Frequently, I am so focused on what I’m doing, I loose track of time - you know, a few hours. But this week, I lost an entire day. I have really been focusing on creating new art and designs. I did not pay attention to the calendar on my computer or any of the other ways I keep track of time such as mentally noting each day.
Yesterday, as I was working, I wondered if it was Tuesday or Wednesday, hoping for Tuesday, but really knowing it was Wednesday. So this morning when I woke up, I asked my husband if it was Thursday. To my surprise, he told me it is Friday. Gee, now I’ve got to go double time as I’m behind where I had planned to be at this point. My husband insists that I was present and accounted for each day, no alien abduction.
So, back to the “drawing board”.
I wish each of you a great and safe 4th of July! I do know that its tomorrow, since its on Saturday and today is Friday!
My life has been going to the dogs recently, but in a good way. I’ve been sewing and quilting with the whimsical dog fabrics that I designed. The collection, It’s a Dog’s Life, is available from Quilting Treasures, a Cranston company. I recently designed and made this quilt, which will be featured on a segment of Martha Pullen’s Sewing Room on PBS this fall.
The pattern is available on Quilting Treasures website for downloading the free pattern in PDF format.
I’ve always known that crafting reduces stress. As I work on a quilt, sewing, needlework or other craft project, I can always feel the stress just float away But did you know that crafting is therapeutic for all types of health conditions?
In a new blog, Craft for Health , crafters and artists write about the therapeutic effects of crafting on their health issues or traumatic events in their lives. You can read my guest blog on how crafting helps me with Restless Leg Syndrome.
Craft for Health was founded by Kathy Peterson and Barb Dehn RN, NP. Kathy says, on her inspiration for creating this blog, “I always heard people telling me how much they enjoyed crafting and used it as therapy. I also saw a void in the market. So I approached Barb Dehn, a long time friend and business colleague about combining forces together (craft expertise with medical expertise) and we launched CFH. Together we are promoting health and wellness through crafting. Whether it’s quilting, scrap booking or using a hot glue gun, crafting can help everyone create hand made health.”
Kathy has a long career as a design expert, author and TV host and spokesperson and is currently co-hosting Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act. Barb is a TV health expert (ABC, CNN, NBC) and spokesperson, visits with patients and publishes health brochures.
I invite you to read my post as well as all the other inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking posts.
While searching through a closet recently, I found a box that contained some letters I had saved from years ago. I read letters written to me by my mother and aunts at various stages of my life - collage, as a newlywed, and as a new mother. I also saved several letters written to me on Mother’s Days from my very young son.
As I looked at their handwriting and read their words, memories came flooding back at each instance they wrote about.I remembered my mother sending me recipes when I first got married because I didn’t know how to cook anything other than eggs and mashed potatoes (not together, of course!). When my mother passed away, we found stacks of letters that she had saved from my brothers and me and our children as well as letters from her friends, sisters and other relatives.
When I was growing up, long distance calls were expensive, so writing was the norm.Emailing is now the norm.With the ease of emailing and social media such as Facebook along with inexpensive calling to anyone from anywhere, keeping in touch is immediate, fast, convenient and easy.
The instant communication and connection is wonderful. However, the art of hand writing a letter has almost been lost. Emails are easily deleted or lost when a hard drive crashes.Even if printed out, an email looks so impersonal.
Without the personal handwritten letters, a part of our own history is lost to ourselves as well as to future generations.Our children, friends, brothers and sisters, spouses will not be able to pick up letters we’ve written many years before and relive these memories, or just feel the feeling that comes when seeing a love one’s handwriting.
Several years ago, my mother gave me a letter my father had written to her right after I was born.She also gave me a congratulatory telegraph sent by a close friend after my birth.Although the telegraph is not hand written, I know that the effort that it took to send it was more personal and involved than a quickly written email.I treasure these.
Although our lives are fast paced, we need to take a few minutes to write a letter or note to someone dear, just to say hello or to comment on a special occasion or event and actually use snail mail to send it. And you can be sure that it will bring a smile to your face while writing it as well as to the person receiving it and each time in the future it is read.
I taped two segments for the Martha Pullen’s Sewing Room yesterday for the Warm Company ( they make the fabulous batting and fusible web that I use in all my quilting and applique projects). The taping was exciting and Martha is such a warm and nice person. Well, not just her, everyone who works for her is the same way, so it was a very enjoyable day. Of course, I carried my camera and took photos during the day. The project featured on one segment was a quilt, which I made using the fabrics that I designed, “Its a Dog’s Life” for Quilting Treasures on which I demonstrated a stipple quilting technique. Martha’s assistants, who are great at setting up the sets, are arranging the quilt.
