Meet Matilda Mallstomper
anne
I need to buy a lottery ticket or two to win enough $$ to get a better digital
camera <sigh>
--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply
Bob & Marg Whittleton
>Largish file alert: http://home.comcast.net/~frugalfingers/recent.html
>
>I need to buy a lottery ticket or two to win enough $$ to get a better digital
>camera <sigh>
>
>
>
Love her!!!
Marg
lula
I loved seeing Maltilda Mallstomper your "original" embroidery......it
looks really good. This was an excellent, creative solution to your
embroidery wishes. You did a wonderful embroidered adaptation of the
chart!
I especially love the embellishments you added to the stitching.....that
really set off and enhanced the whole design!!
Now you've got me thinking about the subject of embroidery designs in
the needlework market........I've been in the needlework business full
time for over 20 years, first as a manager of a full service needlework
shop and then my own design business, that I opened in1985.......the
following comments are my own observations on the subject of embroidery.
I've always noticed there have been embroidery kits for sale through the
years and that embroidery was quite popular at one time in the past and
since then has always been around.
But I don't really know if embroidery has ever been as popular or as
commercially successful as the cross stitch craze in the last 20 years.
There have always been kits for "crewel" embroidery using wool yarns,
such as the well known ones from Elsa Williams, Erica Wilson and many
others through the years.......embroidery kits always seemed to be a
perennial commodity in needlework shops.
Erica Wilson is well known to have revived crewel embroidery and
needlework overall in the US.......it was because of Erica's whimsical
crewel designs that got me interested in stitching......I have several
of her crewel kits still unfinished among other embroidery kits.....
However, I've not noticed designers to strictly focus on producing
embroidery "charts" to sell, such as a line drawing with instructions
for embroidery stitches.
What I have noticed are designers doing charts with stitch guides using
various needlepoint and some embroidery stitches. Designers like Libby
Sturdy and Kimberly Crum come to mind but to be specific, these charts
fall under counted work more than actual embroidery.
Some other sources one might use for the purpose of embroidery is to use
"serious" coloring books, the well done series featuring historical
costumes, theater, botanicals, historical subjects and so
on........designs for Redwork, iron-on templates among many other
sources for line drawings.
Has anyone else noticed any designers or companies doing charts only for
embroidery?
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
Caryn
>years and that embroidery was quite popular at one time in the past and
>since then has always been around.
>But I don't really know if embroidery has ever been as popular or as
>commercially successful as the cross stitch craze in the last 20 years.
>
My mother taught me crewel work embroidery when I was about 9 or 10. At the
time (early 1970's) it was pretty much the only embroidery you saw in stores.
If there was cross stitch it was the stamped sort, not the counted cross stitch
which is so popular today.
Personally, I don't enjoy crewel all that much, it's as much a textile thing as
anything else. I don't like the way the threads feel in my fingers. I didn't
mind the speciality stitches, I was actually pretty good at most of them.
However, I enjoy doing counted cross stitch a lot more, which is why I design
for counted cross stitch. It's not because I don't think people who do crewel
work don't deserve nice patterns to stitch, but because it's not the format I
prefer myself.
Anne, I wish you luck finding patterns that suit you, your adaptation of
Matilda was wonderful!
Caryn
Blue Wizard Designs
http://hometown.aol.com/crzy4xst/index.html
Updated: 7/7/03 -- now available Dragon of the Stars
View WIPs at: http://community.webshots.com/user/carynlws (Caryn's UFO's)
anne
> I've always noticed there have been embroidery kits for sale through the
> years and that embroidery was quite popular at one time in the past and
> since then has always been around.
> But I don't really know if embroidery has ever been as popular or as
> commercially successful as the cross stitch craze in the last 20 years.
When I did my first stitchings about 30 years ago (gawd, that makes me feel
old!), there seemed to be a lot of wool (crewel) and embroidery kits on the
market for more than just flowers and Jacobean designs. As a matter of fact,
one of my bedrooms is a 'shrine' to projects done during that period -- scenes
of Olde Williamsburg, Boston, Philadelphia, Salem, children riding bikes, etc.,
etc.
About 2 years ago, I found that I was too antsy to sit and just read for
extended periods. Being a confirmed couch potato, I still wanted to sit but
wasn't sure my eyesight was good enough or fingers were nimble enough to do any
stitching. I knew that counted cross stitch wasn't for me and was appalled that
there wasn't much of a selection in pure, fill in all the spaces, as opposed to
merely embellishing artwork, floss or wool embroidery kits in the local stores.
There were more designs in the needlepoint section but the flat and somewhat
'jaggy' look of needlepoint has never appealed to me. I ended up with a
Jannlynn kit for 4 small pieces. Being frugal, the fact that the kit included
frames appealed to me ;-)
I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to fill in the blanks with little
trouble and then went back for more. Next, I tried my hand at long stitch --the
ever popular, balloon and seascape kits. I enjoyed doing them but felt a bit
constrained by the similarity of the stitching. I picked up quite a few
'vintage' kits (Hummels, candlewicking, etc) on Ebay. Even though I've got a
drawer that's overflowing with Ebay finds, I went into whimsy mode which got me
started on modifying cross stitch charts.
My sister has spent a fortune on handpainted needlepoint canvases, some of
which I actually like <eg> but as I said before, the look doesn't 'talk' to me.
Cutting to the chase, I don't have a clue as to whether there's a market for
non-traditional 'regular' embroidery but I know that I'd at least look at the
stuff ;-)
> Some other sources one might use for the purpose of embroidery is to use
> "serious" coloring books, the well done series featuring historical
> costumes, theater, botanicals, historical subjects and so
> on........designs for Redwork, iron-on templates among many other
> sources for line drawings.
I've picked up a few of those at an art supply store and did one of a Japanese
vase and one of these days, I'll do a fan picture.
Linda Wright
As to Lula's post, no, I haven't seen any charts only, other than Aunt
Martha's iron on transfers. I do what Anne did and Lula has done -
trace and embellish as desired. I've used the coloring book method
(Dover Publications is great for this) and have traced some "real" art
(Manet and Monet, specifically). I wish there were more out there!
That said, I do think that kits might be more popular as many people
are not confident of their ability to choose the right
thread/colors/stitches. And it would be *wonderful* to see something
like Matilda in a kit. I am tired of tame subjects, flowers and
"embellish" kits where you just add a few stitches to a preprinted
background. There are many of us out there who do not decorate in
eternal spring!
Hmm - maybe we should all send our requests to DMC/Janlynn/Bucilla and
the other mainline makers, along with Wal-Mart, Michael's, Jo-Anns,
etc. Maybe if more stuff like this was available in the stores, there
would be more demand for it. . . . In the meantime, there's no supply.
Until there is a supply, there can't be demand. Sort of like the
chicken and the egg, isn't it?
I hope someone takes the leap! Lula, as I've said before, if you *do*
decide to put any of your beautiful, fun drawings into kits, put me
down to buy the first one!
Linda in Columbia, MO
lula
An embroidered fan design would be very elegant! I've seen some gorgeous
painted fans in a variey of subjects......so many ideas to choose from!
I agree, there's a limit to creative stitching from designs based on
grids.....charted designs and canvas mesh don't allow for natural curves
and spacing........this limits how figures, faces and such small details
can be rendered or drawn. In some cases, details have to be sacrificed
or simplified and the design reduced to a "shorthand" style of art.
Basic dots and slashes for eyes and noses for example.
Unfortunately, pesky jaggies are a fact of life in gridded
designs......a skilled artist can minimize jaggies up to a point where
it wouldn't be as noticeable but gridded designs will always have an
angular look.
Similare to you, I've been drawn more and more towards embroidery as a
means of being able to draw more expressive designs, where I can stitch
more details and make real curved lines!
Embroidery is definitely a more artistic way to stitch......lots of
variety in stitches too without worry of compensating stitches as in
needlepoint or half and quarter stitches in XS.
Even more exciting is using embroidery as part of a bigger
"picture".....as you've done with Matilda with the addition of other fun
details using embellishments, decorative fonts or text and using all
sorts of threads.
You were very clever in how you adapted a chart to embroidery!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of your embroideries!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
lula
That's a good idea to write to the kit companies and let them know the
type of needlework you'd like to see developed. If enough requests were
made, the art directors or whoever makes the design decisions would
probably consider adding more embroidery kits to their lines.
I also agree that kits serve a useful purpose. That's how I started
stitching by trying out different needlework techniques in kits. My
favorites were the Erica Wilson kits because her designs were atypical
of the majority florals and "still life" embroideries featured in the
late 70's. Erica's designs were charming, colorful and
whimsical.......she had a variety of subjects from medieval scenes to
Beatrix Potter illustrations.
Except for this past period, I don't know of any current designers doing
only embroidery designs as a business.
Kit companies either have in house designers or license art from artists
to develop into kits. In fact, one of my illustrations (snowman family)
was licensed last year by Jan Lyn and will appear as a cross stitch kit
later this year.
Linda, I'm honored by your vote of confidence........as you know, I'm
about to experiment with embroidering some of my illustrations to see
what they'll look like "painted" with stitches that can curve and move
in the directions I want them to not limited to what the ground fabric
dictates.
BTW, Linda, I liked your embroidered adaptations of Matisse paintings,
were both by Matisse? And your embroidered pink flamingoes were fun to
see wading in the lagoon in their tropical paradise!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
anne
> An embroidered fan design would be very elegant!
LOL -- not the way I'd do it unless I bite the bullet and buy some fancy
threads.
> Similare to you, I've been drawn more and more towards embroidery as a
> means of being able to draw more expressive designs, where I can stitch
> more details and make real curved lines!
Kits do a better job with details than I do. They also provide the thread or
wool, usually 3 colors, to provide what I call 'richness' When I modify a cross
stitch design or use a coloring book or transfer pattern, I can't 'see' the
colors like an artist would that could be used to add depth of field or
shading. To compensate and add visual interest, I tend to use a lot of what
might be unrelated colors when filling in the 'blanks.'
I'm also not very good at figuring out the direction for stitching pieces/parts
<sigh>.
lula
Hmmmm, where did I get this feeling you weren't exactly going for the
ladylike, elegant look for your fan design? Could be because of
Matilda.....hahaha, thanks to you, I decided to let my imagination go
and have some real fun creating my next embroidery.
Stop saying you can't because by so cleverly adapting Matilda
Mallstomper to embroidery, this proved you can do an excellent
interpretation of a design into another form!
Yes, it's true kits do a good job in providing a roadmap for you to
follow but you might want to take a side trip at some point and here are
a few creative ideas I use........
One doesn't need to use shading to add depth to a design........you can
use pattern to add depth, for example doing a check border in an area,
in another, do some stripes, then add some dots, these patterns can be
in bright colors or subdued by using more pastel and close colors .
Many artists will use pattern instead of just shading their artwork to
add depth to their work.
Great results can be achieved by stitching pattern in some areas of the
needlework instead of just shading.
In stitching, you can also vary your design with the use of specialty
stitches and also the use of textured threads.......these techniques
will create the depth you're looking for too and in the end, these
methods will probably give your embroidery even more exciting results!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
anne
> ladylike, elegant look for your fan design?
I may surprise us both and buy some fancy threads for that fan one of these
days. There's a gorgeous design, complete with how to's in a book that I'm too
lazy to go upstairs to get the name of. Before attempting that project, I need
to practise laying down an evenly spaced trellis.
> hahaha, thanks to you, I decided to let my imagination go
> and have some real fun creating my next embroidery.
ooooooh, I can't wait to see what an real artiste comes up with
> One doesn't need to use shading to add depth to a design........you can
> use pattern to add depth, for example doing a check border in an area,
> in another, do some stripes, then add some dots, these patterns can be
> in bright colors or subdued by using more pastel and close colors .
