TTT4

I have finished up on the Craftster tea towel tour my last piece of stitching was for Nannetta her towel had a sun, moon stars and astrology theme. So I did this:

Underneath the star is the constellation for Virgo (Nannetta's sign). It's a fairly simple design but I think it fits in with has already been stitched on the towel. I hope she likes it.
And I have recieved my finished towel- it is so fantastic.

Thanks to (left to right below) Sewsew-a-gogo, IamSusie, Timpani~Jax, UrsulaDiamond and Nannetta

I love everything on my towel- the designs are all very 'me' and the quality of the stitching is amazing. I was lucky to get a great group who have been fun to swap with- I really hope to swap with each of them again some time in the future. I feel sad that this swap is drawing to an end but it is great to see all the finished towels springing up on the Craftster gallery (it's a big gallery but you can click on 'show images only' to just view the pics)

Read about me on Brook's blog!

I was very flattered when Brook contacted me via Craftster and asked if she could interview me for her blog. Naturally I jumped at the chance to be featured on one of my favourite blogs (and also felt totally stressed that I would give uber-dull answers). Well, Brook sent me a great list of questions and answering then was fun (and not at all stressful) you can read the interview here
Oh and while you are there be sure to check out Brooks other blog entries, she's got a great sense of humour and has also posted some seriously awesome work. Brook really knows her way around a pin-up girl (I'm referring to embroidery here!)
Big thankyou to Brook for asking me to do the interview- I promise to return the favour some day

Cupcake flash embroidery

This is for SewSew-a-gogo on the tea towel tour. The embroidery is actually on an apron which is for her daughter. Sewsew gave the group a list of her daughters likes and among them were rub-on tattoos and baking. So I customised some old school flash of a heart with a dagger through it and a snake and came up with this. It was mega fun to do, I went loco for the effects floss and used metallic, rayon and glow in the dark on this piece. And for anyone debating trying the glow in the dark floss I say go for it, it's really not too bad to work with and it really glows bright- I was most impressed!

Assisi work

I recently recieved UrsulaDiamonds towel in the TeaTowel Tour. It is the rebel towel on this tour as instead of following an embroidery theme it is evolving into a sampler of different types of needlework. When I received it it had been stitched on by IamSusie with a cross stitch design and by Timpani-Jax with a blackwork design. I was totally confused, what should I add? So I looked through some embroidery magazines for inspiration and finally a light bulb moment; cross stitch + blackwork = Assisi! Basically Assis work is a type of cross stitch where the main motifs are voided and outlined with either holbein or backstitch (I used both) I used patterns from http://www.dunmanidesigns.co.uk/

It took forever to do and to be honest I'm not sure about the out come but that's possibly as I've been staring at it for so long whilst stitching it! Also because of the symmetrical design I rotated the piece whilst working on it and this led me to make a few mistakes, the crosses don't all sit the same way. I just hope Ursula likes it. I used waste canvas which I tacked onto the towel. It was my first time using waste canvas and the result wasn't as regular as using aida but I think it would probably work better with a less 'filled in' design (or one with fewer straight lines!). It's been fun trying something new but I'm looking forward to getting back on more familiar ground with my next project, I'm sure I'll try Assisi again in the future but with a more modern twist (maybe pixel art, pacman, skulls or logos?)

Great personal swaps with Katie and Nicole!

I have recently done two personal swaps with people I know through Craftster and it's been such a good experience. They both managed to tap into my personal taste and make very cool things for me. KatieKutthroat was the first person I did a personal swap with- we like similar themes and are both avid stitchers. I was blown away with what I recieved from her- this bag has been in constant use since I got it. Her stitching is really beautiful and I loved how she had used a different thickness of thread to give texture on the hair (I'm stealing that idea x)

She also sent me a sassy pinup in tattoo flash style- those little swallows are metallic, very cool indeed. I think the patterns are all by Sublime stitching- Katie picked out great choices for me as I love anchors...
... speaking of anchors look what I recieved in my personal swap with Nicole! I have no idea how she did this; the glass is frosted with an anchor design. I guess you must be able to get some spray on glass frosting stuff but I've never seen it before. I think this will be my Rum glass for when I'm being a pirate. I love it so much. She also sent me this great personalised card she made-coincidentally we both picked a nautical theme (the bag in my last post was for Nicole).
Ladies if you are reading- I hope we swap again as I love my new goodies. Getting stuff in the post that other people have made for you is so much fun and I had a great time making things for you both x

Hello Sailor!

Ahoy there me hearties! I made this for a friend on Craftster. It's on a tote bag - I hand appliqued the patch on which was a bit silly as I own a perfectly good sewing machine but it does look quite nice!
She recieved it today and has been in touch to say she likes it so I'm very pleased. The design is taken from Sailor Jerry flash- the handwriting is my own (and could be better!). I really enjoyed adding the tiny details like the ickle anchor tat and gold bracelets.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum x

Tea Towel Tour 4

Seriously this has to be seen:
http://www.craftster.org/pictures/data/500/medium/sailor_girl.JPG
How great is that?! Nannetta picked the most perfect design for me. I am a sucker for all things nautical. I can't wait to see how the other talented stitchers add to this towel, who would have thought a tea towel could make my heart race?
And here is my humble contribution to IamSusies towel:It's pretty different to my usual more filled in style because I wanted it to fit in with the rest of the embroidery on the towel, and I wouldn't usually go for something so cute but I designed it myself and am pleased with how it turned outThe rest of the embroidery on the the towel (bird by IamSusie and squirrel byTimpani~Jax) is so beautiful. One of the best things about the swap is getting to see everyone else in your groups work in the flesh - although it's quite intimidating when you get a towel where the stitches are all so pristine and you think 'Oh shit, I can't stitch anywhere near that neatly- I'm gonna mess up this beautiful towel' But I'm sure all the other swappers get that feeling too.... right?!