Thistleworks Designs

...moving house...

2009-01-10T16:36:00.005-06:00

Well, I have finally gotten my new blog up and running, you can visit it here.

I will no longer be posting on this blog and hope you will find my new blog much more inspiring than this one has been.

Thanks to those who have visited.

...finding inspiration...

2008-12-15T20:51:00.004-06:00

I have not been very faithful in keeping up my blog - not as a matter of disinterest, but once again, due to a lack of time.

I have however, not wasted my few free moments in totally neglecting my blog, rather, I have spent some time reviewing some very beautiful blogs of other people, and reading about blog etiquette. This has given me the inspiration to want to redo my blog to what I feel is more meaningful of what I really want to share, and as a reflection of the reason I started a blog in the first place.

So as the new year sets in, I hope to redo my blog, and with that, make a commitment to try to make a minimum of at least one post a week.

At this time I wish all who visit my blog Seasons Greetings, and hope you will return to visit my new blog in the New Year.

...wooly patches...

2008-09-08T22:16:00.001-05:00

Fall is here and the cold winds are just around the corner, and you just can't help thinking of warm quilts, wooly sweaters and cozy fires .

I haven't had much time this summer to work on anything creative, but I did get a start on this little item which I plan to turn into a decorative cushion for a baby or toddler's bedroom... hmm, even a teenage girl could fall in love with the simplicity of this design, and how fitting is it for winter... woolly and quilt? VBG.

The sheep is hand embroidered with hundreds, (egad, did I say hundreds?) of french knots and a couple of boullion stitches thrown in for good measure. I didn't realize how long it would take to fill in this little guy with french knots, but let me tell you, it took a while, VBG.

The embroider has been completed upon 100% linen fabric, with the patchwork in pretty 100% cotton prints. It is so sweet all in shades of pink with just enough white to set it off.... the tiny popcorn pompom trim is so delicate and a perfect fit for the sheep.

I plan to make the back just as pretty as the front, hopefully I will get to completing it within the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned for the finished product. Hugs everyone.

..spreading the love...

2008-09-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

This weekend I was delightfully surprised to be nominated for two awards by dear Judy. I am assuming since she combined both the awards that she received, and then nominated her chosen blogs, that I am then awarded the two awards also. VBG. These nominations are truly appreciated.

For the "Kreativ Blogger" award the rules are as follows:
1. The winner may put the logo on her blog
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from
3. Nominate 5 blogs
4. Put links to the blogs
5.Leave a message for your nominees

For the "I love your blog" award the rules are as follows:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated

Since I am fairly new to blogging, I have not yet built up a list of favourite sites, and therefore in order to meet with the rules, I will post nominees as I come across them on an individual basis.

It is nice to know my blog and web site are being recognized and appreciated by others. VBG... Thanks Judy!

Make sure to stop by again in the next day or so as I will be uploading a pic of a little something I have been working on and which I hope to have finished in the very near future.

...reaching across the world...

2008-08-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally made it into Inspirations, a beautiful magazine for needlework enthusiasts. It feels great!

What started out as a fun "letter" to a request by the magazine, and my response to them about the power of the internet, has led me to be featured in their magazine, and to receive a beautiful letter from another reader, Judy, who used to live in Australia and who now lives in the USA.... the power of the internet... it connects people all over the world.

Just when you think no one reads books/magazines anymore, we find other kindred spirits who find joy in both printed matter and digital media, and who are willing to share inspiration with each other. Add the bonus of their taking the time to touch your heart with kind words just makes everything you aspire to achieve all the more worthwhile.

It is Judy's letter that inspired me tonight to take the time to post to my blog, add to my web site, and respond to her letter.... every once in a while you have to be reminded to stop, sit back, and take a moment for yourself. Thanks Judy!

...on writing

2008-08-16T17:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I have another passion... writing. All my life I have written on and off, but I have never really put much effort into it. I have decided to change that and I have enrolled in a course for "Writing for Children" and perhaps I will start taking it a little more seriously.

