Things I Love Thursdays

I love this new tool of mine!  I LOVE being able to frame things on my own.  : )  I love that my husband bought it for me to put under the tree.  I love that he let me use it right now anyways!  lol

I love this wheat that Patti brought over.  It looks so pretty in the sunshine! I love to photograph it.

I love giraffes.  I know... seems off topic.  I do though.  And since I'm feeling EXTRA vulnerable right now, I bought this little buddy to cheer me up.

The tag says his name is James.  I bit the bullet and made that call.  My carpal tunnel surgery for my left hand is booked for December 12th.  I kind of feel like passing out or throwing up when I think about it.  I hate the idea of being cut.  I'll be bringing James with me and I don't really care what the doctors or nurses think.

sigh

I would love your support, encouragement, sympathy, and / or humor right about now.

Happy Thursday to you!  : )

WIP Wednesday #15 @ TN&TN

It's Wednesday!  Here's what I'm working on...

wrapping, wrapping...

I've been sorting my floss, threads & fibres.  It's a great way to sort the little bits, and a great way to use up unwanted business cards.  : )  Bigger stuff has been put in clear ziplocs.

I've been preparing to set up my art for Sunday!  Whoa - I just had a sudden wave of nerves as I wrote that.  lol  I have decided to leave "A Prairie Dress" out of it since it will be part of the SCC's 'Seeds' show only a week after the Centre Gallery exhibit ends.  So, I've been thinking and thinking about what to replace it with.  I want something that will make people notice when they walk down those busy halls full of art.  Suddenly, I had it!  I phone up my friend Patti, knowing that show lives on the farm.  I asked if she has an old milk can or two for me to use.  She has something even better!!  Check out what she left on my doorstep the other morning!!  IT WILL BE PERFECT, and I'm setting it in front of my white fence gate : )))

Patti rocks.

I got my labels in finally!  So I'm putting them all on the backs of each piece of art.  I have nine in total, assuming that this one gets finished.  It's already been sold FYI.  It's not done yet.  It needs a bit more thread work by machine and then I can embellish the flowers by hand.  Here's it is so far...

There you go!  That's what I've been up to.  In the mean time, I've put my Snips n Snails quilt up for auction.  ALL procedes go to charity.  Bidding ends at midnight on Thursday Dec 1st.  You can read all about it here:

In The Spirit of Giving

Linking to The Needle & Thread Network.  If you stop by there, please join to keep up to date with what's going on.  Even if you don't blog, you can still follow by email.  Once we get 100 followers, there will be artist/stitcher profiles.  All the best!

I Love Mail!

Wow - what a haul this week.  I got postcards from a variety of swaps I'm in.  Check it out!

from Kate A. in Nova Scotia!  thank you Kate : )

from Anne M. in Nova Scotia.  Thanks Anne! : )

Poppy Postcard from Brenda T. in Saskatoon...  full of french knots : )

Poppies from Miriam G. in Ireland.  Lovely!

And Holly M. in New Brunswick mailed these to me just because she's so awesome.  Thank you Holly! (her blog is HERE.)

A couple of magazines circa 2007.  (Oldies full of goodies!) and Holly's art card on top.  Sweet!

I picked up these at the quilt shop.  They had a note on the bag: free to a good home.  (! excuse the harsh lighting)

Thank you to whoever left these scraps!  I can use them in my art, postcards, workshops, and my daughter even joined in on the crafty fun and made her own landscape.  ; )

See you on WIP Wed! : )

Sunday Snapshots

Today I took my two youngest out to Wanuskewin Heritage Park.  There was Aboriginal art for sale, father & son hoop dancers, and a bannock bake over the fire outside by the buffalo jump.  It was plus 10C and there was hardly any snow.  How unbelievable!  We had fun : )  Enjoy the photos!

It was all fun & games until our little white girl picked a handful of wild sage.  The hillside fell silent.  I apologized.  (You aren't supposed to pluck things from natural environments like this - especially sacred plants.)  She didn't know.  No one said anything about it.

overlooking a snowless valley

I love the blond grass.  It matches my son's hair. 

I was just sad about how there is a real lack of the color red around here.  We have our red skies, but in the land, it's scarce.  I was thrilled to remember that the rosehips are plentiful... and very pretty against the soft blues and yellows this November. 

