lyrically speaking

a variation on the version offered through my shop:


manchester-born and raised claire ordered this piece through my shop and, in her order, left a note wondering why i used the title of the song ("there is a light that never goes out"), and not the lyrics ("there is a light and it never goes out"), as the quote on this piece. i loved that note.
before i actually stitched the first one of these, i debated with myself for a least an hour (it was actually probably more like a day or two, knowing myself as i do) on whether to stitch the title or the lyrics. in the end, i went with the title, because i thought that is what more people are familiar with. but i am really glad to have been given the reason to stitch it up at least once this way, too.
thanks, claire!

berry bushels

the berry piles are growing:

i'm working on a wholesale order for urbanoutfitters-owned terrain. very exciting! i'd love to tell you more, but i gotta make more berries! happy weekend to you all - i'll tell more in the coming week, when i'll be reporting from sunny los angeles!

to grandmother's house i go...

no, not really.


heading out for a quick-quick up and back trip to ktown. this week is all about making strawberries and i've just realized that two of my fabrics are from the shop back in berks county. dang.
friends who i run into are getting freshly made grapefruit sandwich cookies!

home is...

for at least a month after the first time i heard this song, i couldnt get enough of it... i've listened to it a WHOLE lotta times -- and i know i'm not the only one who fell hard for it. i saw posts about it on my friend sarah's blog, and on my friend melanie's blog. melanie did a print inspired by it, too! (see here -- and visit her shop here)


well, seeing as i kinda dont have any permanent home right now, i thought this was a fine time to stitch up these words. i'm not finished with it yet, though. well, i am finished with this piece, but i'm not finished with this quote. this was actually just my test piece. this is a new lettering style and i am really happy with it. it's a lot larger than the other lettering patterns i have used. i've been having fun working on patterns for little houses to go with this -- someday i'll get to putting needle to fabric to finish the idea. and hopefully soon i'll get to taking a better non-glare-y photo of this one...
ps -- melanie and i just applied to share a booth at philadelphia's art star cradt bazaar again this year. we shared a space last year and both agreed that our work works so well together that we're hoping to do it again!

green lines

it's making me happy that i can be outside stitching my orders in the spring sunshine.

green fulfilled

this is how i worked some green into my day in recognition of st. patrick's day:


plants:


plus pots:


equals pretty:



i got the plants a couple of weeks ago when i worked the philadelphia flower show for the lovely duo of martha and hugh of meehan's miniatures. i cannot say enough good things about the meehans and their plants; wonderful, WONDERFUL wonderful people and such sweet plants that i had to take a whole bunch home with me. blue creeping pilea, white rabbit's foot fern, various begonias, maidenhair vine, button ferns, peacock spikemoss --- ooh, i hope my next home has lots of windowsills.
and now that i've done the potting, i realize that i still need a few more of lovely white vessels. i love using white teacups, planters, bowls, pitchers, or whatever for green plants. i especially love the milkglass ones.


the meehan's nursery is located near harpers ferry, in maryland. if you're near there, you're in luck; but they also do mail order (for many, but not all, of their plants). see here.


now back to work!

principessa

loving the silver on this pale pink!

off the cuff

my phone used to get thrown in my tote all wrapped up in any number of super-soft vintage hankies from my collection, which is good, and practical:


but then i found just the sleeve part of a sweater that i had cut up for felting and i decided that it would make a good home for phoney. here's how you do it -- simple simple: sew a seam across the cuff (or whatever length you need to accommodate your phone), cut off the excess,


flip it inside out and voila:


easiest phone cozy ever made: (uuuugh, shiver-shiver -- i really dont like the word "cozy" in the context of a carrier or protective case for something.... what else could i call it?)

oh, and the title of this post reminds me: (off the cuff -- off with his/her head) i saw mister burton's alice in wonderland last night. i was skeptical (i dont know why, it's just my nature, i guess. i'm skeptical of many things. and i happen to LOVE the story and imagery of alice in wonderland. alice books and images are one of the few things that i do collect.) but i thought it was absolutely fantastic. yes, really good. go see it; it's worth it.

shine like it does...

i've gotten quite a few requests for silver-lined clouds lately (were they featured somewhere and i missed it?) and so i've started a new batch:


dang i do love making these clouds and their silver linings:


since i had the silver floss out, i got started on another series/group that i've been wanting and meaning to do for a while. here's the first:


shiny crowns. ooooooh. i had done a whole bunch of these a loooong time ago -- like a year and a half ago. and i found them all as i was packing the studio. those ones were done in the metallic embroidery floss, like this one, but they were all really tiny. i didnt like any of them so i just threw them out.... since then i've found many far-better crown patterns. i'll probably do a few more. i think a grouping of these - different crowns, different sizes, slightly different background colors, but all with the shiny floss - would look cool as a little collection. more to come.

inspiration bored

trying to get back to work...
i feel like i've been away from it for so long.
here's what my little inspiration boards looked like before i dismantled the studio:


hopefully i'll have some new work to show sooner than later...

the end

au revoir royal.
i will miss waking up to sunrises out the window and staring up at the transfers of the old wallpaper prints on the plaster walls.


and i'll miss the cheery afternoon sun in the studio


and soaks in the tub by moonlight.


but there are other things that i will not miss at all.
on to more positive environs and adventures!
thank you, friends and family and colleagues and customers and fans and followers for being patient and supportive of me through this ordeal. i'm looking forward to getting all set up somewhere soon where i can get back to regular creativity and productivity!

first friday this friday

here's the postcard for the show in bethlehem this friday:


i am super-psyched to have been invited to participate (thanks to the suggestion of my friend sarah edmonds). so - the opening reception of the show is this friday night. if you are in the eastern PA area, consider coming out to the little town of bethlehem. i've been told that the first fridays events in that part of town are actually pretty cool. and, just down the road from the banana factory, where my work will be hanging, boyfriend has a solo show thing going on at homebase skateshop:


awwwwwww. kinda great, right? here's a link with more info about what to expect there.
after the show (or maybe before?) i think i wanna check out this place.