There are so many books I'd love to write, and of course, get published... fantasy, Arthurian Legend, picture books for children, and I'd love to take some of my poetry and put some of my own artwork with it too.

But alas, time is always at a premium... could I just sit and write and forget everything else... while this would be an ideal situation, it is not always practical... I suffer from TMIS (too many ideas syndrome) and I can't stick to any one thing long enough to make it my sole focus. But there is something to be said for TMIS, and that is that I am never bored and can reach towards any corner of my house, close my eyes and pick something to do for that day, lol!

My goal in life is to fulfill as many of my passions as I can... anything I have always wanted to do, I have been trying to do, and so far I have been doing pretty well at achieving most of the things that are within my own control and reach.

So, if you have a passion... go for it. Life is way too short to not to at least try and enjoy and use what talents you have been fortunate enough to have been given...

...when nothing works....

2008-04-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

I decided to change the look of my website, because I wasn't happy with the way it looked previously... and so, I had,of course, to change my blog too. But wouldn't you know it...there are always more changes than you anticipate. For instance, pictures that I had put on there had a background color to match the old blog, and now with the new blog all pictures have to be changed. Well, that's really not so bad because I had to make all of those changes for my web site too. The problem is when you seem to do everything you are supposed to do, but Blogger is having its own issues.

I have had problems uploading new images, changing background colours, and I don't know what else.

So what do you do?...leave it and take a break for a while....go do something else, otherwise, you will drive yourself crazy.

Finally, after a short break, I went in and checked all the code and found that while it had accepted my changes under the "variables", it actually didn't change it in the code and I had to do it manually. Finally, it almost matches my web site....whew! I just thought I'd share this little tidbit of information in case anyone else runs into this issue.

Anyway, if you want to view the new look of my web site, here it is, and I'm finally off to work on something else. Till next post....

...burning the candle at both ends....

2008-04-09T23:43:00.000-05:00

It has been a long week and I'm tired! Just when you think you might get a little bit of time to yourself, another job comes along.

This week we had the opportunity get wood for burning and we took it...for five days, that's what we did...whew, what a job...but we will be nice and cozy next winter, that's for sure.

Speaking of fire, I've practically been burning the candle at both ends so to speak...on top of getting the firewood, I have spent quite a bit of time working on web sites for my clients this week, as well as updating my own, and I'm enrolled in 4 courses at the moment, but, I still found the time to design a lovely little embroidered hanging...oh so sweet...I think I will heed it's message and have a sleep.

...and the book flips...another task done...

2008-03-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

Once in a while a job comes along that is tough, but the end result is fun. That's what happened when I was asked to make a flip book for the local high school's library. I started off by working on my own graphic, not sure how I was going to make it work...and then...did I luck out and stumble across the most wonderful book flip already made and so generously given out free of charge. I couldn't believe my luck. With a bit of fiddling with the pages and the code, I was able to create a pretty cool book for the kids at Hapnot Collegiate Library. Check it out!

And with that one done, I am proud to say I am also finished my own web site....well....not finished exactly, but it is up, running and functional. Of course, there will always be bits and bobs to add here and there...but for the most part....well...here it is.

...achoo...sniff...sniff...achoo...pass the kleenex...

2008-02-16T08:34:00.000-06:00

Ah, yes, it's allergy season! What?!? Well, not really, but for me, anytime can be allergy season.

In this particular case I have been working with the most wonderful pure french lavender buds, oh so delectable...the scent is strong yet delicate at the same time....oh so feminine.

So what have I been using it for? Well, here's a pic of the sweet little strawberry sachet I have made to put up for sale on my web site ...this is so yummy, it's got lots of pretty lace, ribbons, and some of my handmade roses too, oh, and the colour is more of an antique rose and not as bright as shown, think of a muted old rose...sorry about my not so great photography skills!

