a few times and checking whether I still like the combination. If I decide it's not working, it doesn't go any further than that. If I still like it the next day, then it's good to go.

I picture myself in this studio with the sun streaming in the window and my fabrics all organized in their cubbyholes. I reach behind me for the perfect fabrics and embellishments. My work is simple and clean and my mind is uncluttered with stray thoughts and worries. I'm totally focused on the process of creating. Somebody pinch me :)

See more beautiful and inspiring studio dreams here.

embroidery basics

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find posts about choosing fabrics here and basic tools here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new ones.

i love hearts

I'm in the Indie Fixx Valentine's Gift Guide this month! And I made some special valentine-themed pillows and sachets for the occasion, too (one of the reasons I haven't been posting as much here).



Free shipping with discount code INDIEFIXX. But, if you'd rather have 15% off, use discount code HEART. Different promo, same stuff.

remembering

It’s been interesting reading some of Martin Luther King’s speeches today and realizing how very little progress we’ve made. And how relevant and current his words are. Just substitute the word Iraq for Vietnam and see how little history has taught us.

"Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours."

"We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."

Martin Luther King
Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break Silence
April 7, 1967

Stitch School: Woven Filling Stitch

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Woven Filling Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

Studio Friday: TRAVELS!

Suggested by Hanne—

"Travelling is a wonderful possibility to open for new inspiration and ideas. I´ll say it's actually one of the greatest advantages to travelling!

A lot of new impressions and probably also new materials to bring home for future artwork. Maybe new friends - who knows? Anyway, I thought it could be very interesting to know where other bloggers travel. And if you don't travel right now because of limited economy or other restrictions - I think we always travell in our mind: dreaming of somewhere in the countryside - or maybe a big city loaded with museums, galleries and flea markets for new "input" for our studios and art."


I kind of stopped traveling a few years ago—right around the time I bought my house. If you have one, you know that there's nothing quite like a house for sucking up any spare cash you might have. The same could be said for having a small business—LOL!

Not that I don't go on trips. I drive all the time to places within a couple of hours to visit flea markets and antique shows. And I sometimes have meetings with clients for my graphic design business. But the "take a plane, go somewhere exotic or foreign" kind of travel is something I haven't done for a while. But I have my list of places I'd love to go—a travel wish list if you will.

• Italy. Because of writers like Barbara Grizzuti Harrison and Frances Mayes who made the country come alive in their writings about living and traveling there. And because of movies like Under the Tuscan Sun and Room With a View and even The Godfather. The food would be heaven. The art, too.

• United Kingdom. Because my ancestors are from Ireland and Scotland and I'd love to see some of the places they lived. And I'd love to meet up with some of my online friends like Camilla and Joanna for crazy crafting, flea marketing (or whatever you call it across the pond), and hanging out in pubs. Not necessarily in that order.

• Japan. Because it's crazy busy and exciting and I love sushi. And Japanese crafts. I'd need an extra suitcase (or two) to haul all the cool stuff home.

In the US I'd love to get back to Sanibel-Captiva in Florida. If you love beaches and shelling and hanging out rather than nightlife this is the place to do it. And I highly recommend the grouper sandwich at the Lazy Flamingo. I haven't been back since the hurricane almost destroyed the islands a few years ago so it would be interesting to see how much it's changed.

I'd also love to head west to the coast and meet up with some of my California, Seattle, and Portland friends. Doesn't it seem like an awful lot of cool people live out there? I have invites for treasure hunting from Selena and Carrie and for surfing (!) from Stephanie and maybe someday I'll actually get to do it. Well, maybe not the surfing :)

So, while most of my travels take place in my imagination these days, I hope to get back to it for real soon. Because Hanne's right—it is inspiring. Both the people you meet and the things you see.

More adventure here.

snow

Finally some snow! Not a lot but enough to dust everything with white and make it look pretty for a few hours until the sun comes up and it melts away.



I've had this wooden fan-back bench forever. I bought it for half price at a garden center in Indianapolis when I lived there. And it's moved with me every time. Even when I didn't have a garden to put it in. Right now it's on the back patio but will likely move again as we redesign the gardens. Sometimes you just have to wait until the perfect spot materializes.

