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Crafting Con Swap!

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One of the reasons I do so many swaps is to motivate and challenge me to try new things. A lot of the cross stitch patterns in my shop came about because of swaps and lately I have been using it to push myself more with sewing. CraftingCon is a sewing based competition with different nerdy themes. There was a swap on the Facebook group and I couldn't resist signing up. My partner loves Alice in Wonderland and I was right in the middle of my Tsum Tsum cross stitch madness and decided to make an Alice pattern. I wasn't sure what to make, but when Faith from ... Read More

Best Birthday Ever Swap, Part 2

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For the Best Birthday Ever Swap, each person has 3 partners. We didn't start until April but split the year into different quarters. My first partner had a birthday in June and then my next quarter was the beginning of July. So I had a busy couple weeks, but now I'm done until the final birthday in October. When I got the partner information and saw Tsum Tsum listed, I immediately started designing cross stitch patterns. In case you've managed to completely avoid this phenomenon, Tsum Tsum is a game but also a series of plush toys of Disney characters. They are ... Read More

July TSNEM – Knowing When To Give Up

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If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed me mention lately being in a bit of a creative funk. I've been making a lot of things for swaps lately (which I'll finally be able to show off!) but I haven't been doing any cross stitch and I don't have a project that I've been really, really excited to work on. I've been working on embroidered cranes for my 1000 crane quilt so at least I'm accomplishing something. But the deadline is so far away and there's so much to do, it's hard to really get excited about it at this point. I am also stuck in this place where ... Read More

Free Pattern Friday – Saturn

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Last summer I did a post for the &Stitches Summer Bloggin' series on stitching with LEDs. I stitched up Saturn and used the LEDs for stars. I was going through some old files this week and came across the pattern and realized I never shared it. I'm not 100% sure what colors I used but I think it might have been some of these - DMC 840 DMC 841 DMC 842 DMC 648 DMC 729 I'm not always the best at remembering to keep track, sorry! Use your best judgement, I'm sure it'll be fantastic. When stitched on 14ct Aida it's roughly 5x4". Download the PDF here – ... Read More

Hexagons within Hexagons!

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I've been having a lot of fun making these hexagon needle books, I've actually made 5 of them now. Some are for swaps and some are for a project I just need to get my act together so I can show off... But this one I made on a whim and I love how it turned out. A few weeks ago I met up for a sewing date with Mollie from Wild Olive and Faith from Sarana Ave. It was my first time meeting Faith so I wanted to make her a little something so I made a needle book and a needle minder. I used 1/2" hexagons and created a piece of fabric to then create a larger hexagon ... Read More

Another Best Birthday Ever Swap Package

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My first Best Birthday Ever Swap partner had her birthday this week and I had a ton of fun putting together this package! The swap package had to include something handmade, craft supplies, and then a little gift that was bought. For the craft supplies my partner said she loved Japanese import fabrics, so I sent her a package of charm squares with the fabrics I got from Bunny's Designs Fabric Supply. She also said she was obsessed with her planner, pink, and glitter so I sent some fun washi tape and other glittery items. I figured if I was going to go pink, I ... Read More

Vow Renewal Gifts!

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This past weekend my sister and brother-in-law had a 10 year vow renewal celebration. Their wedding 10 years ago was at the courthouse so this was their first chance to have a big celebration and I really wanted to make something special for it. I loved how the recipe box that Jen from 52Lasers cut for Josh's sister's wedding shower, so I knew I wanted to make one for my sister and brother-in-law. I sent messages to everyone coming and collected recipes for them and then made matching recipe cards with all of them. I also knew I wanted to make an embroidery for ... Read More

The Diamond-y EPP Blog Hop

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Diane from CraftyPod can be directly linked to my obsession with English paper piecing, and her new book All Points Patchwork* is an incredible resource to get you started. I will be doing a full review of the book soon, but it is amazing. It's not just a book of patterns, it's a complete guide to how to work with 12 different shapes and how to make your own patterns. If you have been wanting to try EPPing but aren't sure where to get started, I cannot recommend this book enough. So when I had the opportunity to take part in the All Points Patchwork blog hop, I ... Read More