Happy 40th Birthday to me!

Thursday was my 40th birthday! Today is my birthday party. When searching for a theme, my mom & I were trying to find something "me" & cheap. Enter my fabric stash!

Red toile canvas by Waverly

Using my plethora of red toile fabric & a bit of plastic sheeting, we covered all of the tables. 

Basic red toile cotton & Twizzlers

Two redwork portraits of me

Next, we used some of my redwork portraits & pinned them to the Irish lace curtains in the dining room.

Redwork portraits of Gavin DeGraw & Richard Marx

 Then we put out the scrapbook & my senior yearbook. The bulletin board is for book quotes the guests were asked to bring. My best friend is making the cake. I will post that later. Can't wait to see it.

Vintage redwork & portrait of Solomon Northup

Happy Stitching!

Doodle Stitch-along: Part 1

Hugs Are Fun is hosting a Doodle Stitch-along. I'm joining in because I haven't stitched much these last 2 weeks after I finished my last project.

I grabbed a bit of fabric from my stash & doodled a beginning design. Now to start embroidering. I've decided on 2 blue variegated flosses, DMC 121 & DMC 93. We'll see how it turns out!

Traced out a doodle on a fat quarter I've had for years

If you'd like to join me, the link to the Doodle Stitch-along is HERE!







Happy Stitching!

Ruby's Marketplace Grand Opening

After about 6 months in business, the artisan co-op I belong to is finally ready for their Grand Opening! If you are out & about in northeastern NY, southern VT, & western MA this weekend, stop on by. There are other great shops & a few local restaurants too.

A shortened version will appear in Manchester newspapers tomorrow. Here is the long press release:

FOR MORE INFORMATION:                                          FOR RELEASE:

Terry Mumby                                                                          IMMEDIATE

rnthimble@verizon.net                                                        March 28, 2014

TITLE: GRAND OPENING OF RUBY’S MARKETPLACE

GREENWICH, N.Y. (March 28, 2014)- Walking down Main Street in Greenwich, one can see a resurgence. New businesses are popping up in the vacant storefronts, like flowers poking through the winter snow. One such business is Ruby’s Marketplace, a co-op of local vendors.

Ruby’s Marketplace initially opened in October 2013 with a handful of artisans, and now boasts eight local vendors under one roof. The Grand Opening of Ruby’s Marketplace is a two-day event: Friday, April 11 from 10:00 to 5:00 pm, and Saturday, April 12 from 10:00 to 4:00 pm. Craft demonstrations, refreshments, and eight unique door prizes are all part of the festivities as you shop.

Greenwich resident, Annette Arnold, started YARN to supply yarn and patterns while teaching knitting and crocheting classes. She soon added pottery, and painted glassware to her list of skills under the name Brushes & Mud.

Aprilsongstress Designs features hand embroidery by Greenwich native Tisha Dolton. Ms. Dolton began embroidering in 1998 while working at Saratoga National Historical Park. She has since switched to redwork, a simple embroidery that is excellent for her embroidered portraits.

Her mother, Tamaris Dolton, also of Greenwich, started Just-A-Duck in 1988. Mrs. Dolton’s business has evolved over the last 26 years, and she now focuses on one-of-a-kind, whimsical, wonky quilts.

Another mother-daughter team, Beadle Hill Bags is the enterprise of Judy Stevens and Annabelle Bink. The two enjoy sewing and other creative crafts.  Together, they make purses, wallets, and tote bags that are at the same time useful, beautiful and affordable.

Paper Creations is a collection of colorful hand stamped cards, and stationary by another Greenwich resident, Beth Vallone.

Mina Zaffarano makes lovely, hand crafted necklaces, bracelets, and earrings at very reasonable prices from her home in Hoosick Falls. Mrs. Zaffarano also assists Ms. Dolton with the store’s Facebook page.

“Thoughtfulness in a busy world” is the tag line for Sincere Sentiments. Saratoga Springs resident Carol Ann Maguire makes party favors, decorated candles, and seasonal floral wreaths for the home.

Sue’s Shirt Shop, run by Jim and Sue Adams of Argyle, is the newest addition to the marketplace. They hope to have printed mugs, shirts, and gifts available in the shop this April.

