surprise!

Look at this cute little package I found in my mailbox today. Wonder what it could be?

It was wrapped so prettily that I had to take a picture first. Isn't that tag perfection?



And inside was a great batch of buttons courtesy of my vintage button swap partner, Mandi. I participated in the first swap last year and was thrilled to sign up again this time. The swap is sponsored by Sally at shim+sons and 170 people from all over the world signed up to be partnered with another button lover. You send 12 buttons and you get 12 buttons back. And people often send extra goodies, too. Like the row of vintage trims in the back—the pink one has kitties on it. And my own package of those sweet little tags—wheee!



So, how did Mandi know that I love flower buttons? This wasn't a surprise thing so I asked her what she liked and she did the same. She was redecorating her kitchen with yellows and oranges so that's what I sent her, along with a tea towel trimmed with vintage feedsack fabric and rickrack. Every kitchen can use a pretty tea towel.



If you want to see some of the other buttons, head over to the Flickr group. And if that doesn't make you want to sign up next time I don't know what will :)

poor birds

I took this photo on Monday in the thick of the snowstorm that dumped 8 inches of wet, heavy snow on northeast Pennsylvania.



I've never seen so many birds at our feeders—and not just the usual chickadees and cardinals. Cowbirds, goldfinches, and red-winged blackbirds all made an appearance. All are birds that you see occasionally but that prefer other foods than birdseed. I'm not sure what the robins did. I saw a few of them trying to dig through the snow early in the day but they had to give up later.

Last year at this time I was posting pictures of pussywillows and commenting about how warm it was getting—LOL!

Stitch School: Interlaced Band

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Interlaced Band Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

what happened to spring?

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. All this weird weather (it's actually snowing a little here today) has left me feeling kind of blah. I want to be working in my garden and getting inspired by nature. Instead I'm stuck inside, mostly on my computer doing not-so-creative things.

I did get back to Hancock Fabrics yesterday and spent at least an hour going through the entire store. I didn't buy the iron I set out to buy because it was a display model that looked like it had been sitting out for years. They aren't allowing returns on anything and I didn't want to take the chance. But I did buy a professional model to replace the one I bought last year - it's been leaking and spitting a lot lately and I fear it's days are numbered. I got lots of great fabrics, buttons, embroidery floss, and crib quilt batting, too. Our store will be open until June but it's already getting pretty picked over in some departments.

I found out a little more about the bankruptcy. They filed for Chapter 11 which allows them to remain in business but to reorganize the company. Part of that effort is to close 134 stores. They have 400 so it's possible that they won't be closing the store near you. I haven't heard anything about their plans to continue to publish Cutting Edge—if you have a subscription I imagine you'll be hearing from them if they decide to fold.

While I think its sad that they're closing our local store, the market where I live is too saturated. Joann, AC Moore, Michaels, and Hancock Fabrics—all within minutes of each other—is too much for an area that doesn't have a lot of sewers and crafters. Two very old fabric stores closed here in the past couple of years because they couldn't make it any more.

Because we're part of the crafting community and crafting seems to be the hot thing these days, we assume that everyone is doing it and there must be a market for more craft/fabric stores. I think that must depend on where you live—it's certainly not true here. That's OK, though. Computers have opened up the whole world as a source of supplies and there are so many wonderful online shops to buy them from. Shops that can stay small, offer excellent customer service, and focus on what they do best.

get thee to Hancock Fabrics

If you have one near you, that is. The company has filed for bankruptcy and is closing hundreds of their stores, including the one that just opened a year ago at a mall near where I live. I think someone posted about this on their blog but I didn't make the connection until I stopped there today and saw their windows plastered with giant store closing signs.

So, yes, everything is on sale and most things for 50% off! I needed to get back here today so I quickly grabbed a basketful of stuff that I knew I'd use, including the fabric I stopped for. You can bet I'll be heading back very soon—like tomorrow perhaps. I have my eye on a professional Rowenta iron (the one with the separate water reservoir). There will never be another opportunity to get one at 30% off! And it's a good chance to stock up on basics, too—like thread and embroidery floss.

some questions...and some answers

I have to meet with my accountant this afternoon to review my taxes, and am feeling a little rushed today, so I'm going to use today's Stitch School space to answer a few embroidery-related questions from readers and to show off that amazing towel I bought on Saturday.

