Feeling Random Friday #6: Bug and Bean Stitching

Can you believe it's December?! How did 2017 go by so quickly? Let's take a look at Bug and Bean Stitching today! Marley is a hand embroidery artist whose work is beautiful! I picked the particular picture above for a few reasons, 1) My wedding anniversary is September 10, 2011 (09/10/11), 2) That shade of blue in the background is pretty similar to what's on the walls of most of my house, and 3) If I'm not mistaken, that's a Rifle Paper Company pattern on the left. I really like her style!

You can find Marley on Instagram @bugandbeanstitching and on Facebook, You probably know that I'm a dog lover, and Bug and Bean are the names of Marley's two Corgis, who are absolutely adorable! Here are some of my favorite hoops she's stitched up:

A post shared by Embroidery Hoop Art | Marley (@bugandbeanstitching) on Sep 23, 2017 at 6:11pm PDT

A post shared by Embroidery Hoop Art | Marley (@bugandbeanstitching) on Sep 5, 2017 at 3:26pm PDT

A post shared by Embroidery Hoop Art | Marley (@bugandbeanstitching) on Aug 29, 2017 at 7:14am PDT

Friday Instagram Finds No. 92 with Sam Eldridge

Hello Stitchy Friends! Well - I tried something new with Feeling Stitchy Fridays, but I just don't think it quite worked out, so let's go back to something that works - Friday Instagram Finds!

Today we're taking a look at Sam Eldridge whose Instagram feed is a colorful and visually appealing treat for your eyes. Sam's botanicals are intricate and beautiful thread paintings. She also paints and creates embroidered patches. You can also find her on Etsy at SamEldridgeArt and she's competing in the Etsy Small Business Contest. Here are a couple of my favorites from her feed.

A post shared by Sam (@smeldridge) on Mar 12, 2017 at 12:03pm PDT

A post shared by Sam (@smeldridge) on Mar 28, 2017 at 12:31pm PDT

Friday Instagram Finds No. 80 with Honey and Blueberries

Happy Friday! You're in for a treat today with some itty bitty florals made by Em of @honeyandblueberries. That's a Dala horse in the picture above, made up entirely of little embroidered florals - love! Take a look at some more beautiful pieces created by Em.

No matter how difficult or stressful things might be in my life (the past week has not been one of the greatest, I'll be honest), one of the things that always manages to perk me up or let me forget life for a little while, is my creativity. I've always been a creative person, but only now am I really thinking about what that means to me and what I really get out of it. For creative people, being creative (making, writing, whatever it may be) is as essential as breathing. And in those moments when I am down, it's amazing what a pick me up it can be to reflect on something I've created that I'm truly proud of. This pic is #onefromthecuttingroomfloor of my most recent completed embroidery. 🌸💕🇸🇪🐴

A photo posted by Em (@honeyandblueberries) on Oct 19, 2016 at 12:08am PDT

Finished this dala horse embroidery the other day, finally found the time to take a shot of the finished piece. This one is reserved though (not that I have my shop up and running yet!) 💕#embroidery #embroideryart #embroideryartist #embroideryhoop #embroideryfloss #embroiderersofinstagram #stitchersofinstagram #makersofinstagram #makersgonnamake #makersvillage #makersmovement #craftsposure #creative #dalahorse #dalahäst #scandinavian #scandinaviandesign #scandi #swedish #tinyfloralsanonymous #embroideredflowers #embroideryinstaguild #honeyandblueberries

A photo posted by Em (@honeyandblueberries) on Oct 2, 2016 at 10:39pm PDT

Wore my new embroidery today - mini hoop necklace from @dandelyne 😍💕 #embroideryflowers #tinyflorals #tinyfloralsanonymous #craftsposure #embroidery #embroideryart #embroideryhoop #miniembroideryhoop #miniembroidery #miniflowers #dandelyne #dandelynehoops

A photo posted by Em (@honeyandblueberries) on Aug 25, 2016 at 4:28am PDT

Friday Instagram Finds No. 79 with Thread Counted

Hello Stitchy Friends! Can you believe there are only six Fridays left in 2016 after today? It's true! Today we're going to take a look at the Instagram feed of @thread_counted. Aren't Emily's bullion knot roses in the above picture amazing? You can see in the pictures below how Emily uses fill stitches to create beautiful pieces of embroidery. Emily also has an Etsy account.

