Not easily deterred, I just placed an order for a few different threads that I will experiment with for dyeing. For those of you who heard about my previous thread dyeing fiasco, you will be shaking your head in disbelief. I know, I know, I don’t have a wet studio, I barely have a “studio”, and given my last disastrous attempt, you’re wondering what’s possessed me. But I figure the upside to learning how to dye my own variegated threads, so they go with the linens I’ve just dyed, is as good a reason as any to give this whole dyeing thing another shot.
My first stab at dyeing my own threads in #5 wt & #8 Wt Perl Cotton
Oh! And before I forget, want to learn how to make a Dorset Button? Well, of course you do! Who wouldn’t? My Dorset Button Workshop, the one that is for those who’ve never made a Dorset Button before is coming up, so don’t forget to sign up now! Click HERE. In that workshop, besides having an absolute blast and hanging out for three hours we will cover what to do when your thread runs out in the middle of wrapping the ring and what to do when your thread runs out in the middle of making those spokes, and while we’re discussing spokes, how to line them up so that they don’t look like a spider’s web gone rogue. And once everyone has wrapped at least one ring, lined up those spokes and finished making the woven center, we will tread off the beaten path and learn how to add other stitches. This workshop covers everything you need to know in order to make some truly fabulous Dorset Buttons, like this one.
Carnival Dorset Button
And for those of you who already know how to make a Dorset Button, how about taking it to the next level? My Dorset Buttons Gone Wild II Workshop is one week later, so it’s perfect for those who want to take both! In that workshop you’ll learn how to make little works of art using Dorset Buttons as your jumping off point.
And for all of you really, really adventuresome types, sign up for my Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Scissor Case Workshop which is both the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild AND the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild II workshops combined, with tons of other tips, techniques and information culminating in a finished product – a scissor case covered in Dorset Buttons! This design is exclusive to the workshop and not available anywhere else. Whether you are just beginning to learn how to hand stitch or are an old pro, this workshop has something for everyone.
And if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter (just to the right of this blog post and below the Google Translate Button) do so now, so you don’t miss out on anything, including giveaways, fun little tips and information regarding new workshops, projects and designs.
Yup, you read that correctly. This post is being written within my brand, spanking, new, website. So let’s take a little look around, shall we?! (A quick note: my website is experiencing a few growing pains, so pages may load slower than you’re used to due to high volume, but we’re working on it.)
First things first. See the horizontal menu bar just above this post? That’s where you can navigate to my “Stitching Shop” and my “Workshops“. It’s also where you can browse and see all the various things I’m offering and teaching. In the workshops section my next workshop is the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild, which is the one to take if you’ve never made a Dorset Button before or are rusty and want to know how to line those spokes up so that your center is… well, center.
I also cover what to do if you run out of thread while still wrapping the plastic ring. SPOILER ALERT: the answer is NOT throw the whole thing out! What to do if you run out of thread making those spokes, again the answer is NOT toss in the garbage and go get a snack. What to do if you run out of thread while stitching that whipped woven circle. In other words this workshop takes you from start to finish how to make a traditional Dorset Button. And then we go a little rogue and I show you a few other things like how to add a bullion knot around the edge or add French Knots or maybe a few beads and while we’re at it, how about some Drizzle Stitches? Yup, we cover ALL of that and more. AND we have a blast, so there’s that too. Three hours of fun, fun, fun and you’ll come away with a finished Dorset Button or two.
Now just because I told you all about the Dorset Button Workshop doesn’t mean you should stop there. I’m offering three other Dorset Button workshops, the Advanced Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Workshop, which is one week after the more basic one, so you can sign up for BOTH. I know, I’m SO helpful.
And then there are two more that I designed new products especially for and those designs and instructions are not available anywhere else. Those two workshops are the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Scissor Case Workshop and the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Glasses Case Workshop. They are 3-day workshops where all the information and material from both the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild AND the Advanced Dorset Buttons classes will be covered as well as so much more! We will make a scissor or glasses case featuring Dorset Buttons from start to finish. So we will be covering all the basics and then so much more! This class is intended for all levels of stitchers, from the newbies to the old hands.
