A rush to the head

May 1st brings a lot of excitement for me since I will be taking a class with the ever so talented and awe inspiring Jude Hill from Spirit cloth. I cannot wait. I have always been an avid learner. When I was in college I would always have 18 credit hours, and every now and then I would have to fill out a form to take more credits. Usually they were classes I didn't need to take, but just had to. Such classes like, latin 1-4, russian, drawing human anatomy, literature analysis of medieval literature, life after death....and well so many others. However I found that I learned more meaningful things in those classes than in my international studies classes, even though they were very informative (and emotionally draining).

I believe I will be just like my grandma Betty who continued to take classes until she was in her late 70's. I don't believe you should ever stop learning, and I plan on never stopping.

Inspiration comes in different shapes

As I was walking back up the mountain with Basti in the stroller I encountered an interesting person. She was walking on the opposite side of the street. A briefcase in hand. Her clothes were stained with sweat and dirt. The top of her head was bald. Her back was hunched, and her pants were too short for her long skinny legs. She looked at me for a moment. Her face was was worn with time and sadness. I presumed she was returning to the asylum that we have next door, and her sadness made me want to give her some happiness, some light, some sunshine. So I came back home. Gave basti a pretzel to eat as I sketched this out. Yes you probably think wow....thats pretty ugly. Who would want to make that? Who would think thats pretty? Well the answer is me. I believe there is beauty in everything, especially a woman who is not a super model.

While sketching her, I decided to name her Lucille and the sunshine is a dandelion that her fictional self believes in an actual piece of sunshine that she has stashed away in her shirt pocket.

It brings her happiness. It makes her feel special, and I feel that at least in some parallel universe her sadness is diminished by this simple sketch and future embroidered wall hanging.

So thank you Lucille for your inspiration.

Rodanan The Friendly

As a troll Rodanan was always greeted with fear, disgust. He had never received a smile. Never heard laughter. Never felt kindness. But he know it existed. He had observed the other creatures of the woods, while hiding behind bushes, boulders. However, when he tried they all fled. Each day he tried, never giving up hope that one day someone would stay.

Finally that day arrived. As all the creatures screamed in fear, Rodanan saw in the darkness of a hole a long snout smiling back at him.

"Hello." said the snout. " I am Fenelchen. I am new to these woods."
Rodanan was amazed. He was actually frightened by Fenelchen's kindness.

I have finished my fish pouch. At first I thought I would make another bookmark, but as everything I make the creation was destined to be something else. I had no control over it. It told me what it had to be, a pouch. It is large enough for glasses, scissors, pencils, brushes, or anything of that sort.

I used a different stitch as you can see on the drifter, that is what I call her. It is a whipped chain stitch and it was fun to do. Of course I had to watch the video over and over again, because I would forget how to put the thread. "Was it over and under or under and over?" I would continually ask myself. And actually with this item I finally found my niche. I love embroidery. I love story telling, and I love combining both.

On another note, I have come to realize that I have left my blue period and entered my red one. The color red has been all I desire. I used to dislike red things. I thought it was too much too common, but now red has become a beautiful lake that I swim in. It is funny how a simple color can become so complex. It describes all of my at the moment, all the colliding emotions, thoughts, dreams, desires. It full of energy, passion, anger, turmoil, screams of anxiety and unleashed the overload of whispers that scatter freely though my mind. Therefore I have decided to create more Red creations, which stands for Rising edifices of desire! The next creation is on a drawing of mine. A troll of sorts, but an uncommon type of troll. A troll that is friendly and helpful. A troll named Rodanan who desperately tries to befriend anyone and anything. However all the creatures are afraid of him because of his species.

Once I have a prototype of him I will show him off. He is quite the charmer once you get past the smell of rotting veggies.

I would love to hear what you think of the pouch!
Happy Spring all....happy spring

Hello my name is Christine, and I am a compulsive person, obsessive about creating obsessions, and recently I have become obsessed with embroidery. However, I know that this will only be temporary. I want to end my bad habit of starting something with full force, and then after half way done not having the steam to finish it. I have thousands of stories that could be the next summer hit, but...never completed. Could it be because I am scared of what might or might not happen if I actually finish them? I guess I prefer to dream about the possibility than actually making it a reality. Things are changing though, and I believe it all has to do with my hair.

You are probably thinking I am crazy, and well yes, maybe a little. But I am the type of person that becomes more confident, sassier, depending on how I look. And with my new doo I feel liberated. I feel like my old creative self can breathe now. There was too much hair for my thoughts to get tangled in. No wonder I had so many knots.

So at the current moment, yes I am still making birds, and I am getting so used to making their little shapes that they are flying off the sewing machine. However, at the moments that I cannot be in front of my Bernina I am embroidering another bookmark. This one is about fish. I love fish. They are so graceful, calming, peaceful, and Basti was completely amazed by them when we went to Wilhelma. He would stand up against the glass and scream with excitement whenever a big fish would swim by.

This scene is of a fish calmly floating through the magnificent ocean, allowing the waves to carry her wherever they like. to their own rhythm, uninterrupted, at one with the beat and pace of her life.

Grrr the weather....

For some reason. unknown to me Mother Nature likes to drive me crazy. A few days ago it was 20 *C and today it has snowed and hailed.....What is is going on? I thought it was spring. "It is spring" my husband would respond with his all knowing German chuckle. Apparently my elementary teachers were all wrong about this season. It is not when you can wear pretty pastel clothing and jump with joy outside or lay  of the lavish green grass while picking beautiful flowers. How could you? They are buried under to cold blinding snow and hail.....

Aparently here it is either freezing or too hot.....I hope I am mistaken.

Either way just wanted to vent about the weather...

Happy imaginary spring

Weaving the creative drive through fabric

I have been inspired today by two amazing women, fellow threaders as I like to call them. One is the amazingly talented Jude Hill from Spirit Cloth and the other is Jean Baggot, who wrote The Girl on the Wall.
 These two women both use thread and fabric to tell stories, and I feel charged again to create and create. Today, after creating a few more birdies, I began to draw a scene of the common magic we see every day, but most likely goes unnoticed. It is a story of  young observant girl who watches as the petals slowly fall of a beautiful flower. A little blue bird joins her as they bask in the wonder of the delicacy at which the petals fall.
 It is a small scene, maybe even insignificant to some, but I have always found it beautiful whena petal dances gracefully in the wind, swirling, twirling, unaware of where she will land. Until finally she softly lands upon the soil where she will most likely remain for eternity, becoming one with the earth. Reuniting with the mother of all things.

The size of this scene is 21cm x 8 cm. It is hand embroidered with love and passion, and can either be a larger bookmark or small wall hanging. I would love to hear what you think.....:) Happy Spring