"My problem is the hoop marks. How do you avoid having hoop marks on your finished projects?"
I always use the heavy plastic hoops that you can buy now. Hoops used to be made of metal or wood, both of which can be a problem. Metal rusts and can leave spots that likely won't come out. Wood can pick up dirt and, if constructed cheaply, splinter and crack. With plastic, if it gets dirty, you can just wash it off with a sponge and some mild soap. Keeping your hoops clean will help to avoid transfering dirt to your work.

There's a technique for binding a hoop with strips of fabric (cut on the bias), woven cotton tape, or bias binding ironed flat, but this seems to be more about getting a firmer tension between the hoop and your fabric. You do it by separating the two sections of the hoop and wrapping the strip around and around the edge of the bottom (or inside) ring, making sure it doesn't crease and taking a few small stitches when you reach the end to secure everything. I suppose this could work to keep your hoop clean, too, but you'd probably need to wrap both rings.

And don't set your project aside for weeks on end in the hoop. I know, you intend to get right back to it, but will you really? Remove your fabric from the hoop after you're done working for the day and that ring-shaped crease won't have a chance to set in.

I do a lot of stamped embroidery projects and always wash them when I'm finished to get out the stamping. Getting the fabric wet generally takes care of any creasing that occurs while I'm working. If you don't want to wash the entire piece, you could try spraying it with water and ironing the creases out. I keep a spray bottle near my ironing board for this very purpose.

"I am planning an embroidery based on a free print of a chickadee, and I am wondering if a part of the head is black, do I outline it in black? And also when part of the head is white, do I then do that in white? Or do I do it all in black as an outline? Hopefully I didn't confuse you."
I'm pretty sure I know what you mean here, and the problem is really with the white embroidery floss. If you're embroidering on white fabric and using white floss to render a white object, how can you see it against the background? It's personal preference somewhat, but here's what I'd do. If I could use a fabric that had a bit of color in it—like a natural linen—then I'd use white for the part of the head that's white. If I had to use white fabric I'd probably outline with black so it stands out from the background. Even if you outline the whole thing with black, there will be open white areas within the design, giving the illusion that the head is white. Or, I'd use a floss color that's almost but not quite white—ivory, pale gray, or that very pale silvery blue color—all would work for a chickadee.

If this isn't what you meant (and I truly am confused), leave a comment here and I'll explain further.

OK, for you cross stitch lovers, this is a stunning example of art deco design done in black and turquoise on heavy linen. The embroidery is completed in a wide band across the bottom and features two monogrammed letters above it. Flawlessly done. I wouldn't normally pay $17 for a tea towel but this was just too beautiful to walk away from. And no, this will not be cut up for a pillow. I may even frame it!



If you click on the photo there are some closeup photos on my Flickr page. Stop back next week for a new stitch!

happy Easter

This is a vintage Easter card I found at an antique mall yesterday. The top shell is hinged at the corner so it can be closed at first, then opened to reveal the chick inside. Love the art! It's very similar in style to an old embroidery book I have from the 1930s so I'm guessing it's from that era. It was a great shopping day—lots of buttons, pretty trims, and a really spectuacular embroidered towel that I'll show you soon.

Hope you all have a happy Easter!

towels

So many people asked about where I buy towels after yesterday's post so I'm going to share my source. There's a great online company called Embroider This and they carry a wide variety of what are called embroidery blanks—everything from baby bibs to hemstitched linen tablecloths. I like the McLeod Tea Towel in white (also available in cream, chambray blue, and with colored stripes). They also have 100% cotton Flour Sack Towels in sets of three, Natural 100% Linen Towels, and Huck Towels with and without hemstitching. All of these have a slightly different texture and weight but work equally well for embroidery.

Their prices are reasonable and you can save even more by buying larger quantities. That may be too many if you just want to make a few towels for your kitchen, but comes in handy if you're making a lot and need to keep your costs down.

While you're there check out some of the other categories. They do sell embroidery supplies but the emphasis is on machine embroidery, something I consider cheating. It's so satisfying to do embroidery by hand and (in my opinion) doesn't take much skill to set up a machine to do it for you. Sure, it's faster, but I think I prefer the slight imperfections in hand done work. You know the person who created it was personally involved in the process.

blueberries can dance?