Stitch School: Wheatear

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Wheatear Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

sailor take warning

There was the most beautiful sky this morning when I woke up. I know—if you go by the old rhyme: Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailor take warning—then it will likely rain tomorrow. But that's OK. It was perfect yesterday and I spent several hours photographing new buttons and trims to add to the site. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get more organized and moving out some of the materials I know I won't be using is one way to help with that.

The trims were from a boxful that someone sent me last year. Lots of pretty machine and handmade lace and crochet. I'll also have more vintage rickrack soon—that still needs to be photographed.

And on it's way to me from Chicago is a box full of vintage buttons that I purchased from a woman who was settling her mother's estate. They looked gorgeous in the photos she sent and should be more so in person, so I can't wait for them to arrive. Of course, I'll be keeping a lot of them to use myself, but there will be plenty to list, too.

So, if you like buttons and trims, check back in a week or so to see what's new. And I recently reorganized my trims page into categories so it's easier to find exactly what you want. I'll be doing that for the buttons, too. See, it's all part of that organizing I mentioned earlier.

kim family auction

Just a heads up that the kim family benefit art + craft auction begins tomorrow!

What is this you ask? It's an auction of items donated by 40 independent artists—paintings, prints, ceramics, soft toys, jewelry, paper goods and home decor—with 100% of the proceeds donated to the Kim Family Fund. Bidding begins on January 3rd and continues through January 7th. If you go to the blog now you'll see previews of the auction items (and there's some amazing stuff) and more information about the artists who created them.

Of particular interest to my Stitch School readers is the art quilt designed by Kristin La Flamme. Titled "California Special", it features gorgeous hand-embroidery (see a closeup of it in the second photo) and surface embellishments along with the linoleum-print fabrics and vintage flour sack that form the base. Some people think embroidery is old-fashioned, but if it's used in unconventional ways it really isn't at all!

Stitch School: Fly Stitch

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Fly and Twisted Fly Stitches post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

a book recommendation

Please excuse my lack of posting the past few days. Whether it's after Christmas jet-lag or the weather, I'm not sure, but I just haven't felt that great for a few days. And I've spent most of that time curled up on the couch with my cats. Who are loving the extra attention.

And I'm reading a fat book that I highly recommend if you like historical fiction—Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund. She wrote Ahab's Wife, too, and I think someone recommended it to me but I haven't read it yet. Anyway, this book is a fictionalized account of Marie Antoinette from the time she arrived in France to her untimely death. And it has all the historical details but written like a juicy novel so you'll find yourself just flying through the pages.

Interesting that she never said "Let them eat cake." But she did talk about her embroidery in letters to her mother. It seems she was quite accomplished at it and made lovely needlework items for her husband and friends.

"I truly love my embroidery, as it puts me in a kind of trance. I am not transported into another world as I am at the theater or even when I read an engaging book, but I enter a deep, still place within myself as I create flowers in thread. I feel calm and happy, which is a good balance for the thrill of the gaming table, though I gamble much less now and only in my own apartment; instead I often play billiards."

Oh, yes, she had a bit of a gambling problem, too!

Merry Christmas!

No Stitch School today—it's Christmas and you all have better things to do. Me, too.

But I'll leave you some embroidered snowflakes to tide you over until next week. These were not meant to be snowflakes (at least I don't think so) but imagine how beautiful they'd be embroidered in white on a dark background.











Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Studio Friday: RITUALS & WISHES!

"So many of my friends have certain little rituals they adhere to when starting to work, or finishing work. I do too. It can't be that unusual, and some are very sweet or amusing. Although some are maybe too embarrassing to share?

Another thought is: If you could make one or two changes to your studio, by magic, what would they be?" ~ Nancy Bea

If there were such a thing as creativity dust I'd throw some up in the air before I start to create. It doesn't work like that, although it does seem like magic sometimes. I don't think I have any rituals except that I'm quite messy when I work and I like to clean up before starting a new project—kind of like starting with a clean slate—or work table in my case.