For the second segment, I designed this apron shown here with Martha. It also is made with “Its a Dog’s Life” fabrics and features applique. The fuchsia fabric used for the main part of the apron features dog bones, so I appliqued dog bones around the bottom. Since the block and yellow fabric also feature birds, I appliqued a bird at the top above the pocket. I know I’m short, but standing next to the apron which was raised for viewing by the camera, I look even shorter.
The segments will be shown this fall and winter (2009-2010), so please watch for it on your local stations. I am working up instructions for the quilt and apron and will post the free patterns here shortly.
OK all you apron lovers - check out this book “The Best Apron Book Ever“. ! I received a copy which has an apron that I designed featured in it. In fact, it made the cover! The book, filled with 12 wonderful apron patterns, is published by The House of White Birches. Aprons are so fashionable and so easy and fun to make! Check back as I have a free apron pattern coming up that I think you will love!
I was invited to write a guest blog on ThinkCrafts.com by Create for Less. I enjoyed writing about crafting and how it inspired and influenced a creative career for me. I learned crafts early, taught by my mother and aunt. As I see all the emphasis on various retro periods, I think of the crafts I was doing during each period.
ThinkCrafts.com is hosted by a craft expert and professional of many years, Maria Nerius and is a fabulous site for anyone who loves art, crafts, creative design and working with their hands.
I invite you to read my post and would love to receive comments from you.
If you missed my live chat on the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media forum, you can still read the chat. I duscuss Art Marketing and Licensing and had a lot of quesitons asked from attendees all around the world. In addition, if you have any questions, you can ask them on the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media forum and I will answer to the best of my ability.
Also if you missed my interview on BlogTalkRadio, Inspired at Home with Tiffany Windsor, you can also listen to it. I am interviewed on trendspotting - how to find trends and using trends in crafting, designing and decor.
I would love to hear what you have so say, so please post any comment or questions that you may have.
The International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh this month was wonderful as usual. Color was everywhere as new fabrics were displayed (including mine - Its a Dog’s Life with Quiting Treasures). The mood was upbeat throughout the show and buyers were doing just that - buying. I took loads of pictures of great vendors as well as my friends But, if you read my last post, you know that my photo files were corrupted on the disk (the file names are all goofy symbols and Windows doesn’t know what file types they are- so if anyone can tell me what happened, I would love to know).
I am really excited about something that I purchased at the show (actually its being purchased through my local dealer). I bought Bernina’s digitizing software, “DesignerPlus Version 5″ so that I can turn my art images into machine embroidery.
I plan to start with the motifs from my fabric collections. I also want to create designs to put on some of my projects featured in magazines and books.
Call me a nut, but I actually love learning new software, until I get to a frustration point! The good thing about this software is that my local shop (Robin’s Sewing Shoppe) will give me lessons on using it, in addition to the demo I received at Quilt Market. So, any frustration points can be resolved locally!
But the next step is that after getting home, I have decided that I want to upgrade my sewing machine. That actually means starting new since my machine can’t be “upgraded”. I’ve been visiting the websites of ALL the sewing machine companies to see which one has the features I want. Boy, now that’s frustration! Some of the websites have much more information than others and its frustrating looking at one that has very little information on the features of their machines. Then when I find a feature of one machine that I really like, I look back at all the sites again to see which ones have that feature. And I love features! Unfortunately, the $$’s go up with each feature so I am going to have to tone it down.
So now, I’m off to visit local dealers to make a decision on which machine I want and to see if I can find one in my budget.
I am very fortunate to have two events Sunday night (May 24). At 4:00 p.m. EST, I am going to be the guest for the live chat on the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media Forum with Susan Sorrell. My topic will be Art Marketing and Licensing.
At 7:15 p.m. EST, I will be on Inspired at Homewith Tiffany Windsor on BlogTalkRadio. My topic will be Trending and using trends in designing, home decor, and crafts.
I would love to have you join me as you will be able to ask questions. If you are unable to join in, you can still listen to to the interviews later by visiting the above links.
I had some wonderful pictures that I took at Quilt Market. However, something happened to my disk with the photos and all the files were corrupted with strange file names. I have been unable to open them to post the pictures. What a bummer! If any of you know how this could have happened, please let me know.
Quilt Market was wonderful, upbeat and exciting! I will write more about it in the next couple of days and hopefully, I can get some pictures that my friends took to show you.
WELCOME! I invite you to visit with me in my studio. I create illustrations and designs for art licensing. I also design fabrics, quilts, needlework and textile products. I will share my latest news on illustration and designing as well as interesting tidbits on artist friends, books, traveling and anything else I run across. I would LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU and appreciate your visits.
