I know….it’s been awhile since I last posted anything….Such is the situation when one is the entire operation of a small business! No one can accuse me of flooding their notifications with and undue number of posts! LOL! And its not like I haven’t been doing anything…..after a year spent writing, drafting and publishing 5 new patterns, I need(ed) a break to satisfy my own creative stitching spirit. But I am thrilled whenever I see the photos that you post of your finished pieces using my patterns. It is so fun to see how you all make them your own with your own little touches. And I am always very grateful that you take the time to photograph the pieces and to post them. In a world where I really don’t get to ‘meet’ you, your experiences and work is the only way I learn about the good and (hopefully) not the bad of my patterns. Thank you!!!

And now to catch up with several photos of finished pieces….

First up is this wonderful navy blue and white version of my Snowflake #1 pattern. Done ever so nicely by Barbara Findlay Dombrowsky who chose to stitch the snowflake in a contrasting thread for a beautiful effect. Using contrasting thread is always a bold move as your stitches are very ‘visible’ – in contrast to stitching with a similar colored thread that blends in with the piece. Both can be great choices, but a beginner who is somewhat concerned about his/her abilities may favor a similar colored thread to draw less attention to less than perfect stitches. Barbara’s stitches here are wonderfully done. I also like the darker blue as a choice of color. Yes, you can make your snowflakes any color you like! Thanks for sharing Barbara!

Recently, Nancy Pierce posted these photos of her take on my “Tulip Swirl” pattern. This has always been a popular pattern, especially as spring begins to roll around. I love the colors she chose to use and I especially love the patterned/plaid background wool she used as a base for the tulips. It is always the best for me when I find that someone has truly make the pattern ‘their own’ via their unique wool choices, etc. There is ALWAYS more than one way to make a pattern! Here the printed wool she chose, takes the place of any beading or stitching in the background. Her stitching is beautifully done. Thank you Nancy!

In the last month Debbie Wright Akin was kind enough to post these photos of her progress completing my Yule Calendar and it’s ornaments…no small task! She will surely have a treasured piece of handwork when she is done. Notice that she changed up the border colors for the actual calendar and they are wonderful. And by looking at all the pieces she has cut for the ornaments, she is a very precise person! Very fine cutting…not to mention the color choices she made. That is one of the fun things about the ornaments for this calendar – they are so easy to personalize to your own liking. (When I was making the ornaments for the pattern, it was hard not to keep coming up with ideas for either more ornaments or other color combinations – so this is so fun when I see you all do that for me!) She has promised to post photos when she is done….I can’t wait to see them. Thanks for sharing Debbie!

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, I just received this photo from another Debbie.  Debbie Alsene Lazarski sent this photo of her completed “To Everything A Season” – one of my newest patterns just released less than 3 months ago.  She’s fast!! But what a wonderful job she did with the stitching  along with her choices of wool and threads.  So fun that she added flowers to her ‘summer’ and some special buds to her ‘spring’.  And while she did the table mat for the pattern, please note that the pattern also allows for making the individual seasons as small wall (or wire) hangings.  I hope she enjoys the piece throughout the year.  She did a great job.  Thanks to you as well Debbie!

I hope that these gallery photos will encourage more of you to send in your completed projects.  Part of the fun of wool stitching is the chance to share with all our fellow handworkers and to inspire everyone’s creative ideas. Keep stitching…but don’t forget to have fun!!

One would think that during the last 6-7 months of ‘Covid times’ that I would be caught up on my blog, product postings, personal projects, and household chores and upkeep! Well – NO NO NO and NO! I have worked on bits and pieces of all of these, and while my personal projects are half done, I am finally making an attempt to get caught up with my blog and website. During this time it has been so fun to see what others are doing; what projects they are finishing and/or starting! As an small online business of selling my wool pattern designs, I don’t get a chance to see my customers’ work as they complete any of my patterns. I miss that exchange. As a former art teacher, I so loved it when I would give the kids an assignment and then – a few days later – bear witness to all the different interpretations they presented to me. I remember telling my DH that their creativity drove my own creative juices. It wasn’t about the skill level, but the interpretation, the color and design choices, etc. That is one of the reasons I created this gallery – to inspire others to trust their own creative interpretations and to share with others, encouraging them to ‘give it a go.’

