White inspirations

White - lovely, frothy, angelic white is gorgeous, too. I love the effect of white thread on white fabric, or varying shades of whites and ecrus and beiges, or white on linen - natural, silvery, or cream-colored.

Again, this is not a part of a traditional rainbow, but it's a part of our rainbow - the amazing things you've created and added to the pool... So, have we inspired you enough yet? Are you ready to choose one? Or, will you not be able to choose one, and instead choose them all?

Take a look at all of them, one more time and try to pick just one color you want to inspire you... Then, if you want the biggest old hint of all, take a look at the name of this set, to see what we're up to (details tomorrow)! Excited yet? I know I am!

Enjoy these beautiful examples of whitework from the stitchers below:
1. Snowy Owl! by bugsandfishes
2. White seahorse by thejoysofjess
3. Snowflakes Pillow by bstudio18
4. The Guardian (Palomino) by What Delilah Did
5. Pale Hydrangea Bloom Ornament by jennybubbletime
6. Drink me! Hoop shot by thejoysofjess
7. Taxidermy Bunny by Janick • Nea
8. DANDELIONS by hareanddrum
9. white things by tiny happy
10. wip - happy cloud by bookwormbethie
11. CROW hand embroidered brooch by hareanddrum
12. playing by contemporary embroidery

Black inspirations

Here I am again, with another non-official color of the rainbow. But, after seeing the amazing things you guys do with blackwork, black fabric, and black threads, I must say I'm feeling the black magic. I love black - it goes without saying - but there's something about using the color black in embroidery that makes the work that much bolder and more dramatic...

Are you a fan of the blackwork, too? If it was down to one color for you... out of all the colors you've seen... and maybe one more surprise color... tomorrow - could you pick one?

Enjoy the black magic by the creative stitchers below:
1. Universal GillMan by SheenaRamone
2. Orion Embroidery by piddlipoo
3. wolf by fionabearclaw
4. not good enough by beefranck
5. blossoms by racaire
6. coinpurse by lifepieces
7. Black Rabbit Quilt by badbird
8. Finally finished by Mrs Gibson's Atelier
9. Blackwork Robin by konnykards
10. Vader Drinking a Pop by Mama Sass
11. Elizabethan Cross Stitch by whimsyandcharm
12. because I love you by Sarah Blick

Pink inspirations

What's that I hear out there? No pink in the rainbow? Well, pink's in MY rainbow, that's for danged sure! As evidence, look at those pinks up above. Salmon pink. Pale petal-pink. Carnation. Rose. Fuschia. Coral. Magenta. I challenge you not to heart the pink.

So, have you put together any clues yet? Rainbows? Favorite colors? Conte- I mean, hmmm? :)

Heart the following pinks, by the great crafters below:
1. Berries close - up by apple & eve
2. Pink curlicues by Carina
3. Pink Tulip details by thejoysofjess
4. Safflower Pink by barefootshepherdess
5. Pink flower close up by barefootshepherdess
6. ELECTRIC PINK felt coaster by VitaminJ_Singapore
7. Chihuahua on bowling shirt by sew alex
8. knotty brooch - pinks by One Little House
9. 69 by tishous
10. Happy Easter Bunny by allaboutthebuttons
11. serotonin by Girl Incognito
12. TAST 07 - 5 Chevron Stitch by konnykards

Violet inspirations

Ah, violet. Or purple. Or lavender. Or lilac. Or plum. Or any shade in the purplish vicinity. I like it. And I used to hate purple. But somewhere along the line, sometime last year, I woke up and loved purple. It was weird. Any of you have a similar change of heart? Or have you always been purple people?

