More on those boxes...

You knew I was going to try these beautiful lacquer boxes with the new Legacy design, didn't you? I couldn't help myself, I just had to.  

So going back to my previous question, do these photos affect your decision? 

Read more...

You've helped me in the past, I need you again...

"LEGACY" is almost ready.  The instructions are done, I'm now preparing materials and and ordering threads, Next Stop... YOU!

So, here is where I need your help: This design is just about 3.5" x 3.5".  I would love to see it in a lacquered box, so I've gone-a-looking. Would you be willing to pay an additional $80-$90 for a box to put this design on?  Since I rarely send my work out to be finished, and since I like to come up with my own ways to finish a piece, (such as the little red photo album I made, see photo), I don't always know what others are looking for.  So let me know, please.  The teal colorway inserted in the top of a teal colored lacquer box, would it be something you would spend quite a bit of money on?

and as for my nameless new baby, I finally know what the border is going to be! I'm so thrilled to have found it! After tearing out 6 different options, it has clicked!  I'm going to give you a little sneak peak but that's the last you will see of this one until it is all done.

Read more...

More design development, or "where do I go from here?"

My "nameless" design is moving along, but it's a slow process this one!  The border is pretty much established albeit there is still tweaking to be done.  As I move along, step by step, the next step becomes evident. Never all at once, it's like a mystery piece, only it's a mystery to the designer, (moi), as well.  

So where do I go from here?  The easy option is to complete the border identically on all four sides, finish the rest of the design in the center and it's done.  But I don't feel that's the way to go.  As intricate as the design and the border are, I feel that if I design it in perfect symmetry, it will take it from intricate to boring.  The border will become a blur, nothing for the eye to grasp. I also feel that we need to make the design into a rectangle, bringing more interest to it's entirety and allowing me to say more.
I sound as if I know what I'm doing, don't I?  Well, I don't. I only know that I need to experiment in that direction and see what happens.  We all know how to "un-stitch", right.

Perhaps something along these lines.  Can you see how much more interesting
it can be if we go wide instead of symmetrical?

Wish me luck!

Read more...

quick, quick, it's a SALE!!

I just uploaded a slew of some of my best designs onto my ETSY shop. They are on sale at 30% off, while supplies last!

quick, quick!!

Read more...

Growing in our home.

Funny how at times I find myself very moved, thoughtful, emotional, all brought on by pondering what I perceive as the emotions of my plants.  We have a wall of windows, northern exposure, all along one side of our loft.  The windows are not very well insulated and they can be very cold to the touch in wintertime. And yet, my orchids and succulents seem to thrive on the ledges of these windows.  These desert and humid weather plants, looking out at the bleak winter on the other side of our windows, sprout new growth even in the coldest of days.  The succulents cling to the windows, using them as aides as they climb upwards and out into the winter light of the north.  It makes me admire them.  They adapt, they use what is there, they don't give up, they continue toward light and life.   It struck me, this morning, how they are all showing new growth, that light, full bodied, green new growth.  It warms my heart, it makes me so proud of my strong willed plants.  Is that a crazy sentence?  It's what I feel. 

So proud of you guys!!

But this is the most beautiful flower of all, growing in our home.  Nina asked to buy a kimono so she could wear it at home.  The two of us visited Chinatown yesterday, in the pouring rain, and found this kimono at the bazaar. It may be a Chinese version of a Japanese kimono, but she loves it.  In fact, I hear her in the background, playing with her Wii game while wearing it.  My Nina always provides us with the most amazing combos...

Read more...

I treated myself!

to some new books!

First on the culinary side I purchased Jerusalem, a cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I've fallen in love with Yotam's books, I already have 2 others but this one has the most spectacular photographs.  The dishes are so beautifully put together, you can smell them through the pages.  Best of all are the photographs of Jerusalem, the markets, the cafes, the piles of produce, ahhhhh.  I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but visually it was worth every penny.
Next I purchased The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman.  She has a delightful cooking blog, she's got a great sense of humor and makes you want to try making her dishes.  Here I can say that I've already tried a few and they are FAB!  (Sesame-spiced turkey meatballs and smashed chickpea salad YUM!)

Then I purchased two books on Illuminated Letters!  I'm so excited to sit and semi read - semi study and drool over these two books.  I've always loved looking at those big first capital letters but never knew they had a name and techniques to achieve them.  It so much fun delving into some slightly obscure, extremely specific, it's like shedding another layer off of life.

Read more...

Moving along...

I'm working on a big commission piece, I'm charting a design and working on multiple colorways for the design, I'm shipping orders, but at the end of everyday, I try to get a little stitching done on my piece below, (see here and here as well).

If you look carefully at the corner where the borders meet, you can see that the compensation needs to be tweaked.  The first "draft" of a new design, the first canvas, always needs tweaking.  That's what happens when I chart it on the computer.  That's where I can fix all the little problems and bring the piece to symmetry. 

Btw, no name for this piece yet.  Hmmmmm

Read more...

Happy New 2014!

Read more...