Ruby’s Marketplace is located at 81 Main Street in the village of Greenwich, NY, next to Ruby’s Nimble Thimble. Visit our joint Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/RubysNimbleThimble. 

Ruby's Nimble Thimble & Ruby's Marketplace- 81 Main S. Greenwich, NY 12834

Unfortunately, I have to work Friday & Saturday & will not be there. My mom (Just-A-Duck) will be there with her quilts for a little while. Her ankle is recovering well from the fall she took in February. She has been riding the stationary bike at physical therapy. Plus, today she was able to get a regular shoe on!

I will have a display of how I do my embroidered portraits. Hopefully that will pique some more interest. & for those of you who requested a tutorial, I haven't forgot. I'm plugging away at it.

Happy Stitching!

Vendors on Facebook 
Aprilsongstress
Just-A-Duck
Beadle Hill Bags
Vine & Branches Gallery
Brushes & Mud
YARN
Sue's Shirt Shop

Procrastination Station: Doctor Who, Part Trois

For previous posts about my version of this project see: Part One & Part Deux

The Doctor Who Stitch along was a collaborative project between Jennifer Ofenstein, Aalia Zaman, Kim K, Kristel Carnahan, Jordan F, Angelica Rodriquez, Soma Acharya May 15 - July 31, 2013. For more information & to view the original patterns, click HERE.

  
I have completed the final Doctor Who block! Now to put them all together in a bed runner!

The 11th Doctor as played by Matt Smith is represented here in a design by Soma Acharya. I think she did a great job with his hair, bow tie, & pant cuffs.

 

11th Doctor embroidered by aprilsongstress

 When I first started the stitch along the 12th Doctor had not debuted so I searched around online & found this image by onegemini on deviantART. I flipped it so it is a mirror image of Peter Capaldi.
 

onegemini's 12th Doctor turned to an embroidery pattern

The completed embroidery of the 12th Doctor

War Doctor (John Hurt) was created by Kerry Dustin for Fandom in Stitches after the initial stitch along was over.

War Doctor finished embroidery

13 Doctors ready to be made into a bed runner

I'll post the finished product when complete. Who knows? Maybe this will be my first completed quilt!

No Art Show for Me... This Time

I'm kind of bummed neither of my pieces made it in to the art show, but I didn't really expect it. One was a redwork piece I had finished a while ago. It was based on a gift I made for my little sistar. You can see that post here.

Redwork of Zachary, Fiona, and Schuyler- 6" hoop

The other submission was a new piece I finished just in time to submit. I am really proud of how it turned out.

 I chose this selfie from when Fiona & I were working on her photo essay of the Champlain Canal.

Figuring out the pattern

 I wanted to do something a bit different, so I decided to put words in Fiona's sunglasses. Words to represent the things she thinks & dreams about. I thought of "art," "music," "star." Then I thought of "fame." I decided on "fame" & "art," because I thought that really summed up the struggle between creativity and the desire to be known for that creativity.

Adding words to the glasses

I played around with some different fonts & my handwriting. I asked for opinions on the "art" because I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

I decided against red, even though I was using the redwork style of embroidery that I love & favor. I wanted colors to represent Fiona. I chose black with just a bit of turquoise (DMC #3846) for the sunglasses. Then I framed it in a 10" hoop.

Tween Ambition by Tisha Dolton

Next time I try for an art show, I may have to spring for true framing & work on getting better images.

Redwork Portrait Won a Prize!

Now that I have finished my newest work of art & submitted it to an actual, real-live art show, I figured I let you know how my last competition went. I don't mean to boast or anything, but isn't blogging about sharing? & I am so proud that my embroidery is getting some recognition now that I have stopped being scared & started putting it out there. This blog & you, my readers (& fellow bloggers), have helped me with that! So, "Thank you!"

