Decisions, decisions...

So, I'm about 80% finished with this purse and I start thinking that I wish I had tan dyed the background wool more, and it's REALLY bothering me.  It's important to me that it look just right, so I wrestled with 1:  completely starting over (do I have time?) or 2:  taking this almost finished purse and giving it a good dunking in the dye pot (very scary) .  I asked myself:  Would it really make THAT much difference if it stays this light color (yes), will the lighter embroidery threads become too dark (probably), can I fix them if they do (purse is stitched with lining firmly in place and any new embroidery will show on the inside of the purse), does that bother me (yes).  Can I live with that (?).  I  made up my mind that I had to do one or the other and knowing I was prepared to start over if necessary,  I got the dye bath ready, took a deep breath, and went for it.  Here's how it went:  The purse is still wet, but I like the color ALOT better.  Bee's wings and some flower details will have to be restitched, but that's easy and will hardly show on the inside (but it still bothers me).  I wont know for sure if all is well until it's dry, but all in all, I feel like I made the right decision... I think.

I was trying to think of ways to drive traffic to my blog and thought I would try to contact Jan Patek who had kindly linked her old website to mine back when I had my Rabbit's Gift website, so I looked her up on Facebook and sent her a message.  I was feeling good about it until I realized I had messaged her and sent the friend request from my 20 year old daughters fb page (that had been left up) instead of mine.  I was horrified, as the colorful shenanigans that scroll across my newsfeed from Jessica's page were not the image I wanted to portray, especially since I was asking for a huge favor.   So Jan, if you happen to read this, sorry for the mix up-and please know, she really is a good girl! (most of the time).

New Purse pattern coming along nicely!

Have been super busy with the new purse pattern!  I think it's coming along very nicely, am hoping to have things wrapped up by Monday, but it's going to be close!  Wow, that's more than a little redundant, I'll do better next time...I'm also thinking I use too many exclamation points.

Back to work.

Had a WONDERFUL weekend, hope ya'll did too.  Love, love, love the colors I came up with for the new project-a felted wool applique purse with embroidery embellishments that I'm very excited about- AND had a great time at my sister Cathy's Easter get together on Sunday.  I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard, we should definitely do that more often.  I have the sweetest, funniest sisters on the planet. and I don't think I tell them often enough how I treasure them and their equally delightful daughters. Thanks to my niece Michelle, for the gift of the beautiful silk scarf she brought me from her visit to Cambodia, and to everyone else in attendance for making it so much fun.  I love you guys.
Now, I'm off to get started on that purse!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Claire Denny and I am a pattern designer.  I work primarily in felted wool which I hand dye.  I've been designing patterns for quilt shops for some time now, several years ago under the name Rabbit's Gift and currently as Claire Denny Pattern Company.  The years in between the past and present designing endeavors were spent raising 3 wonderful daughters-Jessica, Tori, and Alex, going through an amicable divorce (we remain good friends),  reentering the workforce after too long an absence (terrifying!) and finally coming full circle back to designing, which is my passion.  In this blog I hope to  post current and upcoming projects and share tips on wool dying and wool applique.  My patterns are currently available through United Notions, shop owners will find them here:   www.unitednotions.com  under Claire Denny Pattern Company in the "Pattern" section of the "Notions" tab. 
This page is a work in progress, so bear with me while I get the hang of things, and please, your comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated!