Winters are for hibernation in my world, which means lots of extra time for art. Sometimes, the making comes easy. Sometimes it doesn’t. I have come to accept this for what it is: a facet of my mental wellbeing. I try not to “push through” at times when it feels like rolling a stone up a mountain, and using that “me time” in other ways that feel more nourishing in the moment. I find this helps me to connect with my art, when I make it, in a more meaningful way. Learning to lean into that intuition has also helped to explore new themes and techniques. Even a new form!

Yes, after years of thinking about it, I am finally trying punch needle embroidery. Still in a very early learning phase, but I promise there will be a recap soon.

In the meantime, here are some of the other things I’ve been making.

A throwback to an old theme — one day I felt the need to work on something really bright and cheerful, so I created another abstract sunflower hoop. It’s like a ray of sunshine on a grey day.

I also did another, slightly different take on the painterly waterlily theme. This then led me into a new direction, exploring some landscapes.

This hoop was inspired by the work of Tom Thomson, one of the Group of 7 famous Canadian painters. Incorporating texture in various ways is the fun challenge of this style of embroidery. I like working with felt wherever I can because it’s easy to cut into shape and it provide a textural contrast to the floss.

This hoop was inspired by a painting by Gustav Klimt. I had used Klimt for inspiration before in my abstract floral hoops, so this was both a departure and a home-coming of sorts.

This last landscape was inspired by a photo by Jamie Beck of Provence in the spring. The flowers are irises, my favourite. Translating a photo (as opposed to a painting) into an embroidery design was more challenging than I was expecting; I am not entirely happy with how this hoop turned out, but perhaps I am being overly picky — my husband loved it.

And now for something completely different. I actually created this hoop in between some of the landscape ones; I needed a change of pace. I previously did a mermaid hoop years ago, and wanted to revisit that. I gave away the old hoop and, unfortunately, didn’t keep a photo of it. It would have been interesting to compare the two, years apart.

I randomly became obsessed with pomegranates recently, so I made this mini hoop for fun. I used some examples of medieval embroidery as inspiration, as that was the aesthetic that most appealed to me. I am not a fan of using gold thread in my embroidery — it’s a PITA to work with — but I made an exception because this design called for it.

Speaking of random, fun ideas — out of the blue, I became obsessed with the idea of a frog wearing a ruff collar, so I knocked up this frog prince design. I love it so much! Definitely one for my personal collection.

I don’t know about you guys but 2022 was a mixed bag of a year, and I am being fairly generous in that description. I’m feeling generous because, style-wise at least, it was pretty darn good. This year, I felt good in my clothes; able to express myself — the me of now — in a way that felt authentic and eloquent. Towards the end of the year (the last few months), I began to feel a little more disoriented, shall we say, but that is not unusual as my mental health tends to dip in the winter months and this deeply affects all my creative pursuits. There have been other things contributing to a not-so-great mood heading into the holiday season and that always seems to end up reflecting in how I dress. There were still some stellar outfits recently, but I’ve been feeling less sure of myself and my aesthetic “vision” as I did earlier. However, I think I’ll be able to steer the ship right again as we head into a new year. New year, new me. Same as the old me, but better (one hopes).

Here’s a look back at some of my favourite outfits of 2022.

It’s easy to spot some trends here, isn’t it? I played with a few themes this year: the summer Prairie Bohemian, the spring/fall Historian, plus the perennial favourite All Things Colourful. I brought back mini skirts and kick flare jeans, bought some trendy shoes and a million belts, and did my best to make Papa Ralph proud (kidding not kidding). It will be more of the same next year, but also maybe a few new things. I’ve been super into graphic black and white patterns lately, and I would like to continue to play around with that. I’ve also been seeing some new intriguing trends coming out with that 90s nostalgia influence that I love, so I will be keeping my eye on those. I would love to hear what you’re excited for in 2023 too — fashion, travel, or anything else. Let’s get hyped together!

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!

Details: H&M shirt, Marie Saint Pierre dress, Issey Miyake skirt, BCBG harness (all secondhand), Zara boots (retail), Copper Canoe Woman earrings

Thoughts: I haven’t watched the new Wednesday series on Netflix but I have heard and seen so much about it, that I almost feel like I have. It did inspire some nostalgia for the Christina Ricci version I watched when I was young; hence, this homage. I haven’t done a witchy outfit in a while, and it was nice to build all the layers here including this beautiful MSP dress I don’t think I’ve worn since 2020. The harness was the perfect finishing touch.

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck (retail, old), Judith & Charles jacket, Paul Smith pants (both secondhand), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: This is a remix on an outfit I wore not too long ago; I substituted the turtleneck for the sequin top this time, as I was going to the office (for a long day of meetings) and needed something warmer. I got lots of compliments on the outfit, and the pants in particular. I will say that I find that D-ring belt to be extremely finicky although perhaps I am to blame — maybe I’m not using it properly? Off to Google for a belt tightening tutorial, hah!

Details: Ralph Lauren sweater, vintage velvet dress, BR belt (all thrifted), J. Crew blazer (retail, old)

Thoughts: I really wish I had chosen a trendier shoe for this outfit, to add a little bit of edge. Something with a platform would have been good. Otherwise, this is an old Ralph Lauren formula that never lets me down. Belting the sweater makes it work — imagine this without the belt, and the proportions would be all wrong for me.

Details: Vince dress, Second Female cardigan (both thrifted), Zara boots (retail)

Thoughts: Isn’t this such a 90s throwback? But, at the same time, it feels fresh to me. I’ve stayed away from silk slip dresses before because I find they often don’t sit “right” on my body — it’s a tricky silhouette to cut well. I like this one, though. I also think the dark colour and the small pattern help; the material doesn’t end up looking super shiny (which I don’t like). I felt this needed a long topper, and this cardigan was perfect not just in terms of the length and material (a nice textural contrast) but also the colour. The pale, slightly faded blue works beautifully against the brown-black pattern.

Details: H&M dress, Issey Miyake skirt, Twinset blazer, Suzi Roher belt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: This blazer is stunning IRL and has a baroque-meets-rock ‘n roll vibe that immediately fired my imagination. However, I’m finding it harder to style with my actual clothes than I thought I would, which has been rather disappointing. This outfit turned out pretty well, but it was the only one that I tried and worked. It’s back to the drawing board, but let’s take a moment to appreciate this effort.

Details: Moschino tee, Jones NY blazer, Frame jeans (all thrifted), Warren Steven Scott earrings

Thoughts: I haven’t done a graphic tee outfit in a while, and thought this newly thrifted blazer provided the perfect opportunity to revisit. I’ve been mildly obsessed with velvet-collar blazers in the last few months, and finally found one that checked off most of the boxes. I especially love the way the black velvet pops against the grey wool; it looks so sharp and modern to me. I would have preferred the blazer to be a touch longer and the waist a bit more cinched, but thrifters can’t be choosers. It’s a vintage number in perfect condition, so I know the quality is better than what I could find today at Zara.

Details: Ralph Lauren turtleneck, Maison 500 blazer, Michael Kors skirt worn as dress (all thrifted)

Thoughts: This was my Christmas dinner outfit this year. We had a very low key day, but I made the effort to dress up a bit for my dad; I know this time of year is hard for both of us, without mom here. Our celebrations will probably never be as festive again, but I wanted him to feel that spending that time with him is very special to me. Was I overthinking an outfit? Maybe, but what’s new around here.

I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful and joyful holiday season with loved ones. See you on Thursday for the last post of 2022!