135 results for: embroidery
Shortly after making my first “Everything is better with” sign, I put this one in the queue. I gifted it to my sister-in-law, who contributed “sunshine” to my list. I wanted this to be light and “sunny”, so taking inspiration from the sky, I chose a light yellow fabric with small white painted stars against […]
At one of my guild meetings, I picked up a small dimensional embroidery kit by A Candle In The Cellar, aptly named “woolly worm on a leaf”. I put it away for a time because at a glance, it looked like it used bullion knots to make the worm and I wanted more practice since […]
I’ve been tossing around this idea to make a couple of “Everything is better with ___ ” signs so I asked around for some input and have a nice list to start with. This doesn’t mean I will actually make them all, but if there is something you think that fills this statement with only […]
The challenge this week at TextileArtist.org is hosted by Emily Jo Gibbs. She works with appliqué and suggested we find an interesting stick – well my yard has more sticks than you could shake a forest at! I spent a short time outside looking for just the right one – an interesting shape that would […]
Richard McVetis led this week’s stitch challenge over at TextileArtist.org. The concept is easy: couching stitches. I didn’t have a lot of time this week for this project so I didn’t stress myself much over trying to make something super cool. Instead, I did what he suggests which is to simply enjoy the act of […]
This week’s stitch challenge was presented by Emily Tull – I’ve come across her work before because she does amazingly expressive threadpaintings! I must be honest here: I found the challenge too challenging, haha! What I mean is that Emily showed a very energetic eye as the example piece and I just couldn’t get myself […]
I came across a stumpwork portrait tutorial by Queenie’s Needlework some time ago and finally had the gumption to give it a try. One of the last steps Queenie offers is to give the portrait a name. This lady doesn’t look very much like anyone I know, but for some reason I felt my great […]
I picked up a couple of Lin Vandenberg’s Historical Egyptian Treasures at my guild a while back. They are from 1992 and I can’t seem to locate any online reference about them. It is a technique I hadn’t tried yet: pattern darning. I say I don’t like doing counted work – at least from previous […]
I am so grateful that TextileArtist.org will be hosting the Stitch Challenge on their website – part two is up now for those following along! Cas Holmes presented her art style with the challenge, and this gave me the ability to try adding paper to something as my first foray into “mixed media”. I admit […]
My friend pointed me over to TextileArtist.org who is running a free stitch challenge right now. For me, this is perfect timing! The article about Sue Stone, who lead this stitch challenge, really seemed to reflect me in parts. I have collected a lot of technical skills, but little by way of process. I’m still learning […]
When I visited the EGA museum, Boy and I were very impressed with a particular piece worked on silk gauze. In fact, Boy deemed it his favorite thing he’s ever seen in embroidery, and possibly in the whole world of art. At my guild’s holiday party, I mentioned my visit and this piece to a […]
I made it all the way through the Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course with Kathy. This last task included specific requirements for seam treatments but it was really open to choice. Obviously, I will continue to work on this project so that I can piece it all together, but I don’t plan to post about it […]
The last task in the monogram segment is to make a puffy ribbon letter. I chose to use my own handwriting for the shape, and V for my surname since it represents both Boy and me. I couched the 7mm silk ribbon down with some specialty perle cotton, which has a thin metallic gold stream […]
The second task in the monogram lesson was to make a beaded letter. I felt I was going to not have enough beads, so I opted to use a stem stitch in a large perle cotton as fill. I rather like the texture combination! I hadn’t done any true beading work before, so getting the […]
The lessons for this segment of the intermediate crazy quilt course (ICQC) involve working monograms in a few different styles. The first task is using embroidery. I wanted to challenge myself, of course, so I didn’t just use basic stitches. There is nothing fancy here, but it was a good practice for techniques I have […]
The title of this post claims you’ll see wisteria, but in truth, I converted this task to a grapevine because I’ve never seen wisteria in person (though it is all over my dream house grounds!) but my gramma and grampa had a small vineyard. The premise is still the same: use an unconventional fiber as […]
