Jill Rensel-ified

Here is another one you are going to love shared by Lori A. (as opposed to Lori D. who just wowed us with that Whiskey colored Quaker Floral Puzzle.)  Lori completed Blackstone Fantasy Garden on 28 count Lugana Opal Sahara Flair by Enchanted Fabrics. She used the Carrie's colors called for everything except she put in a little Fall Splendour in place of the Elk Snout.

As you can see, that would have been beautiful just to have stopped there, but Lori hooked up with Jill Rensel for the finishing.  Hers is a name and a style that is instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen the Shepherd's Bush kits.  Jill's trademarks are wonderfully artistically-cut mats and hand-painted details.  As you can see, Jill helped Lori hit this one out of the park. 

Thanks for sharing this one Lori! Y'all can put your jaws back in their regular positions now.

Gold Medal Winner

Lori's version of Quaker Floral Puzzle is pure gold.  Well, technically it's pure Whiskey, by Weeks Dye Works. She stitched this as a monochrome on 25 ct black lugana, 1 over 1.  I think I'd need to be drinking whiskey to undertake over 1 on 25 count black, but Lori appears to have a natural knack with such things. Wow - that is elegant.

I've had so many stitchers tell me that they love to see the creative versions that everyone comes up with.  In some ways it makes the decisions harder when it comes time to stitch your own, but I'm sure you can handle it.

I'd like to be...

Under the sea, in an Octopus's Garden in the shade.  Honestly, who doesn't love that Beatles' song? This is one of the earliest Ink Circles designs, and I'm hoping some of you love it too.  I can't say the song was the inspiration, but it sure came to mind when I needed a name for the chart.

Kate took a brief visit to their garden and sends us this snapshot. She did a lovely job and now probably will have that earworm stuck in her head for the rest of the week. To cap off with a bad pun, I congratulate Kate on her fine job - she did swimmingly.  (Does anybody besides me use that word?)

Sneak Peek

Things have been quiet, so I thought I'd perk things up with a peek at some of the smalls that go with a new design coming out soon.  My biggest conundrum is how to photograph a biscornu. It seems that no single camera shot can do them justice.

Joining the Circus

It's not really practical for most of us to run away and join the circus, but we highly encourage you to join the Cirque craze!

Stefanie started her Cirques circuit with Cirque des Cercles using Sassys Fabbys Bluebell 32ct lugana and a custom color HDF Single strand premium over 2 (2329/5141/5300).  This came out so beautifully!

After such a beautiful finish, she has moved on to Cirque des Careaux (CDCx) and shared this picture of her WIP.  She is using Sassys Fabbys Angel Dust 32ct lugana with another custom HDF single strand premium over 2 (6119/5141/5300).  This silk is such an amazing color, and it matches so well with that fabric.  Stefanie is going to have a lovely Ink Circles wall.

Thank you, Stefanie, for sharing your fab photos!

On a personal note, it became clear to me that if I intended to take the Ink Circles show to Nashville next year, that I would clearly be remiss if I didn't have a stitched model of Cercles myself.  The gold on black beauty on the leaflet cover was stitched by Marc Davis, who generously let me use his photograph.  So, I'm stitching up my version.  Let me just say that you [stitchers at large] made picking a color combo sooooooo hard. I have seen so many fabulous combinations paraded in front of me that I was almost paralyzed with options.  More on that later...