Of course, they can. Especially when they take center stage on a tea towel! Last week I finished a custom order for one of my Blueberry Ballet tea towels. I started decorating and selling tea towels last year and sold out of the ones listed on my site. They take a while to make and I haven't had time to restock my supply so I usually do them as custom orders. This design is one of my favorites.




I start with a purchased towel and add coordinating fabric along the bottom edge—in this case a realistic blueberry print. And I slip in a row of blueberry-blue jumbo rickrack as I'm sewing the top edge—the bottom scallops catch in the stitching. You could sew it on top, too.

The blueberry motif is from a vintage Vogart iron-on transfer pattern that I got on Ebay several years ago. Lucky you—you don't have to go through the trouble of finding it. It's called Happy Fruits and you can buy copies at Patternbee. It's a cute design and there are others in the same set that feature all sorts of fruits, each with a funny saying if you want to include it with your finished design. The drunken pear ("Stewed Fruit") and the kissing apples ("Apple Sauce") are really too funny.

The embroidery goes quickly—it's mostly outline and straight stitch with a few lazy-daisy leaves and satin stitch eyes.



Really easy to do these yourself, but, if you don't feel like going to the trouble, I'll be happy to help you out. Unfortunately I can't promise a speedy turnaround at the moment as I'm getting kind of booked up for April. I'll probably write about some of my new projects here during the next couple of weeks. When you have a blog anything and everything becomes fair-game for a post.

Stitch School: Vandyke Stitch

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Vandyke Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

see what's new for spring

I must have spring fever because I went a little crazy this morning and updated my pillow page with a fresh batch of designs. Embroidery, of course! But also a few in a new style that's all about the fabrics. Like this one called "Mod Butterflies" with it's bright stylized butterflies in pink, turquoise, royal blue, and black and vintage black and turquoise button stacks...



Or, how about a bit of patchwork? Vintage cocoa and white floral with another floral recycled from an old 1940s housedress and a new purple leaf print. Bright orange vintage flower buttons, too...



And there's more where they came from. See what's new for spring!

Now I'm going to be good and finish those layouts I should have been working on this morning :)

a small hint of spring

I didn’t notice until this morning that my Clivia miniata is blooming again! I bought this years ago to replace the orchids I used to grow when I lived in an apartment that had the most beautiful and perfect morning light to grow them. They traveled with me when I bought my house and promptly died, one after the other. Orchids are pretty finicky about light and temperature and the house just isn’t right. But this looks kind of like an orchid and I’ve heard it described as “beautiful and indestructible”. Just what I needed :)

I’ve had it for three or four years now and it has the most amazing flowers—in a gorgeous clear orange color. I’ll move it outside to my screened porch in a couple of months and it will probably bloom again in July or August.

You can buy them at White Flower Farm and, at $52, they aren’t cheap (the price has gone up quite a lot since I bought mine). But it’s a beautiful plant and comes through with blooms again and again. It likes to be pot-bound, too, so you won’t need to repot it for a while. I’m going to do it this year after it stops blooming, for the first time.

It’s still quite cold here in northern Pennsylvania and there’s not much action yet in the garden. It’s nice to see a hint of what’s to come, even if it is inside!

fabric buying on Ebay

It's fabrics like this that make all the time I spend on Ebay worth it. I was discussing this with a friend recently—how overwhelming and frustrating Ebay can be when searching for vintage fabric. Let's not even talk about the bad photos and vague descriptions from sellers. Or the listings with no pictures at all. Like I'm going to buy something I can't see.

The big problem is that fabrics are listed in several places (Antiques, Collectibles, and Crafts) and there are several subcategories within those groups. It would be logical to find all the vintage fabric in Collectibles>Linens,Textiles>Fabric, but all of the fabric categories are a crazy mix of stuff. Sellers don't always put things in the right place. And some of the fabrics aren't technically vintage at all.

I love to work with vintage fabric but, really, I'm all about how it looks. So, I've gotten to where I can skim the listings very quickly and I just look at ones that catch my eye. Typing vintage in the search box within a category does a pretty good job of weeding out the newer fabrics. You'll still get some reproductions here and there. But, if you're looking in Collectibles>Textiles, Linens>Feedsacks don't use vintage in your search. All feedsacks are vintage because of the years they were produced, so using a search word like vintage won't help much. Sellers don't use the word in their titles because they don't have to.