I am part of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America (EGA) through a local chapter, and I recently came across a little hedgehog-on-a-log piece that Terry Vanderslice designed as an introduction to raised embroidery (also known as stumpwork). I knew I wanted to try it for two reasons: 1) practice with bullion knots and 2) how […]
My next intermediate crazy quilt class task was to take a basic embroidery motif and then add elements to place the image into a story of sorts. I chose to use a historic cross-stitch rabbit motif graphed by Kim at String-or-Nothing, by using waste canvas. I had this idea to mix cross-stitch with ribbon, so […]
I was fortunate enough to have the day to myself so I set to Kathy’s next task which was to add a basic embroidered outline image. I chose ferns, from an image I found on shutterstock, by Anastasia Lembrik. For the stems, the large fern used 4 strands of floss, which I peeled away until I […]
The last time I posted about the free crazy quilt course I am enrolled in was way back in March, 2019 (here). My brother stayed with us for two months before he and I left for Africa for two more, and then when I returned, there was so much to catch up on that I’ve […]
Sharon at Pintangle has been running an annual Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST) program for many years now, and you might recall that I participated in 2018 (see my journey here). Well, I finally pulled it all together and converted my study of embroidery techniques and color combinations into a stream of bunting! When I […]
My friend got married in October and I missed the deadline – even though work began in April! They set up a webpage for the wedding information with the tagline “Meant to Bean” (it makes sense for them) so that was obviously part of my inspiration. My friend also used a custom puzzle to propose, […]
While I still had Pretty Birds laying around, I made a flamingo. I wanted to see how goofy the long legs would be. Instead of using just fabric, I stuffed each leg with two pipecleaners; I love how they turned out with this trick! It isn’t too noticeable, but because I shrank the pattern down […]
I picked up an Aunt Martha’s tracing pad and transfer pencils recently and wanted to see if this is something that can help me going forward. The process is simple: use the tracing paper to copy an image with the transfer pencil, then use a hot iron to transfer the image to your fabric of […]
A while back I was at a discount bookstore and picked up a book by Virginia Lindsay, Pretty Birds. It has very simple patterns to make a range of different little birds and was just the thing I needed to find an idea for the handmade ornament exchange my embroidery guild hosts. Since it is […]
I made some more mini felt cacti (see the originals here, and my last round here). I needed a gift and it never makes sense to only make one since they are pretty easy so I was experimenting with a few options. You’ll notice I tried painting the terra cotta pots. One includes the copper […]
Amina at Stitch Floral graciously posted a free pattern she calls Snowflake Mandala. It looked Scandinavian to me, so I decided to try it in a bold red. I love how it turned out, so thank you very much, Amina! I chose a tea towel as my base and hid the back stitches by adding […]
I needle felted a Christmas pickle! I realize not everyone knows what that is, so let me explain. My MIL introduced me to this concept many years ago, which is apparently German-American, though I don’t think I ever heard anyone in my family using the tradition. Online rumor has several reasons why the tradition started, […]
Heyo heyo! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to finish this bag, but here it is! You might remember my first foray into the world of French boutis – I took that pattern and altered it a little to add my own little swirly heart design and I used a swan […]
As you know, I’m taking my third crazy quilt course offered for free by Kathy at Shawkl Designs. My first tasks were to embroider two trees using different methods. The first method was new to me, twisting threads and couching them down, plunging them through the ground fabric at different heights to thin the branches. […]
You know that I was working on my second crazy quilt block under the tutelage of Kathy Shawkl (check out my first here!). Well, I completed my beautiful disaster! And I do mean that, disaster. Yes, yes, it looks alright but for some reason when I pulled it off the hoop to add the backing, it […]
I made two more felt cacti, although they are less-mini than the previous set. Unfortunately, I gave both away without getting a photo next to the tiny originals for a size comparison (they happen to be on display at the county library with other embroidery guild members’ items!). They are a little larger than double, […]
