How the Time Flies!

Busy, Busy, Busy! Everything in the past few weeks has been a whirl of activity! This past weekend was the holiday, and the whole family was here for 4 days.  It was a wonderful time, lots of food and talk and more food! ANG Seminar is coming right up and the studio is buzzing. My assistant Genevieve and I have been hard at work preparing  for all 5 classes that I will be teaching.

These are different colorway kits for one of the classes---it's inspiring to watch this beautiful pile of silk and color grow. Such vibrant combinations ...

We have also been printing books and instructions, so many new designs and master charts. Hard to believe we only have two weeks left. It's all coming along nicely, and I am really looking forward to the seminar.

Last but not least---to add to all of the hubub and frenzy, let me introduce: ESTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That puppy in the Window is ours! That little face rolled into our lives exactly two weeks ago and what a ride it has been! This is Esther, and she is a joy and such an amazing addition to our home. You will see that she is pictured here in her carrying case--that is due to the fact she has figured out how to open the latch on her crate. Yes, she is a wonder-dog for sure! We are learning all about crate training and we will all be headed to our first meeting with a trainer this weekend. She is such a character, but if anyone has any good advice about puppy training, please feel free to post. I have never had a dog before, much less a puppy, so this is an adventure for us all!

                           

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Square Dance

"Veranda View"

September is finally here, and Fall is right around the corner! 

I love this time of year--the first chill in the air and the leaves turning all their Brilliant colors. It's the beginning of all the holidays and family get-togethers.

And this year, September 1st is also the beginning of registration for my new Cyber-Workshop with ANG! I am particularily excited about this design--- each tiny square is a bite size design all unto itself--you'll learn things, you'll perfect skills, and you'll come away with a whole new outlook on your work! The class starts January 2011 which seems like a million miles away, but the holiday season flies fast and we will be in the New Year before you know it!

I have included the description of the class below, as well as link to registration.

Description: "Combine forty five squares, a world of stitches and color combinations, and Ultrasuede® applique´, and what do you get? A dance!

Each square is a composition in itself, a unique vignette of interesting needlepoint. We will be layering threads and forming height and depth with unorthodox stitch combinations. Laid stitches, woven stitches, satin stitches and knots are some of the steps in our dance. We will be using perle, stranded silks, cotton overdyes, filament, and metallic braids. The Ultrasuede® squares add a dimension of texture and intensity of color. Our design is worked on a 12” x 12” piece of #18 overdye canvas. There will be two colorways to choose from, each unexpected, interesting, and complex.

You will receive a book of color illustrations, detailed explanations, and laminated color charts.

You will be able to choose one of the following kit options:

Instruction book plus canvas and Ultrasuede, or Instruction book, all fibers, plus canvas and Ultrasuede.

Come dance with us."

How's that look? Good? Great! Click here to sign up!

"Springtime Hills"

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Cirque de Fleur class video: Ultrasuede, sewing it

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Cirque de Fleur Video: Ultrasuede and Applique Part One

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New Giveaway, New Winner

irst I must attend to some unfinished business. The needlepouch from one of our previous giveaways has not been claimed. It's too sad to see it here unclaimed, so I've randomly chosen a new winner... (have you ever used a random number generator? They are really fun.) 

Congratulations Kate! 

Oh, my Gosh!!! I love your designs and to think that 

I could win a give away of something you have 

made and designed. Please enter me in you drawing.

And for our new giveaway, three glass fused buttons, shanks attached in back, with beautiful foil center. These are about 3/4" each and can make any simple garment, bag, needlepoint design, really stand out.  

I LOVE using glass embellishments on needlepoint.  There is something so intriguing about the combination of the transparent glass and the dense fibers.  It brings another layer of interest to a design.  

The shanks on these buttons could easily fit into a hole on your canvas to be attached at a point of interest. How about stitching a strip of basketweave, oh, I'd say 1.25" in width and about 6-7" in length.  Fold back the excess canvas, whipstitch around the border and attach the buttons at equal distances. Then attach the whole thing to the front/middle of a plain sweater, or even tee shirt. It would be delicious!

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment with an idea on how you would use these glass beauties.

 

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I knew I shouldn't have...

