Mostly Works

As I was unpacking my Christmas stuff I had to chuckle at the ridiculous way I found my felt garland collection. I clearly grabbed anything that was within reach to roll them around and stored them in a plastic grocery bag inside one of the Christmas bins.  Not very festive or tidy...but it worked.

When I looked back...this is how I found them the year before...neat and tidy rolled onto paper tubes in their own special box.

It's probably a little insight into my state of mind when I was putting Christmas away both years...but it's also a window into contrast of chaos and order that can be found in many areas of my life and home.

It's just how I roll...and it mostly works.

1981

I'm doing some long overdue cleaning and decorating at my house in Lexington.  In just a week Paul and I will be hosting 20+ people for a church staff Christmas party....so it's time. Nothing like a party to kick you in gear.

One of the things I unpacked was a framed cross stitch I found at a consignment store last year.  I do cross stitch....but not this tiny anymore.  This piece was done on linen over one thread which means teeny tiny stitches.

I love the soft colors....and the old school feel.  It makes me smile.

Here's a close-up.  The tree is decorated with sweet little candles and hearts....and the fact that it was stitched in 1981 is one of my favorite parts....the year Paul and I were married.

I've decided to hang it in the corner over the mantle....Tootsie The Elf can keep an eye on it.....she''s one of my favorites.                                                                             

I decorate a little differently every year.....this year I'm keeping the mantle sweet and simple with a few of my other favorite Lori Mitchell figures....and my hand stitched treasure from 1981.

A New Look

Some of you may remember  when I undecorated some of my tree a few days before Christmas last year to create this JOYful abundance arrangement.  You can read about that little adventure here.

I framed an 8 x 8 version and hung it on the focal wall in Dr. Adams' office this morning with my other new pieces. I also added a few tiny 4 x 4 frames versions. 

Go for it!

Sometimes you have to jump in head first and just go for it!

This photo came through my Tumblr feed and it made me chuckle...it seems a little familiar lately.  It was take by Deby Dixon, a photographer who captures the amazing natural world of Yellowstone National Park. Her Facebook Page is worth checking out.

I finished my stick tree today. It's bold and graphic and I do love the patchwork mix of indigo fabrics. I ended up binding it with black fabric so it would blend into the black canvas.                                                                                    

I had to pause and paint the edges of my repurposed canvas....then in the middle of outlining the tree I ran out of dark gray thread so had to pause and make a quick to the fabric store.  

It was a big full spool when I started making all these trees and top stitching stripe stacks. There's something very satisfying about using something up!                                                                                                      

 

The best pause was a trip to the local garden center this morning with Janet....a Christmas feast for the eyes.

Something New...

...something blue.

I've had a Pinterest inspired tree piece in my head for a while and decided to give it a whirl today. 

It actually reminds me of a tree Janet and I saw this morning on our walk.  We loved how the vines gave it a fluffy and festive look....it almost looked decorated with garland.           

Since I've been working in blues lately...I chose a variety of indigo fabrics for the background.  Working on a stiff batting I drew the lines of a basic stick tree and fused in the blues....kind of like a patchwork mosaic.  It didn't have to be perfect because the branches and trunk would cover the gaps. To make them I folded and fused the edges of the fabric to the back...I didn't want raw edges. It also gives them a little dimension....and the blue fabric won't show through. I will tack them down with fabric glue before I stitch. Right now they are just sitting on top. They may need some adjustment....I can see one that's a little thick.

I'm letting it sit for today and will finish it up tomorrow. I will bind it and mount it on a black repurposed canvas.

It was inspired by this image I found on Pinterst by print and pattern designer Rene Casanova.

Pausing and Looking

A few days ago I paused for a few minutes to enjoy the late afternoon view out my studio window. 

When I really looked...what I noticed made me just giddy.  

The top of the large sycamore tree was loaded with seed pods dangling from the branches.  Follow this link to a post from September to read a little more about the tree...and its pods.

