Free Embroidery Pattern – Create

I saw mention online of World Embroidery Day and decided it would be a good occasion to make an embroidery pattern! I've made plenty of cross stitch patterns, but not many embroidery ones. I kind of regret my color/fabric choices, there isn't great contrast. I even doubted myself early on and debated restarting it in a darker color but I was lazy and convinced myself it was fine. Apparently I should have listened to my gut instinct. I was using Sulky Solvy Water Soluble Stabilizer* so I couldn't actually see it until I washed away the stabilizer. Download ... Read More

Vow Renewal Gifts!

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

Update on the 1000 Crane Quilt

It's been two weeks since I started my 1000 crane quilt that I intend to finish in 2018. Don't worry, I won't be posting updates every two weeks, I probably will do quarterly updates. But I wanted to show off the new fussy cutting template I got! Jen did a 52 Lasers post on fussy cutting and I immediately knew I would need one for these cranes. Having the template to line up where the embroidery will be on the hexagon makes it so much easier! So the totals so far - 42/479 solid hexagons 29/1000 embroidered hexagons As of right now I'm not stressing ... Read More

10 Year Anniversary Quilt

Last year I created an origami crane cross stitch pattern and in the back of my mind I kept thinking about how neat it would be to stitch 1000 cranes. But my logical side told me that idea was crazy and I should focus my efforts on reasonable projects instead. I seriously started thinking about it again last week and was trying to figure out how to make it happen. My first thought was to get an enormous piece of fabric and embroider them all onto it. While I think that would have looked cool, it seemed silly because then what am I going to do with a giant piece of ... Read More

Studio Ghibli Swap – What I Sent

I love swaps and when I see a really fun theme, I have a really hard time saying no! I couldn't pass up the Studio Ghibli swap organized by Felice from Sew Scatterbrained.There was a pretty long time between getting our swap partners and the deadline so it was nice to not be too rushed. The downfall was that I did wait on a lot of things because I felt like I had so much time and then did scramble a little in the end, but I was able to still get it in the mail a little early. I started this No Face embroidery hoop right away and then got the news ... Read More

Book Review – A to Z of Embroidery Stitches

I love the simplicity of cross stitch, you make a row of diagonal lines going one way and then you go back the other way. It's easy to get into a rhythm because it's all the same, over and over. But embroidery is a whole different ballgame, there are tons of stitches. Apparently, far more than I even realized because A-Z of Embroidery Stitches* is full of ones I've never even heard of! I had a hard time even getting a photo of the contents pages listing all the stitches, there are so many! I counted and there are 84 different stitches listed, and that doesn't even ... Read More

Stitch Love Blog Hop – Free Patterns

Mollie Johanson from Wild Olive has a fantastic new book out, Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big & Small. I already reviewed it and absolutely love it, you can read my review here. Because she's so incredibly awesome, Mollie has organized a Valentine's blog hop and made a series of free patterns for you all! I chose two designs to stitch up, Evie is getting the little rabbit with the flowers, and Mira is getting the ferret. This was my first time using Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy Stabilizer and I am officially smitten. I have always loved embroidering on ... Read More

The Pi Project – My Submissions!

I first saw mention of the Pi Project on Mr. X Stitch and immediately knew I had to make something to send! I cross stitched the 1 on fabric using water soluble canvas. I actually am working on a water soluble canvas tutorial for the &Stitches two months of tutorials series, so I figured this project could kill two birds with one stone! After my first attempt at sashiko for TSNEM, I wanted to keep going with it! I didn't use the sashiko thread for this, just 6 strands of regular DMC floss. I simply outlined the font and made the line a dashed one ... Read More