Tutorial Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Today's tutorial is a little basket, fun for Easter egg hunts and treats that the Springtime brings. I found a fun Spring and Easter Eggstravaganza PDF embroidery pattern pack over at The Split Stitch and used it to create the front of this Easter basket. 

This little basket came together very quickly. To make your own you'll need the following supplies:

-Two 10x10-inch pieces of exterior fabric (I used white cotton muslin)

-Two 10x10-inch pieces of interior fabric

-Two 10x10-inch pieces of felt for lining

-One 18x5-inch piece of fabric for the strap

-Embroidery pattern of choice (I used this one)

-Embroidery hoop and floss in Spring pastel colors

-Coordinating thread

-Sewing machine

-scissors

-Iron and Ironing board

Step One: Begin by embroidering one of the exterior pieces of fabric. The pattern pack I used from The Split Stitch came with the font for the word "Easter," and I used those letters to create the word "eggs."

Step Two: With a finished embroidered exterior piece, now you can begin to build the basket. Create a sandwich beginning with a layer of felt, exterior fabric right side up, exterior fabric wrong side up, and another piece of felt. You want to make sure you have the right sides of the exterior fabric facing each other in between the pieces of felt. Then sew a 1/4-inch seam along the sides and bottom leaving the top open.

Step Three: In order to square the bottom of the basket, take one corner and press it flat so the seams are touching and it creates a triangle. The seams should be flat and pressed open, which I forgot to demonstrate in this step, but it's correct in Step Five. Stitch 2-inches down from the point or peak of the triangle. Repeat on the other corner and clip the excess. Set this piece aside.

Step Four: Place the interior pieces right sides together and stitch around the sides and bottom leaving a 2-inch unstitched space on one side in order to flip the basket inside out.

Step Five: Square off both bottom corners of the interior piece the same as the exterior piece from Step Three above, making sure to press open the seams.

Step Six: Now it's time for the strap. Take the 18x5-inch piece, fold it in half along the long edge and press. 

Open up this piece and fold each long side in halfway, so that the edge meets the fold line you just created, and press.

Fold the strap in half again, so the folded edges meet, and press. 

Sew a 1/4-inch seam along both long edges of the strap.

Step Seven: Now the basket can be assembled. Place the interior piece inside of the exterior piece, right sides together. Take the strap, place it inside the basket body, between the exterior and interior pieces. Making sure not to twist it, match each short edge with a side seam, pin in place.

Stitch a 1/2-inch allowance along the top. 

Step Eight: Pull the interior piece out of the exterior and flip the basket using the unstitched space in the side of the interior piece. 

Stitch the open space closed, as close to the edge as possible, backstitching at the beginning and end. 

Step Nine: Topstitch around the top edge of the basket opening, making sure not to catch the strap.

Step Ten: Fill with eggs or treats and have fun!

Hope you get to give this a try. Have a happy Tuesday!

Winner!

As I mentioned on Friday, the wonderful people involved with Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook were sweet enough to share a copy of this book to review on Feeling Stitchy. I enjoyed reviewing this book so much that I decided to gift a copy to one lucky Feeling Stitchy reader!

But, before I tell you who the winner is (yes, I am dragging this out for maximum suspense) I counted all your votes - I asked that if you could choose just 1 medium -Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Freehand Embroidery, or Crewelwork - what would it be? Not counting those of you who couldn't decide, or who chose not to answer, here is what you all chose!

Your votes:
cross stitch 23
needlepoint 3
freehand embroidery 52
crewelwork 13

Wow, it looks like the clear winner is freehand embroidery! By the way, I only called it "freehand embroidery" to differentiate from other counted methods of embroidery like cross stitch. Looks like this is the technique of choice with all of you guys! I'm totally on the fence, as I am equally in love with freehand embroidery AND cross stitch. :)

Now, for our winner!

thechimes • 2 days ago

• −

freehand embroidery. so much fun. it's like doodling with thread. 

