Beautiful Stitching

I am fascinated by bees. We would not have food without our bee friends. Another thing that I'm totally fascinated with are samplers. Maybe it's because I have no patience to do them or because they have a such a wonderful history. Whatever the reason, I adore this Bee sampler. My favorite part-the beekeeper.

 Insomerset rocks!

Good morning

Stitched by luckyjackson

I am adoring the gorgeously stitched portraits over in luckyjackson's stream. Go check them out!

Patterns: Tea and Scandal

Tea and Scandal by Penelope Waits

I love this set of patterns from Penelope Waits. I think they look great grouped together on a wall but I think they would also look great made up into a set of cushions, perfect for a sofa where much tea and scandal was taken . . .

Art in NYC

Stitched by Joetta Maue

Just one of the many gorgeous embroidered artworks at the From the Tongue exhibit opening last night.

A few more pics. Amazing stuff!

Exciting News! - from the tongue exhibition in NYC!

If you're in New York and have some spare time this evening, why not drop by the opening for from the tongue? What's that, you ask? Well, here's the details:

from the tongue...
an exhibition of works on paper and/or fiber exploring the use of text and language.
Curated by Joetta Maue
June 24-August 6 2010
Opening Reception Thursday, June 24, 8-10pm.
34 North Moore St/Lotus Gallery Space, Tribeca, NY, NY

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Artists include:
Allison Manch, Audrey Manning, Bren Ahearn, Bridget Franckowiak, Brooke Holloway, Drucilla Pettibone, Elana Adler, Ellen Schinderman, Eloise de Hauteclocque, Eric Johanni, Grant Olsen, Iviva Olenick, Jamie Chalmers, Jee Hwang, Jennifer Hunold, Jung Eun Park, Katrina Eaton, Kirsten Rae Simonsen, Kristen Wulff, Lathorial Badenhausen, Leila Daw, Leslie Nichols, Marcy Chevali, Marilyn Henrion, Mary Coss, Nathalia Cortada, Orly Cogan, Richard Saja, Rubi McGrory, Sarah Bahr, Susan Moss, Susan Sharman, Tricia L. Johnson

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I am extremely honored to have one of my pieces in the show, and I am absolutely giddy that it will be in the same space as pieces from my brother from a European mother MrXStitch, my very first craft crush VSC, and the amazing Bren Ahearn, king of the large-scale sampler. My mind is blown!

If you're able to drop by the show, please do - with so much great stuff there, I'm sure you'll be glad you did!

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!

Chippy & foxes on bikes

I heart Chippy the Chipmunk! I think Naomi used about 3 different colours brown here to create this lovely lively fur. Do check out Naomi's photostream , there are many great original embroideries to be found. Like these two foxes riding their bikes.

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Naomi also has a shop where she sells her awesome embroideries (and other goodies as well).

Embroidered animation

Stitched by Aubrey Longley Cook

Penny just shared this on our Facebook page but I had to share it here, too. Seriously, click on this. You will not be disappointed. A-mazing.

And the winner is....

Joey's Dream Garden!

Out of 770 votes, Joey won with 183 votes cast for her amazing piece. Seriously, if you haven't yet, you need to click through to the large size and do some zooming in to appreciate the stitching. It's incredible. She'll be receiving the Rainbow of Stitches book and full set of DMC floss!

Here's the breakdown of the votes:



There was a LOT of movement in the voting yesterday, with LadyHazard's entry swinging in to second and Jacque's entry into third. I sat down with some embroidery last night and had a great time monitoring the end of the contest.

Remember that each of our category finalists will be receiving prizes as well! Each winner will receive a package with a bit of the following: embroidery floss, pdf patterns, vintage patterns, fat quarters, blank tea towels or pillowcases. Winners: please Flickrmail me, floresita, with your address so we can get your package sent out to you.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered this contest, everyone who voted, and all of our finalists. This was an amazing showing of talent.

Have you voted yet?

Just asking because you never can tell who's going to win these things, you know... From time to time stuff happens in the last few hours... I'm just sayin'

Voting ends at midnight tonight, ET. I know I'll be staying up to see who wins!


Vote!

Edit: 12 AM 6/16 - Voting is now closed! Winner will be announced later today.

p.s. I removed those handy "who's winning" links so there'll be no peeking!

Dude! It's the Dude!

Mafiosagrrl has done a stunning job of stitching up the bowling dream sequence from "The Big Lebowski". Look at the Dude's hair! Look at the gold lacing over Maude's braids! And, how did she get them to look so...braided? Dude. Link

ETA: She did a tutorial on her blog on how to make the braids!

