The Pirate King

I stitched this patch for my other half as he is a big fan of the One Piece manga and anime series. Straw Hat Luffy is his official favourite (I suspect buxom Nami is his real favourite though!)

I used soluble canvas so I could stitch it straight on to felt, it's fairly easy to use but you need to give it plenty of soaking time in hot water to dissolve the canvas afterwards or it ends up very sticky.

 

Yatta!

 

I plan to do a few more characters soon; if not the whole of Luffy's crew; at least Chopper as he's super cute and my personal favourite Nico Robin.

Not just for Valentines...

Hearts! Who doesn't love hearts? They're such a pleasing shape, unlike the real thing...

 

I stitched this folk art inspired heart the other day on to a wooden pendant.

I like the contrast between the (literally) soft embroidery floss and floral motif; against the hard background material of the wood.

 

 

Bilbo and the Butterfly

I took a stitching project with me when I visited my parents the other day. Their little foxy dog was intrigued with my wooden butterfly pendant.

Stitching on pre perforated wooden objects is fun because you can immediately utilise the project without having to frame it or stitch it on to something else. This makes it especially good for jewellery and other accessories like key chains etc...

It can present different challenges to stitching on fabric though as there is no 'give' with the material. You cannot manipulate your needle and thread in the same way as you would with fabric. Starting off and finishing off can be a bit more of a fiddle and I think overall, you have to sacrifice a bit more thread to the project.

I'm very happy with the end result of my colourful butterfly pendant though.

 

 

Totoro To-to-ro

The end of 2014 saw some big changes for me, biggest of all, moving house. Amidst all the upheaval of house moving, house unpacking and work being the busiest it is all year, I didn't find time to work on all the stitching projects I had planned.
However, with the year still fresh and currently rather sunny where I'm sitting, in spite of the rain, I've felt the urge to start crafting again.

What better way to be seduced back in to stitching than with this adorable little guy?

 



I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki films and I love the sweetness of 'My Neighbour Totoro;' it may not be as sophisticated or dynamic as some of the later epic tales like 'Spirited Away,'  'Princess Mononoke,' and 'Howl's Moving Castle;' but it retains an understated charm that bears repeat viewings.
Totoro himself of course has gone on to be the definitive Ghibli icon and regardless of whether or not you buy in to internet rumours of dark, tragic implications throughout the film (denied by the director,) it's hard not to fall for the mountainous ball of fluff.

Bohemian Granny Squares

 

You know, the ones your bohemian grandmother would make, the one who spent her youth in Asia chilling out with Tibetan monks and learning yoga from a guru in Kerala. That one.

Using my new found crochet skills, I used up some bits of colourful wool that had been lying around FOREVER in my sewing basket.

 
 

These squares are all the same pattern but I tried to achieve different looks by changing the colours of the thread in different places and in different ways to create unique looking squares.

I hope to master a few new designs in the near future as I am planning to incorporate all my random squares in to one big blanket eventually.

 

My Heart!

What an unfortunate week I've had, managing to tear the ligaments in my right arm doing yoga wrist stretches.

YOGA FAIL

In all my years of practising yoga, I've never managed to injure myself to this extent. I feel kind of foolish and also disbelieving, plus ouch!  

I have to wear a wrist support for two weeks and as I'm right handed, this is a pain in all the ways...

In desperate boredom I decided to have a go at a small cross stitch project, using my left hand to do the stitching. I had to call upon the assistance of my partner for some needle threading though and I probably still overworked my right hand a little, it's hard to break the habit of a lifetime.

This was the first time I'd stitched on perforated paper and I liked it, very useful for stitching cards I imagine. The only tricky part was initially securing the thread to the paper as I couldn't use my usual  fabric based method.

I've always envied the ambidextrous ability many left handed people possess in a world that doesn't want to acknowledge their existence. I envy it even more right now, though my feeble left hand is doing its best.

Here's hoping the next two weeks fly by and my wrist heals quickly and properly so I can get back to stitching and yoga.

Misako

The most ambitious cross stitch design I've completed to date, (dragon aside.)
A beautiful design from Maia, part of a set of kits inspired by traditional Japanese art with a contemporary twist. I love the Art Nouveau addition to the traditional oriental elegance.

The intricate background was a challenge for me, lots of careful counting was needed as well as a great deal of patience.
I find shading in the squares of stitches I've already completed on the pattern sheet is very helpful to remember where you are, so when you pick the pattern back up after a while, you know what you've done and how much you need to complete.
However, I may have to find a new method for when I start following some patterns from my embroidery books as the idea of drawing in any book makes me distinctly uncomfortable.

There wasn't a great deal of backstitch to do with this design, which meant once I finished the cross stitches, it didn't take long to finish the rest.
She took me quite some time to finish overall, especially as I tend to stitch on and off in general, sometimes spending weeks stitching regularly and sometimes letting projects sit in a cupboard for a few months.

