love of french knots

OK.

i've got this new book with some great designs. i'm ready to go. what do i work on? FRENCH KNOTS? am i crazy?? well, luckily after the french knot training at the workshop - i was ready. and how great is this chandelier? had some good inspiration from the book & a good selection of colors from supplies i got from the workshop. i'm pretty happy with this!

I FEAR FRENCH KNOTS NO LONGER!

renegade handmade & workshop

over the summertime a few friends of mine and i went to the renegade craft fair in chicago. it was a great time!

while there i tried to go to renegade handmade (a store i recently fell in love with) and pick up jenny hart's new book, Embroidered Effects. the book wasn't available at that time & i contacted the store about it, and they told me about a workshop with jenny hart herself! how fun is that? the deal was to purchase the book from their store online (no problem), and pick it up at the workshop. great deal. i'm IN.

so i went, and had a great time. here's a link from their site about the workshop; and there i am right next to the teacher. :) jenny was a doll! it was really great to see her work & teach - we also got to learn some new techniques & tricks. and my new book signed. :)

had a blast! hope to be able to take part in more workshops like this in the future!

who said MEEP?

years ago day one of tech week was hitting me hard. two friends of mine rescued me by a midnight run to dunkin donuts. someone ordered milk. i'm sitting in the backseat, listening to the guy send the order thru the window, and i hear the phrase "meep...". i'm, of course, horrified, or offended or something... and i say very loudly "WHO SAID MEEP?" it's been a joke ever since.

found a milk carton design online & adjusted it as needed.

what did i learn from this project? the disappearing ink marker that i used to trace the design on the fabric runs, so be careful... and fertheloveofgod, don't use a blue sharpie.

what's a newborn to wear?

why, onesies from mandy, of course! taken from some of sublime stitching's patterns & some from the previous book i mentioned, here are a few tops for the new arrival.

porcupines? who cares; i find them & their pink noses adorable.
i am sure this little lady will show up in more projects by me in the future. the back says "Sweet Thing"

thistle? dandelion?

i sort of coordinated the bird on the butt to the shirt with the star... of course it was all up to mommy & daddy as to how her outfits were coordinated. ;)

welcome to the world, caroline. mandy loves you.

blankets for baby

welcome to the world, baby caroline. jen and jer were preparing for caroline's arrival, and jen gave me a few blankets to decorate. i used some of the designs from jenny hart & her designers - i used the kurt halsey patterns & the roarin' twenty patterns. the kurt halsey patterns are so precious to me, especially making something for jen's baby; they are a mix of angels, birds, love and peace. and the roarin' twenties? so much fun! i stitched without any sort of backing since it was a blanket and i didn't want any sort of scratching on baby.

i took some artistic license & changed the cigarette the dancer girl was smoking and turned it into music notes. :)