A stitch in time...

I've been trying to figure out ways to incorporate embroidery into my work, and beyond this piece, I haven't had much solid success. In my pile of work that I've messed up (aka 'stuff that I'll eventually give to Maddy to play with'), I've got a few pieces that I tried to include some embroidered elements. It took a while for me to realize that although I knew I had the skills (self-taught, too... which surprises me more than you'd expect), I had no idea how to use them... PROPERLY.

I tend to rush my work. This isn't a shock to anyone who knows me - I'm that type of worker who will charge ahead, full speed, to get my work done as fast as possible so I can spend more time slacking off. Years of being a designer/editor and having to make small, stupid change after small, stupid change should have taught me that slowing down and checking things over before I think I'm done would be beneficial, but no.

So my need to slack - apparently, still - has firmly embedded itself into my new work life. Only in the last couple of weeks have I started to consciously take my time and make sure each step is complete before I move onto the next. Slowing down and being patient with my work has had one massive positive result: ZIPPERS. I like working with zippers so much (so far) that everything I've made in the last 2 weeks has a zipper. Now that I've conquered the zipper challenge, I'm totally ready to start working embroidery back into my pieces.

Such as the piece in the photo at the top of this post. Eventually - possibly Thursday - this will become the outer shell of a wallet I'm going to sell. I don't have any other embroidered pieces ready to go, but I'm purposely waiting until I've finished this wallet to see how using something like this works.

I like embroidery. I find it soothing. Maddy does not and makes it really difficult to do any work during the day, but I'm determined to get her to accept that this is what I'm going to do while she's playing. And because I do all my work freehand, there's no pressure of having to follow lines or a pattern... I do 'draw' an outline in chalk, but more often than not, I'll use it only as a general guide so I don't end up losing track of the space I can use.

I'm also working on a butterfly for Maddy's room. It's not perfectly symmetrical, but I think it'll be cute. I've been trying to work with Maddy in choosing the colours that will be worked into the piece, and when it's done, I'll frame it and hang it up. If all goes well, maybe it's another potentially sell-able product. Or maybe it'll just be one of those things I do for friends and family only.

Things are starting to pick up with my shop and my work... I'm trying new things, searching for new ways to promote what I do, and it looks like I'm getting more first-time viewers into my shop. No sales yet (!!!!!!), but they'll come. I figure if I keep working on what I'm doing and improving the product, it's only a matter of time until I get my first sale, and then my second and then it's an avalanche I can't keep up with. Yep, that's exactly how it's going to be... when it finally happens :)