in october 2024, saw Ashley McBryde in concert in Greeley with my college roommate and a friend. best song: light on in the kitchen. relatable. have sewn my fingers raw in the last few days, finishing this in record time. tried using negative space in a piece for the first time. the hearts are hollow cut outs, revealing the inner lining (chiles) and found treasures tucked beneath.

and, two friends. talking. in the kitchen. i think i might be a folk artist. stories on fabric.

My mom and i had the best trip to Uzbekistan along the silk road. We loved the time together and saw new things. I searched for beautiful fabrics and found them. This is a piece of iKat and I decided to bead over the top. You can see that i followed over the pattern but put my style on top. If you look at the original weaving, you can see my beads over it. So it’s Uzbek! Which I love. Thanks, Mom.

We went to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Las Vegas (Julie/Maggie/Ruth) and in Denver (Julie/Li Zhi) and it was great.

In Vegas, I surprised Ruth and Maggie with tickets and we saw the show at Allegiant Stadium, a great venue. My mom helped, the girls thought they were flying home from Utah when I surprised them at the airport and took them to the show instead. Maggie was totally unsurprised and hilariously asked, “Oh hi, mom. are you here for work?” and Ruth wondered if she was actually home in Denver and had location confusion. A big surprise gone bust, but the show was a blast nevertheless!

Li Zhi and I saw Taylor in Denver, and he genuinely had the best outfit of anyone - he made it himself and it was so much fun and appropriate for the show.

After the show in Denver, Li Zhi and I walked back to the car and I asked him what he thought. He said he was processing. The next day, he had a conclusion, “It was the best day of my life.”

I agree. It was one of the best days of my life, too, and glad LZ and I shared it!

I love how this turned out. We had a great 2023 and it is reflected here, with the voices on the people I love contributing words each square, often in their own penmanship. The squares contain words describing things we did or things important to each person. It will be fun to look back to who we were and what we liked someday.

Creatively, I had a different vision for this piece and attempts at making it work failed. I left some of the failures at the top - the beads and colored silk fills. It’s a good learning experience, to let art find its way. I think that happened here.

Thank you, friends, family and people I love for sharing your voices and time with me in 2023.

LZ and I had dinner one evening and he was drawing. Took the notepad and recreated his work on fabric. It’s actually five replicas, flipped and turned to create one image. Used Christy’s silks for the squares and ribbon for the connectors.

I love taking the creativity of someone else and expanding on it. That’s what happened here, adding joyful sentiment from a daily dinner that my son and I enjoy together.

I like to take an idea and expand on it. This idea came from a blue and silver bead - a local artist made these beads with resin and I love them. I used her original bead to expand on a larger design in my own way. You can see her bead affixed in the design.

I wanted the shapes to be the focal point, so I did the same random bead pattern in each swoosh - like bead confetti. Honestly, I don’t love it. It felt lazy compared to times when I places beads in deliberate ways. However, the effect does mean the eye focuses on shape and color, and that was the point.

I worked on this one during a hard time at work. Work is done, and so is this project. That’s great! Ready to start new creativity.

Start July 25th, 2022

Finish December 16th, 2022

4 months, 21 days

This piece had unexpected inspiration. I was looking for original Tony Ortega paintings when I stumbled on a local gallery with works from https://monroehodder.com/.

I like the colors and brush strokes in his paintings, and wanted to make something unique with my own touch. It turned into something really fun, trying to mirror the energy of Monroe’s work on canvas with beads.

This one has been fun. I liked using a piece of art as an inspiration but having my own vision. I liked using color and beads that were at the end - leftovers. Felt good to use them up and feel like their place had been found. I liked doing a part of this on vacation on a beach. It was inspiring to see some of it come alive while I was in a great headspace. I liked the creative process. Thank you 2022 for all the good things that have come my way, and for this project which helped me get through as well.

Start April 3rd, 2022

Finish July 20th, 2022

3 months, 17 days

Years ago I found some resin beads at a local bead show. I loved them! Went to try and find more, only to learn the artist has passed away. So, I bought up some beads her sister was selling at a little table in trying to clear out the inventory. It was sad to know the artist had passed, but I liked being able to honor her talent by using the resin beads as the foundation for piece.

I love the resin beads and the intensity of the color waves because sometimes life feels like that - waves of intensity. Used some of the silk Christy gave me (every stocking must include a piece of Christy) and like the beauty of the mix - silk, beads, resin.

