New Projects and This & That

I've been going through some heavy duty withdrawals the past few days.  2 1/2 weeks ago, my Dr. let me drop my Zoloft from 75 milligrams to 50 milligrams.  Overall, I feel much better but on Friday, my mood dropped drastically.  I could feel the chemicals moving and changing in my body and my brain.  Quite un-nerving!!  But I kept talking myself through it and it seems to be balancing out now.

I have decided to formally announce that I am no longer designing Counted Cross Stitch.  I want to pursue other avenues.  I'm a Crazy Quilter.  And yes, you may highlight the word "crazy"!  LOL!!!  Honestly, crazy quilting and mixed media textile art is what I love so that's what I'm doing from here on in.

I will continue to add my hand-made items to my Etsy shop.  I really enjoy that a lot!!!  I just did a CQ project for a new magazine to be released in the Fall:

Click here to visit their website!

I've been sending some things out to Somerset Studio publications and I plan to teach Crazy Quilting out of my home.  I haven't worked out all of the details yet but I'm getting it together little by little.  I've been sick for a long time and I really need to get my life together and back on track.  I just can't go back to doing some of the things I did before.  I'm 1/2 way between Chicago & Milwaukee so if anyone lives in my area and would like to learn crazy quilting and perhaps some of the other gazillion things I know how to do, please drop me an email and let me know.

In other news, I wanted to share this photo with you:

Darlene K. worked this lovely crazy quilt block using my peacock tutorial.  Isn't it pretty?  I just love peacocks and was thrilled to receive Darlene's photo.  If you would like to work with my Peacock Tutorial, you can find it here.  Thank you so much Darlene for granting me permission to post the photo of your beautiful peacock block!!!

So what else do I have to talk about today?  Well, I add a few new things to the shop.  These lovely earrings were made by Kathi:

Gorgeous!!!!  And I added these Crazy Quilt pieces that I did:

I just had to do a crazy quilt block with Marie Antoinette!  You know I just love the pink and the fluffyness of Marie!!!!   Anyway, these and more can be found here.

In other news, Scott has the vinyl top on the Model A now:



Isn't this car beautiful!  He's worked so hard on it.  I think he's getting the bumpers ready to put on the car now. Not sure exactly but the more that goes on, the better it looks!!!  He puts it in the front yard for awhile on the weekends and then I ride with him when he drives it back into the garage!  I love looking at it!  He puts it up front here so I can see it while I'm stitching.

I guess that's it for today. Oh, with 1 exception!  I thought you'd like to see what I have to contend with when I'm on my laptop:

Lucy just loves to lay on the keyboard!  Makes typing a bit of a challenge!!!  And here's one more photo of my little Miss Queeny:

Those green eyes just melt my heart!!!! 

Ok, I'm off to put some salad together for dinner!  More tomorrow.

Happy Pink Saturday Everyone!

Another lovely Pink Saturday!  I so look forward to this and to seeing what everyone is sharing in pink.  My favorite color!

My mom received a custom order last week for a PINK Tussy Mussy so for today, I thought I would share photos of it:

Isn't this gorgeous!  My mom really has a gift for making these Victorian style Tussy Mussy's!  I just love pink and ya'll know I adore cats so this is one of my favorites!

Mom is happy to accept custom orders for Tussy Mussy's.  If anyone is looking for something special, please drop me an email or Etsy message.

Before I head out today, my drawing for this sweet little Sewing Art Quilt continues:

When I reach 300 followers, my husband will draw a name from the basket.  Details can be found here.  We're almost there so please help me reach my goal so we can see who the winner is!

A special thank you goes out to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for hosting this lovely pink weekly event.  Please hop over to her blog and say hello.  Also, take a few minutes to see what other sweet bloggers are contributing to Pink Saturday!

Bead & Button Spider Tutorial

When I wrote the tutorial for how to do embroidered spider webs, I promised I would explain how to make the spiders in my next post.  So here it is!

They're actually quite easy to do.  You'll need a button or large bead for the body and then a small bead for the head.  You can use any thread you like for the legs but again, I'm rather fond of Kreinik #8 braid depending on size of my spider and the background fabric.  Basically, I used what I need to use for the legs to show up.  In this case, I used 2 strands of Kreinik #8 Braid.

