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April 30, 2010

White inspirations

White inspirations

White - lovely, frothy, angelic white is gorgeous, too. I love the effect of white thread on white fabric, or varying shades of whites and ecrus and beiges, or white on linen - natural, silvery, or cream-colored.


Again, this is not a part of a traditional rainbow, but it's a part of our rainbow - the amazing things you've created and added to the pool... So, have we inspired you enough yet? Are you ready to choose one? Or, will you not be able to choose one, and instead choose them all?


Take a look at all of them, one more time and try to pick just one color you want to inspire you... Then, if you want the biggest old hint of all, take a look at the name of this set, to see what we're up to (details tomorrow)! Excited yet? I know I am!


Enjoy these beautiful examples of whitework from the stitchers below:
1. Snowy Owl! by bugsandfishes
2. White seahorse by thejoysofjess
3. Snowflakes Pillow by bstudio18
4. The Guardian (Palomino) by What Delilah Did
5. Pale Hydrangea Bloom Ornament by jennybubbletime
6. Drink me! Hoop shot by thejoysofjess
7. Taxidermy Bunny by Janick • Nea
8. DANDELIONS by hareanddrum
9. white things by tiny happy
10. wip - happy cloud by bookwormbethie
11. CROW hand embroidered brooch by hareanddrum
12. playing by contemporary embroidery

April 29, 2010

Black inspirations

Black inspirations

Here I am again, with another non-official color of the rainbow. But, after seeing the amazing things you guys do with blackwork, black fabric, and black threads, I must say I'm feeling the black magic. I love black - it goes without saying - but there's something about using the color black in embroidery that makes the work that much bolder and more dramatic...


Are you a fan of the blackwork, too? If it was down to one color for you... out of all the colors you've seen... and maybe one more surprise color... tomorrow - could you pick one?


Enjoy the black magic by the creative stitchers below:
1. Universal GillMan by SheenaRamone
2. Orion Embroidery by piddlipoo
3. wolf by fionabearclaw
4. not good enough by beefranck
5. blossoms by racaire
6. coinpurse by lifepieces
7. Black Rabbit Quilt by badbird
8. Finally finished by Mrs Gibson's Atelier
9. Blackwork Robin by konnykards
10. Vader Drinking a Pop by Mama Sass
11. Elizabethan Cross Stitch by whimsyandcharm
12. because I love you by Sarah Blick

April 28, 2010

Pink inspirations

Pink inspirations

What's that I hear out there? No pink in the rainbow? Well, pink's in MY rainbow, that's for danged sure! As evidence, look at those pinks up above. Salmon pink. Pale petal-pink. Carnation. Rose. Fuschia. Coral. Magenta. I challenge you not to heart the pink.


So, have you put together any clues yet? Rainbows? Favorite colors? Conte- I mean, hmmm? :)


Heart the following pinks, by the great crafters below:
1. Berries close - up by apple & eve
2. Pink curlicues by Carina
3. Pink Tulip details by thejoysofjess
4. Safflower Pink by barefootshepherdess
5. Pink flower close up by barefootshepherdess
6. ELECTRIC PINK felt coaster by VitaminJ_Singapore
7. Chihuahua on bowling shirt by sew alex
8. knotty brooch - pinks by One Little House
9. 69 by tishous
10. Happy Easter Bunny by allaboutthebuttons
11. serotonin by Girl Incognito
12. TAST 07 - 5 Chevron Stitch by konnykards

April 27, 2010

Violet inspirations

Violet inspirations

Ah, violet. Or purple. Or lavender. Or lilac. Or plum. Or any shade in the purplish vicinity. I like it. And I used to hate purple. But somewhere along the line, sometime last year, I woke up and loved purple. It was weird. Any of you have a similar change of heart? Or have you always been purple people?


So, um, still thinking about your favorite color? Let's say you had to race in the Color Olympics, and you had to pick a color to run for... is purple your native land? Would you proudly race for purple? ;)


Enjoy the purpl-y loveliness, as seen in our Flickr pool, brought to you by the peeps below:
1. lilac colored threads and wip by Ravenhill Designs
2. Floral hand embroidered brooch or scarf pin by hareanddrum
3. President Taft by Amanda Jean
4. detail by Veronica TM
5. Purple Embroidery Tree by kayla coo
6. I love you two cushion in violet by -syko-
7. peacock detail by soraia_bejinhos
8. White Flower Purple Pincushion by TheBlueDaisy
9. purple by raspberryfairy
10. felt brooch by Erratic Needle
11. TAST 7 Rope Stitch by konnykards
12. jack-in-the-pulpit stitch by crazybutcute

April 26, 2010

Blue inspirations

Blue inspirations

But... blue makes me happy, too! My favorites are the greeny-gray shades, sort of robin's egg or cerulean or steel-blue gray, but just about every shade makes me happy.


