I Make Things: Winter edition, pt. 2

Winter is usually a busy time for me as far as art projects go because I am in hibernation mode. This winter, however, I have been dividing my free time between my usual embroidery stuff and writing (shoutout to my newsletter, I hope you’ve subscribed!) so my hoop output has been more modest than usual. For a brief time, I felt a bit guilty about this. One of my goals for 2023 is to apply to be a vendor at the Royal Bison art market, which means that I need to build up a good portfolio. Full disclosure: I haven’t made great progress on that. Not only am I working at a slower pace, but almost all of the projects I’ve completed recently are for my personal collection. After reflecting on my feelings of guilt, I decided they were unnecessary — as they often are. The Royal Bison thing is still a goal, but it’s not my only (or even main) priority right now. As always, I need to follow my instincts even when that means doing things that are not in service of that goal. I think of this as remaining open to whatever the universe is bringing my way.

Here are some of my completed projects:

I went back to the waterlilies theme with a new vision, which has been on my mind since last year. I wanted to incorporate some of my newer techniques and some older ones (the felt leaves) into a larger scale hoop. This was a time-consuming project I had hoped to add to my Royal Bison portfolio, but then my daughter fell in love with it — it reminds her of our family trip to Dutch Lake (which was, in fact, my inspiration). It’s now displayed in her room. This is one client I cannot refuse.

Our basement renos are slowly marching towards completion, which means that I’m getting closer to having a dedicated art-making space. Part of that space will be extra storage/display; my husband surprised me with some pink shelving units, including a picture shelf! In anticipation of having extra space to showcase some personal hoops, I decided to make some new ones. I love peacocks, and this peacock feather design is one I’ve tackled before in other ways (I’ve made several pieces of jewelry). This hoop tested my abilities somewhat, but I am satisfied with how it turned out.

I can’t believe it took me so long to get around to making an Anne Boleyn portrait! Queen Elizabeth I was one of my very first embroidered portraits, so it seems only fitting for her mother to join my collection.

I love cacti and, sadly, I recently lost of my plant babies to an unknown disease. So, after previously making several cactus-theme hoops for others, it was time to make one for myself. The green and purple prickly pears are my perennial favourites to embroider (though they take the longest!) but I am very pleased with the rest of the hoop too — I think I got some nice texture and variety in this one.

I promise that I *have* made a couple of pieces for my portfolio as well, but they are not ready for sharing so we will save them for next time. Hopefully, by then, I will have more exciting news to share.