Archive for September 2013

Home » Archive for September 2013

New Stitch Cards!

Well, here they are, the new stitch cards ... though still excitedly awaiting card samples from the printers. Also working on the packaging. But basically they will be in single design kits with thread and possibly ( a new venture for me) a needle, envelope, and full instructions for stitches. They can be stitched, cut out, coloured some more, hung up sent as gifts, or bought as stocking presents. To start with I am producing 4 bird cards and four christmas decoration cards (photos soon)
They are not on the website yet but will be as soon as I have a finished product, hopefully in the next week or so. What do you think?

Advent Calendar

I am rushing to finish the prototype for the Advent Calendar course which starts on Friday! It is more stitching than you can shake a stick at but it will be lovely. And I have so many other things that need to be done ... I need ten sets of fingers all busy like an articulated automated machine ... but if you live near Tenterden in Kent then get yourself booked in to the course at Hoop or ring Vanessa on 01580 388011 to book your place. Or come along to the next course which is Christmas Decorations which I have designed 6 decs for you to make and embroider. If you can't get along to these then how about an online course? I have been thinking about doing some short projects online with tutorials once a week. Any views on this?

I will of course post the finished article when I finally get to the end ... sun shining and at least can sit outside to sew ...

Sweet Nostalgia ...

I have been sorting out books on the stairs bookcase and found this old copy of The Faber Book of Comic Verse though I am not sure of the publication date it is at least 1940's. It was a gift from my mother to my father just after the war, on his birthday 27th April 1947. There can't have been even an idea of my brother yet and still they were dreaming of their new life together and all it's possibilities ... My mother, the nurturing earth mother contentedly coping with 16 children all looking like my father with only one daughter! My father lounging around taking it easy smoking his pipe. All photos of him then had a pipe in mouth or hand. Some of the in jokes are forever lost, never to be explained sadly, like the sandwich tree, and the even more mysterious mitre plant ... and "PIP when 306" ?

It is a great treasure this little drawing and good to share with the outside world. Drawing in books? ABSOLUTELY!

Here they are on a picnic before I was born with my brother John and sister Naomi ....

and John and Naomi with my mother.

Pretty Little Cities Winner!!!!

Another gorgeous pattern from Satsuma Street

We've been totally blown away by the number of responses to the Satsuma Street Pretty Little Cities giveaway, 197! I loved reading all your responses, all the cities were very much loved and I loved seeing the suggestions for other cities / places that would look great in a Satsuma Street pattern; Scotland, Madrid, Yorkshire! (Yorkshire would rock!)

I've plugged the numbers into the random number generator

Which is Meghan! Meghan wrote

So congratulations Meghan! Please contact me, Jo and I'll pass your email onto Jody from Satsuma Street and you can tell her which four Satsuma Street patterns you'd like! You can find my email on the 'Email Us' page, the tab for which is at the top of the blog.

Also a friendly reminder to Margaret Schindler to also get in touch for her Alison Glass pattern prize!

Inspired by olives?

Olá! I truly believe that traditional embroidery from Portugal tells the history of our country… And you already know how much I like my patterns to be inspired by Portuguese traditions and culture… Of course I love many other types of embroidery motifs, but I have to say that the ones rooted in the “Portuguese soul” inspire me the most…

I believe you also have those unique kinds of patterns that are special to you… Haven't you?

The pattern I bring today is not a traditional one but it reveals a bit of Portuguese history and a lot about Portuguese culture.

It was inspired by a pottery piece from Alentejo and embroidered by Maria Alice. And it was the perfect tip to show you a little more about my country…

Olives and Olive trees

The olives reproduced in that simple and beautiful embroidery takes part of our gastronomy, agriculture production (Portuguese olive oil is among the best of the world), crafts - using olive trees' wood or ceramic - and even popular music (one of the most traditional songs here sung by Portuguese singers)...

Traditional Pottery Inspired by Olives...

Our Mediterranean type climate is very supportive of the growth of olive trees and olive oil, obtained from the fruit of the olive tree, has been produced in Portugal for many, many years. There is evidence that olive trees existed in Portugal back in the Bronze Age and the exportation of olive oil dates back to Portuguese maritime explorations.

