Stitched by crazybutcute
Sweet!
August 31, 2009
August 29, 2009
Stitched cosmos
Stitched by miniature.rhino
Isn't this beautiful? Be sure to check out the rest of minature rhino's Stars set.
August 28, 2009
Princess on the stitches
Oh my goodness, will you just take a look at that! Seriously, go over to the photo's page on Flickr and click to see the large image! Each mattress etc is stitched with a different kind of stitch. Isn't that an inspired way to use lots of stitches? And impeccably done, too!
August 27, 2009
Halloween is creeping upon us...
Stitched by Rawbone Studio
Yup, it's that time of year again, to start dreaming up some Halloween crafts. And I love this garland by Rawbone Studio not just because it's beautiful, but also because of all the delicious felt textures in and around it. Wonderful!
August 26, 2009
August 24, 2009
Smell My Feet
It's that time of the year again. All things Halloween are showing up. Isn't this adorable? I found it on Flickr and it's by Metro-Station. Such whimsy and a little dash of color.
This from Metro-Station, also.
August 22, 2009
Floss prisms
Photo by june at noon
Gretchen recently discovered that floss fits perfectly in ArtBin Prism boxes (read her post here). And it sure does look pretty, too.
Stolen Bike embroidery
Stitched by sarahxsea
Okay, this one was too golden to pass up, but Mr. Thimble suggested I replace some letters with kid and work-safe hearts (but be aware that if you click through you'll get the full-on strong language.) Anyway, I love how I keep seeing more and more of you using a small embroidery to commemorate important events like weddings, a pet passing, and now - a bike being stolen! And the headline just captures perfectly that one word you have in your brain when you see an empty bike rack where your bike used to be... Brilliant! :)
August 21, 2009
French knot dino
Oh! Isn't this cute? A dino stitched in french knots. If everything was more like this, the world would be a far better place!
August 20, 2009
August 19, 2009
Interview - Hare And Drum
Time for another interview! I am sure you must have seen the work of Hare And Drum on Flickr - and one piece was highlighted here on Feeling Stitchy a little while ago. Hare And Drum is a duo of talented ladies: Agnieszka who thinks up the designs and her mum Maria who does the beautiful embroidery.
Who/what inspires you?
(Agnieszka, designer)
My designs are inspired by two major influences: nature, and historical design, often combined. I am making an effort to stay away from man-made items as imagery in our creations, although they are very tempting! It's a little niche I'm creating for our work.
How does your work benefit from your collaboration?
(Maria, embroiderer)
I have developed immensely in my skill ever since I started working with my daughter! I never before thought of creating entire patterns, other than small tweaks in the patterns I already found in books and magazines.
Additionally, my work used to be traditional in nature. I embroidered table and bed linens and added some stitchery to clothing. Now we both ventured into a whole new world of wall decor and jewelry, often in color schemes that I used to consider crazy! Working on them also pushes me to develop new techniques. One example is the Pine Tree, for which I needed to fill large areas of horizontal satin stitch, adding realistic texture at the same time. (see photo I attached)
(Agnieszka)
Mom and I have a great, continuous conversation about each design. We truly create it together. Mom reins in my wilder ideas and translates them into reality. It may have been difficult for me at first but it definitely made me a better designer who understands the constraints of the material we work with.
How long have you been stitching?
(Maria)
My first embroideries were 4th grade school projects, ages ago in Poland. All kids in my class, including boys, needed to create an embroidered piece as part of standard workshop curriculum. Same goes with knitting and other simple crafts. Girls, in turn, needed to do some woodworking. Very holistic approach to education, I'm sad to see it gone and replaced by cramming theory.
Later, crochet home decor became more popular so I didn't embroider much at all. I started stitching again in my 30s to embellish my kids' clothing and then became part of a hobby group headed by a Hungarian lady. That way I took up interest in Hungarian folk embroidery and discovered magazines with printed embroidery patterns.
Please tells us about your subject matter
(Agnieszka)
Historical images I use are mostly Art Nouveau designs, often authentic, from museum collections. I give them new life by adding contemporary color schemes and reworking their ornate patterns to fit certain constraints of embroidery. Art Nouveau designs are most often nature-based, so they are easy to fit into my general interest in nature.
