Recent Custom Orders -- Bragging a Bit!

Can I make a New Year's Resolution in February? If yes, I'd like to resolve that I will post to this blog at least once a week!

I've recently started contributing to the EtsyNEAT blog, the official blog of the Etsy Needle Arts Street Team. Each Tuesday, I write "Tips and Tricks" that I hope will help our members and any other blog followers.

I've also been VERY busy with custom orders. In fact, I haven't had time to do any embroidery that I just wanted to do since the beginning of January. This is totally a BLESSING, but I am looking forward to spending some time finishing the cowgirl pin-up I started at Christmas!

Here are just a few of the things I've worked on in the past month and a half... I also made quite a few of my popular initial handkerchiefs, but I've posted photos of those before!

(I made 127 of these handmade handkerchiefs.... I cut the shapes from fabric yardage, sew, and then hand-cut each of the scallop shapes on the edges.)

(This was a gift from a bridesmaid to a bride...)

My favorite thing that I worked on this month was a set of handkerchiefs for the beautiful ladies of ZASS. Zass is Zulay and Stephanie, a mother-and-daughter team who are known in local (Raleigh, NC is local to me) craft circles for their AMAZING upcycled jewelry designs. They asked me to create floral handkerchiefs as a gift for their yearly gathering of "Hot Older Women", or "HOW Girls". I modified their logo to be hankie-friendly and stitched it up in various colors on retro hankies. Check them out!

November is.... Busy!

November is turning out to be a very busy month for me! This week my students are performing the fall play (three performances, with me backstage as assistant director).

Saturday, my husband and my sister are going to have a booth at the Fairgrounds Flea Market. Check out my husband's furniture here, and my sister's photography here.

Next weekend (the 13th and 14th), my sister and I are sharing a booth at the State Farmer's Market Craft Fair -- We've been a few times as shoppers, so we're excited to go as vendors as well.

The weekend after that (the 20th), we will participate in the last Downtown Designer's Market for 2010!

Then, it's Thanksgiving week!

WHEW!

Of course, I always find time to embroider... My current projects are lots of kitchen towels for the upcoming markets-- I just finished a bunny and am almost done with a butterfly. Both simple designs, but very pretty!

Embroidery Find of the Week- Cross-Stitch Buttons from DeepIndigo

DeepIndigo on Etsy makes the cutest little cross-stitched buttons, like this set, which features fruit:

I don't like doing cross-stitch myself and it often turns out looking like something a granny with bad taste would have in her powder room. DeepIndigo's buttons manage to look fresh and cute, though! I can imagine these as replacement buttons on a vintage blouse or dress, or as focal points as a plain tote bag.