My biggest and most detailed piece yet! A surrealist landscape of my cousin's childhood home. As a kid I used to visit this home in Massachusetts quite often.  I'll never forget running around her yard playing "orphans and bandits" with the rest of our cousins 🏡🌲🌳🐎🐎

A photo posted by m-ly ☾ (@thread_counted) on Nov 7, 2016 at 7:01am PST

Another happy whale, this time for @aliabessi :) ALSO I SHIPPED MY FIRST SOLD ITEM ON ETSY so like OMG. My etsy is pretty barren right now, but when I get back in September I'll be uploading new pieces. Right now I'm still focusing on commissions 🐋

A photo posted by m-ly ☾ (@thread_counted) on Aug 17, 2016 at 6:41am PDT

No new completed hoops today, so here is the sight of my inspiration for the Cliffs of Dover hoop! Perhaps I'll go back and add some clouds...

A photo posted by m-ly ☾ (@thread_counted) on Jul 17, 2016 at 2:17pm PDT

Friday Instagram Finds No. 71 with Sweet Addie Beth

Hello stitchy friends! I hope you've had a great week :) Today we're featuring @sweetaddiebeth. Laura makes state hoops embellished with pretty florals and personalized hoops. I especially like her "I promise to put a smile on your face every day" hoop. The colors are so pretty, and her stitching is beautiful. You can find out more about Laura and her shop Sweet Addie Beth on her Instagram feed and Etsy shop.

Just a closer look at the flowers on my Oregon State Love hoop! 🌻🌸🌷

A photo posted by Quality Handmade Embroidery (@sweetaddiebeth) on Aug 14, 2016 at 7:19pm PDT

It's wedding day! I have my gift all ready to go, and now I gotta warm up my Nikon because I'm the wedding photographer too! 😊

A photo posted by Quality Handmade Embroidery (@sweetaddiebeth) on Aug 13, 2016 at 9:40am PDT

Have a two year anniversary coming up? The traditional gift is cotton, and these stitched wedding vows are so sweet!

A photo posted by Quality Handmade Embroidery (@sweetaddiebeth) on Aug 1, 2016 at 3:24pm PDT

Want to be featured on Friday Instagram Finds? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 56 with Handmaid Stitch

Hello, Stitchers! It's Friday again, and that means another Friday Instagram Finds! Today we're going to look at Cristina's, aka @handmaidstitch, Instagram account. Cristina creates gorgeous hand embroidery that has a lot of detail and color. Her stitches are so pretty! Take a look! (In order to go right to each picture on Instagram, just click either the account name in the top left-hand corner of each photo, or the bottom border of each picture.)

@handmaidstitch

A photo posted by Cristina | Handmaid Embroidery (@handmaidstitch) on May 10, 2016 at 5:05pm PDT

A photo posted by Cristina | Handmaid Embroidery (@handmaidstitch) on May 11, 2016 at 9:31am PDT

A photo posted by Cristina | Handmaid Embroidery (@handmaidstitch) on May 9, 2016 at 8:17am PDT

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Cristina's work at @handmaidstitch make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 53 with Marg Dier Embroidery

Happy Friday, Stitchy Friends! I hope you've had a week filled with stitching and a fun weekend planned. I've had some problems with my ulnar nerve in my left hand and am a bit sidelined from stitching at the moment, but I've been hatching all kinds of plans for when my hand feels better.

@margdierembroidery
Today we're taking a look at Marg Dier Embroidery's Instagram account @margdierembroidery. I just love all of the ribbon embroidery she creates! And her floral necklaces are delicate and intricate, and oh so beautiful - take a look! (In order to go right to each picture on Instagram, just click either the account name in the top left-hand corner of each photo, or the bottom border of each picture.)

A photo posted by Marg Dier Embroidery (@margdierembroidery) on May 13, 2016 at 9:34am PDT

A photo posted by Marg Dier Embroidery (@margdierembroidery) on May 8, 2016 at 10:30am PDT

A photo posted by Marg Dier Embroidery (@margdierembroidery) on Mar 17, 2016 at 7:53am PDT

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Marg's work at @margdierembroidery make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Book Review: The Hand Stitched Flower Garden (and giveaway!)