Ahhh, February is here! February gets no love from me so I am glad we’ve finally made it so that it can hurry up and go away. You feel me? I live near Chicago and so experienced the Polar Vortex. Indeed, it brought the coldest weather of my LIFE and that is not an overstatement. […]
I finally finished my first needlepoint project – the letter V designed by Rosalie; I last left off about this project here. That last post shows that I fused interfacing to the back, so that I could cut out the needlepoint with less anxiety. I also dabbed a small amount of fray-check all along the […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. I completed Sharon of Pintangle’s 2018 TAST Challenge! I had one stitch left, #32 Buttonholed Herringbone. I simply dug out my Stitch #5 Herringbone pennant and changed one of the stitches to a buttonholed version. Ta-da: I will post […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Without further adieu, front and back: This is my last TAST pennant. No, no, don’t congratulate me yet! I have a single stitch left. See, after completing the last pennant, I ran into an issue – a big issue! […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Front and back as expected: So, like the last few pennants, this one is obviously a collection of stitches. Here we have Stitch#24 Twisted Lattice Band. I really love the texture! Stitch #30 Triangular Butthonhole Stitch – not my […]
Holy smokes! Fifty?! Where has the year gone, eh? I have no TAST photos, but I have the next pennant nearly laid out and ready to stitch. Yes, it will be another collection of stitches rather than fully exploring each type. My progress might be sluggish – still finishing up a project with Daniel Boone […]
I made a little potted garden of mini felt cacti! I set out to make them for Boy’s office, but then people caught wind and wanted some;) You might remember from last week’s WIP post that I was using Delilah Iris’s Cactus Plush pattern. I added bead melon’s to some of the cacti, and tiny […]
For my embroidery guild ornament exchange, I decided to make a Little Lark – Gingermelon Dolls makes the cutest little plushies, and she is so generous to offer some patterns for free! To test out my skills and the pattern, I started with a fabric I really liked and then chose coordinating felt colors – […]
Brrr it is cold out there! This week’s Works in Progress do not include TAST, nor has there been progress on my crazy quilt block, but I do have things to show! I needed to make something for the ornament exchange with my guild. I will write about that in another post since I completed […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Huzzah for another completed pennant! I fit six different stitches on this one. That means certainly that I am not exploring them as much as previous stitches, nor am I getting much practice in with each type, but regardless, […]
As suspected in my last post, I completed the needlepoint portion of one of my WIPs. More to come when I figure out how I am going to mount it to the wood block! Although I didn’t get a chance to work on TAST, here is where my current pennant stands – it is another […]
I am making a third TAST roundup for this week. You can see my progress and doodle ideas here: I also made progress in my first needlepoint project. I don’t love needlepoint (and I don’t even know if I am “doing it right”) but I came up with an idea to attach this to a […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Hola out there! Here are my efforts for a few TAST stitches. Front and back: On today’s pennant, I caught up with Stitch #21 the Cable Chain: The first two rows are basic cable chain. Then a row of […]
I recently mentioned that I was almost done with this project, what I call the “folk art panel”. And now, here it is in all it’s wonky glory! I pieced it together by machine, but everything else was done by hand (hence the “wonky” bit, as I certainly could use more practice). I also tried […]
The first SewIN Quilt and Fiber Biennial, put together by Art Seed, begins tomorrow. I tell you this because through a serendipitous encounter, my crazy quilt block is in the art show! I passed through my old stomping grounds coming back from my work in Kentucky and had my block on hand to show my […]
Here is my progress on TAST this week: But it isn’t what you think! I actually finished a pennant as well, but I need to wait til I have more than just these iPhone photos. See! I told you not to give up on me yet. When I was out of town on work, I […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Since it has been quite some time, I want to remind all that I am participating in this year’s Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), hosted by Sharon at Pintangle. Yes, yes, I am quite behind because real life got […]
Let me tell you about Shawkl’s BCQC 1 class! Kathy is so generous for putting it together – for free! The instructions are very clear, and she is quick to answer questions and comment on your work. I’ve learned the basic elements of making a crazy quilt block and am super excited to start the […]
