Crafty
Fridays
INTERVIEW
WITH X'S AND OH'S CROSS STITCH DESIGNER: JO
By
Pamela James
MM:
Give us some backstory on how you became a cross stitch designer?
I always say it was my husband's fault, LOL. I would need a
wedding sampler for friends, so I'd take some flowers from this design, a
hummingbird from that one and lettering from a third design, and put them
together to make my sampler. He kept saying "why don't you just
design your own?". So I sat down to make a list of design ideas (to
prove I couldn't do it)... but when the list got to about 3 pages long I decided
maybe he was right, and I began working on my own designs. Funnily
enough, hardly any of those first 3 pages of ideas have ever been turned into
designs - and after 20+ years, we now have well over 300 published designs!
When we started there weren't all the wonderful design programs for
the computer that we have now - we drew our charts by hand on huge sheets of
graph paper (large enough to read easily) then copied and reduced them to put
them into charts! It might take 6 months to create a small 8x10 design...
now I'm releasing at MINIMUM of 24 designs a year, not including the work I do
with magazines!
MM:
How did you become a designer for X's and Oh's?
X's and Oh's is my own company, so I started out as the sole
designer. I now work with several designers (who publish under X's &
Oh's), and I also work with a number of artists, licensing their work and
converting it to cross-stitch! We came up with the name by saying
"you make the X's and wait for the OHHHH's". I also designed my
logo... I scribbled a drawing on a piece of paper and gave it to Bill and asked
him to google something like that. He looked at the paper and handed it
back to me and said "What about this?", LOL. I cleaned it up a
bit, and our little girl stitching an x's & oh's game has been with us ever
since.
The only problem we have is in England, as they say "knot's and
crosses", so they don't get it, LOL.
MM:
What is the most complicated piece you have designed?
Until recently I would have said it was the first conversion I did
for James Lorimer Keirstead (Keirstead Mill)...
but I am now working with Catherine Simpson, and her artwork is
soooo detailed, it takes longer to convert than it does to stitch! So my
new 'most complicated' is "BEST FRIENDS", .
MM:
What is the easiest design you have done?
Hmmmm, that might be harder to decide... I like sayings - I collect
them, and they often find their way in to designs. Since the saying
itself often inspires the rest of the design, they are usually pretty easy to
create... Of course size and detail make a difference as well... I guess I
would say a little shamrock design I did as a Little Leaflet (the design fits
inside a 5x7 frame). It only has 4-5 colors, so worked up very
quickly...
MM:
If you could sit down with three other designers. Who would they be and
what would you ask them?
I have been lucky enough to meet some wonderful designers at
different needlework events I've attended in the past. I still remember
meeting Teresa Wentzler for the first time, when I hadn't been designing very
long. She said "Oh, I like your stuff!", and I went around for
the next week saying "TW knows who I am!", ROFLOL. Jeanette
Douglas is another designer friend whose work I admire, as I don't do much in
the way of samplers myself, but her's are gorgeous and would tempt me to stitch
one .
Of designers I haven't had a chance to sit down with, I think
someone outside my own field, like Alyssa Anda, whose needlepoint deers I
recently saw on a website - she takes taxidermy molds and covers them with
needlepoint, then finishes them with actual antlers, so they're life
sized! I would want to ask her what gave her such an outside-the-box
idea, I love it, LOL.
#2 would be a designer whose work I have always admired for it's
grace and beauty, and that is Marilyn Leavitt Imblum. Her lovely ladies
have been around for years, and I never got a chance to meet her before she
passed away. I would ask if I could see her artwork for the pieces!
#3 Finally Sue Hillis, who I have actually 'spoken to' on-line, but
never met in person... I love Sue's designs, they are usually bright and funny,
and I just think it would a blast to sit and swap ideas. I can honestly
say Sue is one of the few designer's who makes me say "oh, I wish I'd
thought of that!" .
MM:
Is there a family member who has passed on that you wish could see your
designs?
My mom was raised by a great aunt and uncle, who have always been
like my grandparents. My uncle died just before our second daughter was
born, so he was gone before I ever decided to start my own company. I
think he would have enjoyed seeing the work I do... and I'm also sorry he never
got to meet our youngest DD.
