Booties and Balance

Part of finding ways to be more balanced in life means finding ways to structure my work so that if can be set aside easily, and then picked back up without difficulty.  I've concentrated my time on embroidered booties.  I love making them and they are the most transportable item I make.  I've really enjoyed playing with color and technique.  I also am enjoying the smallness of them. I mean who doesn't love baby scaled items.  But also the fact that I can indulge in a great level of detail and stitching but since they are sized for babies they sew up rather quickly.  

Here's a look at what I've been working on this month.

Summer time

This week we had the longest day of the year.  I always think that some year I will mark the day with a celebration, a nice dinner with friends and the kids staying up late catching fireflies.   Somehow every year it slips up on me and I don't follow through with any of it.  This year we had a regular dinner and evening at home with the four of us going about our regular routine.  This year i'm not a annoyed with myself.   This summer I've decided to work on being present with my life.  I'm trying to set aside my phone. I might not get as many lovely pictures.  I might be able to see the joy and surprise in my girls' faces though.  

I'm still sewing away, but I'm trying to stay apart from the over scheduling.  The last few months I could feel the tensions of schedules, and homework, and all the rest of life that seems to collide on itself at the end of a school year.  I knew that all four of us needed to slow down and breath.  So on the solstice, we did celebrate in obvious ways.  We simply enjoyed being with each other in ordinary, mundane, routines, and loved every minute of it.  

Elephants everywhere

I can't help but share these lovelies. A friend let me come dig through her stash of sweaters. The result so far are these. 

Southern Living!

So this has been in the works since July but only now could I share it.  

I'm in Southern Living!  

Holy Cow! I'm so excited to be able to say that. I am one of the southern makers included in Southern Living's Holiday Gift Guide.  

Right there on page 100.  

I'm thrilled to say the least. And the elephants are flying out the door. I'm seeing like mad to restock.  

You can find them at my etsy shop and locally in Mmphis at the Women's Exchange, and at Diane's art, gift, and home. I'll also have them at the Indie Market in Midtown Memphis on December 10th at Muddys.  

Sneek Peek

I've been working on some new items.  Most I will be taking to the Woman's Exchange in a few weeks, but I'll be sure to keep some to add to my shop.  In the meantime, I've taken a few pictures along the way.

My poor neglected site

I checked in here today expecting very little considering that I have given my site and blog so little attention lately.  I was shocked to find that y'all are still coming and checking in.  Between the efforts to make new work, and sell work, and of course take care of my family have been keeping me from posting much.  

Now that school has begun again I find myself with a bit of breathing space, and I hope to get back to writing about my work and sharing it here.  

This is Meg modeling a wolf mask  

To begin the catching up I want to share some work that I have made for an adventure this August.  A very good friend of mine asked me to join her as a vendor at the Mid-South Renaissance Faire.  Meg and I met as freshman at RISD 20+ years ago.  We have studied, traveled, roomed, and worked together during our friendship.  I had never been to a Renaissance festival and definitely take a quieter path through life but I was willing to join her in full regaliaed fun.  She and her mother spent a year making beautiful floral crowns for the the faire and I brought my hobby animals, butterfly crowns, and new masks to the booth.

I discovered an amazing ETSY shop called oxeyedaisey.  She sells mask patterns, and they are incredible.  The design work is beautiful and they instructions are very well written.  You can follow the link imbedded in her name to see her shop.  With her permission, I made felt masks to sell at the Faire and will keep them in my regular inventory.  My personal favorite is the CHICKEN! Yes, it is so good it gets all caps.  

Chicken Mask, sewn by me, pattern by Oxeyedaisy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/oxeyedaisey

In addition to chickens, I made wolves, bears, cats, and dragons.  

In addition to the masks, I brought a stable full of hobby horses and stick animals.  My stable has become quite diverse.  I added elephants (pole pachyderms) and stick dragons to the stalls.

I'll have more about these very soon.  

