Flying Chicken Scratch…

This quick and simple border design was made up of fly stitches.

It’s Just a Scratch…

Chicken Scratch Fever...

In this row, I played with floral and geometric shapes.

Still Scratchin'...

I think the most fun about chicken scratch embroidery is seeing designs emerge from the interplay of simple stitches and the background fabric. This row looks like some sort of alien hieroglyphics.

More Chicken Scratchin’

Here’s a quick and simple fill design with lacing.

First Attempt at Chicken Scratch Embroidery...

Well, I wasn’t planning on joining the Stitch Explorer Challenge this year – but I just couldn’t resist, especially since the first stitch was chicken scratch – something I’d wanted to try for quite some time. This is my first stab at it – and I might be hooked!

Fun with Photoshop & Dolls...

This is one of my Vivette dolls (similar in size to Barbie) on her way to meet friends at a posh restaurant in London. She is wearing a snazzy outfit by DAE (the company that created Vivette). The free background is courtesy of bigfoto.com. As I’ve said before, I’m very easily entertained…

Why I Blog...

Originally, I began blogging as a personal way to connect to my online doll customers. I don’t have a brick and mortar store nor do I attend craft shows so I think I looked to blogging as a way to build trust and goodwill. It has evolved into so much more than that. It has been a delight to discover people (all over the world) who share my same passions for art and needlework! I am naturally shy and reticent and it is accurate to say that my blogging friends probably know more about me than people I’ve known (in the “real” world) for years! I treasure all of you and want to thank you for your inspiration, generosity of spirit and kind encouragement…

My New Space…

Here are two photos of my new office/music room thus far. It’s not finished but I wanted to post pictures before I took down the Christmas tree. I still need to purchase or make a valance for the window and add some decorative touches. I will also be adding shelves over the desk. DH is still wiring equipment. Ultimately, most of the wiring will be hidden. (I don’t care much for cable salad!) The room is tiny – only 9’x10’ but very functional. At first, we were just going to transform this area (previously used for storage) into a home theater but space is so limited in our house that it made more sense to make the room multi-functional. We brought my digital piano up from the living room (where the cats were using it a sliding board!) to occupy the wall below the TV. The TV can also function as a computer monitor, as you can see. The Yamaha PSR-S900 (next to the computer monitor on the desk) was one of my birthday gifts this year. That will be used for composing/arranging using Sonar software.

The two office chairs are extremely comfortable and they can be placed side by side at minimum optimal viewing distance from the TV so we can watch movies – YAY! DH spent the last couple of days fishing wires through the walls and crawling around in the attic to install a 5.1 surround sound system - and it is truly awesome! No need to ever set foot in a movie theater again! Neither of us really wants to leave this room.