Was hoping for inspiration from Otavalo, Ecuador from some textiles I might have found there for this one. But the trip was cut short. Civil unrest. Was able to buy the belt at the top though, and include it as a remembrance of the origination point. The belt is handwoven and from a market in Quito and marks the trip. I’ll go back to Ecuador. Hopefully soon.

Until then, found some inspiration for a new project already and hope to lay out the idea this week.

Start January 25th, 2022

Finish March 7th, 2022

1 months, 10 days

I drove to Santa Fe by myself and had a beautiful, restorative time. Visited a bead shop, went on a lovely run in the snow, and enjoyed Mexican Coffee on a cold day outside. Can’t wait to return.

Decided to memorialize the beauty of the trip and how good I felt one day while outside drinking a Kakawa Mexican Chocolate downtown. It was magic.

The letters are inspired by a visit to the National Gallery of Art with LZ in Washington, DC. We always find something amazing to think about and inspire us at the Smithsonians.

Start December 13th, 2021

Finish January 23rd, 2022

1 months, 10 days

I started this design thinking it would be like the doodling I do on paper while on Zoom Calls. It took it’s own path and I loved it. I’m calling it time and pressure because some of the design feels metamorphic. Also, time and pressure honors the way life might feel on some days.

This has been a lot of fun.

All things Mexican have always been a source of joy. I love the color, movement, and life in Mexican art, in this case, otomi embroidery.

In 2000, for our wedding, Christy gifted us a large Otomi embroidered piece, which I framed and hangs on the wall even today.

This one honors history and love, and uses things new as well as past pieces of fabric from other project incorporated into the design.

I loved the inspiration and the collection of fabrics and beads that filled it in. 2021. What a year.

Start March 15th, 2020

Finish September 16th, 2022

1 year, 5 months, 21 days

wild. unknown. colorful. unexpected.

Sometimes that is how love feels, and this one is meant to represent the organic nature of it all - coming to life and growing in ways we cannot predict. Of course, this one has pieces of Christy in it, too…the silks, and a number of specific beads from trips we’ve taken.

Start December 10, 2020

Finish April 15th, 2021

4 months, 5 days

We run miles and miles together. We started back when our oldest kids were in kindergarten…Michelle asked if I wanted to run with her and I was scared. Michelle is tall and fast. Our first run was on the windiest day of the year, which should have stopped us. But, it didn’t. We’ve logged countless hours, miles, and life events together over the years.

Along the way on runs, I began picking up pieces of road (trash?) and thinking about how to use them in a stocking. This one is the actual tread from Michelle’s shoe, with road elements I’ve collected along the way sewn into the design. You can see electric flags, fire inspection tags, and a shoelace from Laurie, to name just a few of the items - each element something we found on a run, together.

Start May 18th, 2019

Finish April 1, 2020

10 months, 14 days

This stocking was inspired by a resin bead I found at a local bead show, made by a local bead artist. You can see it, shaped like a teardrop. I took the elements of the design, and enlarged and expanded them to fill the space.

In each of the spaces, I tried to vary the texture, size, and pattern for visual interest.

The batik back is a piece of fabric I batiked at an art school years ago in San Antonio. Never knew what to do with it, but it fits nicely one this stocking as another essential and unique component.

I love this one.

Start November 25th, 2018

Finish April 15th, 2019

4 months, 21 days

Finished May 2019!

I found pieces of boiled wool at a local bead expo handmade by a local artist. Bought one piece (wish I’d bought more) and used it as the top piece on the stocking. Followed the pattern down and then let it evolve into it’s own design.

Sometimes, all we need is a little inspiration like the piece of wool, which allows us to take an idea and expand on it. That’s what happened here.

Had so much fun doing patterns and layering beads. Layering is new for me and super fun. I’ll do more of it in future projects.

This one started with an imcomplete piece of upholstery fabric that I had picked up at Crate and Barrel years ago when picking a fabirc for a chair...the fabric is the butterfly at the top right. Then, I recreated each butterfly (in my own way, each is different) in different directions.  I added the bees and ladybugs because there was white space in between the butterflies, making it feel empty and I wanted them to come alive.

I added the bees and ladybugs and liked it.  Decided not to do a fully beaded abstract background, in other words, filling in the white space, because I perceived it would make the design feel too heavy and I thought the extra pattern would distract from the pattern in the butterfly wings.

Christy gave me a box of rainbow-colored raw silks. This is the result! This stocking is supposed to resemble papel picado, celebratory tissue-paper scissor cut garland from Mexico.