I hope I never stop pausing...and looking.

From September

Blues

The blue landscape project is stitched and mounted. Check✓ 

The trees and moon are stitched....I'll matte and frame it tomorrow.

Just Close The Door

I spent a good chunk of the day in the studio....and it was great!  It's messy....but still one of my happy places. I use the "just close the door" strategy a lot!

Several pieces on the focal wall have sold and need to come down so I'm going to rearrange things a bit sometime this week.  I'm thrilled to report that my wheat bouquet sold. I'm so glad someone loved it....I really wasn't sure. I also sold that large first glass piece.....I'm so grateful.

I want to make pieces that I think will appeal to people...and sell...so I'm keeping these next pieces simple.  Trees and landscapes seem to be popular so that's what I worked on today. The bottom of this one is hand dyed fabric in 5 shades of aqua.  The top is a commercial fabric and makes for a great sky and the horizon is a batik.

I will add tone on tone top-stitching once I get back to Lexington and it will be mounted around a 12 x 12 deep repurposed canvas.  I like the simplicity...it goes nicely with the mirror I just made.

 

My mini trees and moons seem to be popular so I'm going to try a larger piece framed in black.  The matte opening is about 7 x 9.  I think this scarf fabric is lovely...and this larger piece lets you see some of the ombre. I'm not going to add any other fabric.....just fuse and edge the birch and add a fabric moon.  I may actually fiddle with the birch a bit more now that I see this photo....but just keep simple.

This piece has been hanging down the hall in kind of a funny spot....I think it will work on the focal wall too.  And I have a few other indigo pieces I'm playing around with.

Grateful and Excited

Image from Positivity Printables.

Give Kansth!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

In our house we "GIVE KANSTH."  The explanation can be found here.
I just realized that either Pooh and Piglet aren't speaking....or they are welcoming others to the table. I'm going with the welcoming thing. 

Paul and I were entertained the whole ride to Maine early this morning by a gorgeous sunrise.  Even in a moving car I was able to get a few decent photos....it changed by the minute.  

When the sun was high enough it lit up the tops of the trees n the opposite side of the highway.  The further north we got....the more snow there was on the trees.

When we got to the condo I took a walk into the winter wonderland.  It's too early for this much snow...but it was lovely!

The sky was just starting to clear up...and hints of blue were peaking through the trees. 

So much to be grateful for! I am truly giving kansth today!

Cranberries and Grout

What do cranberries and grout have in common?  Pop!

There's nothing like the rich color and the smell of cranberries cooking to remind me of the holidays...I love it when they POP!

Paul and I will head up to Maine early tomorrow morning to prepare for our Thanksgiving with Margie and our son Sam. It's going to be nice having a new addition to our holiday table.

Just as I hoped the gray grout makes the colors and shapes POP on the mosaic mirror. I've only done the first cleaning....I need to let it cure before I clean up the crevices and polish the glass and mirror.

Learn As I Go

In between Thanksgiving prep I worked on a couple of projects today....one of them a simple mosaic project.  I repurposed a wide frame with a little 3 inch opening and just happen to have a mirror that fit perfectly. 

I decided to do a blue sea glass color scheme....seemed kind of practical.  All the glass is glued down with Weldbond. 

My hope is that the colors will pop with the dark gray grout....I'll do that first thing tomorrow morning. 

I'm including the picture below so I could mention a few "learn as I go" lessons.  The frame had a crazy black and white pattern so I primed it white.  Then I realized I didn't want to put glass on the the skinny inside rim of the opening so I had to spray paint it black...the only black paint I had here in Lexington.  Finally I could get started.

I did the outside edges first with light blue glass strips and let them dry a few hours so I could handle it without them moving.  

I framed the opening in medium blue then added the tiny square purchased mosaic pieces.  The dark blue squares were going to be the next row...but the math didn't work and there was no way to make them line up without cutting some of the squares down. So I abandoned them and came up with another plan. We'll see....I seem to be saying that a lot these days.