Christmas Countdown #6: Roxy Creations

How cute are these little Felt Gnome Santa patterns by Roxy Creations? This looks like hours of delight with little pieces of felt and fuzz - perfect!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 37 with Sew Jenaissance

Welcome back, Stitchers! I hope you've had a pleasant week, and have fun plans and activities for the weekend. Today let's take a look at Jen of the Instagram account @sewjenaissance. Jen creates colorfully geometric works, and embellishes printed fabrics with hand embroidery. I love her series of gnomes. In one of the pictures below, you can see the before and after, and how much texture the hand embroidery brings to the fabric. I'm sure you think like I do; embroidery makes everything look better! Jen's geometric pieces are super cool, and remind me of Spirograph designs. Take a look!

@sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

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 Jen's work at @sewjenaissance 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!

Garden Gnomes and Matryoshka

Fabulous Publishing have just released two new craft ebooks; Folklore Crafts: Garden Gnomes and Folklore Crafts: Matryoshka.

The books feature not just embroidery but also costumes, toys and decorations using a wide range of crafts (I particularly liked the painted TARDIS matryoshka set).

You can find out more about the books here. Or you can head on over to Pretty Things tomorrow, for the next stop in the Garden Gnomes and Matryoshka blog tour.

All images from www.fabpub.com.

July Stitchalong - Week 4

FS July 2011 Stitchalong, gallery of most of the stitched gnomes...

From daisyeyes

Howdy everyone, this is the 'official' end of the July Stitchalong here on Feeling Stitchy - but feel free to carry on stitchin' your gnome army!

Unfortunately, I haven't got any updates on my own gnome - must do better!

Thank you all for playing this month and thank you to MimiLove for supplying the pattern! :-)

July Stitchalong - Week 3

Hey guys, here's the week 3 update of the July Stitchalong. This is my progress. A bit of satin stitching going on there on his booties. Fancy! :-)

How about you? Are you doing any stitching along this month? Don't forget to use the tag JulyStitchalong when adding your photos to the Feeling Stitchy group.

Miss Pixie Crafts

Speaking of satin stitch! Take a look at this beauty (can gnomes be beauties?!) - nice satin trousers. And the flowers too! I love how this gnome had been completely filled in - that's such a great texture.

snifferooski

Talk about texture! The hat on this gnome is absolutely awesome! That swirly-ness is really great. Looks like coils of chain stitch...

jamiebarks

How cute is this guy?! I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who can't commit to filling the gnome - that's a lot of work! Look closer at this gnome, notice that tassle on his hat? That's inspired! Absolutely love it. :-)

Right, that's it for this week - I reckon you could finish a gnome for next week.. Why not give it a go? :-)

July Stitchalong - Week 2

Hello and happy Monday! Are you stitching the MimiLove gnome? Here's my guy! I haven't got terribly far with it yet, but I'm confident that it'll be done by the end of the month. I need to think of what to use it for, though!

jenaissance2010 has been busy already, making a very nice gnome stitchery in the spirit of MimiLove - and he's already got the thumbs up from Ms MimiLove herself!

And here are a couple more (where the settings unfortunately won't let me grab the full code to post 'em): Miss Pixie Crafts, fav_orite.things

Don't forget to add your gnome-y stitcheries to the Feeling Stitchy Flickr pool and tag it with JulyStitchalong.

If you haven't started your gnome yet, head over to the July Stitchalong post to download the pattern - there are three sizes, so there should be something to suit most schedules, regardless of summer (or winter) busy-ness. :-)

July Stitchalong - Week 1

Have you started stitching the Gnome pattern from MimiLove? I must admit that I haven't had time because of a family issue.

But what about you? It doesn't look like there are any gnomes-in-progress in the Flickr group. Are you on holiday and too busy eating too many ice creams? Maybe you haven't added your photos yet? Have you remembered to tag the photos with JulyStitchalong?

Head over to the July Stitchalong post to download the pattern for the gnome! And then we'll meet up here next Monday with a whole bunch of partial or finished gnomes, yes? :-)

July Stitchalong: MimiLove

Are you ready for July's Stitchalong? Love gnomes? Then this one's for you! And even if you don't like gnomes so much, maybe this guy will persuade you! We have a pattern from the über-talented and inspiring MimiLove!

Tom Gnome - isn't he awesome? And now you can stitch your very own version! Isn't that also very awesome?!

You can see the original in the photos and do get inspired by that, but take it and run with it: make the gnome your own! :-)

Thank you ever so much to Ms. MimiLove for letting us use this pattern (it's for personal use etc and so on). Oh and do check out the MimiLove blog for more stitchy inspiration!

