Contemplative Mopping and Trend Watching

Have you ever noticed that the minute you say you need to mop the kitchen or clean the bathroom that everyone in your house disappears? I have decided to make that to my advantage in order to get some peace and quite around here. So tonight while I was mopping I was reflecting on my short trip to the mall this week. Now you have to know.. I say "this week" and what I should really say is ~this year~ since I have not been to the mall since this very time last year. I don't like the mall, the place gives me the hives but once a year I go there to get my favorite perfumes when they goes on sale in the holiday gift boxes..usually packaged with extras. Now don't get me wrong it's not that I don't like to shop, since I do.. antiques, fabrics, thrift stores, yep, mall, nope. Lots people, lots of artificial light and way to much noise for my taste.

So when I do go on my yearly pilgrimage I try to make it worth my time by watching the trends I see working their way across the retail landscape. For some these might not be as easy to spot if you are there all the time ( sort of like not being able to see how big a puppy has gotten if you see them all the time) but for me they are very evident and I do think that it's important to pay attention to such things especially for those in the business of embroidery. While not necessary to follow all the trends at least knowing about them lets you keep up to date with what you embroider for yourself or offer to your customers.


One trend that I noticed was the notes of subtle embroidery. And while subtle it's also quite playful in it's placement. A small motif on the cuff of a sweat pant, the waist of some yoga pants or on the inner wrist area of a long sleeve knit t-shirt. Even on the inside waist band of some jeans! This is embroidery meant to charm the wearer, not announce it's location to the world. I was quite intrigued by this idea and my mind wandered to a few knit shirts that I have that might be good candidates for such a subtle bit of whimsy. ( I told you mopping the kitchen floor is a very solitary job around here.. no one had yet even said a peep to me.. quite nice really)

So after mopping was done I headed off to the back of the house where my studio is located..but to be safe, on my way I loudly announced that I was going to go clean out the cat boxes, assuring that I might not see anybody till dinner time! So safely back in my studio I pondered on embroidering the cuff of my shirt. Such small places are often difficult and fiddley. I assume that in ready to wear the embroidery is done before construction but I did not have that option and really did not want to open up the sleeve since I wanted this to be a fast and easy job.
 
As I stood there and pondered my eyes fell to my work table piled high with socks that I embroidered a few days ago that needed to be readied for Christmas. In that pile was my trusty Sock Easy.. ohhhhhhh now there was an idea! So I went to work seeing if it would work.. in theory it should but I have had my share of crack-pot theories so it really was best to run a test. So I loaded up my Sock Easy just like Cookie taught me all those years ago ( shirt turned inside out just like doing a cuffed sock)..

 

 
I could instantly see that this idea had great promise. Problem being was that my cuff was much wider than a sock, but once stuck down in the hoop and with a small pin used to keep everything in place I was ready to go with the Sock Easy keeping the fabric clear of the stitching area. Cookie says to use a pin to remember which way is up.. I used a water soluble marker but I think both ideas are valid, but I am a goober about remembering to remove the pin so I went with the marker! So then to the machine..
 

 

and less than three minutes later I had a wonderful little motif that does indeed make me smile each time I see if there on the inside of my wrist!

 

I then went on to do the ankle hem of my winter leggings... I see a minor obsession coming on!