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November 30, 2018

Feeling Random Friday #3 with Shimunia


The embroidery artist I'm featuring on today's Feeling Random Friday is one that many of my friends have shared with me on Instagram, Facebook, and by text. Her Instagram account is @shimunia, and her name is Vera. Vera lives in Russia, and she creates vividly bright and texturized hand embroidery that fills the whole hoop and pops off of in in 3D-type effects. You have got to check her out! You can find her on Instagram and Etsy

Besides the one above, here are some of my favorite pieces:






November 21, 2018

12 Months of Christmas: Drummer Drumming

12 Months of Chrsitmas Stitchalong 9 Drummer drumming pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy

Here is my Drummer Drumming, #9 in the series of patterns by Mmmcrafts, and I am quite happy with him! Working this pattern was a joy- now that I have embraced the complexities of the "people" patterns in this series, I am very pleased. My best tip on the latter half of the series is to follow directions carefully - even if you are 3d challenged, like myself, if you follow the directions, it will still come out nicely!

This was also the first ornament in which I used the free Etoile threads sent to me by DMC threads (thank you, DMC!)

mini thread review for DMC Etoile floss

I had a lot of fun experimenting with these threads, so I'm doing a mini-review of my experience stitching with them in this post. I used 1 dark pink shade of Etoile, as you see pictured above - color C915, and I used that to stitch together the body and drum.

Let me take you in closer to this thread, so you can get a true picture of its fluffiness:

mini thread review for DMC Etoile floss

See that texture? Wondering if it will lay flat? Well, it depends.

mini thread review for DMC Etoile floss

I found Etoile floss lays best when used sparingly- I used 2 strands for my stitching on the edges, and I had no issues with it laying flat. It's easy to separate, didn't fray, and stitched very smoothly, unlike other DMC metallic threads, which can be very stiff and unpleasant to work with.


Now have a look at this example -
mini thread review for DMC Etoile floss

I used all 6 strands on the yellow sash and it was much harder to keep the threads laying flat. It requires a lot of tugging. I've heard thread conditioner can help, but I didn't use that in my example. The sparkle on Etoile floss is subtle, but nice.

My take so far on stitching with Etoile on felt is that it is lovely to work with, and works best in moderation.

You may remember from my last post, Maid a milking, that I wondered if I'd used the wrong size bead for her head, and indeed, I did!
Drummer drumming head outtakes

Classic case of me just using what I had, rather than buying more - my beads are 25.4 mm, as opposed to 20 mm. They still worked fine- I just had to make my hat a little larger for it to fit.

Here are some head outtake / rejects that didn't pass my stringent quality check:
Drummer drumming head outtakes

Went a little too crazy with the gel pen.

Drummer drumming head outtakes

Got too lazy and cut straight to the chase with the permanent marker, and the edges bled... A friend on Instagram had a nice tip to prevent bleeding - paint your head with acrylic paint first to provide a nice base.

Here is my finished drummer, in all his big-headed glory!
Drummer drumming

Got lazy and didn't do anything fancy with the drumsticks - just poked the pipe cleaners in, thought they looked cute, and left as is. I'm really enjoying these people ornaments, and I'm glad I had nothing to be afraid of. Once again I am grateful for Larissa'a excellent directions - follow those, and you'll stitch something just as lovely!

Drummer drumming

Next up is Piper Piping, and I've got my pieces cut and ready! Please join us - let's stitch!

Piper Piping pieces


JOIN THE 12 MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS STITCHALONG!

This stitchalong is easy, and no-pressure! To join, visit Larissa's shop to purchase the Twelve Days pattern of your choice. Tag your pictures with the hashtag #twelvedaysornaments and #12monthsofChristmas on Instagram so we can find them.

Leave a comment here with a link to your blog, or any space on the internet or Instagram where you are tracking your progress. And don't miss the page Larissa has set up with lots of tips for stitching this series: http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/p/twelve-days.html.

Previous Stitchalong Posts

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 1-2 Partridge Pear and Turtle Dove from Larissa Holland's pattern, a series by floresita on Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 3 French Hen, pattern by Larissa Holland, stitchalong is a feature by floresita on Feeling Stitchy

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 4 Colly Bird, a feature by floresita on Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 5 Gold Ring pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 6 Goose a Laying pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 7 Swan a swimming pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy
12 Months of Chrsitmas Stitchalong 8 Maid a milking pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy

November 16, 2018

Feeling Random Friday #2 with Salt Stitches


The first time I saw Emily's work, I was blown away! She uses every bit of the face of the hoop and fills it with intricate stitches and textures. She adds details like glass beads and semiprecious stones to add more depth. The abstract pieces are based on landscapes and waterways from her travels.