My very best deals have been from sellers who list their items in the wrong categories. You have to really work it to find them, and most bidders won't go to the trouble, so you can find some amazing stuff.

Probably the best way to search is to be very specific with your search words. Love 60s fabrics? Then use search words like 60s, 1960s, mod, groovy, hippie, or boho. Looking for larger quantities? Search for "yardage". Fun prints? Try "novelty".

And if you're worried about the uncertain nature of Ebay, don't. The sellers who specialize in fabrics are some of the most honest and trustworthy on Ebay. They know their stuff, sell excellent things, and are really pleasant to deal with, too. I've rarely been disappointed, and, if I was, it was usually my fault for not reading the description thoroughly. My favorite sellers? Sorry, I'm not giving away all my secrets :)

Stitch School: Pekinese

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Pekinese Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

seeds

As I write, snow is falling outside my Maine window,
and indoors all around me
half a hundred garden catalogues are in bloom.
- Katharine S. White



I've had my seed catalogs for months but I'm just getting around to planning our garden and placing the orders. I have my old favorites that I buy every year—like Buttercrunch and Little Gem lettuces from Seeds of Change. Why mess with a good thing, right?

But I like to try new things, too. Last year it was cannellini beans, which turned out well and will get added to the favorites. This year it will be a different variety of carrot and lima beans. I know, I hate lima beans. But, my husband and friend Jenny (who's from Georgia and calls them butterbeans) tell me I'll love them picked fresh and while they're still small and tender. I'm not convinced, but we'll see. I used to hate peas, too.

I think we'll try corn this year, too. Corn is tricky and I have two funny stories about growing corn. My grandfather once planted some and I watched the next day as crows walked along the carefully planted row and plucked out the seeds one by one. He tried to shoot them from the kitchen window but let's not even go there :)

We tried it once in my family's garden. It had just ripened and we planned to pick and eat it the next day. We woke up the next morning to find the stalks flattened to the ground and the corn gone. Raccoons! They may be cute in those movies and television ads where they talk to one another, but in real life not so much.

These are some of my favorite places to buy seeds. But be warned. Once you place an order you'll get a flood of seed catalogs next winter!

Seeds of Change certified organic seed
Territorial Seed Company
Vermont Bean Seed Company not just beans
Johnnys Selected Seeds
Nourse Farms great for fruit and berries
Pinetree Garden Seeds

Stitch School: Palestrina

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Palestrina post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

What's all the fuss about?

An occasional post about quilting

I purchased a bagful of these Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt blocks a few years ago and the quilter who made them used a technique called fussy-cutting when she planned the designs.



So what in the world is fussy-cutting? See how there are flowers perfectly centered in the six-sided pieces that make up each block. This was done by design and the quilter used fussy-cutting to make it happen.



Basically, you center a flower (or other motif) within your block when you cut it out, so each piece has the same pattern. You can buy special clear plastic fussy-cut rulers to do this but there's a simpler way. Cut a window (mine's square but it can be any shape you like) in a piece of cardstock or cardboard the same size as your finished patch. Move it around over your fabric until you're happy with the placement, then mark around the shape with a fade-away marker. Use your rotary cutter to add 1/4" seam allowance.



And don't be afraid to focus in very tightly on the motif.



You'll see fussy-cutting used most often in Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts, but it's also used in what are called "I Spy" quilts. The quilter uses childrens and novelty prints, fussy-cutting objects within the print that children can "spy". Here are directions for making an I Spy quilt if you're so inclined.

This isn't the most economical way to use fabric—you waste whatever is in between the motifs—but it looks really cool in the finished quilt. Definitely give it a try!

at the movies

I'm stuck inside today because of the snow (and if you're expecting a package from me I hope to make it to the post office tomorrow). It's a good day for curling up with warm drinks, fuzzy throws, and sleepy cats. And movie watching. I'm not a big fan of TV and watch only a few shows regularly, but movies are a different story.

I joined Netflix a couple of months ago and I’m still in that orgy of movie watching that probably everyone goes through at first, trying to see how many movies you can squeeze in a months’ time. I love that you have a queue of movies that you can switch around as the mood strikes you, so you always get what you really want to be watching next. And I’m thrilled that they have so many of the small and quirky independent films I love.

