Schoch Show this Thursday, March 3 (in Brooklyn!)

Any of you lucky enough to live in Brooklyn or NYC? Well, if you do, and you want to see some amazing embroidered artwork, you better check out Matt Schoch's show this Thursday, 6:30 - 8PM, March 3 at Roots Cafe.


I can guarantee you'll want to take his work home with you - when I saw Matt's embroidery last year while shoving chili cheese dogs in my face, it was love at first sight.

And hey, if you go, can you tell him Feeling Stitchy sent you? And tell him Floresita says hi? And eat something tasty in my honor? (It doesn't have to be a chili cheese dog.)  Good luck Matt!!!

Patterns: Lydia the Tattooed Lady

Lydia the Tattooed Lady beautifully stitched by katiekutthroat

I love katiekutthroat's use of colour for Lydia the Tattooed Lady, which is part of Sew Lovely's Circus Palooza pattern sheet.

February Vintage Pattern Stitchalong: Week 4

Well it's the final week of the Vintage Pattern Stitchalong and I am all done! I popped in a cheesy movie this morning and put the final touches on my second pillowcase.

Then, I crossed my fingers, turned them inside out, and washed them. I usually don't turn my stitching inside out, but I wanted to be extra-careful because I'd done so many French knots...

Voila! I was fortunate and the faint charcoal lines washed right out and the stitches held up perfectly:


I ran out of a couple of colors, so I swapped colors between the two pillowcases, which would make for a good game of "spot the differences," if you are very, very bored. :)


I added some extra french knots around the large flowers in the middle of the design - I used to hate French knots, but once you get the hang of them they are very addictive.

So, here they are washed (ahem: unironed - a girl can only get so much done in time for same-day blog posting) and ready to go:


But, sheesh, next time I choose colors for a blog post to photograph, I think I'll stay away from teals and fushchias! They look so pretty in real life, but it's almost impossible to capture true-to-life shades of pink and blue in photos. I did tons of monkeying around with my camera settings just to get these pics.

But now, on to my favorite part - your stitching! :)

Ninimakes gets double points for creativity by stitching on a shirt she made herself (from a Built by Wendy pattern):


I love how elegant the design looks in one color and it contrasts so well with the subtle pattern in her fabric - gorgeous, Ninimakes!


I love the placement Avrienne chose for her t-shirt stitching, and the pretty autumn palette she used:


Aimee also stitched her design on a t-shirt - I really, really love the details in this progress shot:


Speaking of in-progress, I also love the details in this project by hannita - can't wait to see it finished!


Lisa chose light colors that show up well against her blue fabric:


I love how everybody approaches their stitches in a different way - I love the loose, open stitches and extra French knots in this version by Megan:


Last but certainly not least, 2 of our own bloggers at Feeling Stitchy joined in...

Jo also stitched her design on a pillowcase:


And Carina stitched up her own modified version of the pattern, with lots of lovely pastel colors:


I wish I could have featured every single one of you - but HEY, why don't you help us make a list of everyone that took part? If you joined the stitchalong this month (even if yours is in progress), please leave a link in the comments!

Thank you so much for stitching along with us! I hope you all had fun and were inspired, even if you couldn't join along. This was super fun and inspiring for me - I pulled out embroidery I literally have not touched in years.

Be sure to check back with us for more stitchalongs - I happen to know that there's a really, really, really good one coming up.... :)

Recap of the February Stitchalong:

Download the pattern (thanks, Claudia!)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

You spin me right round...

...like a Woven Spider Wheel stitch, performed here beautifully by Olisa! Olisa made this awesome turntable embroidery for a recent Phat Quarter swap. For the volume knob she used lots of layers of the new-to-me Woven Spider Wheel Stitch. I found a tutorial for this stitch here and here.



The record is made with back stitches and looks so shiny that I almost miss my old LP records.

It Came From the Deep

Jemimah created this amazing stumpwork for a swap. Goodness! I wish I was her partner. You can read more about her, this beautiful piece and stumpwork over at Craftster.org.

Penguin x 3 + ear muffs = Cuteness

Three penguins, originally uploaded by anda76.

Pardon me if I squeal a little bit...

These are, like, the cutest penguins ever!

With ear muffs /head phones. And their little feet!

..squeal!

Knotty

home, originally uploaded by PataPri.

That shape above the bird is filled with French knots.

I have done some French knot filling on occasion too.. but nothing like this. This is just, you know, crazy.

And, you know, pretty darn awesome.

Knotty darn awesome.

Patterns: I Will Guide You

Penguin embroidery by Pink Paper Peppermints

Melissa from Pink Paper Peppermints is fairly new to embroidery, so consequently I'm even more in awe of this lovely pattern, particularly the bright chain stitch lettering and chunky stripy scarf. Melissa has written a great guide on how to embroider this pattern over on her blog, where you can also download the pattern.

February Vintage Pattern Stitchalong: Week 3

Download the pattern (thanks, Claudia!)

Week 1

Week 2

Hi everyone! I am really loving this stitchalong idea - I love checking into our pool and these comments and seeing all the creative ways you've been interpreting this design. I love how you leave things out, flip the design around, the different colors you choose - this has been so much fun!

So, as you saw last week - I spent most of my time changing my mind and choosing blues to contrast with the bright pinks:


But once I made up my mind on the basic colors I would use, my stitching really took off quickly:


Aside from a simple back stitch in dark turquoise on the stems, I used the same 2 stitches from week 1week 2 - lazy daisy and french knot.

I added extra french knots wherever I wanted to add a little more texture, and before I knew it, I was done!