> Many artists will use pattern instead of just shading their artwork to
> add depth to their work.
I'm slowly coming to realize that I don't need to recreate the original exactly
or duplicate the intricate color schemes of cross stitch charts to create
something that pleases me. FYI, my WIP began life as Clementine Clothcollector
in a red dress and a blue hat. She's morphed into Velma Vacationer with a red
hat and turquoise dress ;-)
lula
As I figured, you're a very creative stitcher......just needing a few
pointers in the right direction now and then! We all benefit from these
creative "pushes" from others periodically.
It's wonderful that you're going to continue to do more fun
characters......those names you title them with add that extra bit of
fun to the imagination! Like having a cherry added on top!
Have you thought of making these embroideries into three dimensional
figures such as cloth "dolls"?
I literally dance around with joy whenever I come up with a workable new
over the top character........it's a major accomplishment being able to
capture the just right expressions of these "funny" faces on gridded
canvas.
Today, I decided to stitch a model of Madame La Zora & Co, the over the
top fortune teller with her cat companions......she's the gleeful lady
on the front page of web site......
The only negative is my canvas to stitch is not the beautifully painted
model I did earlier but only a blank canvas that I outlined verey
lightly with a micron pen.......so pretty much, I'm stitching and
designing as I go......
I've already frogged a few inches of stitching in the short time I was
stitching. One can't be faint hearted to "frog" if one wants to capture
the just right expression of the faces, especially the eyes! These
details makes or breaks my whole design as my work depends heavily on
expressive lines.
The fun part was filling a large basket full of pretty colors and
textures of whatever threads I might need to create my "masterpiece"
model!
This needlepoint of Madame La Zora & Co is my "work" stitching......my
FUN stitching is to be an embroidery, a really fun piece titled More
Bitch than Stitch.....there's a computer screen with little puffs of
smoke and tiny flames shooting out......have already done a fun sketch
of the project so far.
I'd like to intergrate humorous text using decorative fonts into the
design along with all sorts of fun embellishments and so on.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
Dianne Lewandowski
a plain canvas and do it. And even if we *can* put *something* on that
plain canvas, it ends up being trite. That may not be the right word.
More akin to: been there, done that, nothing original.
How I wish there was some way I could get into a fiber class that
demanded of us in such a way that - sweat pouring down brow - it could
eek out my inner self.
Watching this conversation: Yesterday I looked at a piece I'm doing,
and I noticed the petals in the flower. I definitely have my "own way"
of drawing, but I don't know how to break out and make it really say
something. Everytime I look at it, I think: Oh, but artists do it so
much better. I *know* that's not exactly true in the deepest sense, but
that's a tape recorder that's hard to overcome.
Dianne
anne
> over the top character........it's a major accomplishment being able to
> capture the just right expressions of these "funny" faces on gridded
> canvas.
You need to get a webcam to share those dances with us ;-)
> Today, I decided to stitch a model of Madame La Zora & Co, the over the
> top fortune teller with her cat companions......she's the gleeful lady
> on the front page of web site......
Madame is gorgeous but Chocolatta really says 'do me'. So much so, I may try my
hand at needlepoint ;-)
> This needlepoint of Madame La Zora & Co is my "work" stitching......my
> FUN stitching is to be an embroidery, a really fun piece titled More
> Bitch than Stitch.....there's a computer screen with little puffs of
> smoke and tiny flames shooting out......have already done a fun sketch
> of the project so far.
I'd love to see that one. Email coming at you
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
months on this group ,.... I believe every person has a story to tell
and his / her own way to do it ..... maybe one should let go of some
of 'You Must do it THIS way and not That way attidtude ???"
Maybe really listening to those who come with another culture = thus
other point of view , might open up your ability to BE YOU Dianne ,,,,
This onece in ages person ,,,, take all those wonderful techniques you
know so well .... take a piece of cloth ..... and Embroider DIANNE not
the portret but the concept .... Just Embroider you name ,,,,birth
date , other important dates in you life ,, you kid`s names etc,,, see
where this leads you ,, choose a specail color for each person and
each date ,,,, See where this leads you .... mirjam
:
Lucille
afraid to do their own thing. I'm one of those people. Although I know
it's silly, I agonize over having to change something on a needlework piece.
My first thought is if the designer wanted me to do my own thing she/he
would have said so. I do change small things some of the time, but it takes
a lot of angst to do it.
Lucille
"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen" <mir...@actcom.co.il> wrote in message
news:406074ce...@ar.news.verio.net...
anne
> afraid to do their own thing. I'm one of those people. Although I know
> it's silly, I agonize over having to change something on a needlework piece.
> My first thought is if the designer wanted me to do my own thing she/he
> would have said so. I do change small things some of the time, but it takes
> a lot of angst to do it.
You may worry about changing things but I worry that my stitching is 'sloppy'.
On the other hand, those 'imperfections' add character.
Fly -- be free ;-)
lula
Mirjam gave out the best advice any design teacher will say.......DO
IT.....you have to start someplace, so just start........and yes, you
have to get rid of whatever inner negative voice you might
hear.......you have to block that out and go do it.......
True, I may able to draw well but the bottom line is, I still have to
sit down and try out new methods......afterall, I'm pretty much a self
taught stitcher......I started with kits and then realized how many
changes I kept making to the designs, so decided to create my own
needlework designs!
There was quite a bit of trial and error.......you can't be afraid to
make mistakes, it's the only way to learn in this field.
You also can't be afraid to waste materials or toss aside blah ideas
half done.....there is no such thing as having to finish everything you
start....you have to keep trying and trying till you are
satisfied.....and you will know that feeling at some point.......
It wasn't easy at all and in art school we were constantly pushed to SEE
and OBSERVE not copy what's there already......from there, we had to use
what we saw and interpret it in our own way.........creatively!!!
As an example: In an art class of 30, we were given an assignment to
illustrate the subject of metamorphisis.......the professor critiqued 29
results of this assignment as totally boring.........despite being
beautifully painted and drawn, he said none of these students used their
minds to think creatively.
I had produced the only art work he liked because I didn't do a literal
painted study of rotting tree stumps and vegatation.......my painting
was based on Greek Mythology of the Three Fates.....youth, middle age
and old age and each fairy like creature was in it's forested area with
blooming plants for youth, green healthy growth for middle and fading
autumn....all areas were linked with the water of life brook......
Basically, one has to push their minds to think of producing ideas
outside of what is expected, think crazy perhaps but the point is to
think beyond what you expect........I do this everyday of my
life.....I'm always pushing and pushing my mind to be as creative as I
can possibly be........
The other important thing to be creative is to see what's around you,
everything......street art, clothing, designs and products you might not
even like, etc. A creative person can't have a closes mind......you
never know where inspiration can come from......inspiration and
creativity don't come in packages, certain times of the day, but from
minds that learn and process all it sees, hear, feels.....all the senses
are involved......the mind absorbs and eventually if one becomes attuned
to these feelings, all the stimuli the mind has absorbed will begin to
show up little by little in the way you think.......the more you look
and practice, the more it'll come out in your creations.....and even
when this begins to work, you can't sit back on your laurels because
designs, ideas become old as soon as they're produced.......it's a
constant and continuous growth to be a good designer....
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
lula
You got the right idea.....worrying about perfection will get you no
place when it comes to being creative.
I'm not advocating sloppiness and carelessness in the name of creativity
but I think we all share that feeling about being perfect.
I sometimes feel, in the pursuit of perfect stitching techniques
sacrifices good design.
Some are so involved in stitching perfect stitches, that they forget to
balance design elements and color sense.
Every creative piece has the stamp of the artists hand and if the
stitches are a little uneven so what? That proves it's hand made......I
think we all know the difference between hand made and home made.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
lula
is in being able to create the next "great" illustration. I really love
creating "new" images.
The joy comes because of all the frustrations........for every good idea
I've accomplished, there are some not so good ones but I'm no longer
afraid to toss out bad paintings or stitchery.....a waste of time to try
resurrecting ideas that don't work.
I had Chocolotta playing in my mind since the early 90's!!! It took that
long before I was able to paint a version of her......but I still have a
version to paint that's eluding me at the moment.......might work out
better if I paint this Chocolotta on paper with watercolor rather than
on canvas.....gridding limits and hampers a certain amount of
creativity!
I want the second Chocolotta to have a "looser" look, more painterly
feelings......want to create a chocolate box look......ribbons, pinks
and creams, fat little cherubs holding swags of roses in the corners of
the curlicue gold frame border I want to paint and enclose another
reclining Chocolotta.......I'd also like to add a fluffy poodle.....
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
Another Idea for you To think about would be maybe find the greek
letters that are Dianne after all this is a greek name !!! Lula has
told you so graciuosly , how her parents taugght her to `write` with a
paintbrush , by this they notonly gave her a valuable contact with her
ancestoral tradition , but they showed her that Writing can be done in
different ways , that the human brain is wonderful creative, ans many
more things ,,,, may be if you see you name in another font , it will
bring you other viewing of yourself ,,, read about Dianne the godess ,
listen to songs about Dianne ... Examine ev ery letter of yiur name??
Are you part with your letters ??? i found for me that i can combine
the Latin M and the Hebrew Mem into one form ,, that is me ... I have
embroidered woven and partly crocheted my face ...My inner `voices`
lead my hands to work , my loving materials , techniques colors all
are part of what and how i do it .
Best of Luck Dianne ,,, look to the moon with the Huntress,,,
Godess....
mirjam
... On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 17:33:03 GMT, mir...@actcom.co.il (Mirjam
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
sloppy ????and who exactly says that ??? iYears ago i embroidered a
work showing the "lights of Haifa " , as i saw it when we came back
from the north , [ Haifa is a mountain city] , over time i saw that
night lights vary from white to Orange ,,, i used sewing threads ,
embroidery threads , hand and some machine stiches ..on a heavy black
Silk ,,,I offered it to participate in an exhibition about "light"....
the curating lady said ,, " one can see you made it when you didn`t
know how to embroider !!!! i smiled said nothing ,, Lately the work
was chosen abs shown in Indiana South Bend University ,, Same curator
was `surprrised ` to hear it was chosen ,,,, as "we both know it isn`t
a good work!!!" Same as first time i smiled ,, It is not my problem
that she has a Set mind about how work should be done !!! others think
otherway.... But i have to tell you that you have to set some of your
own rules about you work ,, and follow them ...
mirjam
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
But needlework isn`t the road , if you `break` the `law` nobody will
get harmed ,, only some old fashioned Accepted Rules ,,, one lady
quite known for her textile works , came into my solo in Ein Harod
Museum ,,, and said ,, " How DARE you mix embroidery weaving , crochet
etc,,, ? " I wondered waht the term DARE made there at all ,, I
honestly told her i felt that this was the way it should have been
done ...." she raised her Nose,,, and said " You are a Shame to every
textile worker !!!!!" 4 months later , at least 1000 visitors in
organized groups , and 100s in non organized groups , when my
exhibition , broke the doors of ignorring fiberart , and all
newspapers `suddenly` started to write about Other fiberart events as
well,,,, she admitted , that maybe My `scandalous` work did aome good
to all ..... Nothin g scandalous about my work , i am an artist that
happened to choose fiber as my medium ,,, I use the techniques for my
expression , as my Pallette , i don`t let the techniques control me.
Thus since there are No rules anymore .... just spill your thoughts
and feelings on the cloth you have ... it will come ...
mirjam
... On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 11:55:03 -0500, "Lucille"
Lucille
hard to do, even when you know it's not that important to be exact.
Every so often I do break out and do something that does mix things like a
tablecloth with embroidery and crocheted doilies and patchwork spots, so I
do try.
