the needlework show + new releases

Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to get a good chart cover. Above are 2 of my 4 new releases (I posted about the other 2 here) and the fabric I used on “stitch every day” just looks a bit whacked in the picture. It’s a lightly mottled pale peach color in real life. The fabric is Wichelt’s hand-dyed Jobelan in the color Bittersweet Lite. Here’s the swatch from Wichelt’s catalog:

Looks nothing like my cover up there, does it? And check this out:

This is what the model looks like in person. Hmmmm. Anyway, You’ll just have to trust me that the colors work well together, I guess. Because they do.

The online needlework show starts tomorrow afternoon! If you have never been to see it, you must go check it out. (if you have, you already know what I’m talking about) One of my favorite things to do is make a fresh pot of coffee and surf my way through all of the designer pages, making a wish list as I go. I generally go through the whole show about 3 times and sometimes I wind up with quite a list of things for my shop owner to order for me.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to look at the show much this time. I’ve got to dash out of town for a bit of a family emergency, and I won’t be back home until the show’s end. During the time I’m away, I’ll only have limited internet access, but I’ll do my best to keep in touch–and I’ve set up some blog posts in advance. Enjoy the show!

 

and the winners are…

So it seems that the phone company gifted me with three full days without service to celebrate my three years in business. Really, I wouldn’t have minded if they had forgotten the occasion altogether. I know I have a few tags to answer and some goodies to post pics of, but first I’ll end the suspense:

I had originally planned to write numbers on slips of paper and have my daughter draw the winners, but that just wasn’t going to happen this morning. I used a random number generator instead and took a screen shot (which I know is not near as cute as a picture of my daughter’s hand would be) and as you can see the winners are:

• #54 Wendy of Home at Work
• #26 Ginny of A Crafter’s Chronology
• #14 Beth of The Cat in the Adage

Thank you so much for all the sweet comments, everyone! They were really nice to read, and I found several new blogs to check out, too… this was a fun celebration, internet issues aside.

simple pleasure: being able to share my love of stitching with others

 

three years, three winners (a contest)

pictured: MM016 “sunshine & shade”

On April 1st, My Mark will be 3 years old. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been in this business for about 20 years, and sometimes it feels like only a few minutes. Being a professional designer isn’t easy and it isn’t always fun (my workday consists of much more than just eating bon bons and stitching) but I feel as though I am doing exactly what I’m meant to be doing at this stage of my life… and that’s a nice feeling.

I want to share this teeny milestone with you, so I’m giving away three My Mark prize packs. I have 3 goody bags of charts and (?) that I’ll be sending out to the winners…all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before Thursday afternoon. As always, this contest is open to anyone, anywhere, even if this is your first time visiting this blog. Thank you for helping me celebrate!

 

the LHN project + new release peek

Please pardon the dull colors in the photos… it’s a dreary day here. Again. This has been the longest winter ever, hasn’t it?

This is what yesterday’s planning mess resulted in… 8 different fabrics and a common set of DMC colors for my LHN project. I want to stitch each of the 8 sections without the border and then sew them onto a solid piece of fabric, or maybe do them more like quilt squares. I don’t really know yet; I figure I can think more about that when I get the stitching part finished. I did get the heart block stitched last night while watching High School Musical 2 for what must be the 33rd time now, so that leaves just 7 blocks to go.

Here’s a pic of two of the newest My Mark designs; to be released mid-April. (obviously not yet ironed, and with the border on “home” not quite done) They may wind up being the only new releases if I don’t get a move on with design work. Is it really almost April? I am continually finding myself up against a deadline, and I’m always surprised by it…

I’m grateful for the ability to live in the moment, and accept enjoy each day… whatever it brings :)

 

a bad moose + a bit of brainstorming

I started my morning with a little design work at the kitchen table. Usually, I do this sort of thing in my studio, but I was attracted to the sun coming in through the window. The design is of a blue moose (I’ll explain later) but unfortunately after I stitched the head, it looked more like a reindeer… I’ll be frogging that tonight!

I need to start thinking about the TIF challenge… this month’s concept is “admiration”. Not at all the type of topic I expected; my first reaction was to take the easy way out and use the color scheme. Only, the color scheme is a bit out of my comfort zone so it wouldn’t exactly be the easy way! So, I need to start with the definition. admire: (verb) To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval. Who do I admire? Celebrities, survivors, and historical figures aside; off the top of my head:

• the designer who already has her 2008 releases lined up (with models done!)
• the mom who homeschools her 6 children and still appears to be sane
• the stitching blogger who shares beautiful finished projects every few days
• the artist running a very successful Etsy shop

AHA. I’m noticing a theme; all of the people I admire are people who get things done. Maybe rather than choosing just one person I admire, I could focus on the characteristic of efficiency, which is getting things done within a reasonable time frame. Yes, I admire efficiency. Next, how to translate that into a design? And in what medium? Oy. This is hard! Gotta let it stew a bit. I’m going to go rip out a reindeer head.

 

on the stash wagon?

I have seen blog after blog noting the resolution to not buy any more XS stash for a set period of time. As your blogging friend, I fully support you in your resolutions… but the designer in me (you know, the part that can afford ham instead of hamburger when you buy my charts) hopes you cave. I don’t see how anyone could keep this resolution anyway… I know I couldn’t.

I love buying stash! I enjoy new charts– the shiny bag, the smell of the paper, their very newness. And what about floss? Man, nothing beats a good floss feel, especially if it’s silk. And what holds more promise than a brand new hand-dyed linen FQ? The possibilities of what it could become are almost endless!

Seriously, in most cases a new chart is cheaper than going to see a movie… and provides so many more hours of entertainment. And besides, they are much smaller and easier to store than say, a cookie jar collection. Giving up new xs charts should be something you do for Lent, not New Year’s… resolutions are supposed to help improve your circumstances or enhance your enjoyment of life, not deprive you of a simple pleasure.

Speaking of simple pleasures… one of mine is seeing pictures of My Mark finishes, especially those cleverly done. Sharon recently finished “be silly” by making a cube and Nita finished “simply rejoice” into a snazzy pillow:

Today’s joy: watching my daughter get SO excited about finding three Trixie Belden books at the library, I thought she would pop. 

 

2008? ready.

OK, the calendars have all been hung, flipped, or reset, and we are ready for 2008. For a woman living a watch-free lifestyle (and supposedly unconcerned about time) I sure own a lot of calendars! They are in every room except for the bathrooms.

I’ve got my stitching project all lined up for the “first stitches”… do you all do that? Start something special on New Year’s Day? I like to start a biggish project every Jan. 1 and tomorrow I will be starting “My Stitching Treasures” by Jeanette Douglas.

Happy New Year!