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The Needlework Nutshell?October 1, 2007 Volume 3, Issue 10 October 1, 2007 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL Needlework news, musings, tips, contests, and what?s happening now at FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Editor: Jen Funk Weber Mail to: mailto:mail@funkandweber.com Web site: http://www.funkandweber.com Your privacy is important to us. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. *********************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *********************************************************** 1. Needlework Musings 2. Tips and Tricks and Brilliant Ideas 3. What?s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Readers Ask 5. Reader Commitments 6. Puzzle Contest 7. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** I picked up a concept from one of my business support groups recently, and I can't get it out of my head: Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a day, and underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. That rings true for me--at least the part about overestimating what I can accomplish in a day. It seems I never check all the items off my daily to-do list. Apparently, I'm not the only one. Whether I underestimate what I can accomplish in a year is harder to say because--shame on me!--I don't define long term goals as concretely or in such detail. Good business people do, I suppose. I'm not sure why I've glommed onto this concept. Maybe it makes me feel normal: no one's creating concepts just for me; others must have the same experience. Or maybe it gives me hope: I may not feel as though I don't get much done over the course of a day, but I'm probably getting more done over the course of a year than I am aware. Clearly, none of us has a very good grasp on time. We think days are longer than they are and years are shorter. We all want more hours in a day, and are shocked when years flash by like information on a super-highway. This concept holds true for needlework, too. Two hours of stabbing a needle and thread through fabric didn't yield much change on the new puzzle pattern last night. But in less than a year, with only sporadic efforts, I can see the shape of the piece. It's been less than a year since I mentioned wanting to do something good with needlework, and less than a year since a bunch of you said, "Yes! Let's do something good with needlework!" In that time (did I mention it's been less than a year?), we came up with a cause to support (literacy), two different ways to support it (pattern sales and bookmark donations), and three paths that lead to those goals (bookmark pattern series, annual Bookmark Challenge to shops, local outreach programs at libraries). We've got a logo, a Web site, a blog. We've got other designers designing bookmarks and donating a portion of profits to literacy programs, and we have shop owners who have accepted the Bookmark Challenge. Not bad for *less than a year.* In fact, I can hardly believe how far we've come. During most of the journey to this point, I confess I felt lost and overwhelmed. I guess things were happening all along, all those baby steps added up. Now, and for the next 6 weeks, we sit back, stitch, and read (listen to books on tape, have someone read aloud?). Yeeeeeeee-ha! Is your local needlework shop participating in the 2007 Bookmark Challenge? Have you picked a participating shop to support? Are you ready to stitch a bookmark that will be given to a child as a reward for reading? Have you picked out the book(s) you want to read over the next 6 weeks? It's okay to pick a long one. You may overestimate what you can read in a day, but chances are you underestimate what you can read in 6 weeks. Maybe next month we'll brainstorm ideas for the coming year. Right now, I want to enjoy the reading and stitching we planned for this year. We've earned it. *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS AND BRILLIANT IDEAS *********************************************************** Let's talk about bookmarks. We use lovely fabrics and fibers, spend time plying our needles when we could be watching TV or staring at our feet, and we create beautiful, useful objects. Then what? We shut them up in books! Um?er?excuse me? It's true. We pour our time, money, love, and skill into bookmarks, then hide them away between the pages of our latest tome. Well, not *my* bookmarks, folks! My bookmarks are not shy: they're proud and prefer to be seen, even while doing their duty. As you will see in the first Funk & Weber Designs bookmark pattern (Read-It, Read-It), http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/designss.html#ri I've used what I call a "shepherd's hook." It's a metal hook from which you can hang any number of things--a piece of needlework, for example. The hook goes inside the book to mark your spot; the hanging needlework dangles outside the book, its loveliness visible to the world. I love shepherd's hooks for their form and function, and often use mine as pointers and playthings as I'm reading. As you will see in bookmark #3 when it comes out (soon, I hope--they just need to be printed), ribbons can be used in a similar way: Attach a ribbon to the needlework and the ribbon marks the page while the needlework drapes over the front of the book. Afraid of damaging the needlework when you jam your books into a backpack? No worries. Tuck the needlework inside the front cover as needed for protection. Bummed because you've already stitched the kind that go inside books? No worries. Retro-fit ribbons or hooks and put your needlework on display *outside* the books! Here's a tutorial for how to use hooks and ribbons for your needlework bookmarks. It's a snap! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/bookmark.html *********************************************************** 3. WHAT?S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER *********************************************************** Watch the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy blog for stitch-by-stitch coverage of the 2007 Bookmark Challenge. Participating shops, designers, manufacturers, sponsors, and maybe stitchers will be highlighted and interviewed on the blog. Lots of fun, inspiration, and the inside scoop! If you don't have a participating shop nearby, send your bookmarks to one of the shops listed on the Needle and ThREAD blog site, or donate them to your local library. Send me a picture or an email when you do. http://jenfunkweber.com/blog ~~~~~~~~~~ Along with Karen at Arctic Needle and members of the Arctic Needleworkers embroidery guild, I am leading two Make-It/Take-It stitching events Anchorage libraries in October. Come learn to stitch and create a bookmark! October 14, 2-4 p.m. Loussac Public Library October 20, 2-4 p.m. Muldoon Branch Library Materials, free to participants, are provided by guild members and Arctic Needle http://www.arcticneedle.com The Gentle Art http://www.thegentleart.com/ga/home.ASP Norden Crafts http://www.nordencrafts.com/hmpage.html Weeks Dye Works http://www.weeksdyeworks.com and Wal*Mart http://www.walmart.com I am grateful for the generosity and support of these people and companies. I've created a new design for this program, so come even if you already know how to stitch. We'll put you to work helping someone else, and you'll get the new pattern. It's an ambigram, and I think it's way-cool! You can get a peek at it on the blog: http://www.jenfunkweber.com/blog ~~~~~~~~~~ Update on the new activity book gig: The project is officially dead. Due to complications beyond the control of the publisher, the books have been abandoned. Bummer. But such is life in publishing. On to other things. ~~~~~~~~~~ I will be teaching 3 classes at the TNNA NeedleArts Market in Long Beach, CA, in January: *Fabulous, Funky, and Fun Fiber Artist Trading Cards - This is a group class taught with Heather from monsterbubbles, Jenny from Sublime Stitching, Kat from Cross-Eyed Kat, and Sharon from Crescent Colours. *Make-It/Take-It Projects for Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, and Embroidery *Reaching Tweens, Reaching Teens, Reaching Out - Ideas for outreach programs targeting this audience. This is a wholesale trade show, so students are shop owners and designers. If you have any advice or ideas to offer on any of these subjects, I'm listening. ~~~~~~~~~~ I'm still working on the new puzzle pattern. It's the same "new" pattern that I started in February (or sometime) and will remain "new" until it's published and has been for sale for at least 6 months. What can I say? Needlework progress is slow. ~~~~~~~~~~ I'm awaiting word on dates for a potential 2008 Stitch-N-Safari. Is there enough interest to put a trip together? Please let me know if you might be interested. Information about these special stitching tours is available on our web site: http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/tour.html *********************************************************** 4. READERS ASK *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com Grace asks if we plan to do another Live Trunk Show Tour anytime soon. Mike and I talked about this just recently. We would love to, but times have changed. The Funk & Weber live-in van has been retired, and gas prices are double what they were when we did the first Tour. A nationwide 8-month tour is probably out of the question unless we get a sponsor to cover hotel and gas expenses. People are sponsored to ride bicycles and walk across the country, so I see no reason such a thing couldn't happen, but I'm not sure *how* to make it happen, so a nationwide trip is not on our radar at the moment. However, shorter trips are always a possibility. In fact, we'll be on the west coast between Washington and southern California during December/January. I'd love to visit shops, schools, libraries, etc. during that time and do classes or slide shows. If you're in a position to book such an event and are interested, please drop me a line. If you're not in such a position, you can mention the idea to your local shop owner, your child's teacher, or anyone else who might want to host a program. My slide show, *Winter in Alaska's Bush*, is always ready to go, and shows how Funk & Weber Designs came to be. I'm prepared to teach needlework bracelets and tags classes, too. Information about school visit programs is available on my writing Web site. http://www.funkandweber.com/jfw/visits.html Beyond that, we're game for all kinds of crazy fun stuff. Did you have something in mind? *********************************************************** 5. READER COMMITMENTS *********************************************************** We, the daring and determined, commit ourselves to making progress NOW on projects we wish to complete before the end of the year. This is what I call "throwing our hats over the fence." Once we do that, we have no choice but to go get them; we have to follow through. *Gail* JULY: "Finish THE GREAT OUTDOORS that I got in Alaska 2 summers ago." She's done the border and that's it. OCTOBER: Almost finished the O. *Rayna* JULY: "Make 8 Christmas ornaments, one for each of my granddaughters." FINISHED! *Linda* JULY: "Finish SILENT NIGHT. Start and finish a design made from a photo of best friend's cabin in Alaska. Start and finish THE TRAIL HOME." SEPTEMBER: "THE TRAIL HOME is coming along. The pattern-from-photo project isn't working out, and has been knocked off the priority list. She's replaced it with a Sudberry Orchids chart. OCTOBER: Whoops! I didn't get in touch with Linda in a timely manner this month. My bad. She's been so consistent, though, that I'm betting she's made good progress. *Jen* JULY: I want to finish the new puzzle pattern and make crazy quilted ornaments for my nephews and niece. I've been meaning to make those ornaments for *years!* OCTOBER: Pfft! I'm working on the puzzle pattern, but the ornaments are off the list, replaced by TNNA class prep, more bookmark patterns, my EGA ICC homework, Roman shades, and a million other things. It'll be another year (at least!) before the kids get those particular ornaments. Let's go, team! *********************************************************** 6. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! Solve this puzzle, and be entered to win a free Funk & Weber Designs pattern! Winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries. E-mail your answer, with ?PUZZLE CONTEST? in the subject line. The deadline for this month?s puzzle is midnight (Alaska time, of course) October 7, 2007. The winner will be selected on October 8, 2007 (or shortly thereafter), notified by e-mail, and announced on our web site and in the next NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To avoid sending e-mail attachments, contest puzzles will be uploaded to our web site. I will provide a link to the puzzle in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/sim1007.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~ September PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: Katrina and Andrew from Waco, TX. Question: What do you do if you see a spaceman? Answer: Park in it, dude! *********************************************************** 7. CONTACT FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS *********************************************************** SUBSCRIBE: 57410-subscribe@zinester.com UNSUBSCRIBE: 57410-unsubscribe@zinester.com ARCHIVES: http://archives.zinester.com/57410 Jen Funk Weber mail@funkandweber.com http://www.funkandweber.com Copyright 2007, Funk & Weber Designs |
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