My New Spool Tray Design

On eBay the week!

My new Spool Tray is on eBay this week! (Along with some other things) If you would be interested in bidding on it, or just want to see large pictures of it, you can find it here

I am super pleased with how it came out~ there are a whopping 18 pegs for spools, and as you can see above, its not just for little spools of silk... really big spools can fit as well. There is plenty of space in the center for other things...a pincushion perhaps, scissors, and other sewing tools. I am painting mine now, and hope it turns out as nice as this one did....in 17th c blackwork~ my favorite!

2019 Bath Textile Summer School

Bath, U.K. ,12-17 August 2019

    The classes have now been posted on the Bath Textile Summer School website for next year, you can find them here to learn more about what I am teaching. Hover over the 2019 workshop section, and you will find me last in the drop down menu.  This year pictures of some of our past workes are included on the information page, so as to not be confusing, I thought I would post pictures of both class projects here. Above is "Pretty Ladye", and below, "Bath Bunny".  My focus this year is surface techniques, for those who would like to add a beadwork element on to a casket panel or picture. Both classes work with modern Japanese Miyuki size 15/0 seed beads, so they have nice large holes, and are both good representations of the details one can get with this larger size of bead.   Pretty Ladye is a super special class, each large bust is sculpted with brown lampwork glass eyes. Aside the fact it takes me about 3 weeks to sculpt a single figure, I had a horrible time getting suitable glass eyes this small, and for this reason, BTSS 2019 may be my only running of this class.   (She would be a wonderful start to the top of a casket...hint hint!)

    Bunny is so adorable! Students of this class will learn detached techniques, such as the flower petals, and my method of working up an animal figure in beads using twilling, or peyote stitch.   I am making a great effort this year to keep the kit cost as low as possible, but more even, the international shipping~ so I will be only shipping the prework kits for each class, and handing out the rest of the kit in class. Prework will include silk satin ground, instructions, and padding for the cartouches only, so packets will be small to keep both shipping & customs charges to a minimum. 

One things I love about teaching the beadwork, is that my methods can also be used for regular raised stumpwork in silks and metals threads.. the materials maybe different, but the way one goes about it, in the steps, is the same for both.

 I have been plugging away on my special something and am super happy with how its coming on so far.  I really love 17th c blackwork, and it is such a challenge to creating depth on a flat surface while painting with a single color.  Like I said, I am painting one for me, and one to share, so here I took advantage of having two to show the difference between just penwork, and painted. I loooove it!  This bunch of grapes took just under 3 hours to paint...of coarse I am keeping track of the hours!

Happy Saturday!

   I have been making good time on this year's Christmas ornament model, I think ya'll will really have fun with this one. I cant wait to share it with you!  I am also working on something else out in the shop, one for me, and one to share....inspired by my experience with runaway spools during this current project....(driving me crazy!)

Stressball Summer

Shhhhhh...be still....it's Looking at me....

 So what have ya'll been up to this summer??  I have had a super stressful first part of the year, I am surprised I still have hair. I keep meaning to post, but then something comes along, I get busy..ect ect, and time is just flying by leaving me in the dust....literally, the dust. We have not had any rain here in southern Colorado for soooo long, it has been so dry...tho last night it did finally rain~ woke me up out of a dead sleep to hear those little drops of joy.

 The Spring fire just up the road from us is in the 90% containment finally...last update I had was 108,045 acres. We were very lucky here to have the winds shift and take it in the opposite direction from us, but so many folks have lost everything. Its been stressful these past few weeks from that and some others things I don't even want to get into. 

I have been keeping uber busy working up not one or two, but four new classes for 2019!  I will be teaching two at the Spring Needles & Sins Needlework Seminar in Colonial Williamsburg, and two at the Bath Textile Summer School in Bath, England in August.  When the classes get posted by the event directors, I can share more info about them here. So keep your eyes peeled!

Of coarse the 2018 ornament is lagging behind because of all the other stuff going on...but coming on again. I had it finished already once, but then when I went to work up the kit, some of the materials I could no longer get....along with the fact that I didn't totally like how it came out the first time, so I did some redesigning, and started over. Little fellow up top here is happy I think.....his little dome is made up of Ghiordes Knott...I couldn't possibly pack any more stitches into that tiny space, and with the soie oval, its really soft and luxurious. It's nice to work with silk for a while, instead of beads....as much as I love them....but still...the eyes are beads so I guess I failed at getting totally away from the little things.

New Pretties

on eBay this week!

  All the fat little squirrels in our yard this year have inspired me to make and paint up another squirrel thread palette set, and to go along with, a one of a kind ort pot painted to match ~

I love little squirrel peeking out from under the lid!

If you would like to see them closer, or perhaps place a bid, they are on eBay this week~ you can find them here on my eBay auctions

I hope you all have a Happy & Safe Independence Day Holiday!