Tangled Stitch

It's really hot up here in the Northeast so this is my version of a day at the beach.    Embroidering in the air conditioning.  As you can see the second half of the Long and Winding Road is underway.  I have added a French knot peacock, a chain stitch tree, some lazy daisies and a few French knots for color.   You can see the dark pond peaking out from the top and one of the crows.  I'll add more soon. I took this piece with me to the Albany Shaker Craft show this weekend and it kept me company and kept me anxiety free( a miracle truly).  It was a lovely experience with many nice people to talk to. Didn't come home any richer money wise but it was nice talking to so many people.  I'm not computing as much as I used to(another miracle) and I'm writing a bit more but not really sharing.  So there you have it my version of a day at the beach, or more accurately a day on the Long and Winding Road.

I did the Albany Shaker Craft Show this weekend and the highlight for me was the dulcimer.   A lovely lady (I did not catch her name) played the dulcimer most of the weekend and the sweet peaceful sounds of Celtic music filled the meeting hall and made it quite easy to forget that this was a weekend that was not necessarily conducive for a craft show.   It was the early fall equivalent of a blizzard with heavy winds, heavy rain, and an overly gloomy weather prediction.   Although I must say as I was driving home on Saturday, it was ominous enough for me to take a detour from my hour long drive. But then there was the dulcimer and its peaceful melodic Celtic music to keep me company while I spent the 2 days very creatively and productively embroidering.   The volunteers were great as always, the customers were very appreciative, the compliments were plentiful, the crafters were a sisterhood (and a few brothers too) of creativity.   It was really a very l...

This little cardinal can be seen at the Albany Shaker Christmas Show starting tomorrow from 10 to 4 Monday through Saturday ending on December 17th. You can see him and his friends Santa and Snowman and Bluebird along with various other friends made by many different talented artists. As I'm sure you know I am just the biggest fan of the Albany Shaker craft fairs as they are wonderfully run and feature such a wonderful array of talented artists and crafters. If you are in the area of the Albany International Airport please leave a little extra time and go check out the goods. I also chose this little cardinal in honor of those baseball Cardinals. First let me make it clear I am not a Cardinals fan but a Mets fan(which I will return to as soon as this series is over). That being said I think the Cardinals are an inspiration to everyone and everything. There is something so wonderful about a team that was essentially out of the playoff race in the end of August to get to play a...

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...

Hi! I'm in the middle of getting ready for the Albany Shaker craft show this weekend so this will be short and sweet. The fair runs both Saturday and Sunday and the hours are from 10 to 4. The museum is located near Albany International Airport at 25 Meeting House Road so if you are in the neighborhood please drop in. I've got a few new framed pieces to share with you and I've come up with many new designs for the ornaments. A few bluebirds, some cardinals, horses, houses and many more. I hope to see you all there. There are many wonderful crafters and artists , good food, a pie tent(with many different delicious varieties of pie) and entertainment for the children. The fee is $4.00 or $3.00 with a coupon or free if you are under 18. So come on down! Be back soon when I can breath or until my studio doesn't look like an episode of hoards. Blessings to all!

This will be a quick post as I am feeling very melancholy today and the only thing that seems to be helping is embroidering. At the moment I am embroidering ornaments. Each little stitch brings me that much closer to peace. I am trying to find as much joy out of each and every ornament as I can, painstakingly adding stitches and details until the ornament is finished. I went out and bought muslin today as this foray into knitting and crocheting has brought more purses and scarves then I could imagine. I will continue to make purses and scarves as I need them and start watercoloring and embroidering again. I miss it, I miss the creativity, I miss the way that it makes me feel, the peace, the love, my center. I have finally gotten the message that embroidery is a gift I give myself, it makes me complete. I volunteered yesterday at the Albany Shaker Museum and happened to sell one of my new cat ornaments to a lady that bought it for her daughter as I was unloading my inventory. She...

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!

Well I didn't think I had anything to blog about today but I woke up this morning to the sound of an interview on the radio about the Albany Shaker Museum and their annual craft show. And they have a blog. So I'm just passing it along. There are pictures of some of the beautiful wares available, information on hours, how to get there and so forth and so on. So please go take a look(if you can in person would be great) and I'll be back tomorrow with something pretty of my own hands to look at. Keep stitching!

This is a piece I did during the summer before the summer became my long dark night of the soul. It is called Crossing Also. I looked back quite a ways and realized I hadn't share it and I really love it . Watercolored fabric with a variation of a cross and lots and lots of french knots. I'm getting the itch to do more hand embroidery so I'm hoping just posting it will inspire me to break out the watercolors and the embroidery needles. Crossings Also is now at the Albany Shaker Museum for the season and for some reason I'm feeling really empowered about having my work at Albany Shaker and having the universe(and the lovely volunteers) work at selling it. I've thought a lot about my future plans and have to say no second thoughts about limiting myself to the Albany Shaker craft fairs, my wonderful sales outlets and hopefully very soon Etsy. I'm still working on my office almost as much as my crafts in hope that soon I will be organized enough to wade out i...

The photograph accompanying this post is Water Goddess, its hand embroidery on watercolored fabric with Kantha stitching surrounding it(which I tried because of my fondness for Spirit Cloth and Bee Creatives wonderful work). The Kantha stitching really made the water goddess pop so thanks to those two wonderful inspiring ladies. The Water Goddess is now residing in the Albany Shaker Museum for the holiday show which runs from October 31st to December 19th. There are so many lovely crafters, even more then last year and such wonderful wonderful work. My friend Cheryl(the lady's got glass) has beautiful bowls and vases and the most extraordinary ornaments. My friend Pat has beautiful jewelry made from precious metal clay, my friend Karen is there with her beautiful hand knit children sweaters, my friend Becky(from Purl One and Purl two) is there with her beautiful felted purses(I hate to felt and love to see her beautiful wares). Well I guess you get the idea that you can find ...