How about you - is blue your favorite? I mean, if you were choosing one, just one shade of the rainbow to stitch in... for a sort of, oh, I don't know... contest? Hmmm? :)


Here's a bit of blue inspiration from the following Flickr talents, found in our pool:
1. Koiranputki-brooch by knittinjo
2. Dragonfly by meeka5
3. The Sailor by Eva.Lena.
4. Abbey Road by good_gorilla
5. Embroidery details by Birthine
6. kokako by prettylittlelightnin gpaw
7. Teeny Hearties Wall Wear 3" by Janick • Nea
8. A new smile by chunkychooky
9. 'Dreamer' Stitch Picture by Stitcher Scribbler
10. Canary pillow by Aimee Ray
11. Dandelion and fern set by Mundo Flo
12. blackbird coasters by orange mushroom

April 25, 2010

Green inspirations

Green inspirations

Ah, green. I'd have to say that as a color in nature, nothing makes me happier than green. And I love every shade of this color as well, from kelly to khakhi to sea green to chartreuse. Is green your favorite? I mean, if you had to pick one... from a rainbow... to stitch in... Not that I'm dropping any hints, or anything. As to why I might be blogging every shade of the rainbow...


Inspiring pics by the following wonderful stitchers and crafters:
1. CTA Green Line by jessainthebox
2. 1 Up DS case by Obajoo
3. stem by raspberryfairy
4. Button tree by thejoysofjess
5. Three Trees Linen Needle Book by jennybubbletime
6. pois... by lille-ursus
7. Green circles textile art sample by jkw_fire_horse
8. Amoeba in Pink and Green by BooDilly's
9. green car wip by doe-c-doe
10. Green, Green, Green... by bugsandfishes by lupin
11. frankenpurse by the messy nest
12. embroidered pear potholder close up by Adaiha

Patterns: Penny Farthing

I love the sweet simplicity of this free pattern by Aimee Ray. The colours she used to stitch it up are so fresh and bright!

April 24, 2010

Yellow inspirations

Yellow inspirations

Nothing cheers me up like a nice yellow. I love absolutely every shade, from the put-your-eyes-out-bright, to the mustardy, greenish tones. But I think my favorite is lemon yellow. Do you have a favorite yellow?


Are you wondering why I'm blogging a "rainbow" of colors every day for the next few days? Hmmm? Really? :)


Projects by the talented peeps listed below:
1. yellow leaf pin by maybeemily
2. close - up by apple & eve
3. star by kunderwood
4. yellow submarine magnet by Emmajb8
5. yellow is the color of leaves that fall hat by cosymakes
6. My glass if half full by xperimentl
7. Alma brooch - Handmade And Embroidered Felt Brooch by Yalipaz
8. broderie brooch 01 by misslilamae
9. yellow pteranodon by Katie Aaberg
10. ladybird square by Sumptuosity
11. who are you? by Sumptuosity
12. Affodell the owl brooch by Joey 7

All in the eye...

This makes me happy.

Love the colours and all the different stitches.

And I'm kinda hypnotized by that eye!

April 23, 2010

Orange inspirations

Orange inspirations

I'm not sure about you, but I love orange. Just the right shade of orange makes me all kinds of happy. From creamsicle-colored, to oj, to tangerine, to burnt orange, to redhead, I can dig it.


Are you starting to get inspired? For something... interesting... that might happen... soon? ;)


1. embroidered car wip by doe-c-doe
2. Flapper girl - Handmade and embroidered felt brooch by Yalipaz
3. ABD_SS_CAMPOUT_FIRE by Amy Brinkman
4. Fish 2 by rachaellazenby
5. stitches unicorn by KarenInKnots
6. 3.26.10 by Katie Aaberg
7. hat or no hat? by mummysam
8. Queen of hearts brooch by Yalipaz
9. Eco Felt Sunshine Keychain Happy by lova revolutionary
10. Earrings by Pin Pals
11. Wombat button by sunnysidey
12. embroidered tree by weepereas

Earthly Delights



This is Penny Nickels wonderful, embroidered answer to Hieronymus Bosch's triptych called the Garden of Earthly Delights. A lot of satin stitching was involved and also a french knot or two. Instead of directly taking imagery from the painting Penny gave the image of a seed catalogue a 'Bosch twist'. I can't help but wondering what would happen to my garden if Hieronymus Bosch was tending to it!

