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

The heartmade life...

Meraki: this is a Greek expression,

which means to give oneself totally to whatever

one is doing or being: in other words,

to do, live and be with absolute creativity,

joy and passion, with an open, whole heart.

This, in my humble opinion, is what living a 

heartmade life really means. And it is something

we can choose, every single day. Right in 

the present moment, whoever we are

and whatever out current circumstances.

Obviously some people think that happiness

is dependent on having ideal circumstances,

money, work, a great family and so on! However,

I have come to believe it's exactly in difficult 

times, when we have problems, trauma and

stress, that we need to shift our focus away from

the current issues, towards making our lives

more full of heart, joy, trust and creativity. 

Not always, easy, as I know too well,

but that's when we can truly step into a heartmade

way of being.

I am currently putting together the proposal,sample

copy and artwork for a little illustrated

book about living a heartmade life - it will be

a journal too, with space for people to write 

their own thoughts and ideas. 

I am really excited to be doing this, and

hope to find a publisher for it in due course.

If not, maybe I will publish it myself,

as I have done with other little books I have created.

Watch this space!

Blessings and light...

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