They're here!

Well, not here, here, but in my Etsy shop.  Three patterns, I've been monkeying around with two of them for half a year almost.  :)

This one above is a punch needle pattern I drew, with the finished work being just a little over 4.5" x 6", in Valdani Perle Cotton.  I like punch needle because it's satisfying to see the pattern finally begin to pack in and look like something besides a hairy mess--which is all it looks like 'til half done at least!  But once finished, it's inviting to the touch and the colors seem deeper than in wool applique, especially if I've used variegated threads. 

But I do love the wool applique!  The quilt is soft with the mix of textures, and lots of stitching detail, and I love hand quilting!  These below are Spring and Summer of my wall quilt series--I'm working on Autumn in the evenings now.  But these are ready and in the shop.  I am enjoying having them on my wall just as much as I'd always suspected I would. 

 

Hope your week is going well! 
Jan

Pattern ready to publish, and other news.

Naw, just kidding.  I don't have any other news.  But thanks to a friend nagging me (because she wants to make the pattern) I have finally gotten the Spring Wall Hanging pattern ready to go in my shop--with one exception.  I need to get a good photo of it, with good lighting, for the front cover.  Mary--I could use your photography skills at this point!  It's odd, maybe because the thing is so big and I'm used to small subjects. 

So Maybe I'll hang it outside with the golf course as the backdrop--before the day's wind kicks up.  (We can't even grill after around 9 am, because by then, the seasonal winds get going and you'll have a grease fire on your hands.)  I have a sort of double-tripod backdrop frame thing...maybe I'll use that.  But one way or another, I'll list it Monday in my Etsy store, and then get busy on Summer.  I've long finished the hanging, and I was smarter about the process of making pattern pages as I went along, but it's in no way ready to "print". 

And it's time to cut out the wool for the Autumn hanging, and get stitching on that.  Funny how working with wool (and hand quilting a small blanket on your lap) loses its appeal now that summer is on us, but maybe I'll live through it.  Ha! 

To be honest, it seems lately I've taken a break from all things shop-related.  I have played with crazy quilting--just things I want for my house--and I have totally ignored working on anything for sale or for the selling patterns.  My personal vacation?  Maybe so. 

But it is time to get back to it, and last weekend, the husband helped me a lot by lowering the surface of my work table about five inches.  When I designed it, I set it too high--all so I could get some premade shelf units under the edges!  But it was awful to sew on, even with an office chair raised all the way up.  Now it's perfect, and I have totally reorganized my room with the textile arts as the focus.  Of course paints are still out, and I can sculpt with very little preparation, but I have two sewing machines and a serger taking up the majority of the work table now. 

I don't have any good photos of projects I've been working on, so I will leave you with a few of The Tater Tot in his natural habitat.  Have a great weekend!

This is looking down the back of Barney, our big purple recliner.

He claimed a spot under the serger table.

Not sure if he's hailing a cab, or what.  He sleeps on the dog's bed-spot during the day.

Willie is never happy when Tater wants to share space.  And Tater remains oblivious.

A nap in the office basket while dad works.

I just realized, looking at these, that one would get the idea Tater is always sleeping.  He does sleep hard, and for long periods of time.  But several times a day (and night) and for hours each time, he goes crazy.  He does this impression of John Belushi, you know, the one in Animal House where Bluto jumps around spastic and wide eyed, like a Bluto-Ninja?  Yeah, that's Tater, ready for anything.