I'm very happy with her though and hope to get her professionally framed at some point to best preserve all my hard work.

By george I think she's got it...

After many, many attempts, my brain seems to have finally allowed me to grasp the basics of crochet, yarn round the hook and all that. Enough to practice some double and treble crochet knots and some tentative attempts at circular crochet at least.
 I've still a long way to go before I'm showing off / boring you with dozens of pictures of adorable amigurumi critters; but I've mastered some basic granny squares and so I was able to create this giant granny square blanket, in preparation for my new nephew, due next month. (Hope he likes it!)



Unicorn in Profile

One of my first attempts at stitching on evenweave, as oppose to aida.  I loved the blending of Victoriana kitch with the mythological unicorn.  'The Last Unicorn,' was one of my favourite books, growing up as a horse mad girl, without the horse.  Just about the only creature that could trump a horse for me was the fabled horse with a horn.

Evenweave is a greater challenge to stitch on than aida but gives a more sophisticated finish and probably looks better when your design allows a lot of the fabric to show around the stitches. 

The design comes from the, What Delilah Did Presents, 'StoryLand Cross Stitch,' book from Sophie Simpson. It's a nice little book with various cross stitch fairy tale inspired designs, with lots of different ability levels catered to. There is also a website called What Delilah Did with information and kits you can buy. 

A bird in the hand...

 

I stitched this sweet little owl key ring the other day. I used a dissolvable canvas to stitch the cross stitch design on the felt. You need to soak it in hot water afterwards so that the canvas dissolves, leaving the stitching on the material.

Unlike waste canvas, you don't have to pick out the remaining canvas after soaking because it dissolves but you do need to use very hot water and to let it soak for a while or you end up with a sticky residue coating your stitching which is most unpleasant.  

The Sea Daisy

Another quick stitch. A cute daisy flower in cool aqua and green tones with a dash of contrasting red.
Always handy to have a few cards already stitched up ready to go to the perfect person.

 

 

 

Stitching Spring



I stitched this for a friend's birthday, her name is Rosie and the design reminded me of a Tudor Rose so I thought it was apt.

Small projects are a nice break after spending weeks or months on larger designs. I fit embroidery around work and other hobbies so it's not something I do every day. Large kits certainly take me months to finish.

The pattern reminded me of the Assisi technique, especially popular during the medieval era, where the background is stitched to produce the design on the material used, see example below...

 

 

 

 



  

Pretty Polly

Having just had some time off work, I've taken the chance to catch up on some reading but have also, inevitably, amassed a new selection of 'waiting to be read,' books.
Among them, a couple of Tolkien bio's, the wonderful 'Book of Barely Imagined Beings' and Kate Forsyth's 'Wild Girl.'

But first I must finish 'Jane Eyre' which I've been reading at the same time as 'Anno Dracula,' as my copy of 'Jane Eyre,' is too big to carry around easily. (I know Kindle's are easy to carry but I just don't like them. Give me a physical copy any day, especially if it's illustrated.)

Anyway, having two books on the go meant I needed a second bookmark so I decided to stitch this parrot kit I had lying around.

It was also nice to be stitching something I could finish in a day or so as I've got two big projects on the frames right now. They will be beautiful when complete but progress always feels maddeningly slow with the larger projects.

I was rather pleased with myself for managing to painlessly stitch the six French knots for the parrots eyes. In the past they've been something of a nemesis of mine, sometimes turning out perfectly and other times, becoming a complete mess, for no obvious reason.

But today they were a dream to stitch, here's hoping that's the case for my future knots!

 

A button for everyone...

I made this rosette for a friend's birthday, the ladybird was cute and (thankfully) quick to stitch and I knew she would appreciate the little critter. Buttons / badges make great gifts as they can be made up very fast, useful if you want to give a gift on impulse or maybe didn't allow yourself much time to buy or make a present for someone. They can be turned into necklaces and broaches pretty easily too.

 

 

The design below was inspired by Emilie Autumn's signature rattie. I wanted to make up a small collection of little gifts to give Emilie when I last saw her perform. This was one of them; my second stitching attempt, as I lost the previous one by (somewhat ironically) dropping it in to a cup of tea. I just free hand embroidered it on to some stripy material and attached it to a self covered button.

A Stitched Dog is for Life...

I made this when I learned of my impending nephew, I'd never made a toy before and this was a kit that I picked up at a shop, lured in by the fact that it didn't look too difficult.

I thought it would be a nice gesture to make a toy rather than buy one, because, as it turns out, I was naïve.

 

It actually took MUCH longer than I thought it was going to and gave me hand cramp for days afterwards due to the funny angle you had to hold the material to be able to stitch it together in the right shape.

Definitely a learning curve and I'm not convinced he's turned out looking exactly as he should have but hopefully that will just add to his quirky cuteness.