The Faire was great fun.  The weather was against us bringing drenching rain, ankle deep mud, and then sweltering heat.  Which is all to say, that it was completely typical for August in Memphis.  I brought my girls by to see the Queen, the jousts, the fairy court, the extravaganza, and to my youngest daughter's delight, the pink pony.

Some of the new work came back home and is now in my ETSY shop.

Here are a few shots of the fair itself.

And of course we end with the fabled pink pony. 

New opportunities

Following last spring's Urban Barn Market, I started selling my work at the Woman's Exchange of Memphis.  It is a wonderful shop in the middle of Memphis that sells locally made products to help promote arts in the community and help local women makers.

You can find the Woman's Exchange at 88 Racine Ave., Memphis, TN 38111

Two Weeks to Go

There are just two weeks left before I set my booth for the May Urban Barn Market!

There is so much work to make between now and then but I'm so excited with what I've made so far.  

Come see me in the Carriage House Mother's Day Weekend!

Apple of my eye

I thought I'd share a few of shots of some newly finished work. It's just 3 weeks till the spring Urban Barn Market. I've got a lot of sewing still to do.  

I've been "shopping" in my fabric stash. I had forgotten about so many wonderful prints I had saved away. I particularly love the vintage styled circus print. I'm debating whether the remaining fabric should be more booties or shorts for my youngest. 

Strawberry season is almost here, but these booties are available here.

I also have been working through my stacks of wool I cut up.  

These are booties are available here.

Ruby Sandals

Felt and floss

I have been busy restocking my crossover booties and spent a lot of hours sewing at the machine. This afternoon I finished up a batch of 42 new pairs in time for spring markets.  

To celebrate the end of a mass production cycle, I spent a lovely hour digging through my felt and floss planing out more hand embroidered booties. I love making these. Each pair is a doodle if you will of stitches. I always try to keep a pair stashed in my bag for filling the time while waiting for a lesson to end or while my girls are busy playing in the park. 

The resulting chaos while I work

Spring

Redbuds are out in full force, each day the world is greener, and new growth is pooping out everywhere.  

I've been busy sewing and restocking my etsy shop and taking more items to the local shops that carry my work. I always am over ambitious with time it takes to make work and take care of my family. The result being that I never quite finish as much as I hope. 

I have many plans for new designs and new techniques to add to my work. Fortunately, I've had some custom orders in the last few months that have allowed me to revisit some of my favorites. 

Here are a few shots from a custom pair of booties and matching onesie.  

I was asked to make a pair of booties for a baby boy with a map theme.  

It was a wonderful opportunity to use up some scraps and get out my felting needles.  

I added embroidery details.  

I have to fit work in around life. Homework time is stitching time for me. 

A little extra detail for the heel.  

All ready to go.  

Squee

So many great things have been happening. Last week, I took several items down to the Cotton Museum. This coming Saturday, I'll be joining a terrific group of local makers for the first Crosstown Seasonal Market housed at the Midtown Crossing Grill. And today... 

I dropped off a group of work at diane's art, gift, home!  

It's a wonderful shop and gallery in midtown a Memphis. The store is filled with assortment of lovely items for everyone.

You can now locally by my embroidered booties, the dragon jacket, and many more items. In a few weeks time there will also be hobbie horses and hobbie rabbits. Please be sure to stop by and see all the things Diane's has to offer.  

2016 is off to a wonderful start indeed!

There are a few bootie sets and more will be coming soon  

This jacket is available in a size 5 ready to go or for order in many other sizes.  

Cotton Bolls

Today I delivered some items to the Cotton Museum gift shop!   

The Cotton Museum is housed in the Cotton Exchange Building at the corner of Union Ave and Main Street.  The museum tells the story of the cotton trade here in the midsouth, how it was cultivated and grown, the effort of bringing it to market. 

It is well worth a visit both for visitors to the city and for locals as well.  