This lucky winner will be receiving their very own copy of Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook! Thanks to everyone who entered, and expecially Pierrette, for sharing a review copy with us! If you didn't win, I'd stay tuned, because I *think* we've got another giveaway coming up soon! :)

Patterns: Satsuma Street

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street

Pinterest can be a great way find new embroidery designers. This week I discovered Satsuma Street via Feeling Stitchy's editor, Floresita's Crafty Pinterest board and I just love these designs! Be sure to check out the Satsuma Street store. My favourites have to be the Pretty Little designs for their retro, colourful gorgeousness but this bag (which not only includes the cross stitch pattern, but also the pattern to make the bag!) rocks to.

Kiss, Love, Laugh, Craft by Satsuma Street

Books: Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook

The wonderful people involved with Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook were sweet enough to share a copy of this book to review on Feeling Stitchy.

And it's been awhile, but I am finally giving a brief tour through my favorite elements of this book and... if you read to the end... a giveaway! This post is a combination of my first dive into one of the book's projects and a brief overview of the book.



What I Made: One Night of Crafting 
I am so strapped for time these days, that before I begin a project I wonder if I'll be able to finish it. It's a count-the-cost mentality I've been forced to adapt, to be realistic with my time constraints. Do you ever do this, too?

In all my future reviews on FS, I want to include a quick-and-dirty snapshot of everything I was able to accomplish in one night of crafting, which for me equals 6PM - 11:30 PM on a weeknight. And, here you have it, the results of 5.5 hours, or one night of crafting:

As you can see, this is a detailed, cross stitch project that could safely occupy at least 3-4 additional nights of crafting. But I love the gorgeous colors and lines!

Book Overview

If you're already a fan of Anna Maria Horner, you will have plenty of reasons to love this book. I was so taken with Anna Maria's color language that I made a list of all the floss colors from my favorite projects and lined them all up, to really take in a sense of her style:

Pretty gorgeous, huh? By the way, all of the floss colors are listed as Anchor in her book, so I used this Floss Conversion Calculator to convert to DMC, since Anchor is not readily available in my region.

Now, on to the book! The book is divided into two sections: Grid Works and Free Works. Each section is further subdivided into helpful Common Materials and Tools, and Stitch Know-How sections with illustrated color guides to many, many stitches.

Under Grid Works, you'll find projects for Cross Stitch and Needlepoint.

The Needlepoint section is extensive, showing 11 different stitches that can be used (as a Needlepoint newbie - I had no idea there were so many!)

Under Free Works, you'll find projects for Embroidery and Crewel. The Embroidery section also has a 4 page illustrated color guide that shows you 13 different stitches.

The Crewel section has a 3 page color guide that shows you 5 stitches. Again, I loved the colors in these projects:

Lastly, the book closes with a section on Finishing your projects, and the Project graphs:

I love the graphs for their color and creativity, but they are colored blocks, without a symbol, so it can be hard to decipher if you have two very similar colors next to each other. On the other hand, it's a good springboard for the more creative stitchers out there, if you're planning to use your own colors and ideas.

Here are my favorite projects, in no particular order:

"home" crewelwork pillow

"menagerie at midnight" cross stitch

"star-crossed love" needlepoint purse

The Giveaway!
Overall, I think it's a wonderful book, both for inspiration and projects, and that's why I decided to give away 1 copy here! To win, all you have to do is leave a comment here - and tell us this: if you had to pick 1 favorite out of the following: Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Freehand Embroidery, or Crewelwork - what would it be? Please include your email address so I can contact the winner!

I'll leave the comments open until 9 PM, CST on March 17, when I'll close the comments and announce the winner soon after. Want to win your own copy of Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook? Tell us your favorite stitching category!

Embroideries out of drawers

Olá! This week I'm showing you a treasure... My treasure!
I took some photos of a very special gift I received from my grandmother some years ago, her last present before she died. I have many more embroidered table linens and bed linens, gifts from my grandmother, ever since I was a child. Some were made by her creative hands... This was not... But it is very, very special for me.