Here is a diagram of the spider.  Please excuse the crudity of this image.  I quickly drew it out on the computer:

Sew down your button or large bead and then sew down the head bead.  Use straight stitches for the legs.  Easy as pie!

You can see my spider on this block:

That's all there is to it!  Here's the spider from my most recent purse:

And here's the completed purse:

This purse is in my Etsy shop now.  You can also find Kathi's Autumn Watch in the shop:

Isn't that beautiful?  I just love Kathi's jewelry pieces.

I'm heading over to mom's for a little while now.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for my Pink Saturday post.  I also have some new Model A photos for to share which I'll do over the weekend and I want to talk some more about creatively coping with depression.

Crazy Quilt Spider Web Tutorial

I was recently asked why I use spiderwebs on so many of my crazy quilt pieces.  Well, the Victorians used spiderwebs quite often on their quilts.  The Victorians loved anything exotic and ornate!  They had a great love for nature.  Not only that, they considered spiders in their homes to be a sign of good luck.

Back to the reason that I use them on my crazy quilts so often is that many of mine have a garden theme to them.  Spider webs seem to work well for me.  And I really love doing them!!

If you look closely at real spider webs, they're mini works of art!  Each is unique, no two are alike and they are perfectly imperfect:

Spider webs are incredibly fragile and those little spiders work so hard and diligently  to create them:

I vaguely remember one day late last Summer, while I was still completely out of my mind, standing in my living room looking out the window and watching a spider build her web on the corner of my house.  It was mesmerizing to watch her go round and round, connecting the threads that support the spokes of the web.  It took her 2 hours to make that gorgeous web:

For today, I thought you would enjoy a tutorial on how to make embroidered spider webs.  And I guarantee, it will not take you 2 hours to do!

For my spider webs, I like to use Kreinik #4 or Kreinik #8 Braid.  You can use whatever you like.  DMC #8 Perle Cotton works nicely as does 1 or 2 strands of embroidery floss.  I like the Kreinik Braid because of the sparkle and it shows up well on my blocks:

Obviously, the first thing you'll need to do is to decide where you want to put your web.  Mine is going in the bottom left patch of this piece.

Next, you'll want to start in the middle and make the long spokes of the web:

Just make long straight stitches.  Keep in mind, that perfection is not part of this process.  Real spider webs are usually not perfect and you won't want yours to be either.

Next, you'll need to connect the long spokes with the connecting threads:

This will also couch down the long spokes.  Look at this photo closely.  You'll want to bring your needle up on the far side of a spoke thread, cross over it and put your needle down on the far side of the next spoke thread:

Make some of your stitches close together and some further apart.  Do a few on an angle and skip one occasionally.  Here is my finished web:

When I get my spider on this piece, I'll show you how I make my spiders with buttons or beads and thread for the legs.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo of my Autumn Spider Purse which I completed the other day.  Yesterday, I crocheted the trim for the bottom.  I plan to get this sewn up today and in the shop tomorrow:

Guest Blogger - Louise Giordono

Hello everyone!  Today is the first of the month and that means that I have another Guest Blogger to introduce you to!  I met this lovely lady years ago on Etsy.  I was looking around at the newly listed items and came across a knitted purse that I absolutely fell in love with!  I went to her shop and oh my!!!  The most incredible knitted & crocheted work that I've ever seen.  I commissioned Louise to make 3 purses for me and we have been online friends ever since.  Please welcome Louise Giordono of Scarf It Up!

THE SCARF IT UP! EXPERIENCE

How exciting that Pam Kellogg invited me to be her guest blogger!  I am honored!  She has been an inspiration, a customer, and more, and I think we’ve admired one another’s work for a long time now.  Although I could write about a number of things, this latest event, a home or trunk show/open house could be useful for others, and so I gladly share my experience.  Thanks, Pam!

One way to sell hand-crafted items is the home trunk show / open house!  It can be an effective way to demonstrate products in a welcoming, cozy environment where friends gather round at leisure, handling, trying on, and experimenting with the goods for sale.  As the owner/ creator of Scarf It Up! Wearable Fiber Art in Knit, Crochet and Felt, I have been blessed with periodically using this sales and marketing method to boost sales and earn loyal fans.