So, um, still thinking about your favorite color? Let's say you had to race in the Color Olympics, and you had to pick a color to run for... is purple your native land? Would you proudly race for purple? ;)

Enjoy the purpl-y loveliness, as seen in our Flickr pool, brought to you by the peeps below:
1. lilac colored threads and wip by Ravenhill Designs
2. Floral hand embroidered brooch or scarf pin by hareanddrum
3. President Taft by Amanda Jean
4. detail by Veronica TM
5. Purple Embroidery Tree by kayla coo
6. I love you two cushion in violet by -syko-
7. peacock detail by soraia_bejinhos
8. White Flower Purple Pincushion by TheBlueDaisy
9. purple by raspberryfairy
10. felt brooch by Erratic Needle
11. TAST 7 Rope Stitch by konnykards
12. jack-in-the-pulpit stitch by crazybutcute

Blue inspirations

But... blue makes me happy, too! My favorites are the greeny-gray shades, sort of robin's egg or cerulean or steel-blue gray, but just about every shade makes me happy.

How about you - is blue your favorite? I mean, if you were choosing one, just one shade of the rainbow to stitch in... for a sort of, oh, I don't know... contest? Hmmm? :)

Here's a bit of blue inspiration from the following Flickr talents, found in our pool:
1. Koiranputki-brooch by knittinjo
2. Dragonfly by meeka5
3. The Sailor by Eva.Lena.
4. Abbey Road by good_gorilla
5. Embroidery details by Birthine
6. kokako by prettylittlelightnin gpaw
7. Teeny Hearties Wall Wear 3" by Janick • Nea
8. A new smile by chunkychooky
9. 'Dreamer' Stitch Picture by Stitcher Scribbler
10. Canary pillow by Aimee Ray
11. Dandelion and fern set by Mundo Flo
12. blackbird coasters by orange mushroom

Green inspirations

Ah, green. I'd have to say that as a color in nature, nothing makes me happier than green. And I love every shade of this color as well, from kelly to khakhi to sea green to chartreuse. Is green your favorite? I mean, if you had to pick one... from a rainbow... to stitch in... Not that I'm dropping any hints, or anything. As to why I might be blogging every shade of the rainbow...

Inspiring pics by the following wonderful stitchers and crafters:
1. CTA Green Line by jessainthebox
2. 1 Up DS case by Obajoo
3. stem by raspberryfairy
4. Button tree by thejoysofjess
5. Three Trees Linen Needle Book by jennybubbletime
6. pois... by lille-ursus
7. Green circles textile art sample by jkw_fire_horse
8. Amoeba in Pink and Green by BooDilly's
9. green car wip by doe-c-doe
10. Green, Green, Green... by bugsandfishes by lupin
11. frankenpurse by the messy nest
12. embroidered pear potholder close up by Adaiha

Patterns: Penny Farthing

I love the sweet simplicity of this free pattern by Aimee Ray. The colours she used to stitch it up are so fresh and bright!

Yellow inspirations

Nothing cheers me up like a nice yellow. I love absolutely every shade, from the put-your-eyes-out-bright, to the mustardy, greenish tones. But I think my favorite is lemon yellow. Do you have a favorite yellow?

Are you wondering why I'm blogging a "rainbow" of colors every day for the next few days? Hmmm? Really? :)

Projects by the talented peeps listed below:
1. yellow leaf pin by maybeemily
2. close - up by apple & eve
3. star by kunderwood
4. yellow submarine magnet by Emmajb8
5. yellow is the color of leaves that fall hat by cosymakes
6. My glass if half full by xperimentl
7. Alma brooch - Handmade And Embroidered Felt Brooch by Yalipaz
8. broderie brooch 01 by misslilamae
9. yellow pteranodon by Katie Aaberg
10. ladybird square by Sumptuosity
11. who are you? by Sumptuosity
12. Affodell the owl brooch by Joey 7

All in the eye...

Free Form Embroidery for It's Yours, Take it! Number 3, originally uploaded by davis.jacque.

This makes me happy.

Love the colours and all the different stitches.

And I'm kinda hypnotized by that eye!

Orange inspirations

I'm not sure about you, but I love orange. Just the right shade of orange makes me all kinds of happy. From creamsicle-colored, to oj, to tangerine, to burnt orange, to redhead, I can dig it.

