I’ve been working on the new 2012 calendar lately– so many great quotes, so little time. One of my favorite parts of getting ready to do a new calendar is looking for the quotes. Of course, the internet makes this much easier, but I still like finding obscure quotation books and finding things that are so old yet still so perfect. And there are lots of new people saying and writing wonderful things, thank goodness. I’ve even illustrated quotes from people like comedian Steven Wright and, in this calendar, actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Here are a couple of the drawings I’ve been working on for this calendar, entitled “Wit and Whimsy” (Now THAT title is all-encompassing and makes it easy to find great quotes!).

If you’re interested, you can get my 2011 wall calendar at your local Barnes & Noble or by clicking here. Here’s the cover:

Do me a favor and post any great quotes that you’d like to share in the comments section. OR you could let us know what you think of the 2012 calendar. OR just say whatever you want, because hey– whatever! We love to hear from you.

~Mary

long time ago, I used to embroider all the time. It was such a great thing to take on car trips or to pick up when I didn’t have enough time to start a drawing but felt like doing something creative. I used to embroider work shirts and jeans for me and boys I was dating (remember, this was back during the hippie scare of the late 60’s and early 70’s, when boys wore their hair long and weren’t afraid of a peace sign or a flower or two on the pocket of their shirt). When Phil and I were dating AND taking long car trips to visit friends all over the country, I embroidered a little red VW camper, his dog Jigsy, and of course, tiny versions of the two of us all across the back of his denim shirt.

Then when the boys came along, I embroidered and appliquéd my way through blankets, onesies, overalls, jackets, and pillows until they got old enough to say the word “stop”.

And then I got busy with the business, and the embroidery took a back seat to drawing until I finally stopped altogether. I started again when Mikayla came along and have even taught her some stitches, but as I’ve said before, if it doesn’t involve a horse or a ball, she’s really just being polite.

Now we have a new book out called “Stitched So Cute” from the ever-fabulous Leisure Arts, and it is SO cute (and thus, appropriately titled) that I might have to take up all this stitching stuff again! Take a look at these darling owl and mushroom pincushions. So many wonderful projects and none of them will take you years to complete—which works for me! Because if there’s one thing I love as much as I love making things, it’s instant gratification. If you decide to get this book, let us see your finished projects– I’d love to show them on the website.

Oh, and one final note– we made almost $6000.00 for Doctors Without Borders with our Haiti print. Thanks so much for all of you who supported this worthy cause by buying a print. Although they’re off our radar now, with new disasters cropping up all the time, Haiti still desperately needs our help, especially with hurricane season in full swing. Anything you can do to help will certainly still be appreciated.

~Mary