I have felt so remiss lately because it has been weeks since I did a blog post.  I have been Busy!  It has been a full summer with teaching, suffering summer colds, cranking out orders, writing stitch guides, stitching, designing, and having out of town family visiting.  (Loved That!)  The next few weeks are already filled up as well, so I decided to re-post two old blog entries from 2009.

Yesterday, our first summer monsoon arrived!  If anyone knows about AZ monsoon season, you know this is a highly anticipated event.  It heralds in cooling relief for the next several weeks from the intense 'dry' heat the region is famous for.  Yesterday's arrival was a bit of a surprise.  Usually the day falls in mid July, after weeks of seeing the clouds build every afternoon.  But what a lovely surprise it was!  And IF ONLY I could market the smell of Arizona wet earth, dampened by rain!  I'd be a billionaire!  I envision selling it in spray cans, so people could aerate their rooms and walk around in aromatic bliss!  Moods would change...people would be more kind, cheerful.  They would also feel more energized from the faux ions charging the air.  Lots of stitching would get done!  Chores would be whipped right out, with no grumbling!  Colors would appear brighter, more vibrant.
Ok..ok, but Hey...placebo works, right?

Here's the placebo effect in stitch!  Enjoy and go gaze at your own clouds!




 

Janet Perry sent me a photo of this piece called Gibraltar, inspired by Clarice Cliff’s pottery.  I don’t know about Clarice’s pottery, but I’m going to find out.  I bet it is very appealing!  The clouds stitched here are in Nobuko stitch using Medici and have a whipped backstitch outline.  Very nice!



Well OK now....Thank You  Google for enlightening me!  She was only
“The most prolific and possibly important Art Deco ceramics designer of
the Twentieth Century!”    Here are two of her pieces where the influence
for the above canvas is surely represented:



Such designs would be very engaging to stitch!  Very graphic and bold clouds, these!  The stitches used in the Gibraltar clouds are the right choice.





Sundance Designs mother/daughter team conspired on this beautiful landscape which they taught at a Sundance stitching retreat in (where else!) Sedona, AZ , probably 10 years ago.  Nandra Hotchkiss selected the threads and stitches, for which she has an amazing talent!  She can study a piece and see the perfect stitch in her mind’s eye, just as they will appear!  Her mother Cassie stitched the piece beautifully and skillfully, following Nandra’s instructions.
(I bet she didn’t even have to rip out!)



Here again, as in the Gibraltar piece, the clouds are bold and graphic, reminiscent of the Art Deco period.  These types of designs are very satisfying to stitch because the ‘layout’ is easy to follow, easily defined, and shows off the various stitch patterns to their fullest.   Nandra brilliantly chose progressively darkening colors for the receding clouds, as if a thunder storm were brewing!



 My final word for you today (June 17, 2012) is this:   For the ultimate in Cloud Stitching...check out  the Stitch Landscape book by Little Shoppe Canvas Company, inc.  ©2011
I've never seen such beautiful stitches for clouds 'under one roof!'  Not to mention flowers, grass, mountains, sand, shrubbery, sky, snow, soil, stone, trees, water.  Yep..that's the stitch reference book to go to!  Ask you LNS to order it for you if they don't have it in stock!  (I received no compensation for this endorsement!)  Happy Stitching, clouds, rain, or not!