obsession....

I made the brown raspberry truffle mini for my mini quilt swap partner in The Netherlands, but the lemon truffle mini quilt (top) followed soon after. I just can't stop myself; this design is so much fun! I think I'll take a short break from sewing to see if I can't shake the truffle/kelpy thing... although my first plan was to make a lino print of just that! Oh well...

stitch-o-rama

I'm still loving the little greenies doodles (and will have many more to post soon). Here's a recent one in teal and green. I loved being able to take something crafty with me on my mini vacation to Edisto, SC with my mom. Turns out the beach is perfect for laid back creativity.

Also, here's something I'm really excited about: I turned one of my lino prints into an embroidery design. I like the way it turned out but I can't wait to frame it up in a little mini mini. More to come soon as I get crankin on some Big Crafty projects!

sock creatures!

Lark Labs held a most excellent event with Stupid Sock Creatures author John Murphy and it was so much fun! I made this little fellow, now named zeke (thanks claire!). I have a feeling I'm going to need to make some more: there's really no wrong way to make them and they really seem to take on a life of their own. My favorite is the butt patch, made mostly because I forgot to stuff my little guy before I stitched him up.

Oh, and here's another spore creation. I wonder if I'll ever run out of little doodle sprouts to stitch?

spore doodles and crafty news

Big crafting news this week: I got into the Big Crafty show here in Asheville in July! Which means I better get busy making some things to sell. It's always a delicate balance: making what I want to make and making what I think I can sell. But I'm hoping to keep those two categories as closely aligned as possible this time around. And I'm starting with these little diddies: framing up my embroidery doodles into little mini-mini-quilts. I call these latest guys spores...they make me happy.

In the meantime, my friend and I are leading a sewing workshop at work and we're busy making some squares for the Bushfire Quilt Project. Pics of our wonky stars headed this way soon!

greenie doodles

I went home to Cleveland, TN, this past weekend and took some embroidery supplies with me. Even if I look dorky, I do so love the portability! These were fun - I stitched them over the course of a few days, sometimes in the morning before work while I waited for the hubs to finish his breakfast, sometimes in the bed at night snuggled in between the rogeys (it's cold!). I have a lot more ideas for little greenies. And yes, the odd man out is the pair of glasses at the top right that are facing the wrong direction. Oh, well... that's the nature of the doodle.

thread doodles

I've been having such a ball with French knots that I decided to extend my repertoire to back stitch. I like the sensual aspects of embroidery (ok, that sounds a little weird): the needle popping through the fabric, the thread pulling along, my whispery curses when I create knots in my floss.... ahhh. I do like the portability though; knitters always look like they're having fun while they're out-and-about doing their thing. Although I did have some hesitant thoughts about bringing my embroidery out at a party... but I did it anyway!

fun with barbells!

Pardon the typos... it's hard to type with a bandaid on: I should really invest in some thimbles if I'm gonna continue this hand-stitching business! Before the massive bloodloss, I was able to complete this mini quilt, which I call barbells. And of course, the French knots made an entrance! And gold thread, gold thread! I really like it, and there used to be more of it. This piece and the last were kind of lessons in editing: I added too much and then took stuff off until I was happy again. It's been working for me pretty well, but I should probably purchase a friggin seam ripper if I'm gonna stick with that trend. Ahhh, tools.....

I've also been thinking this pattern would be fun to make in stained glass... maybe when the garage is warm enough to work in again!