I have a cold. I say this because I did not go to work anywhere this week, and work is where I left my TAST supplies, so you know what that means – I didn’t do any TAST and now I am another week behind! Oi! I haven’t felt well so I’ve mostly laid around […]
Ok, let’s start with TAST! After gathering my project back together and scoping out Pintangle (which Sharon just revamped so be sure to check it out!), I realized that I had done several of the stitches already on previous pennants. This includes: #19 crossed buttonhole, #20 whipped chain, #26 herringbone square, #33 barred chain, and #36 […]
Let me be square right off the bat: no TAST to report! Don’t give up on me yet! I actually compiled the list of where to begin and got my items out to start! Hopefully, you will start seeing some TAST updates by next week:) But in other news, my beginner’s crazy quilt course is […]
I finished the French boutis bag I’ve been working on all summer and have decided to gift it to my gramma who travels frequently and may need a nice place for her jewelry or such. I was going to drive through the area yesterday on my way down to Living Archaeology Weekend but now I’ve had […]
We are skipping WIP-TAST-ic Wednesdays 22-37 since I was out of town. I did craft all summer, but just here and there and without the stability in schedule to photograph or post. Today is a signal that I am back in some sort of routine (I hope!) and so I’ve chosen a project I am […]
Remember these very nice mice, made with Ann Wood’s pattern? I had given three total to a shopkeep down the hall from the candy store. They were my “practice” ones before making my friend an ornament. She notified me yesterday that someone bought this little dude: So that’s that! My first craft sale ever! The […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. I got a bit behind with TAST, I think largely due to the difficulty of turning the Rice Stitch into a motif all on its own. But I finally completed it! In its full front and back glory: I […]
I have a lot of progress on my quilt! It should have been finished by now because it was meant to be fast and easy but my imagination is just doing everything it can to slow it down. I am fighting to find the balance! When it is all said and done, you’ll see everything in […]
Time traveling, here! I made progress on my rice stitch sampler for TAST, though it was late and I messed up on my argyle sock so I need to pick out some of it and start again. I made progress on my quilt, also. I have most of the bits fused on, though I have […]
Ok, I cheated – I forgot to publish this on Wednesday! Nevertheless, here goes. I did not get my TAST project finished last time, but I did make progress. Because I am behind there, and also because I cannot see myself filling up a pennant with the satin stitch, I am skipping this week’s challenge. […]
I must direct you over to Lysa Flower; she has been such a generous friend to me and I think ya’ll would love her! I’ve already made her match needle book and have been dying to try one of her foundation piecing projects so this cassette tape pouch was a no-brainer. She is definitely a girl […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Last week’s TAST challenge was the Arrow Stitch (or Arrowhead Stitch if stitching vertically). Here is my front and back, for posterity’s sake: This top portion has several things going on. In the left corner, I was just experimenting […]
I have two projects to share this week. The first is the TAST challenge: arrow stitch. I am not very far on it yet. I blame the weather (it’s been walkable!) and working at the office a lot more. Maybe I should just give up the dream of temporary retirement and realize I have a […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Here is the front and back of last week’s TAST challenge: the sheaf stitch. Yes, I am beyond irked to see the dark blue thread bleed. I guess that is what I get when I use cheap threads! It […]
This week’s work-in-progress is back down to a single project: TAST – the sheaf stitch. I forgot my black thread at home today, so I could not start with the title segment as usual. But I found so many ideas! Holy cow, I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore. Every time I think “ok, this stitch […]
I first learned about Tatiana Popova’s ribbon work through NeedlenThread’s review. As I’ve mentioned before, floral designs aren’t really my thing, but I had been interested in learning more about ribbon embroidery. I enjoyed Tatiana’s work and decided to see if she had any kit I might be interested in. Well, hello “R”! If you’ve […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Here is my sampler for the chevron stitch, front and back: To start, I wanted to see how well the chevron stitch took to a curve (fine!). Then I was curious what happens if you play with the stitch […]