For the last week of our stitchalong I'll stitch a matching pillowcase, wash and iron my work (and hope it doesn't fall apart), and take a photo for all of you. :)


Here's what you guys have been stitching!

jodycourt used the design to make a pretty embroidered cuff:


Kim thinks her stitching is a bit wonky, but I'm sorry Kim, I have to disagree - look at those beautiful stitches!


I love the tone-on-tone design elliefunkhandmade is doing:


Gorgeous bright colors on this cloth stitched by annalea hart:


ninimakes is stitching her pattern onto a handmade top (love the stripes!)


Allie reinterpreted the design as a heart:


Last but not least, I love the bright contrast daddys_little_hurl used:


So, do we have any takers for our last week in the February stitchalong? Just add your pics to the pool, or leave a link to your blog in the comments and we might feature your work next week! Thanks for stitching along with us, can't wait to see your work!

Viva la Stitch

There's not much I can add to this statement stitched by Kwgronau! Except maybe that I recently started a Flickr Group dedicated especially to Embroidery Stitches. It's called the Embroidery Stitch Gallery and you can check it out here. It focuses on stitches and techniques rather than finished pieces. Viva la Stitch would have been a great name for that group.

In the near future I intend to write a post (or maybe several) about fill stitching.  Not just about the 'traditional' fill stitches (like the satin stitch) but also semi-fill stitches (like the seed stitch) and creative use of filling your embroidered piece like the one I showcased last week.  So if you have a wonderful photo posted in the Embroidery Group please tag it with FillStitch so I will be able to find it easily. I may get in touch with you to ask you about your techniques. Thanks in advance! Viva la Fill Stitch!

Another take on Valentine...

36 Squares -- Square 24, originally uploaded by Beadgirlj.

This made me laugh!

Also, that's an interesting stitch used in the hearts.

Needle Little Valentine?

Janelle sent me this vintage Valentine (that has three, count 'em: THREE puns) a couple of weeks ago and I have been saving it for today! xoxo

Patterns: Bunny and her teacups

Bunny and her teacups embroidery stitched by Bumpkinbears

Last October, artist and illustrator Catherine Young from Bumpkin launched her first embroidery pattern, Bunny and her teacups. I've seen this pattern pop up in a few places since Christmas and I couldn't resist showing it here. Fingers crossed for more Bumpkin embroidery patterns!

February Vintage Pattern Stitchalong: Week 2

Hey guys! Here we are at week 2 of the vintage pattern stitchalong and I was so excited to see so many of you joining in and adding your pictures to the pool!

Need the pattern? Download here (thanks, Claudia!)
Want to see week one? Here you go!

Last week, I started off doing all the lazy daisy stitches in the large flower design (and whoa, were there a lot!)


Step 5: French knots

Next, I tackled the French knots in the middle of the flower:


Now, I know French knots are kind of the most dreaded embroidery stitch, but once you get the hang of them, they're not bad at all!

Need some step by step instructions on making the perfect French knot?
The Purl Bee: French knot tutorial
Sublime Stitching: Fool proof French knot
Needle n' Thread: French knot tutorial (video)


Step 6: Changing My Mind

Predictably though, after looking at my stitching, I changed my mind about the colors I'd picked:


I was inspired by the blues I used on the French knots (and my bright blue sheets), so I picked out the outermost row of pink lazy daisy stitches and made them a bright turquoise blue instead:



Next week, I'll take you through the rest of my stitching, but before I go I want to show you some of the awesome projects you've been posting to our Flickr pool!

Nicole printed the design on notecard paper and made cards:


Eeva rose modified the pattern into this lovely design that fits perfectly in her hoop:


Lisa transferred her pattern to a dark fabric and started with some vibrant peaches, pinks and reds:


Jen modified her design to include clusters of French knot flowers with stems, and satin stitch details:


Gorgeous stuff, you guys! If you've joined in, why not add a picture to our Flickr pool and show us?

Here's another idea - if you're stitching along on your blog, why not leave a link to it here? Then next week I'll also feature projects from the blogs you link to here! Thanks for joining in, and let's get stitching! :)

Especially awesome stitches: Nat's Wonky Cross Stitch

I was rather intrigued with this particular bit of embroidery by Nat (Smallest Forest on Flickr) when I spotted it in the Flick Embroidery Group. It looked to me somewhat like a Jacobean Couching Stitch, somewhat like a bunch of stacked cross stitches and somewhat like the fabric of a coat I used to have. But not exactly like anything I had seen before! Anyway, Nat was kind of enough to share her technique with us of what she calls  a  Wonky Cross Stitch.

Nat:"I drew a grid (freehand) with an erasable pen, and then worked a cross stitch into the grid with 3 strands, in a middle blue colour. I thought the first layer looked a bit 'thin', so then I worked a second layer of cross stitches, at 45 degrees to the first, in 2 strands of very pale shade of  ice blue. Coverage was good by this point, but the colors were washed out, and as this is meant to be a rich blue piece, I used a single strand of dark blue thread to work a grid (using back stitches) over everything. I just looked for a naturally occurring grid in the cross stitches, and picked that out with the final thread."




Can't wait to see this piece finished. Inspiring stuff, thank you Nat!

The 80's called...

 

Maybe it's my teenage years calling to me but when I saw this stitched up by Vegkat I instantly tried to squeeze into my parachute pants, threw on my Ray Bans and found my old Duran Duran albums, so I could dance around the house. Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand... Eep! Where's my Tiger Beat magazine, I just have to find out what Simon LeBon's favorite color is. Am I showing my age?