I must take today's scenes into consideration for a future piece.  ; )  LOVE those grasses.

p.s. thanks for the bids on yesterday's post.  Keep 'em coming!  Auction ends midnight Dec. 1st.

In the Spirit of Giving

Hello!  When I was a kid watching our 2 channels, I always wished I had money to give to Foster Parent's Plan.  Those commercials always made me cry.  Today, the same organization is called Plan Canada.  I've bought gifts each season for a couple years now.  They are the non-denominational group with the Gifts of Hope catalogue.  Here's my idea this season...  I am putting up my 'Snips n Snails' child-sized quilt for auction.  They highest bidder by midnight December 1st will have the quilt mailed to them (shipping is on me).  The money you agreed to buy the quilt for will be used 100% toward Gifts of Hope.  I will post the "highest bid" at the bottom of this post as they come in.

If you are interested, all you need to do is email your bid to me  

HERE : mysweetprairie@gmail.com.  

Once the announcement is made as to how much the quilt has sold for, I will contact that person with info on how/where to send payment (snail mail or paypal).  The quilt will me mailed once the payment to me has cleared.  At that time I will order "gifts of hope" in the winner's name.  I'll post the gifts so everyone can see.  The winner will remain anonymous unless I'm instructed otherwise. Cool?  Here's the quilt.

embroidered mushrooms, snails, and dragonflies

the binding

retro 70's solids, straight line quilting

Look!  It's practically famous.  It was on the Summer 2011 cover issue!

The quilt measures approximately 64" x 48", has 80/20 Hobbs batting, and a flannelette backing for extra cuddliness.  The auction has now ended.  Congratulations to the highest bidder!!

"E" put in a bid for $200.oo

SUPER!

"C" just bid $160.oo

Whoopee!  : )

"P" just bid $150.oo

Thank you!  Talk about turning up the heat! : )

"M" just bid $65.oo

thank you!

 * * Bidding to start at $ 49.oo.* *

I will update it as the bids come in!  Charity auction ends Midnight December 1st.

thank you!

- - - Saturday Stitches - - -

Saturday Stitches will resume in the new year.  Thanks for your patience! : ) 

Children, holidays, deadlines, and carpal tunnel surgery will be taking presidence for a bit.  I will still be posting with my right hand... : )  You can click on the 'Saturday Stitches' tab header at the top of the blog to see all related posts.  Enjoy!

Twelve Trees, 2011

Twelve Trees, 2011, a photo by My Sweet Prairie - Monika Kinner on Flickr.

Friday Finishes

I have been no-net for 2 days.  Here's the proof that it's all good.  I got many things accomplished.  I finished the second 'Flax at Jackfish Lake' and it is stunning.  My second-time-arounds really go together easier and the colors just all seem to fall into the right places.

Flax at Jackfish II, 2011 (detail)

I love the way the evergreens sink into the flax field!! I love the slight curve in the foreground.  I love the land on the other side of the lake.  I am super happy with this one.

I did a lot more work on the Wolf Willow & Prairie Lilies from the last blog entry.  The wolf willow has been stitched in.  I may add some light silver highlights.  The post is in.  I did a few more grasses, and then began looking for the right color to stitch in the prairie lilies.

Wolf Willow & Prairie Lilies in progress... SOLD

Yeah.  Really.  It's spoken for!  My head is spinning - half my work is sold already!  I am just aching to go thread shopping.  Oh let me tell you!  lol 

Notice there were no prairie lilies stitched in yet?  

I looked through my stash with no luck.  I recalled that I had red dye left over and died some floss I had made yellow earlier.  No luck.  I even dunked a brown skein into the red to see if I could get the right color.  Nope.

New dyes.  Useful, but not what I need right now.

I went to Periwinkle and the floss was either too rusty, or too light.  What a tricky flower!  I'll try one more shop...  In the mean time, I made up this little baby!  I started it a couple afternoons ago and have been plugging away at it.  It's complete.  I've signed it and everything.  It's a row of trees up at Cedar Lodge as you look back over to the canola on the other side of the lake.  You can't see the water of Blackstrap Lake from there because the hillside is VERY steep.

