Second Color Experiment

The second experiment is ready for you to see.
Check it out on my website How To.

And on a completely different note ... Nina got a haircut. Isn't it soooooo cute?
She is practicing her whistling skills, constantly.

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The story of an opera

For the past 4 weeks Nina has been involved in an amazing project. She is performing with 34 other children in an opera called Brundibar and the Children of Theresienstadt. The production is about the opera Brundibar that was performed by children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. The story of the opera was adapted to a book by Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak. The production Nina is a part of begins and ends with the children in the camp, while the middle section is the actual opera written by Hans Kraasa. Of the 15,000 children in the camp, only 100 under the ago of 14 survived. Hans Kraasa was sent to his death in Auschwitz.

I started a blog for the project with wonderful photos of the children rehearsing and performing. This has been an experience that I am sure Nina will always remember.

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Experiments with Color

My question for our first Giveaway was: what would you most like to see in our How To section.
There was an overwhelming response in favor of COLOR. I thought long and hard about how I could present this to you and it was clear to me that words would not do it. Let's say I wrote about the color combination of BLUE and YELLOW. What do you see in your mind's eye?

Obviously, words do not capture color.

I think the color wheel is overused, and besides, you could check out a book on color theory from your local library.

So instead I've decided to do weekly experiments and present the results to you. I will be choosing a different overdye fiber each week. I will then extract the colors from the fiber, combine them, pull them apart, place them in different color environments, in short play, play, play. I will also put the colors in a small mosaic to see what happens. Collect all the experiment results and you will have a wonderful resource for when YOU decide to experiment. I'm excited! You can find a preview of the first experiment below and find the full size one on our website .

So, don't forget to tune in weekly for a new color experiment and keep your comments coming! Have a great weekend!

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A movie that's ALL handmade!

I am so intrigued by a new movie coming out in which the set is entirely by handmade. It's called CORALINE, the characters are puppets, all handmade, and they are wearing tiny handmade sweaters. There are tiny black cats with moving parts that are no more than two inches long, and thousands and thousands of tiny handmade flowers. For anyone who loves and appreciates handmade, you really should see this trailer. And while you're there, check out this downloadable sweater pattern. The website is an experience, like a spooky Alice in Wonderland with rooms to hunt through and tiny things to find, including a downloadable sweater pattern, (look in the drawer of the night table).

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And back to us... the winner of this month's give away is...

Anne from Australia

Congratulations!

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a new HOW TO !

I'm happy to announce that we have a new HOW TO up on the website!

When I sent my first commissioned needlepoint design to Rainbow Gallery years ago, I got a call from Jay of Rainbow Gallery a few days later. He congratulated me on my first design saying they were excited to add my work to their repertoire. I was ecstatic, flying high, for a few minutes. Then he said: "I just have one comment. I'd like to explain how to stitch Jessicas correctly, yours are not finished properly"... I came crashing down! I was so embarrassed. But what did I expect? I was self taught and in no book or instruction kit did I find an explanation on how to finish Jessicas correctly. I won't let that happen to any of my stitching buddies...so here it is!

But then I continue to embarrass myself, even today. This morning I woke up and thought, OH! today is the day to draw a random winner for the January GIVEAWAY contest. What? you ask yourself. What is she talking about? And you are right! It's not today. But by the time I realized this, I had already announced the win to a lucky contestant. Not to worry. Sue, our lucky "before it's over" winner will get a kit because it's not her fault I'm a ditz, and all the rest of you will participate in our draw on the 16th @ noon.

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For any of you who do not know, my daughter, Shiri, is getting married this May. She is marrying Orin. Not only does Orin have a name very similar to my own (Orin, Orna), but he also has a love of color, very similar to my own. Shiri and Orin came back from a wonderful pre-wedding honeymoon in Mexico and Orin took the most beautiful photographs. I HAD to share some with you.

I LOVE THIS ONE!

other beauties...



I'm a pretty lucky future mother-in-law, eh?

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January Giveaway!

It's time for our monthly Giveaway Contest!

There are so many different kinds of thread out there, there is always an endless possibility to what you can create, and everyone has their favorites. This month, we want to hear what your favorite is. Tell us about your favorite thread, and we will enter you in a contest to win the complete kit "Royal", a design I created for Dimensions. The kit includes thread, canvas, beads, needle, and instructions.






The contest starts tomorrow, January 9th, and ends January 16th at noon. The winner will be picked randomly. Last month was our very first giveaway and it went so well. We are excited to hear back from all of you. Don't be shy, leave us a note in the comment section of our blog or write us at orna@ornadesign.com, and be sure to tell us your email address so we can contact you if you win.
(We promise not to use it for anything else).

Good Luck!

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Cyberpointers first stitchalong...my Midnight Garden!

MIDNIGHT GARDEN

Cyberpointers is a wonderful idea. For people who live too far from an ANG chapter or are not able to participate in ANG chapter meetings for various reasons, this is the ideal solution; a CYBER chapter. You can find out more about them on their website.

Midnight Garden is the first Stitchalong they are having and it starts...now! Below is the announcement that has gone out. Don't worry about timing, they will be happy to have you join in. Tell them I sent you...

The Education Committee is proud to announce our very first stitchalong. Orna Willis has graciously allowed us to use her Midnight Garden, hosted on the Caron website at http://www.caron-net.com/06aprfiles/apr06cla.html . Want to participate and get something for finishing it on time? To join the fun, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cyberpointers-stitchalong/ and click the Join button. In the comments section, put your real name and your Yahoo ID used for this group. What you get ... A beautiful, small piece stitched easily over six months. Questions answered by your peers and Orna herself listening in. For finishing by June 30th - Three free skeins of floss from your Education Vice President. The brand will be Hand Dyed Fibers and the color choice is hers. You must post your finished piece by that date to get your floss. Join now! We will be running stitchalongs on a regular basis every six months. See you there!

Meg S Education Vice President

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And my second exciting announcement...tune in this week for the next Blog Giveaway.

You are going to love it!

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