This little baby will last many years, just give it a squeeze once in a while to release its wonderful scent...and never mind lavender's relaxing properties....lay this cutie beside your bed at night or hang it on your bedpost, drawer handle or door knob. So attractive it makes a great gift, but you won't want to give it away...hold on, have I reverted back to my corporate days...sell...sell...sell...hmmm...I think this one will sell itself...

And where's that web site you're starting to ask...well...I am working on it, amongst my million and one other things...so off to create, create, create. Till next time....

...yawn...stretch...snore...who needs sleep...

2008-02-10T12:02:00.001-06:00

Good Sunday to you!

As usual, it's been a busy week. Twice this week I just couldn't sleep and I was up at 3:00am. (grunt). So, what do you do when you are up in the wee hours of the morning while your husband and the dogs are snoring away to their hearts content? Well, you clean the fridge of course. Not a job I enjoy doing at the best of times, but it needed to be done and why waste precious daylight hours on such a mundane task...so what better time to do it when you have some free time on your hands and the birds aren't even up yet, chirping and begging you to "sing in the day"!! But, who wants to see the inside of a fridge...

...on the other hand, the next 3:00am episode made for the opportunity to work on a little girl's hat. Yup, I had made the previous shown dress to you that I made for a niece, well, her mother said they were having photos taken soon, so could I make a hat too. When I finally got the measurements, I don't know if it was a misunderstanding on my part or not, but somehow, it was too small - darn it! Oh well, something to put on my web site when I get it up and running. Anyway, here's a pic - it's 19" (inside circumference 19.5"). Turned out really cute and her mom really loves it, so I will just have to make a larger size.

I've been working on a couple of other things...but that's for another post.

...and the year begins...

2008-02-03T14:28:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are, 2008. Yes it has been a while since I have posted anything, but you know, Christmas, preparations, New Year, parties...

But now, I am back at it, and raring to go!

My year started off with me writing in to an Australian magazine (Inspirations) who is celebrating the life of country women. So, for the fun of it, I thought I'd write in and try my luck. Lucky me! They are going to put a small feature of me in one of their upcoming issues. Not sure which one yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Here's a picture I sent them of one of my original designs titled "Cybil and Jace". The front features an original rendering, completed with thread painting, of my great-niece and her dog. Here's a close up shot of the thread painting.

So, they said they would include my web site if I wanted to, and well, just like a carpenter who never gets their own woodwork done,I have never had time to do my own web site. But there is no time like the present, now I am busy working on that and should have it up and running very soon.

This little project has kept me busy, needless to say I have not had time to work on anything else, but I hope to remedy that soon, after all, I need to have something to put on the web site, right?!?

Well, if I can get my dial-up service to co-operate, I might be able to get the pages uploaded to the Internet. Yahoo for satellite Internet...it's on its way, I hope to have that within the next couple of weeks and hopefully boost the speed with which I can "surf the world" :-)

It's darn cold here, the last few days we have had minus 40C - without the windchill, a good time for staying inside and getting some chores done..blah!

...not enough time...

2007-11-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

I don't know why, but there just never seems to be enough time to get everything you have to get done, done.

A few years ago when I opened up my business, I had intended to do many things. The first was to create web sites, taking on just a couple of contracts here and there, enough to keep me busy, but not enough to cut into all of the other things I wanted to do. But lo and behold, it seemed like when someone wanted something, everyone wanted something. The job would come in spurts, but it always seemed all at once. I was so busy creating web sites that by the time I found spare time, I had built up so many neglected household chores that I didn't have time for my art. It became a vicious cycle and I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I had anticipated I would.

Now, three years later, contracts have finally started to slow down, and I have cut back on taking on new jobs finally deciding to dedicate my time to my various artistic interests. I still work on the web sites of my loyal clients, and may consider a few jobs here and there, but now I am looking forward to creating other things.