The gift shop is starting to spotlight local artists and writers. I met one of the coordinators of the shop at the Brooks Holiday Artist Market. I am thrilled to be able to see my work for sale in this great space.  

Several pillows and a hand colored illustration are currently for sale in the gift shop.  

The shop window on view from Union Avenue.  

Crosstown Winter Artist Market

Well the blizzard that wasn't is over but it is still winter.  I am pleased to be part of a wonderful artist market coming up here in Memphis.  Memphis is full of neighborhoods that are small and thriving and linking their vitality with the arts community.  I am so amazed at the number of creative artists groups and collectives that fill the city.  It is a tremendous asset to a city not know to be a high spot in the creative force of the country.  Memphis is realizing in a mighty way how to link artists into the community.  

The Seasonal Crosstown Markets is hosting four market throughout the coming year.  The first market will be housed at the Midtown Crossing Grill.  

The vendor for this first show are an extremely talented group of artists with a wide variety of media represented.

 Crosstown Winter Market Vendors

Cadence Designs       Melynda Whitwell

Handmade cards, tumblers, stemless wine tumblers, kids tumblers, cutting boards & ring dishes.

Colbymade       Colby Sturgis

Handmade solid wood furniture + home goods.  Kids dress-up closet, lil-artist easel, blanket ladder,  photo boxes & custom curtain brackets and rods.

Be sure to find her on instagram and Facebook as well.

  DFP Originals Dennis Paullus

Woodturning and carving, using green reclaimed logs to create art. All pieces are one of a kind. Bowls, boxes, and vessels. Functional and sculptural pieces.

Erin's Crocheted Creations   Erin Aulfinger

Crocheted hats, scarves, blankets, and clothing

Insectsy      Stacey McNiell

Creative butterfly and insect Shadow Boxes and jewelry featuring real butterfly wings preserved under glass.

Be sure to find her on Facebook as well.

Joyful ReCreations       Bonnie McAdams

Fused glass art including jewelry, wall hangings, fan pulls, coasters, magnets and other items.   Handmade Pottery including jewelry, mugs, plates and bowls.

Moon Mama Pottery      Michele Price

Sgraffito decorated pottery, using bright bold colors and designs. Plates, bowls, platters, mugs, ect.

Quilly Nilly     Tracey Calix

Quiling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. Unique and whimsical cards, earrings, jewelry boxes, bowls and miniature dolls are among some of my handmade items - all my original designs, all made from paper.

You can also find her on facebook and at her blog.

Repeat Paperie

     Colleen Couch-Smith, Eszter Sziksz & Maria Medrano Haley

Stationery studio specializing in handmade paper and letterpress printing. Sustainably made from 100% recycled cotton clothing.

Also on Facebook

Sundry Blossoms Studio       Renée Hodges

Florally inspired leather goods. Colorful hand bound Journals, Leaf Drop earrings, and Novel Necklaces.

You can also find her on Instagram, Facebook, and at ETSY

January In Memphis

It's been grey and rainy and cold.  Snow is predicted here for tomorrow.  The city is a state of advanced chaos and giddy excitement at the news.  The grocery store is a war zone and forecasters are using terms such as "blizzard like conditions", however, the prediction is for 2 inches of accumulation.  But that is what a Memphis winter is all about.  

My grandmother grew up here.  When she and my grandfather (who lived in the South growing up as well) married in November of 1940, they moved to Milwaukee, WI.  Very shortly after moving it snowed.  Snow for them was a rare and joyous event being from the South.  They went out to the local park, and played, and built a snowman, and had so much fun.  My grandmother told me how all the other adults who saw them were unimpressed at their behaviour.  My grandparents didn't understand why no one else who was past school age wasn't playing.  In Memphis, after all, everyone young and old played when it snowed.  It was a holiday.  Then my grandmother said, "When it was still snowing in April, I understood why no one was joining in."  I'm not sure she ever fully recovered from five and a half years in the north but for me after 15 years here I say snow day with some joy.   

