Project a Month: Wrap up - Lolli and Grace

Well here we are at the end of stitching up this beautiful One Meaningful Word pattern by Lolli and Grace! And here I am again, into the next month, finishing up the previous month's pattern, ha ha. Looks like I might have to stitch something simpler and smaller this month to get caught up and back on a proper schedule. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this pattern - this has to be one of the most consistently joyful embroidery projects I've undertaken in some time.

When I last left you, I had stitched up 3 flowers and was starting on the leaves and vines. I LOVE that blue flower, by the way. I could take and show you pictures of that blue flower all day...

I mostly stuck to the Lolli and Grace pattern, but I did a fw things differently, I'll try to point them all out. Up above is one tiny difference - as I mentioned I used more of a fishbone stitch for my leaves as opposed to satin stitch. And on the leaf above, if you squint you'll see the tiniest sparkle- I blended 1 strand of Etoile floss with 1 strand of the yellow green the pattern called for. It was an interesting effect, but as you can see, so subtle it's hard to discern...

Next I tackled the largest pink flower - I was intimidated by the floss blending and wasn't sure if I'd like the finished product...

But I really enjoyed this too! It's really bright and graphic and much lovelier than I expected.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this project is how I enjoyed the colors in every light...

Do you know what I mean? Sometimes I choose colors for a project in broad daylight, and I only like my project in nice bright light, or vice versa, I choose my colors in the evening, and find I hate my project in bright light. Anne's colors were just consistently beautiful in every light, in my opinion!

You can see above that sometimes my fabric looks bright green, sometimes lime green or khakhi - and in every instance, the floss colors pop and work beautifully!

I did a real cruddy trace job and my trace lines were all over the place - so I stitched a thin split stitch on the inside of that big pink flower using 2 strands of thread, to cover my messy trace job.

Here I am most of the way through, but at this point realizing I had LOTS of details to fill in. All the same, I loved looking at this project, no matter what stage it was in.

These little red flowers were supposed to be Lazy daisy stitches in the pattern, but I decided to do clusters of French knots instead...

Progress on those tiny French knots was slow but so satisfying and restful...

French Knot Frustrations

I don't always enjoy French knots, however!

I had a heck of a time feeling happy with the French knots in the centers of the large flowers - I just was never satisfied with my placement of them, the way I spaced them looked haphazard and messy to me...

The French knots always looked ok to me in the beginning, when there was a good amount of space between them...

But filling in the spaces made them look too cluttered and messy to me.

More messy flower centers on those bottom 2 flowers - ok I realize I am nit-picking - but it's hard not to be obsessed with tiny details in such a lovely project.

So I picked out all my French knots for the 5th time and tried again!

I did a simple chain stitch in place of the French knot ring, and I instantly felt 100% happier with the look! This is an important lesson, I think - if you're not happy with a given stitch, don't be afraid to just try something different.

Choosing my One Meaningful Word

Choosing my one meaningful word for the year was hard for me - Anne offers plenty of options:

It was hard to choose the one word that spoke the most to me...

Well, this one fits, but as a cancer survivor, I am hesitant to use that label because I don't want cancer to define me. It was something that happened to me,  but cancer is not me - there was so much more before and after cancer to define me.

So while I recognize the value of this term and all that it implies, I kept looking...

This applied, too - after cancer treatment, I have experienced so many little moments of pure joy which are overwhelming. The smallest things that I never had the grace or ability to see as blessings or beautiful before, now move me. Life, and all its beauty, people in all their uniqueness and strength, overwhelm me with joy.

But still, I kept looking...

I settled on "Bloom" because I love this idea of not just surviving, but blooming - after all the pressure and worry and fear I've endured - to bloom more fully into a new creation, a new person I didn't have the ability to be before...

Finishing my Hoop

I purchased a smaller hoop to frame my finished embroidery...

I was inspired by the bright lime green of my fabric, and the way it matched this green patterned masking tape that was on the table... what if..

I wrapped my wooden hoop in the patterned masking tape - which fit nice and smoothly...

I love the bright pop of color, and how well it coordinates with my fabric.

Here's my finished piece!

I chose to leave off many of the lovely details on the larger flowers- because I loved the large, unbroken areas of satin stitch and was just so proud of my work, I wanted to leave them undisturbed and as simple as possible.

I decided to stitch my one word on a nice olive green felt I had leftover from last year's 12 Months of Christmas stitchalong. I used the suggested dark teal color and filled in the letters with the lightest yellow green in the pattern, I enjoyed the contrast.

Some last lovely details I enjoyed on my piece...

I haven't yet stitched the one word on - but I plan to either pin it or do a light basting stitch because I like the idea of swapping out words or displaying it without the word as I see fit...

What a satisfying project this has been! Thanks to everyone who followed my progress, either here or on Instagram (@nyfloresita), and thanks especially to Anne of Lolli and Grace for designing this pattern and so graciously taking time to cheer me on!

First post: Project a Month - Lolli and Grace

Buy the pattern

You may purchase this pattern in the Lolli and Grace Etsy store, of course it has my very enthusiastic approval: One Meaningful Word pattern.

Wonderful Wednesday 69: Moody Green Embroidery

Just look at this breathtaking Floral Monogram Embroidery Pattern by Moody Green Embroidery! I've been eying this pattern for months now - I am in love with all the delicate lines and textured stitches. I love the subtle colors and the beautiful take on negative space - but do I dare?

