I have been asked by many people...Where can I see all of your designs? or Do you have a website? So I have started this blog to share with all of you what I am doing.
I first began designing for myself when I couldn't find what I was looking for in a printed chart. At first just small motifs or changes to an existing chart. Then my efforts became larger and more complex. It is strange how my ideas came to life since I really cannot draw at all. But putting small x's onto charts came much more easily for me.
It wasn't until friends and family began to encourage me to share my designs with others that I really considered publishing my work. I did a couple of Christmas ornaments and gave them away as *freebies* and they were well received. So I began looking into releasing some of my work. Some of the first things I had designed was my Tulip Garden Tapestry and Daffodil Garden Tapestry. I had designed and stitched these for myself and everyone who saw them really liked them. So these were the first to be released.
When I was asked to teach a class on specialty stitches I designed a sampler for illustration and practice of 16 stitches. I included very detailed instructions and diagrams for doing each stitch and allowed each student to choose her own colors. This was a great class and A Sampling of Stitches was born. I decided to release this one in chart form also.
While I was searching for a distributor, I began making a set of smalls. I had made a needlebook and scissors fob for a good friend for Christmas the year before so I added a pin cushion which could be made square or as a biscornu and I made a bag/pouch which could carry your scissors, cell phone, ipod, etc. This one was stitched using Diamond Eyelets and using a play on words became Just Give Me Diamonds.
I published my first designs as Lady K Needlearts in September 2010 and released them at the St Charles Market by my distributor--Kelmscott Designs. The designs were accepted quite well and I was very pleased. So I began working on new designs for the February Market in Nashville. I will have two designs debuting next weekend--Spanish Flair and The Greatest of These. Spanish Flair is a large sampler which has a Spanish influence. I really love this design and created it just for me but I couldn't keep it just for myself. It is stitched with two colors of floss--red and black-- but can be easily changed to suit your preference. The Greatest of These is a band sampler featuring lots of specialty stitches and variegated fibers. It was designed in memory of my husband, Bo. I created it during my time of grieving and it helped get me through a very difficult period. I stitched it in his favorite colors of teal and green and had it framed. But I cannot bare for that to leave my house so I stitched it again in a red/burgundy colorway to show how different a design can look using different fabrics and floss colors. I have included both colorways but these colors can also be easily changed to match your decor. I hope you like them!
Now I am working on my next projects. I will share them with you in a few days so please come back to visit soon.
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