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 ...

This has to be my favorite scarf at the moment. I love it so much I was tempted to pilfer it for myself instead of bringing it to the Albany Shaker Museum next week for their annual Christmas Show but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I can always make another one. It is different greens and blue circles connected by a two crossover brown pieces. It was a challenge but I love the way it turned out and I'm hoping someone else will too. And now I have to make another one! I hope you are having a wonderful day and I'll be back soon. Keep stitchin!

Hi All! I'm in the midst of a 2 day craft show at the Albany Shaker Museum(stop in if in the neighborhood) and it is wonderful to be around friends. It is my favorite craft show in the world because I know so many wonderful people from the craft shows and volunteering during the holiday season. Unfortunately it isn't going very well on the business side of the blackboard. Lately I'm wondering if I am on the wrong life path. I love to hand embroider, I still love, love, love doing framed pieces such as hands, trees, flowers(since I have a black thumb in the real garden)but whatever I am selling people aren't buying. It seems to be a common trend among all of us artist/crafters that business is down but it still can be a bit of a letdown. But then again what else could be on the horizon? The job market is slim to none. I can't possibly work any harder then I have been(lots of small projects) so back to the hand. I love to embroider hands, because as in the ca...

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...

It's been a long time. Didn't actually seem like that much time but I guess time flies when you are having fun. Been working a lot, I realized I was kind of low on inventory and needed to buckle down. As much as I can make myself buckle down. My son is now a senior. That is a wonderful and frightening thing. I guess it goes along with my first sentence, how time flies when you are having fun. I've been finishing lots of pieces in my stash, working on news ones and had a craft show today at the Albany Shaker Museum, if in the area I'll be there tomorrow also. I've been watching politics again, was moving right along and then the conventions hit and threw me for a loop. It has become such a negative cesspooly thing I won't even comment on it. Most of all have been having major computer problems, the one I'm on now is so old and sooooooooooooo sloooooooooowwwwwwwwww, the lap top is having wireless problems so it's been hard to even get on to read ...

Hi All! Feeling better. We had a snow storm and I've been sort of snowed in so life is much better today. I've been knitting up a purse(no pictures yet) and embroidering a purse(no pictures yet) and I've managed to creatively get myself out of my slump. There is always a day somewhere in the middle of the holiday season when I dwell on what is lost and I guess we can say I had that day. I've decided to enjoy my family and to make plans for my business and be creative for the next three weeks. I just happened to look up from my computer and saw the lovely(I guess you would call them lovely) Russian men in tutus swimming. It was a sight that made me smile. Hopefully you have seen it too. The picture is of a sampler that is currently in the Albany Shaker Museum. I enjoyed making it as it has lots of twigs and berries! Lots and lots of french knots. My work will be there until next Friday. The Albany Shaker Museum is such a wonderful place to be involved with. Th...

This is a piece I've made for the Albany Shaker Museum. As I was driving home from replenishing my table at the Albany Shaker Museum I decided to dip into my more artistic mode and lo and behold Infinite Love came to me. I created 2 hearts in red symbolizing love and the infinity symbol in green which symbolizes life, with little yellow infinity symbols which symbolize light. I matted it with maroon to highlight the hearts. I love to hand embroider and am thinking very seriously of committing myself more to the medium of hand embroidery then to knitting and crocheting. It fills me with such peace to work on each stitch and let the piece talk to me. If you are interested in this piece you will be able to find it at the Albany Shaker Museum starting next Tuesday. Thank you for your time. Keep stitchin and I hope the thread speaks to your heart too.

My trusty threads and myself are feeling very unraveled tonight. After a not so terrific craft show trying to practically give away my old work, alas I returned with most of it. I've come to the conclusion I'm just not a craft show gal anymore. Not that I ever was very good at it. For a long time I did very ordinary things, extraordinarily. I am a stickler for details and spending hour upon hour putting every last embroidery stitch in a twigs and berry heart pillow. Hundreds of little green straight stitches and maroon french knots, over and over again. I can't say I didn't love the sheer meditative power to those french knots and perfecting them but now I don't think they represent me anymore.(Just in case you are overcome by the beauty, this pillow has been sold but it's sister is at the Albany Shaker Museum) So what is a girl to do? I guess I will keep journeying on the road of life and hope that there are many street signs to point me in the right d...

I've made a couple of changes to my blog and added some pictures to my start up page. I had previously shared my funky purse and transformation elsewhere in the blog but as the blog changes daily they fell into the atmosphere. I'm still working on the Christmas project and a knit bag. I dropped my work off yesterday at the Albany Shaker museum so if you are in the neighborhood drop on by. They really have a wonderful selection of artists and gifts for the holidays. The Christmas fair is open from Saturday, October 27, to Thursday December 20th. There is also a wonderful feeling to the meeting house. I guess that is because they used to have church meetings in there. The Shaker philosophy is an interesting one too and I feel a kinship with the shakers of old whenever I am there. Hands and hearts working together. Isn't that what we do now? I've also had something very exciting happen but really don't want to discuss it until I'm sure where it's going. ...