Maybe a good way to test out my tracing skills and make sure I'm up to the challenge is to first tackle this smaller (but still beautiful and complex) Single Detailed Flower Pattern:

For more breathtaking photos of Sanita's embroidery, follow her on Instagram: @moodygreenembroidery

Project a Month - Lolli and Grace

Do you ever come across a pattern that is so perfect, so beautiful to you, that you say to yourself immediately, I need to stitch that, and I need to stitch it exactly as it is, no alterations needed? For me, that is rare - because one of the fun things about stitching is the chance to make a project truly your own by tweaking the colors, changing the fabric, etc.

But the second I saw this One Meaningful Word pattern by Lolli and Grace, I knew I wanted to stitch it just as she did - I needed that pattern!

I mean, look at her stitching - all the bright colors, the green fabric, it's just an explosion of color in a way that is just perfect for me:

I particularly love Anne's Youtube video with detailed instructions of how to do the satin stitch portions. This video changed my satin stitch forever!


I HATE and dread satin stitch in general. I almost didn't stitch this pattern, because it was mostly satin stitch. But Anne's video truly made the difference for me - I learn best by watching someone else stitch. And Anne's directions are wonderful. I also love how no-pressure her style is, and that as lovely as her stitching is, she embraces imperfection and says there is no one right way to stitch anything.

Lolli and Grace also sells kits, with everything you need to stitch this pattern, but considering the fact that I now own every color of DMC floss, AND had just bought a stack of cotton fat quarters, with one in lime green, I thought, surely I can do this without a kit!

So I purchased the pattern, and did a MARATHON evening of tracing. I did a real meh job of tracing, because I couldn't see too well, but I decided not to care and proceeded forward, anyway!

Here is my first attempt at satin stitching, using 4 strands of floss. Not too impressive. I found that for me in particular, it was hard to control 4 strands of floss, so I tried again, on the right, with just 2 strands:

Maybe it's just me but I think it lays much flatter and looks better than my first attempt. So I restitched the other side, and decided to tackle all the satin stitch with just 2 strands.

Looking at my finished first flower, I was completely blown away by how nice it was looking:

Perfectionists, look elsewhere! But for me, this was such a leap in my abilities and confidence, and again, it was Anne's video that helped me most.

With my confidence boosted, I proceeded to tackle the rest of the flowers!

I do think using 2 strands on these long petals did change the look a tiny bit, but I still think they look pretty good.

It's hard to stop staring at this project - the colors are just so lovely and the gleam of the floss looks so nice when stitched this way!

Next I tackled the orange and pink flower - it's not identical it Anne's because of my wonky trace job, but I still like it.

Currently, I am stitching leaves. Instead of satin stitch, I am doing something more like fishbone stitch for the leaves - because I love the texture and center line it creates.

Thoughts so far on this pattern

I am LOVING this project! I can't believe my perspective has changed so dramatically on a stitch I used to hate so much.

I thoroughly recommend this pattern, if you'd like to stitch along with me, you can find it in Anne's Etsy shop: One Meaningful Word pattern. the instructions are very precise, the colors are delicious, and Anne is a joy to work with!

 

Satin Stitch - Love it or Hate It?

What do you think about satin stitch? Is it on your hated list? What is your least favorite stitch, that you'd like to improve?

Wonderful Wednesday 66 - Cutesy Crafts

Isn't this Free Floral Hoop pattern by Jessica at Cutesy Crafts gorgeous? I adore the colors she's chosen, and of course how beautifully stitched (and photographed) her sample is.

Jessica has a video series on Youtube that walks you through every step of the stitching process for this free pattern!


Jessica also has a wonderful video on stitched lettering:

Backstitch Lettering


Unicorn lovers, how about this adorable free pattern? Her color choices are so sweet!

Beautiful work, Jessica!

Wonderful Wednesday 65 - Six Little Stitches

Once again in a botanical mood, I am loving this sweet Floral Leaf Heart pattern by Six Little Stitches. The soothing colors and the beautiful simplicity of the design really call out to me.

Wonderful Wednesday 64: Hawthorn Handmade

Loving this beautiful Wildwood Embroidery Kit by Hawthorn Handmade - from the description, this kit includes: pre-printed fabric, 6 shades of DMC thread, embroidery hoop, needle, stitch guide, printed card pattern, and gift box. For a kit to include all of that, it looks to be a wonderful deal!

Wonderful Wednesday 63: Lolli & Grace

It's been awhile since I've posted a Wonderful Wednesday, but this beautiful pattern by Lolli & Grace on Etsy couldn't be missed!

Being on chemo, I've felt myself frequently enter a state of mind I jokingly call "survival mode" - but the joke isn't far off from the truth. What it is, is a paring down of everything I do on a daily basis, until I am left only with the things that bring me joy. Sort of like housecleaning, but the house is my soul, I guess. :)

This embroidery reminds me of everything hopeful in the world, and it's something I keep reminding myself of, as often as possible.

I think we're all in a bit of survival mode in different ways, every day, aren't we? If so, I hope this beautiful pattern brings you joy - thank you Lolli & Grace for designing it!

Christmas Countdown #7: Ellucy Stitches

Maybe the holidays just aren't your thing? Then express your holiday grump quite elegantly with this Go Away pattern by Ellucy Stitches. Unwelcome Christmas cheer need not get any further than the door this year. :)

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

Wonderful Wednesday 57: Namaste Embroidery

This Anemones and Succulents pattern by Namaste Embroidery is breathtaking. You can either purchase the PDF pattern or the pattern and fabric, and if you don't have Cosmo threads there is a full conversion for DMC, as well. Jessica also has numerous videos to walk you through, and the added bonus is watching her do such stunning stitching, of course!

There are numerous lovely wreath patterns in her shop as well, including some beautiful holiday themed patterns, take a look!