Lucille
"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen" <mir...@actcom.co.il> wrote in message
news:40611af...@ar.news.verio.net...
anne
> sloppy ????and who exactly says that ??? iYears ago i embroidered a
> work showing the "lights of Haifa " , as i saw it when we came back
> from the north , [ Haifa is a mountain city] , over time i saw that
> night lights vary from white to Orange ,,, i used sewing threads ,
> embroidery threads , hand and some machine stiches ..on a heavy black
> Silk ,,,I offered it to participate in an exhibition about "light"....
> the curating lady said ,, " one can see you made it when you didn`t
> know how to embroider !!!! i smiled said nothing ,, Lately the work
> was chosen abs shown in Indiana South Bend University ,, Same curator
> was `surprrised ` to hear it was chosen ,,,, as "we both know it isn`t
> a good work!!!" Same as first time i smiled ,, It is not my problem
> that she has a Set mind about how work should be done !!! others think
> otherway.... But i have to tell you that you have to set some of your
> own rules about you work ,, and follow them ...
My work would be deemed 'sloppy' by the stitching police <g>. I'm a bit of a
perfectionist myself but agonize over the overall look more than minute
details.
I've got a snippet of fake fur wool that I got from a floor demonstrator at AC
Moore. I'm thinking that the fake fur could be used to add additional interest
to my whimisical stitching but am not sure how the 'thread' will handle going
in and out of the fabric, or if what I call 'tails', the little fuzzy
appendages, will display. If it works, it'll beat the heck out of painstakingly
turkey stitching areas.
p.s. I've got many fond memories of my two trips to Israel
Dawne Peterson
embroidery kits by Jennifer Pudney, who is, I think, a New Zealand
designer??
She has done needlepoint kits, and I bought one of her kits for children,
which are marketted as Crafty Dog, to keep company with my hostess, who was
hemstitching some napkins. (my choice was a design called Drama Queen)
I love her stuff because it is modern, bright, and has woman-centered
themes--women reading, dancing, having tea etc. They have humour without
being "precious" or cutsey. Her embroidery kits are worked on felt. The
outlines are printed on. While I wondered if the designs were too small
for a beginning embroiderer, the other side of that is they would stitch up
quite quickly.
Dawne
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
They have been Out lawd!!!!!
mirjam
ps where did you visit i live in HAIFA ,,,
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
anything persfect there ??? or nature ?? if you look varefuly , even
your hands aren`t 100 % the same ,,,, so whi cares about persfect ,,
on the contrary when we create someting from our heart and fills a gap
in our soul THAT is perfecting a part of us .....
mirjam
Debra
Bruck-Cohen) wrote:
>Dianne , i think we were `dancing` around this subjevt every several
>months on this group ,.... I believe every person has a story to tell
>and his / her own way to do it ..... maybe one should let go of some
>of 'You Must do it THIS way and not That way attidtude ???"
>Maybe really listening to those who come with another culture = thus
>other point of view , might open up your ability to BE YOU Dianne ,,,,
>This onece in ages person ,,,, take all those wonderful techniques you
>know so well .... take a piece of cloth ..... and Embroider DIANNE not
>the portret but the concept .... Just Embroider you name ,,,,birth
>date , other important dates in you life ,, you kid`s names etc,,, see
>where this leads you ,, choose a specail color for each person and
>each date ,,,, See where this leads you .... mirjam
>:
Hmm, interesting idea you have there. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I
changed it a little to suit myself. It would make a lovely sampler of
my life.
Let's see.......No kids, cats instead, maybe add a real whisker to it
if I find one (a whisker, not the whole cat) laying on the bed.
A piece of braided ribbon for Rick who taught me how to do that.
A chocolate bar to represent my first job, filling vending machines.
A cross stitched cell phone and skein of DMC for my girlfriend.
A computer and movie symbols for another male friend.
Sticks and balls to represent how I learned to print.
Books because I love to read.
A treadle sewing machine, and crochet hooks for my grandma.
A quilt block for great grandma.
Hummingbird for a aunt.
Cards and a leg cast for the summer that I couldn't go swimming but
friends all came often for UNO games that lasted late into the night.
Songbirds because they lift my spirits when I am feeling down.
Tools for my grandpa.
I haven't even listed my mom, brother, and DH and I'm thinking I will
need to use a lot of charms, specialty buttons, hand made glass beads,
and printed fabric applique to speed up the finishing of this life
sampler.
Debra in VA
Dianne Lewandowski
> I've got a snippet of fake fur wool that I got from a floor demonstrator at AC
> Moore. I'm thinking that the fake fur could be used to add additional interest
> to my whimisical stitching but am not sure how the 'thread' will handle going
> in and out of the fabric, or if what I call 'tails', the little fuzzy
> appendages, will display. If it works, it'll beat the heck out of painstakingly
> turkey stitching areas.
Couching? Perhaps with matching sewing thread?
Monday morning, I was perusing a very old needlework book (1911) and
found some directions for "plush stitch". Of course, as usual, these
old books don't have much in the way of graphical how-to's. You learned
back then mostly by written word - which often didn't match with an
accompanying graphic.
Anyway, "plush stitch" is made by filling a motif with Fr. knots - but
not *too* closely. Then cut pieces of floss the eventual height you
want, and cross them (like an X) in between the knots and sew them down.
When finished, you brush them to fluff. I should really get the text
and type it out. It was a stitch (pardon the pun) to read.
No, there is nothing really new under the sun. But as I read that, I
was thinking how much easier turkey (or velvet) stitch would have been!
I want to try this just to see how it looks, but haven't had time.
Dianne
Marjorie Holme
will find yourself doing and seeing---it just grows. But ya gotta do it!
Marjorie
Marjorie Holme
cross-stitch design, as traditionally stitched. Most of the class was
absolutely horrified. We were to use a not-necessarily-pure linen or
cotton ground that was only more-or-less evenly woven. We were to use
perle cotton colors randomly. And most horrifying of all, we were to not
worry about how our Xs crossed (the top legs of the stitches didn't all
have to go the same way). It was interesting to watch the class as some
of us embraced the "freedom," some struggled to try this "new" way of
stitching but they at least tried, and some just could not cope with so
much rule breaking---it really and truly upset them. I loved it---it
was such fun to toss the rules and it also made me realized that the
rules are not rules but choices. Marjorie
Dianne Lewandowski
> Bruck-Cohen) wrote:
>>Dianne , i think we were `dancing` around this subjevt every several
>>months on this group ,.... I believe every person has a story to tell
>>and his / her own way to do it ..... maybe one should let go of some
>>of 'You Must do it THIS way and not That way attidtude ???"
I don't think you meant it the way that came out, but just to set the
record straight: I have NEVER been an advocate of: "only do it THIS
way." I AM an advocate of learning a process in order to understand it.
But after that . . . the field is wide open. I also don't advocate
that particular point of view (learn the process) on EVERYTHING.
>>Maybe really listening to those who come with another culture = thus
>>other point of view , might open up your ability to BE YOU Dianne ,,,,
As one who ALWAYS advocates learning from other cultures and points of
view, I was tickled when the first issue of my ezine pointed out how to
use hoops. A far different method than U.S. culture admits is worthy.
If you read many of my posts, you will definitely see that I admonish
frequently not to think that there is only *one* way. Not with needles,
not with frames, not with "in hand", not with stitches.
It isn't my stubborn refusal to "adapt". It is the tape recordings of a
harsh childhood that makes it difficult for me to be more creative.
When you get whipped for drawing, when your drawings are burned and you
must hide them in a school piano bench . . . those are hard lessons to
overcome. Especially as you age. You, of all people, should be aware
of that.
Just thought I'd share in the spirit of openness and charity of spirit.
Dianne
Linda Wright
especially. For those who want to look:
http://www.jennifer-pudney.co.nz/whats-new.html#craftydog
No affiliation, etc.
Linda in Columbia, MO
lula
follow......looking through Victorian era cookbooks and needlework
books.......feels like going through a maze, convoluted in some ways but
then I don't have the patience or time to sift through too many pages.
Ladies of that era probably had more time on their hands especially
among the financially well off or leisure classes with their servants to
do the housework.
I know most writers of the time were paid by the word, so that would
account for some of the excessive writing styles but not sure if they
paid by the word for household oriented books.
Overall, Victorian taste seems excessive in our eyes......there were
pockets of beautiful design here and there but the overall feel is old
fashioned, dark and cluttered, not to mention ugly in some cases.
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
anne
that might work, thanks ;-)
anne
roflmao!!!
> ps where did you visit i live in HAIFA ,,,
My first visit was in 1966 -- my friend and I based ourselves in Tel Aviv and
took cheap tours which sometimes included overnight lodging to many places or
public transit from one place to another, including Haifa. Even though I was
much younger, I only got about half-way up Masada. My last trip was in 2000;
this time I went on an all, or almost all, inclusive first class, two week
tour. I made it up to the top of Masada thanks to the cable car. The sense of
history that permeates the country was overwhelming. I bawled like a baby as I
looked over the edge at Masada, ditto at Yad Vashem, the Western Wall, and
other sites.
Janet M. Davies
felt ones would be suitable for a beginner.
Design a stitching good day,
Janet
http://www.jmddesigns.co.nz
http://www.masterstitch.co.uk
Get the JMD Newsletter:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jmdnewsletter/
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
your work methods and i told you some of my ways , some excercises and
suggesstions that helped many a student in all age levels ...
I never said you were the one saying al those rules it was a general
statement that in order to get free one has to let go a bit of all
those Rules , whether taught or self imposed or adopted ,,,,
>As one who ALWAYS advocates learning from other cultures
Yes maybe you advocate it , but i wrote learn to listen ,,,to other
....advoacting is not listening ...
>If you read many of my posts, you will definitely see that I admonish
>frequently not to think that there is only *one* way. Not with needles,
>not with frames, not with "in hand", not with stitches.
yes i read Those posts of you , but i also read that you want to get
more free ,,,,, >
>It isn't my stubborn refusal to "adapt". It is the tape recordings of a
>harsh childhood that makes it difficult for me to be more creative.
many articles will tell you that just harsh childhoods , make artists
!!!
>When you get whipped for drawing, when your drawings are burned and you
>must hide them in a school piano bench . . . those are hard lessons to
>overcome. Especially as you age. You, of all people, should be aware
>of that.
And what exactly should i know ,,,, please elaborate what you meant by
the above ? I think i have survived and overcome many hardships , and
i work them into my art not , they do not block my creativeness ,
mirjam >
Rachel Janzen
> Dianne , i think we were `dancing` around this subjevt every several
> months on this group ,.... I believe every person has a story to tell
> :
>
One of the first thing you learn when you learn scrapbooking (Creative
Memories in particular) is that you are leaving a record of who you were
for future generations. So your words are just as important as the
pictures, cute stickers, perfect paper and outstanding design, if not
important. Also, your handwriting is a part of you and a part that
future generations want to see, no matter how bad you think it is. In
fact I know of scrapbookers that take special care to ensure that
whatever scraps of their ancesters handwriting is part of their
scrapbooks to past onto future generations. Maybe it's the same thing
with designing embroidery, if it's your way of doing something, then
it's your signature and your touch that will mean something to future
generations. When I was at SAM earlier this month, they had some early
American samplers on the wall. My CSB and I got as close to them as
possible without setting off the alarms. They weren't perfect - spacing
was off - kilter, etc, but they were still works of art.
Rachel
lula
It's so cool to see the intergration of so many diffrerent techniques
nowadays into all types of crafts and art.
