Pocket full of wishes

Merry Christmas.  I enjoyed some time today stitching up this little project and I thought I'd share the "How To" with you. It only took a few hours, and is going to actually be one of the more useful things I've made. I have a wonderful barn coat that I wear often, but am always wishing it had an inside pocket. So I added one made from scraps of silk, linen, and lined with flannel.

The design I chose is "Holiday Magick" with a few extra snowflakes from "Square Dance" below it. The little reindeer's antlers have an antique protection charm woven into them, and was found with instructions to make the (original) charm stitched in red silk and worn near the heart. I think this is perfectly fitting. Obviously you can use any design you like.

Using a garment with a good pocket size and shape, make a pattern template out of paper. My linen was a bit small, so I added a flannel strip on the top. It works well as a decorative element too. Press the linen and the flannel and place right sides together. If you like, you can use interfacing behind the stitching.

Pin the paper pattern so that the stitching comes out straight and centered. Leaving a 2" gap on one of the long sides, stitch the rest of the way around at the outline of the paper.

Trim the excess fabric and turn this assembly inside out, so the right sides are now out. Fold the sides of the opening so they match up. Use a chopstick or something blunt but pokey to crispen up the corners. Hand whip stitch the opening so that it now resembles a pillow with no stuffing. At this point (pocket is not attached yet), Sew a row of stitching evenly around the perimeter. This helps to stabilize the raw edges inside the pillow pocket. I used one of the decorative stitching patterns my sewing machine has built in.  

Put the garment on, to decide where the best pocket placement is and pin the pocket in that place. Using a double length of sewing thread the same color as the linen (and beeswaxed) hand whip stitch the pocket sides and bottoms to the lining of the coat.

Ta Da!

Your Vote Counts

Keeping my message short and sweet, get out there and vote.

Nashville 2017

Next week I head to annual Nashville Needlework Market to release my newest charts. Shops that attend market will be the first ones to bring them to their shelves. They'll arrive later at other shops and distributors, then eventually in a few months to my website for direct sales.

Chalkboard Mandala: GAST on Slate Hand Dyed fabric by Stephanie,
1 over 2 on 36

Green Damsel: Classic Colorworks Belle Soie on Doubloon byPTP 32

Dog Pile: DMC on Simplicity Stitching Band

Dragons of Sumatra: Gloriana Silk in Poinsettia on 36 Ancient by PTP, 1 x 2

Dark Shards: DMC on Vintage Smokey White Belfast 

Arranging the Sewing Kit: GAST on WDW 30 count Parchment

New Year - New Charts

Happy New Year to all of my stitching friends. If you're like me, you've made some sort of resolution that says something to the effect of stitch more and stress less. I look forward to being a part of that and hope to see you sharing finishes from your stash, and perhaps to tempt you with new offerings.

To kick off the new year, I introduce to you three charts that are available to shops starting January 9th. I think I said the 2nd at some earlier point, but I'm taking my own advice to not stress and am giving myself another week.

These three are all part of the continuing "Arrangements" series.

Arranging Tools

Arranging Birdhouses

Arranging Lures

Happy stitching, and my best wishes in the coming year!

Fall Lineup

Things are always quiet in the new release arena after returning from Nashville in the spring. It's a time to take a breather and prepare for the coming months. I'm happy to share a number of new releases now as we go into the next "show season."

Norden is one of the major US distributors for cross stitch charts and supplies. They are hosting a fall show opens August 8th where shops will be able to order new charts and limited edition kits exclusively through them.

Ink Circles is releasing two new charts for the Norden Fall Show. If you'd like to get copies, ask your favorite shop to tune in to the Norden Show.

Dreidel, Dreidel

Arranging Vegetables

Here are two more that I released earlier this month. They should be available through just about every shop, as they've been sent to all of the major distributors.

Reflections of New York City

Reflections of Scotland

And stay tuned, because I'll have yet TWO more charts coming for the Fall Harvest Market Hop in September.

Picking Colors

I showed photos of two new releases this week, and it's gotten me thinking about picking colors. Monochromes vs. fully dictated palettes.