Did you know that an olive tree can live thousands of years? And that Niel Armstrong left a golden olive branch on the moon as a symbol of peace?

Olives embroidered by Maria Alice

As you see a very simple pattern can be full of meaning... That's another reason why art, in this case, embroidery, makes our lives so special...

Stitch Cards

Now ... in advance of our latest range of products I am going to share with you some of my mother's teaching aids. She made these stitch cards to show different embroidery stitches, and how to embellish them further by weaving and stitching into them, and as stitching on counted punched holes makes for certain accuracy, it meant her pupils could not fail. She used thick cotton embroidery threads, in wonderful sixties hot colours. The pricks in the cards were made by a fabulous spiked wheeled tool which could inflict a nasty bite if it slipped. It was one of my jobs when a child to run the wheel along a pencil line on the cards, then she would come along with a special tool she made by ramming a wide eyed needle, eye first into a large rubber, and pushed it through the tiny hole made by the wheel , opening up ready to be stitched.

I had a lovely class in Hythe last week where I had some happy guinea pigs to try the cards! It is very satisfying stitching through cards ... a good noise and perfect stitching every time.

My own stitch cards will be available in a week or to and those of you who receive the Newsletter will be hearing of it via that also. But will post some more as soon as I can!

Tutorial Tuesday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have a cute and easy tutorial for you today, featuring a vintage embroidery pattern available for free from French-Knots.com. I embroidered this ribbon frame pattern, and added my hand written initial, on the front of a small pouch. I will be doing some traveling in the near future and needed a jewelry pouch for toting around my rings and things.

To make your own jewelry pouch, you will need the following supplies:

- Two pieces of fabric 9-inches wide by 14-inches long (one for exterior & one for lining)

- One 35-inch piece of ribbon or string

- One medium-sized safety pin

- Embroidery supplies

- Sewing machine and coordinating thread

- scissors

- iron and ironing board

Step One: Transfer your embroidery pattern to your fabric and stitch it up. I used this ribbon and flower frame pattern, and hand wrote my initial into the center. If you don't want to add your own handwriting, there are various embroidery alphabets available, some great ones are available here, or you could use your favorite computer font.

Step Two: Place your exterior and lining pieces of fabric right sides together. Mark a 2-inch space that will remain open and unsewn along one of the longer sides. Using a 1/2-seam allowance, stitch around all four sides, leaving that 2-inch space open.

Step Three: Clip the corners and flip the fabric out through the 2-inch opening and press. You don't need to worry about stitching the space used to flip just yet. We'll stitch it shut in the following steps.

Step Four: With your lining piece facing up, fold over 1-inch of the short edges of fabric and press. Stitch each side along the bottom edge to create the space for the drawstring.

Step Five: Fold the fabric in half so that the lining is exposed and the exterior fabric is facing itself.

Stitch up both sides using a 1/4 seam allowance, stopping just at the perpendicular stitch, made to create the space for the drawstring. This stitch will close the opening we used to the flip the fabric in Step Three. Flip.

Step Six: Run a safety pin through one end of the ribbon or string. Use the safety pin to guide the ribbon, push the ribbon through both sides of the top edge.

Step Seven: Knot the ends of the ribbon or string. I decided to trim mine a bit at this stage.

Add your items and enjoy!

Hope you give this tutorial a try and take it on your next trip!

Midsummer Stitchalong reminder...

Just a reminder (from my cruddy cellphone camera) that it is not too late to be stitching Reginald!

I've decided that the end of our Midsummer Stitchalong should coincide with the official end of summer, thus you have until September 21 to download the free Studio MME pattern, finish him up and add him to the pool. Happy stitching! :)

Patterns: Pretty Little Cities - giveaway!

Satsuma Street has increased their range of Pretty Little Cities patterns, adding London, Tokyo, Italy and Sydney! As a Londoner myself I'm so excited about the London pattern in particular, it even has the relatively new addition to the London skyline, the Shard (on the left hand side of the pattern)! Satsuma Street is also worth checking out for other great cross stitch patterns (I also love the pirate ship). You can find their shop here.

