Lettergirl

Coming soon: a trunk show!

Now, this is a bit of a stretch for me.  As you know, I like the big huzzah of showing projects when they're all done:  look at this! isn't it awesome? it's almost like magic!

Today I'm going to share an idea I've been mulling over for the past six weeks, but which I'm ready to make real.  (Posting it here makes it real, right?)  I'm planning a trunk show of my hand-stitched garments here at my studio in St. Paul.  Skirts and scarves and shawls and anything else I can stitch up between now and October.

But I'm a just a bit nervous about pulling this off.  My heart is in it.  What if I fail?  So true to my nature, I've made a little chart to remind me of the who's (who can help me, in the periwinkle color), why's (why I'm excited, in the blue-green color), and what if's (what I'm afraid of, in the sort-of-yellow color).  And now that I've done it, I'm going to tuck it away in my Circa notebook and get back to the less-scary part:  making stuff that's worth having.

A new hobby.

First I wanted to.  Then I didn't want to.  But I never forgot about it either.  A trip to Lila & Claudine's was all the inspiration I needed to make up my mind: it's time to learn to knit.

The yarn that tipped the scales is this alpaca-mohair blend in shades of green, blue and grey.  It's super uneven, to hide any beginner flaws, and I really wanted something that would feel amazing every time I touched it.

I'm on the six-month plan for this scarf.  No rush, lots of other irons in the fire.  I'm appreciating a project that is completely unrelated to my creative "work" and a change of pace from the other ways I use my hands.  (Although with the way it's snowing today, I may just have to hurry a bit.)

Daily inspiration (free!)

This week I've been having lunch with Jennifer Lee -- at the Right-Brainers in Business 2013 Video Summit, that is.  Get your free ticket here.  Tuesday's session with Bari Tessler was brimming with little nuggets like this:  reframe your bookkeeping by changing the names of your categories so your spreadsheet is more in sync with your vision.  (I'm changing "misc office art supplies" to "creative stash".)  You can spend your lunch with a different speaker every day.

More from the shop: gifts.

Two of my favorite gift stamps are now back in the shop:

Elizabeth Bookplate Stamp

Name Stamp

Both are handwritten and available in self-inking and red rubber.  I love to give the name stamps for baby gifts!

Love Scarf: a sneak peek.

A stitiching project I started while my shop was closed:  a reverse applique scarf with one of my favorite winter quotes by Longfellow.  First I "sketched" the words lightly on the knit.

Then I went over the letters to make them more solid.

The fun part is stitching it up.  I couldn't possibly stay riveted to Downton if my hands weren't busy.  And now that the season's over, the scarf is nearly done.  Finished photos in a week or two!

Giveaway winner + coming soon.

It'll be a snowy walk to the studio today.

The winner of the address stamp is Destiny:

I'm working on birthday and Christmas gift tags because I love making them for the upcoming year's gifts in January/February of a new year. I don't have the time/energy to take on a big craft project, at the moment, so making detailed little tags, for myself and friends, allows me to get my creativity on on a small and doable scale.

Destiny, email me with your choice of stamp & info: lettergirl66 {at} gmail {dot} com.  

And if you didn't win, don't fret.  My next newsletter features free handwritten art to download; be sure you're signed up (in the upper left corner). 

And thanks to all who entered.  I love reading the comments as they come in, and adding ideas to my book & project list.  As for me, I've just started Wolf Hall, which I scored at a library used book sale for a dollar.  I'm thinking three months ought to do it.

"Handmade by..." stamps: new in the shop!

I'm adding new items to my shop all week, including these stamps that let you sign your own handmade creations with a finely crafted red rubber stamp:

Banner stamp

Box stamp

Bracket stamp

And don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post to enter the giveaway.  Ends Friday!

New in the shop + a giveaway!

My shop will be reopening later this morning with new address stamp designs, like Becka:

Hannah:

and Mirabel:

Enter today's giveaway to win your choice of any stamp in my shop.  (I'll share more new offerings each day this week.)  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you're either reading or making right now.  I'll draw the winner randomly on Friday morning.  Good luck!

Strategies for success, in a nutshell.

Success, part 8.

I'm definitely going to have to set aside time tomorrow for tidying the studio.

Relax.

One of the hardest things for me when I have some open studio time is to not jam-pack every minute with projects and items from my to-do list.  It's essential for me (and you?) to take some time off in the midst of creating and do something completely different.  For me, that means lunch with a friend or kettlebell class or reading a book in the middle of the afternoon.  Even reading a book while I eat my lunch or taking a walk around the block refreshes my mind.

I also hope to have some planned inspiration/investigation time when I get back to my regular schedule.  (I am my own boss, right?)  Rather than getting distracted by a link in a website or a gallery review, I want to figure out the way to balance that curiosity with the rest of my active day.  Save it for my Brilliant Idea Hour?  That would mean keeping a list...hmm, I may be on to something there.

Tomorrow I'll sum up all my strategies for success, and then next week I'll reopen the shop on Tuesday with a giveaway.  I've got more than 5 new stamp designs on the way!