Hola all! I whipped out TAST’s chevron stitch as you can see here. Problem is…. how does one make this into a motif?? I’ll be twirling that around in my head for a while yet… When researching this stitch, I came upon the Half Chevron Stitch and I have loads of ideas by way of […]
An embroidery whirlwind blew through town this weekend and I finished up my raccoon embroidery. I had so much fun figuring out what stitch to use and how to solve problems along the way! I didn’t even mind – at all! – re-doing some sections. And bonus, I learned some tips to avoid problems the […]
I made some progress on my ribbon embroidery this week! As you might recall, TAST is on hiatus this week for people to catch up. Sharon announced a small project, to combine a few stitches we’ve learned in a new project. I did not do this per se, but I did decide to jump in […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. So as I mentioned, I stuck with basic couching stitches – I did not couch using anything fancier than a straight stitch or two. Front and back: In this top portion, I used couching for different variations of fill […]
It is best I have been super busy working with Boy, else I might get too use to my early + temporary retirement. Sigh. All I have to show you is this week’s TAST which is the couching stitch. I have it all planned. The trick is that I intend to only use the basic […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. This is the cretan stitch – brand new for me! First up is the front and back. I realized with this one that my backs have improved so much, almost beyond measure since I started embroidering however many moons […]
I completed the blanket I have been working on, so I will post that separately once I get some nice photos. I took several already, but this cave-house of mine irks me to no end with lighting! I must wait for either a sunnier day or Boy’s help. (On our recent spectacularly warm sunny day, […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Front and back: I wrote the phrase “left to right = below!” which will help me remember how to sew the stem stitch (the outline stitch would read “left to right = above!” though some say that they are really […]
First up, I have not progressed any on my ribbon embroidery. Boy’s got me pretty busy up at the office, and as I may have mentioned, it requires a hoop stand to do it properly. Not only that, but I had a lot of drawings to catch up on for my 100 Day Project, and […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Last week’s TAST is the feather stitch. I did not get to it early, so I finished it today. Just in time, too, since Sharon always posts TAST on my Monday since she’s about as far away in the time […]
First, let me be straight with ya’ll. I have no TAST to show! My sweeter-than-pie kitty Maya is finally getting her nose-breathing woes checked out at the Purdue vet hospital far away from here so we spent the day down there with her. They have her until possibly Friday and though today’s preliminary workup doesn’t […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Besides my usual haunts of Sharon’s and Mary’s websites, Summers of India had a lot of great examples! I did the “magic” chain, some whipping and lacing, barred, picot-ed, crested, zig-zagged, double-linked, and triple chain stitches. I tried out two […]
Happy Wednesday, all! First up, small progress on my ribbon R from last week: The little scroll at the bottom right will be coming out. I already removed the left-most one, and I hoped trying elsewhere would inspire skill. I just can’t seem to get it to bend how I would like. And I don’t […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Front and back, for posterity;) I just kind of played around with the stitch – nothing too fancy here. I tied some, I overlapped some of varying sizes, and I used some to couch a ribbon. I began to explore […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Front only as I again forgot to snap one of the back. Oi! I had trouble planning much creativity with this one. I blame the fact that I am working overtime fending off the colds and flu of everyone I […]
I am getting ready to embark on a stellar foundation-pieced project so first I wanted to practice. What better place to turn to than Craftsy these days? I found this freebie Rose Paper Piecing by Jikta Designs. I did want to make it in yellow, but I didn’t really like any of my fabrics for […]
New embroidery guild members are tasked with eventually making their own embroidered name tag. I finally got around to mine, a year later! Another guild member already goes by my nickname, so I went with my formal name when I joined. Since my last name is also on the piece, I won’t be showing you […]
