Sunday, August 14, 2022
17th c Beadwork Class
Saturday, July 30, 2022
My Summer Rollercoaster
2 Weddings in 3 days & a Finish...
Oh my golly this year has been a handful. I am still trying to get back to my olde self.. I just feel like I got on some rollercoaster from hell and can't get off. A week after I got my staples out we were off to Durango Colorado (a trip my husband had planned for a year and would not let me out of). About a week after that Pip and I drove up to Washington to see my parents. A week after we got home from that, our oldest daughter got married!I hope you are finding time to get some stitching done & enjoying your days XOXOX
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Super Honored
My 15th Consecutive Year Selected for Early American Life's Directory of Top 200 Traditional American Craftsmen
Words can't express how much it means to me to have been selected again this year for the 2022 Directory. THANKYOU to the judges for choosing my dollys to accompany so many other talented artists' work. I really do love making dolls.I am currently sculpting the figures for the 2022 Poft Oak beadwork class. Once I get those finished, I will hope to get some dollys in the ETSY shop later this summer!
Happy Stitching XOXOXO
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Gum Work~ The Art of 17th Century Gummed Silk
Now Open for Registration!!
Registration is now open again for my gummed silk class! You can read all about the class by clicking the tab above for my Diamond K Folk Art Online Academy. Its right under the Blog header here on this page. The photo to the right is a link to the Academy for those in class to sign in. To learn about what classes are running, click on the page tab at the top of the page, under the Lady's Repository Museum title banner.Have you always wanted to make a 17th c inspired something....but for whatever reason don't stitch? Do you love to cut and paste? Make collages??? This class could be just what you're looking for!
You will learn gummed silk history, and how to make it so you can make gummed silk compositions of your own~ on a box, or just as a flat panel to frame on your wall. This technique is perfect for tight spaces and interiors of caskets & boxes.If you click on the Silke Gum Worke tab to the right to sort the blog posts, you can see some historical pieces that have sleeven or gummed silk on them.
THIS IS NOT A CASKET CLASS, it is a class to teach you how to make Gummed Silk.
I will have an interior finishing class coming up later this fall.
Friday, May 27, 2022
A little Casket Peek
Sharing a Few Stitches With You Today
As I try to get back into my normal groove I am super happy to be able to get back to stitching. I have had several things framed up and ready to go for some while, since January I guess actually. People ask me all the time how I am able to get so many things completed, as I stitch all of my class and project models myself. My trick is that my stitching is framed and ready to go ALWAYS. It's always out on the display counter so if I walk by and want to stitch for five minutes, I can. It's ready for me. So much time is spent setting up and putting away if you do not have a dedicated stitching space...that's all time that could be spent stitching if it was right there waiting.I thought you would enjoy a little peek at what will be going in a secret compartment in the current casket I'm working on. You can hear the pop of the needle as it passes through the paper on the back of my silk...something that some may consider odd, but I love to listen to.
Happy Stitching!
Saturday, May 21, 2022
17th Century Silk Wrapped Cards
The wrapped cards on the back of my little casket have piqued a lot of interest from folks. That's GREAT! I have received quite a few questions so I thought I would just share a bit more about them here on my blog for everyone to enjoy.
These cards are indeed a 17th Century technique. They are most often found on caskets, but I have seen ones made up into little purses as well. I know I have seen more than one. The following example is shown in Domestic Needlework~
Many early caskets were not worked in a single technique. Usually, the elaborate raised work was done on the top or front, with flatter techniques like satin stitch used for the sides. Wrapped cards were common for the backs of caskets, especially if they were planned to sit against a wall where the back was rarely seen. A person could spend months and months working on a single elaborate raised stumpwork panel, whereas I worked all of the wrapped cards for the back and frieze of my little casket in only a day and a half.
Wrapped cards are pretty self-explanatory. They are made up of silk thread that has been wrapped around a thick card. I am lucky to own some period ones, three of which are shown above. They may look tatty to the untrained eye. Tatty ones like these reveal the secrets of how they were made ;)
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Thankyou
Life is nothing without Family and Friends
I don't know where to start, so I guess I'll just jump right in. First I want to apologize to all my faithful readers that I have not posted in so long. This year has been a challenge. On my last blog post, I was excited and getting ready to go to Williamsburg Va for an embroidery seminar. I was excited on the outside, but I had been struggling for some while, just not feeling well. I can remember joking to Lamora that I was so sick, but needed to get my order done for the seminar so was painting all hunched over on my stool because I couldn't sit up straight, the pain and cramps were too bad. Did I listen to my body??? noooooo I did not. I got my order done and strangely enough, instead of taking it with me on the plane like I usually do, I mailed it in. Even my angels were talking to me secretly and I wasn't listening.
Three days before my flight in Feb I spent the day in the ER, never got to Williamsburg, and the rest is a blur. Long story short, I had a coconut size tumor removed and am now sitting here in MAY, looking down at a scar that runs from my sternum to my nethers, trying to realize where the time has gone. It actually seems like YEARS have gone by in these months. I am still having panic attacks, but I feel one coming on and can push it out of my mind. I know what one is now, I wish I didn't.
Each night I pray for strength, and understanding, sometimes for more patience, and more compassion. The Creator does not have a magic wand and just swoosh, here your prayer is answered. It doesn't work like that. He throws situations and tests at you...things that will teach you more compassion, or more patience, or more love, more kindness. Kinds of things that show you how much others love you, and how much you really love those others.
I hope I passed my test. I hope I learned what I was supposed to, because I really dont think I have it in me to go again. I love my family & friends more than words can express. There are no words of thanks that even come close to how I feel on the inside. I have always thought in my mind that I would live to be 100. I never even thought twice about it....until these last couple months when I was honestly hoping I would just get to 51. Ya, 51 in Sept would be great. One more trip home to see my parents, one more summer, two daughters getting married. My surgery went great, I got the best surgical oncologist and he ripped that coconut right out of there and now news is great and I am back to shooting for 100 again. I got a lot planned, so I need to get busy. I have slept more in these past few months than I have in years..but I'm not dwelling. I am feeling better each day and am starting to feel like my old self again.
The ETSY store will be closed a little while longer as I am still not driving and not lifting. I will be opening enrollment soon for another running of the Gummed Silk and Poft Oak classes, and long awaited padded interiors class. Soon, I promise!