I am so excited because today we get to take a look at The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden: 40 Beautiful Floral Designs to Embroider, Plus 20 Great Project Ideas by Yuki Sugashima! We received a free copy of the book from the publisher and will be giving away 1 copy at the end of this post!

Just so you know, the book link above is an Amazon Affiliate link - clicking through the link and buying is one way to support our volunteer reviews on Feeling Stitchy.

The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden is a beautiful book of nature inspired embroidery motifs and 20 awesome projects including an egg cozy, a cell phone cover, and jewelry (just to name a few).

The first thing that caught my attention (other than all the gorgeous photos) was that the embroidery designs and projects are organized by season - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter - so you can stitch something all year long!

Here are floral examples from the "Summer" section.

I especially like how the book not only includes surface stitches, but also dimensional stitches, and beading.

Each of the 20 projects includes:

- suggested color palettes with DMC floss #'s
- list of embroidery stitches used
- list of all materials needed
- detailed step-by-step instructions with photos

The book also includes: a stitch directory with photos, 7 pages of actual size templates, and a tools and techniques section.

Since we are currently enjoying Spring here in my neck of the woods, I chose something from the "Spring" projects to stitch - a cute little butterfly pin cushion (as seen in an earlier photo above).

I knew immediately I wanted to stitch the pin cushion because it includes two techniques on my list to learn: the long and short stitch and dimensional stitching (those wired wings on the butterfly).

The project instructions were so easy to follow and guided me step by step from stitching to assembly.

I referenced the stitch directory to learn the long and short stitch for the butterfly and the "Techniques" section of the book showed me how to stitch the wired wings.

I love how my butterfly turned out and am already trying to decide what to complete next from the book!


The Hand Stitched Flower Garden is for any stitcher who loves floral inspired embroidery. There are designs and projects for all levels of experience - with motifs that can be stitched with a few easy stitches for the beginner to dimensional stitching for someone who wants to take their stitching to the next level!


Check out Yuki's blog for more of her beautiful stitching: https://yhandmade.wordpress.com


Giveaway time!!

To win a free copy of  The Hand-Stitched Flower Garden - please leave a comment on this post by 9 PM US CST,  May 13, 2016 and please tell us: What season (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) is your favorite time to stitch and why?

** This giveaway is open to US and Canada only! **

Friday Instagram Finds No. 51 with Forest Chorus Studio

Happy May, Stitchers! The weather is slowly getting nicer here in the Midwest, and I've been finding all kinds of inspiration from nature. Unfortunately, I'm not able to stitch for a while per doctor's orders. I injured some tendons in my left hand and have to rest it for a couple of weeks - ugh!

On today's Friday Instagram Finds we're featuring Beth of @forestchorusstudio. I just love Beth's work! It's beautiful and colorful and so precise. You can tell that Beth takes great care in her embroidery. The way that Beth stages her pictures is lovely, too. She uses creative props to make her embroidery the star of every picture. Take a look!

@forestchorusstudio

A photo posted by Beth Stackhouse (@forestchorusstudio) on May 4, 2016 at 3:00pm PDT

A photo posted by Beth Stackhouse (@forestchorusstudio) on May 1, 2016 at 1:59pm PDT

A photo posted by Beth Stackhouse (@forestchorusstudio) on Apr 28, 2016 at 7:14am PDT

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Beth's work at @forestchorusstudio make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 47 with Heart of the Heart Embroidery

Hello Stitchy Friends! I hope you're all having a fabulous day so far, and you have some fun stitchy plans for the weekend.

@heartoftheheartembroidery

Take a look at @heartoftheheartembroidery by Vanessa. I absolutely adore her whale and narwhale mini hoop necklaces! They are quite detailed, and look perfect in Dandelyne mini hoop necklaces. She also used a mini hoop necklace to create a lovely bolo tie, which is very clever! I found Vanessa's Instagram because she used #feelingstitchyig. Take a look at Vanessa's work.