I am so grateful to have been given permission to post these two projects in the gallery. The first project is by Marie Millis who happens to belong to the same FB wool applique group as I do. She did this stunning interpretation of my Blooms In Blue pattern. I enjoy the higher contrast wools – between the background wool and the lighter center wool – and the effect that had on the blue blooms! Marie’s work is beautifully executed, beadwork and all. To say nothing of the lovely setting in which she photographed the topper would be remiss…..that gorgeous glass piece is so stunning. I’ve never seen one similar.

This second photo is by Kathy Purkiss, also a member of the same FB wool applique group. She completed her version of my Daisy Garden pattern and did a wonderful job.  I like how she spaced out the beads around the outer edges – reminds me of the little picots done in crochet or tatting.  She also left out the little curli-swirls by the bottom of the daisies….and aren’t those daisies just so nicely executed???  To top it off, that beautiful glass pear  only serves to accent the colors in the ‘daisy garden’!  I envy those pieces every time I’m digging around the house to find centerpieces with which to photograph my pattern models.

My thanks goes out to Marie and Kathy for sending or posting  photos on FB and allowing me to post them here.  I hope this encourages others to send in photos of their projects that involve my patterns.  Together, we all learn and improve our personal work.  Keep the love in stitching!

I couldn’t have been more excited to see this photo posted in the FB Wool Applique group. [Did I ever say before that it never ceases to amaze me when I see my designs created by others?? Well I remain amazed!] Terri L. Peck Wolf shared this photo just this last week as she finished the project….She used my Tulip Swirl pattern and did an outstanding job in creating her own Tulip Swirl. I loved that she took it upon herself to substitute french knots for the beading, stitching the butterflies to the top instead of making them 3-D, and choosing some high contrast threads that just make the embroidery ‘pop’. I especially like the outside contrasting thread on the black background. Her wool choices are wonderful. She can be very proud of herself and hopefully she will enjoy the fruits of her labors as spring rolls around over the next few months! Thank you Terri!

I can’t say how appreciative I am when any of you send in photos of your WIPs (works in progress!). It is so fun to see how you interpret and present my designs and patterns. I know that sometimes it takes a bit of courage to put your work out there, but you never know who YOU may be encouraging buy sharing your work. I am a bit behind in posting this wonderful Daisy Garden – done in red – by Kathy Strope Bowen. She posted it on FB in February. Those late winter months were not particularly good to me health wise so I didn’t get it posted…until now. Forgive me Kathy! I love her choices of the deep red color and the muted sage green. Looked to me like she was doing a fine job of stitching. So let this inspire you to try your own colorway with my patterns!

Just this past week, Nancy Garnett sent me this photo of her Cobblestone Garden Path. What is more amazing is that she only received the pattern about a month ago – and this ‘Artisan Series’ pattern is no small undertaking! Remember that the Artisan Series patterns are designated so because they are more complex in construction and execution. I can see that she modified various aspects to her own liking and that is exactly how one makes a project/piece their own. Again, it is so fun to see how she chose to stitch the pattern. What a great job! Above all, I hope she enjoyed the stitching and is proud of her final project – she should be, don’t you agree??

This beautiful wool applique was just posted on Facebook yesterday and I was taken aback at the wonderful interpretation. Toussein Martine used my Feather Your Nest pattern to create this custom piece as a wedding day gift and ‘remembrance’ for her son and new daughter-in-law. How lucky are they! I am always so pleased when someone has the confidence to use one of my patterns and ‘makes it their own’, especially as they pour their heart and skills into making it. Toussein chose to focus on the birds with just a few feathers and leaves – rearranging the birds to face each other (this reminded me of the wonderful ‘fraktur’ paintings done in early American art, but most certainly a carry over of ethnic designs brought over from ‘the old country’!). She used colors which likely were either favorites or meant to match a decor and she also carefully chose to simplify many of the patterns stitches, etc. All for such a wonderful keepsake.

