Stitching in Public Day Giveaway!

Hi everybody! Mr X Stitch and I have always had a special place in our hearts for stitching in public places. Mr X started stitching because he needed something to keep him occupied on a long plane trip, and he often stitches on the train when commuting back and forth to London, as you can see here.



And I've learned to enjoy it as well.



So of course we just HAVE to spread the word about Stitch in Public Day, which is happening tomorrow - Friday, September 3rd! *Cheers! Fanfare!*

We're both going to stitch in public tomorrow, and we'd love it if you would, too.

What if you can't make it happen tomorrow, you say? That's okay, because really, EVERY DAY should be stitching in public day, don't you think? In fact, we created this new Flickr group as a way to celebrate stitching in public. There's already some pretty awesome shots in there already, like this one from Lisa's Tea Time:



but we'd love to have more. :) AND we're going to make it worth your while, because one lucky person who adds a picture to the group before the end of the day on Friday, September 10th will receive a set of holographic threads, courtesy of Kreinik Threads! The winner will be chosen at random from the pictures in the group (excluding myself and Mr X of course) and will be announced that weekend at Mr X Stitch.



Pretty! :) So stitch in public, snap a pic, and add it to the Stitching in Public group - you'll be glad you did!

Patterns: Cuppy Cake

Another freebie cupcake pattern! What I like about this one is how joomoolynn has provided two versions of the pattern, one with and one without a face, which instantly made me think that could be the back of the cupcake, so I made a little cupcake plushie for one of my kid's teddy bears to eat!

Put yourself on the map

View Stitchers! in a larger map

Hey! If you are all stitchy why not add yourself to this map set up by GiddyGirlie? I am on there, are you? ;-)

Patterns: From the Depths

WIP "From the Depths" by Corvus Tristis embroidered by Giddy99

Today's featured pattern is a bit of an old one, but I hadn't seen it before until it popped up recently on Flickr as part of Giddy99's Duvet Project. I love how Giddy has added her own touch to the design with running stitch.

The picture sent me straight over to the Corvus Tristis blog, where as well as this amazing pattern, there are loads more, with quite a few of the patterns having a science theme.

I can't wait to see how Giddy progresses with this pattern and I can't wait to try a few of the Corvus Tristis patterns out myself!

L'enfer c'est les autres

Oh where to begin to describe how much I love this embroidery... I enjoy seeing photos of embroideries in progress and I have a soft spot for sampler pieces.  But the most awesome thing, I think, is the pretty embroidered lettering in combination with the bleak quote. This cross stitch sampler piece in it's first (fabulous!) stages is stitched by Robyn Enz. The famous quote is from a play by Sartre and usually translates as "Hell is other People". In later stages Robyn added wasps and pretty flowers to the borders. If you feel inspired to make your own sampler piece, Robyn has shared some of her resources with me. Find them here and here.

Patterns: Made in France

This week's pattern review is of a book; Made in France by Agnes Delage-Calvet, Anne Sohier-Fournel, Muriel Brunet and Francoise Ritz.

Made in France is a treasure trove of small embroidery and cross stitch motifs in red, white and blue. It is beautifully photographed with lots of ideas on how to use the motifs but other than a brief how-to at the beginning of the book, it assumes that you have the knowledge to get the motifs on there yourself, although as most of the projects are simple it should be fairly easy to work out yourself. The book really demonstrates the beauty of stitching with just one colour.

The book is divided into three sections, each devoted to a single colour. There are lots of cute patterns for embellishing clothing and home accessories, with quite a few patterns perfect for decorating items for children or, thinking ahead, creating Christmas decorations.

My favourite patterns are the little birds that can be found in the blue section, there is a whole flock of them but I had to narrow them down to do the shoe project featured within the book. Although I have already found I'm beginning to embroider little birds everywhere, so these guys will feature on more than just my shoes!

First time embroiderers

By Skinnychiquita

By Murdercityleah

By Jenny Hislop

These are just three recent examples of work made by newbies in the Flickr Embroidery Group. So much talent here. Please give them some love (or at least a friendly comment) and encouragement if you stumble upon photos from newbies, especially if they have done such great work! :)

Patterns:Bigfoot

Bigfoot embroidery sampler stitched by Karina Ascencio

I have a real weakness for buying embroidery patterns but my hard drive is so full of them, ones that I don't even remotely yet have time to stitch, that I've had to control myself, so it is always a pleasure when I see someone else stitching up a pattern I've been eyeing up myself. I think of it as the embroidery equivalent of window shopping! So I was really pleased to see Badbird's Bigfoot embroidery sampler stitched up by Karina Ascencio recently, although it does make me even more tempted to buy this pattern now!

Eeeeeeeeeeeep.

Stitched by { nova }

All I can say is eeeeeeeeeep. This is some serious cuteness, here.

Parisienne girl

Stitched by glassmountain

Lovely blues and muted tones in this, no? Wonderful, glassmountain!

Melting Mickey

Stitched by Sailormouth

I love everything that Sailormouth makes, so it's no surprise that his latest piece blew me away. Quirky, totally unique, and awesome - as usual!

See more stitchy goodness here, or buy patterns he designed here.

Facebroidery

I am a huge fan of artist Cate Anevski (blog, Flickr, Etsy) and couldn't help but make a mosaic of her fantastic "facebroideries". This just makes me happy.

Temari Thread Balls

Going all over the etsy-place a few weeks ago favoriting this and favoriting that, I discovered (meaning: heard about for the first time) temari thread balls. And all because they were being brilliantly offered by Julie and Co.

Edited: to add that Julie is offering Free Shipping for Feeling Stitchy readers, so go on and get yourself some of her beautiful work! -Carina

Patterns: Sunburst Lion

When I saw Cate Anevski's free Sunburst Lion pattern, over on her blog Bee's Knees Activities (scroll down to June), I just had to stitch it. All that running stitch creates a wonderful visual and textural effect. This pattern reminds me of retro children's illustrations and could be used in so many ways. I used my finished piece to make an oversized tote (just perfect for carting large packets of nappies from the shops) and it is now my new favourite bag.

Bags in Bloom

I recently had the privilege of reviewing Watson Guptill's Bags in Bloom by Susan Cariello. In one word-AWESOME! Not only does the book give you great embroidery patterns to follow but it  also gives you several purse patterns to work with. Cariello's easy to follow directions made everything a breeze. My favorite part of the book are the many different stitches you can learn. She mixes those stitches with beads, buttons and sequins, so you can make a one of a kind bag. Another fun aspect of the book is that the chapters are broken into seasons of the year. You can make a unique handbag for every occasion and every weather condition imaginable .

So, a thumbs up or a thumbs down? I say a definite thumbs up for this visually stunning how-to book. Pick it up - you WILL thank me later.

My own little take on the bag in bloom. So many beads!