Dabbling in Design, Freebies and Spaghetti!

Hi, stitching friends!

I am so, so, so excited to share with you a new adventure! I've been wanting to design my own cross-stitch patterns for a while now, and I finally did it. Before I "retired" last year because of stupid cancer, I worked as a graphics designer, first for my hometown newspaper in central Idaho doing ad and page design, then in ad design and layout for a sports fundraising company in Boise. About a hundred years ago, I worked as a rodeo photographer and a web designer. I've had the design bug for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to do something that I could say was from me, from my imagination and from my heart. When I stitch a pattern I've purchased, it's so much fun, but coming up with something on my own has been such a rewarding, fun, fulfilling experience, like taking cross stitch to the next level.

It's a lot of work! Thinking, "How can I make this idea work? That's gonna be tough!" Silencing the internal critic. And trying to balance colors... phew! I've found that what looks good on screen often does not translate when I pick out colors, stitch the piece and find out that those colors are just... meh. Back to the drawing board again and again, but loving every second of the challenge. I remember reading on a blog by Seth Godin about approaching every challenge with one thought: This might work. Remember that: This might work. It's a great way to overcome self-doubt.

So there you have it... on to the designs!

I started by checking out a book from the local library called Charted Folk Designs for Cross-Stitch Embroidery, a selection of pattern snippets collected by Maria Foris from old samplers. It is a wonderful book. I charted some of the patterns as is, then changed them to fit my layout, changed colors (the book's original designs are in red and black only), and flat out changed some things until something in my brain went "yes!"

I stitched it once and decided that my colors were all wrong, so I chose different colors and stitched it again. That's the hardest part - choosing colors. There are just so many beautiful overdyed threads out there, it's hard to pick! But I am really happy with my final color selection. I sewed it into a little pillow, backing it with the fabric shown behind it, and attached some handmade cording - first time using my Kreinik cord maker, so be kind! It takes some getting used to.

If you would like to stitch this, here is the pattern.

Next, I wanted to try designing something more original. For inspiration, I turned to Charles Wysocki, one of my favorite artists. And, I used words from one of my favorite poets, E. E. Cummings. His poem [in Just-] is one of my favorites, and the words "Mud Luscious and Puddle Wonderful" are from that poem (and are a great example of assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds - I was an English major!).

This was so much fun to design! And that little piggy really threw me. It's hard to design itty bitty things! I finished it into a little pillow, backing it with the brown floral fabric in the yo-yo, and embellished the yo-yo with a brad from Stampin Up.

If you would like to stitch this little fella, here is the pattern.

If you stitch either one of these, would you please send me a link to a photo? I would love to see!

My son is 15 now, and it has been a goal of mine to make sure this young man knows how to cook. He knows how to make the basics, like pancakes and scrambled eggs, and has even attempted Philly cheese steaks with beer-cheese sauce. I bought him The Culinary Bro-Down cookbook by Josh Scherer for Christmas. It's full of F bombs and recipes that use beer - apparently a staple in "manly" cooking. He loves this book. If you have a young man in your life who thinks cooking is woman's work, get him this book!

He is taking "teen living" (what was called home ec when I went to school), and his teacher taught them how to make spaghetti with meat sauce. He made this for us last week, and it was so good, and so much better than any sauce out of a jar. Psssst.... don't tell him you saw his photo on my blog. When I started this blog, he said, "OK, Mom, but keep me out of it!" Whoops. Hey, proud mama here. Couldn't resist.

Later this week, my wonderful husband and I are heading to one of our favorite spots on earth, the Oregon coast. (Our son is not into scenery, so he will be home over Spring Break with Grandma. Going out to movies and dinner and staying up late to play online games - that is his idea of vacation.) When we go to Oregon, we usually stay in Newport in a hotel on the beach, but this year, we are going with friends and staying in a condo in Depoe Bay. So looking forward to showing them our favorite sites, including Nye Beach (photo above... it's impossible to take a bad photo with that light), Nana's Irish Pub and the Christmas shop in Lincoln City.

Until next time, friends! Happy stitching!