Pink Skies...

He's looking much happier.
I may change the sky a bit to the left of him ...
counting that out in those tiny spaces might
send me over the edge!
More on that later. [the counting bit, not going over the edge bit]
Sky stitch is compliments of Sheena's Sweet Stitching.
Now to figure out the sun rays....

For my next act.
My sweet Mom gathered these for me from the
banks of the Susquehanna River in PA.
We lived on a mountain top over looking
this river for many years.
I have a succulent garden growing in my
imagination. These rocks are going to grace that garden bed.
I'm planning to paint them with colorful [of course] designs.

"A Different Tassel"©
This is a charted design of mine from a
few years back. 
It's now making a reappearance at 
The Black Sheep
I'll be teaching this one day project
November 14th.
Join us for a fun easy day of stitching!
Click the link above & call the shop for details.

I just LOVE this!
It seems to bloom endlessly.
I'll step out with Chance in the a.m. for his walk
and
POW, color!
This obviously makes this one very happy!
My brain is concocting a new piece involving these
wonderful poofs of fuchsia and those great seed pods.
It also attracts lovely honey bees ... which will have to be
included with in the piece.
Oh for more time....

Rainy days ...

There are advantages to being a designer ...
I had to have a biscornu to demo finishing on for my class at
The Black Sheep.
Couldn't bring myself to restitch one,
so I painted a different version of one in colors I love.
Now to get it stitched up quickly.

I also decided to paint up
a bunch of dog collars in
different colorways, Fun!
Would you believe the gray/orange
to be my favorite so far??

Sweet Saturday!

Super sweet shop, super sweet students!

Fabulous day teaching!

They were pretty excited to dive into a new project!

Must have been a technical question,
as I look pretty serious.
I think they all have an idea how my brain works on
canvas at this point. 

We made a huge amount of progress on my
Paisley Biscornu© design!
Woven Squares, Couching, String Art, French Knots and ...
some crazy cut Turkey Work with plied silk!
We meet again in one month to 'finish' this little gem.

Yay! His collars were back from the finisher.
He has no idea how cute he is!

'Movement'©
Fini! and next in the class line up for
The Black Sheep
[see details on their website]
I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this design, 
it's just fun & happy!

to the dogs...

It's National Dog Day!

Granddog General gets top billing ... well,

sort of.  Her amazing cuteness at the other end of the

leash tops him by a long stretch. She did such a great

job walking him, even while she was swinging she kept 

hold of his leash. 

Hat - check, water bottle - check,
cute flip flops - check, leash - check
major attitude - double check!

Swings with her best bud!
What a good ole boy he is.

Of course, have to include Chance on this special day.
He's my constant!
His new collars are ready from the finisher,
can't wait to see them.

I've posted my progress on this new little bit.
Movement©
Here you see silk wrapped pearl purl
below the gold leather.
From Access Commodities
Above, the stamens are worked with
Gimp! I love Gimp!
From Tentakulum.
Both are couched onto the surface,
both easily add so much
dimension and texture.

I've packed a lot of technique into this 5" square design.
I couldn't leave the ends of the stamens just plain ...
so ... of course, I filled them with cut Turkey Work!
This is the first of a series of nine designs that I'm 
creating to help push stitchers out of their comfort zone.
They're small treasures packed full of fun!
Operative word here is small,
not overwhelming.

Offered as workshops through 
The Black Sheep
in Orlando, Florida
Yay!!

Each piece will be offered over a two month span. 
'Movement'© will begin the second Saturday of
October and finish the second Saturday of November.
Watch for more details.

kid leather...

...try searching those two words on the internet. 

Actually, it wasn't that bad. 

Learned a little about Kid Rock and 

I did find a helpful video from Sarah Homfray. 

Although, it was like looking for the 

proverbial needle in the haystack. 

Below are the results of my search.

I do have 'old' knowledge of the how to apply leather to canvas ...
just thought it smart to refresh my brain cells on the process.
Thank you to Kreinik for the materials 
that continue to inspire and embellish!

Traced above, then drawn on the leather with pencil.
[a sharp pencil the dots will be beaded ... I think ...]

Wool felt for padding, just one layer makes the magic.
And as you can see, cut much smaller.

Applied with silk couching thread.
I came up to the outside of the leather,
then pierced as close to the edge as possible.
This would be easier with a thimble.
I, however, used my thumbnail. 

TaDa!
This is the beginning of a new series.
I've painted nine new five inch square designs.
Each will feature some fun off the wall
techniques for embellishing.

They're tiny, yes, but stitch up quickly.
In my humble opinion, I think they're going
to look ever so awesome displayed
all together.

This is where the teaming up with 

The Black Sheep 

in Orlando comes to life.

TBS will host the workshops!!

Watch for dates and times to come soon!

Big News!

I've teamed up with Anne Jones, owner of 

The Black Sheep 

in Orlando!!

We are planning to hold once a month workshops

featuring my designs and stitch guides.

The first will happen August 29 and September 26.

Featuring my Paisley Biscornu!

Sign up through the shop following this link

The Black Sheep

'Paisley Biscornu'
Painted canvas design and stitch guide
with custom designed fabric
by
a Kimberly design©

Anne picked a great piece to start off with.
Paisley Biscornu has a variety of stitches
from French Knots to Bullions to Turkey Work
and of course, a fabulous border!  And...
an awesome little tassel to top it off with.
You'll learn all, from stitching to finishing!