Tapestry - in 13 colors of Gentle Arts Threads.

I absolutely love how this came out, and judging from your comments on Facebook you do, too. However, this is probably the only coloration most of us are going to see for this design. There might be a few of us who swap around colors for something else, but most people who stitch it are likely to pick up the Gentle Arts thread pack or grab the DMC or other substitutes. The gold will likely stay gold. The two blues will likely stay two blues. (See below for the color list.)

Flower Power - a monochrome

Flower Power, on the other hand, is presented to you in a monochrome. When you start stitching, we are going to see this on a wide range of hand-dyed fabrics. You are going to choose all sorts of different threads. Many of you will use multiple different threads - making different colored flowers, or even multicolored flowers. And because I didn't specifically tell you what color to put in what spot, you will be creative and you will make awesome things from this. And they will be unique; and they will be special.

When I tell you all the colors, I take this creativity away from you, or at least make it more unlikely that you reach for it. Will it blow your mind if I tell you that all of these mandalas started out as monochromes, and that you can add as much color as you like? I don't add color until the end. Make a photocopy of your chart and break out some colored pencils. Add as much color as you like. Or, pick one nice color and go to town, enjoying the shapes as the stitched take form. There is no right answer - just do what you like to do.

Tapestry before I added the colors
BTW - don't you love Moire patterns (the weird lines artifact)

You can choose from many ways. Unfortunately, I usually only get to show you one way on the cover. That is why we all get so excited when photos of different versions are shared on the social media. Let me know what you come up with. 

To make Tapestry with the colors I've shown, you will need these Gentle Arts Thread (5 yard skeins). A few were so close to the 1 skein mark, I've rounded up. The fabric used was Weeks Dye Works Parchment linen in 30 count. Size is 199 x 199.

Pine (2)

Mulberry (1)

Grecian Gold (2)

Cinnamon (2)

Soot (1)

Wood Smoke (1)

Dark Chocolate (1)

Barn Grey (2)

Brethren Blue (2)

Briar Rose (2)

Apple Cider (1)

Garden Gate (2)

Piney Woods (3)

It's not just for cross stitch any more

My biggest announcement of the year! I love coloring mandalas, and now YOU can color my mandalas too. I've been working on a coloring book, and now it is ready. It's got 20 different mandalas ready for you sit back, relax, and color.

Ink Circles is publishing a coloring book. This is what the cover looks like.

It's called Peace of Art, a little pun because you will be creating a piece of art and you will be enjoying the peace of this relaxing art form.  If you've been watching at all, you'll have noticed a stream of interviews/programs/studies in the social media that tout the benefits of coloring as an adult hobby.

In what may be either a brilliant or a foolish move, I have chosen to distribute through Amazon as my primary fulfilment vehicle. You'll get Prime 2-day shipping; you'll get their price breaks (if they discount it); you'll be able to write and read reviews; I'll get a huge potential audience.

If you're not seeing the link directly above because of Adblock or your firewall, you'll need to go to Amazon and search the old fashioned way. It says order, but technically it is "pre-order" until Nov 10th.

Some of the choices I made in putting this together that might set my book apart from others:

• Single-sided (8.5 x 11"), so you can cut out pages and frame (or hang on your fridge) without losing a second page.
• Cardstock pages, so you can use colored pencils OR marker, or maybe even watercolor pencils without the page bleeding through or rippling.
• Spiral wire binding, it folds back flat to whatever page you choose. No coloring in the binding area.
• Spiral at the top: both my kids are southpaws. That side spiral gets in the way, so this works great for right or left handed colorists.
• A color test area on each page so you can check if your shading works or that pink is as bright as you hoped. It's designed such that it can be cut out to make a bookmark afterwards.

One of the 20 pages. You can see the binding and the bookmark in this photo.

Pick the colors that make you smile. Relax, there is no wrong way to do it.

Complete with a real ISBN: 978-0-9969675-0-1
I feel so official!