I did it! Look at these beautiful “Poppies and Santa Barbara Daisies” created with stumpwork embroidery. This is the most intense project I have committed to, yet, and I am thrilled with how much I learned! Stumpwork embroidery is just cool, and I have a lot of ideas. Will any of them come to fruition? […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. I only now realize I forgot to take a photo of the back, but here is the front: This time, what I noticed was experimenting a little bit with color theory. I didn’t think too hard on it, but I […]
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I got so much done on my Craftsy stumpwork! I hadn’t really worked on it since November because – and I had forgotten – this project made me feel my age (and I still don’t think I’m all that old yet!). All of the background (posted again below as an […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Yes, it needs to be ironed but I just wasn’t feeling it today. Ta-da! I again attempted to use nothing other than the week’s buttonhole stitch (except the words in black), but I had to cheat a little using a […]
Howdy howdy! I did not work on my stumpwork at all, sadly. But I did start reading The Ashely Book of Knots. Clifford Ashley spent over a decade writing this book, having toured all kinds of industries (but mostly sailing) to learn every knot he could gather. The man is blowing me away – not […]
You’ve read about my idea for this here, right? Ok! See all completed TAST posts here. Obviously this hasn’t been turned into bunting yet; I plan to do that all at the end. Voila! Front and back, for posterity’s sake:) The “TAST 2018” title and words in black are not running stitch, but everything else is! […]
Howdy Howdy! Today is the first Work In Progress (WIP) Wednesday where I will share weekly with you what I’ve got going on behind the scenes, so to speak. I will also discuss my Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) adventure with you, so stick around for a fantastic, WIP-TAST-ic exploration! (Aren’t I clever?;) I may […]
A guild member gifted me some amazing fabric – lots of it. I cannot wait to get going on a crazy quilt design! To thank her, I wanted to make her an ornament. The guild had a holiday dinner with an ornament exchange so I was hopeful to make two. Alas, I had zero ready. […]
You might recall that I signed up for two Craftsy courses earlier this year. Today, I present to you my first finished project, from Embroidering Texture and Dimension from Sue Spargo which is a lesson in textured embroidery. I ordered her fabric kit but could not justify spending an equal amount on the threads (once I become […]
This is actually the last “completed” project I have done recently. I was doing some archaeology work this summer and stayed with a gal named Ellie. She teaches yoga and raises bees! I convinced her cat Sampson to fall in love with me, too. I wanted to give Ellie something since I was staying with […]
So I fell off the blogging wagon a bit when Apple decided to stop supporting Aperture and therefore managing photos became extraordinarily menacing. Boy got me Lightroom but I could not get on board. Part of that was how it imported my Aperture library all fungled and so I just didn’t think too highly of […]
I embroidered three more buttons for my guild’s State Day event later this year. Remember, these each fit within a 1-inch diameter circle! Two patterns came from 500 Simply Charming Designs for Embroidery. Everyone’s favorite is that wee mouse! And one came out of the Scandinavian Stitch Craft book, though it is my least favorite out of all of […]
As a self-taught sewing beginner, I have not purchased many patterns. Almost everything sewn here at theCrafties has been found through the generosity of people providing their ideas for free online (or gifted to me by people I know!). However, as I am moving into an intermediate level, I have begun to look for specific projects. […]
One of the things I am trying is wrapping my hoops. I first learned of this from a Craftsy class for Celeste Chalasani’s Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials (no, I have not started this project yet; I need more time to feel ready for it!). I know that several people I follow with feedly tout its importance, but I hadn’t […]
At my last embroidery guild meeting, we learned how to do blackwork embroidery and were shown the EGA pattern Learning to Love Blackwork by Linda Dorril (if you become an EGA member, you will have access to it to try for yourself!). I have come across blackwork embroidery on the great internet before, and I […]
So, I did it – I bought the rest of the project from a seller on eBay! I was shocked by how small each panel was – but then I read the print on the actual project and realized that they were exactly the size they are suppose to be! Ha! Anyway, I stitched them […]
What is old is new again! This is a candlewick embroidery project (yet another aspect of sewing I had never heard of – though it kind of makes sense considering I was all of 4 years old at the time this hit the shops, as marked by the printed date on the bottom of the […]
