I know, I know. You’re wondering if you stumbled upon the wrong blog. You’re thinking – what has she done? Where are all her beautiful threads that I so covet? What’s going on around here?
Never fear. My threads, and everything else hand stitching related, are all, somewhat, neatly stacked on the floor out of view and then not so neatly shoved into various corners, like just to the left of my sewing machine.
It kind of reminds me of Santorini where there’s one view that one can capture by photograph that is exquisite and magical and just beyond beautiful, like a fairy tale, really.
But then, if you turn just a little, you get a very different view where things aren’t quite so glistening and white, there’s garbage, the houses aren’t all pristine, and the land isn’t landscaped, but rugged and without flowers.
That’s what my studio looks like right now. There’s only one shot where everything is neat and tidy. Everything else is pretty haphazard.
The reason for all of this is that I’m taking a 2-day workshop with my friend, Pat Pauly, who is fabulous and a really wonderful teacher! I’m not much of a quilter, so this is definitely a stretch for me, but I love her work and she’s pretty terrific, so here I am, preparing for her workshop, which will begin in just a couple of hours.
Pat Pauly is also the one who sent me this piece of linen, which I’m working away on…
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.
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!
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. ❤️
I’m sitting here in my workout clothing sans sneakers typing this as I didn’t dare put on my regular work “uniform” for fear I would never honor my Spin Class reservation that begins at 11am. And while we’re on the topic, I just have to say, workout bras are truly a form of torture. You just haven’t felt discomfort until you’ve shoved yourself into one of those. Yes, yes, I understand the need for keeping everything in place while exercising, but seriously, I’ve become so used to comfort this past year, this feels positively barbaric. Curious about my workout routine, you’ll have to watch the video I’ve posted one paragraph below this one. Spoiler alert: I don’t have a “workout routine.”
But I am not going to get side tracked. I’m not. My friend Pat Pauly has posted a brand spanking new workshop to her already busy schedule. It’s a Line, Shape, Setting virtual workshop, which I’ve signed up for and it is July 20th & 21st. If you want to sign up for it, hurry! As it will most definitely sell out soon. Click ‘here‘ to learn more about it and to sign up. To see more of Pat’s fabulous work, click ‘here‘. She’s pretty fabulous. By the way, those scarves I always wear? Yeah. Those are all from Pat. As is the gorgeous linen fabric that I’m doing some improvisational stitching on in the video below. Oh, and by the way, that fuchsia colored cording that I’ve couched? That’s silk sari strips from Stef Francis. I just adore all their products.
I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I will be able to announce something fabulous in my next blog post. I thought I would have been able to announce it last week, but alas life got in the way of my best laid plans. I’m just hoping all falls into place in the next two days. We shall see.
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