The exact day of my last post, the day I was boasting about my new printer, how marvelous it was and how I was going to be sending out new instructions books, that same day the printer died!  Yep, a three day old printer which I paid  $XXX for (embarrassed to say), died. Since then we have spent hours (I kid you not), on the phone with the company, had a technician here twice, had a new printer sent out and... it too is not working.  So now we wait for yet another technician. They say they think they know what the problem might be. Surprisingly, (NOT), they say it will cost money to fix.

Please, PLEASE, when I start telling you about some new piece of wonderful technology I just got, please, PLEASE, stop me!  I'm not superstitious, I just want to stay on the safe side!


Back to school. I can't believe it's almost here. Nina will be entering 4th grade. I don't understand how that could be because last year she was in 1st. At least it seems like last year...

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Glory, glory, Gloriana!

I am so darn lucky!  Just take a look at the contents of the box I opened yesterday. Fibers and colors and textures, all so that I can experiment, tinker and come up with a a great new design.

A few years ago I designed Orchid Cottage.   
It was designed for Gloriana Thread Packs which included a variety of different types of fibers and ribbons. You could stitch the small design in different color combinations or you could buy the thread packs, hang them on your wall and just stare at their beauty.

Anne, the woman behind Gloriana Threads, has asked me to design again, putting together new packs of her wonderful fibers.   It's overwhelming, it's intoxicating, it's wonderful!  

I'll keep you posted as to when and where you can get the new design along with the thread packs.
  

I introduced you to Lexi last post, (our new Lexmark color laser printer), and I'm happy to announce that she has already been working hard. Finally the Cirque de Fleur  book is ready to be sent out to all you patient cyber-students. Thank you for understanding. You will love this book, 57 pages of instructions, charts, illustrations, diagrams, which we will bind ship this week.

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Congratulations and Introductions

I've enjoyed your funny accounts of loosing glasses and I feel that I'm in good company!  It's time to announce our winner...

DOLORES, your days of searching for your glasses are over!  

Dolores wrote:  Oh my, this is my favourite colour and I would dearly love to have this eyeglass case. Yes, I too lose my glasses a lot. That's why I have so many pairs. I just 'lost' my newest pair of 'dollar store' glasses (with the multi-coloured frames) and I really wanted them. I had to think back to where it was that I used them last. Finally, the brain cells kicked in - the library. I used them to pick out some books on tape (people read while I sew) and there they were, in the library bag with my tapes and, whoops, my ID wallet too (library card, drivers' licence, credit cards, etc.)

About the previous contest, I have not yet heard from the winner and therefore can't send the prize to her. I feel so bad about a great gift sitting on my table waiting to be shipped out. I will wait until the end of the week and if I don't hear from the winner by then, I will pull out a new number and a new winner for the needlepouch.  Stay tuned.


We have new additions to the studio.  I'd like to introduce you to iMac2:

She is our new iMac, daughter to our existing big-iMac. She arrived today and already is able to speak to her mommy and to our other new friend, Lexi (our new color laser printer). They are all networking and making me very happy.

These new family members should make our lives at the studio run smoothly.

Later in the week I will also introduce you to Genevieve. She is my new assistant and already knows exactly where to find Watercolors on my thread wall.  

 

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Attempting a terrarium(s).

We live in a loft with no outdoor space. We have a northern exposure which means great light for painting, not so much for stitching and certainly not enough for any direct light plants. I decided to try terrariums. They combine glass (one of my favorite materials), plants and building a little eco system that may survive without direct sunlight. 

Some things never change. I never was, and I guess never will be a person of "one of".  Nope, if I try something new, it has to be in multiples.  This is no exception. I have 7 of them now and I'm holding back not to add anymore. The completed ones cost a fortune. So, off I went to look for glass containers, and then stones, soil, charcoal, moss and itsy bitsy plants. 

This was a first try and I see my mistakes. I would like to redo a few of them but since you can't take the material out in layers, I would have to dump the contents, (not the plants).  Not sure if I want to do that.

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Thank you for helping clean out some of my design stash. We are back to normal in almost all of the books so we need to limit the sale to ONE more day.  If there are any designs you would like to get for a great discount, fly over to here.

I LOVED your lost glasses stories. So funny, so familiar.  A little tidbit I've found to be true, I can't hear very well when I don't have my glasses on.  Have any of you noticed that?  We will be choosing a winner for the eyeglass case on Monday.  You still have time to tell me a story. I love them!

 

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