Both Christy and Mexico bring me joy. I love papel picado because it is delicate, fluttery, celebratory and intricate.

There are some jingly bells from pillows my mom gave me years ago that wore out, and I saved the bells and sewed them on. Now, it’s not only colorful but musical!

It’s time to move on to the next project, which I’m excited about. I have three ideas and plan to pick one tonight while watching NHL playoffs and sipping a celebratory marg. Mmm.

This stocking was made to honor our family and my friend Christy, who loves all things Dia de los Muertos. I used fabric scraps from the large rolls of upholstery fabric found at Hobby Lobby for the clothes. The bone beads were made individually from Sculpey.

The hot pink dress is what I wore on wedding day, and Eric wore orange. Ruth is a baby here with a little heart, Maggie her usual joyful self and Li Zhi in a suit. Perfect.

This one was suggested by my running girls, Laurie and Michelle. Every step, stride and mile - grateful for the friends who know about my two #stupidhobbies.

These words may not mean anything to anyone else…but they do to us! The words here are the daily and weekly refrains we say to one another when we start a run.

Here’s to many more miles together.

I decided I was tired of sewing dreamy holiday scenes in other people's towns or log cabins.

The best place for our family at the holidays is home - which happens to be the suburbs.

This stocking is our home, with the kinds of trees we have and all of our own bikes, and our regular mailbox.

Here's to celebrating what's real.

At the Bead Show last year, I found these cool poly-beads from a local artist. You can see them here. There are four irregularly shaped ones. It seemed fun to build around them, so this happened. This design was a struggle with many creative blocks. Now that it's done, I like it!

Left, right, left. Sometimes we’re inspired and sometimes creativity is a grind. This one was the latter.

This one was a mix of leftover elementts I've been meaning to use, including pictures I printed onto fabric.  I also wanted to use up a bunch of beads, therefore, messy fringe. Why not.

The purple flower is an actual drawing from Ruth, so is the white stick figure, holding a found button she insisted on including.  Their names are sewn versions of their actual signatures from work papers. The toe of the stocking is made from a piece of upholstery fabric taken from JoAnn's or Crate and Barrel or somewhere.  

Anyone who gets chocolate at Fran's in Seattle will recognize the yellow ribbon around LI Zhi and on the handle. The buttons around the family pic are from years of saved buttons from clothes I've bought.

I got the idea for this stocking after a trip to Santa Fe with my friend Christy.

We saw all kinds of creativity there, including an embroidered pillow with birds and grasses. I made my own design, and added meadowlarks to the stocking.

Meadowlarks are my favorite bird, and they are also a favorite of my mom and grandma.

I used only fabric scraps for this stocking, and old threads. Nothing new here. Just a new way to put things on fabric.

So this one is finally done!  I made the R's out of scraps of so many things. Thanks to Eric for the finishing ideas, or it may have never gotten done. :-)

I love this bride and groom. Using fabric scraps, I wove an onion bag from Costco through and through.  

Then, I made the outline of the doll and stuffed each one solid. They feel substantial!  I added some details to make them a bride and groom - like a veil, a tie, and a bouquet of flowers.

I have always liked running on the trails here in Broomfield.  It's especially pretty in the fall when all of the grasses start to dry and make crisp noises in the wind. So, I wanted to sew some.  This is the result.

Years ago, my husband and I traveled to France with my dad. We went shopping in Montmartre, and I picked up some blue fabric.

The fabric sat idle for many years, until I decided to sew some beads on the pattern.

Now the pattern of the fabric really stands out, and I'm reminded of our trip to France.

I bought the fabric for this stocking at a special store in Santa Fe with my friend Christy. It sat idle for quite some time, until my mom brought home some fantastic threads from Morocco. The threads were colorful and inspiring!

Blue seemed to be the best match for the fabric, so I decided to go with a single color. Once I started, it seemed like some fabric scraps might add interest so I made some vines to wind around the pattern.

The edge of the stocking uses matte blue seeds beads, sewed with a picot edge. I think this will become my new favorite stocking edge.

This stocking was such a challenge. I found the large round button and had to sew it onto the fabric. Then, I started adding beads and patterns working outwards.

For about 2 years, I didn't like what I'd done and set the project aside. I finally came back to it after re-reading a line from a book by Robin Atkins, a beader that I admire.

Robin wrote something to the effect, "Just add some beads you like and keep going."  I did that, and finally finished. 