Dawne Peterson
"Linda Wright" wrote
> I had to look her up - and I do like her stuff! The frocks
> especially. For those who want to look:
>
> http://www.jennifer-pudney.co.nz/whats-new.html#craftydog
She has a needlepoint design of a women being overcome by a Devonshire tea
that I want to do one day. The little Drama Queen I did (in one evening)
is one of the first things you see on this page--I added French knots to
mine for texture on the ermine and a few other places. I am taking her
into my LNS next time I'm in, as the owner liked the description, and I
would love to have some more of these terrifc designs near at hand.
DAwne
Linda Wright
Where are you - maybe you can convince your LNS and I can come shop there LOL!
Linda in Columbia, MO
Rachel Janzen
I am taking her
> into my LNS next time I'm in, as the owner liked the description, and I
> would love to have some more of these terrifc designs near at hand.
> DAwne
>
>
Where is your LNS? I haven't been to Regina in over 5-6 years, but that
might make a trip worthwhile!
Rachel
Rachel Janzen
> Have you done or seen the paper embroidery techniques in scrapbooking?
> It's so cool to see the intergration of so many diffrerent techniques
> nowadays into all types of crafts and art.
> ---
> Lula
> http://www.woolydream.com
> Needlework Adventures
I haven't, but I believe my cousin has. I like my pages pretty clean,
paper, stickers, maybe some stamps, pictures and journalling. My cousin
enjoys experimenting with some of the other techniques more than I.
Rachel
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
esp the opening line .....[ and please don`t be offended by my being
surprised about it]
>Memories in particular)
and completely made me wonder ,, i thought we all knew how to remember
, we all did it in our tradional and private way , as a kid i have had
Glue -in albums into which i glued postcards , articles , snippets i
cut out of mags , paper doilies from places i visited where i asked
family or friends and even the waiter to sign it!!!! after glueing it
in i would add some drawings with water color ,, a photo of me and my
Praternal Oma and Papa in switerland i Hid in a double folded page
which i cut into the form of a cabin on the Cable Ban. A desert School
trip , got images of desert views as background ,,,, so Was I book
scrapping ,,,, was i making creative memories ??? i am not putting you
down , nore am i cinycal ,,,,isn`t a bit commercializing , of even
Unifying Memories ,, in a TREND of that is how it is done ??? and what
if one has another idea ,,,, if one does not want or have all this
stuff , is he /she than not Creative ??? and what is this word
creative ??? doing here anyway ,,,, memories are memories, and anybody
does or doesn`t do it , in their own way , why add this trendy word ??
and if it would be called Creative ? won`t people do it ?? if the can
or need to do it ???
Having written this thoughts , i truelly respect appreciate and
understand anyone who wants ... as you put it ... leaving a record of
who you were for the next generations , and yes your words your photos
are all important , all parts of the YOU .......
And here i think i can write something, about memory one makes for
others, who had nothing or nobody to remember.
Over the past years, i have mentioned that i do memorial works to my
family members who have been Murdered. This made many people here ,
make very rude and uncalled remarks. I don`t know why but i am not so
bothered with making my own scrapbook or other memorial, i live my
life here have friends people who know me , people who spoke with me ,
i have planted trees, walked on the ground. i feel i need to memorize
those who haven`t been able to live their life to the fullest. i have
to dig and look and seek their memory , because they are memorised now
only in the LISTS of the dead in continent where they were murdered ,
i think i want their names here. I wish i knew more about them. i look
at mysterious photos , and see faces the look a bit like mine, who are
they , how are we connected, anfd thus i went out almost unknowing on
the long trek, find a trhread here , a torn memory there, and sew them
embroider them weave together. like generations of Jewish Mothers and
daughters embroidered memorial cloth, that could be rolled and taken
with, when the next pogrom , hits their house.
THus if so many in USA put importance in CREATIVE memorizing
themselves , why scold and be rude to those of us who go beyond that
work ??? Esp as my personal / family memorial work touches not only my
family , in my work i memorixe whole families / comminities who
disappeared completly not having anything left behind , not a SCRAP ,
not a grave Nothing ...
>it's your signature and your touch that will mean something to future
>generations.
people of whom i have no photo , but i embroidered their dates [ if i
had had them ] .... and by this a left a thread of them alive ,,,, it
was a good feeling ,
mirjam
lula
Thanks for your input.
Just thought I'd mention that scrapbooking is now the #1 craft in the US
according to articles in the trade journals.
I'm amazed at the seemingly endless supplies and techniques companies
have created for scrapbookers to choose from.
I wish this had been around years ago as I've kept journals since I was
a teen-ager but mine are all plain writing, never thought about creating
nice layouts and adding interesting bits and pieces from those years.
Right now, I'm not doing scrapbooking as such but working on an "art"
album beginning with Halloween themes where I've done "artistic" layouts
of Halloween motifs from fabrics, paper and other flat items that fit on
a page. Will probably do more pages of whatever other themes catch my
interest.
This is what lead to creating a similar project in needlework using the
inspiration of crazy quilt techniques of embroidery and embellishments,
creating a needlework based collage!
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
<rachel...@nospam.atall.shaw.ca> Rachel Janzen wrote:
>
> I haven't, but I believe my cousin has. I like my pages pretty clean,
> paper, stickers, maybe some stamps, pictures and journalling. My cousin
> enjoys experimenting with some of the other techniques more than I.
>
> Rachel
> lula asked:
Ericka Kammerer
> Rachel , i was facinated to read this note of yours,
> esp the opening line .....[ and please don`t be offended by my being
> surprised about it]
>
>>One of the first thing you learn when you learn scrapbooking (Creative
>>Memories in particular)
>
> The mere idea that one has or can `learn scrapbooking `, made me dizy
> and completely made me wonder ,, i thought we all knew how to remember
> , we all did it in our tradional and private way ,
Is it really *that* surprising that some people just
want a little help tackling what many perceive as an
overwhelming project? Are anyone's scrapbooks less valuable
because they choose to follow certain techniques rather than
coming up with all their own? While you may feel you always
knew how to do it in your own way, apparently there are many
others who don't. If they choose to use certain products or
take lessons in certain techniques, I don't see how that's
inappropriate. And maybe someday they'll feel more comfortable
and spread their wings a bit more, and maybe they'll be
perfectly happy with what they're already doing.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Rachel Janzen
>
I guess a little explanation to those not in North America is needed. I
guess I shoiuld of said Creative Memories (TM) - because it is a popular
scrapbooking supply company that like Tupperware has home-based party
marketing. By teaching, their specialty is teaching people how to use
photo-safe materials, so that even through you are being creative, the
methods ensure that future generations have the memories you've preserved.
Rachel
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
When i was in Boston USA , we would go to Yard sales ,, we could not
believe our eyes when we saw people sell ,,,, framed photos of Old
people ,, and would write by it GF or GM = 10 $ ,, the pair 16$ ,,,,
later we found out some people just hang such photos in their houses
top make them more `respectable`
No , i stil think learning how to put one`s memories together ??? is
weird ... commercial meomories ????
What about Spontenous feelings , authencity ,,, ????? where have they
gone . I did notsay i knew how to do it, i jaust said we did it
naturally out of our curiousity , questioning life , looking around us
etc,,,,
mirjam
On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 20:02:02 -0500, Ericka Kammerer <e...@comcast.net>
wrote:
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
mirjam
Cheryl Isaak
Kammerer" <e...@comcast.net> wrote:
Ericka,
What Mirjam thinks of as "scrapbooking" is not the craft practiced by so
many today. I have several of my DMIL's scrapbooks. They are quite plain by
today's standards.
Cheryl
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
my words or offended by it ,,,,,,Imagine that i have gone on line as
well as looked into some mags and catalogs that describe Contemporary
Scarpbooking ,,,, making v collages is making collages whether you did
it years ago with glue and paint or Now adays using your computer as
home printer ,,,, the technical advancements , do not change the
subject it is still the same idea , a collage of documents letters
photos and other `things` that belong[ed] to one person or a group ofd
persons .
mirjam
,,,,, On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 10:29:36 -0500, Cheryl Isaak
Cheryl Isaak
You take offense too easily.
I don't know if you would take the time to look to see what "scrapbooking"
is today. I do know that a girlfriend in the UK had no clue what a popular
hobby it is here; she found out after her daughter returned from a year
abroad program thoroughly hooked on it. I see this craze as national thing,
not a global thing. I could be wrong.
I don't happen to "get it" when it comes to scrapbooking (memories being a
wholly private thing), stamping or a number of the other popular hobbies.
Collage is a way to cover a box in my hands - others do it better and I am
content see their art, not to emulate them.
Cheryl
On 3/27/04 12:24 PM, in article 4065b79...@ar.news.verio.net, "Mirjam
Karen C - California
<chery...@adelphia.net> writes:
>Collage is a way to cover a box
Collage, as I understand it, is taking parts of things to completely cover an
*entire* surface. It's OK in collage to cover up half a photo with another
photo.
As it's been demonstrated to me, scrapbooking covers only *part* of the page
with photos, and fills some of the rest of the page with written memories. A
photo may be enhanced with a border or frame, but important parts aren't hidden
behind other photos.
I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend. Doesn't stop
me from buying their fabulous pre-printed papers and borders, to use for
writing letters, but my photos are in a box with the important information
written on the back of them. So often, in the background of old family photos,
was something of far more interest than the people in front -- an old car, a
house, etc. -- I could never bring myself to cut out just the face and discard
the historical details some future generation would find intriguing.
Maybe I'd be more into scrapbooking if there were a next generation to pass
them on to, but I'm the end of the line on this side of the ocean.
--
Finished 3/17/04 -- Elmo
WIP: Fireman's Prayer, Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler, Holiday
Snowglobe
Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html
Cheryl Isaak
20040327125146...@mb-m17.aol.com, "Karen C - California"
<kmc...@aol.com.LuvXS> wrote:
> In article <BC8B1BEE.33057%chery...@adelphia.net>, Cheryl Isaak
> <chery...@adelphia.net> writes:
>
>> Collage is a way to cover a box
>
> Collage, as I understand it, is taking parts of things to completely cover an
> *entire* surface. It's OK in collage to cover up half a photo with another
> photo.
>
> As it's been demonstrated to me, scrapbooking covers only *part* of the page
> with photos, and fills some of the rest of the page with written memories. A
> photo may be enhanced with a border or frame, but important parts aren't
> hidden
> behind other photos.
>
> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>
Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
And stamping for that matter.
Chheryl
K
news:BC8B1BEE.33057%chery...@adelphia.net:
> I don't happen to "get it" when it comes to scrapbooking (memories
> being a wholly private thing), stamping or a number of the other
> popular hobbies.
As an avid scrapbooker, I do it because I like to share memories. I did a
scrapbook of my parents' 50th anniversary party that included the cards
from those who attended as well as their photos, with notes written by each
one to my parents. Many of these people have since died, and a scrapbook
is one way to gather all of these memories from many people to pass on to
my parents' granchildren. I also scrapbooked a lot of the memoribilia my
mother had of my father, who passed away two years ago (and this is an on-
going project...). Doing that I learned things about my Dad that I didn't
know, including the fact that he was one of the first people to take the
SATs. Again, gathering all this in one place, with the photos and the
written notes describing the importance of everything there,is a way to
pass these memories on. I don't cut the photos down to just someone's
face; seeing the car or the house or the landscape in the background puts
it all in context.
I also scrapbook my vacations, including photos, pamphlets, maps, coasters,
matchbooks, and anything else I can gather (the New Orleans book has beads
in it and the Key West and Hawaii books have shells and sand). When
friends come over for dinner or parties, they know where my scapbooks are
and look to see what's new. At least two couples have in part planned
their vacations around my scrapbooks! They found it inspiring to see
photos of Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas, for example, next to the
brochure of the ferry and the map of the fort. Seeing photos of black sand
beaches on pages laid out to look like a black sand beach, and photos of
Volcanos National Park with my journaled impressions of the experience
influenced another couple in their decision to go to Hawaii.
