WIP

IMG_20120301_092019, a photo by Sewphie T on Flickr.

I started this towel years ago. Every now and then I pick it up and do a little on it. There is some pretty scruffy stitching on it from when I was new to embroidery. One day it will be finished and i probably won't want to use it after working on it for so long! Anyone have a really ancient WIP they revisit every now and then?

Rabbit

DSCN0442, a photo by Sewphie T on Flickr.

This is a bit of a test post really as I posting directly from Flickr, we'll see how it works...
This is a little rabbit from a vintage pattern. I just fancied something simple I could stitch up in an evening whilst watching TV - I'll display it over Easter then hang it in Rory's room. I actually have quite a stash of transfer patterns and I rarely use them, maybe I should have a proper sort through and try and put some of them to use.

swaps

This is a busy embroidery month as I'm doing two swaps. The first is organised by Wild Olive, it's huge there are over 100 people taking part! My head spins when I think of poor Mollie trying to keep tabs on all those swappers. We are swapping one 4 inch hoop, I used a pattern from this book but ignored the stitch guide as it wasn't a filled in design.
The chest on the bird is my first ever attempt at needlelace it was semi-succesful but some of the holes are a bit bigger than others. Overall I'm pleased with the finished piece although it's not really my style. I picked a design and colour palette that I thought my partner would like and it's a bit too pale for me. I wish I'd tea dyed the fabric because I think that would have looked nicer. You live and learn.

As a little extra I made this Wild Olive style badge- too cute!

The other swap is on Craftster and I'm not going to post photos yet as I think my partner might just look at my blog and I don't want to ruin the suprise. I'm really looking forward to sharing what I've made though- I challenged myself a bit and it really paid off. Stu wanted to keep it and has told me I have to make him one.


I used to do a lot of swaps, in fact some of the best things I've made have been for swaps. I like the way it forces you to do something different. it always makes me focus on getting my stitches neat too, when I know someone else is goung to inspect them! The best swaps for me are themed because you end up making things you'd have never made otherwise. A while back I did a Phat Quarter swap (the flickr group from Mr X Stitch) which had a movie theme. I ended up doing this Twin Peaks Firewalk with Me piece which was so much fun to do that it was actually quite hard to part with. 

plague doctor ghost and lion o!

So much to share today. I had a rare quiet afternoon as both my boys were asleep so I had a play:

It is glow-in-the-dark floss on gauze. The fabric is very see through so you can see the thread on the reverse. This means it is really easy to 'sketch' with the thread. I worked completely freehand using an illustration of a plague doctor for reference. I love the look of the loose ends. This was just an experiment and I think there is a lot of mileage in this technique. It is so fast to do and it was fun to do something looser than my usual style. 

It looks ghostly and would be great hung in a window. Has anyone else tried this? What did you think?

Ok and now something completely different...

After my flash gordon piece I wanted to do another nostalgic piece. I really regretted using such tiny stitches on his hair- it took forever but does look very smooth! I think I will do more embroideries of the things I loved when I was younger, it's just so fun. I want to do the car from Dukes of Hazzard, teenwolf and Henry's cat. They are all so evocative of my childhood, the funny thing is I did lion-o because it was something me and my brother liked but after posting it on my facebook it has been very popular with my friends- it obviously inspired memories in my friends too.

I've also been thinking a lot about my blog and how I can improve it. I'm thinking regular posts about blogs I like and about artists/inspiration online. Also maybe a monthly list/photo type post that is non embroidery related to let people get to know me, bookworm bethie does great posts about herself alongside her craft posts and I always enjoy reading them. I'm also musing about tutorials- I never use online tutorials so am wondering whether it is worth the effort of making one. I was going to do one about the different fill stitches I use but am not sure anyone would be interested. I'd really enjoy some feedback around what kind of posts people enjoy- please drop me a line or leave a comment if you have any thoughts on this.

moth

Thought it might be nice to share some 'in progress' pics, this is a yellow- barred moth.

dum dum dum dum FLASH aaahhhaaaaa

This is Prince Vultan- leader of the Bird people in the film Flash Gordon, played by the mighty Brian Blessed.
Have been working on this for a while and it has been my favourite thing to do. Lots of details to keep it interesting to work on.
And I'm really pleased with it, it's nowhere near perfect but I love it because;
          He has a french knot beard!
          I have made my peace with metallic floss!
          I can make a Ming the Merciless to keep him company!
I have just outed myself as the biggest nerdball ever haven't I ?
The shadows and skin tones are much more natural than in the wrestler I did- think I am getting close to cracking it. Will have to start another portraity piece to keep up momentum, I want to get better at stitching people.


 I loooooooooove Brian Blessed- he has the best booming voice and he swears better than anyone else ever

imagine gnats pattern testing

Rachel at Imagine Gnats was asking for testers to try out her new embroidery patterns. Well as her designs are supercute I had to get in on the action.
This is the valentine superhero boy pattern - there is also a girl who is just as cute

The patterns are available as pdfs here --> http://www.etsy.com/listing/91907366/valentine-super-hero-girl-embroidery
http://www.etsy.com/listing/91907545/valentine-super-hero-boy-embroidery?ref=v1_other_2

I can't wait to see what other patterns are available in the future