Here are a few shots from the work I have been doing this month while trying to get us all back and moving in a rhythm.

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Books

A few years ago I found this lovely pattern over at Wee Wonderfuls.  If you aren't already familiar with Hillary Lang and her blog be sure to click over.  Her dolls are amazing and luckily for all of us she has made some of her patterns available for purchase.  

The Olive and Archie pattern links to a book she made with her dolls. Seeing her sample inspired me to want to make the ultimate personalized book for my daughters.  As a kid my mom had sent off from cereal box for a personalized book for my brother and I.  It was a sesame street story that they typed your name in as a character.  I thought that was so cool at 4.  

With more modern technology and the help of sites like Shutterfly, I knew I could make a great gift for my daughters for Christmas.  I made dolls using the Olive and Archie pattern and customized them to look like each of my daughters and their cousins.  My father-in-law had just finished up a massive renovation of a cabin along a river and so it became the setting for an adventure story.  I made the four dolls and a ton of extra items because I'm like that, and then I spent part of Thanksgiving weekend at the cabin taking pictures. 

Here are a few shots from the book:

And because I'm me, I couldn't quite stop there.  My eldest daughter loved the zoo.  We went several times a month.  She was fascinated by the visits.  So I decided to make a book just for the girls of a world travel adventure set at the Memphis zoo.  The first day I could, I took my youngest daughter to the zoo in a stroller (she was just over a year) and the dolls and the props to the zoo.  Thankfully it was a miserable day and there was practically no one at the zoo.  My courage would have failed.  The stroller had a flat tire and I couldn't keep my hands warm but I spent most of the school day dragging the stroller from animal to animal taking photos.  The best moment was after spending several minutes carefully arranging the dolls and binoculars, looking up into a monkey inclosure to see a keeper in the cage, paused in their cleaning efforts, laughing hysterically at me.  I smiled, and waved, and  took my pictures, and went on to the next spot.  

The dolls and books were a hit.  Each Christmas since, new books have been made.  I even made a doll for the 16 year old neice who wasn't in the first round and her own special book because you are never too old for a book about you.  The dolls have been on almost every vacation.  They have sledded and skied and biked and read and gone to school.  

They are looking rather shabby these days but they are still loved and played with often.  Next year's book might require a new set of dolls.  Martha's hair is almost gone in back and her bald spot shows up in photos.

Each January I think what will the new book be and I think I'll be good and plan ahead.  This past year I wanted to incorporate the girls artwork into the book and it took me a while to decide how, and then even longer, to find the time to execute the work.  Grace had drawn some super hero girls and written description of their powers and Martha is obsessed with unicorns.  With these as my starting point I made their Christmas book and got it finished to the printer with just a few days to spare for on time delivery.  Thank you UPS!  This last book I'll share in its entirety.  Thanks for reading through this ridiculously long post.  Sometimes you just have to share.

And now you know why it takes me a month or more to post new work or write a new post because I just might be playing with dolls or some other crazy involved project ostensibly for my kids. 

Hobby Horses

I have been selling hobby horses for a few years now.  Like most things in my shop, they started as something I made for my daughter and then my niece and nephew, and then I decided it was something to add to the shop.  At first I made them from fleece in lots of colors and a very random collection of ribbons I had amassed over time.  They were one of my "sweatshop" items.  My husband uses this term for the pieces on in mass batches.  I make so many at one go that generally they take over my work space, our bedroom, and the house in general.

I decided that the hobby horses needed a reinvention this fall.  Last year, once again, I made a gift for a baby shower that needed something extra to go with it.  The shower theme was rodeo inspired and I pulled out a hobby horse to add to the present.  Then I saw the registry and realized that everything was extremely neutral, beautiful, chic.  Not what my hobby horses were.  So at the last instant, while packing my suitcase, I whipped together a rabbit head out of an old sweater I had felted after it was no longer wearable, and made it into a hobby bunny.  And of course, I didn't take a single picture of it, not even a quick blurry cell phone shot. 

