New Cover for Loveweaver

My first Loveweaver cover achieved my purpose, but over time, especially after I created the cover for my upcoming book, The Maiden Seer, I felt the need to make a new one.

I wanted the two covers to have the same style.

Without further ado, here it is:

Needlepoint Flasks and Wallets

Graphic designers who create repeating patterns dream of seeing those patterns on products. I've been lucky enough to see my designs on Kleenex boxes, rugs, fabric, paper, sheets and blankets.

I'm certain, though, for every 500 pattern designers, there's one client looking to buy. This means the odds are not great in making a sale. Do you give up being a graphic designer in the surface art arena?

Heck, no.

I took on freelance jobs that were a bit outside of what I normally did, and learned a ton of new skills that I now put to use for a list of great clients.

One of those clients is Seth at Needlepaint.  I've blogged about Needlepaint before when I did a series of Christmas stockings.

My recent contribution is the wallets and flasks which turned out to be some of the most fun I've ever had designing professionally. There's just something about pixel art, which is basically what it is, that appeals to me. Elements in an image are pared down to the most essential, and the color palette is limited, too.

As of this posting, all the flask designs at Needlepaint are mine. I'm so proud of this work. And there's scarcely a repeating pattern in sight.

Loveweaver and Tablet Weaving

Finding out about tablet weaving was the genesis of my historical romance, Loveweaver. The more I read about it, the more interested I became.  My heroine, Llyrica, a tablet weaver, was conceived and my book began to take shape.

Here's a great 5-minute video that gives you a great idea of tablet weaving.  Gosh, he's good!

At the time of my research (15 years ago) internet research was not what it is today, much less You Tube tutorials, so I learned to tablet weave via this book, Card Weaving. It taught me all I needed to know about building my little loom, how to make my "tablets",  how to read a pattern, and even how to create my own designs.

The design you see on the images of my loom is the design that Llyrica wove for Slayde, the hero of Loveweaver. It is a design that goes quickly since the tablets turn forward 4 times and backward 4 times to form one motif. There are designs where tablets are turned in groups in opposing directions and you really need to pay attention or things can go wrong pretty quickly.

My favorite historical romance novels have heroines who have strong talents and can use them to shape their lives. I know what I'm talking about: I was a dressmaker for 35 years, raising my two children as a single mother.

Fab Florals - Vector Repeats

Last time I showed the softer side of my florals.

Here is now a bolder assortment.

The Softer Side of Tracy Miller Designs

Like most repeating patterns designer, I have SO MANY florals!

I've pulled 18 of them together in my current favorite format, which is sample swatches accompanied by a vectorized vintage image. In this case, the two ladies were from the cover of a 1935 issue of Home Notes Magazine.

Santa Approved Christmas Design Collection

I've done a mix of vintage and new patterns here, and gone with a bluer green than usual.

These larger collections are kinda my thing right now, with more in the works.

Like many repeating pattern designers, I have hundreds and hundreds of designs that just don't see the light of day. This will be my way of putting them out there en mass. 

World's Largest Collection of Re-Imagined Feedsack Patterns - 28 Vector Repeats for Sale

I'm just putting that statement out there because I can't believe anyone else would do it!

TracyMillerDesigns