Consume less, live more

read more on Karin's blog

One of the things I love most about crafting and blogging is this very idea: finding more enjoyment in the things you make and see and do than in the things you buy.

For the Love of Collage

This little quiltie named Vera's Laundry Quilt by Gunnel I found on Flickr.

This one titled Grandmother's Sewing Box.

This one titled Januari 08.

This one titled Swimsuit Quiltie.

Gunnel, who lives in Sweden, included some techniques on her blog and Flickr photos, so be sure to check out her work. She also has an Etsy Store.



Gunnel's use of vintage things makes it especially attractive to me. She incorporates paper and fabric and buttons and embroidery----all of the things I love to use in my work, also. One more collage to spend some time looking at........

Fabric Collage

The Summer Craftster Challenge Winner

This summer on the needleworks board we had the Summer Sampler Challenge. There were so many AMAZING entries. I was totally blown away by everyone's talent. The votes are in and ZombieKilla's "Self Acceptance" won! It was such a wonderful message and some great stitching. Thanks to everyone who voted and participated in the challenge. You guys RAWK! Be on the lookout for the Fall Challenge coming in the next few weeks.

The Winner!


All of the entries. BE WARNED-Some are not suitable for work or children!
1. Take a breath, 2. Self Acceptance, 3. Taking back the domestic arts, 4. The Heavy 7, 5. Thomas Merton, 6. Those shoes are mine, 7. Tom Waits, 8. What's your damage, 9. officesampler, 10. Make Love, Not Warcraft, 11. King of the Zombies.Shaun of the Dead, 12. It's Sew Time, 13. Han Solo said it best, 14. Grandma Besty's Biscuits, 15. Flight of the Conchords, 16. Eat yer heart out, 17. Dumb and Dumber, 18. Dirty pillows, 19. Cold War, 20. Bloody Submission

Something Sweet...

from kunderwood


from miss niff


from Amy

I don't know about you peeps but if I embroidered something this sweet I might have to give it a nibble... it just looks so tasty! :)

A Stitching Library of Beauty

Buttonhole Stitch

I don't know much about this artist from Germany, but I spotted her work when searching for special embroideries. This method appears to use already printed fabric and embellished with stitches that enhance that pattern.

Detached Chain Stitch

Her Flickr name is Veri's Kleiner Winkel. I love all the color splash and detail.

Algerian Eye Stitch

I was very inspired by this work and I hope you are, too!

It almost looks edible!

These are lovely coasters I found in Debra Gangelhoff's etsy store
and so I checked out her Flickr photos and found more delicious embroidery.


I love the combination of crochet and embroidery, wool and color choice. I want to get out my thread everytime I look at such beautiful pieces! Debra has many other pictures in the Feeling Stitchy Flickr pool.


Debra says she has been inspired since she was a child by the sight of a woman with needle and thread creating something beautiful. It really shows, Debra! Thanks for sharing your work with us!

el chimuelo

Yet another reason why Claudia rocks my world. Read more about el chimuelo on her blog, Stitchado.

Spam! Spam! Spam!

Don't you just hate spam mail? Me too. It's stupid and a waste of 1's and 0's... Well, I've decided to use some of the ridiculous spam email titles to embroider. For no particular reason at all. This one is a work in progress, it will eventually say: "undeliverable pleasure come to claim it". It almost doesn't make sense. Maybe that is the redeeming side to spam mail; its sheer, almost poetical, silliness.

Also, allow me to coin a new word: spambroidery. ;-)

Such wonderfulness

from Early Bird Special

Do any of you guys do Facebook? If so you'll understand how charming a fruit is when it's worn on one's head... :)

And, for you Facebook-ers, there's some cute new flair on the block... just do a search for "feeling stitchy"...

Paris on my Mind

I've been thinking a lot about Paris lately. I do love all things French, but have not been there in a long time. Hopefully we'll get to make a trip there soon - in the meantime, here are some lovely French inspired embroidery from Flickr!


1. Pincushion, 2. Eiffel tower pillowcases, 3. I see London I see France..., 4. beret girl detail, 5. The Market Bag, 6. Eiffel Tower, 7. FELT COASTER Blue Eiffel 1 (set), 8. Pisa and Paris., 9. French Kitchen Towels, 10. Set. no.2, 11. Edie's Sheets, 12. Velo a Paris, detail 2006

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Chicken stitcher

So... embroidered graffiti - have you done any? These are my feeble efforts. Pathetic, really. But you know, I'm just too much of a chicken to do anything, well, really cool! ;-)

So what I have done is make these little embroidered 'patches' which are stitched onto scraps of paper with a sticky foam thingy on the back. This way it can be attached almost anywhere, but be removed easily. By anyone who might not appreciate embroidery.

I have left these on a railing and a bench on a little promenade right next to where we live. Not the busiest place in the world, so I thought that would be a nice place to get my feet wet, so to speak.