I was really quite pleased with the results however, and when it came time to start replenishing my stock of hobby horses, I grabbed my bin of old sweaters and got busy.  I've just spent the afternoon updating the shop and thought I better go ahead and share them here as well.

The whole bunny gang

Some were made from sentimental sweaters.  This was a sweater of my grandmother's.  It was a beautiful long alpaca sweater and skirt that she wore beautifully.

Reindeer Stick Horses

This grey horse went off to a home at this weekend's show and never made it to the shop.

This rabbit is made from the softest cashmere sweater I've ever felt.  A family friend started sending me sweaters after I started making the cotton boll pieces.  

Another luscious cashmere bunny

I still love my bright colorful fleece horses and will still make them too, but for now I'm loving these upcycled creations.  

Where did this fall go?

The school year is flying by.  My husband teaches, which means that since three out of the four members of the family live by the school year, it seems like we should celebrate New Year's Day August 1.  Yes August first, because here in the mid-south school starts early.  Long gone are the days of starting the day after Labor Day.  

But all of this is a digression to say simply that I have been swallowed up in the sea of schedules and activities that consume us all.  I've been so very busy.  I had an amazing time being part of the Urban Barn Market.  More about that here.  I created a great deal of new work in preparation that I have been wanting to share and just haven't sat down at the computer with the will to post anything.  

I've been experimenting quite a bit with more wall hangings/quilts.  I shared a photo journal of the creation of a piece with coneflowers. I also started working with some gorgeous cashmere sweaters that were passed on to me after moths found them.  They are amazing shades of blue that were perfect for iris.  

I also had enough of the materials left to make a few more cotton boll items.  Pillows restocked and also a large wall piece

I started working today on a new design for a fall leaf design that will be headed to become a wall work in the next few days.  

The happiest news is that I'll be busy for some time to come as well.  I will be at the Mullins United Methodist Church Craft Fair, Saturday November 14.  And just one day after the Urban Barn Market ended I received the news that I am going to be part of the Brook Museum of Art Holiday Artist Market.  I am thrilled to be part of this event.  I'll be posting more details about the sale and offering glimpses of some of the new items headed to the sale.  Some of the artists participating are those that I have admired for quite some time.  It is very gratifying to find myself in the same ranks.  I discovered the work of Baucum Pottery when I first moved here to Memphis.  It is amazing ceramics work created by a married couple.  Their work is simply stunning.  Melissa Bridgman of Bridgman Pottery is another very talented potter.  She also is gracious in sharing support and help to other artisans in the Memphis area.  I hope that if you are in the Mid-South that you come by and see my work in person.

The Urban Barn Market

Such a wonderful weekend!  I wish I had strolled around more and taken more photos and had more to share because this was an amazing event.  It was one of those times where you are enjoying the time so much that you forget that you have a camera with you, and that you have a phone and all the other devices, and you just enjoy.

The weather made a fool of us all and despite being the first weekend of October was cold and grey and cold and did I say cold.  Luckily, I was inside and just next to the amazing Dr. Beans coffee stand.  

I hope to join this wonderful community of makers and sellers again this coming spring.  

Here are a few pictures of some of the new work I brought along with me

A special project

It is feast time for me here indeed.  I have so many exciting opportunities to prepare for and custom orders keep flowing in.  I'm loving the fact that I am too busy.  It's been quite awhile since I felt too busy from work and not just from the house and kids and family.  

I had a chance to make a custom nightgown in a very short window of time.  In fact, two nightgowns that are identical.  They are headed off to Hollywood in fact to be used in a movie.  This is a definite first for me.  I'm excited to see if and how they make the cut once the movie is finished.  Looks like I have a reason to head to the theaters next fall.

Here are a few shots of the finished gowns before they head off to Burbank.