I'll be adding this to the Ink Circles site for ordering, as well as my Etsy shop, in the interest of complete marketing options, but don't feel bad getting it from your cheapest easiest source. (Only feel bad if you are getting it illegally from a scanned pirated posted copy.)

Namaste!

Happy Thanksgiving Canadians!

There is a lot of weird nonsense going on in the world right now, but there is also plenty to be thankful for. Monday is Thanksgiving Day for our Canadian friends, of which I am happy to have many. I was pleased to be asked by Thread & Eye in London, Ontario (the same shop that let me pilot the Roll Your Own Mandalas) to extend my Reflections series to include Canada. Challenge accepted.

Reflections of Canada 

Canada has no shortage of cool cultural icons, and I tried to balance some from both from modern society and the native peoples. Throw in a few common non-human residents and add a generous sprinkling of the traditional maple leaves and... Voila! Reflections of Canada.

Ingredients: Hockey sticks, teepees, Inukshuk, beavers, pine trees, Parliament building, geese, moose, totem pole, RCMP, the CN tower, dogwood flower, and maple leaves.

This chart is currently available exclusively through Thread & Eye. Neale and Kathy are happy to do mail order.  It's shown stitched in Dinky Dyes Warratah silk on 32 count Vintage Smokey White linen by Zweigart, but it will obviously adapt to just about any color scheme.

Freshly Harvested

Ask your favorite LNS or ONS for these fresh picks from Ink Circles

This fall was the first in many years when the TNNA (national trade organization for needlework) didn't organize a fall needlework market for wholesale buyers. To fill the gap, two different efforts created new shows using new concepts as a way to bring a surge of fresh designs for the fall.

Norden Crafts generated quite a buzz last month with their show and over 120 new designs from your favorite designers, everything ordered through and shipping from Norden. This month, the gals from Shepherd's Bush coordinated an online show where contributing designers made little mini-shows on their own websites and handled orders directly.

It may have been a bit tough for individual stitchers to sort their ways through these new formats, but recognize the result being HUNDREDS of new designs being made available in the cross stitch market within the last month. With that, I salute the efforts made for both shows and proudly present to you the six new designs released by Ink Circles, including Second Spring in collaboration with Hands On Design. Contact your favorite shop to order any of these charts. I do have an online web shop, but I don't add new releases for a few months in an effort to give shops first crack at sales.

Love and Let Love

Here is a special mandala for you. Some of you...if you're not into this sort of thing (tolerance) please just scroll along to the next blog/post - no comment is necessary. If you'd actually like the pattern to stitch this gratuitous profusion of rainbows, hearts and little ♀♂ in various combinations see below.  

Relentless

Uses 10 skeins of DMC (3 of which are black); 115 inches square; suitable for aida, beads, etc.

Colors called for, but you can pick your own rainbow.

READ ALL THESE WORDS BEFORE YOU BUY: A pattern for this cross stitch design is being offered in pdf format, rather than the usual norm for me which is printed only. Also unusual, is that I am not specifying a price; you put in a number that is right for you, like a tip jar. I'll be donating the funds from this one to an appropriate local org. This is NOT an automatic download - you have to wait for me to email you the file, which I will make every effort to promptly do. I will send it to the email PayPal tells me, unless you say differently. I will not be doing anything ever with the email you use other than sending you the file. The file you receive is copyrighted and is NOT to be posted on any web site or forum, disassembled, scanned, etc. If your friend wants a copy, please send them the link instead and encourage them to chip in a buck or two.

If you run a shop and are interested in printed copies of this, send me an email and I'll be happy to set you up.

Neglect

I've apparently not posted since January? That's a bit embarrassing, and not for want of content. Some mandalas to stitch... here are the monochromes.

A Holly Jolly Mandala

A Spirited Mandala

Wings and Things

Valentina

TNNA Phoenix

Two new Ink Circles charts debuted in January at the TNNA Phoenix tradeshow last weekend. Shops that attended were able to pick up or order these through Wichelt. They are going this week to shops on automatics from me, and they'll be with all the distributors within a few weeks (i.e. available everywhere by then.)

