Often referred to as a negative, I’ve always thought of obsessions as a lifeline to exploration, creativity, joy and boundless energy. Being obsessed with something (rather than someone) results in any number of truly awe-inspiring things, such as these artists who carve thread spools into amazing miniature works of art. Or Andrea Love whose website… Continue reading The Joy of Obsession
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I spent at least 16 hours this weekend analyzing and stitching examples of the Trellis Stitch. Specifically the spiral trellis stitch, which was one of dozens of stitches that adorned the Plimoth Jacket, a women’s waistcoat, made in the early 1600’s. Another heavily embroidered jacket is in the costume collection at the Metropolitan Museum here… Continue reading What I Did Over the Weekend…
read moreI think of color as having personality. I get a sense of colors much the way I get a sense of people at a dinner party. There are those who dominate the conversation, others who are quiet, yet have really interesting things to say once encouraged. Some people light up when seated next to someone… Continue reading The Personality of Color
read moreI’ve been thinking about relationships a lot. Perhaps that’s because I’m coming up on my 20th wedding anniversary with this awesome man. Our relationship has seen its ups and downs, but we are committed to doing the hard work of showing up for each other no matter how painful and difficult that may be. As… Continue reading A Commitment to Show Up
read moreJack Kornfield, American author and teacher, who trained in Thailand as a Buddhist monk, did an exercise where he asked everyone to imagine they were close to death. And then he asked – in those final moments what held the most importance for them. Most people did not list all the things they’d accomplished, prizes… Continue reading Giving Thanks
read moreA little humor to start off the day. It must be said that my mother did not send me any of these, however she might have, had she seen them. Here you go, Mom. I love you. I’m feeling a bit like Pooh Bear. To any of you offended by the f-word, these are unprecedented… Continue reading Chaos, Humor & a Do-Over
read moreIf you haven’t already, VOTE! Every single vote counts. So go vote. And if you’re like me, you’ll be taking a little bag with you filled with some fabric, lots of threads and a pair of scissors neatly protected in a hand stitched Scissor Case. Oh c’mon, you didn’t expect me NOT to link to… Continue reading Stitch, Vote, Stitch…
read moreAs our internet is FINALLY up and running and my email is now, miraculously and somewhat bizarrely suddenly working again, I decided yesterday afternoon to do an impromptu live stream. It was very last minute, and touch and go, as the internet began misbehaving the minute I tried to live stream, but in the end… Continue reading The Pandemic & Life
read moreI’ve been working away on my latest project: “Stitch Along With Ariane”, which is actually a Zoom Series that will span 8 weeks, with a weekly Zoom meet-up to discuss the past week’s lesson, and the following week’s stitches. I’m working on the background stitching while awaiting the last of my threads to arrive. I’m… Continue reading Designing, Ripping Out & A Video From My Mother
read moreEvidently the Dorset Button has a long and interesting history beginning with a soldier, Abraham Case, who saw buttons hand fashioned by his fellow soldiers during his time fighting in Europe in the early 1600’s. After the war he returned to his hometown, married and moved to Shaftesbury, where he decided to replicate the buttons… Continue reading Dorset Buttons: A Little History & A Lot of Fun
read moreI don’t know about you but the interminability, the endlessness of this pandemic hits me in waves. For the most part I am able to brush it off, keep going, keep stitching, keep designing, but there are other times when it all just feels like a massive punch to the gut. When is this ever… Continue reading The Pandemic & the Things That Unite Us
read moreIt all began with the Stem Stitch, a much over-looked stitch. I decided I needed to explore it and see if I could find a little excitement while doing so. I had no idea that this stitch would be the beginning of something wonderful! I pulled out some hand dyed linen that I’d bought and… Continue reading Design, Exploration & A Finished Piece
read moreEvery now and then my work space becomes unmanageable. I’m not the most organized person, but I know where everything is in my little chaotic work area, until it reaches a point when I can’t stand it any more. So yesterday I did what my husband always does (he’s a masterful organizer) when he’s organizing… Continue reading Organizing Threads, Stitching & Love
read moreLet’s kick things off with a new design, shall we?! What? Didn’t she just unveil a new design a couple of weeks ago, you might ask. Yes. Yes, I did. I’ve been very busy! This last one is a companion piece to the Glasses Case. It’s a scissor case! Which, if you’re like me, you… Continue reading A New Design, A Stroll & Mischief
read moreIf you’d like to laugh and explore stitching (or in my case attempting to) with silk gimp and the thicker gimp that Painter’s Threads hand dyes, this was the live stream I did yesterday. Warning: We laughed A LOT. My attempts at using the crinkly silk gimp became more comedic than informative… However, I am… Continue reading Stitching with Gimp and a lot of Laughter
read moreI am a bit tardy in getting this post out to the world as I went on a little adventure this morning and filmed it so all of you can join me, if you like, tomorrow morning, when I post it on my YouTube Channel: Ariane Zurcher ~ On the Other Hand. I rarely go… Continue reading A New York City Adventure And the Winner is…
read moreI did another live stream yesterday. We covered the Split Stitch and the Split Back Stitch, which I prefer. I really love live streaming. It’s so much more fun to demonstrate stitches when people are responding, giving suggestions, asking questions, than when I’m just demonstrating a stitch to a silent room. In addition I don’t… Continue reading Designing and The Joys & Pitfalls of Live Streaming
read moreI know you cannot wait to see what little tidbit of joy my mother sent me, but first things first… I cut my hair with my trusty 10″ Kai Fabric Scissors. I know this rates really low on the important things to announce scale, but this was a first for me, and since I cut… Continue reading You Can Thank My Mother & A Special Offer!
read moreLots of new and exciting things are in the works! I’m going through my To Do list and making some headway. But the BIG news is that I’m doing a Stitch Along With Ariane Zoom series. I have been working with the various thread companies and am pulling together thread kits for this project. It… Continue reading New Projects & A Zoom Stitch Along Series
read moreAnother video, thanks to my mother, which requires no introduction. Just watch. In other news, I slept in this morning. I know, probably not the groundbreaking information you were hoping for, but there you have it. I woke up as usual at 5:30am, looked at the clock, thought about all the things I need to… Continue reading The Importance of a To Do List
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