Penny's work is part of an exhibition called Replanting the Garden, works based on the Garden of Earthly Delights in the Big Car Gallery, Indianapolis.

April 22, 2010

Red inspirations

Red inspirations

Now, why am I posting these inspiring stitching pics? I mean, red's nice and all, but what could we be up to??? :)


Maybe you better stay tuned for the next 9 days or so, to find out? Hmmm?


In the meantime, enjoy these inspiring red-themed embroideries, created by the wonderfully talented people below:
1. President Franklin Roosevelt by Amanda Jean
2. the tenth doctor by maximum RABBIT designs
3. Rock n Roll embroidery by parrishplatz
4. ASAM = awesome by 14countess
5. Time by metro-station
6. Red Blossom Brooch by Shmemadoo
7. FS Swap buttons by kittykill
8. Pin up Girl 2 by jcgandolf
9. A wee Toadstool by lamdesigns
10. WHAT TIME IS IT? by fortuneless_cookie
11. A little felt cupcake by The Craftaholic
12. Red is so hard to capture by Cate Anevski

April 21, 2010

Stitcher's Revolution

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned Aunt Martha was coming with a new line of patterns? Well they are finally here! Two of my favorites are the 80's theme and the Sayings. Who can resist stitching up a Rubik cube and a boombox?

April 20, 2010

Mini Quilt Month on Whip Up

Have you been following along with Mini Quilt month over at Whip Up? To celebrate the release of the new Whip Up Mini Quilts book, the team has been featuring mini quilts and quilt artists all throughout the month of April.

Here's a little more information taken from Whip Up's introductory post:

Mini Quilts have been around for over 100 years, and served a couple of different purposes. They were a fun way for young girls to learn how to sew, sewing simple quilt designs for their dolls. They also were also a great educational tool that mothers and grandmothers could make for their children and grandchildren – these often had letters or motifs appliqued or embroidered onto them. I find it wonderful that mini quilts are still made today, as teaching/learning tools and as play things. And now added to these two uses comes a third – as pieces of contemporary art.

For your viewing pleasure, I've curated a small collection of quilts that have been featured so far and incorporate an element of stitching or embroidery into the overall design. They're great inspiration pieces for combining the two mediums of quilting and embroidery into art pieces that can accentuate your home decor.

Which one is your favorite?


Photo from Flickr user paddlefish


Photo from Flickr user joybucket


Photo from Flickr user mrsmcporkchop


Made by Flickr user Katie Aaberg, who also blogs at Made by Katie


Photo from Flickr user CB Handmade


Photo from Flickr user mamacjt

PS. You can see one of my minis featured here. It's #12!

April 19, 2010

Embroidery Project - - - sausage dog cd envelope


Just a bit of fun really. This little sausage dog wraps himself all the way around the CD.


You can pick up the template ready to trace & stitch yourself right here.

OR there's a cheater paper version if you'd like that.

April 18, 2010

Patterns: Owl & Pussycat

Owl & Pussycat Pillow Case Finished by Follow the White Bunny

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
Edward Lear

Nicole of Follow the White Bunny has posted this lovely free pattern for the Owl & Pussycat on her blog. I love the poem and I'm sure lots of other people do to, with already another interpretation of this pattern appearing in the Flickr pool by Veganruthie.


Owlpussycat by Veganruthie


I love the little tie for the bag!

April 17, 2010

This is knotty!


French knots!, originally uploaded by appleblossomfl.

Nothing stitchy makes me happier than when people use French knot as a filling stitch. Like in this mermaid from appleblossomfl. That takes patience! But I think it is always worth it.