I scrapbook photos of my balcony garden every year, including the tags from
plants or the labels from seeds. That allows me to go back year after year
and either duplicate what I did before or try something new. I've
scrapbooked cross stitch projects, with the pattern in a sleeve on one page
and the photos of the front, back, and details on the opposite one. Since
I give away most of what I stitch, it's the only way I can keep records of
what I've done.
Not trying to make anyone a scrapbook convert, just trying to explain that
it's more than just cutting out faces and slapping them on some pretty
paper. It's yet another creative outlet for me.
K
Karen C - California
<chery...@adelphia.net> writes:
>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
According to my source (a scrapping supplies dealer), it's the new incarnation
of the coffee klatsch. Today's women can't sit and do nothing, so they sit and
scrap, so they feel productive while they yak. She holds regular "crops" both
at her house and at her church.
Of course, this is the Martha-ization of our old-fashioned photo albums. Just
gluing photos to black paper isn't good enough any more when you can do it more
artistically (and more expensively). Problem is -- and my source admits it --
since you now have to cut and arrange and carefully re-write just the right
words till you get them error-free, it's no longer just taking a few minutes
when a film comes back from Fotomat to glue them in an album, but hours of
searching for just the right background paper and right stickers, so people are
getting even *further* behind in getting their photos in the album. (A venture
I gave up 20 years ago, when I realized how much room the albums took up versus
just keeping the photos in shoeboxes. In a 400-square-foot apartment, an extra
cubic foot here and there adds up real fast.)
Buuuuuuttttt, it's an easy foot in the door to crafting. Once they've tried
scrapping, they may be more adventurous to trying other forms of
self-expression. And that (bwahahaha) is when I pounce on them, with the
thought of creating *useful* heirlooms, like blankies and dresses and sweaters.
Seanette Blaylock
things to say about Re: Scrapbooking WAS Re: Meet Matilda Mallstomper:
>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>And stamping for that matter.
Not my thing either [although rubber stampers use stuff that also
works nicely on polymer clay :-)].
--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL
lula
Most of us have a drawer or box filled with old photos and other odds
and ends of our lives waiting for something to be done, so it's a great
idea to layout these pieces creatively in an album.
Scrapbooking has its roots back to the 18th century. Women have been
keeping journal scrapbooks and albums through the ages, illustrated
with watercolor and bits of whatever could be saved of their daily
lives.
I'm attracted to "scrapbooking" but not in the memory sense of family
trees......my interests are similar to your vacation and garden
scrapbooks.
This is a wonderful craft and trend that looks to be staying popular for
a long while yet as more and more people are drawn to it.
Artist's scrapbook albums and journals are fascinating to look through.
A few of these beautiful watercolor journal / sketchbooks have been
published in the last few years.
I've been a journal keeper for most of my life......keeping journals on
the many aspects of my life, such as the various art & design
disciplines I work on.........as I posted earlier, wish I had kept a
"scrapbook" of my life through the years but never thought to
"illustrate" them.
I've only recently started to draw simple little sketches in my design
journals.......nothing "fancy" at least not yet.......
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
Cheryl Isaak
"Seanette Blaylock" <seanette.spam...@impulse.net> wrote:
> Cheryl Isaak <chery...@adelphia.net> had some very interesting
> things to say about Re: Scrapbooking WAS Re: Meet Matilda Mallstomper:
>
>>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>> Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>> And stamping for that matter.
>
> Not my thing either [although rubber stampers use stuff that also
> works nicely on polymer clay :-)].
The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
the attraction.
Lots of "paper" crafts leave me cold - just me I guess.
Cheryl
Rachel Janzen
> In article <BC8B2C80.33082%chery...@adelphia.net>, Cheryl Isaak
> <chery...@adelphia.net> writes:
>
>
>>>I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>
>
>>Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>
> Of course, this is the Martha-ization of our old-fashioned photo albums. Just
> gluing photos to black paper isn't good enough any more when you can do it more
> artistically (and more expensively). Problem is -- and my source admits it --
> since you now have to cut and arrange and carefully re-write just the right
> words till you get them error-free, it's no longer just taking a few minutes
> when a film comes back from Fotomat to glue them in an album, but hours of
> searching for just the right background paper and right stickers, so people are
> getting even *further* behind in getting their photos in the album. (A venture
> I gave up 20 years ago, when I realized how much room the albums took up versus
> just keeping the photos in shoeboxes. In a 400-square-foot apartment, an extra
> cubic foot here and there adds up real fast.)
Actually, I wouldn't blame Martha for this one. I actually find this
attitude a little condescending. Those of us who are addicted to a hobby
or craft should not have this attitude toward another craft. My mother
is an avid scrapbooker, as is my cousin. I do it, but not as avidly, of
course I don't have 2 children either. My mother admits that she is an
incredibly slow scrapbooker, but for her it's process. It is also the
one craft she loves. She finished an emboidery project the day she went
into labour with me and hasn't done any since. Before this past summer
it had been 18 years since she knitted anything. So for her, she comes
from a family that has loved photography for many many years, and my dad
had his own darkroom for a while. This was a natural extension of these
hobbies. And yes we go to crops, but then again there are stitch-a-longs
and stitching conventions, so I'm not seeing the difference. So, all of
us at some point have had to defend our love of needle, thread and
cloth, I don't think we should be condescending of those who love paper,
stickers and pictures. They are creating works of art and heirlooms,
just as we aspire too.
Rachel
K
news:20040327150235...@mb-m14.aol.com:
> Problem
> is -- and my source admits it -- since you now have to cut and arrange
> and carefully re-write just the right words till you get them
> error-free, it's no longer just taking a few minutes when a film comes
> back from Fotomat to glue them in an album, but hours of searching for
> just the right background paper and right stickers, so people are
> getting even *further* behind in getting their photos in the album.
Since you don't scrapbook, I find it odd that you feel you can comment on
the amount of time it takes to do so. That would be like someone who
doesn't knit dismissing that craft by saying why spend time knitting a
sweater when you can buy one in the store.
It doesn't take me hours to do a page and find the right words to journal.
Of course, my idea of an interesting scrapbook is more along the lines of
Divine Screts of the Ya-ya Sisterhood than Martha Stewart, but I understand
why other scrapbookers prefer the more formal method. Indeed, becuase I
enjoy my method of scrapbooking, I get the photos organized, notes written,
and memoribilia sorted more quickly because it's a much more enjoyable and
creative process than just slapping some glue on the back of snapshot and
sticking it in a photo album. I went to Seattle in June and New Orleans in
July, and had both scrapbooks done in by the end of the summer. I can say
as someone who has kept photo albums for years, my friends enjoy paging
through my scrapbooks more than they ever enjoyed paging through simple
photo albums.
And quite frankly, the pleasure I feel in watching a friend page through an
album about my father and through the photos, letters, awards, and notes
learn about a man he or she will never be able to meet makes it all worth
it.
I guess I just don't get why some people who admittedly spend hours on
needlework find it necessary to disparage the hours others spend on
scrapbooks.
K
K
news:9Km9c.25876$li5.9130@pd7tw3no:
> So, all of us at some point have had to defend
> our love of needle, thread and cloth, I don't think we should be
> condescending of those who love paper, stickers and pictures. They are
> creating works of art and heirlooms, just as we aspire too.
Exactly. Thank you.
K
K
news:4065F3...@earthlink.net:
> K, you gave a wonderful explanation of scrapbooking!
Thank you! I've only been scrapbooking for a little over a year, but now I
wish I had had it in mind all my life. There are so many experiences I
would have liked to have documented in a Divine Secrets type of scrapbook.
I'll just have to do it from now on.
K
Seanette Blaylock
things to say about Re: Scrapbooking WAS Re: Meet Matilda Mallstomper:
>>>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>>> Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>>> And stamping for that matter.
>> Not my thing either [although rubber stampers use stuff that also
>> works nicely on polymer clay :-)].
>The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
>the attraction.
Try it sometime. :-)
>Lots of "paper" crafts leave me cold - just me I guess.
I can understand why some people are interested in scrapbooking and
such, it just doesn't tweak my interests.
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
little collage in the middle of a painting or a big empty page ,,,
Collage is amking a 2 dimentional or very low relief pictorial
composition , by gluing paper , photos , fabrics etc... to a canvas or
a panel ....When you add 3 d objevts than it is called Assemblage.
mirjam
On 27 Mar 2004 17:51:46 GMT, kmc...@aol.com.LuvXS (Karen C -
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
my solo was aproached by a museum curator that wanted to buy mine ,,,,
haven`t decided yet whether i wouldkeep or burn them later ,,,, mirjam
On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 16:35:52 -0500, lula <wooly...@earthlink.net>
wrote:
Dr. Brat
> Of course, this is the Martha-ization of our old-fashioned photo albums. Just
> gluing photos to black paper isn't good enough any more when you can do it more
> artistically (and more expensively). Problem is -- and my source admits it --
> since you now have to cut and arrange and carefully re-write just the right
> words till you get them error-free, it's no longer just taking a few minutes
> when a film comes back from Fotomat to glue them in an album, but hours of
> searching for just the right background paper and right stickers, so people are
> getting even *further* behind in getting their photos in the album. (A venture
> I gave up 20 years ago, when I realized how much room the albums took up versus
> just keeping the photos in shoeboxes. In a 400-square-foot apartment, an extra
> cubic foot here and there adds up real fast.)
Yahbutttt, that's not my experience. I was reluctantly dragged to a
scrapbooking class and went really for the kaffeeklatch aspect, but what
I have found is that I like the creative aspect of it. I DO NOT,
however, spend hours looking for just the right anything. I can do a
two or three page layout from start to finish in a two hour crop. As a
result, the photos that were sitting in envelopes around my house
(because I wasn't even organized enough to get them written on and into
a box) are slowly but surely being assembled into an album.
Since I too am the end of my branch (and my siblings' kids are my
siblings' responsibility), I have no compunction about cutting photos
however suits me. And I write what I want on the page as I finish. I
don't strive to get it "just right." I certainly don't spend hours on
it. As a result, I am not further behind, I am catching up. And I get
a night out that I might not have otherwise made time for with people
that I might not have otherwise met but whose company I enjoy.
Elizabeth
--
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~living well is the best revenge~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate
and expand her sense of actual possibilities. --Adrienne Rich
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ericka Kammerer
> Well Ericka , every one gets surprised by something else !!!
But of course.
> No , i stil think learning how to put one`s memories together ??? is
> weird ... commercial meomories ????
Who said anything about commercial memories? The fact
that there is a business that sells scrapbooking products and
offers "training" (of sorts--as I understand it their "classes"
are quite informal) through individual salespeople hardly means
that the people who *use* those products or take those classes
have "commercial memories."
> What about Spontenous feelings , authencity ,,, ????? where have they
> gone .
Buying products and learning techniques means that one
cannot have spontaneous feelings or authenticity? I don't
understand that.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Ericka Kammerer
> What Mirjam thinks of as "scrapbooking" is not the craft practiced by so
> many today. I have several of my DMIL's scrapbooks. They are quite plain by
> today's standards.
Actually, some of those old scrapbooks are truly amazing
works of art, including beautiful drawings and watercolors and
such, though you're absolutely correct that others are very plain.
Nevertheless, then and now some people come by that form of
expression easily and others don't--and just because it doesn't
come easily to them doesn't mean they don't want to document
the lives of their families. Hence the brisk business in
scrapbooking products, stores, magazines, classes, and so forth
these days ;-)
Best wishes,
Ericka
Ericka Kammerer
> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend. Doesn't stop
> me from buying their fabulous pre-printed papers and borders, to use for
> writing letters, but my photos are in a box with the important information
> written on the back of them. So often, in the background of old family photos,
> was something of far more interest than the people in front -- an old car, a
> house, etc. -- I could never bring myself to cut out just the face and discard
> the historical details some future generation would find intriguing.
