Getting ready to exhibit again

I have been having a "crisis of design" lately.  In trying to finish off some designs to have them ready for the October 2013 Creative Festival in Toronto, I have rediscovered designers that I admire.  However, a long known personal flaw has resurfaced - "if I can't design as well as that, there really is no point".  So I am in a bit of a funk today.  That being said, here are the designs I'll be teaching in October for "Stitch a Scrapbook Page".

The central design will be the focus of the 3-hour class, where an actual photo is attached at the end.  All of the designs are 10 x 10" to fit perfectly into scrapbooking - a nice way to combine two obsessions.  The other two designs have cross-stitched photos, and then additional counted thread embellishment and framing.

AND.....(yes, I was totally shocked too)

I pulled out the alphabet sampler and it's going to be done for the show.  I'm working on the final border now as fibres from Rainbow Gallery arrived yesterday [they have the most wonderful designer support I can not praise that company enough].  Here's a peak prior to finishing....

There are a few others that I'd like to work on...but the stitch diagrams for the alphabet sampler are taking up almost all of my time...the chart / book alone is more than 26 pages...but it's going to be super worth it, even as a hands-on reference of hundreds of stitches.  Sometimes I just don't feel like looking up my stitch online and prefer my books.  Just in case you're wondering, my favourite stitch reference books are (in no particular order):

• The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christensen
• Mary Thomas' Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches
• The Complete Needlepoint Guide by Susan Sturgeon-Roberts
• A-Z of Embroidery Stitches from Inspirations Magazine (I like the magazine too, but can't afford a subscription in that it's overseas  :(   )

That's it for now...one post every two years?  Might have to improve on that.