If Dorset Buttons aren’t your thing, never fear, I have created a 2-day workshop for those of you who love looking at hand stitching, but have not actually done it before. This workshop is called The Basics. I cover everything you’ll need to know to start creating and hand stitching your own pieces of hand stitched art! We begin with a 6″ or 8″ square and at least one other element that we will be adding. I cover needles, threads, knotting, ending, beginning, all the basic stitches, including whipstitching, needle turn appliqué, design basics, composition, the elements of design, color, and how to design a rocket ship. Oh I’m just kidding and also checking to see who’s paying attention. There will be a quiz at the end of this post. Again, I’m kidding. 😂
And finally I’m offering my Improvisational Stitching Workshop again. This is a workshop I just wrapped up last weekend, and am offering again. It runs for 5 consecutive Saturdays beginning in July. I’ve written a pretty detailed day by day break down of what we cover, so I won’t do that here again.
Improvisational Stitching Piece in progress
And then for all you website/virtual workshop adverse types, I have a new Youtube video premiering today at 11am EDT. That’s in just a few hours from now. If you’ve never done cut work before, this is the video for you! Join me and we’ll watch it together. ❤️
Yesterday I had to have an MRI because I’ve been getting headaches that often wake me in the middle of the night. I was quite sure I was fine, but it’s a precaution and being an adult and all, it seemed the responsible thing to do. So off I went feeling I’d prepared myself adequately. I don’t care for small, enclosed spaces, so I knew I was going to need to practice breathing and asked for something to put under my knees so my back didn’t begin to hurt. I believed I was on top of the situation and lay down, dutifully putting the ear plugs in and began counting my breath. Except once I was in the machine, I could feel my jaw shaking. As in uncontrollably and I was so freaked out that my jaw was doing this weird thing that I seemed to have no control over, I became convinced that it was so bad it would make my head move and ruin the imaging, which only made it worse. It took everything in me to breathe in and out, count my breath and eventually my jaw calmed down.
The upshot of the whole thing is that I’m fine. Perfectly fine. My neurologist called yesterday evening to tell me all looks well, “for someone your age” which of course gave me pause. “What does that mean?” I asked a bit defensively. He explained that you expect to see a few tiny white dots in “someone my age” and that this is also common in those who experience migraines. Evidently I have a couple of those white dots and also a tiny cyst, which is not in my brain at all, and is about 4mm. So another MRI in about a year to make sure that doesn’t grow. All in all the news is excellent and blood work is all good too. Whew. I knew I was as healthy as a horse.
After I returned home the skies opened up and the rain came down like some sort of end of the world scenario. That was when I decided to do a livestream, which you can see here if you care to.
And then I had to do a lot of work on my website, so I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening writing copy, learning how to input new workshops into my workshop schedule and create images for the workshops.
Every now and then when I needed a break I’d work on the piece below, which I’ve fallen in love with and that is inspired by plant and human cells. Pinterest is great for finding amazing images of organisms, cells and plant life that have been put under a microscope. I have a whole board where I’m saving such images.
This piece I’ve added some of my hand dyed t-shirting to and then stitched on top of it. It’s very relaxing.
My mother and two of my brothers are scientists: a chemist, an astro physicist and a bio-chemist. I was never very good at science, but I do love looking at the microscopic images of organisms and cells. They are things of such exquisite beauty.
The photograph below is of a coronary blood clot, horrible, but if you remove what it IS and just view it as an image, it is incredible.
Coronary blood clot. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a blood clot (thrombus) in the coronary artery, showing red blood cells (purple) in a fibrin mesh (threads). Magnification: x2500, when printed 10cm wide.This is a microscopic image of a cactus (I think). Amazing.
Which took me to viewing images of brain cells. Talk about inspiration!
Microscopic image of neuronsAmazing, right?!
There is beauty in just about anything if looked at through a different lens. ❤️
When last we met, I had just pulled my Bernina 790 out of hibernation only to find it did not fit my Koala sewing cabinet and so I had to order a new insert. Check, check and check. Who says I’m not getting sh*t done?