See the whole mermaid here.

sew your own

__
A few garden themed favourites from the fs pool. I particularly love the veggie felt applique embroidery by Laura Hartrich - great work, guys!
_

April 16, 2010

Wonderful Doodle Fish

It's not finished yet but there is already so much to see and love on this Doodle Fish embroidered by Mary Corbet  from Needle 'n Thread. I love how the doodled patterns in combination with the Black work embroidery give the image a very graphic quality, like a wonderful old book illustration. Can't wait to see Doodle Fish finished!

p.s. do check out Mary's Video Library of Stitches!  Thanks to Mary's excellent video tutorial I managed to master the French Knot when I was an embroidery newbie.

April 15, 2010

Bacon - It's a Good Thing

Sometimes when I look through my favorites on flickr, I search by a random keyword to see what I'll get. Today's word was bacon. Here's what I found!

yep.

I found this beautifully stitched statement from Cauchy.

Bacon Machine

This bacon machine was stitched by leftwingedmama.

FrontMountedSmall

And this is the reason I had bacon on the brain in the first place? This wonderful, quirky piece from the talented TheMistressT. She stitched this for a very lucky friend. She has provided more pictures of this piece so you can see all the amazing details (Excuse me, tiny metallic chain stitch? HELLO!) here.

Okay, now that this is out of my system, time for some lunch. :) See you next time!

April 14, 2010

Lost at Sea

Lost at Sea Embroidery Piece
Stitched by melissastanley727

Simply wow. Breathtaking, isn't it? More images here and here and here.

April 12, 2010

Embroidery Ideas

Red & white

I guess it's kind of reverse collage isn't it?

Trace

Transfer

Cut

I've made a copy of the page I wanted to use, traced the original dress, stitched it up & then cut away the dress from the magazine page to "frame" the embroidered piece.

I think that this idea would look wonderful if you used pattern envelopes or pages from vintage picture books.

Edit: Of course there are no new ideas. It seems that Doe C Doe has done it all before & really beautifully too. Just take a look here.

April 11, 2010

J'aime...


Animals in French, originally uploaded by Katia Donohoe.
How's that for an excellent use of cross stitch?

Love it! And love the French stitching. Because, you know, it's French, which always adds a certain je ne sais quoi, and it is words. That are stitched. What is not to love? ;-)

Patterns: Alice in Wonderland pattern round up

Now maybe it's because there's a movie . . . but I think Alice in Wonderland is a perpetually lovely subject to embroider and this is shown by the large number of Alice in Wonderland patterns out there, so I thought a round up of recent, nearly recent or down right vintage patterns would be in order.


Left to right, top to bottom
1. Alice and the Cheshire Cat was embroidered by Flickr user glazedangel101 from this vintage embroidery pattern. There are lots of vintage Alice patterns out there on Flickr, I'd recommend looking in the Hoop Love Vintage Transfer pool.
3. drink me, part of an Alice in Wonderland embroidery pattern set by Incy Wincy Stitches
4. Or of course you could always go to the original source material for inspiration; this Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter was stitched by Flickr user Shariub and is based on one of the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel, which as line drawings, make a great place to look for embroidery designs.
5. White Rabbit finished by Follow the White Bunny loves to hop up on Flickr quite a bit and
6. Alice in Wonderland Embroidery Pattern is a new set of free embroidery patterns by Green Jello.

April 9, 2010

Peacock Fascinator


Okay, in case you haven't noticed yet (and I almost want to keep her all to myself), Sew Sweet Stitches is knocking out some really, really incredible stuff in her etsy store.

Link

Related: Super Xtra Purty-ness

Girl On The Wall

This is so amazing. Jean's life story in tapestry. The best line-I was history. Be careful! This video can cause tears of joy!

April 8, 2010

Stitchy diver


Scuba man, originally uploaded by TheWayThingsWere.
Did you hear that loud noise? Yeah, sorry about that, it was me falling off my chair when I saw this. *thus* Ouch.

How amazing is this? I absolutely love everything about it. From the delicate looking stitches to the unusual subject; an old-timey diver and a girl...

April 7, 2010

A Little Time with Mistress T.



I recently caught up with Mistress T. about her awesome Nessie project she did on Craftster. It was so great that I had to feature it for April. She is so talented and so sassy-how can you not love her and her stitching!

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I feel pretty boring, but not dull. I’m tall, but not as tall as people seem to think. The only person I mind grey hair on is me. I really like a lot of different things in different styles, but don’t want hardly any of them. I crack wise all the time, but am actually a pretty serious person – sometimes too much so. I wish I had more carpincho in my life and less lawn.



