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! **

May Stitchalong Wrap-up

Oh no!  Some of you may have seen this post accidentally go live in its draft status a few days ago.  My apologies to all of the talented stitchers whose work below didn't get a "proper" post.

If you're like me, you've been amazed by all of the amazing pieces being done this month as part of the June stitch-along.  Although it's a bit late, I wanted to look back to the May stitch-along and quickly wrap up with some of the great projects that have been added to our Flickr pool.

As a refresher, we offered up June Jessie of isewcute's adorable A Little Curtsy Goes a Long Way embroidery pattern.  In addition to stitching along, I challenged everyone to incorporate their stitchery into a finished good.  Previously, we saw Gemmabelle's corduroy tote bag and Aimee's pillowcase skirt.

A quick search of the MayStitchalong2012 tag in the Flickr group returned a bunch more projects that are sure to appeal to your sweet tooth!

First up is Jennifer of AllThingsBelle's coin purse with an Alice in Wonderland vibe.  In her blog post, Jennifer links to the tutorial that she used to make the zippered pouch.  Check it out if you'd like to make one of your own!

Pouch by Jennifer

Amandine (Grow_Wild) also made a pouch to hold her fabric.  I love how she used a patterned fabric to achieve a bit of shabby chic style.  And check out those fill stitches ... WOW!

Fabric Bag by Amandine

In the "what a perfect use of this pattern" category comes Ella of LaWhimsy's adorable little curtsy doll.  She describes more about her inspiration and her process on her blog, May I Leave in Stitches.  Are you as inspired as I am to make one of these for a little girl in your life?

Doll / Pillow by LaWhimsy

You've just got to love the look of stitching on natural linen, and Heidi (HeidiMakesStuff) used it to perfection when making her little heat pack, which she filled with lavender and rice.

Heat Pack by Heidi

And finally, I wanted to share two completed pieces that incorporated fabric coloring to really bring our little girl to life.  Take a peek at how Eve-Marie gave her striped socks and a patterned apron -- I love to see the customization!

Stitched by Eve-Marie

And Kensie took the pattern to the next level by stitching a background and creating an entire scene.

Stitched by Lovely Kensie

Thanks to everyone for sharing your wonderful work with us.  Just because May is over doesn't mean you can't still stitch up this cute pattern -- and when you do, be sure to add your photos to the Embroidery Flickr group.

Christmas Countdown #17: Holiday Pincushion

Stitched by Pine and Wine

Be sure to check out the rest of Cindy's Pincushion set if you'd like a little instant inspiration...

Temari Thread Balls

Going all over the etsy-place a few weeks ago favoriting this and favoriting that, I discovered (meaning: heard about for the first time) temari thread balls. And all because they were being brilliantly offered by Julie and Co.

Edited: to add that Julie is offering Free Shipping for Feeling Stitchy readers, so go on and get yourself some of her beautiful work! -Carina

A sweet bouquet.

 

This is too sweet for words.  Pompomrouge does a perfect job using hand dyed thread on this cute little pin cushion

Baby Food Jar Pincushion

Check out this free, sweet little tutorial to make a pincushion out of a baby food jar, by the very talented Craftpudding. Go make a pincushion!