Friday Instagram Finds No. 37 with Sew Jenaissance

Welcome back, Stitchers! I hope you've had a pleasant week, and have fun plans and activities for the weekend. Today let's take a look at Jen of the Instagram account @sewjenaissance. Jen creates colorfully geometric works, and embellishes printed fabrics with hand embroidery. I love her series of gnomes. In one of the pictures below, you can see the before and after, and how much texture the hand embroidery brings to the fabric. I'm sure you think like I do; embroidery makes everything look better! Jen's geometric pieces are super cool, and remind me of Spirograph designs. Take a look!

@sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

Image by @sewjenaissance

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Jen's work at @sewjenaissance make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Stitchy Snippets - Counting Threads

In keeping with it's regal name, the British Royal School of Needlework is centred at Hampton Court Palace which stands grandly alongside the river Thames. The school teaches the traditional practice of embroidery which has been passed down through the centuries. The training focuses on precise and exact techniques and can be rigorous at times for the amateur such as myself. Not dissimilar to a Kung Fu student who is put through their paces, although using far less muscle.

Attending a class at the school is truly enjoyable, especially in such an awesome setting. As I sat tucked away in the light airy galleries of the palace, overlooking the manicured gardens I wondered if there could be a more apt location to do drawn thread work. This type of embroidery is often grouped with Whitework as it is usually practiced on white linen, embellished in white and often combines several types of embroidery. A key feature of this style is to cut warp or weft threads away from the base fabric and embellish the remaining threads which creates a lace effect.

The preparation requires a lot of patience as threads should be counted accurately in order to follow the pattern (which posed a challenge first thing on a Saturday morning). Traditionally, the stripped threads are woven back into the fabric to leave a seamless edge. Once the preparation is underway the stitching is relatively straightforward although I found that the stitches that at first appeared simpler were the most difficult to execute well.

The action of deconstructing and reconstructing the fabric is very fulfilling and the delicate outcome that is produced has a unique finish and effect compared to other types of needlework.

Friday Instagram Finds No. 36 with Be Good Natured

Hello Stitchers! It's Friday again, and I'm going to jump right in to this week's featured needle artist Dani of @begoodnatured. I have to admit, I'm a bit in awe of Dani's talent. I'm amazed by artistry with felted wool. Her account is one of my favorites on Instagram. I just love the pet pieces she creates. We had to say goodbye to our dear Pitbull/Labrador Retriever mix Mina on 12/19/2015, and I've been looking through my photos to find just the right one to commission Dani to create a beautiful memento. Take a look at her beautiful artistry!

@begoodnatured

Image by @begoodnatured

Image by @begoodnatured

Image by @begoodnatured

Image by @begoodnatured

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Dani's work at @begoodnatured make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

MooshieStitch Monday: Winter Woven Trees

Happy New Year!

Since some of you readers may be experiencing snow - here is a little "winter" themed project.

I have become slightly obsessed with the woven trellis stitch. I wanted to use it to stitch something other than a flower so I decided to try stitching little pine trees.

I practiced a few trees by drawing some triangles and followed the same steps as the woven trellis stitch.

Once complete - turn the triangle around and it looks like a little pine tree ... right?

To make a little wintery tree scene, I roughly drew some trees on linen inside a little oval hoop - something different since I always use round hoops.

For the snow covered ground, I cut a piece of white felt and whip stitched it to the fabric.

Then added the tree trunks with straight stitches.

Now time to weave the trees!

I added some french knots and little eye stitches for snow flakes.

If I would have finished stitching this before the holidays, my plan was to decorate the trees by stitching little ornaments on them, or adding a star on top each tree. Maybe next year.....


P.S. To finish the back of the hoop - I followed this excellent tutorial.


See you next time!

Friday Instagram Finds No. 35 with Pixie Craft Handmade

Hello Stitchers! I hope you've had a fabulous week and your January has been awesome so far! Today I am sharing the Instagram account @pixiecrafthandmade with you all. Katy is a hand embroiderer in the United Kingdom, and she creates bright and happy pieces. I love the embroidered quotes she creates because they have such inspiring messages. And her mini hoop necklaces are absolutely adorable! I came across Katy's work because she tagged some of her pictures with #feelingstitchyig. Take a look!

@pixiecrafthandmade

Image by @pixiecrafthandmade

Image by @pixiecrafthandmade

Image by @pixiecrafthandmade

Image by @pixiecrafthandmade

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Katy's work at @pixiecrafthandmade make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!

Stitchy Snippets - Drawing Threads

Recently I visited the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester to absorb the beauty of the textile art exhibition on display. One of my favourite pieces was the work of Do Ho Suh, a Korean artist working from London and New York. Suh's brightly coloured thread drawings were molded and stitched onto lush paper creating many textural elements. Originally stemming from 'doodles' Suh produced this body of work whilst working on his residency at Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI).

Do Hu Suh talks about his inspiration for the work. 'It also suggests the life before me, which is the heritage, the history, the culture and the knowledge that has been passed on to me from generation to generation which you cannot visualize ... This is the human relationship I try to visualize with the lines.'

These drawings began as research for sculptures that Suh produced some ten years earlier and through his thread drawings Suh develops those concepts further. 'I was thinking about how we are all interconnected and also the idea of reincarnation and karma. I was thinking about people I would meet or I have met throughout my life ... when you think about it, they are entangled threads. A web of relationships' explains Do Ho Suh. In the work below - Paratrooper-I - Suh has hand-stitched 3000 names and signatures onto linen and draped the drawn strands over the stainless steel paratrooper figure.

Do Ho Suh is well know for his intricate architectural sculptures which are made from transparent fabric. They capture the story of his nomadic adulthood; moving to various continents and cities.

His work reflects his personal journey, the spaces he has occupied and the memories that reside there. Talking about his studio Doh Ho Suh says 'There are so many artists that come and go, and everyday many times a day they touch these things – to flip a switch, to turn the lights on. There are probably many layers of history on the surface of these objects. I want to bring these invisible connections or memories that these daily objects possess.'

Friday Instagram Finds No. 34 with Tubaville

Hello Feeling Stitchy readers! Friday Instagram Finds is back! I hope that you had a pleasant holiday season, and are ready for a fabulous 2016.

Today's feature is Torina with the Instagram handle @tubaville. Torina creates beautiful cross stitch pieces and gorgeous quilts. The detail in her cross stitch is so lovely! And her quilting is wonderful. I've started English paper piecing, so it's nice to see such beautiful work to be inspired by. I came across her work because she tagged some of her pictures with #feelingstitchyig. Take a look at Torina's beautiful work!

@tubaville

Image by @tubaville

Image by @tubaville

Image by @tubaville

That's it for this week's edition of Friday Instagram Finds! Join in the conversation by commenting below. While you're on Instagram checking out Torina's work at @tubaville, make sure you follow Feeling Stitchy! We'd love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find Feeling Stitchy on Instagram at the handle @feelingstitchyish. You can find Amy @randomactsofamy on Instagram.

Want to be featured in Friday Instagram Find? Tag your best stitch-related photos with #feelingstitchyig!