Pushing through the creative block was important and it turned out well in the end.

My grandmother was Polish. I wanted to make something to honor her, and the Polish are famous for papercuts. I decided to make a Nativity scene out of paper cuts.

I added beads for the stars in the sky.

My daughter Li Zhi drew the camel.

My son loves lions. He asked me to sew him a stocking with a lion.  Here it is!

I used upholstery fabric scraps from a furniture store to make the lion, and used leftover beads on the mane and face.

My daughter Maggie likes to draw. It's hard to keep all of her work, so I decided to put sew them onto a stocking. 

I copied her drawings, traced them onto the fabric, then couched the outline with DMC thread.  When she'd colored the drawings, I embroidered to match her coloring as closely as possible...staying inside the lines as she did and outside as she did.

For things like the heart, I used felt and layered it using the colors she used in her original drawings.

I bought a book called "One Bead at a Time" by Robin Atkins.  I got to work. 

I picked a few beads I like and started making patterns, then repeating them. This is the result of one of my first bead embroidery efforts.

We have a family tradition called Donut Sunday.

The tradition is, when we eat donuts, I take a picture of the kids taking their first bite. My daughter Maggie's bite is always the most enthusiastic.

Maggie's hair is made from paint chips, cut and sewn onto the fabric. Her shirt is made from a fabric scrap given to me by my friend Christy who used the fabric to make a handbag.

This stocking is another homage to our family tradition, Donut Sunday.  This is Ruth taking the first bite of her pink donut.

Ruth is made out of paint chips and the chips are sewn onto the fabric.

I learned something important while making this stocking. In the finish work, you sew the right sides of fabric together, then turn them inside out. As is turns out, the paint chips were fairly inflexible in the turn.

Oh well. Live and learn. Next time I use paint chips, I won't make a solid mass.

My friend Christy and I went to Santa Fe to celebrate our birthdays and years of friendship. We went to the Folk Art Museum there.

I saw a Guatemalan scarf that inspired this stocking. Using brightly colored beads, I made some patterns.

This stocking has particularly happy memories for me, of Christy and textiles at a spectacular museum.

Yet another stocking inspired by my trip to Santa Fe with my friend Christy. 

We bought the silk ribbon at the top at an amazing fabric store, and this stocking will always remind me of that trip.

This stocking is also my first freehand cross stitch. I used leftover threads from another project and began sewing snowflakes, then later added beads.

I returned to a set of patterns from an old magazine for this stocking. It's for my daughter, Ruth.

I made this stocking for my son LZ. This stocking helped me turn the creative corner. Afterwards, I decided I would never sew someone else's town again - I needed to do my own work.

I liked the simplicity and alternating squares of this pattern.

This stocking is, well, of a leaping Santa.

It's a pattern, obviously. I don't use patterns anymore, I'd rather design something on my own. But I didn't always have the courage to do that.

I went through a Quaker Sampler phase. I'm out of it now.

This is one of those stockings - a Quaker sampler.

I made this stocking for my mom. We both love songbirds.

This stocking is for my daughter Maggie. She's jolly just like this guy.

This is one of the very first stockings I made, just out of high school and in college. I sewed it while living in a shared house with my friend Christy.

Even though it's from a pattern like most of my cross-stitch stockings, it was a step long the way towards doing more creative things.

And, I'll always remember that Christy and I would study and cross-stitch while in college. We were the crazy ones...

I liked the natural feel of the fabric and colors on this stocking.

This stocking wasn't always a stocking. I'd done the cross-stitch and made a bag out of it.  About 25 years after I made it, the bag was showing it's wear. I removed the sewing and turned it into a stocking.

I started this piece 30 years ago. Well, time happens.

I do love patterns. This white and blue snowflake stocking isn't my original, but I still love it.

This stocking is enormous in real life.

I found a pattern I liked, and worked this on 22 count fabric. I didn't realize how big it would be. It's about 3 feet high and it took me about 4-5 years to complete (with other projects in the middle.)

I made this stocking for my husband-to-be Eric. I made it on a long car trip from Texas to Colorado. 

This was one of my first freehand stockings - except for the header.  I did the swirls by myself, and I did this one in high school.

Needless to say, this one is pretty old.

This is a cross-stitch pattern of angels I made for my brother, David. He's young and cool, seemed like beautiful angels serenading him was realistic.

This stocking was another Quaker pattern and I made it for my dad.