Barefoot Shepherdess

Variations on a Theme

...of Queen Anne's lace.  Since it's one of my most popular designs, I thought it would be interesting to see what else I could do with it.  So what began as a pincushion--

Also became a coin purse--

(with pretty stripes inside!)

And now a book cover too--

Like my other book covers, this one is adjustable to accommodate a range of book thicknesses.

I especially like the effect of the scalloped edge-- it compliments the Queen Anne's lace really well and adds interest and delicacy to an otherwise plain design.  Though hand stitching them required a good amount of time & patience, I think the result was well worth the effort!

So that turned out to be a fun, fruitful experiment.  But there's something new calling my name now...

LOVE Handmade

I'm still trying to catch up...

In the middle of January, I participated in a group show with fellow Etsy artists at Gallery 7 in Yaesu, just a few blocks from the Tokyo Station.  The weather was far from ideal-- cold, rainy & grey-- not the most appealing time to head out to a gallery, but while it was dreary outdoors, it got pretty lively inside.  I had a great time meeting and talking with everyone.

Thank you to those who joined us during the weekend!  For more photos from the event, please hop over to my Flickr photostream.

Hello February

Now that it's February...

Happy 2012!  It's been a really hectic start to the new year here-- before I knew it, a whole month had gone by.  So where in the world did January go...?

Well here, for one:

25 hand embroidered pincushions, to be exact.  These were made for a custom request at my shop.  It took me a lot longer than I anticipated to make them all-- for being so small, the embroidery takes more time than one would think.  I feel relieved to have them finished, finally!

Still, I'm a little sad to have to part with these...  For despite all the pincushions I make, I don't have a single favorite set aside for my own use yet.  Lined up like this, they make such a pretty picture-- sort of like a pincushion quilt!

But this isn't the only thing I've been up to... more on that next time!

M a k e

That's exactly what I've had to do for the past month and a half: make, make, make.  Make things for my shop for the holiday shopping season, make attempts at new designs and make preparations for my first ever 'event.'

A couple of weekends ago, a group of Etsy sellers in the Tokyo region got together to participate in Make: Tokyo Meeting 07 at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.  This was our collaborative booth-- each box represented a different shop.  My box was on the far right.

Though the focus of the event was on technology-based creations-- robots, machinery and such-- they also had a section for handmade goods, which was where we were.  And what variety we offered too!  Each shop had its own distinct style, which hopefully, made it fun and interesting for the visitors to explore.

We even had a workshop section at our booth, offering button-making and wood picture frame-making (that by one of the sellers).  Kids especially, seemed to enjoy the button-making, happily showing off their original buttons once they were finished.

Since Etsy still isn't well known in Japan, this event provided a good opportunity to gain exposure for the online craft market.  In fact, many people were interested, both from the standpoint of sellers and shoppers.  And interest in our shops ranged from children...

... to adults.

Truth be told, I was somewhat nervous going in to the event, not knowing what to expect, but with the other sellers there for support and camaraderie, I ended up having a really good time.  And I was surprised to find that talking to customers wasn't so hard and actually... fun!

All in all, it was a great experience.  And now, I'm off to re-make things for my shop...

Simple Wristwarmers

Just your basic wristwarmers with dark bronze beads on linen-colored yarn.  Made for a custom request.

I usually prefer my beads to blend in more with my yarn, so that they are visible in some lights and almost disappear in others.  But I really like the contrast on this one.  Perhaps it works because there are so few beads-- they aren't overly assertive, but keeps the wristwarmers from becoming too plain.

I wonder what an additional row or two of beads-- maybe in staggered rows-- would look like.  Whatever the case, another instance of less is more.

:: Mint & Cream ::

The wooly kind.  With a bit of sparkle.

I know autumn is really here when I start to feel the urge to knit.  You could call it my seasonal crafting cycle.  There's nothing more comforting than the touch of soft, cozy wool and the repetitive, rhythmic movement of the knitting needles to fill a quiet, autumn evening.  Add a cup of hot cocoa and a warm blanket to that, and one could almost wish for cool weather all year round.

To satisfy my knitting side, I made another pair of wristwarmers.  I usually prefer to pair my yarn and beads in analogous colors; this time, I decided to try a little contrast-- pale mint beads with a hint of gold on cream-colored wool.  Turned out to be a fresh, cool combination, I think!

These were made for my shop-- you can find them here.

Sweet Dreams *

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four... are you getting sleepy yet?

Simple & sweet.  That's what I had in mind for this original nighttime sheep design-- though I suppose that's just my style for all embroidery.  To light up the nightscape with a bit of silvery sparkle, I added metallic thread along the edge of the crescent moon as well as a few silver beads for stars.  I think these details enhance the dreamy feel of the piece as well.

The light brown embroidery thread I used for the fence and the sheep's horn is my own naturally dyed embroidery floss, dyed with alder cones.  In fact, despite all the commercially available shades of brown, it's the brown I turn to most frequently as the color is a soft, subtly variegated shade that seems to compliment everything.  And it especially blends well with natural linen, I've found.

I had sketched this idea some time ago, but it wasn't until I spotted the lovely, deep blue linen at the store that I could finally visualize how I wanted the finished piece to look.  It's a curious thing the way these projects start-- sometimes, it's the design itself; other times, it's a certain fabric, thread, or notion; or perhaps a color scheme; or something altogether unexpected.  I guess that's the fun part-- and equally, the frustrating part.

Wishing you all a good night!

On White

Bamboo pincushion, take two.  Same design, just different color linen.  Resulted in an entirely new feel.  The previous version was cool & quiet; this one fresh & springy.  It's always exciting to see how changing a single factor can alter the finished composition so completely.  This project was another good reminder that every decision really does count.

Process

inspiration

sketch

plan + pattern

embroidery

Just a peek at my process.  All of my pincushions start as a general idea in my mind which often find form through some sort of inspiration, in this case, the handsomely-carved ranma.  I turn that into a sketch-- even my simplest designs usually take a number of tries-- then that into a pattern.  Next, I choose my thread colors & stitches and finally, embroider the design.  This one is my bamboo pincushion, created for my shop.

Dandelion Coasters

The dandelion motif became coasters too.  I made these a back in spring with thoughts of pleasant afternoon teas and summertime patio brunch on my mind.  In reality, the weather wasn't so accomodating... but I can always dream, right?

Anyway, I've fallen behind again... and now, I'm trying to do a little catching up.  There's been more projects than I've had a chance to blog about-- but I hope to share them soon!  In the meantime, want to see what else I've been working on recently?  I do a little better at keeping up-to-date over at my Flickr photostream, so please visit me there.

As for the coasters: they are available at my shop, here.