MM:
Who would you like to thank for their help and always being there for you?
Huge kudos to my DH, Bill, who has been soooo supportive over the
years. After many years of working my business evenings and weekends,
taking the plunge into designing full-time was a risky move... and not
something that would ever have supported the family (very few needlework
designers do this full-time, most have a 'day job' to pay the bills) ... but
when I was laid off from a job I didn't really like anyway, he told me
"you wouldn't quit to do this, but you're free now, so try", and so I
did, and have been ever since ... I told you it was all his fault, right?
MM:
What are you looking forward to in 2016?
Sooo many new designs to work on! I have some
stunning artwork sitting on my desk calling my name... and I recently
became intrigued with designing some miniatures, so we'll so how that
goes! And we're also hoping to get in a trip to Alaska...
MM:
Do you have a favorite quote?
I LOVE quotes! I do 2 newsletters every month (one for shops
and one for stitchers), and as part of that I pick a theme and share a handful
of quotes - usually funny, but not always. Not sure I could pick just
one... but if anyone wants some people to search for quotes you'll love, you
can't fail with Eleanor Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Albert Enstein, and Maxine,
LOL.
OK, my new favorite for this month is a Maxine... "I'm learning
Spanish... I started with burrito, and I'm up to Tequila, OLE!", ROFLOL.
MM:
Now for some fun get-to-know-you questions.
What
is your favorite song, oh, another hard choice... but
ONE of my favorite's is "What if God's blessings come thru raindrops"
by Laura Story.
movie,
OK, I also LOVE BAD movies, LOL. But my favorite
is actually pretty good - my DH made me a CD of really bad zombie movies as a
joke gift, but one of them was so good we've watched it several times - it's an
absolute hoot, called COCKNEY'S VS ZOMBIES. Second favorite would be a
little known comedy called NOISES OFF, which has sooo many stars in it, you'll
wonder why you never heard of it! The first time we watched it my DH fell
off the couch laughing, . Of course, a bottle of wine while
watching is a big help too .
shows
to binge watch, Actually, we just watched a whole
season of ONCE UPON A TIME, getting ready for the new season to start,
LOL. I also love WALKING DEAD, though Bill DN care for that type of
show, so that one is my private vice!
meal,
mmmm... homemade lasagna - I make my own noodles, sooo
good!
dessert,
I have a weakness for butter tarts (shhh, even talking
about them makes my hips swell)...
place
to vacation We head for Florida a couple times a year,
as we have a timeshare down there... but our favorite vacation was one of our
trips to Spain... I have an aunt who lives there, and the first night we
arrived she took us in to Alicante, and we walked along the
beach boardwalk until we found a little cafe they like, and we were
sitting outside about 9 at night, drinking wine and eating little snacks,
watching the full moon on the mediterranean beside us, and I said "OK,
that's it, I'm staying here!" Unfortunately I did have to come home
eventually, LOL.
and
way to unwind? I am an avid reader (Bill built me a 2-storey
library that is stunning - did I mention he's definitely a keeper?) ... and I
also like to write, though I haven't done as much of that lately as I would
like.
When our girls were younger there weren't all the wonderful fantasy
books for teens that there are now, so I wrote them a series of books with a
girl as the hero (also not a big thing back then), who had to rescue her
brother from a wicked sorcerer. The girls loaned them to all their
friends, and I had all of them write reviews, LOL, so the front of the books
now have real reviews and everything. My DH is always after me to send
them to a publisher, but somehow I just never got around to doing that...
though you can read the first chapters and purchase a PDF copy on my website. Maybe
writing will become my 'retirement' job, as I'm not getting any younger
.
Lastly,
tell us why X's and Oh's is special to you?
Well, I am X's & Oh's, and X's & Oh's is me... it has
allowed me share my creativity with the world, and I am lucky enough to have a
following of stitcher's who enjoy my vision of life and the world around
me. I love to hear how one of my designs has touched someone, and hope to
continue to share my talents with stitchers for many more years.
Jo,
Thank
you very much.
I’ve made wall hangings, table runners, lap quilts, small
centerpieces and coasters. Haven’t tried
making totes yet, but it looks interesting.
