Been a busy lady, and time to work on embroidery is scarce. I’m on the home stretch, though, with the Sesame Street tote. Here’s the most recent progress shot. Just inside this hoop are all of my favorite characters: Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar The Grouch and most of all Count Von Count. I was talking to my friend Adrienne about why we both were drawn most to the Count. Her thoughts: “he was a really snappy dresser.”
Here’s a quick little number I whipped up for the mister last night. Not my first softie, but it was my first experiment with tags and lettering without a pattern.
Happy Valentine’s Day friends!
I’m finally getting around to putting this up now even though it’s been finished two months. This portrait of Amigo, a quarter horse who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area was commissioned as a holiday gift for Charlotte, Amigo’s owner. I experimented with the prairie flowers and I just love how they turned out!
Here’s a photo of Charlotte and Amigo is action:
Hey friends! Things may seem like they’re quiet on the embroidery front, with not even the whisper of a completed JKGiveaway piece since November, but I’ve actually been pretty busy with stitching lately; I’m currently embroidering all the Sesame Street characters on this tote bag. Originally I started it as a project I could sell or keep for myself, but I’ve decided to auction it for charity. A very young member of my family was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I thought this Sesame Street tote would be the perfect thing to auction online to raise money for Leukemia research. So if anyone knows any big Sesame Street fans please pass word along!
Well, tomorrow is the first JKGiveaway of the new year and I figured I’d make some changes to the competition for 2010.
Going forward, the JKGiveaway will be a monthly contest, now occurring on the first Thursday of each month at noon PST. Now for a Q&A on the matter:
“WHY?” Because the carpal tunnel monster got me. And I want to start building up a cache of items I can stock in my etsy shop. I can’t do that if I’m constantly turning out free embroidery every week.
“I’m not happy with your decision.” This was a weird decision to have to make. I’ve benefited tremendously from holding the Giveaway, certainly in skill but also in life experience. I met Jenny Hart, Jenny Ryan and a lot of real-life and internet friends because of the Giveaway. And I love the idea of free art. But I’ve heeded the advice of my friends and mentors and have decided it wouldn’t be so terrible to try to make money at this. If you’re still unhappy, I suggest simply playing the JKGiveaway even harder, or better yet, learn embroidery!
“Will you be making it weekly again once you’ve stocked your etsy shop?” I wouldn’t hold my breath, but I never say never either. It’s a firm maybe.
“What’s your etsy shop called?” Since there’s nothing in it I’m going to hold off on sharing, but if anyone knows of some great ways to customize your etsy shop pages (banners, etc) I’d appreciate any info!
I’ll see you on Facebook and Twitter for the JKGiveaway at noon tomorrow!
Big day for updates…Wordpress and I were working out our issues, but I’m glad I was able to bring lots of recent stuff to y’all today.
Big thanks to everyone who has played the JKGiveaway or ever said a kind word. I have appreciated it all! JKGiveaway Frankenstein winner Bethany sent me a thank you letter (so sweet!). Plus, because she reads my Tweets and noticed I talk about craft beer every now and then, she knit and sent me this freaking sweet beer sweater:
Thanks Bethany! This picture was taken in my second bathroom, where my boyfriend brews his own (ahem *award-winning!*) beer. He keeps bottles of his favorite craft brews in there for inspiration…he’s a DIYer in his own way 
I’ve been in kind of a craft slump lately, I feel less motivated to craft and more motivated to do other things like write songs…and…eat…so the JKGiveaway will be around but not every single week like it was before. I have some embroidered holiday commissions to work on, plus my own plans to follow through on. Can you blame me for putting embroidery giveaways on the back burner?
The holidays are coming and usually I shift gears and become a big, blonde elf around this time of year. I already have ideas for handmade ornaments, table decorations, advent calendars (presents all month? Yes please), and yummy baked things. I picked up the Martha Stewart sweets issue and I feel so inspired to bake. Did you know I was (very) briefly the private baker for Henson Recording Studio on the Henson lot in Hollywood? That was almost two years ago, and it wore me out! One woman alone can only make so many pastries before she falls apart!
Stay tuned!
I had a blast this Halloween! I had originally intended to make myself a Pinocchio costume but as JKGiveaway pieces, commissions and personal obligations mounted it became clear I would have zero time to sew a seven piece costume from scratch. Plus, while it’s a cute idea, I think dressing as a little boy might not have been a good choice. Instead I dressed as Melanie Daniels, Tippi Hedron’s character from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. My bf dressed as the late and great pitchman Billy Mays and I stitched him a pretty legit-looking OxiClean patch for his blue shirt:
He also carried around “OxiClean powder” (pixystix in a thoroughly washed OxiClean tub) and “OxiClean spray” (lemon-lime soda with rum in a thoroughly washed OxiClean spray bottle). “Billy” gave OxiClean demos to partygoers, even developed a special multistep OxiClean shot. But the best Billy Mays costume moment came during the Halloween party we attended October 30th, held by fave band and dear friends Shaimus (the drummer of which was the winner of the Ghostbusters giveaway). One friend got fake blood on his banana costume and jokingly asked if Billy Mays could get the stain out. Since the lemon-lime/rum concoction was colorless, they figured there was no harm in trying…and the stain actually came out!
And guess what? My bf entered himself into the national Billy Mays Halloween costume contest and won! Billy Mays’ son judged the whole thing and deemed Frank’s the best out of over 1500 entries!
Read more about the HallowClean contest and what Frank won on Billy Mays III’s blog
This bib was a commissioned gift for a huge fan of R.E.M., whose “Life’s Rich Pageant” album sides are titled “Dinner Side” and “Supper Side.”
Model: Natalie Chediak
Fabric by Echino, find it at Home Ec: www.homeecshop.com/item/Echino_Scooter_Stripe/388/c46
October 22, 2009
“He’ll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity.”
from It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Winner: Jimmy Snell
Play the JKGiveaway each Thursday at noon PST on Facebook and Twitter.
October 15, 2009
“You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn’t you?”
from Poltergeist
Winner: Stephanie Hall
Play the JKGiveaway each Thursday at noon PST on Facebook and Twitter.
