Winfield Flood pets fundraising continues

I was in the hospital’s surgery waiting room for the better part of a day and stitched up this Jane Austen design from The Sampler Girl. (you can find the chart here) Hubby has forbidden my mentioning his surgery on my blog (although I guess I just did, huh?) but I will say that he is home and resting now. You’ll have to please excuse the un-ironed state of this little finish :)

I just added a few more counting heart sets to my Etsy shop along with a few more threadholders, including the Jane Austen style. Don’t forget that all sales are still going towards helping the pets who are victims of the flood here in Winfield. So far we have raised $84.00 together! Thank you so much for your help! Later this week, I will make the payment to the Missouri Humane Society and post the final total.

• AP News blurb
• ST. Louis Today article about the MOHS
• NY Times article about levee strength

I’m hoping to take a day of leisure tomorrow and attend a stitching get together at a friend’s house. Have a lovely day, everyone… stay safe and dry!

 

new bushes, new threadholders, and a little frog

It finally quit raining for a minute, so Cheese wanted to see how the new bushes were doing. He’s concerned about the middle one (it’s gotten beat up in the storms) and thinks we might need to replace it soon. We’ll see… I’m not all that anxious to re-do yardwork that I didn’t really want to do in the first place and I’m also not going to just take the word of a little platypus.

I made some Quaker-themed threadholders… they are in my Etsy shop. I also recently listed some more de-stash items :)

My daughter found a tiny frog today… the picture is unfortunately blurry (he was a quick little thing) but at least you can see how small he is. We have these all over the yard and they are really cute! I always wonder how many get mashed up when my husband mows the lawn though.

Happy Wednesday!

 

ATCs and ACEOs on a Wednesday

Monday’s art class was all about ATCs and ACEOs, including their history and commercial prospects. Elizabeth has since launched into full entrepreneurial mode and asked me to begin a section for her to list her artworks on my Etsy shop: Art by Elizabeth. She will be in charge of creating, pricing, and shipping, while I will provide the artist’s materials, the listing space, and general supervision. She’s hoping to earn a bit of money towards her upcoming summer adventures, not the least of which is a trip to American Girl Place in Chicago. The ACEO pictured above is titled Mermaids Playing… isn’t it cute?!

Though art miniatures have been around for ages, the current ATC (Artist Trading Card) frenzy was born in Switzerland in 1997. There are just 2 rules for ATCs: they must measure 2.5 X 3.5, which is the size of a standard baseball trading card, and can never be sold. A complete (and interesting!) summary of ATCs can be found here.

ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) are basically ATCs that are for sale. An ACEO must stick to the required size but can be a print of an original, either numbered as part of a limited print run (limited edition) or re-printed without limit (open edition). Of course, they can be originals, too. I’ve seen original ACEOs selling for hundreds of dollars, though most seem to sell in the $5-$15 range. Elizabeth is selling hers for $1.50-2.00 :)

BTW, David Cook completely rocks.

 

and we’ll be back after these messages…

What a nice surprise I had this morning… one of my threadholders is pictured on the cover of GOSM. Of course, I knew I had made a special one and also knew Tanya intended for it to be pictured along with her design, but I didn’t know she meant on the cover! Neat.

I’ve already gotten a few emails asking me how to get one, and I think the easiest thing for me to do is direct everyone over to my Etsy shop, Studio Twenty. BTW, you will have to register with Etsy, but all you have to do is give an email address, I believe. It’s very quick & easy, and I have never gotten SPAM as a result of being registered there so I feel comfortable recommending it. Etsy is a fun place to shop anyway, even if you aren’t after one of my needlework accessories :)

On the first of every month I wake up, grab my cat and my coffee, and download the magazine. I’ve been a subscriber since the first issue (Feb. 2006) with the exception of a small gap in mid-2007 when I procrastinated on renewing my subscription. I can honestly say that there has been something in every issue that I wanted to stitch… it’s a beautiful magazine; well worth the price. Oh-and there’s a subscription special going on until May 9th, too: $24 for 2 years! I totally sound like a commercial, sorry.

 

studio twenty

I’ve listed some more threadholders in my Etsy shop. I wanted to make more, but didn’t get a chance before I had to leave. Sigh. For those who don’t know, Studio Twenty is a wee-tiny extension of My Mark… while My Mark provides an outlet for my wholesale-only designs, Studio Twenty is my place to share handmade needlework accessories. BTW, things seem to sell out fairly quickly there, so you may want to look at the “sold items” page (there’s a link in the sidebar of the storefront) to see if there’s something you’d like me to make more of for you. Since I’m out of town now I can’t whip anything up, but I will get back to you when I return next week.

Edited to add: Thanks so much for your comments yesterday. I still don’t know what’s going on with my uncle’s condition, hopefully I can update later. In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers and good thoughts but need to ask for more. Our beloved Katie (the frogwatcher) is missing! She’s an inside-only cat and has never been outside… we are SO worried. And we can’t figure out HOW she got out! She’s not one to just dart out if you open the door for a minute because she’s afraid of everything. DH is out looking again and we passed out flyers and went door to door before I left.  I miss my girl!

 

oh. my. gosh.

Would you look at what Karin made for me… How cool is that?! Karin makes lampwork beads (and maybe other kinds, too, I just don’t know the terminology) and this flower cell charm is SO pretty. And the needlecase? I was just floored when I saw it. How much time and effort that must have taken; and it’s beautiful! Ooh and I found out she has an Etsy shop, too (Maverick Beads) and my daughter is after me to get her one of Karins beads… she’s like a magpie, that kid.

 

kitting, counting, and remembering

What a colorful mess! I just got the charts from the recent LHN kit and I’m working out measurements and fabric colors. My plan is to stitch each individual square on it’s own piece of (non-matching yet coordinating) fabric and then quilt those onto yet another piece of fabric. I’m glad I know a fast stitcher because I wanted to have this design, but not in kit form. As soon as I first saw it, I knew I wanted to do something a bit different with it.

I’ve added some counting sets to the Studio Twenty shop today. I have to make some more frogging needles– those sold fast! thanks!– and also more threadholders; I think I’ll be able to get those done and listed by Tuesday or Wednesday. Maybe.

My parents are getting ready for a move and just found this packed away in their basement. My grandmother gave me this figurine for my 11th birthday! It’s been broken and repaired (I’ve always been clumsy) but I still just love it. It reminds me of my girlhood and time I spent with Grandma, the color of her kitchen, the silly games we played, the fabulous daisy patch she had out in her yard… sigh. I miss her.

I’m thankful for the time I had with my grandmother.