My embroidery guild is hosting the State Day this year, so each member is assigned to make two buttons. I enjoyed making such tiny (one inch) pieces so of course I made more (and I might still, yet!). This pattern might look familiar to you: it is the same I used for my O-hoop. Oh, […]
My MIL and I attended our first embroidery guild meeting in March. The project for the meeting was a ribbon candy ornament by Calico Crossroads using perforated paper. I hadn’t heard of such a thing! But, I signed up for it and worked on it here and there since. Mostly, I did so when I was […]
I have two cats. Sasha is the kitten of the family, and her spunky personality often gets her into trouble. Maya, three years older, is like a little old lady cat, prim and proper, and she rarely does anything wrong. The one thing she does (and Sasha actually doesn’t!) is eat the toilet paper. We […]
So in yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the embroidery guild gave us a needle book and a pattern to make a bunny on the cover. Well, ta da! I added my own little details: french knots in the top and bottom border, eye, and nose; a two-color vertical line at the spine; and rather than long […]
One of the things I’ve done this year is sign up for some creative classes. Craftsy was offering a buy-one-get-one event in January so I enrolled in my first two: Embroidering Texture and Dimension by Hand with Sue Spargo and Stumpwork: Raised Embroidery Essentials with Celeste Chalasani. I like to only work on one major project at a time (otherwise my life would be […]
As I mentioned last time, I purchased my first pattern off of etsy from KnottyDickens and printed it directly to the fabric via a short tutorial at NeedlenThread. I never intended to stitch the phrase on it, so before I printed it, I edited the image and made the center blank. My first go was […]
I hadn’t posted a lot there toward the end of the year, huh? I was in the midst of a tough semester, to sugar coat it. I survived, so there is that! 2017 is going great. I hope that with my new teaching schedule and perspective on life that I’ll post more often because, well, I hope […]
This project has been floating around my house for quite some time. Frankly, the idea of sewing leather was scary to me, so I hemmed and hawed a lot, but eventually I got through it! I had a swath of green leather from years ago, waiting for an interesting project so when my friend asked to […]
Boy and I both adore the Zelda games, so this is really for both of us, though I tell him it is his:) I got the pattern from Our Nerd Home, and embroidered it over break. This one is really thick compared to my first attempt! I used three layers of fabric all told, with […]
Do any of you know what a chocobo is? It is a bird from one of my husband’s favorite game series: Final Fantasy. I came across this image from HowToDrawManga3D.com and decided to try my hand at a mug rug one day over break. I embroidered the chocobo onto some yellow fuzzy fabric I had, […]
I finally wrapped up my sister-in-laws 2-year-belated wedding present and gave it to her. In this post, I am going to talk about the process. When she sends me over a photo of it hung on the wall in all its glory, I will post the final look. I learned many things. One, I like […]
Over the weekend, I hosted another crafternoon. I printed out several templates from around the web and between my friend Ashley and I, we supplied felt, scissors, glue, thread, needles, buttons, and beads. Sites included How Joyful, Make & Do Girl, Lines Across, and some general ones I found through google image search that I can’t […]
Here it is! This is the result of a pattern I tested for Lysa, the most generous gal to have given me a free kit to make my own (serious goodness, right there!). I truly felt that this little needle book was one of the most clever things I’ve seen around. I just had to have […]
Soooo long in the making, but I was stoked to finally ship Keeley, a comic in felt, off to her creator. I’ve posted about her here, here, and here, but here’s the final piece! Also, I had a dilemma to solve – how to add her “pow” markings by her fist? I knew my embroidery […]
She is coming along quite fantastically! I tried my hand at a few different methods to “ink” her outline. I settled on couching black yarn with black thread. Originally, the yarn I bought was way too thick so I had to trade that in for something thinner. I wish now that I went with more […]
I am sure you have been expecting pictures of my new kitchen but it has been really hectic here. Not only is there still much to be done with it, but Boy also has moved his company to a new location so that has taken a higher priority of our time. I will leave you […]
My friend Leslie gifted me lots of crafty supplies – fabric, binding, lace, ribbon, sheeps wool – all kinds of stuff. So when I started messing around with the table runner thing she gave me, I decided it would be hers. (I posted about it here and here). She has had a major adjustment or […]
