Memories...

When I was a kid ...

not that long ago!

I had a long bus ride back and forth from school.  

As I stitched on the little mushrooms in this piece 

I remembered drawing in the condensation on the bus windows ....

mushrooms, happy faces, peace signs 

and didn't everyone make "Hang Ten" feet with the 

side of your hand and fingertips for the toes???

Of course, now happy faces are called emoji ...

go figure?

"Tree of Life"
The next design in my series of The Nine,
Just how much can you pack into a five inch square design??
Don't ask!
Class sign ups are ongoing for this piece!
The first of two will be April 9 at
The Black Sheep Shop
in Orlando.
Call or click away for info.

Basketweave beading with a few ribbon flowers tossed in.
My tree has tiny little beaded Bluebirds too!

I know many of you are afraid of ribbon embroidery ...
BUT! If ... you can relax with it,
you'll change your own mind. 

Beads, little stump work with felt, polka dots for fun,
and my mushrooms from the sixties ... bus windows.

BONUS!
Happy Easter!!
Emma will be two very soon! This adorable picture
was after her very first Easter Egg Hunt!
She is the sweetest granddaughter ever!

Guess what??!!

I am very excited to announce that
I've been asked to come teach my
'Blossom' design for
Chandail
in Houston, Texas!!

"Blossom"
a Kimberly design©2014
This design is full of fun stitching.
We'll certainly fill up two class days with a lot color, technique, and texture!  I've used beautiful ribbon, a few beads, Memory Wire, silks silks and more silks, of course there is a little sparkle too with metallics and some new to even me thread!  

We'll explore bullions, cast on, couching, and even blackwork. 
We'll layer, loop, and French knot our way through this design!

Come join us at Chandail 
May 30 & 31
[click here for more details]
this will take you to Chandail's home page,
click on classes & workshops,
scroll down...
there I am! 

it happens...

the best laid plans...even those who over purchase...RUN OUT!!  Onward, mess ups, magic, and mint, life is good.

Mess Up...

See the last two little red dots above...
I couldn't squeak out even two more
with the ends out of my ort dish.
Thank you Ruth for calling Jean at River Silks
and thank you Jean for drop shipping one card to my humble door.
 Last two are now stitched and the background is well underway.
 More to come on that in my next post.

Magic...

This pile of metallic cord may seem ordinary to most,
but to me, it's magic.
I love making a bullion cord.
Three spools of Kreinik #12
and poof! 

Mint...

This is probably the last mint from
my farmers garden for this season.
Makes ones cuppa tea so nice to wake up with....
time does fly, spring will arrive fast enough.

Sunny Sunday...

On this beautiful Sunday morning,
as I sat down to focus on painting.
This one became a total distraction for me.

I finally did get painting.
Little Dancer©2014
Progress is progress

The border on this design was a bugger
to count out...
so of course, it's also a belt now.
Snail Trail©2014

With some to spare! Truly thought I would run out of steam or thread working these swirly bullion curves.
Thankfully neither was an issue!
And I LOVE the way they turned out.

Next up, finish the coils and the
tiny red ribbon flowers.
Then to figure out a stitch for the background,
already have something in mind for the pink flowers
....you'll see :-)

stitch by stitch...

In between playing with my grandbaby, 

a little stitching on Blossom.

Sometimes a groan comes from my stitching spot. I'm loving the play of the Memory Wire. Love the beaded background of the light green area. Don't ask me what I'm going to do with the big dots yet.  Underneath the coil is a smooth spiderweb that didn't turn out the way my minds eye saw it. The coil is fun but will lose its fun'ness' when I attach it with couching.

I'm also obsessing over the red dots. I've lost track of how much ribbon I've wasted. Right now they are worked in Montano Ribbon Knots. Basically everything I've ever taught anyone about making a French Knot, FORGET.
Many loose wraps,
do not hold the end of the thread taut...
DO NOT pull firmly.
They are to be fluffy, loopy knots. 

Beginnings.
This tiny dancer will be a companion piece
to my 'Emma's Pillow' design.
This is what I do when stitching frustrates me,
grab my pencils!

ribbon and bullions...

Yes, having fun here with ribbon work and piles of bullions!

'Blossom'©
Fun right from the start!