Blogging on my New Website!

Blogging on my New Website!

I just can’t tell you how thrilling it is to go to my website and write a new blog post! For those who may be confused, last week I was still posting on my old site, which now is housed under the umbrella of my new website! I know, I know, I’ve already talked about all of this at length and I’m not going to do another post all on the fabulousness of my new website, however I just have to say that as I sit here typing this I’m silently bouncing up and down and squealing with joy. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It’s been such a long time in the making!!

So. Now that I got that out of the way, what are we going to talk about?

Oh! Before it slips from my mind, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. It’s just to the right of this post. ❤️

The other thing that leaps to mind is that I just released a new video on my YouTube channel.

The title of this video sums it up.

This video begins with an 8 minute riff on life, aging, Merlin, facial recognition, the results of my MRI and whatever else flew into my mind as I was recording. So yeah, there’s that. However don’t despair, I did some stitching too.

In other news… okay there IS no other news. This is my life in a nutshell. It’s evidently a very, very tiny nutshell. 😂 So I will add a few videos of other people’s lives that came up when I went to schedule this video. The first is my favorite Golden Retriever, Bailey and his new best friend.

And then I had to share this one, because going to Africa to see the gorillas has been on my bucket list for decades now.

I wasn’t familiar with Keith Urban and his music until I saw this pop up and hit play while waiting for my video to finish uploading. How great is he? And Nicole Kidman? Love them both.

Enjoy the weekend everyone and don’t forget to check out my upcoming workshops!

One Year Ago…

One Year Ago…

I wanted to write this post on Saturday, February 20th, because that was exactly one year ago when I launched my first video for my Youtube Channel, Ariane Zurcher ~ On the Other Hand!

Here it is! My first On the Other Hand video.

Since that day, just over one year ago today, I have made and posted 248 videos! Yesterday I did a livestream, where I’m obviously feeling quite a bit more comfortable filming and posting. I went from having 0 subscribers to 3,865 subscribers as of yesterday. I say this not to brag, but more as a mark of where I began with YouTube and where I am now. Because in this crazy time of the pandemic, when everything can feel really, really off and sad, I also want to remember some good, which means honoring my own personal little milestones.

Here in the United States we hit more than half a million dead from COVID19. It’s a grim reminder of the perilous and tragic times we find ourselves in; a time when so many of us have been unable to see those we love, whether that’s our aging parents or young grandchildren. It’s been a period marked by disconnect and fear and worry and yet, we have also made different kinds of connections. Zoom calls and classes have taken off. Who would have thought any of us would know our way around a Zoom meeting?!

Personally this has been a year of massive and intense learning. When I began my Youtube Channel I had no idea how to upload videos, make thumbnails, do livestreams or premiere a video. I also taught myself how to create a design from paper sketch, to computer, to downloadable PDF file, write instructions, and in the last 12 months I’ve posted 8 new designs in my Etsy Shop, conducted an 8-week Zoom Workshop, with another one in the planning stages, created a Facebook Group: Ariane Zurcher Stitching Circle (which has 1.2 thousand members) and a Patreon page!

The sketch for Making Waves: A Drawstring Bag
The finished bag!
My most recent sketch for my next design.

And here are a few of my other designs from the past 12 months.

Rhino Pouch – This was the first of a few pouches I began designing.
A larger abstract pouch
The Otter Needle Roll
The first of my “River Rocks” series. This one is a small pouch using a linen background.
Rock Gardens: A Variation of a Rice Sack
Padded and lined scissor case
Glasses Case
Making Waves: A Drawstring Bag

And along the way I began to explore what I call Improvisational Stitching.

Olea: The first of my “improvisational” pieces.
Perseverence

This has been the most intense year, both incredibly sad and scary globally, as well as exhilarating and exciting on a personal level. It’s been both. I have met thousands of new people from all over the world and for that I’m so, so grateful.

So, to all of you who’ve joined me during this truly bizarre time, thank you. Let’s keep laughing and stitching! ❤️

Laughter and Humor During Troubling Times

Most of us, here in the United States, are hoping the next day and a half will go by quietly and without violence. In addition, since most of us are not yet vaccinated, and the variant has hit the US, with death tolls from COVID at an all time high, I thought the perfect remedy for free floating anxiety is a little silliness and laughter. This first clip is from a morning news show that airs in Calgary and whose anchors seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs.

And then, because I had clicked on this video, Youtube helpfully suggested the following video as another they thought I might like, which of course I had to click on, because that’s what one does…

Things devolved from there as youtube recommendations (you know the list of videos they think you might like that pop up on the right of your computer screen) began to include increasingly raunchy titles such as, “Pussy Get Out of my Pants” and other such salacious click bait. So I did what anyone would do, I went down the youtube sinkhole of clicking on recommended titles, and then had to pull myself together and redirect, as one does when heading down time wasting sinkholes. Oh but I did laugh at some of these… seriously laughed until I was crying. Even so, I’m happy to report I was successful in extricating myself and am now heading into what I hope will be an extremely productive day.

But before I go, here is one more, which made me laugh… I know, I know.

Now I’m going to get some work done, I swear.