You can see Emily's work on her Salt_Stitches Instagram, and you can purchase it in her Salt Stitches Etsy shop.

Here are a couple of my favorites.








If you or someone you know is a fiber artist you'd like to see featured, please either comment on this post or drop me a line at amy [at] randomactsofamy [dot] [com].

November 9, 2018

12 Months of Christmas: Maid-a-milking


Here we are with #8 in the 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong - Maid-a-milking! I've been plugging away, slowly but surely, and this was the most complex of the ornaments I've stitched so far.

There were so many little pieces to cut out and put together - below was my first photo with all my pieces cut, and my little head painted. Rather than paint, I used permanent marker for the black hair and a gel pen for the pink mouth.

I have a suspicion that the wooden bead I used was a bit larger than the one asked for, because the hat fit small... but I just decided to use what I had and not worry about it!

pieces cut

Here are the pieces with most of the embroidery done, and the little hat put together (and fitting a bit too small):
pieces

Running on not quite enough energy, I headed to a local craft store to buy the unfinished wooden beads for the hands, and had no luck finding them.

Instead, I had to opt for a small bag of various sizes of finished (varnished) beads, but I decided it looked fine:
bucket in progress

Here's the back - I had a tough time attaching the little hand beads to the arms - I realized I wasn't using enough strands of thread - when I switched to 4 strands of floss, it went better.

I didn't hide the backs very well, as you can see in this photo:
back

Here she is in all her glory - I really enjoyed stitching this ornament, and all the different ways you can make this project truly yours!
maid


JOIN THE 12 MONTHS OF CHRISTMAS STITCHALONG!

This stitchalong is easy, and no-pressure! To join, visit Larissa's shop to purchase the Twelve Days pattern of your choice. Tag your pictures with the hashtag #twelvedaysornaments and #12monthsofChristmas on Instagram so we can find them.

Leave a comment here with a link to your blog, or any space on the internet or Instagram where you are tracking your progress. And don't miss the page Larissa has set up with lots of tips for stitching this series: http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/p/twelve-days.html.

Next up is Drummer Drumming! Please join us - let's stitch!


Previous Stitchalong Posts


12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 1-2 Partridge Pear and Turtle Dove from Larissa Holland's pattern, a series by floresita on Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 3 French Hen, pattern by Larissa Holland, stitchalong is a feature by floresita on Feeling Stitchy

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 4 Colly Bird, a feature by floresita on Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 5 Gold Ring pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy

12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 6 Goose a Laying pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy 12 Months of Christmas Stitchalong 7 Swan a swimming pattern by Larissa Holland as stitched by floresita for Feeling Stitchy



Feeling Random Friday #1 with Kiny McCarrick


Hello my stitchy friends! It has been a long, long time, hasn't it? To be exact, it's been 230 days since my last post. I hadn't realized it had been so long. Life has not been very kind for the past 18 months. There's been a lot of loss, tragedies, and health issues. Of course, life hasn't really gotten any simpler or easier, but I have so missed my friends in the stitchy community, so please pardon my absence.

Since it's been so long since my last Feeling Random Friday post, I decided to restart the numbering sequence. Feeling Random Friday, or FRF for short, is a weekly feature of fiber artists I encounter from around the world. While hand embroidery is my first love, I am actively seeking out other types of fiber artists. If you or someone you know is a fiber artist you'd like to see featured, please either comment on this post or drop me a line at amy [at] randomactsofamy [dot] [com].

Our first feature is Kiny McCarrick, who goes by @embrooderyart on Instagram. I came across Kiny's IG feed about a month ago, and I'm impressed with the depth and detail in her work. She describes it as, "Medical Afflictions in Thread" - how intriguing! Then in a stroke of serendipity, my husband sent me a link to one of her pictures and told me I, "had to check this artist out!"

The technicality of her art is extraordinary! She takes odd and weird medical afflictions and renders them into a tactile medium that is bursting with color and texture. Kiny also incorporates alcohol ink and watercolor paint to create further depth. I urge you to check out her embroidery art on Instagram and her Etsy shop.


Until next week, my stitchy friends!

Amy