I fantasize about putting these in the toilets at airports, but I haven't done so far. I either plum forget or don't have time (= courage).

There is another patch which is on a bench facing the Thames (in London), right behind the London Studios building. Or there was, anyway, who knows if anyone's removed it by now.

So, that's a little update on that. Not as much doing as I'd like. How about you?

3 Day Banner Celebration

As you know, there were so many awesome entries in our contest, and as a thank you to everyone who entered, over the next 3 days I will randomly swap each one in and out. This is a good reason to click on over if you're viewing this in a reader - keep checking back throughout the day as I show them all to you, and hopefully you'll be able to see your own!

We still have a winner and finalists who'll be receiving their prizes, but I was wondering what you thought of rotating the banners on a weekly or monthly basis? We could leave the banner contest open-ended, so anyone can stitch a banner for us at any time, and we can swap the nice ones in and out... Hmmm.. this might call for another vote... just an idea - let me know what you all think!

In the meantime, enjoy the guest banners and beginning August 1 you'll see the winning banner stitched by PlanetCoco in all its glory here!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to PlanetCoco (Kirsty) for winning our first-ever banner contest!

Thank you to all of our finalists, they were all so talented it was so hard to pick just one. And thank you to everyone who entered - I was blown away by how imaginative, fun, talented and silly you all can be! :) I can't say thank you enough to everyone who made this contest possible, including: Jenny Hart, all the Feeling Stitchy bloggers new and old: Jessie, Jackie, Eydie, Sally, Carina, Pam, and Amy.

But most of all, thanks to all of you! It's you who keep us going and keep the crafting community generous, fun, and filled with new ideas. That's what the embroidery group is about and what Feeling Stitchy is about - sharing what you've made and inspiring each other to do more... thanks! :)

Cast Your Vote!

Last week you saw all of the finalists banners in action and learned about each of them (thank you Jessie, for interviewing everyone!) Now it's time to cast your vote in our sidebar - you have one week to vote! The winner and finalists will receive some wonderful prizes.

Thank you to everyone who contributed designs to our competition, and even if your design was not chosen - please leave it in the pool! I have a surprise related to that which I'll reveal soon... :)

Here's one last look at the 5 finalists chosen by Jenny Hart (and their interviews):

Flossbox - Emily (interview)


PlanetCoco - Kirsty (interview)



Shebrews - Eydie (interview)


Maraland - Mara (interview)


Early Bird Special - Amy (interview)

Good luck to all of our finalists!

Finalist #5 Early Bird Special

...a mini interview with Amy Bindel, aka Early Bird Special



Amy, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in OKC, OK with my husband, our daughter (who will soon be 2 years old), and our 2 dogs. I'm actually a stay at home Mama, so all avenues of my life are constantly intersecting. My daughter, the duties of daily life, and embroidery keep me very busy. If I'm not working, I'm usually sleeping.

You blog under the name "Early Bird Special" - could you tell us how you came up with that name?
I came up with Early Bird Special after my daughter Darcy was born. She is a very early riser, and sleeping in past 6am is a sweet memory and a rare treat. I noticed my most productive times were early morning hours.

Have you always been crafty?
Yes. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are spending the day with my Granny, who was an artist and a crafter too. She would dress me in one of Grandpa's old, paint splattered shirts, and call it my "artist's smock." I had tons of paintbrushes to choose from, as well as a variety of oils and acrylics. I would then paint pictures of owls, birds, flowers, and anything else I could think of. I've always loved to draw, and would spend many days and nights sketching and doodling. Unfortunately, I lost the sketchbook from my "sketchiest" period, which was from age 17 to 20. It was very much like a diary, but I would sketch, instead of write. Oh, how I wish I still had that emotional gold mine.

Do you do other crafty things as well?
On rare occasion I will knit, although it's been a couple of years since I've picked up knitting needles. I have a love of fabrics and dabble with the sewing machine from time to time, making things for our home, or softies for Darcy. For the most part I limit myself to embroidery. I've tried to be a multi-crafter, but I'm easily distracted, and too many crafts at one time make me feel like I have crafter's ADHD.

Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Most of the time I'm inspired by my daughter and whatever she shows interest in at the time. I love all things cute and anything that makes me say, "Eee!" Flickr is always a good place to find inspiration, as well as my neverending blog subscriptions. When I'm burned out on computer time, I look to my collection of Japanese embroidery books for inspiration.

Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I drew the little craft characters a few months ago, and thought they would be perfectly cute for the Feeling Stitchy banner. The colors are just softer versions of some of my favorites. I thought keeping things soft would help keep focus on the characters, while being inspirational.

Amy, thank you so much for doing another interview with us (you can a read a past Feeling Stitchy interview with Amy here). Good luck with the contest!