Cast Your Votes!

Well, you've seen them all, now, people. It is time to cast your vote!

Want to take a look at them all again, zoom in, pore over them with a cup of coffee, pulling your hair out, trying to choose just one? Go ahead and do that. You've got time.

Voting closes at 12 AM, Wednesday, June 16 (NYC - Eastern Time) and the Grand Prize Winner, chosen by all of you, will be announced later that day.

Ready yet? Yeah?

Okay Vote! - Voting is now closed!

Winner in the Surprise Rainbow Category!

So we added a surprise category to the Rainbow of Stitches contest (in keeping with our tradition of surprises.) Although we wanted to celebrate monchromatic works, we also felt we had to give the entire rainbow a chance. Our winner, JacqueLynn, singlehandedly dominated the category with her talented abstract creations, and I was in awe of her energy to create. So, let's meet JacqueLynn!

Describe yourself
After YEARs of thinking I have to do my list of jobs first, and art second, I have switched it around - and am so happy.

What inspired your entry?
The first time I saw Takashi Iwasaki's embroidery art on the internet, I was awed! His work inspired me to do abstract embroidery.

Favorite stitch?
I love chain stitch - it fills and curves well - it works in so many places. I like to put different colored French knots in the chain, to look like polka-dots

Who or what inspires you to stitch?
Stitching fills a need I have to use my hands. Although I draw digitally, stitching helps me use my hands in a more physical way than I do when I draw.

How did you get started?
My Mom taught me to embroider when I was 8 or 9. ( and sew and knit, and garden- i.e. pull weeds, and almost crochet - she was a lefty and had a hard time with doing the hand switch thing when showing me to crochet.) Just the other day, I was reading a blog about someone trying to learn to sew - and all I could think of was how lucky that I learned all the tricks, techniques and little secrets from my Mom. THANKS MOM!

Are there any stitchers in the Feeling Stitchy pool that you have noticed?
Oh my gosh, yes. I started looking at the photos from the Feeling Stitchy pool that I have added to "my favorites" and had 7 flickr friends just on the first page of my favorites.

All total, way too many to list. - I find that looking at the art that others have created is so often a jump start to a new project. It's about looking at someone else's art and thinking - "I love that!" What did they do that is so right for their piece, then thinking about it and learning from it. Feeling Stitchy pool and blog is such a great place to see the kind of embroidery art that I can learn from.

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Also in the Rainbow Category...
There were lots of standout creations in our last-minute wildcard Rainbow category, but a few of my favorites were:

Dragon by fatquarter


Voodoo Chic by anyakase1


Totally Gay by Giddy Girlie

Thanks to all our stitchers, and congratulations, JacqueLynn!

White Category Winner - Rainbow of Stitches Contest

Wow, who knew that judging the Rainbow of Stitches contest would be such hard work? There were so many amazing and highly deserving entries in the white category that it was hard to pick a winner, but big congrats to Caitlin (saltyoat) for her winning entry.

Want to get to know Caitlin a little bit better? Here's how she answered our winners' questionnaire ...

What inspired your entry?

I was actually really inspired by this piece. I love doily and lace patterns, and knew I wanted to create a piece that reflected that. I also liked the idea of using the work to experiment with stitches and create a sampler of sorts. I started stitching the piece in an embroidery class at the Stitch Lab here in Austin.

What is your favorite stitch?

French knot

Who or what inspires you to stitch?

I'm really inspired by vintage embroidery transfers and fabrics. I also get a lot of inspiration from the blogs I read, Flickr, and the thrift stores I frequent.

How long have you been stitching and how did you get started?

I started cross-stitching when I was a kid, using premade kits (horses and Christmas ornaments were a part of my repertoire). I started doing embroidery last fall, using Jenny Hart's Embroidered Effects as my textbook.

Are there any stitchers in the Feeling Stitchy Flickr pool you have noticed?

I really love the white stitching on paper that jessicakelly entered in the contest (editor's note: we love it too and this entry was a close second!), and I'm a big fan of the work of septemberhouse, doe-c-doe, and the Pin Pals.

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Thanks, Caitlin ... and good luck going up against the colors!

For some more of the outstanding contest entries in the white category, check out the mosaic below or browse our gallery.

Patterns: Dandelions

Today's featured pattern is O Dandelion by Lindylou. It comes with comprehensive instructions on how to create the lovely dandelion effect using turkey stitch. I always appreciate patterns which teach me something new to!