Meet Aelita

Have you met Aelita Andre?

If not, please allow me to introduce a young artist at work

(or at play?)

 
I'd love to be creating with her.  Even better, I'd love do this (slightly messy) art in my classroom with my students!  Will you come and paint with us?

The video below tells a little more about Aelita.

This sweet five-year-old, Aelita Andre, has a new solo show opening in 

the Agora Gallery 

New York City 

June 12th to July 3rd, 2012

Be sure to check out her website to see her amazing body of work (and more videos too).

Happy Summer!

It's official .... Summer is here!  

How do I know?

Is it because my two classes that I love teaching have ended and I have brought all my teaching left-overs home to sort, organize and pack away until I need them again in the fall?

No.

Is it because I have watched my niece cross the stage at her college graduation?

No.

Is it because my own kids have been promoted from 8th grade (another stage-crossing of sorts: walking under a balloon archway)  and are ready to embrace high school?

No.

It it because I've discovered Pinterest (what fun!) or have signed up for "Another Little Quilt Swap #7" or have plans to sew more (clothes, quilt blocks, finishing quilts, etc.)

No, no, and no.

It IS because our Air-Conditioning has decided to stop working effectively this morning!
It is summer in Texas, and fortunately I think the thermostat is not rising too far into the 90's today .... hopefully the AC Repairman is not swamped with calls and can pop over tomorrow!


Until then, please send cool thoughts this way!  Meanwhile, I think we will head to the movie theater tonight ... have you seen Men In Black 3?




By the way .... click here to learn more about Another Little Quilt Swap #7, hosted by the fabulous Kate North.

This will be my fourth time to sign-up, though only my third time to participate.

Click here to see "Early Evening", my ALQS#6 entry or here to see "Big Foot - Framed", my ALQS#4 entry.

Of course you probably wish to see the two quilts I received also, right?
Here's the link to see "Zinnia", the quilt made by Nickels in Germany that I own from ALQS#6, and click here to see "Blue Vase" by Sue McBratney in Australia for ALQS#4 that lives with me.

(I missed the all-important deadline for ALQS#5, so did not swap in that one, though I had intended too!  Sometimes life just intercedes with different plans ...)

the Cretan Stitch

My ongoing work in the Take a Stitch Tuesday Challenge features small sampler pieces of each week's featured embroidery stitch.

The fourth week (of TAST - Take a Stitch Tuesday) features a stitch I had never used before, the Cretan Stitch.  I enjoyed using two colors, one overlapping the other as I worked on this sampler piece.  Exploring the stitch's length and width was fun too.  I even tried a few free-flowing, rambling Cretan stitches, letting the inner-stitching-goddess take over!

One enjoyable feature of the TAST challenge is learning about each week's stitch,  from the basics of "how-to-stitch" to the details of the individual stitch's history.  Did you know that this stitch, the Cretan Stitch is named for the island of Crete, where the local women have used this embroidery stitch to decorate clothing for centuries?  There are two variations, called an Open Cretan Stitch and a Knotted Cretan Stitch (to learn more, click on any of the highlighted names).

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), an annual challenge hosted by Sharon B of Pin Tangle fame. Click here (to go to the beginning of the 2012 TAST Challenge).   Join in anytime for a year of fun stitching ....or check back with Pin Tangle, or any of the participants to see where our Tuesday Stitchings have taken us.  Or look back on my blog and click on my TAST label to see my posts.

If you enjoy embroidery, or would like to learn more about the many stitches (from their history to a step-by-step how-to) click here for Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary home page.  She has compiled an amazing compendium of information and wonderful photographs!

Faux Lox-n-Bagel

Have you ever seen Lox and a Bagel on a Cupcake? 

Yes, it does look like a mini-bagel and a sliver of smoked salmon, with a bit of cream cheese to hold it all together.  Doesn't it?  But appearances can be deceiving (by the way, Photoshop was not used to enhance the images).

This delightful creation was made by one of my Teacher Assistants, Laura K and her sister Julia.  I had to share a photo before eating it ... and yes, I enjoyed every last bite!

The faux lox-n-bagel is made entirely with sweet and yummy edibles and the cupcake was tasty too!  I wonder what they will make and share with me next?

the Feather Stitch

I am running a tad behind, as per my usual, 

so without further ado ...

Here is my sampler piece for the 3rd week of 

the 2012 Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST) Challenge.

the Feather Stitch

The feather stitch is an embroidery stitch that I know, as it is one I learned back in my youth when I was an eager embroiderer and a happy Girl Scout.  The bottom row in gold and the middle row in bright blue are examples of the classic feather stitch.  At the top right is a free-form feather stitch 'snowflake' in purple, with a rambling, meandering medium blue semi-free-form feather stitch in the corner.  At the top left, the curious shapes (sidewise hearts or fish missing their eyes or ... what do you see?) were inspired by another TAST participant whose version looks more like tessellating fish lips (smoochie smoochie) but you'll have to see her work to believe me!  Click here for more feather stitch highlights or here for a view of the fish lips (on Flickr).

For more about Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), an annual challenge hosted by Sharon B of Pin Tangle fame, click here (it will take you to the beginning of the 2012 TAST Challenge).  Please join in anytime for a year of fun stitching ....or check back here with me, or with Pin Tangle, or any of the others participating to see where our Tuesday Stitchings have taken us.

Satsuma

Take a Stitch Tuesday features a new embroidery stitch each week with the challenge to try the stitch (if it is new to you) and to expand beyond (if it is already in your embroidery repertoire).

Sharon B has run this challenge for several years now and I love that she shares a peek at some of the completed pieces by challenge participants.  Click here to see more of the blanket stitch eye-catchers that Sharon chose to highlight or click here to see the original challenge post, then scroll to read all the comments (over 150 and always increasing) as that is where participants post links to their creations.

The blanket stitch was recently featured and I just have to share this creative use of embroidery and fresh fruit.

Hasn't Chittle Chattle gone over board with zany creativity?  Doesn't this whimsy make you smile? and wonder how she dreamed up such an idea? Click here to see her full post of this wonky embroidery (which includes images of the satsuma a few days after being blanket stitched). 

the Buttonhole Stitch

The featured stitch for week two of Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 is the Buttonhole stitch.   For directions on how to embroider this stitch, click here (it is a direct link to Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary!).

This is the first embroidery stitch I ever remember learning.  Many years ago, when I was a young Girl Scout, we made simple sit-upons.  We took two square pieces of flannel-backed vinyl, tucked a foam cushion between them and embroidered the blanket stitch around the four sides.  These blanket stitches were utilitarian as well as decorative.  I made two (and possibly more) of these sit-upons and used them on many Girl Scout camp outs and outings.  I may still have one tucked away somewhere and promise to post a photo of it (if my sit-upon turns up one day).

Meanwhile here is my exploration of the buttonhole stitch for my weekly Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge.

I have never tried doing free-form button-hole stitches, nor have I ever made wavy ones, or ones that depict a sweet little heart.  This was a fun challenge because while I am familiar with the blanket stitch, I explored new ways of stitching with it.  I do prefer the variations of symmetry that the stitch naturally allows over the rambling free-form scribble-stitch (or perhaps I need to practice my free-form stitching a bit more!).

By the way, it is not too late to join this ongoing weekly embroidery challenge.  Click here for the beginning directions on Sharon B's Take a Stitch Tuesday.  Click here just to see her Pin Tangle blog -- she's amazingly talented, and warmly spotlights others (with photos and links) in her writings too  -- so many great things to admire and drool over!  As Sharon would say, make a cuppa and come browse for a bit.