Borage and a Bee

If it weren't so frivolous and expensive and if I wasn't so intent on making sure everyone around me feels comfortable all the time, I would probably have a patchwork of tattoos on my skin. It really isn't about getting other's approval, it's more about not liking to be the center of attention. And I live in a very small, very conservative town where I would certainly draw stares on a consistent basis if I had as much skin art as I'd like to have. So I am on a very slow, very purposeful journey toward collecting ink.

This one has been in my mind for nearly a year. Borage! and a Bee! Because bees love Borage and I love bees and also because Borage represents Courage and Optimism and Peace in the home, and because it is used for adrenal strengthening; something I'll probably always need. I couldn't be happier with this little bit of permanent ink on my shoulder. Done by Momma Tomma at Anatomy Tattoo in Portland.

Market: Before, During, and After

The whirlwind is finally over. Whew! Only giving myself a month to prepare for Market was a silly thing to do, but I managed to get through it with all the hair still on my head! My house was in a constant state of disaster, my head always full of lists and calculations.

Was it worth it? EVERSOMUCH!

I can't begin to tell you what a fabulous time I had, and I am counting down the days until next year's market! I kept so busy while there that my poor camera was mostly neglected, so I apologize in advance for the low quality (camera phone) of most of the pictures, and the complete lack of views into other designer's exhibit rooms. Go check out Kathy Barrick's blog for peeks at our room, and watch for Paulette Stewart to post; she was spotted with her gorgeous camera snapping pictures all around the place.

And now, without further ado...

Spring Flame Pincushion (a Market exclusive, available through shops that purchased from me there, or wait until April when I'll release it to everyone else) in progress...

The boxes and stacks of paper, early on in the process. By the end, I had crammed TEN large flat rate boxes with charts and THREE large UPS boxes with models.

My sweet, supportive Farmboy hand-stamped every single one of my bags. While playing poker on his smart phone and eating Oreos, no less.

There has been a trend for a few years now, of people taking pictures of their feet at PDX, our very own Portland, Oregon airport. The carpet has quite a following, and is even featured on shirts, mugs, onesies, and anything else the marketing people can come up with. After being in constant use since the mid-1980's, they are in the process of tearing it out and replacing it with new.

Even though it was way too early, and I had been up since 2:30am, I had the presence of mind to join the fun, and caught both the old and the new.

My layover was in Dallas, where the carpet is much calmer and noticeably more stained and in need of a good vacuuming.

But I'll give them some slack, because they were in the middle of a "blizzard".

Oy, those southerners were beside themselves and couldn't get enough of their staff to venture out to de-ice the planes. After sitting on the tarmac for almost 3 hours, we finally were able to leave. I count myself blessed though, there were a good 50+ airplanes in line after us, and they started cancelling flights soon after we left.

Once in Nashville, my drive to the Embassy Suites in Franklin was uneventful. The hotel was very impressive to this country bumpkin. I really don't get out much, so everything from the pond and stream and the ninc floors facing the inner atrium made me want to stand and stare.

I restrained myself though, and hurried up to the room that Kathy and I were to share. Being over three hours later than planned, I was relieved and thankful to find all of my models already set up by Kathy and Carol Sims. And in the back room I found Donna Gabbard, one of my model stitchers, already up to her elbows in charts, opening boxes and getting them organized.

I could have never done it without them!

I can't believe I'm sharing this with you, but it is the only picture I got that had both Kathy and I in it. That's Donna in the middle. Carol was standing in the exhibit area laughing at us. :)

And then, the icing on top of my loooooong day, I met Beth Wiksen, one of Kathy's model stitchers, who has a twin version of my cross stitch tattoo on her ankle. She was embarrassed to show me, but I was so surprised and excited! I want to start a trend... who's next?

After finally crashing in my bed much too late (thank you Jeannine and Jean Lea for making me stop to eat), I tossed and turned most of the night in anticipation of the big day Saturday.

There's Carol waiting to help someone with Kathy's gorgeous designs. Seriously, have you seen her new releases? My favorites were Bird's Eye View and Good Intentions. I wish I had time to stitch more than my own models. There were so many drool-worthy designs at Market.

This lady is Tracy Horner's mother, Cindy Wasner. They were in the next room, and during a slow spell, she brought over her in-progress His Eye is on the Sparrow. She has changed some colors and is using several greens to a great effect.

Speaking of His Eye is on the Sparrow, you guys... I can still not believe what interest it has generated. What seemed like a silly and frivolous venture on my part (who else, in their right mind, would buy and stitch something so large?) really appears to be legitimately liked by people in all parts of the cross-stitch world. Thank you so much for making my 100th design more than memorable!

Jean-Lea from Attic Needlework in Arizona brought her own version of Sweet Land of Liberty along with her to show me. See how tiny? I can't remember the exact count, but she stitched it on something like 50/60 unevenweave. I LOVE how tiny and sweet it looks next to my big ol' model.

