Travel....

When planning a trip...

What do you check out first?  The weather, things to do, what should I pack to wear, do I have a travel size shampoo/toothpaste?  Or...are you like me?  What will I take to work on, next would be something to read. The clothes, the weather, the toothpaste can all be dealt with but if I don't have a 'no brainer' piece to stitch and something to read, I'm in trouble.  And as it happens, I just finished my last basketweave piece.

Yesterday I realized this and I fly tomorrow!  Brain is racing and lands on an older idea.  All those biscornu designs I did fabric for...I have all those computer drawn images!  GO PLAY!  What transpired is the first image below. 

'Provence Purse'©

The colors will be different as you'll see in the next image below.  Use what you have in your stash when your flying out the next day. Get drawing and get painting! I'm excited!! Bet you couldn't tell that at all?

Fun pile of thread, center panel drawn in, love my colored sharpies. Today I'm painting in between several other 'todo's. Like laundry and packing.  

My Son

Another one of my creations!  I've posted many a picture of my beautiful daughter and just a few [haha] of my new grandbaby...but none of my handsome son. He's pretty much forbid me up to this point, not a big fan of social media.  Avery was here to visit recently while on a walk one day I mentioned this lack to him.  He agreed it was a little one sided and gave permissions, hence the picture above. Please let me introduce my son to you all. He's super talented and out of my two, he is the one that enjoys stitching! He draws up his own pieces and off he goes. I'm not saying that he's big on finishing any of them but he has a great time getting started. He's recently finished welding school and just landed a job that he is so far, pretty stoked about. Proud mom I am.  

Emma's Pillow!

Emma's Pillow!!  Cest fini!
All in basketweave...for my friend that counts stitches...5,928 stitches!!  I could not bring myself to count as I stitched, the number was figured when complete just this morning.

I stitched constantly while waiting for our little bundle of joy to arrive.  Passed several hours in hospital with threaded needle zipping along.

Whitney [my amazing daughter] titled this little picture of Emma 'my favorite little human'.  I know I'm just a tad over the moon with her but isn't she the most adorable granddaughter!!  I started the design of her pillow after I read a blog post of Whitney's that referred to Emma as 'our little bird'.  It soaked deep into my head and brewed for a bit, then I started collecting photos of birds.  I'm not sure how many sketches I had going before the above finally arrived on my canvas.  

If you'd like a canvas of 'Emma's Pillow' to stitch for your own little bird, it's available soon.  Have your local needlework shop order through Ruth Schmuff Designs.  

This design is also available in a petite version without the ladybug border or as a belt with just the ladybug border. Pictures should be up on the website soon.  Happy stitching!  

Next up.....

'Blossom'
a Kimberly design©
Next up on the list for stitch guiding.

Just blooming with ideas for this and...
I can't find the bag of threads!!

Just beginnings of something new and cool, very organic.

I've got to fly....

and away I went!  

From the humble beginnings of an idea.  I promised a great friend a piece to stitch, something I would design with an amazing dragonfly.  I sketched and for awhile it sat, then I sketched some more.  Then came a chunk of time that I could run with the idea.    

Initial drawing on canvas before painting.  

"Flying Jewels"©2014
a Kimberly design©
Remember the border with the little dragonfly motifs I posted a few weeks ago...It's along the top, along the bottom is the line up ready for take off.  
Here you see it all!!  Hand painted piece measures approximately 12" square on eighteen count canvas 

Voila!  Check out my fabulous dragonfly!!  

This could not have happened without the support of Kreinik Mfg. I was on a tear looking for copper mesh.  I knew it existed but finding it proved to be a daunting task.  I could find ugly gray screen at the hardware store, I explored the net and exchanged emails with someone in China.  

Then I had one of those blinding flashes of brilliance...they do happen! The inner voice shouted at me....'KIMBERLY, YOU NEED METAL, CALL DENA AT KREINIK'.  After all, they have provided me with beautiful metallics to stitch with throughout my career as a designer.  Dena responded within a day that YES! Doug has a source, then Doug emailed, YES, what do you need...I replied, he wrote back, I answered, then asked, 'are you going to carry it', YES!  WOW, I was doing a happy dance! 

Of course, the copper mesh arrived and I had stitched the rest of the canvas to be ready for it.  

But...what if it didn't work, so I stared at it for a couple of days...then dove in.  I cut out the shapes, scored the veins in, edged it with metallic thread, attached the wings and my dragonfly came to life!  Then I stared at it again for awhile, it's just so nice when a plan comes together.  Pretty sure this all occurred late in an evening, pretty sure I was snapping pictures and texting with Ruth to say, 'Hey, look what I did!!'  

They really do come in this awesome color!
Not the greatest picture...crazy bugs move pretty fast.  
I was lucky to get this.  

"Flying Jewels"© is available as a painted canvas
with awesome stitch guide & copper mesh

Have your favorite LNS contact
wholesale  from Ruth Schmuff Designs
or
Bedecked and Beadazzled

Have to add a P.S. here.

I belong to an amazingly talented group on FaceBook with the pin name "Needlepoint Nation".  When I commented on my fruitless treasure hunt for copper mesh one of the members private messaged me to say she had some screen and would send it to me. She was thrilled to lighten her stash and help me out.  Sadly it was too large but the generosity of Andrea truly touched me. Thank you so much for reaching out to help a fellow stitcher in need.  

Oh, and for those who comment, 'wow, that's a dying art', let me tell you that this nation is growing daily.  Last count I saw was 5,350 members with more knocking at the proverbial door!  Talk about a support group!

what...

what what what to post this week???  I had a blast celebrating my birthday last weekend.  Finished up my big project before heading out of town and now this week I'm staring at my screen working up the stitch guide for it.  

Of course, YOU CAN'T SEE IT YET!!  

Just a peek for you!
Wait until you see the rest!!??!!

My Mom and I visited St. Petersburg, Florida this past weekend.  We toured the Salvador Dali Museum, it was so real. How awesome to be able to see his work up close.  Even the building is cool.  

'Sentinels'
Perfectly positioned, wouldn't you say?

Mom caught photo, gazing at the incredible ceiling.
Odd pose but appropriate to the environment. 

What I was gazing upon.
Spiral is a staircase leading up to the galleries.

And then...the next day...we strolled the downtown area of St. Petersburg.  Which happens to include a Dale Chihuly Collection gallery.  I've seen his work before but would never turn down an opportunity to see more!  

Chihuly Collection, St Petersburg, Florida

These were very hard to photograph!  The center stamens are actually a beautiful orange color.  Even playing with the image in photoshop didn't get that color pop! 

Still a cool image but not what it was for real.  

Chihuly Collection, St Petersburg, Florida

This reminded me of an up coming piece 

I have on the paint table! 

Part of my 'Dreams Trilogy'.  

Chihuly Collection, St Petersburg, Florida
Here you can see the orange center much better.
Still a bugger to photograph, for me anyway.