It’s finally done!
I hope it’s obvious that the stuff at bottom are two tangled balls of yarn? That’s the only thing I am a little unsure of.
I’ve never designed a cross-stitch pattern before, but I’m planning to create the printable pattern, probably using Illustrator. Any preference between a chart with squares filled in with colors or a chart with symbols in lieu of colors?
I started taking a class in Illustrator a few weeks back, just because it was something I had wanted to learn for a while, especially after getting to know designers and professional illustrators who use it all the time.
I’m slowly grasping how it works and how to use some of the tools, and for practice the other night, I made these Boos!
The wings maybe could use a little work, but I’m happy with it as a beginner’s Illustrator illustration.
I don’t know if I would want to use Illustrator as a way to sketch out ideas from scratch, but it’s certainly a lot of fun to play around with manipulating basic shapes.
A new favorite!
I’d stayed away from The Fiery Furnaces because of the mixed reviews and “challenging” label that people tend to give them. But my music taste seems to have been veering a little to the strange side lately, so I thought I’d give Bluebuerry Boat, their 2004 rock opera, a try. On first listen, the theatricality wore me out a little, but before long, I had completely gotten on the boat. I bought the album two days ago, and I have listened to nothing else since. I kind of can’t stop.
Five of the 13 tracks are over seven minutes long, but among those are some of my favorites, composed of mini songs—some jazzy, some classic rock—mixed with sung dialog. Unusual rhymes and nonsense phrases abound; Lewis Carroll would probably approve. The album as a whole doesn’t have a story per se, but it’s about a lot of things, including seafaring, teleconferencing, and fratricide. But ultimately, it’s about the most fun with music and words that I’ve experienced in a long time.
Not for everyone, but probably for more people than it gets credit for.
John got these motorized Pac-Man toys at the recent New York Comic-Con. We only had enough batteries for one of them, though.
See who wins!
He also got me this awesome Zelda t-shirt. Everything about it is perfect, so it’s my new favorite.
To fly above the stitched Stackable Cats, of course!
I’m almost done with the whole cross-stitch, so I’ll share the final result soon.
Here are a few of my favorite photos of Hearts (and the animals who love them) that people have made since a year ago.
A beautiful heart mobile from shessassy:
A super-happy heart (and kissing chihuahuas) from Dudimus:
A fluffy-stuffy heart (with neko-chan friend) from Tomoko:
A perfectly practical heart pin cushion from Pragmatic:
A simple heart brings together crocheted love birds from littleboxes:
Hearts take no time to make, if you need a last-minute gift!
Last Friday’s opening of “Forget Me-Not” at gallery hanahou was absolutely packed!
It was no surprise, since everybody was talking about this show, including Time Out, Poppytalk, Craft, Whipup, and tons of other websites and blogs.
The marvelous hand-stitched artwork is now all online for all to see and purchase at the gallery website.
A few more photos from the opening:
You can see more photos from the opening and last Saturday’s embroidery workshop on the gallery Flickr page.
The show is up through February 27th, so if you’re in NY, try to go see it!
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
[7th Floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway + Houston]
Mon-Fri noon-6 pm, Sat by appt only
646-486-6586
info@galleryhanahou.com
I also had a great time hanging out with curator Kristen Rask of Schmancy and Jenny Harada earlier in the week. You both did an amazing job!
I was sad to read this morning that Craft will stop publishing their print magazine after their current issue. They are vowing to continue to have a strong online presence, which I’m sure will be successful, but there was something fitting about a print publication for the new generation of people who like to make things with their hands.
I’m happy that I was able to have a pattern published in the magazine last year, and I hope I’ll get to work with them again in a different way in the future. Long live Craft!