And here I am... on day two, feeling much more rested and ready for the final day.

By far, the highlight of my show was the many encounters with other designers, who previously I had only had email conversations with and admired from a distance. Sharing an exhibit room with Kathy Barrick was a dream. She is such a kind and generous person. I couldn't have asked for a better first-Market experience. Having spent the most time with her, it just kills me that it was all during the busy and tired times and I have almost zero photo proof. If you ever get a chance to see her in person, you really will love her. Not only brilliant in creativity and design, but downright lovely in personality.

On Sunday night, after we had all busted our butts getting everything packed up, a large group of us went to dinner at Carraba's. I haven't laughed as hard as I did that night in a very long time, and it was mostly thanks to Paulette Stewart. We always thought there was a chance we were sisters separated at birth, but to meet in person and truly have a connection was amazing. She is just as charming and funny in person as she is on her blog. We tried very hard to get a good selfie at dinner, but the lighting was low and our cell phones just wouldn't co-operate. So I took liberties with my photo editor... I like imagining that we really met in 1860 at a campaign speech by Abraham Lincoln.

Here's the whole group... Back row, from left to right: Pam Reed of Olde colonial Designs, Tina Richards Herman of Shepherds Bush, Ann Robbins of R&R Reproductions, ME, Jeannette Douglas of Jeannette Douglas Designs, Sharon Verbos of The Purple Thread, Linda Stolz of Erica Michael Designs, Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread, and Norma who came with R&R. The five ladies in the center (left to right) are: Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers, Mary who came with The Purple Thread, Katrina who came with Plum Street Samplers, Pat Ryan of R&R Reproductions, and Teri Richards of Shepherds Bush.

Continuing the trend of air travel with Nashville's carpet...

The entire country from Tennessee all the way up to Wisconsin was blanketed in snow.

The last layover was in Minneapolis.

And once my feet were on the ground in Oregon, it was all I could do to walk and drive a safe speed all the way home to the warm hugs of my Farmboy and babies.

What a journey it was for me. And a big step forward in this needlework career, truly. I came home having barely peeked into anyone else's rooms, but nontheless very inspired by the atmosphere and conversations with so many people who speak my language!

Only about 360 days to go until the next time...

Does Three Make a Collection?

Ever since I got my first tattoo, I've known that there would be more. I had a few ideas floating around in my brain, several folders on my desktop with idea and inspiration photos. But I'm not one to make decisions of this level of permanence quickly, so the ideas swelled and took shape, always on the backburner, until this Summer, when I had a few hours to myself to make it happen.

The result, simple and eloquent, and oh so meaningful...

And since I was already there with plenty of time left on the clock, I went ahead with another... my very own crafty tattoo...

I might stop there. Three feels somehow complete to me. I'm not out to keep collecting, and certainly am not a full-sleeve type of girl. I do have some other great ideas, but only time will tell if I decide that they're ones I want to visibly carry with me for the rest of my life...

PS. The perfectly-lit and staged photos were taken by my talented photographer sister Joann. I highly recommend her to anyone who might be within traveling radius of the Bay area or the Pacific Northwest, where she visits often.

Ink!

I have been fascinated with tattoos for as long as I can remember. Skin too. I like looking at the different textures and coloration of skin. But especially skin with ink. There is just something very beautiful to me about living art.

When I was very young, I only looked at tattoos from the very corner of my eyes, because I knew that it wasn't polite to stare at people. I also had this strong feeling that tattoos were only for rebellious and bad people, and didn't want anyone to know that I was admiring them.

Fast forward a few decades, when, as a young woman, I realized that getting ink was actually becoming, or had become, much more mainstream. Perhaps it might be okay if I start to look... and ask questions of the wearers, even. I found that people are very happy to talk about their tattoos and what they symbolize.

And finally, a few years ago, I entered the serious researching and planning stage, with full intention of getting one for myself. Knowing full well that getting ink will almost certainly mark me for the rest of my life, I decided that my non-risk-taking self would wake up and stop the process along the way if it was something that I truly didn't want to follow through on. But years have passed and I found myself really and truly ready and excited about the idea. Not a waning wish, but a growing one.

So, yesterday, I went for it.

The original plan for the day was to head to a giant antique show at the Expo Center with a friend. But by the time we were headed that direction, we both decided that we were much more in the mood for a relaxing meander than often is the case at such a large show. So we headed to downtown Troutdale for an ice cream cone, antique mall, and to check out a tattoo shop that had been recommended to me there.




Quite small and simple, I know, but my own design... a heart comprised of the first letters in my husband, son, and daughter's names.

I can't stop chuckling about the whole thing. ME with INK? Tee hee! *ahem*