I have been working hard the past few days and have (finally) something to show for it. Here is the Rosemaling pillow now that it is complete. I think that it came out really well. This picture Of the completed pillow, sitting in the chair, really does not do it justice. So, I posted a photo that shows the pillow with the trim, but before the back is attached that might give a better view. It was fun finishing the pillow and I am looking forward to taking it with me to Florida for the show.

I have also been finishing a project that I started months ago. It is called Swimming with the Fishes and is an underwater seascape that was first created in felt on Vilene. Then, I felted it to the royal blue twill material. I added some small sealife designs (from http://www.emblibrary.com/). I really love using felting and punching designs as backgrounds for machine embroidery. Finally, I have started adding the stitching details to the seaweed. I still need to add some more free motion embroidery to the water areas. Then, I will make it into a tote bag. I want to finish this before going to FL, so I will likely get it finished tonight or tomorrow. Oh, here is the picture so far. I will post the finished tote before I go to Florida.

I am also working on a new veneer for a purse. I don't think that I will have it finished before going to Florida. But, since I am taking the Juniper Revisited Purse with me, I think that it will be good to have a similar project in progress to show how these purses are made. I am also working on finishing off a new bowl so that I will be able to show that you can make 3-D objects with the Embellisher. I'll be posting some photos of these in the next week or so.

Oh, and one more project. It was a fast but fun little project. First, I made some silk fusion (look for some instructions on how to do this soon) and then embroidered a butterfly (from Hatched In Africa) on the silk. I then cut it out and used some fabric stiffener to shape the butterfly's wings. It is really cute. But, I forgot to take a photo, so you will have to wait to see it until next time.

Until then, have fun.

Denise

www.tryourdesigns.com

I have been busy this weekend. Mostly, I have been trying to get my inventory organized, but I did have to take some time for fun. I got the chance to dye some more silk roving. This is a wonderful reddish-brown that should be on http://www.tryourdesigns.com/ in a few days. I did take some time, though to have some fun. So, I started working on a pillow. It is a sueded rayon that has been needle punched onto a denim foundation. I then embroidered a design that I got from http://www.emblibrary.com/. I really like the results. Now, I hope to find enough time to do some free motion sewing on the portion of the pillow that is not embroidered. I thought I would post a photo of the work in progress. SO, here it is. More photos of this project to come.

I just received some wonderful news today. I am going to be lecturing and doing demos on July 26, 27, and 28th at Ruthie's Notions in Baker, FL. (www.ruthiesnotions.com) This will be part of her Christmas in July event. I am really excited to be doing this. I'll also be bringing in all of my products to be able to sell there at the event. So, I am off to the studio to produce some new items for the demo so that people can see some of the great things that you can do with a Babylock Embellisher, especially when it is combined with machine embroidery. I have been working on a few pieces which have been sitting on the sidelines and this is definitely the push that I need to finish them up. There will also be some other great people at this event including John Deer, a fabulous digitizer, and Joan Friedrick and Susan Zellers from Babylock. I have seen John's presentations before and they are just wonderful. I can't wait to see what the Babylock ladies have to show since they always have such new and wonderful things to show. Unfortunately, this event is currently full, BUT, the good news is that I will be doing a two day solo event at Ruthie's in the near future. We are working on the dates now, so stay posted to my bog for more info as it becomes available.

If you are close enough to Baker Florida (in the panhandle) to come to one of Ruthie's events, you should. She has a lot of events and many of the events are FREE to attend. So, if you haven't been there, you should check out her website. Also, Christopher Nejman (whose book, Pillows, was or is the number one craft book in the country as I understand) will be there in August. So, if you can be there, what a great chance it would be to be able to see him.

Well, I need to get back to work now. Lots to do anyway, and even more to do to get ready for this event in July. Hope to see you there.