I use nature as inspiration, both the monumental (trees, entire landscapes, such as my Four Seasons series) and the miniature (most recently, insects, sea creatures).
What perceptions of embroidery do you meet?
(Agnieszka)
Granny style comes to mind. I believe embroidery and crochet are still plagued by that perception, as much as knitting has been rediscovered by younger crowd. Your Flickr group certainly contributes to changing that perception! Most recently it seems to be working and embroidery becomes recognized as fashionable again, with the revival of Victorian style decor and new appreciation of fiber art and crafts as recalling the comforts of home in difficult times.
Why is embroidery worthwhile?
(Agnieszka)
It's fun! It's like painting a picture with an unlikely tool that a needle is! It allows for a lot of whimsy and is much more forgiving than a painted canvas: you can just cut the floss out and start again.
(Maria)
Embroidery and fiber in general do not seem durable at first. But small, well loved embroidered pieces are likely to last generations! I still have a piece of cross stitched table cloth that my parents received as their wedding gift in 1942. The table cloth survived a wartime bombing and multiple moves. I remember it on my parents' table when I was a little girl. I'm planning to frame the piece that's left. I guess hand stitched items emanate that great warm and cozy feel of home.
Any advice for "newbie" embroiderers?
(Maria)
Patience is a must! It takes a lot of trial and error to finish a piece, so start small and with simple techniques such as cross stitch or linear embroidery. Make sure the pattern is clearly copied onto fabric and that you have good light when working. When you make a mistake, undo and correct right away rather than wait and hope it will not show. It will. But first, enjoy what you are creating!
Are there any other embroiderers in the group/pool that you have noticed?
(Agnieszka)
I love these bee coasters!
I really appreciate clean lines done with just a few stitches. Complex is not always better, and this is a prime example. Great colors for the coaster fabric, too!
(Maria)
The one thing that I am a little afraid to try is a human face done in embroidery. This piece is so sweet and the face wonderfully done!
Who/what inspires you?
(Agnieszka, designer)
My designs are inspired by two major influences: nature, and historical design, often combined. I am making an effort to stay away from man-made items as imagery in our creations, although they are very tempting! It's a little niche I'm creating for our work.
How does your work benefit from your collaboration?(Maria, embroiderer)
I have developed immensely in my skill ever since I started working with my daughter! I never before thought of creating entire patterns, other than small tweaks in the patterns I already found in books and magazines.
Additionally, my work used to be traditional in nature. I embroidered table and bed linens and added some stitchery to clothing. Now we both ventured into a whole new world of wall decor and jewelry, often in color schemes that I used to consider crazy! Working on them also pushes me to develop new techniques. One example is the Pine Tree, for which I needed to fill large areas of horizontal satin stitch, adding realistic texture at the same time. (see photo I attached)
(Agnieszka)
Mom and I have a great, continuous conversation about each design. We truly create it together. Mom reins in my wilder ideas and translates them into reality. It may have been difficult for me at first but it definitely made me a better designer who understands the constraints of the material we work with.
How long have you been stitching?(Maria)
My first embroideries were 4th grade school projects, ages ago in Poland. All kids in my class, including boys, needed to create an embroidered piece as part of standard workshop curriculum. Same goes with knitting and other simple crafts. Girls, in turn, needed to do some woodworking. Very holistic approach to education, I'm sad to see it gone and replaced by cramming theory.
Later, crochet home decor became more popular so I didn't embroider much at all. I started stitching again in my 30s to embellish my kids' clothing and then became part of a hobby group headed by a Hungarian lady. That way I took up interest in Hungarian folk embroidery and discovered magazines with printed embroidery patterns.
Please tells us about your subject matter
(Agnieszka)
Historical images I use are mostly Art Nouveau designs, often authentic, from museum collections. I give them new life by adding contemporary color schemes and reworking their ornate patterns to fit certain constraints of embroidery. Art Nouveau designs are most often nature-based, so they are easy to fit into my general interest in nature.
I use nature as inspiration, both the monumental (trees, entire landscapes, such as my Four Seasons series) and the miniature (most recently, insects, sea creatures).