Really? Now, *that* I get. Haven't really been bitten
by the bug, but I understand it ;-) Part of it, of course, is
marketing driven. But part, I think, is that in our fast-paced
lives where far too little is stable, people long to record their
history and tell their stories in ways that will endure and that
allow them to reflect. I don't think that desire is new, which
is why scrapbooks and journals and such have long existed, but
I think many people find it especially salient now. A lot of people
have discovered that they have essentially lost their family
history. I think the huge upswing in genealogy is related as
well.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Karen C - California
<epc...@mindspring.com> writes:
> I DO NOT, however, spend hours looking for just the right anything.
Which makes you a scrapbooker, not an "addict". I've been standing in front of
the sticker rack at Michael's and heard them fuss because they finally found
the perfect Elmo/Barbie/Mickey except that he/she is facing the wrong
direction. I've never been rude enough to suggest that they reverse the layout
of the page so that the sticker *is* facing the birthday child, but the thought
has certainly crossed my mind.
(At least with rubber stamps, you can buy a Reverser -- a flat piece of rubber
onto which you stamp the original image, so you can put a mirror image onto the
paper.)
Hearing my friend's comments about how anal some of her customers can get about
having to have the perfect background, not the good enough background, and how
many times they'll re-write a sentence to get their handwriting absolutely
perfect, I think I'll stick to needlework, where a slip of the hand is easily
corrected.
Dr. Brat
> <epc...@mindspring.com> writes:
>
>> I DO NOT, however, spend hours looking for just the right anything.
>
> Which makes you a scrapbooker, not an "addict". I've been standing in front of
> the sticker rack at Michael's and heard them fuss because they finally found
> the perfect Elmo/Barbie/Mickey except that he/she is facing the wrong
> direction. I've never been rude enough to suggest that they reverse the layout
> of the page so that the sticker *is* facing the birthday child, but the thought
> has certainly crossed my mind.
And if the birthday child in the picture is facing such that reversing
the layout puts him or her back to back or back to face with the sticker?
> (At least with rubber stamps, you can buy a Reverser -- a flat piece of rubber
> onto which you stamp the original image, so you can put a mirror image onto the
> paper.)
>
> Hearing my friend's comments about how anal some of her customers can get about
> having to have the perfect background, not the good enough background, and how
> many times they'll re-write a sentence to get their handwriting absolutely
> perfect, I think I'll stick to needlework, where a slip of the hand is easily
> corrected.
You've obviously missed all the conversations about linen vs aida,
railroading, laying tools, neat backs, whether to wear gloves while
stitching, using frames and stands and any number of other things that
people in needlework get all uptight about. Or perhaps you've never had
anyone point out all her mistakes after you've commented on how lovely a
finished piece was. You missed the conversation about exactly how the
Firehouse Angel was to be stitched (it was resolved, but it did come up)?
I guess the fact that you think that a slip of the hand is easily
corrected makes you not an addict, either, eh? (Or not terribly familiar
with drawn thread) I have to agree with the other posters who have
commented that they find your condescending attitude disturbing. If it
doesn't suit you to scrapbook, that's fine, but it is rather silly of
you to dismiss it as somehow less of a pursuit than cross stitching, for
pete's sake. I mean, it's not like you do Japanese silk embroidery or
goldwork or anything particularly creative. I can sort of understand
Mirjam or Lula dismissing it (not that they have), but where do you get
off? Replicating little dots from paper to fabric is somehow more creative?
Rachel Janzen
>
> I guess the fact that you think that a slip of the hand is easily
> corrected makes you not an addict, either, eh? (Or not terribly familiar
> with drawn thread) I have to agree with the other posters who have
> commented that they find your condescending attitude disturbing. If it
> doesn't suit you to scrapbook, that's fine, but it is rather silly of
> you to dismiss it as somehow less of a pursuit than cross stitching, for
> pete's sake. I mean, it's not like you do Japanese silk embroidery or
> goldwork or anything particularly creative. I can sort of understand
> Mirjam or Lula dismissing it (not that they have), but where do you get
> off? Replicating little dots from paper to fabric is somehow more
> creative?
>
> Elizabeth
Speaking as a scrapbooker and as a cross stitch lover, I have put more
original, creative thought into my scrapbooks then I have in my
needlework. Yes, I do use idea books in scrapbooking, and at times have
come close to duplicating an layout exactly (I had to make adjustments
because I look one large page layout and converted it to a smaller two
page layout). Other times, I've created pages entirely from my
imagination. I have not reached that point with my needlework, and may
never do so, because of a variety of reasons. That doesn't negate the
satisfaction I get from either craft, they both call to different
aspects of who I am, and if was just one-dimensional, I would be boring.
One other note about getting a 'layout' exactly right - if it's right it
will have 'rythymn' and look pleasing to the eye, and sometimes one
misplaced element can be incredibly jarring. And re-writing sentances to
get them exactly right, can be a person trying to express their
sentiment exactly right, or want to ensure there are no mistakes,
technical or otherwise. I have ignored minor mistakes scrapbooking and
stitching, but not when there is a spelling error perserved for all time!
On another almost unrelated note, my CSB doesn't get into this
scrapbooking thing. But, she does buy the albums that have the inserts
for slips of paper to write on. She also adds stickers to her pages. I
spent some time one morning earlier this month going through her albums.
I know most of her stories, so I could figure out what was happening in
most of her albums, but the one that was the must interesting was the
one was the one where she had put the captioning in.
And finally, how people record their memories and captions is important
as well. Our family's love of pictures comes from my great-grandfather
who passed away a couple of weeks ago. At the fuenral was two pictures,
one a portrait of my great-grandparents, the other a picture of my
great-grandfather plowing with a team of four horses, a very famous
picture in the community. My cousin had typed a caption for it with an
old fashioned typewriter. The reason she did that was that was the way
my great-grandfather had captioned his pictures. In fact when I made
copies of his pictures for my scrapbooks, I sometimes also copied his
captions, or used them as titles, etc. I know I'm babbling, but this is
subject is a passion of mine. :-)
Rachel
Rhiannon
camera and high end printer and maybe even a new computer.
Scrapbooking certainly is not my thing and probably never will be. Same
thing with keeping a diary/journal. I'm still trying to figure out what
I'm supposed to do with the "Christmas Journal" which was a gift from a
friend. This particular friend does some stitching but goes nuts over
whatever happens to be the "craft du jour" in her neck of the woods.
Ericka Kammerer wrote:
> Really? Now, *that* I get. Haven't really been bitten
> by the bug, but I understand it ;-) Part of it, of course, is
> marketing driven.
--
Brenda rhianno...@netscape.net
"Sometimes I'd sit and gaze for days through sleepless dreams all alone
and trapped in time." Tommy Shaw
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
event ,, which has sometimes it`s own merit and use in Human society
!!!! But about the insistance of some people , that one NEEDS to have
the RIGHT paper , the RIGHT way to write or cut up photos etc,,,
This was the point i wondered about in the first place ,,,, There Is
NO wrong or right way to remember , to arrange memorial stuff . one
should do it in whatever manner one feels is right for him/her ....I
make memorial cloth , not albums ,,, but i also made an Embroidered
`album` ,,,, with doilies representing each person, Since i had those
doilies i used them , i didn`t go out to cut them out of other places
Nore did i copy anyone`s method to do it ,,,,
mirjam
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
I agree with you that people now realize the importance of keeping
information for further generations , in the form of photos/ documents
/letters etc.... and that Geneology is the other side of the same
urge. But that is just my problem with an `Organized To Numbers [or
Formats] ` scrapbooking , because eventually it will loose a lot of
the individulity , as well as valuable other info about the person
doing it.
mirjam
n Sat, 27 Mar 2004 21:16:09 -0500, Ericka Kammerer <e...@comcast.net>
wrote:
Karen C - California
Well, maybe because I've done calligraphy for pay, and the first thing I was
told was that I had only one chance to get it right. When someone brings you a
$50 book for an inscription, it's going to cost you (the calligrapher) $500 if
you want to re-write it 10x till you get it perfect. You can't ask the
customer to keep going back and buying another book and another book because
you made a mistake. I did several pieces where an artist had spent dozens of
hours on the hand-painted sections -- again, I didn't have the option of
re-doing it dozens of times like I'm hearing some of my friend's customers do.
And these were projects done for pay and professional reputation; not hobbies.
Rule one, you don't write and talk at the same time. If I were phobic about
getting a caption perfect, I wouldn't write it in the middle of a scrappers'
coffee klatsch ... I'd do it at home and bring it with me.
I did my first professional newspaper layout just about 30 years ago. You work
with what you've got -- you can't send the photographer back to an event that
ended six hours ago because you'd rather have the keynote speaker looking in
the other direction. Even flipping a hand-drawn graphic was a PITA in those
days. The end result may not be perfect; we learned to live with "good enough"
when photos weren't quite what Layout wanted. Now, if a
professionally-produced newspaper can handle not-quite-perfect going out into
the world, what's the big deal about a family scrapbook having Elmo in a
less-than-perfect position?
The big question has to be "who -- other than me -- would notice?" And the
odds are ... no one. Junior's going to see that you found Elmos to match his
Elmo birthday cake. He'll probably never even guess that they were supposed to
face the other direction, if you have sufficient creativity to work around the
problem. (Either move the photo to the other side of the page, or put Elmo
somewhere else. A line of dancing Elmos across the bottom of the page would
work just fine; they don't have to be pointing at Junior.)
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." Do layout
with a printer breathing down your neck for the finished pages and you learn
real fast that there are things you cannot change, and just have to live with
because you don't have time to hunt down the perfect illustration.
I'm anal about my legal work. Judges "take off points" for mistakes. With my
hobbies, a misplaced stitch is no catastrophe. If I need to substitute a
slightly different shade of pink, oh well.
K
news:20040328020335...@mb-m05.aol.com:
> Condescending?
Yes.
> I'm anal about my legal work. Judges "take off points" for mistakes.
> With my hobbies, a misplaced stitch is no catastrophe. If I need to
> substitute a slightly different shade of pink, oh well.
I personally know about a half dozen people who scrapbook. I also
personally know about a half dozen people who do needlework of some sort.
The needleworkers are much more anal about their work than the scrapbookers
are, much more likely to rip out a day's worth of work to go back and fix
one missed stitch than are the scrapbookers. And most of the people I know
who do neither hobby just don't understand the time we invest in them.
I'm sure there are anal scrapbookers out there; they are, after all, the
ones who create the beautiful layouts in the magazines. But then again,
the people who stitch the beautiful models of cross stitch have to be just
as anal abot their work.
Just because your "friend" relates to you a story or two of a scrapbooker
redoing a page to get it just right doesn't mean all scrapbookers do that,
anymore than a story or two of a cross sticher ripping out all the
lettering on a sampler because she used DMC 502 instead of 503 by mistake
makes all cross stichers anal. Sure would like to know who this friend is,
so I can make sure I never shop in her store. She seems to have such a low
regard for the people from whom she makes a living.
K
Cheryl Isaak
"Seanette Blaylock" <seanette.spam...@impulse.net> wrote:
> Cheryl Isaak <chery...@adelphia.net> had some very interesting
> things to say about Re: Scrapbooking WAS Re: Meet Matilda Mallstomper:
>
>>>>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>>>> Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>>>> And stamping for that matter.
>>> Not my thing either [although rubber stampers use stuff that also
>>> works nicely on polymer clay :-)].
>> The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
>> the attraction.
>
> Try it sometime. :-)
OH no you don't, stitching, knitting, crocheting and beads are enough!