Twelve Trees.  3" x 9"

That's right folks.  Monika put trees into her art.  Sorry that's blurry - I snapped a quick pic in the dark to show you.  Once it's finished and I get a sunny day, I'll do a retake.  Believe it or not, I bought the right size of matting and frame first!  This one was a surprise finish.  I had planned to put the curly dock at Bergheim Road into that frame.  I suppose I can get more.  I'm really glad about how well Twelve Trees worked out!  Those tree lines are everywhere, planted as windbreaks around farms.  I love how they were planted in a row and properly spaced, yet the trees are certainly individual.  They have a lot of character.  p.s.  I did recreate each trunk as they were.  I thought they deserved that.  ; )

Have a great weekend!  Happy Turkey Day to my American friends.

Working on One More...

I was planning on putting "A Prairie Dress" into my display at the Centre's Jade Gallery (which would look REALLY terrific in there!) but now I'm thinking I can't.  It needs to be delivered to the offices of the Saskatchewan Craft Council very soon.  Wow - I still can't believe I am saying that!  This new show I was accepted for is called "Seeds" and runs Jan-Feb 2012.  It is specifically for emerging Saskatchewan artists who are in the first five years of their career.  I am only 2, so I'm thrilled to be able to get in on such a fantastic opportunity!  The problem is that now I have unplanned extra space in the Centre gallery (which is a large public display wall behind glass in one of our biggest malls in the city).  Remedy?  One last piece...

work in progress...

YOU might not be able to see it, but I can.  It's bare, bare bones right now.  It's going to have an old post in it.  The inspiration for it is from these particular photos I took in July, one of which is incredibly teeny.  I was hunting for good compositions to stitch.

I may incorporate these prairie lilies too.

how lucky to stumble upon wild prairie lilies!  (our provincial flower)

We'll see how this one turns out!  I know I'm going to enjoy stitching in all those silvery grey leaves.  Can anyone identify that for me?  Is that what they call wolf willow?  There was a lot of it this summer.

I've also decided to try something different.  I've had this cropped shot on my desktop for some time now.  I took it at the end of Bergheim Road, just before getting back onto the highway from Bernie's this fall.

this is a perfect example of a crappy photo that could inspire something great.

There's no sky in the shot, but I love the colors and I think it makes an interesting composition.  I also think I'll have to try this one in a large scale at a later date.  Can anyone identify those dark dried up plants by name for me?  They were seriously abundant this year too.

...off to do more stitching : )

Linking to The Needle & Thread Network.

A Very Merry My Sweet Prairie

Saskmade Marketplace on 8th Street in Saskatoon now has four of my snowglobes.  I was going to put some in the gallery, but 4 is all that's left. Each shatter-proof globe has 2 back-to-back little stitched landscapes in them.  The globes are being sold for just over $30 with commission going to the store.  They are pretty cute!  I won't be making more of these until next winter.  If you buy one, I hope you have fun with it.

p.s.  I pulled my art out, finished them, & stitched a little surprise into each one before delivering them to the store.

I hope you love the details! ; )  Saskmade Marketplace is open until 8pm on weeknights right now, and they are open on weekends during the day.  You can also find them on Facebook.  They have a lot of delicious local food products in there as well as art, crafts, and skin care products.

And to Nova Scotia's Thistle Quilt Guild - our postcards are coming your way!  Our guild had a little show & tell of ours on Monday night and then addressed them all to you.  : )

Flourish is Loved : )

'Flourish' was a lot of work.  I spent the longest time on it, and it has the most hand stitching of all my pieces.  In the end, I believe it turned out very well.  I love the feeling it gives me when I look into it.  It has a beautiful glow.  I'm happy to announce that is has been spoken for!  Congratulations to the new owner : )  I'm so excited about that, and I sincerely hope you love it.  It will be displayed over the holidays at the Centre in Saskatoon if you would like to go see it.

Now, off to do some serious postcard swapping!  I have 2 guild meetings today and we're mailing cards off to a guild in Nova Scotia!  Fun.  See you all soon.

Sunday Snapshots

I am really enjoying learning new things.

Fiona (my Kenmore that looks like an ogre but is really a princess) has all her bling goin' on.  : )  Some machine techs seem get a kick out of this.  Others are just left completely bewildered.  It's like a car full of bumper stickers.  There's no way you'll sell it.  Once you sticker something, you have to keep it.  I love this machine.