What perceptions of embroidery do you meet?(Agnieszka)
Granny style comes to mind. I believe embroidery and crochet are still plagued by that perception, as much as knitting has been rediscovered by younger crowd. Your Flickr group certainly contributes to changing that perception! Most recently it seems to be working and embroidery becomes recognized as fashionable again, with the revival of Victorian style decor and new appreciation of fiber art and crafts as recalling the comforts of home in difficult times.
Why is embroidery worthwhile?(Agnieszka)
It's fun! It's like painting a picture with an unlikely tool that a needle is! It allows for a lot of whimsy and is much more forgiving than a painted canvas: you can just cut the floss out and start again.
(Maria)
Embroidery and fiber in general do not seem durable at first. But small, well loved embroidered pieces are likely to last generations! I still have a piece of cross stitched table cloth that my parents received as their wedding gift in 1942. The table cloth survived a wartime bombing and multiple moves. I remember it on my parents' table when I was a little girl. I'm planning to frame the piece that's left. I guess hand stitched items emanate that great warm and cozy feel of home.
Any advice for "newbie" embroiderers?(Maria)
Patience is a must! It takes a lot of trial and error to finish a piece, so start small and with simple techniques such as cross stitch or linear embroidery. Make sure the pattern is clearly copied onto fabric and that you have good light when working. When you make a mistake, undo and correct right away rather than wait and hope it will not show. It will. But first, enjoy what you are creating!
Are there any other embroiderers in the group/pool that you have noticed?
(Agnieszka)
I love these bee coasters!
I really appreciate clean lines done with just a few stitches. Complex is not always better, and this is a prime example. Great colors for the coaster fabric, too!
(Maria)
The one thing that I am a little afraid to try is a human face done in embroidery. This piece is so sweet and the face wonderfully done!
Fall is almost here...
Stitched by Q is for Quilter
I can't believe all the lovely, teeny-tiny stitches on this sweet piece. And, that summer is almost over!
August 18, 2009
Hey good lookin'
Stitched by rectangel
Oh dear. Just when I think Erin's stitching couldn't get any better, it just does. Isn't this amazing?
August 15, 2009
It just keeps going... and going... and going...
Photo by lovestitches
That up there is Steph's ginormous floss collection. She kindly uploaded a picture to Flickr so we could collectively drool over it. Thanks, Steph! :)
Camera Love
Stitched by inspired*mess
Oh, I love cameras too. Almost as much as I love the cute hands holding this embroidery for the camera. Too sweet! :) Stitched from an Elsie Flannigan pattern.
August 14, 2009
Roaring 20's
Stitched by LittleBeeThatCould
Oh, goodness. Look at those fill-in stitches! Those colors. Those eyes. Amazingness! And yep, that'd be from another Sublime Stitching pattern, Roaring 20's.
August 13, 2009
Ennui
Stitched by cornflowerbluestudio
Ever feel the crafting ennui? Yep, sometimes I feel it to. What a beautiful way to immortalize it, however! :)
August 12, 2009
Middle School Bunnies
Maybe it's the 12 year old in me, but this made me giggle. Thanks to Stephanie Tillman for making my day.
August 11, 2009
Bullion Roses
Rose bullion -you know, for making rose soup! I kid (and yes, I know it's spelled differently, mom). Just look at crafty_pants' blooming stitches. So, so pretty and sweet and boy, is that some impressive handwork. I love how she sprinkled it with French knots for little buds. Found this nice tutorial for making bullion roses for you, too!
August 6, 2009
Button sweetness
Stitched by incywincystitches
I love stumbling on tiny, gorgeously simple things like this. They only seem simple - because it takes a wonderfully creative mind like incywincystitches' to make them. Bravo!
August 5, 2009
August 4, 2009
Puggy
Stitched by Claudia Marchán
Yup, you knew I had to share this with you. Stitched from a Sublime Stitching freebie Jenny posted last week. Claudia altered hers to say "Puggy" instead of "Pugly". Still extremely pug-worthy, I must say!
August 1, 2009
Floss storage
Photo by ninimakes
You know you just want to grab it! Read more about her floss management solution. Or, just stare at that floss and covet fiercely.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)