>
>> Lots of "paper" crafts leave me cold - just me I guess.
>
> I can understand why some people are interested in scrapbooking and
> such, it just doesn't tweak my interests.
Same here.
Cheryl
Dr. Brat
>
>>Mirjam or Lula dismissing it (not that they have), but where do you get
>>off? Replicating little dots from paper to fabric is somehow more creative?
>
> C'mon, give me my fantasy....<grin>
Since it's mine too, I'll gladly give it to you *grin* I'm just
suggesting what an outsider could reduce it to if one were so inclined.
Dr. Brat
>
> Well, maybe because I've done calligraphy for pay, and the first thing I was
> told was that I had only one chance to get it right.
And you just did it right off? You never practiced on scrap first? If
not, then you're the best calligrapher I've ever heard of.
> When someone brings you a
> $50 book for an inscription, it's going to cost you (the calligrapher) $500 if
> you want to re-write it 10x till you get it perfect. You can't ask the
> customer to keep going back and buying another book and another book because
> you made a mistake. I did several pieces where an artist had spent dozens of
> hours on the hand-painted sections -- again, I didn't have the option of
> re-doing it dozens of times like I'm hearing some of my friend's customers do.
> And these were projects done for pay and professional reputation; not hobbies.
>
> Rule one, you don't write and talk at the same time. If I were phobic about
> getting a caption perfect, I wouldn't write it in the middle of a scrappers'
> coffee klatsch ... I'd do it at home and bring it with me.
That's because you're talking about something you did for pay.
Scrapbooking is a hobby. Getting together with others is part of the
hobby. Why do you have such a problem with it?
> I did my first professional newspaper layout just about 30 years ago. You work
> with what you've got -- you can't send the photographer back to an event that
> ended six hours ago because you'd rather have the keynote speaker looking in
> the other direction. Even flipping a hand-drawn graphic was a PITA in those
> days. The end result may not be perfect; we learned to live with "good enough"
> when photos weren't quite what Layout wanted. Now, if a
> professionally-produced newspaper can handle not-quite-perfect going out into
> the world, what's the big deal about a family scrapbook having Elmo in a
> less-than-perfect position?
Some people care more about these things than others. Certainly not all
scrappers or even all scrap addicts feel the way you are representing
them. OTOH such attitudes are not limited to scrappers. I've met
needleworkers who felt that way and I've had students who were paralyzed
over writing papers because they weren't sure they'd be perfect.
> The big question has to be "who -- other than me -- would notice?" And the
> odds are ... no one. Junior's going to see that you found Elmos to match his
> Elmo birthday cake. He'll probably never even guess that they were supposed to
> face the other direction, if you have sufficient creativity to work around the
> problem. (Either move the photo to the other side of the page, or put Elmo
> somewhere else. A line of dancing Elmos across the bottom of the page would
> work just fine; they don't have to be pointing at Junior.)
It's the "man on a galloping horse" rule and it applies to all
endevours. However, not everyone is successful at applying it.
> "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." Do layout
> with a printer breathing down your neck for the finished pages and you learn
> real fast that there are things you cannot change, and just have to live with
> because you don't have time to hunt down the perfect illustration.
Maybe part of the fun for those people *IS HUNTING DOWN THE PERFECT
PIECE* That's why it's a hobby, so that people can enjoy it the way
they choose. It's not the way I choose to pursue it, but it doesn't
bother me if others want to do it that way. Have you never put off a
project because you didn't have the right floss? I have. I hate
substituting unless I've chosen to. I don't want to be forced to, and
I'll wait and look until I can get the fiber I need. For me, that's
part of the fun.
> I'm anal about my legal work. Judges "take off points" for mistakes. With my
> hobbies, a misplaced stitch is no catastrophe. If I need to substitute a
> slightly different shade of pink, oh well.
And that's great. Wonderful for you. Why do you have to condescend to
and criticize others because they take a different attitude? And why do
you have to condemn an entire group for a few overheard conversations
that you assume are representative? Surely you've done enough legal
work to know better.
Dr. Brat
> Just because your "friend" relates to you a story or two of a scrapbooker
> redoing a page to get it just right doesn't mean all scrapbookers do that,
> anymore than a story or two of a cross sticher ripping out all the
> lettering on a sampler because she used DMC 502 instead of 503 by mistake
> makes all cross stichers anal. Sure would like to know who this friend is,
> so I can make sure I never shop in her store. She seems to have such a low
> regard for the people from whom she makes a living.
My sentiments exactly!
Dr. Brat
> On 3/27/04 5:18 PM, in article vbvb60hk98saol280...@4ax.com,
> "Seanette Blaylock" <seanette.spam...@impulse.net> wrote:
>>>The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
>>>the attraction.
>>
>>Try it sometime. :-)
>
> OH no you don't, stitching, knitting, crocheting and beads are enough!
*snicker* Come see me sometime, Cheryl. We can do some paper collage
together. DH set up a spin art box for the kids across the street and
it is such fun! I had more fun with it than they did.
>>>Lots of "paper" crafts leave me cold - just me I guess.
>>
>>I can understand why some people are interested in scrapbooking and
>>such, it just doesn't tweak my interests.
>
> Same here.
*poke* That's because you haven't done it yet. I wasn't tweaked by
stamping or collage until I visited a friend in Albany with a wonderful
studio and papers and stamps and ink galore. I intended to stitch all
weekend but came home with the most wonderful collages instead. Same
thing happened with scrapping. I attended a class at an aquaintance's
house because she invited me and I didn't want to turn her down. Too
new in town to be snubbing invites. She didn't get the bug, but I did
and now I go about once a month (except this past winter when I pretty
much shut down all extracurricular activities to work on those damned
papers).
I think I've never met a craft I didn't like. The only way to stay sane
is just not to try stuff.
Elizabeth (on a true knitting jag lately)
Ericka Kammerer
> I think Karen you touched an interesting point , not about the Coffee
> event ,, which has sometimes it`s own merit and use in Human society
> !!!! But about the insistance of some people , that one NEEDS to have
> the RIGHT paper , the RIGHT way to write or cut up photos etc,,,
> This was the point i wondered about in the first place ,,,, There Is
> NO wrong or right way to remember , to arrange memorial stuff . one
> should do it in whatever manner one feels is right for him/her
But the point is that some people can't figure out
what feels right for themselves, or at least not in the
amount of time they have available to get it done. And
if some of those people would rather learn a limited set
of techniques and apply them in order to document their
lives *now* rather than spend the time slogging it out
with their artistic muse, that's not a choice I'm going
to challenge. They're not stupid. They know they are
subscribing to a method and that there are other methods
available. They choose that method because they *like*
it and *want* to make scrapbooks that look that way, at
least at that moment in time. If that's what they want,
more power to 'em.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Ericka Kammerer
> Ericka
> I agree with you that people now realize the importance of keeping
> information for further generations , in the form of photos/ documents
> /letters etc.... and that Geneology is the other side of the same
> urge. But that is just my problem with an `Organized To Numbers [or
> Formats] ` scrapbooking , because eventually it will loose a lot of
> the individulity , as well as valuable other info about the person
> doing it.
Two things: 1) There's still *plenty* of room for
originality and individualism, even within various "schools"
of scrapbooking. 2) I don't believe for a minute that any
of this is stifling anyone's creativity one iota. Anyone
who wants to "break out" and try something more original
will do so. The ones who are more conservative and "scrap
by the numbers" probably wouldn't be documenting their
history *at all* without that level of support.
Best wishes,
Ericka
Meredith
paper! Really, that's what it comes down to. If the form makes the
creator happy, then wonderful!
Meredith
Cheryl Isaak
<epc...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Cheryl Isaak wrote:
>> On 3/27/04 5:18 PM, in article vbvb60hk98saol280...@4ax.com,
>> "Seanette Blaylock" <seanette.spam...@impulse.net> wrote:
>
>>>> The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
>>>> the attraction.
>>>
>>> Try it sometime. :-)
>>
>> OH no you don't, stitching, knitting, crocheting and beads are enough!
>
> *snicker* Come see me sometime, Cheryl. We can do some paper collage
> together. DH set up a spin art box for the kids across the street and
> it is such fun! I had more fun with it than they did.
Only if I can bring DD - she'd love it! I loved that when I was a kid - a
little paint, and such a neat effect.
>
>>>> Lots of "paper" crafts leave me cold - just me I guess.
>>>
>>> I can understand why some people are interested in scrapbooking and
>>> such, it just doesn't tweak my interests.
>>
>> Same here.
>
> *poke* That's because you haven't done it yet. I wasn't tweaked by
> stamping or collage until I visited a friend in Albany with a wonderful
> studio and papers and stamps and ink galore.
I've gone to a few "stamping" parties - I never like coloring either. LOL, I
can't stay in the lines.
> I intended to stitch all
> weekend but came home with the most wonderful collages instead. Same
> thing happened with scrapping. I attended a class at an aquaintance's
> house because she invited me and I didn't want to turn her down. Too
> new in town to be snubbing invites. She didn't get the bug, but I did
> and now I go about once a month (except this past winter when I pretty
> much shut down all extracurricular activities to work on those damned
> papers).
>
> I think I've never met a craft I didn't like. The only way to stay sane
> is just not to try stuff.
The "thing" that has called me a few times is weaving. And I have a
potential teacher too. An other daylily addict!
>
> Elizabeth (on a true knitting jag lately)
Cheryl,
Back stitching the last bits of the paperdoll teddy!
KDLark
at the thought of being forced to look at the photo albums some of my relatives
keep. The last time my step-father's sister visited, she almost immediately
pulled out an album of photos taken when they set up her daughter's mobile
home. I didn't find that particuarly interesting. I wouldn't find it
interesting even if it was in a nice, fancied up, sticker and rubber stamp
loaded album on acid free paper.
Remember all those jokes about people putting the neighbors to sleep with their
vacation slides/movies/videos, etc.? I feel that way about scrapbooks. If I
find them boring, I'm not going to do them myself.
When the "house-raising" photos came out during the in-law's visit, my daughter
insisted that I pull out every quilt project I had going. A little payback,
she said later.Of course, we were very polite while looking at the photos, of
course, and they were very polite while looking at the quilts -- for all I know
they could have found them snore city!
Katrina L.
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
once we can agree on Something !!!
>And if the birthday child in the picture is facing such that reversing
>the layout puts him or her back to back or back to face with the sticker?
You are right what is so bad about it ??? >
> Or perhaps you've never had
>anyone point out all her mistakes after you've commented on how lovely a
>finished piece was.
I find this most puzzling , since i am not interested in the perfect
way to stich , i am interested in the end result , the general
outlook. i have had people remark to me that i do have `mistakes` in
my works,,,, many a time this were deliberate `mistakes` , to get a
very certain idea or mark. sometimes an end of athread hanging on a
work is a symbol ,,,
>I guess the fact that you think that a slip of the hand is easily
>corrected
Speaking of Scarpbooking and memorial works , isn`t that slip of the
hand , while you embroider or while you right , just THE very thing .
I have a [table] cloth were my Oma signed when she was very old ,,,
she signed several times to make it right , i embroidered those few
attempts to make it right. it shows her age , her will to be her old
pedant self ... more than any words i will ever write about her , if
you put it near her other Signature tablecloth [ see on my page ].
where she embroidered with Sewing thread so amny hand signatures of
other people [ family and friends ] , Why correct a stich ??? unless
it ruins a text or a picture Outline , other than this i do not get
upset by an `uncorect` stich .
I am tottaly For people making and doing what ever craft or other
technique with their own materials , what bugs me are the Commercial
Dictatorial ,rules of right / wrong . I wish and want to encourage
every one to look at their materials and do freely what and how they
want to do [ or not do ] Anything with it.
