my, my, my serpentine

i stitched up this one and added it to the shop a few days ago:


it's quite cool, right? the pattern came from an antique border pattern that i found and adapted to the 5 x 7 frame size. i thought it was striking enough on its own and didn't need anything in the middle.


i had actually stitched one up very similar to this one for my show at the THIS gallery in december. but then, B liked it, so i gave it to him... i'm funny that way; i don't keep any of my pieces for myself, but then i like to give away my favourite ones to people who i like -- it sorta feels like keeping them close to me.
(below is a photo of my wall at the gallery -- i realized a while ago that i don't think i ever posted a photo of it!)


(ps - those two plants in the top two photos are the fabulous work of my friend claire. she's great.)

sale on

now thru wednesday around 5 pm, custom-stitched monogram tea towels are on sale for just $14 each (regularly $18).
holy shazaam, that's a deal! (they're hand-stitched to order, my friends.)


snap 'em up quick if you want 'em! the deal applies to both the stripes and the solid color towels that i have in stock.
(this was a collection of colors that i did for an order of 14 that were ordered as gifts for a family girls' weekend - sweet, right?!)


after wednesday, i'll be in transit and won't be taking any more orders for these for a few weeks, so think ahead - mothers' day, weddings, housewarmings, birthdays, thank-yous -- they make really good gifts! get 'em in the etsy shop. if you're looking for a quantity of more than 1 at this price, or, if you don't do etsy, contact me directly and i'll work up an order for you. but the wednesday evening cut-off date is firm, so do it asap!

another dutch-y square completed and framed:


i love this one so much. (and, in case you do, too -- it's in the shop here.)


i hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

hoping something good

this is the piece i finished a couple of weeks ago. i've been doing a lot of framing/finishing work over the past couple of days and now this one is ready to go. i'm very pleased with the way it turned out.
i'm really feeling the saying on this one. i did another version of it many many months ago (here), inspired by my friends francisco and monica, of mogollon. i had the great fortune of being able to work with them in helping to run their amazing little powerhouse of a design (and so much more) company. those months were super inspirational to me and i love that the three of us have remained close and continue to motivate and inspire one another. beyond creativity, we often get to talk about the business aspect of running a small company and how frustrating but also thrilling it can be. this sentiment, "something is about to happen" powers us through the slow weeks/months.... the determination that with ever harder work and persistence, that we'll one day, soon maybe (hopefully), be able to come to a point where it's not so difficult and that the stars align in just the right way that we get to carry out the brilliant vision we have in a way that's less of a struggle. that's the hope, anyway....

going (back to) dutch

pennsylvania dutch, that is.


i've been very much neglecting my bigcartel shop lately, and that's probably not good of me so today, i added a brand-spankin' new item. i'm making up a few of these PA-dutch-inspired squares to take with me to the philadelphia art star craft bazaar the weekend of may 14-15 and this is the first one that i've finished.


it's finished in one of these custom-built frames by my friend brian of whiskey and chocolate, which makes it one-of-a-kind; pretty special, right? so, it may get scooped up off the bigcartel shop, but if not, you should stop by and see it in philly in may!


have a great weekend, all - i'm headed to death valley!

more to give

call me crazy, but i'm doing another give-away!


this time it's in partnership with rebecca over at the ardent sparrow, and the prize is one of my custom hand-embroidered monogram tea towels (stripe or solid). she's doing a whole week of giveaways from a lot of really cute shops, so if you want a chance to maybe score some free goodies, just for leaving a wee comment on the blog, then you should definitely click on over.


click here for the whole week of giveaways, and here for the chez-sucre-chez feature. you've got one week to enter. good luck!

greetings from palm springs (CA)

stitching by the pool - just finished this one, for my good friend francisco.
now work is done and ladies weekend is in full swing; sunshine, martinis and trashy magazines - woohoo! (i hope you're all having a great weekend, too! xo!)