How do you control a heart exploding with pride?

Some of my brilliant students are sharing their completed and almost completed creations from my class "Dare Design":

The complexity of Ann's piece is quite amazing! Her color choices, the way the diamonds form negative spaces, and how the beads are situated, are all enticing!

Pat's piece is so lovely! She called it Step Into My Garden, which seems perfect. It looks like a manicured small royal garden and all I want to do is step into it and stay!

Sally Barton's piece is mesmerizing, the crescents seem to be dancing across the canvas. Her colors are so appealing!

Melita's design, Crescent Journey, received a 3rd place ribbon and scored 94 out of 100 in her judges' critique!!

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Another Student to Designer transformation!!

Lynn Decker Miller is now stitching her completed piece. 

While she works on that, let's take a look at the path she took...

The first assignment was to map out a triangle and then paint it with watercolors:

Next the process of transforming the shapes inside the triangles into stitches. 

Here students found that they needed to be flexible, 

what looks good on paper doesn't always work on the canvas.

With the chart in hand, Lynn tackled the canvas, with great success!

She worked on a second colorway for the same triangle:

Her work was now in my hands. 

I charted her original triangle and then tessellated a few options for a final piece. 

Here are Lynn's charts for her design.

Kindly remember!! 

We are all well aware of the importance of respecting the ownership of a designer's work. 

These designs belong solely to Lynn Decker Miller. 

Do NOT print or use these designs for any purpose without Lynn's explicit permission!!!

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How my Students became Designers , AMAZING work!

Dare to Design, one of my most challenging and yet gratifying classes is in its final stages. 

I want to share some of the work of my very talented students. 

Patricia Karpenko has taken us on a wonderful journey. 

She began with the watercolor phase of the process and came up with this beautiful triangle, 

an initial cell of her tessellating design.

After working off of this painting for a bit, she woke up one morning with a variation that excited her, and she embarked on a slightly different direction.

After this initial drawing, she went to the canvas and interpreted the drawing in an exquisite way!

 The shapes and colors are magnificent.

Once she finalized the stitches, it was my turn to chart her design. 

Pat received this first laminated chart of her new design: Step Into My Garden.

I also sent her this chart of her triangle tessellated, coming together into a square. 

The ball is back in her court. Pat is working on her piece, stitching the complete design 

with any final changes or additions she may come up with.

I will share her completed design when she is done.

Congratulations Pat!!

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A Post of Praise!

When does a package get lost in the mail? When it's very, very important!

On May 31st I sent out a very important package full of kits and instructions for a class on my design Sunflower. The class was to start on June 18th, plenty of time, right? Not if the package disappears! Yesterday I found out that the package never reached its destination, and nobody knew where it was. After realizing that even if the Postal service found it and returned it to me, it wouldn't reach the stitching group in time for their class, I immediately began making calls to all the fiber companies whose fibers were in these kits. I begged them to help me by sending out the threads I needed immediately, and ship them overnight so that I would receive them all today. I assumed that by tomorrow I would be able to complete the packaging, the printing, the laminating, the shipping labels and ship it out overnight to its destination. So many things had to happen just so, on time, it was a long shot but it had to be done. I called: Rainbow Gallery, Threadworx, Edmar, Caron Collection, Wichelt, Access Commodities and gave them all my lists.

drum roll...... at 11:30 this morning EVERYTHING arrived! Package after package, it all came in. By that time Rae and I had printed and laminated the instructions, we put the fibers together in packets for each colorway and not 5 minutes ago, at 12:50 this afternoon, Rae took the big box to the Postal shop nearby.
All these wonderful companies helped me achieve this feat! All the students ready to start stitching on Monday will not be disappointed! I'm so relieved and so happy to be working with people who understand the importance of service and valuing the customer.

Hurray for Sally at Rainbow Gallery, Debbie at Threadworx, Lois at Caron, Lamora at Access Commodities, Sue at Wichelt, and the wonderful people at Edmar! Thank you all!!

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Thoughts on design - an insight.

Geometric canvas designs are magical. They begin like a doodle game. I remember the days when there were only landline phones and you had to sit right by the phone because it would only move so far from the wall outlet.  There you sat listening to the person on the other end and your hands wanted to do something. I think that's when doodling was invented!
A large area, just a simple shape, began splitting into smaller areas that resembled a jigsaw puzzle. Any two smaller shapes formed a negative space and in turn that area would be a playground for some more doodling.
I use the practices I developed during the long phone sit ins when I go about designing a geometric.

Let's look at one of the more important parts of my Dare Design workshop, the watercolor part. You are given 25 pieces of fine quality watercolor paper for experimentation. Your large outer space will be a triangle.

I will begin with some dividing lines and I will split up the triangle to smaller parts.

I drew a line across the top of the triangle, about 1/2 way down and then drew some dividing shapes within the top triangular shape. And I kept dividing these areas up and filling the negative spaces.

I continue working on the areas I've determined, now with color.  Each section is given a color, some are repeated in a symmetrical fashion and I build up the top triangular area until it seems right. 

Of course there is much more I can do with the sections I have formed. But that will come later, on the canvas. For now I have drawn and painted a beautiful map which will be a guide when my needle hits the canvas.

Why don't you join in on this exercise? Look at the shapes I have painted and make some suggestions as to which stitches you would use to translate the shapes onto canvas.  I have numbered a few of the areas below. Reference the numbers and make your suggestions in the comments here on the blog.

This is a small sampling of what we will be doing in my Dare Design workshop.  Our journey will lead you to acquiring the tools to design your own geometrics. 

Can't wait to hear from you!! 

