Tangled Stitch

Hi All!  Having a few internet problems so won't be here as much for a few days, hoping to use the time very wisely and finish some pesky projects and start a few more.  The weathers been beautiful, went to see a band in the park the other night.  Totally lovely and realized a lovely artist I know is right here from Whitehall.  Everybody is very nice here and you can complain about life but can't really complain about a view of a canal to wake up to.  Have a great weekend and I'm off(perhaps for a while). Please don't forget the Albany Shaker craft fair is next weekend already(I know).  I bought the lovely little tree and the butterfly to Valley Artisans Market yesterday so if you like them there they are.  Kathy at the Katbird Shop still has lots of my work and lots of work by other artists too.  My Etsy shop is still working and I'm thinking Ebay as soon as Albany Shaker is over.  Gotta find a way to live the dream.  Blessings to a...

Happy Thanksgiving a day late. Had a wonderful holiday with family back on the island. So nice to see everybody. The kids have all gotten so much older(where does the time go anyway), the food was delicious, and the company even better. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family. I have so much to be thankful for and news to share with my artwork also. Tomorrow is our Holiday Open House opening up in Cambridge at Valley Artisans Market, there are so many beautiful things to choose from. I am so looking forward to it! Please drop in and give it a look you won't be disappointed I promise. We are also having a raffle for a Valley Artisans Market tote bag,jam packed with goodies from all of the artisans. All you have to do is spend $20.00 and you will be entered in the raffle and that also means that if you spend $40.00 you will have 2 chances. $60 and you will have 3 and so on and so on. The artwork included in the raffle is very beautiful so please come. I will also be se...

This piece is called Unconventional. It is hand embroidery on watercolored fabric. It is sort of a metaphor for my journey the last few years. The gentle balance between being a conformist and being myself. Taking a leap of faith and hoping that the universe will let me know which road to follow and realizing that as long as I am doing the best I can at everything, I can be both at the same time. If you've read my blog for the past few years you probably know that I was struggling with the jack of all trades master at none metaphor. I wanted to be all things to all people in both my life and my work. In the end trying to be that way means you aren't really doing your best at anything. Yes there were moments of inspiration and brilliance but there were also a lack of detail and a scatteredness that wasn't serving me very well. That started to change early last year when I stopped talking and started listening. Kathy my wonderful friend from the Katbird Shop talked a...

No pictures today. Not much to talk about either. Been busy on my hand, still no pictures, which comes with an explanation, its a piece that has to be seen finished and well it's just not finished yet. I am enjoying making it a great deal and it should be done soon. I went to see Kathy at the Katbird Shop and it was nice to see her and I brought her a few new pieces. I had lunch with both Cheryl and Emily which was loads of fun but other then that just working and thinking about a plan for the future. I did set some goals for myself at the beginning of the year and I'm trying to get the body in motion. I'm also recovering from a bug of some sort. So not very talkative. Miss reading your inspirational posts so I'll end here and hopefully see you soon(with the hand, it's quite interesting if I say so myself).

Flower Heart Hand Embroidery on Muslin Hi All! This piece is currently residing at New Leaf Gallery located at 30 Beekman Street in Saratoga Springs, NY. It is joined there by a few other pieces which I dropped off the other day while out with my friend Cheryl. I am excited to try something new at New Leaf as I previously only showed the bags and scarves. Please go and see this beautiful new gallery on Beekman. It is chock full of beautiful wares and they have a very interesting artist in the gallery now. It's a wonderful place to have my work. It's been a quite hectic week as my son returned to college this week and we went through schedule hell, but it would take me most of the time I have available to explain it. But as of this moment he has a schedule he likes and he has all of his books so hopefully he will have a wonderful semester. I've been working a lot. Besides going to New Leaf I went to visit Kathy this week and brought her some beautiful framed pieces a...

Busy, busy, busy but wanted let you know that these three hand embroidered pieces are now at the Katbird Shop looking for a new home. The Katbird Shop is located at 425 Liberty Street, Schenectady. It's a couple of doors away from Pinhead Susan's which has wonderful food so stop in for a bite while you are there. I'm going to go read my bloggy friends and then it's computer off and back to work. Hopefully things will calm down a little bit here and I'll be able to post more often soon.

Today I made a trip to the Katbird Shop where I dropped off, Lotus and Mighty Sun, both hand embroidery on watercolored muslin fabric. I took the glass off of Mighty Sun to see how it would be received, as I am thinking of the endless possibilities for embellishment. It is always a wonderful time at the Katbird seeing the lovely Kathy and today she had an artist there making a beautiful painting of a horse. There are so many talented artists and artisans represented there it is definitely worth a trip. I also took some Christmas Ornaments, which Kathy is selling like hotcakes. One woman bought a whole bunch of them and it always heartens me to see that some people admire my work that much. I am starting a new endeavor(or a revisit to an old one) at the Katbird making personalized childrens pillows and birth announcement pillows. When my son was very little I used to design them, the first one being a train which is what I brought to Kathy, and I would ask my two year old son wha...

Hi All! These are some hand embroidered ornaments I am making for the Katbird Shop. I'm really enjoying the whole twigs and berry and cat thing. I don't really have too much to say today, too much television this week and well the news was just horrendously awful this week. Just another reminder to live our lives to the fullest and get into the process and not the outcome. We never know what the outcome of anything will be. We may wish to think that we do, but we don't. Hard to remember that on a daily basis. I think living in the moment in the process is at least a way to try. I hope you have had a great week creatively and personally. Be back tomorrow with hopefully something more inspiring to say.