Sometimes it takes a bit of ‘nerve’ to learn to trust your own choices, especially if you have been convinced that you have very little artistic talent. I recently had someone ask me about creativity and whether it could be taught. My answer – “When you were two or three years old and someone gave you crayons or other materials and asked you to make something, did you refuse, hang your head and say you weren’t creative? I doubt it – ask any little one. I firmly believe that loss of belief in our own joy of creativity really has more to do with when we learn that others may judge – and we are too young or simply not strong enough to resist that judgement and pursue what brings us joy in our hearts. The good news is that as we get older we can consciously choose to ‘dig deep’ and find that lost creativity, letting other’s judgements fall to the side. While we all have different skill sets that can always be learned and improved, all of us can foster our creativity in whatever venue we choose!

[Just an important side note here: please realize that the ‘making it your own’ I am addressing here is VERY different from copyright violation when a person copies a pattern – or a portion of – and passes it off as their own or creates it to make an income!]

Just love this take on my fairly new pattern ‘Feather Your Nest’. This was created by Margaret Munn and I saw it when she posted it in the Wool Applique group on Facebook. What a fun surprise. I so enjoy how she chose to simplify the pattern – eliminating many of the feathers as well as minimizing the use of beads, etc. And then she chose the bright yellow feather for the bird’s beak! It is well known among artists that simplicity (knowing when to quit!) is sometimes much harder to achieve than one would think. As I design my patterns I do realize that there are so many different choices that I can make in creating the design – ultimately there is no one way to present an idea. Margaret obviously had the confidence to let her own creativity ‘play’ and created this wonderful take on Feather Your Nest!

I think it is important that those of us who pursue creative activities always remember that we need to make our projects our own. I’m not talking about copyright violations, etc. but the personal choice to make a piece that is meaningful to oneself or (if a gift) to the recipient. As I have said before, as a former art teacher, nothing delighted me more than the student who would surprise me with a whole new take on an assignment, and with a bit of encouragement developed pride and confidence in recognizing their own creative soul. You do know that we all have one, don’t you????? Think you don’t? Just ask any young child to make or create something and they are unabashedly filled with an abundance of ideas!

Just had to share these absolutely delightful May baskets that were made by Nancy Batchelder – can you believe she made 25 to be exact?!?!?! That’s one productive lady. She said she is known for her May baskets. She used the Wall Pocket pattern as inspiration and found a way to make it all her own! She used wool felt blends and reduced the pattern on her printer so the template would fit the wool felt sheet sizes. She also used a Sizzix machine and die cuts to ‘dress up’ each basket, adding little sparkles and fun embellishments along the way. Wouldn’t you just die to find one of these hanging on your door on May Day??? Even the hanger is made with a strip of wool blend felt. Thanks to Nancy for being willing to share these here.

Anyone who knows me knows I am all about creativity and this is exactly what makes me a happy designer. The former art teacher in me is absolutely thrilled when I’ve been able to inspire someone to find their own creative gifts. So next time you are holding a pattern in your hand, don’t be afraid to ‘give it your own spin’! You might surprise yourself and make others smile as well.

Tulip Swirl as completed by Deane Evans Brothers, spring 2018

What a nice surprise to have this photo and comments sent in through my Facebook feed! Thank you Deane Evans Brothers! And such a wonderful job! I cannot tell you how much fun it is to see how my patterns are completed. I wish you could see the smile on my face as I love viewing all the creativity out there. Deane also left these nice comments:

“I have just put mine out, I was so tired of winter and snow stuff sitting around my house!! I loved every minute of making this. The kit was fabulous and even I could follow the directions with no problems.”

While this is wonderful feedback, it isn’t always the same for everyone. So I cannot stress enough how much I value your input, thoughts and constructive criticisms! And while it may seem to you that perhaps your particular observation/comment/input did not change anything for a particular pattern, please know that I have a huge place in my head where I ‘file’ all the comments, etc. and oftentimes those ideas will surface down the road. (I am a former teacher and I fully realize that not everyone ‘hears the same words in the same way’!!)

So please, if you are looking at this post, think about sending me a photo of your version of any of my patterns to share. I would love to see your work!!