The first is a set of sewing implements that fit inside this little tray. When I first saw the tray, my first thought was of an antique bed. So naturally, it needed an antique bed covering. The set grew as I thought of more things that could fit into the bed.

The set is called "Cover Story"

The set includes a scissor keeper, pinkeep, needlebook, the coverlet, and some throw pillows.  The chart pack includes all of the finishing instructions for each item. I chose Red, white, and blue silks from Treenway. The fabric color is important to be darker than the white, but not much. Heroic by Picture This Plus worked out perfectly. Below is an example of the overshot woven coverlets that inspired these designs.

Read more about coverlets here

The second new piece is a followup to the popular Reflections of Paris and Turrets and Town pieces. This time we visit London. If you look you can see most of the popular landmarks with everything from police boxes and double decker buses to Underground signs sprinkled in.

Reflections of London

I find this style of design fun to draw as well as enjoyable to stitch. Given the encouragement and the popularity, I'm planning more. It's only a question of which city/country/area to do next.

Rainier

New RYO colorway called Rainier: 311/322/828, 961/962/963, 3844/3846/3811, 501/3052/524. These are the 2014 mandalas:

Open letter to Amanda

Hello Amanda,

   I'm not sure what your financial and moral situations are that led up to you joining the Chinese pattern sharing forum. I don't have any vendetta against you in particular, you just happened to be more obvious than most of the thieves so it was easy to single you out for example.

   It always leaves me with a knot of anger in my stomach when I see my charts posted up on the sites for the downloading.  Seriously, how would you like to see something that you've spent hours developing as a saleable product being passed out for free. Actually it's worse than just giving them away for free. To download them, I know that you have to further propagate the piracy by uploading different charts to the forum. I wonder who you sold out to download my pattern.

   My daughter's college doesn't take "gold coins" for her tuition. The grocery store doesn't accept them either, nor the vet, nor the power company. Perhaps you think we designers are swimming in dough from all the legal sales and don't really miss the gravy. If you were to look at how many of my charts were posted in that forum, and calculate how many downloads each, and how much lost sales, you might be surprised at how high the figure was. Perhaps you don't realize what a small percentage of the retail price from a legal sale ends up in an account from which I can pay for those groceries.

   From your Facebook pictures, I can see you have a young son. Are these the lessons you are teaching him? He'll grow up to be a real gem, I'm sure.

   I particularly like the way you waved your arms around and Facebook deleted everything from my timeline, including my own photos. It's as if NOTHING happened there. I called you out as a thief, with the hard evidence to back that, yet somehow I was the bully. But not before 4,000+ people saw what you did. 

   There's not much I can do to stop the root problem. Those foreign sites don't comply with legal requests and takedown notices. You've changed your screen name, as if that will protect you or somehow hide you from view. Lawyers to chase infringers and shut down sites don't work within the salary limits I have, and further dealings with you will only depress me.

   Besides there is a different morally decrepit soul over on Google docs that I'm turning my energies toward today.  She somehow thinks that if she recharts my patterns into the cross stitch program herself, that she can copyright the output. And as I speak, a friend just sent an email pointing out that some bitch on Pinterest is sharing scanned images.  Ah what a respected and rewarding career.

May karma bite you on the ass,

Tracy

Where did October go?

Somehow in all the hubbub of preparing for the big Trail of Orts tour, I neglected to update the blog and the Roll Your Own Wiki with the latest mandala in the series. The charts went out to all the subscribers on October 1st, but nobody else got to see and I didn't preview it in the typical variety of colorways. October was the 7th and final installment in the Merry Go Round RYO series. These were all named after lines of latitude, and October was the Arctic Circle. Whether or not any visible cues from where I drew my inspiration still remain distinct in the design is open to your judgement, but these always do end up being a study in abstraction.

Arctic Circle in its titular colorway:
Navy 336/312/334; Christmas Green 701/703/472;
Jade 561/562/564; Desert Sand 632/407/950.

Here she is in some of our other colorways. It's always fun to see how the different colors tend to accentuate one part of the design or another. As usual, it's going to be a tough choice to pick colors for stitching.

