August is the deadline!

Oh my! August is coming up. And that means just one thing--SEMINAR! As much as I love attending, seeing old friends and meeting new ones, the lead up to Seminar is incredibly arduous. The hours of kitting, preparing designs and materials are virtually endless, and up to the last minute, I am thinking of new ideas and "just one more thing!".

This year I can add Minnesota to my plate, as I am going to be teaching three classes at the Needlework Guild there the first week of August! So that's not one, but two EXPO! nights. How can I even hope to do it all justice?

The Minnesota Needlework Guild Retreat Venue

By taking it one step at a time. First I outline everything that needs to be done: printing the books, kitting the kits, getting the color samples out to Color Lab students ahead of time, and getting all of the threads and supplies to create the color palettes and supply kits that you all love so well!

A sample color sample for my Color Lab Class

Then we move into action, coming up with packaging for the various kits (we try to make everything you purchase as much of an experience as we can!), and the designs that we want to feature at EXPO! The hardest part of all of this is, sad to say, the technological. The printer, when it works, creates glorious instruction books, but when it is not feeling up to it, the fits and starts of getting each piece of each book, is--MADDENING!

All the books and kits I offer are a sea of details: some with needles, some without, some with stretcher bars, some without---I can barely keep my own kit straight!

After the dust dies down in September, I know it will all have been worth it, but standing at this side of the mountain, I just don't know how I can make it! I will have to focus on the people, all of you, who will be visiting my home town, and expecting my best!

So how about all of you? What do you do to get ready for seminar? Leave me a comment and let me know I am not alone!

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Ah the Boardwalk......

The Jersey Shore.

Those three words can conjure up very different images, depending on if you are an MTV viewer (read: Jersey Shore), or an HBO viewer (read: Boardwalk Empire).  I have, however, decided to give our neighbor, New Jersey, the benefit of the doubt, after seeing this beautiful little cottage for rent. Touting a waterfall and Koi pond, it also has a stellar view of the Atlantic Ocean, and is big enough to house my little family and Shiri's little family! It had such charm, I couldn't resist....

The owner is a retired florist and landscape architect, as luck would have it, and has taste not often associated with TV's version of Jersey.

So come mid July we will set out, tickled pink,  to spend a week in this extravagant setting, and barring any boardwalk gangsters or frat boys, I am hoping it will be a memorable family vacation! Have you ever visited the Jersey Shore? How was it? Leave me a comment and let me know about your experience.

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Staple City, like you've never seen.

I recently came across a photo that tickled my clever bone. What appears a stunning city scape, an unusually massive city, in fact, is actually---a sea of staples?

I was so fascinated I had to find out who this artist was. After googling "staple city", "city of staples", and "staple city scape" I finally found a thread to the artist Peter Root. The piece was entitled Ephemicropolis, and as it turns out, is not his only cityscape. Look what he does with---er--potatoes?

Born in 1978, this artist has gained some notoriety  in exhibitions at London's Saatchi Gallery, as well as as his "virtual installations" in Google Earth. Take a look at his site to see more of his incredibly detailed work!

Carved Honey and Almond soap

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Ode to a Shoe

Ferragamo, Fluevog, Dolce & Gabbana......Prada for heaven's sake! I get it--they are beautiful shoes, in some cases worthy of their own museum show, of love and adoration, the kind of thrill one gets from a devastatingly handsome man who smiles and winks at you!

  

No, I would not argue their wonderfulness. But no matter how stunning the Ole Wink and Smile may be,  there is only one shoe I want to spend my days in, only one shoe to whom I commit: and that's Dansko. Yup, Dansko. Clunky Clog that it is....

I feel Dansko are not given their just praise. I looked for the Wikipedia entry of Dansko to write this, and found to my utter and overwhelming surprise? Nothing. How is that possible? This most comfortable, reliable of shoes, like the Nice Guy you marry--no Wikipedia entry? They can have a wild streak, it's not all a drudge...

I don't want to sound like an advertisement, because this isn't one. But as I kicked off my shoes sitting down to write an entry, I caught a glimpse of them and thought "whatta great shoe".  My feet never hurt, and I don't have back pain like so many others--and it's this shoe!!  You have to take note of the things that make life good.

Here in the studio, we are strictly Dansko. I wear the clogs, Genevieve spends an inordinate amount of time on ebay looking for an old wingtip version that they don't make anymore. We are more than committed. But it's not just us. That clog your doctor shuffles around in at your hospital appointment? Dansko. The shoe that's shod more than one great chef? Dansko.  You can't beat them. I wear the hard heel, and Genevieve wears the Rubber soles. 

The Dansko Wingtip (sigh...)

So if your feet hurt, get these, and if you've seen them and thought "I will never wear those clunky things", give it another thought. The world would be a much happier place if everyone's feet didn't hurt.

Leave me a comment if you know what I mean!

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Dyeing for More Color!

Everybody knows about my love affair with color, and with that comes a fascination with hand dyeing. I've noticed more and more DIY's popping up that make dyeing easy and exciting. On Pintrest the dyed doily is common sight:

Learn how to do this here

and on Etsy, it's a sea of hand dyed fabric, fiber and ribbons...