I’ve been revisiting some old favorites. Like a very young James Spader in sex, lies, and videotape, the movie that started the whole indie film genre. And Judy Davis in My Brilliant Career, which also features a very young Sam O’Neil, who I forgot was in this movie. I love anything directed by Gillian Armstrong (be sure to see Oscar and Lucinda, one of Cate Blanchett's first films). I love director Peter Weir's films, too, so maybe it's an Australian thing.

I do like British television, though, and right now I’m just starting the second season of the BBC series, The House of Eliott. It's about two fashion-designer sisters—Beatrice (Stella Gonet) and Evie (Louise Lombard) in 1920s London and details their adventures and mishaps as they start their business. Great characters (shady relatives, included), several minor stories woven through the main one, lots of interesting commentary about women's place in society at the time, and gorgeous costumes. What more could you ask for?



After that it's a documentary about Joni Mitchell, and then, who knows? I can't imagine ever running out of movies I want to see.

OK, so maybe I didn't look hard enough

Lots of cool patterns out there after all. Thanks for the suggestions.

Suggested by Milehimama:

Simplicity #3918 and #3956

Found on Simplicity's website while looking for the two above:

Simplicity #4176 and #3887


Simplicity #3837

And these are the patterns I bought last week at Hancock Fabrics 99 cent (!) pattern sale:

clothes envy

I've been coveting some of the new spring tops at Anthropologie, but knowing that I won't pay $88 for them. I love how they're combining different prints and using button accents—kind of like what I do with my pillows. But really, how hard would it be to make tops like these? And for a fraction of the cost.



And I wonder if people sew their own clothing anymore. I used to when I was a poor college student and needed to supplement my usual wardrobe of my father's army pants, denim overalls with undershirts that I dyed cool colors underneath, and various army/navy/thrift store stuff. Think Annie Hall meets art student. I used to make simple long skirts a lot and even made a dress once. It's been a while but I can do this.

I just wish I knew where to find cool patterns. I found a few Butterick/McCall's/Vogue patterns that can be adapted to what I want, I think. And I certainly have plenty of fabric options already. If anyone has sources for cool patterns, do tell. And, if any of my projects turn out well I'll post pictures.

Stitch School: New beginnings; happy endings

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scrap quilts

I mentioned in my post about clothing and linen history how women recycled worn and outgrown clothing into patches for quilting. When you didn’t have much money and fabric was scarce or too expensive to buy new, you improvised with materials you already had. I’ve always saved fabric and scraps from clothing that I loved enough to wear out. And I suspect most of us who sew and make things have a hard time throwing out materials (however small) that might be used for another creation.

This is a section of a quilt that I started about 20 years ago when I was in college. There are pieces from dresses and blouses as well as scraps from my mothers and grandmothers sewing baskets. That parrot print is my all-time favorite fabric and I wish I had more than a few squares left.



This pattern is called Trip Around the World or Grandmothers Dream and it’s great for using up tiny scraps. It falls into the genre of charm or postage stamp quilts, which are composed of random squares—some as small as one inch. They can be random or form a pattern like this one that repeats in rings around a central square. If you alternate dark and light rows of fabric it's called Sunshine and Shadow.



I really should finish this quilt one of these days. And get involved in quiltmaking again. More as a personal endeavor than a business one. Quilts take so long to make that I wonder if it's even possible to make a profit selling them. Still, the scraps do tend to pile up and quilts are a great way to use them up!

I'm fascinated by the history of quilts and will probably be talking more about quilts in future posts. I feel like I'm getting sort of one-dimensional with all the embroidery talk, and I do have other interests :)

Studio Friday: FRAGILE

What is the most fragile in your studio? What makes it so fragile? What would you do without it and where do you keep it so it is safe and won't break?



Hmmm, not sure I keep anything really fragile (like glass or china) in my studio. I'd surely break it if I did. But I do have a shelf higher up on a wall where I keep some glass jars with buttons. And I store my vintage handkerchiefs in their own box up on another shelf. Some of them are fragile because of their age, but I do it more to keep track of them—anything small can easily get lost in the shuffle. I keep boxes for buttons, trims, embroidery thread, and patterns, too!

More Studio Friday here.

sewing pins and buttons, oh my!

You know how I have a thing for buttons. Well, look at these colorful and fun bracelets and necklaces made from buttons that I discovered recently.