Are you starting to get inspired? For something... interesting... that might happen... soon? ;)

1. embroidered car wip by doe-c-doe
2. Flapper girl - Handmade and embroidered felt brooch by Yalipaz
3. ABD_SS_CAMPOUT_FIRE by Amy Brinkman
4. Fish 2 by rachaellazenby
5. stitches unicorn by KarenInKnots
6. 3.26.10 by Katie Aaberg
7. hat or no hat? by mummysam
8. Queen of hearts brooch by Yalipaz
9. Eco Felt Sunshine Keychain Happy by lova revolutionary
10. Earrings by Pin Pals
11. Wombat button by sunnysidey
12. embroidered tree by weepereas

Earthly Delights

This is Penny Nickels wonderful, embroidered answer to Hieronymus Bosch's triptych called the Garden of Earthly Delights. A lot of satin stitching was involved and also a french knot or two. Instead of directly taking imagery from the painting Penny gave the image of a seed catalogue a 'Bosch twist'. I can't help but wondering what would happen to my garden if Hieronymus Bosch was tending to it!

Penny's work is part of an exhibition called Replanting the Garden, works based on the Garden of Earthly Delights in the Big Car Gallery, Indianapolis.

Red inspirations

Now, why am I posting these inspiring stitching pics? I mean, red's nice and all, but what could we be up to??? :)

Maybe you better stay tuned for the next 9 days or so, to find out? Hmmm?

In the meantime, enjoy these inspiring red-themed embroideries, created by the wonderfully talented people below:
1. President Franklin Roosevelt by Amanda Jean
2. the tenth doctor by maximum RABBIT designs
3. Rock n Roll embroidery by parrishplatz
4. ASAM = awesome by 14countess
5. Time by metro-station
6. Red Blossom Brooch by Shmemadoo
7. FS Swap buttons by kittykill
8. Pin up Girl 2 by jcgandolf
9. A wee Toadstool by lamdesigns
10. WHAT TIME IS IT? by fortuneless_cookie
11. A little felt cupcake by The Craftaholic
12. Red is so hard to capture by Cate Anevski

Stitcher's Revolution

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned Aunt Martha was coming with a new line of patterns? Well they are finally here! Two of my favorites are the 80's theme and the Sayings. Who can resist stitching up a Rubik cube and a boombox?

Mini Quilt Month on Whip Up

Have you been following along with Mini Quilt month over at Whip Up? To celebrate the release of the new Whip Up Mini Quilts book, the team has been featuring mini quilts and quilt artists all throughout the month of April.

Here's a little more information taken from Whip Up's introductory post:

Mini Quilts have been around for over 100 years, and served a couple of different purposes. They were a fun way for young girls to learn how to sew, sewing simple quilt designs for their dolls. They also were also a great educational tool that mothers and grandmothers could make for their children and grandchildren – these often had letters or motifs appliqued or embroidered onto them. I find it wonderful that mini quilts are still made today, as teaching/learning tools and as play things. And now added to these two uses comes a third – as pieces of contemporary art.

For your viewing pleasure, I've curated a small collection of quilts that have been featured so far and incorporate an element of stitching or embroidery into the overall design. They're great inspiration pieces for combining the two mediums of quilting and embroidery into art pieces that can accentuate your home decor.

Which one is your favorite?

Photo from Flickr user paddlefish

Photo from Flickr user joybucket

Photo from Flickr user mrsmcporkchop

Made by Flickr user Katie Aaberg, who also blogs at Made by Katie

Photo from Flickr user CB Handmade

Photo from Flickr user mamacjt

PS. You can see one of my minis featured here. It's #12!

Embroidery Project - - - sausage dog cd envelope

Just a bit of fun really. This little sausage dog wraps himself all the way around the CD.


You can pick up the template ready to trace & stitch yourself right here.

OR there's a cheater paper version if you'd like that.

How To Make A Sausage Dog Cd Cover

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