Dyed Silk for Nuno Felting from Kangaroodyer

Dyed Ribbon from Goldenonetoo

From the 5dollar French Market

If I google "How To's Hand dyeing" there are directions on how to dye absolutely everything from coconut to your shoes. People use food coloring, onion skins and even  Kool-Aid ( might make you think twice about drinking that stuff....). Humans have always craved color, and the application of it has been a long journey that every culture has participated in. Evidence of dyed fabric goes all the way back to the Neolithic Period, and documented Chinese dyeing techniques span back 5,000 years. Each culture devised it's own methods, utilizing natural materials around them. Many of  these methods evolved into incredibly complicated and carefully guarded secrets. Certain colors were sanctioned as fit for one caste or another, most notabley "Royal Purple". There was an actual law on the books of England that denied all but the high born as fit to wear this hue. A great irony of it all was that often times dyers were consider untouchables, and shunned from society. Although they held the keys to Royal Purple and the ever-sought after True Red, the transformative nature of their gifts was sometimes looked at as witchery, which was not helped by the proprietary and secretive nature of their business.

In Japan, they fared better.  "Shibori" dyeing is considered  fine art there. Basically a refined form of tie-dye, this type of dyeing is considered a "resist", meaning parts of the fabric actually resist the dyeing process.

By painstakingly pleating, binding and sewing large swathes of fabric, complicated, precise patterns of resist are achieved.

Great info on shibori here

                                       

And of course, there is the current fascination with all things old and tarnished, which can only lead us to Tea dyeing.

Tea Dyed samples from Tiinateaspoon

This is just a little bit of what's out there, please be sure to click the links to learn more about all of these cool techniques. At some point, I hope to dye my own threads, fabric or fiber and really get down to it! For now, I will just revel in all the color!

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I'm back just in time to... stand still

Nomi

The little one in the photo above was our focus for the past week.  We had such a wonderful time!  Playing, strolling, singing and laughing. Notice not much sleeping mentioned...

Today I sat down to get back to work with full energy only to find out that my printer isn't working, the DVD stuck in my iMac is still there, (need to schlep the machine to the Apple store tomorrow), and email is sporadic.  What's the point of all the energy I was ready to spend?  Arghhh!!

Anyway, it's good to be back and good to be in touch with you all.  I missed this.  Really.

So, hoping to have some good tech news in the next day or so. 

Hope all is well!
xoxo

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History with a friend...

Ruth Schmuff and I go back.  Back to days when we both wondered, should we dare?  Should we dare go out into the needlepoint world in full force?  We talked, it was at a TNNA, at least 15 years ago, and boosted each others confidence.  It was as if we were both standing at the very edge of a diving board, one of those Olympic tall, tall ones, (in this scenario Ruth and I are wearing very tiny bikinis and we look fantastic!), and we are encouraging each other to jump...  and we did.

I spent a fun, fun time teaching at her shop, Bedecked and Beadazzled this weekend.  Since I'm supposed to be taking a hiatus, I will send you over to her blog to read all about it.  Here it is!

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Hiatus, vacation, respite, BREAK!

Next week I am going to take a break. No blogging, no phone, no shipping, no emails , no NUTHIN.  Why you ask? Because I'm so tired, because I feel I need some fuel and because I am going to spend the week being a great grandma to Nomi, and a great mom to Nina. My girls need some attention! So for the next week, think of me doing a lot of playing, and a lot of loving!

Tomorrow off to Baltimore to teach and then back home for much needed rest.

I'll miss you!

xo
Me

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In Depth...

The Adorn Atelier Kanya Cuff Online Classroom

We have had a lot of questions about the new online classrooms we have opened at Adorn Atelier. So here is a little more about how it works, and what to expect in the weeks to come!

One of the primary reasons that people don't take classes, in real time or online, is scheduling. Everything can get in the way of a weekend workshop or seminar--- so, we thought, why not give them a year to work on a project?

We took four of our best classes and moved them to the new classrooms last week. The picture above gives you an idea of what it looks like. There are videos, charts, lessons and downloads.  And once you sign up (with or without the kit) you will have access for 365 days. If you sign up on May 30, 2012, you will be able to work on your project in the classroom until May 30, 2013. And you get to be part of the ongoing conversations between myself and the class.

New classes will be popping up during the next few months--so give one a try and see if it doesn't fit you like a glove!

Also in class news----if you happen to be driving distance to Maryland, I am giving a spontaneous color class at Ruth Schmuff's Bedecked and Bedazzled Needlepoint store on Saturday! We were talking and talking about using color, and thought--why not??!! This pin design above is the jumping off point for this class, and we will spend the day playing around with color and threads in Ruth's ammmmmaaaaaaazing store! The idea is that by the end of the day you will comfortable with picking your own color schemes, and be able to analyze color better.

If you are dying to join us, learn a bit about color, or maybe do a bit of shopping, just get in touch with Ruth.

And don't forget the 40% off sale is ending soon, and the choices are dwindling!  Head over and scoop up these savings as fast as you can! EVerything is updated as of this morning, so if you tried to get in on it and everything was sold out--there is new stuff on there!!

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