I love the beautiful Portuguese linen... Daisies are my favorite flowers and full of meaning for me... And the simplicity of the embroidery technique surprises me. You don't need more than satin stitch to make something so charming... Of course I could not make such a perfect job... You can't imagine the perfection - it's so difficult to distinguish the back side...

Daisies with satin stitch - my photo

I'm showing my treasure to challenge all those that have treasures at home like this, embroidered by Portuguese hands...

If you are Portuguese, if your parents or grandparents are (or were...) Portuguese the probability of you having an embroidered treasure at home is very high! And I'm challenging you: "embroideries out of drawers"...

Choose your favorite piece of embroidery and tell us the story behind it... Why is it so special for you? Take a beautiful picture and send it to me... I would love to show the world how Portuguese embroiderers are so talented and how many stories can be told by embroidery stitches.

My treasure - embroidered linen table cloth - my photo

Do you accept my challenge? Don't forget... Embroideries out of drawers!!! Wherever you are... I'm waiting for your help and together will show how Portuguese stitches make Portugal so special and well known all over the world.

If your stitches are not Portuguese they are welcome too... Share with us a linen or embroidered item that has a special meaning for you... Do you have embroidered stitches that tell a story? We would love to know about them...

You can either upload your photos to our Flickr embroidery group or e-mail me at agulhanaopica@gmail.com.

Insectae

stitched by Alchemy Tea

These stitched insects by Julia take my breath away. I love her creative use of stitches, color, and illustrative style.



Beautiful work, Julia!

Queen of the Deeps

stitched by makeworkproject

I am in love with this embroidered octo-mer-queen, as embroidered by Heather.

The gorgeous detail Heather achieved on the hair is just outstanding:


As if that's not fabulous enough, this pillow is a mate to a Kraken pillow Heather also embroidered - from a SewLovely pattern. Luckiest couch ever! Amazing stitching, Heather.

Patterns: Downton Abbey

I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves stitching in front of the television, so if you happen to be watching Downton Abbey, how about stitching the characters? You can find the patterns by April Heather Art here at Kitschy Digitals.

Beautiful bird stitching

stitched by needlenotes

I am absolutely aghast at the beauty of this bird in progress by Anna, or needlenotes. The design is by Nicola Jarvis. And I never use the word aghast, but my definition leans of course towards the "shock and amazement" portion of the definition. :)


stitched by needlenotes

Gorgeous work, Anna, can't wait to see the finish!

Sweet Letter Stitching

Olá! After writing last week about letter stitching I remembered that I had a treasure at home... Last year my youngest daughter made this embroidered notebook as an anniversary gift to dad.

She didn't use a word processor... She doesn't need it. Her small hands and talent are enough. She's not like her mother...

All by herself she used an old pair of jeans, white paper, orange Bristol board and cotton thread. The pattern is hers, as are all the the stitches and finishing details...

Stitches with personality, my photo

Blank sheets, always so inspiring. My photo

I love the personality of her stitches. Comparing with other previous works we easily identify a "stitching identity" (does it exist??) and she's only 9 years old...

Ok... Maybe I'm exaggerating. But what would you expect from the mother's artist?

Using an old pair of jeans... My photo

Do you know what "PAI" means? It's the Portuguese word for dad or father...

Here in Portugal will be celebrating father's day on the 19th March... It's coming soon...

Grumpy Cat is Just Misunderstood

I love Grumpy Cat. I just want to give him a hug! When papilionette posted her version of Grumpy Cat on Craftster I just knew I should feature her and find out more about this awesome piece and about its creator!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

 I'm a chaotic procrastinator, who loves to try all kinds of crafts and if I can, all at the same time.

