On Monday, I blogged about
one of my favorite author's recent releases. It felt natural to next praise the blog of a friend I made because of that author.
Sara Leigh Merrey is a fellow
Fruitbat (fan of
Christopher Moore). When I first joined the
Boardello, back in 2007, she was one of the regular posters whose style I immediately took to - clever, fun, and caring. At the time, Sara Leigh owned a brick and mortar store,
Scarlet Thread, which sold any and all things needed to do
canvas work for charted and non-charted needlepoint projects.
Now, you have to understand - I flatter myself that I'm talented with words, not my hands. (Uh...you know what I mean.) I can spin a yarn, metaphorically, but the best I've managed to achieve with
actual yarn amounts to a few unevenly knitted scarves. Anyway, this kind of crafting was not my forte, so the pictures she occasionally posted of her gorgeous projects made me green with stitchy envy.
 |
| "Lois," canvas work by Sara Leigh Merrey |
Then the economic downturn of 2008 happened. Sara Leigh had to close down her shop.
Buzzkill. I bussed my way down to Virginia to lend moral support, as well as hands for helping with the packing up of the shop's contents, one weekend that June. While there, I fell in love with one of Sara Leigh's pieces, which she'd framed and hung in the store. I convinced her to let me buy it and now "Lois" hangs out in my office, to cheer me when the going gets tough.
Sara Leigh was understandably down, but never out - with fellow stitcher and soon-to-be business partner, Dawn, she toiled steadily and faithfully to bring
her shop to the Interwebs, and with it, her
blog.
In
It's a Stitchy Thing, Sara Leigh blogs about, "...all the aspects of canvaswork: the
materials, the
designers, the tools, and the people who do this fascinating needlework." So why do I, a maladroit wanna-be, dig this blog? It's all about the colors, baby. I can't resist the gorgeous pics, the glorious fibers, the geometric patterns and designs:
So, Dear Readers, the crafty among you may enjoy checking out
It's a Stitchy Thing for the scoop on what's hot and happening in the canvas work world. And if the stitching bug bites ya, check out the online store,
Scarlet Thread, where all of the above (and more!) can be found and purchased!
All pictures, except for "Lois," belong to Sara Leigh Merrey and have been posted with her kind permission.
I've made a few miniature quilts, but I won't pretend they were perfect by any means. I definitely can't achieve the kind of quality of the things you showed here. I am green with stitchy envy as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mina! And L.G. Keitner, you certainly can do many of the projects in our shop. You just don't lose your mind, like I seem to do, a lot, and pick the biggest, most challenging thing to start with.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, SL! I, too, have that desire to create but a current lack of time and (probably) talent. Hopefully one day I will have the time to do something more complicated than those tie-together fleece blankets! - Katy O
DeleteHi Mina, it's great that businesses can come back to life via the internet! Thanks for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteLisa
Gorgeous! I wish I were talented like that and could keep my hands busy other than on a keyboard.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful work! I never could do needlepoint, either. I knit and quilt, though, and love all things colorful.
ReplyDeleteI have met the wonderful Sara Leigh! She has supplied with several charts (nevermind if I've finished them or not!). Love her work...she is an artist!
ReplyDeleteThose are FABULOUS!!! Must check out the link! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking this out, everyone. You know, if I had the time (and patience, haha), I bet Miz Merrey would totally teach me how to do this stuff...only, actually, she'd be the one in need of the patience, now that I think about it. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! Her stuff is gorgeous...I can see why you fell in love with what she does. Best wishes on the new internet venture Sara! :)
ReplyDeleteRight now, I'm totally jonesing for that "American Beauty" piece.
DeleteThese pieces are beautiful! The only crafts I can do are latchhook and cross-stitch
ReplyDeleteWhich are exactly two more crafts than I can presently manage! :-)
DeleteWow. Your friend Sara does beautiful work. My mother does a lot of needle work and crochet. One of these days I need to get her to teach me. (:
ReplyDeleteMy mom's a whiz with a needle; she was a seamstress when she first immigrated to the US...I don't understand how all those skills utterly skipped me! Hopefully your mom's skills got a better hold in you, Elise! :-)
DeleteStopping in to let you know that I have some awards for you on my blog.
ReplyDeletehttp://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/
Husband: What are you doing?
ReplyDeleteMe: I'm in blogging land, but I can stop at any time.
Husband: sure you can.
Me: Well, I mean after I finish reading Mina's blog :)
Husband: uh huh.
Another great post!! Thanks Mina. I will be checkin out Scarlet Thread and Its a Stichy Thing too. Now I need to prove that I can stop reading your blog for a moment.. must.. pull. .. away... your blog is addictive!
@L.G. - Thanks, Lady! Will go check things out!
ReplyDelete@Andrea - you are so very kind. Thank you. :-)