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Stitched Gifts Review and Giveaway!

Today I have the honor of sharing with you the lovely new book by Jessica Marquez, Stitched Gifts: 25 Sweet and Simple Embroidery Projects for Every Occasion. Jessica was kind enough to send us a copy of the book to review, along with another wonderful goodie that I'll reveal to you later in this post!

I'd like to take you on a tour of this wonderful book, so you can get better acquainted with it - so here's a few snapshots and a brief walkthrough for you...

From start to finish, this is a beautiful book, and has all of Jessica's signature style and inspiring photography. Jessica's eye for detail and flawless stitching are fully evident throughout this book. It's a great book for any level of stitcher - there so many unique projects that are simple and also beautiful, and I would definitely recommend it.

The book starts with a wonderful Tools & Materials section, that lays out in visual detail, all the elements of your craft as embroiderer:

You'll also find a stitch dictionary, beautifully illustrated with lovely photos:

There are a total of 25 projects in this book, and something for every level of embroiderer. Projects are divided into the following sections: Home & Hearth, Engagement, Wedding, and Anniversary, Babies & Little Ones, Holidays, Birthdays, and Special Occasions, and Keepsakes & Forget-Me-Nots. The last section of the book is dedicated to finishing techniques.

Patterns can all be found at the back of the book, most are at full-size, except for the Zodiac, Family Tree, Wedding Table Markers, and various alphabets, which need enlarging. The patterns are not iron-ons and need to be transferred or traced.

Here are a few projects I adored...

The Simple Stitch Sampler

You Are Here

Crossed Arrows & Banner

Nursery Alphabet

Zodiac

Message in a Bottle

But the book was not all that I was lucky enough to receive! Jessica also sent this beautiful Orion Kit, from her Miniature Rhino shop, which she would also like to offer one lucky Feeling Stitchy reader in this giveaway!

Isn't it beautiful?

To win, all you need to do is leave a comment - tell us which of the projects I pictured is your favorite, and who you might give it to. I'll leave comments open through Sunday, August 4, 2013, at 9 PM, when I will close them and choose one random winner to receive a book and kit. This giveaway is also open to our International readers!

Thank you again, Jessica, for sharing this wonderful book with us!

Books: Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook

The wonderful people involved with Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook were sweet enough to share a copy of this book to review on Feeling Stitchy.

And it's been awhile, but I am finally giving a brief tour through my favorite elements of this book and... if you read to the end... a giveaway! This post is a combination of my first dive into one of the book's projects and a brief overview of the book.

What I Made: One Night of Crafting
I am so strapped for time these days, that before I begin a project I wonder if I'll be able to finish it. It's a count-the-cost mentality I've been forced to adapt, to be realistic with my time constraints. Do you ever do this, too?

In all my future reviews on FS, I want to include a quick-and-dirty snapshot of everything I was able to accomplish in one night of crafting, which for me equals 6PM - 11:30 PM on a weeknight. And, here you have it, the results of 5.5 hours, or one night of crafting:

As you can see, this is a detailed, cross stitch project that could safely occupy at least 3-4 additional nights of crafting. But I love the gorgeous colors and lines!

Book Overview

If you're already a fan of Anna Maria Horner, you will have plenty of reasons to love this book. I was so taken with Anna Maria's color language that I made a list of all the floss colors from my favorite projects and lined them all up, to really take in a sense of her style:

Pretty gorgeous, huh? By the way, all of the floss colors are listed as Anchor in her book, so I used this Floss Conversion Calculator to convert to DMC, since Anchor is not readily available in my region.

Now, on to the book! The book is divided into two sections: Grid Works and Free Works. Each section is further subdivided into helpful Common Materials and Tools, and Stitch Know-How sections with illustrated color guides to many, many stitches.

Under Grid Works, you'll find projects for Cross Stitch and Needlepoint.

The Needlepoint section is extensive, showing 11 different stitches that can be used (as a Needlepoint newbie - I had no idea there were so many!)

Under Free Works, you'll find projects for Embroidery and Crewel. The Embroidery section also has a 4 page illustrated color guide that shows you 13 different stitches.

The Crewel section has a 3 page color guide that shows you 5 stitches. Again, I loved the colors in these projects:

Lastly, the book closes with a section on Finishing your projects, and the Project graphs:

I love the graphs for their color and creativity, but they are colored blocks, without a symbol, so it can be hard to decipher if you have two very similar colors next to each other. On the other hand, it's a good springboard for the more creative stitchers out there, if you're planning to use your own colors and ideas.

Here are my favorite projects, in no particular order:

"home" crewelwork pillow

"menagerie at midnight" cross stitch

"star-crossed love" needlepoint purse

The Giveaway!
Overall, I think it's a wonderful book, both for inspiration and projects, and that's why I decided to give away 1 copy here! To win, all you have to do is leave a comment here - and tell us this: if you had to pick 1 favorite out of the following: Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Freehand Embroidery, or Crewelwork - what would it be? Please include your email address so I can contact the winner!

I'll leave the comments open until 9 PM, CST on March 17, when I'll close the comments and announce the winner soon after. Want to win your own copy of Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook? Tell us your favorite stitching category!