Here's my daughter turning a Centaur into a Pegasus.  We call it 'Pegataur'.  She's weird like me.  ; ) 

I'm linking to A Prairie Sunrise's blog again today.  Her theme today is 'for the love of... food'.  Here is an apple, cut crosswise.  Did you know there was a perfect star in there?  I bet you'll never cut an apple any other way again! ; )

Happy Sunday everyone!  Stay warm : )

- - - Saturday Stitches - - - and a Mentor for me : )

Hi and welcome to Saturday Stitches where you watch me teach myself as many embroidery stitches as I can.  : )

Here is the button pic, and here is the URL to all related posts.

I needed more texture in a piece of my art, so I pulled out some ribbon embroidery books and stitching ribbons I collected along the way.  I did simple Straight Stitch first.  I think I pulled it too tight and it didn't lie flat.  So I tried a Japanese Ribbon stitch.  It's very pretty!  Take a look.

very easy to do, makes great petals & foliage!

I went around and around with different lengths, and it sure makes a pretty flower!  I also tried a Lazy Daisy Chain - also makes a really pretty flower.  I need more practice to not twist the ribbons though.  My second attempt already looks better than the first doesn't it?  See the twists?  (You don't want that.)

hey... practice makes perfect right?

I can use those, but it still wasn't the shape I'm looking for.  I want to stitch some prairie lilies into the foreground of a piece.  They need to be very narrow at the ends and wide in the middle.  Maybe the right size of ribbon would make a difference.  I'm definitely looking into more silk ribbon embroidery.  I just love it!

In the mean time, I want to say how incredibly fortunate I feel.  You've heard me mention how many times Margot Lindsay (local embroidery artist) & I have crossed paths.  I was so excited to learn about her!  I was even more thrilled to 'accidentally' meet her at a show I was in last May.  After seeing my art, so many people strongly suggested that I meet her.  At that May show, I watched one older woman with snow white hair looking at my work.  She came back a second time and told me it was 'very, very good'.  She told me her name, and the smiles and conversations began.  It was her!  What serendipity!  In the end, she gave me her phone number and invited me to stitch with her some day.  And that is how I finally met Margot.

As the story goes, I never got around to calling her over the summer.  I was so busy with the kids, and that dress.  I happened to see Margot the next time at our Quilt show and was tickled pink to be able to show her my prairie dress in person.  What are the odds!?  She really loved it.  I think (hope) I genuinely impressed her.  ; )  That was a very humbling moment for me.  I think sh'es been a prairie stitching artist for a very long time.

Finally, we made a date to get together.  As I write this, I have just returned from my first visit over to her home and studio.  She was SOOO kind.  My gosh - what a sweet soul.  She explained lots about her process to me.  She gave me a tour of all her art that was in sight.  In her sewing room, she opened container boxes upon container boxes to show me all the things she's collected, dyed, cut into strips, a decorative yarn or thread in hundreds of colors.  She showed me samples...  WOW.  I have wished for a mentor for so long.  This is really incredible.  I felt like red riding hood finally arriving at grandmother's house.  (No wolf, but that forest I've travelled through was a lot of work!)

Embarrassed after seeing all her incredible work, I told her I had brought a piece of mine to show her.  It was my re-do of Bloom.  She studied it for some time and seemed very impressed.  She pointed out a lot of things she liked, and oohed and aahed over the teeny stitches.  She loved the teeny purple stitches and the long stitched free-motion grasses.  o m g  That was a strange moment: humbling and exciting at the same time.  It's easy to show my work to someone who doesn't do what I do.  This was all so different.  I'm pretty happy, and happy that I'll have an opportunity to learn much from her.

She sent me home with this.  Thank you Margot!

It might look like a pile of left overs to you, but it's like being sent home with a big bag of candy!  I had to hurry home to pick up the kids from school, and so I only had an hour with her.  On my way out, she suggested we get together to stitch next time.  Oooh I can't wait.  She gave me some great ideas for alternative backings that are easier to stitch through than what I use.  What a GREAT visit!  I wish I had my camera to show you.  I came away so enriched in so many ways.  : )

The funny thing is, after school, a woman came to pick something up from my house and saw Bloom 2...

 ...and she bought it. (Thank you!!!)  This will still be on display for the show.

What a day!

What a year.  My goodness.  I truly believe I am right where I am meant to be.  Things are just unfolding.

Happy stitching!  Thanks for listening.