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Embroidering an IKEA Canvas

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A few weeks ago I went to IKEA and saw this little canvas. I had an urge to stitch it and since it was on sale for $2.99, I grabbed one. It's been awhile since I did any experimental stitching, so I was excited to play around with it. I originally wanted to stitch along all the lines, but the way the wood of the frame is, there is a row around the edge that is inaccessible for stitching. So I decided to just stitch some of it and leave the rest blank. I'm constantly on the lookout for random objects to stitch on and this was a fun little project to work on. I ... Read More

Experimental Stitching – Fusion Hexagons

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It's been awhile since I've done some experimental stitching, but this idea made me drop everything so I could try it right away. Someone sent me this link to a crochet and fabric fusion blanket and suggested I do it with hexagons. I've been seeing things like this floating around Pinterest but it never crossed my mind to do it with english paper piecing! I looked at the link and immediately had to try it. I really love how it turned out but unless I can figure out an easy way, I can't imagine making an entire quilt like this. For the first one I tried doing it ... Read More

Experimental Cross Stitching – Fuse Beads

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I wanted to play around with fuse beads, (or Perler or Hama beads, they go by many names) so last time we were at IKEA I picked up a gigantic tub of them. I will occasionally see things on Pinterest and the patterns are so interchangeable with cross stitching. My original plan was to make one of my cross stitch patterns out of the beads, which I will probably still do. However, Jenn of Beadeux, Isette, and 52Lasers fame, suggested using the beads to make a canvas and stitch on that. I was going to make a really large canvas to work on, but decided to start small. I ... Read More

Embroidered Shoes!

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I bought myself a pair of shoes months ago with the intention of stitching on them, but like so many of my projects I just couldn't decide what to do. So I decided to get a pair of shoes for Evie and stitch those to get myself inspired. I used a water soluble marker and drew some designs on them. I made it up as I went along, and once I did the first shoe I just copied it onto the second. I picked a colorful pallet, I wasn't going to limit myself! These shoes are for a 3 year old so they should be bright and fun! Now, I learned a few important things that I ... Read More

Pantone Paint Swatch Embroidery

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A few weeks ago, Terri from Sew Fantastic posted a photo of some Pantone paint swatches on Instagram. I knew Pantone paint existed, but I had never seen the paint swatches before and I rushed to Lowe's that night to get some. I knew right away that I wanted to stitch on them, but I put them aside because I wasn't sure what I wanted to embroider on them. Then the other night I got a text from Teresa from Daisies for Violet about these handy little things for punching holes in paper. I've seen them at Target but they were more than I wanted to spend for something ... Read More

Experimental Cross Stitching – Office Supplies

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I had started playing around with cross stitching on different surfaces but then got sidetracked working on other things. One of the things I've wanted to do was to cross stitch on wire office supplies, so I got these pencil holders from IKEA. Yesterday I finally grabbed some yarn and did some stitching. I had never stitched with yarn before, I think it would have been a little nicer to work with it if it were a little thinner. It took me a little bit to figure out where to cross stitch but it worked out well. I didn't even count the spaces yet the pattern ... Read More

Experimental Cross Stitching – Paper

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So my obsession with cross stitching on different surfaces continues, this time with watercolor paper. I got the idea from the amazing Olisa Corcoran, who was actually the one who wrote the Mr. X Stitch post that featured my periodic table cross stitch. She has done some incredible embroideries on brightly saturated watercolor paintings and she inspired me to try some cross stitching. I was just working with some of Evie's Crayola watercolors and didn't get the same vibrancy as Olisa's pieces, but I think it turned out cute. The paper is a lot easier to punch holes in ... Read More

Experimental Cross Stitching – Cardboard Box

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I've been really interested in the idea of cross stitching on different surfaces besides just Aida fabric. I did the waste canvas experiment and wanted to try some other surfaces as well. I saw this upcycled box on Pinterest and decided to give it a try with a $.99 cardboard box from Michael's. I added a quick coat of craft paint and then got to work poking holes. I made some errors with how I did this, and the holes were the first. ... Read More