Jody from Satsuma Street has very kindly offered a download of four of her patterns to one lucky Feeling Stitchy reader! To be in a chance of winning the patterns (worth $20!), simply comment below and because I'm curious, which city would you like to stitch? The competition runs till midnight Wednesday (18/9/13) UK time, don't forget to check back on Feeling Stitchy the day after where I'll be announcing the winner!

Interview with Artist Olga Ezova-Denisova

I'm not sure how I first stumbled on the beautiful work of artist Olga Ezova-Denisova on Flickr, but her embroidery immediately captivated me. There's something so serene and lovely and composed in her work, and the her stitchwork is just gorgeous. It's an honor to introduce her to you today - I hope you all enjoy this brief interview with Olga!

Dog Franz_Sailor. Collage, fabric, embroidery

How long have you been embroidering?

My first embroidery I made about six months ago. I found very old silk threads my mom bought them in the 80s, and I wanted to make something beautiful with them. I embroidered my first brooches with dogs. One, two, three ... I was very fascinated by the process, and I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful. Since then, embroidery began to appear in my illustrations in combination with collage, and as an independent work.

What is it about wolves and dogs that inspires you?

I have long been thinking about it, trying to understand what is that inspires me about these animals. But I don't get it yet. Maybe I'm living with an image that itself has come up with. The image of the animal that defies to be somebody. That is - to be the master of the dog is a challenge for a man. A wolf… The wolf is a dog too, just wild. And this defiance excites me, and awakens something inside me. Although in my pictures there is no defiance, my dogs and wolves are kind, loving, and sometimes melancholic.

Did you attend art school? If not, would you like to?

No, I didn’t. As a child, I attended art school for children, but, unfortunately, I didn't finish and that is why I couldn’t get a degree in art education.

But I would like to learn, I am open to new knowledge. Most of all I like to study in hands-on workshops with the artists. In Russia I regularly attend creative workshops for illustration and art techniques. My dream is to meet and attend a workshop with some cool artists from America or Europe.

I love your process shots - so many different tools and artforms! What other types of art do you enjoy?

I enjoy to work in collage-techniques. I love to mix and match different materials: paper, fabric, cutting, embroidery. I like hand-printing techniques like linocut and stamps. I am experimenting with this, and admiring the work of other authors.

In addition to visual arts I like to take pictures. I have an old Soviet film camera Kiev-19. I take it with me on my trips.

What is your favorite piece you’ve created, and why?

It's not a very simple question. Every new work as soon as it is finished becomes the most favorite. But maybe most of all I love my collage work, those in which there are mix of textures, fabrics and embroidery, because they are hard work and take so long to create and I get the greatest satisfaction from the result.

Dogs_sailors_Process. Collage, fabric, embroidery

Do you have a favorite color? A favorite thread?

Yes, I have a favorite color. It's blue and its shades. My favorite thread is Iris. Though of course for different tasks I choose different thread.

***

Thank you, Olga, for sharing a little bit about yourself and your inspiring work with our readers!

To see more of Olga's work, visit:
Her blog: http://www.ezovadenisova.blogspot.com
Her Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezovadenisova/

What Does the Fox Say?

First of all, if you don't know what I'm taking about, watch this video. After you've stopped dancing and the weirdness has subsided, why not stitch this amazingly cute free pattern from Hancock's House of Happy?

Get the free fox pattern!

Alison Glass pattern winner!

From the Alison Glass Crafts pattern set

Lots of people struggled over which Alison Glass pattern they liked best, as they're all lovely! Thank you for all your comments, there were 78 in total (not including a comment from me). The random number generator has spoken and comment number 14 from Margaret Schindler, who wrote 'I like the sewing ones. I need to decorate my sewing room' wins! Margaret if you could email me, Jo (you'll find my email address under the 'email us' tab near the top of the page), I'll pass your email address onto Alison and a .pdf of the Crafts pattern will be on its way to you!

Ten is a Magic Number

Last month Craftster.org celebrated their tenth birthday. I can't believe it has been ten years! As part of the celebration the Hoopla Along's theme was the number 10. The gang did not disappoint!

The tenth doctor from lindyv321

Craftster Show and Tell bypottermouth

10 years of marriage by deathbeforedishes

10 different stitches by bushbaby

10 pips on the die by silentblair

The theme for September is Your Choice. It can be anything of your choosing but it must be round. Come on over and play!