New Bernina safely back in hiding so that I could teach my Improvisational Stitching Workshop.
I know all of you want to know how Pat Pauly’s Take 2 virtual workshop went and I won’t leave you hanging. It was all that I’d hoped for and more. Just fabulous. Of course now I’m trying to talk her into doing another one: Line, Shape & Setting. I think I may have persuaded her, and the minute she adds it to her jam packed schedule I’ll tell all of you so that those of you who might like to sign up for it, can.
In the meantime I’m back to my improvisational stitching, Youtube tutorials, working on my next design, slowly chipping away at my Stitching Book, juggling my other various commitments and oh, yeah, life!
I have photos of what I worked on in Pat’s workshop, but it’s still a work in progress, so I think I’ll wait until I have something I love before I show you. Which means that I’ll have to pull that sewing machine out again or use my smaller, travel Bernina, which isn’t as much fun, but will do the job.
Yesterday as I was doing a livestream for my Patrons over on Patreon, I was talking and stitching away, as I do, and then I had this idea to add a piece of hand dyed t-shirt to the linen piece I’ve been playing around with and ended up loving it! I just love when that happens and it doesn’t happen all the time, so when it does, it’s just thrilling!!
Organisms
It reminds me of organisms that have been put under a microscope. I love that!
I have a couple pieces I’m working on simultaneously at the moment. One is a piece I began for my Improvisational Stitching Workshop. We are having SO much fun! As I was working on it, I decided to do a video on one way I like to create organic looking shapes. That video is premiering at 1pm EDT today, so if you’re around, come join me as I will be watching with you and can chat as we watch. Typically I go online a few minutes prior to the release time so that I can chat with anyone who is waiting. The Premieres are lots of fun and a way to connect with each other.
Another piece that I’m working on is what I thought was going to be a Stitch Along and then got stuck and decided to play around with a few different ideas before I committed one way or the other. That piece is just beginning to take shape. So far so good. I talk about it and begin working on it a little in the video below.
And then finally I’ve got another improvisational stitching piece that I’m just beginning and that is much larger than what I have done before. It measures about 44″ x 36″. So exciting!
In other news we continue to steam ahead on my website, which we’re hoping will be up and running by the end of this month. And I’ll be adding some fun workshops, a newsletter and lots of other things, so stay tuned!
By the way, that silk scarf I’m wearing in the photo at the top of this post? Yup, that one. It’s made by my friend Pat Pauly, who does the most gorgeous work. If you aren’t familiar with Pat’s work, go over to her website. She’s fabulous!
Animal Videos, Stitching, Dorset Buttons and a Couple Other Things Thrown in for Good Measure was the original title of this post, but that was way too long, so I had to shorten it.
A friend of mine (and of my mother’s) sent me this video, which of course I had to share. Thank you Linda! ❤️
I added a few Dorset Buttons to my Scissor Case, which I am now declaring finished. Seriously. I need to be stopped. However in my defense I had to wrap a whole bunch of rings in preparation for my advanced Dorset Button workshop that I’m teaching tomorrow and since I was already wrapping them, why not make a few more for the background of the scissor case? I mean, that’s just basic time management at work, right?
How fabulous are these? And I don’t mean that in a boasting kind of way, but more in an exuberant-whoopee-these-are-SO-much-fun kind of way…
These are going to be 5-day workshops once my website is finished and up and running. Did I mention we’ve been working away on that?!
AND this weekend I begin my Improvisational Workshop, which I’m just way too excited about and will need to sit in quiet, meditative, stillness for a few minutes, just to calm down.
Have you ever looked at a piece of cloth, stitched a few stitches into it and thought – well now what? That’s what this Improvisational Stitching Workshop is all about! It will answer the “Now what?” question that can loom so large. We are going to be discussing design, composition, adding different elements, colors, shape, line and pulling the whole thing together into a cohesive piece. I cannot wait. I’m so excited. Did I already say that?!A much larger improvisational stitching piece (44″ x 36″) that I have held off working on, but am SO excited to begin!
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