Sunday, May 13, 2012

Pinterest for the Needleworker! And a Contest Winner!


Have you been bitten by the Pinterest bug yet?  If you haven't discovered this way to avoid the work on your desk, doing the laundry or other to do list items.....Here is where you might want to start! Not only are there general pages of many beautiful images to day dream over, there is list upon list of topics that interest the needle-worker or any other area you might want to enjoy.

So what is Pinterest? 
Our experience has been that it's like a little peek inside the studios of many artists!  You get to see what they've pinned up on their bulletin boards.  If you "follow" them, you get to see everything they pin - it just shows up on your own bulletin board.  Julie uses Pinterest as her opening screen for her browser right now - it changes so often, she just keeps "refreshing" through the day.






Wikipedia defines it as: 
"Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections and/or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. Pinterest allows its users to share 'pins' on both Twitter and Facebook, which allows users to share and interact with a broad community. Founded by Ben Silbermann, of West Des Moines, Iowa,the site is managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and inventors. It is one of the "fastest growing social services in the world."'

You can pin your own images, or look at others'.  If you "repin", it shows on your bulletin board and everyone who follows you can see it.  If you just "like" it, it joins a list of likes that you can go back and look for when you need them.  It's also a kind of "shorthand" way to communicated.  Becky will put up a picture, and I will "like" it - may even comment on it - so I don't have to phone or email her to let her know I like it.  (Now, you may think it's not very important if Becky knows if I like something, and you're probably right, but it is handy to take a look at these kinds of things so when we start a new design, we know we have some common ground to draw on).  See?  work-related!

The images link back to the original site that posted them, so if you are really serious about making that special dish you see pictured, you can click on the picture and go to find the recipe.  Or you can read the story that goes with the pictures of the needlework.  


You can pin any image you find on the internet by adding a "pin it" button to your browser - but do be respectful of copyright - most artists love that you are "pinning" their work and showing it around, but there are those who would rather you didn't.  Since it's hard to tell - don't pin from other people's Flicker  or Picasa accounts - those are their private pictures.  Blogs and other "Look at this!" kind of sites usually mean you can pin the photos there - just use your common sense and you'll not go wrong.

So you set up your account and you decide what your boards' topics will be and away you go. Then you are being followed by people you don't know, not truly "followed", just your pins!  You start to follow someone who you have never met before, because they have beautiful pins, Jacki Poulson, whoever she is, is Becky's new favorite to follow... "She has such beautiful pins, they inspire me to want to create, but where is the time to create, when I keep pushing to the next page to see what else there is in this beautiful world of images? I have so many likes, never moving them to my boards and on and on, but isn't it nice to have a world of beautiful imagery to enjoy when you need a break from the rush of life?

I find mermaids and acorns, beautiful gardens and homes, places to travel, artwork of every kind, Sailor's Valentines, cute puppy faces and the recipes, well you don't have enough time in your life to try all the recipes that look oh-so-yummy. Tea Time and Tea Parties, holidays galore, weddings and do you need an idea for a new hairdo or how to paint your fingernails? If you can think it there is probably a pin for it and you can search on and on, depending on what people might title their boards, you find something interesting in so many various categories as you can see by the few that I have listed below that relate to needlework and that I found in searching in a short period of time.  Soon you will be able to find In The Company of Friends on Pinterest as well if I ever let Julie loose from the workroom! Many of your favorite businesses have boards there for you to follow.

So head to http://pinterest.com/  to spend a few minutes (hahaha) ok and hour or so and enjoy all that might interest you.  Below are the sub-categories  I found for needlework to start with.


Pinterest for the Needleworker

English Embroidery




surface Embroidery




Stumpwork Embroidery




Cross Stitch



samplers



needlework



Needlework Tools



Counted Thread



Embroidery



Stitches



Hand Embroidery



Antique Needlework



antique samplers



Ethnic Embroidery



needlework patterns



Thimbles



There are so many more categories that you might explore of your various interests in areas of needlework or anything you can imagine. It seems someone out there is pinning it to a board! 


Contest winner!  Well, this will come as no big surprise to anyone - but Jo Perry has come up with a completely stitched set of the Dark Alphabet before anyone else!  Doesn't it look grand?  As soon as Jo sends us her snail mail address, we'll send her prize out!  A little hand-made token that we think is very fitting to the Dark Alphabet!  Thank you, Jo, for following along with us as we took that journey "to the dark side", bwahahahahaha.



Jo was so wonderful to help us by providing us with pictures, and still, she did more!  As she stitched, she composed a poem - what fun!



The Dark Alphabet Poem

A is for Apple and temptation from snakes
B is for Brimstone and the fiery pits that it makes
C is for Coven and witches three
D is for Devil, a Dutch spinning monkey
E is for Eek, disturbing the peace
F is for Furies, three women from Greece
G is for Gargoyle made out of stone
H is for Headless Horseman on a bay or a roan
I is for Inky Darkness on a black night
J is for Jack-in-a-box who gives you a fright
K is for Kelpie the Scots' water-horse
L is for Lightning Bird and its storms, of course
M is for Mummy with a bandaged head
N is for Necromancy and raising the dead
O is for Occult and fortune telling
P is for Phantom singing in his underground dwelling
Q is for Queen of the Night and her Dark Power
R is for Raven who lives in the Tower
S is for Skeleton made out of bones
T is for Things that go bump and their ghostly moans
U is for Urmahlullu the Protector of the loo
V is for Voodoo, a doll which looks just like you
W is for Wyvern like a dragon with only two feet
X is for Xaphon and demonic bellows fanning the heat
Y is for Yggdrasil the legendary Norse tree
Z is for Zombee, yes - an undead Bee!
This is the whole of the Dark Alphabet
In memory for Lisa who we'll never forget

Written by Jo Perry inspired by Julie Buck's designs.


YOU can still win a prize - just finish stitching before Julie (which gives you LOTS of time!) and send us a photo of the stitched alphabet!  Everyone who does this before Julie finishes will win a prize.  What have you got to lose?

2 comments:

  1. I love Pinterest too - I use it as a kind of visual journal of things I like and that inspire me. Think I've found Julie, so I'll be stalking her now!

    Congrats to Jo too - it's been fun watching the Dark Alphabet come along!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm as much a follower as anything - love to look at everyone else's finds, and I do try to keep my time online down, but it's irresistible, hahahaha.

    Julie

    ReplyDelete

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