Click on the drawing below to download the pattern - it's a pdf file with no less than 3 sizes of the gnome. Don't forget to tag your Flickr photos with "JulyStitchalong" so we can find it in the Flickr pool. You can also download the pattern by clicking this link, but it's more fun to click on an image. Or maybe that's just me. ;-)

Alrighty - stitch up a storm of gnomes! :-)

Patterns: Aimee Ray

Aimee Ray has been posting some examples of some lovely patterns this week over on the Flickr pool. The first that caught my eye was this Grandfather Mushroom.

Aimee has created a tutorial for the crayon tinting technique she used over on her blog and her lovely pattern is here.

And then later on in the week Aimee posted some photos of her latest pattern over in her Etsy shop.

I couldn't resist this pattern myself and have already purchased a copy; I think these are perfect for some girlie handmade presents!

Embroidery from a Nanologist' Perspective

Yes, that's a word. Nanologist is a person who is a Gnome collector.

I happened upon these delightful hand-embroidered Gnome's when looking at Etsy. The artist calls her shop "Paintingpixie". Brandy Carsten, from Colorado, USA, says "I picked my name by mixing my love for traditional art and the magical world of fay."



Before studying Brandy's art , I discovered I was weak on the little Gnome facts. Prior to this, I always pictured the Travelocity gnome as he is playfully humming his way along in what he thinks is a comfortable river and suddenly finds himself falling off the edge of the earth.........(so like my life......lol).

This is what I learned, there seems to be a general agreement regarding the following things about gnomes:

1. A gnomes life span is about 400 years.
2. When a gnome is about 200 years old, they begin to think of marriage.

3. Birth of gnomes always involves twins.

4. Male gnomes indulge in pipe smoking.
5. Gnomes are 7 times stronger than a man.

Brandy says that she made her first gnome doll for her son when he was small. "It was soft, filled with carded wool and had a simple embroidered face. I was highly influenced by Waldorf traditions; simple in design and natural materials. This is why I leave the faces blank, it leaves the emotion of the doll play open. "

"As far as my embroidery history, I simply became curious and tried a couple of stitches until they looked right with the exception of the French knot which I had to look up to see how to make a proper one. "

"I let the seasons and the natural world around me influence the designs of my embroidery. I embroider intuitively- meaning I don't usually have a design plan, it just unfolds with each stitch. I have a couple of Rocky Mountain Flower guides for inspiration and reference that I use upon occasion."

"The Mushroom Cap Gnomes are truly my favorite of my designs so far. It took me quite a while to create the right shape for the cap. "

"Along with embroidery and doll making I have recently taught myself to spin yarn with a drop spindle. I love the feeling of the wool roving passing through my fingers and twisting the yarn. I close my eyes and imagine that I am connected to all the women of the past who have also made yarn in this very same way since the beginning of time. I love to needle felt, its so similar to painting with color mixing and layering. I also do illustrations in pencil and pen and ink."



Brandy says her favorite artists are Alphonse Mucha (one of my favorites, also), Van Gogh, and Matisse. Artists that are living today that she admires are Michael Haque, Brett Wilson, and Karma Majors (who is her aunt). Brandy lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.

"When I was a child I lived for a year in the mountains with a rushing river in my front yard and all the world to explore in my back yard. That year I discovered the magical realm of fairies and gnomes. Every spring flowers seemed to speak to me and trees and the rocks all had their own story to tell. I saw the world around me in a vividness that I hadn't been aware of before. Then my family returned to the city and I ever since have had that connection with nature." Thanks, Brandy, for sharing your art and thoughts with us.

a preponderance of gnomes

from Sewsew-a-Gogo

free gnome pattern by Andrea Zuill available here


Do you ever wonder what starts a worldwide cultural trend? I do, and often - for instance, what's up with all the adorable gnomes?

Was it Amelie's charming gnome that started this whole deal? (Although I could have sworn I'd seen a travelling garden gnome before that....) Or was it the cute, perky, and occasionally annoying Travelocity gnome? I just need to know, do you guys know?

Inspiration notwithstanding, in the Flickr Embroidery pool, gnomes are here to stay:

Gnomes courtesy of merwing, my paper crane, oipom, and krakencrafts

Longing for a gnome of your own?

• Try the Sublime Stitching Gnomes and Fairies patterns:
• Or, stitch up Hillary Lang's Mr and Mrs Gnome PDF pattern:
  
• Or, for zero moolah - embroider this cute gnome pattern, courtesy of Badbird (Andrea Zuill):