The whole idea of Scarf It Up! actually started with such a show – at my daughter’s home in Massachusetts.  And a few weeks ago, about 10 years later, we threw yet another “party” at her place.  She invited colleagues from her school districts, friends, and neighbors, and asked them to bring friends as well.  She provided beverages and finger food (non-greasy/non-messy!), and I provided the products, arranged them using whatever worked in her living/dining areas, and we opened the doors to her guests from 4 – 6PM.  

Every guest filled out a door prize form, and every half-hour we drew a name for one of several door prizes – I gave Embracelets (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarfitup/4730440407/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarfitup/4727161871/in/photostream/ ) as the door prizes.  We asked for phone numbers (in case the winner had already left) and email addresses (so I could send thank you notes to all the attendees and invite them to be on my email list). 

I knew many of the guests who had supported my work and me in the past, and I welcomed those I hadn’t met before.  It was indeed a party atmosphere, but the most fun was demonstrating so much of my work that has multiple wearing options – and helping the women try on scarves, shawls, cachecols, vests, etc.  with their many variations.  

Here are recommendations for a successful home trunk show:

Offer your hostess a special piece of your work or a percentage of sales.  Since this was my daughter, I gave her a shawl that she loved AND some money to help defray the costs for refreshments.

Have your hostess send a “Save the Date” email to guests a month in advance.  Follow up with a formal email or printed invitation.  Print some and stick them in neighborhood doorways or mailboxes.

Set aside an area of the home for refreshments.  White wine, iced tea, and water are perfect.  Our food offerings included: pretzels with hummus, veggies with dip; baked chips with salsa, and fruit with a dip.  NO chocolate or anything greasy or sticky!  You want to protect the furniture as well as the products!

Use the entire remaining space for product set-up in various areas with mirrors.  I used hangers with scarves on the curtain rods; shawls and wraps on hangers from the bookcases (used poster gum to hold the hangers on); bags and purses on other bookcases and a bench; hangers with other items on the backs of doors or on door casings or hinges; jewelry on tables and neckwraps over the TV, backs of chairs, etc.  I flew to MA and so was unable to bring any form of display material with me.  My advice:  BE CREATIVE and use whatever is available!  It works!

I am able to accept cash, checks, or PayPal, and this was announced in advance.  Wear an outfit with pockets or use a fanny pack.  Do NOT leave money around; set up an area for payments, wrapping, and record-keeping. 

Set up a separate area for the door prizes (collection and display) near the door.  Gather that info as soon as the guests enter.  Send a thank you email to EVERYONE who attended, whether they purchased something or not.  I never want people to feel they have to buy something, but often they do.  So it helps to have smaller, less expensive items (I had a supply of choker/embracelets at $20) for that purpose and will have felted buttons for future shows.

I had announced through my Scarf It Up! newsletter that this open house was to take place, providing the place, date, and time, and inviting anyone in the area to attend.  When I blogged about my summer plans in New England (two separate trips), a friend offered to do another trunk show for me in RI in August.  And so it goes (grows!)  Ask YOUR friends to consider hosting.

Was it successful?  How do you measure that?  Well, let me put it this way…..in TWO hours, I was able to realize more money than I had during the entire month in my two local B&M venues in NC and/or online.  At the very first SIU party 10 years ago, I had doubled that, and so at first I was a little disappointed this time.  BUT…..I needed to remember that this is a totally different economy and my prices were quite a bit lower when I first started.  So yes, I would have to say that it was very successful and indeed very gratifying to know that my work is still valued and marketable.

If you haven’t tried this format, I most definitely suggest that you do.  If you’d like more information, tips, and strategies, or have questions, feel free to contact me: scarfitup@ec.rr.com or visit at: http://www.facebook.com/scarfitupwilmington, http://scarf-it-up.blogspot.com, or http://flickr.com/photos/scarfitup.  I look forward to meeting you online!  You can also friend me on FB: http://www.facebook.com/scarfitup.  And here is the link to my Etsy shop.

Again I thank Pam for this invitation to write for her blog.  I look forward to comments and questions and to hearing from you personally.  Happy Summer Shows!

I hope you've enjoyed Louise' guest blogger post!  Perhaps her in home trunk show suggestions can help you in showcasing your own hand-made items in a new & unique environment!  There are opportunities around every corner!  We just have to look for them.

Please take a few moments to visit Louise at her Scarf It Up blog and please let her know if you enjoyed her guest blogger post!