Stitchin'

Holidays are always hectic-- parties, shopping, wrapping, etc. None of these things are helpful when trying to be productive. I honestly believe that I'm one Christmas cookie away from a sugar coma. Now I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but falling asleep before eight o'clock is not normal. It's also kind of annoying. Luckily I've been able to get a couple smaller pieces done when not over-eating or sleeping.

I find that since I spend most of my day typing, by the time I'm home my hands are pretty much shot. In order to rectify this, I've taken up embroidery again. Something to keep me busy/keep my hands from falling off. Perhaps I'll do a series of quotes. Or owls. I still love owls. The below is a belated baby gift/Christmas gift for my cousin. I have some ideas for larger, long-term projects but need to take the initiative to get things started. This winter brings loom assembly (I was given a loom!), learning how to weave, becoming more acquainted with my sewing machine and who knows what else.

Until then, Happy Holidays to you and yours.

J

Insomnia

Apparently when I can't sleep, I craft. Since it's December and there's still no (significant amount of) snow, I thought I'd create a little of my own. It's been so long since I've made paper snowflakes that I had to look up a tutorial. How sad is that? Newest piece has been almost done for a week now and just needs a few final touches before upload. I keep getting distracted. Hoping to have something new started before the holidays. Until then, anxiously awaiting snow.

J

Office Art

Lots of changes lately -- especially at work. In an effort to make things a little cheerier I decided to put together some colorful message boards for the new office. Nothing takes the drab out of 70's era office space quite like brightly colored cotton and ribbon, right?


I also made some sea creatures to go on the walls...


Lastly my boss commissioned me to do a small piece for our new meditation/yoga room. I was asked to convert some Japanese calligraphy into a fabric wall hanging. I tried to keep it really simple as per her request but also to keep with eastern design aesthetics.

I believe the script translates to "white light" which is associated with a Japanese technique called Reiki (something also being offered through work). From my understanding Reiki is a form or stress reduction and relaxation involving relaxing music and "laying on hands". Something to do with transference of energy. I suppose I'll have to do a little more research or perhaps I'll give it a shot. I could definitely use a little less stress in my life.

Trying to figure out what to work on next. There's promise of another piece for the meditation room but I'm eager to work on some things for myself too. I'll probably flip back to repeat patterns soon as I'm hoping to have a completely updated portfolio by spring. Other than that I'm just taking things as they come.

J

One year later...

Sometimes life gets in the way...









More to come.

J

A Teaser.

In the last two months I have:

taken on a job...
and then another
started working on projects again
been offered freelance work
considered leaving one position
lost a feline friend
voted
littered my room with fabric scraps
spent more time at home than I have in the last four years
accepted the fact that I'm not a child anymore.

While neither of my positions are glamorous or remotely related to what I went to school for, I find that they've been helpful in keeping me motivated. Essentially, I enjoy the one that matters most (pays the bills) and the other is keeping me focused on moving forward with my artwork.
I'll also be starting some freelance work very soon through a good friend. I'm hoping that it'll give me the kick in the butt I need to consider freelancing as a means of keeping myself fresh until I can afford to find a position in my field...and move. I'm still trying to remain positive and hopefully I'll find what I'm looking for within the year. I'm ready to embrace big changes.

As for projects, I started a larger fabric piece about a month ago and while it's still not done I want to post a little teaser. I'm finding it a little hard to balance my work with "work work", but I think I'll be able to settle in soon. So, no promises as to when the piece will be finished but I hope it's not too long before I can post again. I'm going to be trying some new tricks and techniques, so we'll see. I'm also doing little things to keep busy--like the new header. Over the weekend I broke out the camera and spent Saturday afternoon photographing fruit baskets for my boyfriend's parents' business. Perhaps I'll post some of those one day, just for fun. Little things here and there, though and bigger projects to come. And for the tease...
I really need better lighting. I bet you can't guess what it is...

J

What I've been up to and other things

Well, hello again! Lack of posts are due to lack of time and lack of new work, unfortunately. The images above are some shots I took of a baby blanket that I made for a family friend. It's just a basic two piece, yellow fleece with appliqued bunnies and stitched detailing. Looks simple, right? I thought so too when I was planning it out. It took a great deal longer than I had anticipated but luckily I was able to finish in time. I also realized that I loathe fleece. It's extremely hard to sew both by hand and on machine (I finally got around to playing with my new baby!) I'm kind of sad I didn't get a better shot of the finished blanket. I took several but they all came out blurry. Sigh.

As for what's to come next... I'm not really sure. I'm (very) recently unemployed and have really started focusing on job hunting and it's a bit overwhelming. I sympathize for those of you that have been diligently looking since graduation. I'm not quite sure how you do it since I've already gone a little nutty. That might just be from the heat, though. I have a few new project ideas but I think that what I really need to do is just sit down and draw things out. Hopefully I'll get to something new within the next couple days. Other than that not much is new. I guess that's all until something exciting comes up or I have new work to share. Keep on, keeping on!

J

Rainy days and Tuesday always get me down?

The unreliability of the weather always irks me. Here in Syracuse it goes from being 90 and absolutely gorgeous to humid, rainy and overall icky in the matter of minutes. Or a day or so. Nothing we can do about that though other than complain and I'm the queen of that.

I finally have some new pieces to post. Sorry it's been so long but it has been kind of hectic here. It feels like I never stop moving but that's about to change. As of next week I'm going to have a little more creativity time as I will officially join the realm of the unemployed. At least for a little while.

I've been playing around with embroidery techniques on old linen and it's actually really therapeutic. I like placing stitch after stitch after stitch. I've actually gotten a lot cleaner with my handiwork.
Here's a simple contour of a lounging cat all sprawled out. The inspiration for this was my very own feline friend who I admit has gotten quite needy as of late. The piece piece was done entirely in backstitches. I find they give a cleaner, clearer line. Less of a break in the middle. Here's a detail.
I've also completed another small owl for a friend who desperately wanted one of my pieces. Last week she witnessed my desperate attempt to pick cherries from a very large tree. After coming up unsuccessful and looking like a downright fool she presented me with a large bag of Bings that she had picked up that morning. So this owl is a very big thank you for kind words and yummy food. I've been told it's my cutest to date.
I'm still playing around with fabric too. Well I guess that's all for now. On to more cutting and stitching and coming up with new projects.

J