Tell me a little bit about the piece.
I’d been mulling over how to stitch a lake monster for Beefranck for months. I went through several plans in my head, but none of them stuck until I came upon the stash of little matching frames in my craft room. I realized one was too small and just after that thought “diptych!” I knew I wanted Nessie to be shiny like she was wet and scaly like a reptile, so I decided to mix the metallic thread with the regular. I took a remarkably long time at the store selecting all of the shades of brown. My current project has benefited from that time, too, however.

You are so inspiring-what or who inspires you and why?
Me? [looks over both shoulders, confused]. I know if I name names that I’ll leave someone out. I am inspired by the stitchers on Craftster, the Flickr groups I belong to, the blogs I read (and contribute to) and then by the people in my life who make me laugh and cry and think and love. I feel really lucky to have gotten to know such skilled and talented embroiderers (and manbroiderers) and to have been included in different online projects with them and to meet some in person. I dabble in several crafts, so it’s a real honor to be included with real stitchers. I may never have stitched a Nessie if I hadn’t been inspired to by Beefranck to make her something. Same for my other stitches… I haven’t finished a stitch for myself since grade school, they’re all for others or for a group challenge.


What's your favorite DMC color and type of material?
I know it’s lame, but I don’t have a favorite DMC color… I have the same belief for floss colors as I do for paint colors (my day job): every color is right for something. I don’t have enough experience to have a favorite material. I’m terrible at favorites… at least partly because I believe that once I choose a favorite I need to stick to it, or it wasn’t a real favorite.

When you're not doing fab stitching-where can we find you around the internet?
I dabble in other craft media which can be seen on Craftster, my flickr and my Etsy shop. My day job is as CEO and President (and every other position) of Bubble Off Plumb Productions Inc. I create and apply custom and artisan finishes for most interior surfaces. That means I do fancy paints, glazes and veneer plasters on walls, ceilings, mouldings, doors, cabinetry, floors, countertops and even claw foot bathtubs. The most recent photos of that are on that flickr account or the Bubble Off Plumb Productions Inc. Fan Page on Facebook. (whew!)

Wow! Look at that stitching! It is simply amazing! I can't wait to see what's next for one of my favorite gal pals, Mistress T. I'm sure it will be equally as stunning.

Stitch School: Embroidery 101

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Photo by Amy Cluck

Amy started a great series on her blog called Stitch School that takes you through the basics of embroidery. I'm really loving Lesson 2: Patterns and Transfer Techniques because she's included tons of colorful, helpful pictures and she gives a great overview of just about every transfer technique there is.


Go have a look! And thanks, Amy, for this helpful intro!

April 6, 2010

Woodland Sampler Wall Hanging

I'm loving this wall hanging comprised of some of my favorite embroidery patterns. Joely from Australia (aka Flickr user twolittlefishes) combined these woodland-themed stitcheries with a selection of bright, fun quilting fabrics. Notice how she even coordinated her floss selections?

I was so inspired by this project that I'm hoping to create my own quilt blanket version comprised of the embroidered pieces that I'm receiving as part of the Hoop Up swap. More on that soon!

Blogged (with links to all patterns) here.

embroidered wedding invitations

These hand embroidered wedding invitations from Rifle Paper Co. are amazing.  Anna Bond, the designer behind all of this lovely, created these invites for a Brooklyn couple that loves handmade.  She embroidered the design directly onto the paper before hand painting the remaining elements.  The completed design was then scanned and printed for the invitations. I think they're just perfect.






April 5, 2010

The Quilt Project

IMG_5424

I've spent this week pulling apart the quilt & posting the blocks back to the creators or onto swap partners.

The Quilt Project was something pretty special. Blocks were worked in red & posted to Melbourne where they were assembled into a temporary quilt & displayed for one night. The Quilt has also travelled to Sydney for display & has now been scattered around Australia (& the globe).

While not all the squares are embroidered, a good many are & I thought that you might enjoy spending some time with The Quilt.

April 4, 2010

Patterns: Groovy Bird

Groovy Bird Embroidered Pillow 2


Helmouse on Flickr has provided a free pattern and tutorial for this lovely pillow on her blog Bustle and Sew. The Bustle and Sew website is also a complete goldmine of wonderful free tutorials and patterns which has given me a long list of things to do! I've already embroidered the Hyacinth pattern there (just want to add the patchwork frame to it now) and have plans for the zebra pattern!