An aunt of mine had an Enormous Glass panel on which back she used to
hang anything she liked , or wanted to keep ., made quite a display on
the wall , lately i see people who laminate photos together ,,, which
by the way is one of the best methods to keep them safe ,,, Modern
techniques give us all , more and more methods to express ourselves ,
and hopefully everyone will find what suits her/him , without being
told , that it is wrong . BECAUSE WHAT EVER YOU CHOOSE IS RIGHT .
mirjam .
Dianne Lewandowski
stitching. While I do hope that many will try new things and go their
own way - at least once in awhile, this is reminding me of whether or
not it's ok to just purchased a stamped piece (or a chart, or trace a
design) and follow it, or whether you must always "create".
Not EVERYONE has the capacity. Not everyone WANTS TO. Some people
badly want to, but don't know how to learn, so a "program" helps them
learn.
I think it must be very hard for some people with a high degree of skill
in any area to not understand how someone else doesn't possess those
skills. That's different from the teacher/mentor who "sees" potential
and the person just won't "go there". But sometimes there are very
personal reasons for not "going there" in any moment of time.
I watched a film documentary about Richard Rogers (Rogers & Hart and
Rogers and Hammerstein fame). At one point, a 60ish pianist played a
little ditty and I was swooned by her abilities. Now, everyone told me
I had those abilities. But I didn't want to spend 8 hours or more a day
at the piano. As Elizabeth says about me: too restless a spirit for
any number of personal reasons.
Now, I neither envied her ability nor reacted negatively because she had
what I don't have. I simply enjoyed and understood the process that got
her where she's at.
Nuff said.
Dianne
Meredith
voice because I'm afraid of finding out my own limitations, which is
another factor to keep in mind. That sure doesn't keep me enjoying what
I do sing, though!
Meredith
Karen C - California
also not the only one that I do. I knit, crochet, tat, do papercrafts, write,
cook, sing ... often being very creative in doing those.
I have to do cross-stitch from someone else's pattern because I can't draw for
beans. I can, however, create knitting and crocheting patterns, make a sweater
with nothing to go on but gauge and the person's measurements. Here are two
disparate yarns, how can I combine them to look good? I'll toss odd spices
into dinner, which is not an experiment you can easily un-do if you don't like
the results. Fortunately, I've been playing with spices long enough to know
before I toss them in what result to expect. Similarly, before I start
knitting, I can pretty much imagine in my mind's eye what will result, because
I have decades of experience.
It's not the scrapbooking I'm disparaging, it's the people who are so anal that
they can't adapt to working with what's available to them, rather than
accepting reality, and those willing to go through two packages of expensive
paper to get their handwritten captions absolutely perfect, instead of learning
to "go with the flow". A professional calligrapher learns to focus on the
project at hand, so she doesn't make mistakes, and how to improvise if she
*does* make a mistake. (That falling leaf in the corner or particularly
ostentatious flourish underneath may be disguising an unfortunate ink blot on
the inscription page of that very expensive book.) Maybe instead of spending
the next three Saturdays looking for a sticker that doesn't exist, these folks
should take a basic calligraphy class to learn some of the tricks of the trade
that mean they won't have to toss out a dozen attempts.
And, no, I'm not particularly hung up on using the exact color the designer
used. I substitute a lot; I frequently change blue dresses to green dresses,
or green ones to purple ones, depending on the recipient and her decor. As
Seanette can tell you, most of my project bags have some specialty fiber not
called for in the original. If I can find a way to sneak
rayon/metallic/hologram thread in, I will. I did "Merlin" with BF in every
stitch except his hair and skin. With the recent availability of other fibers,
I enabled Seanette into doing him with rayons, hologram, glow in the dark,
Wisper, and heaven knows what-all else I snuck into her shopping basket.
I think it would be a bigger shock to those who know me best if I admitted that
I'd done something *exactly* as designed.
My attitude is probably a product of my experience as a performer. You can
rehearse till everything is perfect, and in a live performance something *will*
go wrong. Whether it's half the duet fainting (been there, done that), half
the lead couple falling off the stage (BTDT, too), someone's hair sweeping
across a candle (thank God *that* one wasn't me!), the organist overzealously
turning three pages instead of one, the tenor soloist turning green and running
for the door with just enough time for the lead baritone to whisper to the lead
soprano "you take half" (the tenor high note that the baritone couldn't reach).
You can't take White-Out to the audience's memory; best you can do is make it
look like part of the act. (OK, kinda hard to pretend fainting in front of the
whole church was on purpose, but when it was time to sing, I did.)
anne
In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts/opinions:
I may be one of two or three people in the world who likes looking at other
people's picture albums or home movies as the pictures tell me about the
photographer and the photographer's subjects.
I've got a bookcase full of plain unadorned photo albums and several scrapbooks
of the 'paste item in before its lost' variety that are very precious to me.
Unless it is a special occasion, I doubt if I'd go to the expense of buying
stuff to enhance pages of an album.
I'm trying to figure out why some of you think it's unacceptable for people to
use commercially produced scrapbooking materials when commercial artists and
designers routinely use stock images or clip art.
Can we who, with varying degrees of skill, merely fill in the blank spaces on a
piece of cloth or canvas be called 'artists' or are we technicians? Is an
artist someone who takes a design to another level by using 'non-standard'
materials or techniques or create the original designs?
Finally, for your reading pleasure:
http://www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame1.html
--
another Anne, add ingers to frugalf to reply
Dr. Brat
your attitude no matter how many times someone tries to point out that
you are being condescending and disparaging without enough information.
That's just fine. I just find it rather interesting that someone who
has so many limitations in her own life is so intolerant of the
limitations of others.
Elizabeth
Karen C - California wrote:
--
Seanette Blaylock
things to say about Re: Scrapbooking WAS Re: Meet Matilda Mallstomper:
>>>>>> I'm with Cheryl -- I don't "get" the current scrapbooking trend.
>>>>> Oh thank goodness - I have wondered if I was the only person not into it.
>>>>> And stamping for that matter.
>>>> Not my thing either [although rubber stampers use stuff that also
>>>> works nicely on polymer clay :-)].
>>> The clay I at least understand. I'm not interested for myself, but can see
>>> the attraction.
>> Try it sometime. :-)
>OH no you don't, stitching, knitting, crocheting and beads are enough!
But you can *make* *really* neat beads with polymer clay! :-)
--
"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL
lula
Why would you want to do that? Already there is interest in saving your
notes for posterity, save your work for future inspiration as well as to
answer questions on why!
Several years ago I read a biography about the multitalented Spanish
designer Mariano Fortuny who made Venice his home and base of design
operations.
Fortuny was famous for his sumptuous velvets, brocades and other woven
and printed textiles among many other talents.
Fortuny's most famous creation were his finely pleated silk dresses
based on ancient Greek styles known as the Delphos dress.
These dresses looked like nothing but a mass of silk pleats until the
wearer put on the dress.......this tube of pleats would skim over the
body and assume the wearer's shape, enhancing the figure making the
wearer look sensual and unique in a shimmery magical way.
Despite the mass of art journals Fortuny has left to the world, the one
"secret" of how he created those unique permanently pleated silks of his
ancient Greek inspired dresses has been lost to the world!
So far, no one has been able to duplicate his technique. There are good
looking imitations but they lack something the original pleated dresses
had.
No one knows why Fortuny didn't leave his discovery or process of
pleating silk to posterity.....maybe he has undiscovered art journals
yet to be found?
---
Lula
http://www.woolydream.com
Needlework Adventures
<mir...@actcom.co.il> Mirjam Bruck-Cohen wrote:
>
> Lula , i do keep work copybooks of all ,my art projects ,,, and after
> my solo was aproached by a museum curator that wanted to buy mine ,,,,
> haven`t decided yet whether i wouldkeep or burn them later ,,,, mirjam
>
> On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 16:35:52 -0500, lula <wooly...@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
> >Artist's scrapbook albums and journals are fascinating to look through.
> >A few of these beautiful watercolor journal / sketchbooks have been
> >published in the last few years.
> >
> >I've been a journal keeper for most of my life......keeping journals on
> >the many aspects of my life, such as the various art & design
> >disciplines I work on.........as I posted earlier, wish I had kept a
> >"scrapbook" of my life through the years but never thought to
> >"illustrate" them.
> >I've only recently started to draw simple little sketches in my design
> >journals.......nothing "fancy" at least not yet.......
> >---
> >Lula
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
that would show People where they standpolitically , many here pointed
out that this was indeed a kind of gimmick , and that people should
know where they stand politicaly , and not need others to tell them .
>>
> But the point is that some people can't figure out
>what feels right for themselves,
the great democracy ???? or are you regarding all people as unthinking
persons ,,,, people know what they like to eat , people are entrusted
with driving liscences and drive on their own ,,, why not make the
materials available , but NOT push the courses of HOW one SHOULD use
them ,,,,I trust every one can try and look and feel for themselves.,
in their own time and tempo.
>if some of those people would rather learn a limited set
>of techniques
dictations of anything from above or from peer pressure !!!!
> They choose that method because they *like*
>it and *want* to make scrapbooks that look that way,
anf if you choose what all your neigbours chose ,, was this free
choice ????
>more power to 'em.
looks moire like the elections in some countries were 99% choose ,
again for the dictator....
mirjam
>
>Best wishes,
>Ericka
>
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen
I have both teached and was an adviser in the ministry of education,,
regarding handcraft courses. I used to comne into classes and see ,,
works that were Teacher copies , which made me feel helpless ,,, i
tried to tell and teach for students to be THEMSELVES ,,,, use own
color combinations etc,,,, use ther homebackground etc... so if you
ask me ? from my lonng experience, teaching techniques is good , but
one should strees to the students Not to copy the teacher`s or each
other`s work ,,,,,and yes even the most creative student
>of this is stifling anyone's creativity one iota.
budding crativity ... many a `natural` talent , gets lost , just in
the process of this courses ,,,Look at the wonderful Samplers , Most
of us cherish ,,, theat are aklways made in the same format , what
distinguishes them are mostly the Mistakes , the girl that used
another color than her friends , another pattern , not commonly used.
speling mistakes of those times , make it more Costly now , because
the individuality comes through !!! i dealt with many a student who
were styfeled by a teacher who thougt she was God almighty. We had a
teacher who was so keen on Wooden Frames that she made all her
students Frame every piece of cloth , and many a time she made them
make little frames on the big work , i have had tens of complaints
every year about her. Thus i sat in her class , talked with students
and ex students , and finnaly called in a general meeting with her the
classes she taught , and we made a general debate about " TO frame or
Not to frame ,, and if To frame Why in That method ???" In the first
hour students were afraid to say , how they felt about it , since
Madam Teacher ,, would Throw a `dirty` look , at every one saying they
were not happy with it ,,, the discussion went on long enough and i
brought 2 Guest , Well known artists , who explained their point of
view..., and waht they felt coming into the `End of Year Exhibition ~
seeing 30 similar works ..... similar in color shape , numbers of
stiches etc,......
Ericka , none of the students of these teachers / courses , has
produced any active artist... all stayed crafters or teachers, and one
of the reasons people enlisted to those classes was always "I want to
become a FiberArtist ???? so what happened to this wish ???. Why do
some of my other colleagues who treach , strongly forbidding any
copying , and making their students THINK for themselves and use as
much as possible different , cheapest materials , preferable found at
home , leftovers etc [ and by this already eliminating the possibility
of students having the same materials !!!!] `breed` year after year ,
New Artists , wonderful creative original artists, Both kinds of
teachers got the same `kind` of students !!!! who came into the system
for the same reason and went through the same exams to be accepted
???....
Does this answer your question ??
mirjam