As for wishes, more space, of course. Yet, whatever space I have, no matter how much larger than the previous one, I always manage to fill it up. So I should wish for better organizational powers instead. I'd also wish for better light, whether that was larger windows or track-lighting in the ceiling. I love the natural light on a bright sunny day but it can be very dark on cloudy days and at night.

What do other artists wish for? Read more here.

Thrift Thursday: Vintage Bread Box

I've already posted about the vintage glass ornaments I found at the flea market on Sunday. It was actually a very good day for finding treasures. I discovered a bunch of old buttons on cards and met a very nice woman named Anne who had lovely old handkerchiefs and rickrack, which I'm afraid I cleaned out her supply of.

But the best thing I found was this vintage bread box with morning glories. For $8!



For the rest of my time at the market people kept saying how much they loved it and where ever did I find it. I've said it before—look down. It was under a chair in a corner and tucked underneath a bunch of other stuff. There are a couple more pictures on my Flickr if you'd like to see details.

That's the thing with flea markets, and especially this one. Things aren't always clean, and beautifully arranged. You certainly don't want to wear white while shopping. It's messy and dirty and things are piled every which way. Junking isn't for the faint of heart!

As always, there are more Thrift Thursday finds here. Join the fun—show us what you've found!

a holiday meme

A holiday-themed meme inspired by Kim at Olive Juice & Co.:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I like both but, since I have to choose, then hot chocolate. Made with real cocoa and without marshmallows.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wraps, and in fun color-coordinated papers and ribbons. He must shop at Target, too!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Tiny white ones and some that are shaped like chile peppers from a previous southwestern decorating phase.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I sometimes hang a kissing ball that's made with artificial mistletoe but I can't seem to find it this year. I know it's somewhere in that attic closet.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
When I find the time. It's Christmas week and I'm just finishing the tree.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
We aren't very traditional when it comes to holiday dinners and change the menu every year. But, if we serve turkey or chicken, then stuffing would be my favorite thing. Mmmmm...carbs.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child.
We lived in a townhouse-style apartment complex and everyone would decorate their windows and front porches. In a traditional way—this was before icicle lights and those ugly hot air-filled monstrosities that everyone seems to have on their lawns these days. We always seemed to have snow for Christmas and sometime during the week before we'd wait until it got dark, then bundle up in warm clothing and walk through the streets looking at all the lights. It was magical.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Probably from one of my older friends but I had a younger brother and sister so had to pretend anyway.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We open all our gifts on Christmas Eve. We don't have kids so why wait. But when I was a kid, we always waited until the morning. And only after our parents woke up.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
With lots of treasured ornaments—old glass ones inherited from my parents, crocheted white snowflakes, quirky carved and painted animals that I've picked up over the years.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I don't think we'll be getting any in time for Christmas this year—it's too warm. Snow is pretty, but I live out in a rural area so it can be a pain to get around in it.

12. Can you ice skate?
I can. But I haven't done it in something like 20 years and I have weak ankles so was never very steady on my feet.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I used to get those ginormous boxes of Crayolas every year. I was into art so it was the perfect gift for me.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Spending time with family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Gingerbread with lemon sauce.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Baking cookies.

17. What tops your tree?
A silver star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. I spend lots of time thinking up and looking for the perfect gifts.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Carol of the Bells, especially the piano version performed by David Lanz and Michael Jones on Solstice.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Meh. What I really like is chocolate peppermint bark!

Vintage ornaments

In their December issue, Country Home magazine did a short article about collecting vintage glass Christmas ornaments. Like these:



And these are some ornaments from my collection. It was kind of cool to see that I have some of the same designs—and the tiny blown-glass teapot has always been my favorite.



I don’t really collect ornaments—I just happen to have these from my parent’s collection. And I’ve moved about 20 times since leaving home so it’s a wonder they haven’t broken. The teapot is especially delicate with its little spout and handle.

If you do decide to collect ornaments like this, October to December is the time when they're most plentiful in antique shops. But keep your eye out for them all year 'round as they'll be less expensive at other times of the year. And don't forget flea markets. I found several boxes of ornaments on Sunday at the local indoor market—$1 per box!



Now to get these on the tree!