That being said, I am still desperate to learn how to make crochet amigurumi toys, which seem to involve less sewing but more tricksy crochet that my brain just can't get around at the moment.
 

 

  

Tis not the season but...

                                                                              I stitched these cuties for my nephew last Christmas; having a nephew gives me the excuse to stitch some soppy stuff every now and again.  I used waste canvas for the first time and it was a lot easier than I anticipated although I still had to use some tweezers to pick out the threads after I soaked the felt.  It has made me want to use it again to stitch cross stitch patterns on fabrics other than aida or linen in the future.

I guess soluble canvas is even easier because you shouldn't need to pull the threads out from under the stitching as I assume they dissolve in the water hence the name.

Metallic threads are still a pain though; I can't figure out how to stop the terrible fraying >,<

A stitch back in time...In Which, Ancient Dress Becomes A Bag

After much desperate avoidance I eventually got around to going through my wardrobes the other day to decide what I wanted to keep and what I really should get rid of.  I hate this job and can only bring myself to chuck the bare minimum.  But I always need room for more clothes so inevitably there has to be a clothes cull at some point.                           Amongst the stuff I really should get rid of because I never wear it, was a dress I bought when I was fifteen / sixteen.  It was the first item of 'genuine goth' clothing I ever bought and I even had to go into the 'bad' area of town to buy it.              It bore the emblem of a film I was obsessed with and it was black (my colour of choice) and had trailing sleeves. I had to have it and so I did, although I was never comfortable with quite how high up the slits on either side of the dress were, a real thigh glimpser!                                                       Because the dress conjures up so many memories, it had been hanging around in the back of my wardrobe for years.  Looking at it, lying between the mountainous 'keep' pile and the more modest 'throw,' pile, I knew I couldn't just throw it in the bin and trying to sell it on eBay didn't seem right either.

So I decided to turn it into a bag, salvaging as much of the material as I could and using a pattern from a Cath Kidston book I was given at Christmas. 

It was a pattern I had followed before but quite some time ago so I made a whole bunch of silly mistakes and had to improvise to fix them.  I used an old dark green slip to line the bag and attached a long velvet ribbon, I already owned, to be the strap.  I fixed the strap on using some red buttons from a button collection my mother gave me. 

 So it cost me nothing to convert the dress into a bag but it did take me practically a whole day to construct it.  I want to do more machine sewing projects but I find it much less relaxing than cross stitch, I do have a bunch of cute dress patterns though so I really need to get on it.

Cherry on Plastic

 

With a friend's birthday fast approaching, I stitched this sweet (no pun intended...or was it?) cherry on plastic aida, planning to turn it in to a broach or hair accessory.

I hadn't tried plastic canvas before and, to be honest, it was a bit of a bitch!  It made the bamboo canvas seem meditative in comparison.  Once again I had the issue of having to thread many lengths of thread through one reluctant needle eye. Starting and finishing threads was trickier as was keeping the tension right and plastic canvas turns out to be one slippery mother...

Still, once you've finished stitching, you're more or less done and you don't have to worry about fraying fabric or stretching out your material, which has, despite your best efforts, warped more than a little.

It would be useful for making stuff like broaches and cake toppers and other cute silly things too.  I've a few patterns that I want to try that recommend using this stuff so maybe in a few months I'll be an expert and look back at this and wonder what I was moaning about *-_- *



A rose by any other stitch...

 This was my first time stitching on to a bamboo decoration as oppose to the more usual aida or evenweave fabric.  It was more challenging that I expected because I'm so used to being able to bend the fabric to help my needle along, which was not an option in this case. The thread also needed to be chunkier than normal to stand out which made simple things like threading a needle, a little bit harder than normal.  The whole process made a now routine skill feel novel and I needed to approach the project in a different way, even starting and finishing the threads needed to be done slightly differently.

 

I do like the immediacy of this kind of stitching and the lack of having to prepare the work for a frame or further stitching to turn it in to a cushion or similar textile afterwards. It's great if you're stitching in a hurry and makes me want to try stitching on perforated paper for making up cards even more now.

 

 

It definitely makes you think more about the kind of materials you can use to compliment your embroidery techniques. It reminded me of reading about a guerrilla cross stitch movement where people go out and use their stitching skills to brighten up the environment around them, often using unconventional materials.

 I've also been looking at a few stitching artists recently like Sarah Greaves http://sarahgreavesart.com/ 

 

 

and Judith Klausner http://jgklausner.com/work/toast-embroidery who are sewing on to some really unusual materials like wood, metal or even food which must be crazy delicate and potentially very messy.

Weaving Folk...

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I made up these 'folk art,' style cards for some friends of mine, the bright colours and bead embellishments were fun to play around with and a nice break from a longer more sophisticated cross stitch I've been working on



The flower reminds me of a very basic version of some henna patterns I've been researching recently, with the beads standing in for the characteristic 'dots' that are used in typical henna patterns.