When at first you don’t succeed

   I made these mitts with what I thought was a really cool pattern.  They were supposed to be form fitting and stylish.  The pattern was unnecessarily complicated and did not turn out as nice as advertised.  So, I frogged them!   Thankfully, the yarn frogged easily and did not knot up on me.  I am going re redo mitts with a different pattern and try again.  I think I will be happier in the long run.

Ouch!

 Ouch!  Who knew that yarn crafts could cause so much pain?  It seems that I have over done it and injured my shoulder knitting and crocheting.  Boy, getting old stinks!  Seems I will have to take it easy for a while.

A New Skill

I have been tryingmy hand at a new skill, spinning.  It is not as easy as it looks, but I keep practicing.  It seemed a natural extension of my other fiber related hobbies, so I thought I would give it a try.  I mean how cool would it be to knit or crochet something with yarn that you made yourself?  I think it would be pretty cool!  It was suggested that I learn with wool, so that is what this is and it is nowhere near anything perfect, but it is mine.  I have to be patient with myself.  I get frustrated easily, so I have to keep reminding myself that I am just learning.  Gotta start somewhere.

Until next time,

One Little Birdie

Hello again

Okay, so I admit that I have a problem.  I am a terrible blogger and I do not post as often as I should.  This was most recently and lovingly pointed out by my friend Karen on her blog. She is a much better blogger than I and anyone would be greatly rewarded by following either of her blogs.

Anyway, the business I started is moving right along and I have been able to do many great thread paintings for people.  This makes me very happy.

I have also been quilting, knitting, crocheting, and making lots of other cool things as well.  The pictures are just a sample of some of the things I have been up to. The embroidery machine has expanded my ability to offer all sorts of things to clients, as well as gifts to friends and family.

And to my friend Karen, I hope that I continue to inspire you, because you inspire me all of the time.  So let us both keep up the good work and I will try my best to blog more often.

One Little Birdie

Doggone Memories

My memeorials for pets business is doing pretty well.  The thread paintings are a huge success.  People really seem to like them.  Dogs are the main focus, but I have also done cats, a hamster and a bunny.  I am not sure why my ipad is not letting me add photos, but you can check them all out at my facebook page under doggone memories.

Quilts have been going well too.  They are surprises so no pictures there either for now.  I know, blog posts with no pictures are no fun!  I promise to do better next time.  And try to post more often too.  I have picked up my crochet hooks and knitting needles again too.  So, all kinds of crafty going on here.

I think I need to do a thread painting of a person next.  I think I can be just as successful with people as I have been with animals.  So if you know anyone who would like something like that, let me know.

Until next time, Ciao!

Here we go!

 So, these are some of the projects I have been working on lately.  They are very large sized thread painting portraits of two of my favorite dogs.  It's hard to say favorite, as they all are favorites in some way.  These two were extra special in a way, however.

These were my first attempts at large pieces.  I have learned from a local thread panting teacher, Robin at http://www.threadworkbyrobin.com/
to make a pattern so I can increase the size of the photo I am working with.  It seems to work very well.  I have also learned from Jennifer day at http://www.jdaydesign.com/ that a very good stabilizer is 15 oz canvas.  So these pieces are quite heavy.  It's an arm workout!

My smaller portraits were very popular during the holidays.  I am hoping that folks can look at these larger pieces as real art they wish to invest in.

Exciting things!!!!

Until next time!
One Little Birdie

New Endeavors

I have been up to some new and quite interesting things lately.  For a while now, I felt unchallenged by quilting and was having trouble coming up with new projects to sink my teeth into.  I was talking to a friend about this, and a general lack of interest in other things as well.  She suggested that I look for a way to combine my two loves, quilting and animals.

This was a great idea, so we brainstormed for a while and we came up with doing pet memorial quilts for people.  I started by coming up with designs and doing research on photo transfer products.  I made up samples of the designs and shared them on facebook.  People liked them!  Great!

I forget how we got into the next phase - thread paintings - but I tried to do a thread painting of one of my dogs.  It turned out pretty good, so I did a few more.  I kept sharing them online and people really liked them.  Soon, someone asked me to make for them.  Whoopie!  So, while the photo transfer quilts are great, these thread painted portraits really took off.

I named my new endeavor DogGone Memories - Sue came up with the name, so I need to give her credit. I am currently working on a website with my gracious brother's help. Now that the holidays are over, it is time to focus on that so we can grow into the next phase of this project.

I love new projects and this one promises lots of learning and growth.  Classes in techniques, learning how to market the project, exploring, designing, and creating.

This is just one example of a thread painting I have done.  Isn't this puppy just the cutest?  This is going to be fun!