This is my favorite tree and I took a picture on a beautiful sunny day not so long ago because the light hit it at just the right angle. I'm feeling a little under the weather, not sure if it is just too much Halloween candy or something a little worse. On the plus side I have been making pillows and ornaments for the Albany Shaker Museum and the Katbird Shop. Will take pictures and share when finished. Blessings to all. See you soon!

This is one of the cute little knit purses I made for the Albany Shaker Holiday Show which starts this weekend. I love to make them and bead them and yes even line them. I think I'm going to make some for the Katbird Shop and New Leaf Gallery. Busy, busy, busy is the word. I won't be able to completely relax till I am set up on Wednesday and on my home. But I am enjoying the making much more then I was earlier this year. They say the way to abundance is to do what you love and somewhere it became more about something else(like money). I love what I do but when you try to put a price tag on something you love, it becomes something other then something you love. But the love and joy of creativity is back and we'll see where that leads to. Hope you are having a very stitchy day. I'm finally feeling better this evening after my sinuses went haywire. I'm eating so well I thought my immune system was working better so I stopped the Nasonex. Well after a few days ...

Passion! That is the name of this piece and the perfect beginning for my news of the day. Passion resides at The Katbird Shop until someone decides they must bring Passion home. The Katbird Shop is located on Liberty Street in Schenectady a little bit away from the restaurant Pinhead Susans(delicious food by the way).I will be giving a class on crochet on Wednesday October 21st at 1:00. It is a beginner crochet class and I will teach single crochet and double crochet (and of course the chain stitch without all else would be futile) and the student will put those stitches into their own scarf(bring your own yarn 2 skeins and a size H crochet needle). I'm recommending inexpensive worsted weight for the class because although the students will go home with a scarf the first project is always the trickiest. The cost is $25.00 and if you are interested in attending you can call Kathy at the Katbird Shop at (518)381-1671. I also brought Kathy some lovely scarves and bags and am ad...

This is the Passion. I finished it last week and it is now hanging in the Katbird Shop in downtown Schenectady. The Passion came to me on the way home from the Katbird Shop and it was only right that it grace their walls(and hopefully someone's home). I am always inspired by the works of others. When I go to the Katbird Shop I am inspired by the wonderful owner of such a beautiful shop with such beautiful things and the lovely way Kathy runs her business. She is such a pleasure to work with. A woman who is following her dream. She gives me hope that someone will find beauty in the way in which I follow my dream. Passion. What does it mean to me? My family. I am passionate about my husband and my son. Peace. I am passionate about finding peace in the world. Life is never perfect but the ability to lose myself in a hand embroidery project is a gift from God. Color, I love the contrast of colors in a sublte manner or not so subtle. Hand embroidery. As I mentioned earlie...

Well my life has been a whirlwind since last we met. I have been busy getting ready for the Albany Shaker Christmas Craft Fair. If you are in the neighborhood you can stop by and see some of beautiful wares made by myself and hundreds of others. It's an annual event and you can find beautiful handmade gifts in every price range. It is now open and it will continue until December 21st. The hours are 10 to 4 Monday thru Saturday(the hours may be different on Saturday check with the museum). It is closed on Sunday. I am still showing my work at the Katbird Shop in Schnectady and also Silver Birch Trading in Albany NY. Email me if you wish more information. Kismet Gallery has closed. It was a remarkably young and vibrant gallery and was very disappointed to see it close. A true pleasure to do business with and I know that before long the talented owners will open another beautiful outlet for artists and their wares. I was so excited to be part of it. The election and the won...

Making art. I brought my work to the Katbird Shop in Schenectady so if you are in the neighborhood stop on in and take a gander. She has a beautiful selection of different local and not so local artists. Such a wonderful thing to have a purpose behind my work again. I've also contacted another Gallery. Not much to report but looks like a really great place to display my work, where my housewife persona won't get in the way. I'll let you know if anything wonderful happens there too. Very cool and very funky and I think my work would look great mixed in with all that cool funky stuff. So wish me luck. Other then that me, my shadow and my embroidery needle have been so busy. I'm working on another hand. It is coming out beautifully and can't wait to share it. Hopefully by the end of next week. I did another lotus, not framed and forgot to take a picture of the last one before I brought it to Katbird. The Katbird one was a lovely pink and this one is lovely l...

Well, the sciatic is gone. The creative drought is over and my wonderful friend Cheryl got me into a store that she works with so starting next early next week my work will be available at the Katbird Shop in Downtown Schenectady. I am so excited and looking forward to working with a purpose again. I had a wonderful lunch with Cheryl at Pinhead Susan's if you are ever in the Schenectady area. Wonderful Irish fries which are sweet potato fries. But spending time with my friend Cheryl was wonderful too. She is an ever so talented bead and glass artist. Her work is in the Katbird Shop also and she is in an artists coop in Cambridge called Valley Artisans so if you are in the neighborhood please go see her beautiful work. My friend Judy as some wonderful new work at her website which you can find a link to on the side. My friend Emily belongs to the Quilt guild and she is making quilts for charity which are beautiful too. She doesn't have a quilt blog or a website but she d...