Top Row: Clean the Fan, Orchids, Halloween
Middle Row: Zaszlaja, Basil, Tropic of Cancer
Bottom: Seahawks, Fall Daisy, Geode

RYO charts are now available only in printed form from your favorite shop or directly from my webshop.

November New Releases

Two new charts for November.  If you ran in to me on the Trail of Orts Tour, you will recognize the Spot On set of mini-mandalas that I brought along.  Susan at Red Gate Stitchery makes these very cool little drilled pendants of wood and acrylic and my thoughts immediately ran to tiny kaleidoscopic jewels that would fit just perfectly. You can ask your favorite LNS to stock or special order the pendant blanks, or you can buy them directly from Susan in her Etsy shop. The chart is $10 and should be available from your favorite shop.

DMC and a few hours to make a sweet little necklace!

 The Stitchers' Village is sponsoring a series of charts themed by asking where several designers' ideal home would be.  Ink Circles was #3 in their series, with the chart Village Square. (Rosewood Manor and Glendon Place were #1 and #2.)  "My village home is in a small town full of parks and trees and flowers. I can easily walk to the bookstore, the stitching shop, and the pub." I stitched it in Gloriana's Bluegrass Silk (you'll need 2 skeins) and Picture This Plus Icon Belfast linen, but it will obviously adapt to many a combo.

Village Square - #3 in the the Village Home series.

So, wherever it is that you call home, I invite you to pour a mug of your favorite brew (be it coffee, tea, or beer) and sit for a while and stitch. I'm pretty sure you deserve a little break.

The Trail Leads Home

It's taken a few days to get everything back to normal after our ort-sprinkling journey across the country. Cathy Habermann of Hands On Design joined me on a seven stop hop that took us to two shows and five LNS shops in between.

We started in St. Charles MO at the Celebrations of Needlework.

I taught a class the silk-sequencing technique
I've been playing with. Alyse is showing off
her finished class piece.

Stitches Etc. is right there in historic downtown St. Charles.

Hanging out with Cathe Ray from Needle in a Haystack, Gail Zumwalt of
Stitches Etc, and Cathy Roginela of Inspired Needle. The Cathe/y contingent were
all in town for the Celebrations show.

Susie has an amazing shop in Evansville IN.

Stitches From the Heart, the second shop on the route, was filled to the brim
with good stuff. Our little table was equally packed. We could have spent days there.

The Stitchin' Post in Nashville was shop #3. Again, we got to meet some
amazing ladies and see a wonderful LNS.

Anyone would be happy to be able to call this their LNS, and we were
lucky to have a little shopping time here.

Cindy welcomed us at shop  #4 - Dixie Darlin in Pigeon Forge. She was getting ready
to join us at Stitching at the Beach, our final stop.  You might know Cindy from her design
work as Foxwood Crossing (lots of sleds) but she also keeps a fully stocked
shop in a historic touristy area.

It was easy to see why stitchers living a four hour drive away call the Stitch & Frame Shop
 in Rock Hill, SC their "local" needlework shop.  We even had a few of the not-so-locals
drive up for the day to meet us on our trip.

Stitch & Frame's building was perfect for a shop - light and airy, with high windows,
ledges and cubbies everywhere that were filled with models.

Cathy drove up and brought in her finished 99, which included
a custom bottle she swapped in. I love it!

And onward to the Ocean.

Stitching at the Beach is a lovely retreat with a shopping boutique area in the room.

I got to see a few friends from the Branson retreat last summer,
as well as meet a few friends from Facebook. Many of them brought
in finishes. Such nice work - I am so proud!

I have such wonderfully nerdy fans! And such accomplished
stitchers. All of Janel's work on the table there is over 1.

We kept busy enough that not much actual stitching was done, and we left very few orts in our wake. The weather at Myrtle Beach was fabulous, and after days of driving in the torrential rain that was very welcome. Wish we could have found a little more time for the sand, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

I have no clue whether factors will ever align to let us plan something like this again, so I am truly thankful to everyone that came out to meet us and all the beautiful shops that opened up their doors. What a trip!