If you missed it, you can read about the creation of the fabric family tree. Im super thrilled to finally get it framed. I ran into a slight bit of a problem as the size I wanted was 16 x 24, which is not standard for photo frames. It is, however, standard of poster frames but poster […]
So Im gonna say it: Im pretty proud of this fabric family tree project. It took me upwards of about 30 movies to complete (all by hand!) so I dont really care to calculate the time spent on it but it was a good time (i mean hello, i watched more movies in a month […]
While my house may be under construction, i have squeezed in some artsy time. Im working on a super secret project that i cant post about until after a wedding, but its coming up so I thought id put a shout out there to watch for it. What i can share with you is this […]
A while back I discovered the idea of a Crafternoon. Unfortunately I dont remember where the idea came from, but when you google it, you can see different takes on the theme. The general idea is to get together and make projects while you hang out. Since a lot of the people I know either […]
I added a butterfly with a different piece of the lacey cloth. Up close, the butterflys body has a faint outline. Its my first experience with the dye in the thread bleeding but its not enough to bother me that much (though it did rub a bit on the white flower…)
I havent been crafting as much as Id like to lately, but ive been doing some much needed things around the house so i forgive myself. I have been playing with some ideas though and learning more embroidery. This is my sample so far (candidate for worst photo on thecrafties thus far): The first few […]
I get a lot of inspiration from crafters who use natural fabrics with delicate things like doilies, tatting, and lace. The look is very simple and clean but still elegant and sophisticated. Recently, I was happy to have been gifted a lacey table runner with a flower motif. But I just dont know what to […]
I ordered The Embroiderer’s Handbook a while back and have finally decided its time to start my sampler. I have intentions on making a pretty sampler once I get the hang of what im doing, but for now Im excited to learn new techniques and content with just sketching them out on a cloth. (Sharon […]
For my niece – I am a bit late with the April gift, so its two for one this round! The pattern came from FutureGirl, out of the Sasha the Seahorse pattern. Thanks again Alice! One day Ill get to play with beads and sequins but she is still far too little so nothing but […]
So there i was, straightening my sheets the other day and as I flipped the top sheet over to tug the bottom one, I was greeted by this huge monster. Perhaps he wasnt as mammoth as I had originally thought, but mind you *i was just in the bed*. Literally, like 60 seconds before and it […]
One of the projects I made since losing my usb cable is Ruar, the Starfish. I used some gifted fabric and felt, did a little embroidery with french knots and fern stitching, and sewed and stuffed. My neice loved it, as it was small and fit in her hands and mouth:) I got the pattern […]
There is this cute little kid that I had promised a slew of toys for, and she is now a whole year old! Man, how time flies. I will attempt to make her a gift every month for the year, as long as I can rack up enough sea themed goodies. It will be fun […]
This post was a long time in coming. And when i say long, i mean loooong. She was born in december!! But I just got word that the gift was received and loved (phew!), so now you can see it. Her parents chose the “all you need is love” bedding set and painted her room […]
I have a quilted bookcover that i picked up at a local arts and crafts show. I love the thing. It helps keep my books in great condition, and even resist dog eared corners and the occasional spill (its just enough to soak up the wetness while i whip the book out of its cover). Plus, […]
This is a project i have been working on for a bit. I got the bird pattern from Spool Sewing. It was very easy to piece together by hand although I altered where the opening was for the stuffing because i had chosen very thick felt to use as the fabric so i needed something larger […]
Along with my brothers birthday gift went his likewise belated christmas gift, which I also needed to include his girlfriends present. Im saving for a trip to france on top of the stress of buying a new house that needs a little TLC, so my money is quite reserved. Solution: homemade goodness! In fact, i […]
Most artists learn through copying. It makes sense – humans pretty much do it with everything: language learning, cooking, fashion, gadgets. What’s fun about it is adding your own spin and making it yours. This is how the world evolves. Something I will always try to do, though, is to never make money off of […]
