Many thanks to the kind folks at the Beard Art Center for hosting my first solo gallery show, “Threads.” It was a pleasure!

Inspired by Psalm 65:8
Dawn and dusk take turns calling, ‘Come and worship.”

To be fair, I’m not totally sure exactly how many hours I put into this piece. But with 55 vertical rows and 77 horizontal rows, at an average of 20 mins spent on each row, 44 hours is my best guess. It began with a silhouette, cut out of one of my favorite floral fabrics.

After that, I pulled out my needle and thread and started stitching.

It was important to me that these two intersecting thread systems didn’t just lay on top of each other, but instead be woven into each other. It’s not quite “knit,” of course, but I wanted to convey the same interlocking of materials to form something whole and complete.

It began with this piece of fabric:

After dyeing it light blue, I mixed up a batch of navy RIT dye and slowly dipped the fabric to create an ombre effect. I have very little fabric dyeing experience so at this point I was basically figuring it out as I went along.

Thankfully, it turned out exactly as I’d hoped:

After stretching the fabric onto canvas stretchers, I started painting in the skyline and added some brushstrokes in to deepen the faded look. And I couldn’t resist sprinkling some pastel-colored stars in the sky:

One of my secret wishes for this project was to finally master french knots, the one basic embroidery stitch that has always given me trouble. There are a few wonky ones in there, but I must say that I’m feeling a bit more confident in my french knots these days.

If you want a piece of the night sky for yourself, you can buy the 8×10 “Sky Jewelry” print at my etsy shop. Hope you like how it came out!

Each of the paintings were inspired by a different biblical Psalm; this one was taken from Psalm 37: Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

I absolutely loved stitching these pastel colors directly over my brushstrokes – it was a “no turning back” moment but I really am happy with how it turned out.

Here’s a little look back at the process of creating this one. I loved this painting at each different stage (which isn’t always the case!). It gives me a “safe” feeling and I wish I could crawl inside and spend a week in that sweet little cabin.

An 8×10 print of the painting is available in my etsy shop. Enjoy!

Some images that I’ve been inspired by lately…

1- www.100layercake.com/blog/2012/02/17/the-cream-wedding-ev…

2- www.net-a-porter.com/am/product/111248?

3- www.swiss-miss.com/2012/02/snow-drawings.html

4- ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/2012/02/love-these.html

I’ve been meaning to post these for such a long time – FINALLY getting to it now! Shoulder-Length Purse Chains are now available in my Etsy Shop for converting my illustrated clutches into shoulder bags. They’re super easy to use – each end of the chain has a clip that attaches to a hinged metal loop inside the clutch. (Note: if you have an early edition of one of my clutches, it might not have the loops – I switched to a new purse frame in the past year or so.) You can easily tuck the chain inside the clutch – or remove it entirely – to switch it from shoulder bag to a handheld clutch. Another bonus – the chains are nickel-free so those of us with sensitive skin can wear these on bare shoulders without fear (can you tell I’m looking forward to warm weather?).

In the past year or two I’ve started getting a number of requests for custom wedding designs, and while I really enjoy working on custom projects, there can also be drawbacks – custom work doesn’t always fit within a thrifty bride’s budget, and juggling my job and etsy shop keeps me pretty busy so it can be tough to take on extra projects.

I came up with a way to offer customized products, without the custom pricetag. As an ongoing project, I’m going to be creating different suites of wedding stationery with a whole range of coordinating pieces.

Here’s how it works – you choose the piece(s) that you’d like, order through Alli Coate Weddings and submit your text in the “Notes to Seller” field. Within 24 hours you’ll get a digital proof e-mailed to you to double-check for any mistakes. Once you’ve approved your design, you’ll receive a print ready PDF file- ready to print on your home printer or send to a local or online shop. You can print as many or as few as you need; the cost stays the same.

Take a look… what do you think? What other products would you like to see?