I am so grateful that TextileArtist.org will be hosting the Stitch Challenge on their website - part two is up now for those following along! Cas Holmes presented her art style with the challenge, and this gave me the ability to try adding paper to something as my...
My friend pointed me over to TextileArtist.org who is running a free stitch challenge right now. For me, this is perfect timing! The article about Sue Stone, who lead this stitch challenge, really seemed to reflect me in parts. I have collected a lot of technical...
When I visited the EGA museum, Boy and I were very impressed with a particular piece worked on silk gauze. In fact, Boy deemed it his favorite thing he's ever seen in embroidery, and possibly in the whole world of art. At my guild's holiday party, I mentioned my visit...
I made it all the way through the Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course with Kathy. This last task included specific requirements for seam treatments but it was really open to choice. Obviously, I will continue to work on this project so that I can piece it all together,...
The last task in the monogram segment is to make a puffy ribbon letter. I chose to use my own handwriting for the shape, and V for my surname since it represents both Boy and me. I couched the 7mm silk ribbon down with some specialty perle cotton, which has a thin...
The second task in the monogram lesson was to make a beaded letter. I felt I was going to not have enough beads, so I opted to use a stem stitch in a large perle cotton as fill. I rather like the texture combination! I hadn't done any true beading work before, so...
The lessons for this segment of the intermediate crazy quilt course (ICQC) involve working monograms in a few different styles. The first task is using embroidery. I wanted to challenge myself, of course, so I didn't just use basic stitches. There is nothing fancy...
The title of this post claims you'll see wisteria, but in truth, I converted this task to a grapevine because I've never seen wisteria in person (though it is all over my dream house grounds!) but my gramma and grampa had a small vineyard. The premise is still the...
I am part of the Embroiderer's Guild of America (EGA) through a local chapter, and I recently came across a little hedgehog-on-a-log piece that Terry Vanderslice designed as an introduction to raised embroidery (also known as stumpwork). I knew I wanted to try it for...
My next intermediate crazy quilt class task was to take a basic embroidery motif and then add elements to place the image into a story of sorts. I chose to use a historic cross-stitch rabbit motif graphed by Kim at String-or-Nothing, by using waste canvas. I had this...
I was fortunate enough to have the day to myself so I set to Kathy's next task which was to add a basic embroidered outline image. I chose ferns, from an image I found on shutterstock, by Anastasia Lembrik. For the stems, the large fern used 4 strands of floss,...
The last time I posted about the free crazy quilt course I am enrolled in was way back in March, 2019 (here). My brother stayed with us for two months before he and I left for Africa for two more, and then when I returned, there was so much to catch up on that I've...
Sharon at Pintangle has been running an annual Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST) program for many years now, and you might recall that I participated in 2018 (see my journey here). Well, I finally pulled it all together and converted my study of embroidery techniques and...
My friend got married in October and I missed the deadline - even though work began in April! They set up a webpage for the wedding information with the tagline "Meant to Bean" (it makes sense for them) so that was obviously part of my inspiration. My friend also used...
While I still had Pretty Birds laying around, I made a flamingo. I wanted to see how goofy the long legs would be. Instead of using just fabric, I stuffed each leg with two pipecleaners; I love how they turned out with this trick! It isn't too noticeable, but because...
I picked up an Aunt Martha's tracing pad and transfer pencils recently and wanted to see if this is something that can help me going forward. The process is simple: use the tracing paper to copy an image with the transfer pencil, then use a hot iron to transfer the...
A while back I was at a discount bookstore and picked up a book by Virginia Lindsay, Pretty Birds. It has very simple patterns to make a range of different little birds and was just the thing I needed to find an idea for the handmade ornament exchange my embroidery...
I made some more mini felt cacti (see the originals here, and my last round here). I needed a gift and it never makes sense to only make one since they are pretty easy so I was experimenting with a few options. You'll notice I tried painting the terra cotta pots. One...
Amina at Stitch Floral graciously posted a free pattern she calls Snowflake Mandala. It looked Scandinavian to me, so I decided to try it in a bold red. I love how it turned out, so thank you very much, Amina! I chose a tea towel as my base and hid the back stitches...
I needle felted a Christmas pickle! I realize not everyone knows what that is, so let me explain. My MIL introduced me to this concept many years ago, which is apparently German-American, though I don't think I ever heard anyone in my family using the tradition....