A photo posted by Vanessa Blackier ⚓️ Embroidery (@heartoftheheartembroidery) on Mar 16, 2016 at 1:25pm PDT

A photo posted by Vanessa Blackier ⚓️ Embroidery (@heartoftheheartembroidery) on Mar 10, 2016 at 8:51am PST

A photo posted by Vanessa Blackier ⚓️ Embroidery (@heartoftheheartembroidery) on Feb 17, 2016 at 12:09pm PST

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Vanessa's work at @heartoftheheartembroidery make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 38 with @naive_needle

Hello Stitchers! It's Friday - hooray! I'm excited because in two days I'll be headed to sunny Florida with my son to visit my parents. It will be nice to leave the colder temps in Chicagoland for the sunshine of Orlando!

Today I'm introducing you to Anna of the Instagram account @naive_needle. Anna creates pretty hand embroidery, and what strikes me most about her pieces is that she often uses satin stitch or needle painting to fill spaces in her work. The results are beautifully composed embroidery pieces that are colorful and pretty. Her "flower flamingo" is particularly clever. I came across Anna's work because she tagged some of her pictures with #feelingstitchyig.Take a look!

@naive_needle

Image by @naive_needle

Image by @naive_needle

Image by @naive_needle

I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Anna's work at @naive_needle make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

 

Friday Instagram Finds No. 29 with Girly Stitch

Hello, Dear Readers! If you're reading this, it must be Friday - hooray!! I don't know about you, but I have been So. Busy. I've been working away at my day job as a library branch manager, and I come home every night and stitch, stitch, stitch the night away. I have to set an alarm on my phone to go off at 9:30 pm every night to get myself in bed. (Just because it goes off doesn't mean I actually get in bed, but I shoot for it.)

@girlystitch
Today I bring to you Tamra from @girlystitch! Tamra has a lovely, clean style that features beautiful typography, pop culture fun, and gorgeously needle painted pieces of art. Like many of the needle artists I feature here, Tamra used #feelingstitchyig to get "discovered" for this weekly feature.

Tamra's pictures are always so beautiful. They're nice and bright and clear, and I particularly love the close up shots. Take a look at a snippet of her talent in the pictures below.

(Pansies are my absolute favorite flower, and have been since I first watched Alice in Wonderland. Wow, oh wow! Check out her pretty pink pansy below!)

Image by @girlystitch

Image by @ girlystitch

Image by @girlystitch

Image by @girlystitch

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Tamra's work at @girlystitch, and make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos like Tamra did with #feelingstitchyig!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 20 with Itty Bitty Bunnies

It's Friday, hooray! I've had a heck of a week with my son turning 26 years old, our 4th wedding anniversary, my cat being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and my Great, Great Aunt Dorothy passing away at the age of 101 year and six months old! The chaos isn't over yet because tomorrow I'm a vendor at a big market in my hometown {info at the end}.

Let's get on to Friday Instagram Finds with Sarah of @ittybittybunnies! Sarah is a hand embroidery artist who creates lovely work that features pretty florals and text. Her Instagram feed is filled with her embroidery, gorgeous flowers, her adorable sons, and her vintage finds. Let's take a look!

@ittybittybunnies

Oh. My. Goodness! Take a look at the detail on this gorgeous bouquet of flowers!! The shading effects that Sarah has used are so beautiful, and the layering of floss to create depth and dimension is truly artistic. I cannot wait until she reveals the full photo!

Image by Itty Bitty Bunnies

While I am definitely a summer person, I can almost get excited for autumn after spotting Sarah's pretty embroidered leaf. As in the bouquet of flowers above, Sarah's use of thread painting using a variety of floss colors to add subtleties of shading make this leaf so much prettier than it would be if it was in the more traditional outlining embroidery. I also like how she hooped it so the leaf looks like it's falling.

Image by Itty Bitty Bunnies

I do this all the time, and I highly recommend that everyone read past their bedtime at least once a week :)

Image by Itty Bitty Bunnies

I'm pretty certain Sarah used a vintage quilt as the outer ring of this Home Sweet Home hoop. This hoop has such a vintage and cottage-style vibe, and all of the colors are so pretty together. 

Image by Itty Bitty Bunnies

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Sarah's work at @ittybittybunnies, and make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!
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Tomorrow I'll be a vendor at Urban Farmgirl's Main Street Market at Midway Village in Rockford, IL, and I hope you'll stop by and see me if you're in the area! If you do stop by, please make sure you let me know you're a Feeling Stitchy reader :)