Still here...and stitching!

Been quiet for most of June - not finding

things easy still, but am determined to keep

positive and looking up!

One thing that helps me so much is being

creative - it is my healing and heart space!

I am stitching a lot at the moment - have finished

one cross stitch piece and waiting for it to be

framed - and in the meantime

working on some little freehand stitcheries,

either to sell as patterns or (hopefully)

as another needlework book.

I do love the cross stitch, but it is fairly

time consuming, as I always stitch my own models

myself - it's the only way I can make

necessary changes and improvements as

I go along!

However, the freehand stitching is both

quicker and more relaxing - since one

doesn't have to be continually following a chart.

I am attaching a picture of one freehand

picture done a little while ago - hopefully will have

a few more up and finished soon!

May all of us have a peaceful and

contented week, finding joy and  pleasure

in the little things of life -

which actually aren't so little at all.

Blessings...

Gail xxx

Seasons and Stitches...

Greetings to all! I am currently in a

bit of a state of flux as regards my stitching

projects going forward! I finished the

book 'Inspired Stitches' a little while ago,

(hopefully it will be published towards

the end of this year) and now I

find myself at a bit of a crossroads creatively.

I enjoy doing both freehand and cross stitch

designs, although cross stitch is really what I

am known for - so perhaps I need to stick

with that for now...I would love to get another

book together, preferably one with seasonal

designs, thoughts and recipes too!

Any input or ideas will be most welcome -

I am a bit stuck right now. 

Wishing everyone a blessed

and safe Thursday in any event!

Gail xxx

La Vie en Rose...

Firstly, to let everyone know, I am also

sharing these posts on my older blog, 

rosebudlane.blogspot.com, for a while! I have

a lot of readers on this blog, and I

would like to be sure they don't miss

out on my posts and updates.

In addition to cross stitch I also love

doing freehand/traditional embroidery, and

would love to do a book featuring this, too,

at some stage.

Attached is a little stitched piece, done in

freehand stitches and also with a little watercolour

embellishment. La Vie en Rose... a lovely

concept and one we should all embrace - seeing the

beauty and potential in our lives, and in

every day we have on this earth!

Blessings and light..

Gail xxx

Miss Bobbin's Needle!

I have started work on the little journal/newsletter I

mentioned in the previous post - this one for summer,

and completely handwritten/illustrated by me!

It will take a little time, but hopefully

it should be ready to send out in late June.

I am also revisiting my old mice friends, 

in particular Miss Bobbin, a stitching mouse

who is never seen without a needle

and thread in her hand. I am working on an idea

of a book featuring her and her little 

stitched creations, to be tentatively called

"Miss Bobbin's Needle,

Stitches and Stories from Rosebud Lane".

Obviously this will also take some time

to put together, but I will post

images of the designs and other ideas

as I develop them! I love the mice

and would love to do another publication

featuring them. (My first book about the mice

was published in France in 2018 and is still available

on Amazon!)

So many things to do and create - I am

grateful for this in my life, and the peace and joy

making things brings to me 

and hopefully to all of us at this rather

difficult time.

Blessings to all this weekend

And so it is...on we go...

Gail xxx

Miss Cupcake!

Some of you may know that for a number of years

I created a range of small, completely handstitched mice,

which I called 'The Mice of Rosebud Lane'.

I don't make them any more - they took

a long time to make and rising costs of the materials and postage

meant I had to charge more for them than the market

would allow.

However I still love those little rodents of mine, 

so now I create them on paper and 

with stitches - in artwork, designs and, hopefully,

one day in books, too!

Miss Cupcake is the first cross stitch design

in this series - sadly I have not yet been able

to frame her as I wished, since my

picture framer is not operating due to lockdown.

But here she is - with her delicious cakes...

and the chart of this design will be ready for

download in just a few days.

Enjoy my little mice!

Blessings and light

Gail xxx

Bird & Blossom Tea Shop

Another little painting - this one showcasing my love of (obsession with?) little tea shops - maybe it's a result of the years I spent living in England, where just about every weekend we would take off in search of another delightful little tea shop to while away a few contented hours drinking tea, eating scones or cake, and generally enjoying a simple moment of peace and tranquillity!

This artwork will  also be turned into a cross stitch design - in fact I have already started working on and stitching the piece - I tend to work on designs as I go, which gives me the freedom to make changes as and when necessary!

In the meantime enjoy this little image and be sure to take time to rest and refresh yourself today, in these difficult times - do what makes your heart happy, always!

Blessings and light

Gail xxx

Wool & Whimsy

I love to paint, and I particularly love doing artwork in

the folk art style. I have long loved the work of American 

folk artists like Ellen Stouffer, Blakely Wilson and

Charles Wysocki. I think what I love the most

is the combination of simple, heartwaming themes

with seasonal and whimsical touches.

Nothing makes me happier than sitting down

with my paper, pens and watercolours to create a

new little picture. And the next best thing is taking it

up a level and converting my image into a

cross stitch chart, and seeing how my work comes

to life in a whole new way

'Wool & Whimsy' - my first design featured here

on this blog has most of my favourite things -

a cute little store, two fat and woolly sheep and lots

of little country touches, like flowers,

baskets and birdhouses.

The quote too, is meaningful to me, because I strongly

believe that when we work with hands and heart

we become truly inspired and uplifted.

And at the moment we are all going through such

difficult and troubling times in the world, so we

need to find both peace and grace, which I believe we 

can do in simple creativity.

I hope to be able to share the stitched version

of this picture with you all very soon, at which

time the chart will be available as a pdf download.

To end, one of my favourite quotes,

attributed to the Buddha.

'Your work is to discover your work,

and then, with all your heart,

give yourself to it.'

Blessings, light and enchantment

Gail xxx