Mom & I heard back from the DAR this week. Mom's Sunbonnet Sue quilt took 2nd place in the Quilt category in NY State! My redwork portrait pillow took 3rd place in embroidery. This was the essay that went with my piece:

Portraiture has been around for as long as art has existed. Pre-historic human figures were featured in the cave paintings of Lascaux (France), and the rock art of the Anasazi (Southwestern USA).  Throughout recorded history, wealthy people paid artists to render their likeness in oils, marble, and bronze. With the advent of photography in the Nineteenth century, and the subsequent advances in technology through the Twentieth century, more and more people, no matter their circumstances, were able to have their “pictures taken.” Because of the accuracy of photography, artists began the experiment with abstraction, cubism, and surrealism in portraiture. Today, my twelve-year-old daughter is better at snapping a “selfie,” or self-portrait, with her iPod, than I ever was at trying to capture her essence with my own digital camera.

As an artist, my media of choice are thread and fabric. I am an embroiderer focusing on redwork. A few years ago, after seeing the embroidered portraits of embroidery artist, Jenny Hart, I began stitching my own. I started out with a self-portrait, and then moved on to embroidered portraits of my daughter, and nephews. This particular embroidered portrait, Portrait of a Young Woman in Redwork, which I am submitting for your consideration, is a combination, and a continuation of all that came before. Based on a “selfie” taken by my daughter, this portrait is rendered in redwork by me. It is a modern representation of a girl coming of age through a traditional, folk art form popular from 1880-1930. By combining all of these elements, I am Honoring Our Heritage: Art through the Ages.

Below is the embroidered portrait I made of my daughter Fiona from the  selfie she took last year. Rendered in redwork, DMC floss #321, & sewed into a pillow using one of the fabrics from an Alex Anderson redwork fat quarter pack.

Redwork portrait pillow

My 3rd place certificate! My embroidery won't be headed to National this year, but I'm pretty proud of 3rd place. Let's see what next year's theme will be...

3rd place certificate

 

What is art?

 My favorite comment came from anna_hohoho "I love you [Madonna] and respect oh so much. But russians have freedom, right to chose what they do. But our country is different to America. Events in russian church shows that. Russians can't show their ass in church because its a simbol of being pure like an angel. I don't go to churches. But my granma does. She took part in world war 2. And I don't want her to see pussy riot in there. Because its disrespectful for the memory of winners. So, I really believe that you just want freedom and love. But some times people are different. And freedom are different... I ho[p]e you will understand."

Other Russians commenting had some valid points about the differences in culture. They also mentioned that the "police" in the image are actually not police, but "peacekeepers." One Russian women, alisenok_bg, with some of the best points kept commenting to get her point across, & eventually said Pussy Riot should go "to the countries where people appreciate and encourage so called art." As her frustration with other commenters mounted she began to show her elitist view of art. Having a high-brow opinion of what art is & isn't doesn't negate her other comments, but it brings up the question "Is what Pussy Riot doing art?"

In this Russian woman's mind, it is not art. Based on her comments, I gather she loves her country & culture, & was trying to set the record straight regarding a post by a singer she likes enough to follow on Instagram. Her country, as we could tell by the opening sequence of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, boasts some amazing artists. But that is not the whole story. Let's take Kandinsky.

Reiter (Lyrishes) by Kandinsky 1911, Museum Boijmans Beuningen*

Born in Moscow in 1866, Kandinsky was raised in Ukraine, & studied law at the University of Moscow. But he studied art in Munich (my favorite pieces come from this period), only to return to Russia in 1914 due to World War I. Then with the rise of communism & its strict view of art as "for-the-people" propaganda, he returned to Germany, until 1933, when he moved to France. France is where he created his most significant works & he became a French citizen. Many times his non-representational art was challenged as "not art." 


So, why am I writing about this on my embroidery blog? Haven't all crafters at some point in time wondered if what they create is art? Haven't we had others belittle our work, or creativity? Art is subjective, that's what makes it great. What one person loves, another will hate. Where someone sees a tree, someone else will see the meaning of life wrapped up in years of symbolism. Where a government sees anarchy, an individual sees freedom of expression.

Working on my redwork self portrait

Is what I make art? If you asked me 5 years ago, I would say "no." But now? Now I say "Hell yes!" I am using my chosen medium of thread & fabric to create something as a form of expressing myself. If nothing more than to say a traditional craft like redwork can be used in a different way. My redwork speaks to me. I can only hope that it resonates with others. Kandinsky's work seems to be standing the test of time. We shall see if Pussy Riot will. As for me? I am just hoping to leave a legacy for my daughter, to create, no matter what.


*Image attribution.