Tell us a little bit about the piece:

My little sister loves the grumpycat meme. She can even do the same grumpyface. So I knew when her birthday was coming up that I had to do something with Grumpy cat. In combination with a lucky find in a thriftshop (a bunch of hoops) and a needlefelting starter kit I was trying out, it just clicked and I looked up a picture of Grumpy, made a raw sketch on some white cotton and needlefelted away. I painted in the brown and added stitches for more texture and detailing.

 What/Who inspires you?

So many things inspire me. I can be inspired just by looking at Pinterest, Tumblr or Craftster, sometimes it's because I'm making it for someone special and I like to put a lot of thought in it. And other times it can be just the material. A beautiful piece of fabric or a totally new medium.

What kind of advice do you have for newbies?

Without sounding too corny, but just do it. Take the ideas in your head and try to make them alive. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but you always learn something for the next time!

What are you working on next?

I'm actually working on several things at the same time right now. I also have two brothers whose birthdays are coming up in the next 4 months and one of them is totally Skyrim-addicted, so I'm embroidering patches with quotes or easily recognisable Skyrimstuff and I'm hoping to make a quilt out of it or a pillow, depends on how much I procrastinate. I'm also working on a swap here on Craftster and I'm trying to start on my Christmas presents for this year!

Bonus question...
Do you think grumpy cat is really grumpy or just misunderstood?

I think she's grumpy, but misunderstood. In making this piece I actually looked up more of grumpycat and learned she's according to her owner a very sweet cat, but at the same time her owner also posts the grumpy meme, so maybe her owner is just confused, making it confusing for us and we totally misunderstand everything, making her grumpy.. or something like that.

Books: Heart-Felt Holidays

I have had Kathy Sheldon & Amanda Carestio's book, Heart-Felt Holidays: 40 Festive Felt Projects to Celebrate the Seasons on my wish list for quite some time. When I finally had the opportunity to check it out and try out some of the patterns, I found that it was well worth the wait.

Our friends at Lark Books were generous enough to share a copy with Feeling Stitchy for review. Instead of Tuesday's Tutorial, I am excited to share my new favorite book with you.

The book has 40 adorable projects and patterns, organized in a chronological format, with designs to celebrate the holidays and special occasions of each month. Beginning with New Year's Day and ending with Hanukkah and Christmas, the projects in between range from Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Groundhog Day to Earth Day and Teacher Appreciation Day. There are also birthday and baby shower gift and decoration ideas that are darling, and can be used throughout the year. Some projects require the use of a sewing machine, while some are completely hand-stitched.

One of my favorite elements about Heart-Felt Holidays is that the entire book is based on using felt, which is one of my preferred fabrics to work with. Felt doesn't fray and can be cut very easily, it's also inexpensive, which is always a major plus. I tend to keep felt in my fabric stash at all times, and while I didn't have the same colors that are listed for the projects in the book, the patterns looked just as great and had more of a personal touch when I used what I had available.

The patterns for each project are on the last pages of the book. I had to go to a print shop to enlarge some of the patterns, and I have to admit that I might have enlarged them more than the directions called for, but the projects still came out great. Very quickly, Heart-Felt Holidays has become a solid favorite. I can't wait to try out their projects for this Spring!

I Kiss Better Than I Cook

tutorial by revoluzzza

I must say, I can relate. :) Visit Suse's blog for a sweet tutorial that shows you how to stitch a phrase close to your heart. She writes in English and German, and includes some lovely memories of her father. Sweet work!

Patterns: Sashiko

Sashiko Style Embroidery by Home Baked Online

Although Sashiko is normally stitched in one colour, I love Home Baked Online's colourful interpretation. You can read more about Home Baked Online's inspiration here, which links to some free sashiko patterns. 

I also recommend checking out Aimee Ray's new book, Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond, which has a chapter on Sashiko and Shisha or Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Stitching, which also has a short chapter on the subject. Can you recommend any other good sources of Sashiko inspiration? We'd love to hear from you in the comments section below!