Patterns: Little Stitches

A washing day zip pouch

One of my new favourite embroidery books is Aneela Hoey's Little Stitches. It contains over 100 embroidery designs and twelve projects where the embroidery patterns are interchangeable, which is a fantastic idea. You can stitch the patterns quite simply if you want to but at the same time there is full instructions on how to be a little more adventurous with your stitching, for example the embroidery overlaying the fill stitching on the jumper on the washing day zip pouch.

The beauty of this book though is that the embroidery patterns really could go on anything, each design is quite small, so doesn't take too long to stitch up (particularly if you skip the fill stitching), so the designs could go on any number of things to cheer them up. I was so keen to stitch as many of these fun designs as possible, I ended up making a cushion with the designs I had chosen (project not in the book but is pretty easy to do).

Embroidery patterns from Little Stitches

And on one final note, the book not only includes the patterns on the page (so that you can photocopy them and transfer the pattern using a lightbox, window, etc.) but it also includes iron on transfers, more embroidery books should do that!

Push Stitchery - and a contest!

Penny Nickels, one of our own here at Feeling Stitchy, has been featured in a brand new book called PUSH Stitchery: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Stitched Art and it looks pretty awesome. To celebrate, she's holding a contest on her blog this month, and she's looking for your most awesome work. Winner gets a signed copy of her book, and will be featured here on Feeling Stitchy and the incredibly awesome MrXStitch. Thanks, Penny!

Get on over there and enter the contest!

For the left-handed stitchers

Compass embroidery by Joanna aka Thingshandmade

I am a left-handed stitcher. And I assume that I'm not the only 'southpaw' that learns new stitches only from books and the internet. Many of the books and video tutorials show how to perform stitches for right handed stitchers. For some stitches I'm able to 'translate' the diagrams to my own left-handed version but it's not always easy. So I'm always delighted when I find publications especially for left-handed stitchers.

Last year Yvette Stanton released the Left-Handed Embroiderer's Companion. An extensive stitch dictionary with a lot of stitches and photos of how to perform them. On the Sublime Stitching site you can find how-to's for lefties of a couple of the most basic stitches. And Feeling Stitchy's own Carina has not forgotten about us sinister handed stitchers either. Find her e-books for lefties here. If you already have a book with right-handed diagrams that you want to use, you can make your own left-handed version by scanning the image and flipping it horizontally in an image editing program (tip found here).

I hope this post has been helpful for some of my fellow left-handed stitchers. If you have more tips for left-handed stitching please share them in the comments!

Don't Panic

Stitched by moxiedoll77

Don't panic, or anything, but it's Towel Day. :)

Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal

Here at FSHQ (that's Feeling Stitchy Headquarters : ) we were fortunate enough to receive a copy of one of Susan's Beal's newest books for Potter Craft, Modern Log Cabin Quilting.

Susan, who blogs at West Coast Crafty, has put together a quilting book that I would classify as an "instant classic" -- timeless designs, widespread appeal, approachable patterns, and inspirational photographs are all in high supply here. It marries traditional and contemporary quilt aesthetics in a highly impactful and engaging way.

By the way, Susan and I are both UNC-Chapel Hill alums, and graduated only a year apart from one another. Go Tar Heels!

The book compiles 24 original project ideas, ranging from quilts to bags, aprons, pillows, and other home decor items. In addition to the patterns, Susan includes both a history of the time-honored log cabin quilt block as well as a section devoted to quilt-making basics that can get even a first-time quilt-maker started on her way to a new quilt.

My favorite quilt is the book's cover girl, called the Modern Crosses Quilt. The beauty of this quilt in its entirety belies the simplicity of its construction. If you are a beginning quilter, or even a newbie that's been wanting to try it out, I would highly recommend this quilt pattern and this book for its down-to-earth, easy-to-understand instructions.

I've already got about 6 Modern Crosses quilts designed in my head, with different color and print combinations.

"But wait", you're thinking (yes, I can hear you.) "Why are the fine folks at Feeling Stitchy reviewing a quilting book?"

Allow me to introduce a quilt that Susan has named the "Anniversary Quilt":

Using log cabin block-making techniques, Susan has created a memory quilt that frames images depicting memories or milestones that have special meaning to the quilt's recipient, her husband Andrew. The various blocks feature novelty print fabrics, gocco prints, photo transfers, vintage buttons and other embellishments, and ... wait for it ... embroidery!

See? I've been blogging here on Feeling Stitchy about the places where quilting and embroidery intersect, and with this quilt Susan has provided my latest example. Susan blogged about an earlier version of this pattern, called the Modern Heirloom Quilt and featured in Craft magazine, here.

As if you couldn't tell, I highly recommend this book to both seasoned and wannabe sewists and quilters alike. There's something here for everyone.

I'm also considering putting some quilt block techniques to use when it's my turn to host the Feeling Stitchy stitch-along later this year. What do you think?

Want to win a copy of Modern Log Cabin Quilting? Potter Crafts has generously donated a book for a lucky Feeling Stitchy reader. Simply leave a comment on this post telling us if you're an experienced quilter or just wanting to try it out. We'll select a random winner next Tuesday, 17 May.

For more about Modern Log Cabin quilting, visit the following sites: