Friday Inspiration - Embroidery Artists

If you still think of embroidery as something that decorates towels, baby clothes, and vintage handkerchiefs, take a look at TextileArtist.org's 10 Contemporary Embroidery Artists.  These artists meld embroidery with nature, use it to put a new spin on the images that surround us, and to highlight the everyday world.  Here's a sneak peek!

Debbie Smyth, Trolleyed

Kazuhito Takadoi, AKI (Autumn)

Inge Jacobsen, Threaded Vogue Cover

There are seven more featured artists and links to everyone's websites in the article.  And now I have an itch to embroider something!

Happy Creating!  Deborah

Beach combing with Henry - see you next week!

Friday Inspiration - Studio Space

Something very exciting is happening around here!  Last summer we began the process of building a garage .... and I came up with the idea of adding a second floor over it to make into a fibers studio.  Well, after months of planning, filing for permits, and preliminaries, it's taking shape!  The last few days, I've been itching to get into the upstairs and start planning!  However, since I have to be patient for a bit longer, I've begun collecting photos of inspiring studios.

This one is from Wee Coutures - cute doll clothes on the website too!

This one has a nice weaving corner ....

.... and I love the bright cheerfulness of this studio from Lightgarden.

These are great, but for most of my life I didn't have anywhere near the space to even dream of a studio that big!  These two "corner" studios give you the ability to keep all your supplies in one area, leave work out (the big problem with my old studio - the dining room table), and have a dedicated space to go to - all important things to keep one inspired to continue creating!

This one comes from the now defunct blog chiclittlehouse.  Great use for a closet!

And this great corner is from Jennibellie Studio - there are a couple other nice areas on the post here, too.

Stay tuned in the rest of this year to see what this new studio becomes!

Happy Creating!  Deborah

The Year of the Cowl

This seems to be the year of the cowl for me!  I've finished a second one and have the third one underway.  This one is Tiny Garlands by Oleya Pearsall and is available on Ravelry here.

I almost never buy yarn to knit a piece exactly like the one on display in a shop, but I fell in love with the yarn and the way it worked with the pattern.

It's Morning Frost, a limited release color of Handmaiden's Casbah - soooo soooo soft with a bit of cashmere!  See KnitPurl's site for more info.

The third cowl is a little different!  I'm participating in my first MKAL - mystery knit along.  I have to admit it's a little unnerving to pick out a yarn and start knitting away on something I have no idea of how it will turn out or what it will look like!  I can't post a photo until the last clue comes out - and I definitely will then.

Happy Creating!  Deborah