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Seriously, how can one resist? More options for Workshop!!

Here are the colorways for Dare Design, our 6 month workshop, which will take your creativity off the charts!

Kits include 40 fibers PLUS an additional 5 free Neon Rays as my gift to each student! You have an abundance of silks as well as metallics and some overdye cotton.

I am also introducing a new class option!! You may choose class participation and threads/beads only, without the various art supplies, reference book etc. which will run $460  (instead of $550).

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So sorry!! I hope you can see it now!!! Video: Dare Design

SIGN UP HERE!

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The evolution of design - Online Workshop

There are many ways to teach design. This one is unique.

In this 6 month workshop I will guide you through the evolution of YOUR design. 

1. The workshop will begin with a unique way of planting ideas for a design. Watercolors. User friendly watercolor brush pens will be perfect for coming up with an assortment of beautiful paintings which can potentially become your needlepoint design.

2. Next we will reign in the watercolors and translate them into shapes on graph paper. No worries, I will guide and explain.

3. From there we will look for stitches to fill in the shapes we've established. We will use reference books, and compile a bank of stitches.

4. On your doodle canvas you will experiment with these stitches and come up with the ones you want to use in your design.

5. Mark your graph paper with the stitches you have chosen putting them together in the triangular shape.

6. This is when I come in! With your graph paper in hand I will chart your design on my computer and will then tessellate your design to form a square or diamond comprised of 4 of your triangles. You will receive a file with your design, the name you give it and most importantly your name, the designer!

7. With a box of beautiful beautiful fibers, (you will be offered 4 possible color combinations), you will stitch your design. Here we will all work together to choose the best threads for the various sections of your design.

8. If you choose you may ask for a critique at the end of the workshop.

The workshop kit includes:

3 pieces of canvas (2 for doodle and one for design)

Notebook (it's imperative to keep notes as you make your way through the design process)

A set of 24 watercolor markers and a watercolor pen

25 sheets of cold press watercolor paper (5" x 7")

Graph paper pad

Ruler

Needlepoint reference book

Needles

Box of 40 different fibers (you will choose one of 4 colorways offered)
PLUS a gift of 5 Neon Rays cards.

An assortment of beads

The workshop also includes a file with your charted design, (PDF), and a designated classroom page where we will all meet and exchange ideas and thoughts.

There will be 12 designated days for presenting your completed phase. These will happen approximately once every two weeks.  It is important to work within the timeframe. Each step is a gateway to the next step.

Workshop and kit: $550
Critique at end of class: $75

Registration ends December 7th, 2017

Class begins February 1st, 2018

Sign up by November 1st and receive $35 off

(use code NOVCARE at checkout)

OPTION 1

OPTION 2

OPTION 3

OPTION 4

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Geometrics, and why we like them?

Next week I will be making my way to Madison Wisconsin to give a workshop.  The first evening, before the beginning of class, I am going to give a talk about Geometrics.  I've been prepping for the talk, drawing examples, cutting felt to show shapes on a felt board, preparing notes, but there is one question that keeps coming up in my mind, and that is Why Do I Like Geometrics?

I've always gravitated to this type of needlepoint.  I think the first reason, and maybe the most magical, is the process of seeing a blank canvas become a work of art, right before my eyes. There is nothing on that blank ground material, and slowly bits and pieces start forming.  Sometimes they start at the middle and fan outwards, sometimes they are random, but the process is always the same, giving birth to something from nothing.  Magic.

So, do you love geometrics? Do you prefer them to... painted canvas?  Will you share your reasons? I'd love to hear from you!

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This weekend I will be teaching at the...

Lehigh Valley chapter of EGA!  I will be teaching Reflections of Joy and will also have a trunk show with me.  If you would like to get more information, let me know.

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Cyberpointers

A great opportunities is about to expire ... Tomorrow registration ends for my class with Cyberpointer's. UP NORTH Colorway TIKI Colorway My design, "Victory Gardens" , is an online workshop, (February 1-April 15, 2016), which you will enjoy and learn from!  Find all the information HERE, but hurry, registration closes tomorrow!

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What a great weekend!

Coming back from Binghamton, after teaching a fun workshop with some lovely stitchers, I had a 4.5 hour drive to contemplate how lucky I am, (tfu tfu tfu).  Over the years I have made some wonderful friends at my workshops all over the world.  Yes, I said world.  Yvonne Close in England who, back in the summer of 2005, had me come and teach a few of my designs to her customers and who was generous enough to put all three of us up, (Reid, Nina and myself). What a time we had! She had a big birthday party for Nina, we met her family and bonded with Yvonne and Stephen, her husband.  I am grateful for that friendship.

Nina and Yvonne's handsome grandson in Stephen and Yvonne's gorgeous garden.

Yvonne holding on to Nina as she feeds the swans.

I look through my photos and marvel at how many wonderful people attended my workshops and how I am excited to see them every time we meet again.  On that note I want to thank Joann and Ginny, the organizers of this workshop, who not only took great care of me, but also made me laugh all weekend long!

Hi to the ladies of EGA Binghamton, NY!

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Cyberpointers ANG, my new class!

"Victory Gardens" is now offered as a class with the ANG Cyberpointers, the online chapter of ANG.  Registration has started and goes on till October 15th.  Class starts February 1st.

The best part is we can meet in our PJs!

Cyberpointers is a great way to enjoy needlepoint classes at your leisure and without the expense of travel, hotel, meals, etc.  I myself use cyber class opportunities quite a bit, whether it's needlepoint or jewelry making.

I haven't seen you in way too long, let's meet!  Take a look HERE.

Pass the word along, we can all meet in our PJs!!

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