Interview - Katie Kutthroat

Some of you may already have seen this lovely piece in the Feeling Stitchy group. It is pretty awesome, isn't it? It is stitched by Katie Kutthroat, who does lots of cool and colourful stitcheries. Do check them out in her Flickr stream. Not all of it is 'safe for work' as it were, and we can't be held responsible for any reactions to checking it out! ;-)

Right, so we had to know more about this awesome piece! And about Katie, of course, so let's see what she has to say!

Thanks, Katie!

Please tell us a wee bit about yourself
Well my name is Katie (Kutthroat) the nickname isn't nearly as exciting or violent as it sounds! I was born in South Alabama and raised in Alabama and Florida. I am currently living in the Metro-Detroit area and going back to college, studying the Culinary Arts. On the side I sell my crafts @katiekutthroat.etsy.com to help pay for school.

How long have you been stitching? What got you started?
I have technically been "stitching" since I was 14, I started cross stitching then.. which is my first love in needlework. I didn't fall into embroidery until I rekindled my love for crafts and picked cross stitching back up a few years ago. I guess I felt sorta limited by the boxed designs and wanted to branch out. At first I was really intimidated so I tried out a few Sublime Stitching Patterns. A few failed attempts and a few not so impressive pieces I was sorta getting the hang of it and I really enjoyed the freedom of embroidery. I then started stitching Sailor Jerry styled pin up girls and those really took off.

Tell us a little bit about this wonderful piece.
This piece is a fine example of how you can start out totally unsure of what you are doing and eventually it can lead to evolving with the craft. The design is by an upcoming tattoo artist, Don Chuck Carvalho. You may not have heard of him because he is still going through his apprenticeship. He resides in Brazil and is so very talented, if you want to check out his stuff:www.facebook.com/donchuckcarvalho But please respect the artist, I have received permission to use some of his designs. When I came across this particular design I thought what a positive message, "Your Ruin, My Gain." I wanted to stitch something as beautiful as the saying truly is.

Do you have a favourite stitch? Why?
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch, it is the most addictive stitch I have learned to this day. I think the kid in me loves coloring things in still :) I like bringing life to the pieces with really bright colors.

Any advice for "newbie" embroiderers?
My advice for newbies to the world of embroidery is "Don't give up!!" Seriously, it takes time and mistakes to really learn the swing of things! Don't get discouraged if you mess up the first 10 times, I promise you aren't alone. The more you practice, just with anything, the better you will get. I am still learning as I go and it is a really fun experience!