This little ditty

Punchneedle embroidery has been referred to as thread painting because of

its ability to create intricate designs...

...the concept is simple ~ thread or yarn is punched through a fabric with a pencil-shaped hollow needle,

leaving tufted loops on the top of the fabric.

Viewed this close, don't the loops look large, akin to a hooked rug?

They're not.  They're itty-bitty.  And I wish you could feel the texture of

this.

So fine!

It is embroidery thread...masses and masses of embroidery thread
and much softer than I had imagined...

A thousand  THANK YOUs  to Penny for creating this little ditty bag
and for hosting such a delightful Spring Giveaway over on her blog, Art Journey
(where my name jumped out of the winner's hat.)

Truth be told, I couldn't wait to pull out the contents to see what Penny
had hidden inside...

...that's when I discovered how meticulously lined it was,

with delicate hand stitches all around the top edge

and circumnavigating the entire wee handle.

One awesome ditty bag, wouldn't you say?

Penny has been working on punchneedle pieces for some time now.

I have been fascinated by her blog posts describing her process

and progress through experimentation with loop heights, design choices and color mixing of threads.

If you'd like to see more of what she's up to, hop on over to Art Journey

and do a keyword search on "punchneedle."

Two of my very faves are this one (love the button)

and this (love this button even more!)

With much gratitude,

this little ditty has found a good home...

Next exit...

This is the exit I'm taking this weekend...

see you there?

My Other Self...

While visiting the other day over at Kate's blog, Chronicles of a Country Girl, 

I became intrigued with a challenge she'd taken up...

seems that a fellow blogger, Karen at This Old House 2,

has invited anyone interested to answer this question:

"What does YOUR Other Self look like?"

Thought I'd play along...

***None of the photos are mine - please click on the highlighted word in each caption for credits.

My Other Self bravely roams the wilds of the earth and then

writes the most  heartbreaking  painfully beautiful poems

to tell the tales...

she has so much strength she is

powerful enough to free Tibet...

She is also clever enough to learn time travel...

she'd go back to 1777 so that she could wear this dress 

if only for one day...

(ohh the voluminous fabric, all that exquisite bead embroidery!)

She would study drawing with this man in 1474...

and being tireless, she would then wander the desert with O'Keefe

for a long, long time.

My Other Self strives harder to put the world to rights...

and makes sure every dawg has a home.

 

My Other Self  always  maintains an interesting and positive perspective, 

even if that means standing in the darkness awhile until her eyes adjust

or extending herself beyond what she ever thought possible.

: : : : :

If you'd like to join in the fun, please do.  Just link to Karen at This Old House 2.  Lots of good reads over there from many 'Other Self's...

Hope you've all been enjoying a lovely weekend,