Jewelry artist Anna Kukuchek graduated from RISD last year along with my friend Pam’s son Keith. I used to work with Pam and helped Keith put together a portfolio last year so we keep in touch sporadically. He emailed me recently to tell me how his new job in Arizona is going and mentioned Anna’s work and that I should check out her Etsy shop. So, I did.

I have a thing for pearls, too, and it's hard to pass up pearl cluster bracelets (or necklaces or earrings for that matter). But I really love what Anna is doing with buttons and sewing pins. Like this bracelet made from sterling silver chain, headpins, and buttons in shades of green—


Button Bracelet, $55, available in other colors, too

And necklaces like this—


Button Necklace, $115

And aren’t these rings made from sewing pins fantastic? Not only do they look really cool (like tiny planets) but the pins move so you can play with them, too.


Kinetic Pin Ring, $35

Anna says she’s fascinated by mathematics, geometry, nature, and color—and that's definitely evident in her work. And she loves to use alternative materials in creating her unique handmade pieces. Sewing pins, anyone?

For now you can find her jewelry in her Etsy shop and at Stars + Infinite Darkness. She’s working on a website (www.annakatejewelry.com), too.

my wild Irish rose...

Well, maybe not Irish but it made a nice title, and it's so hard to come up with catchy titles :)

Here's the wild rose stamped-for-embroidery project I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. I got off to a quick start but got busy and it took a while to finish.





I saved the French knots for last, of course, but I'm getting better at doing them. You know what they say about practice.



If you'll remember I matched the embroidery floss colors to the fabric I'd be using later to complete the pillow I'd planned. Well, when I got everything laid out on my work table, it seemed a bit boring. Still pretty but lacking somehow. So I added another fabric—a yellow with green polkadots that matched the color I used for the leaves—to punch it up.



When it came to buttons, I'd planned to use one in each of the four corners and had three alternatives picked out. In the end they all looked too small. So I went with two much larger ones and placed them to fill the empty space at the top right of the embroidery. And I stacked some smaller yellow buttons on top.



So, if you were thinking I'm fanatical about sticking to the plan, you were wrong. Sometimes things don't work out the way you planned them and you need to be flexible enough to change things around. Besides, who says a girl can't change her mind?

Stitch School: Four-Legged Knot

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busy week

It's raining today and I'm hoping that it will help some of the snow to melt away. It's kind of gloomy though, so a good day to stay indoors.

I've had a really busy week, which is one reason I haven't updated since Monday. I had no sales from my web site last week and four this week—in two days, too. So, there was the whole invoicing, packaging, and trips to the post office thing. Then restocking the categories with more items. I've added a few new pillows, some vintage buttons (pretty 1940s ones that I bought from an estate), and a bunch of trims, mostly vintage rick rack. More crochet and lace trims to come and vintage fabrics that need to be scanned first.

I finished the wild rose embroidery I talked about a few weeks ago and have all my materials out on my work table to make the finished pillow. That may be a good project for today. And I'll post photos next week.

I did a lot of Ebaying this week and won some super cute embroidery projects—kitchen towels with poodles and two baby bibs—one with a bunny already done and the other with cats jumproping. Can't wait to see them! I have baby things on my mind these days as I'm in talks with someone about selling baby things on her site. More details soon if it comes to pass.

My copy of The Crafter Culture Handbook finally arrived and I'm very impressed with how nicely designed the book is and with all the cool projects. I'm loving the Vintage Button Jewelry by Linda Perlmann of Adorn magazine. And Heidi Kenney (My Paper Crane)'s super cute Cupcake Pot Holder. Lots of great stuff!

Another cup of coffee and I'll be ready to start my day. I missed Studio Friday last week but will try to get this week's done later today.

embroidery how-to books

My back is out today (yes, it snowed again and my poor body just can't take much more) so I'm going to answer a question instead of doing a new stitch this week. A reader emailed a few days ago to ask if I could recommend some embroidery books. I get the information for my posts from several different sources and take pictures as I go along, so I'm not really referencing a particular book. The books I do have are fairly old anyway and you might not be able to find them. But I did a quick search on Amazon to see what's out there. I used the search words "embroidery how-to" and got almost 300 hits, most of which weren't quite what I had in mind (although it's good to know that embroidery is so popular!). Here are a couple that sounded interesting (clicking on the links will take you to Amazon)—

Reader's Digest Complete Book of Embroidery.
Here are more than 100 embroidery stitches to learn, all with step-by-step directions, grouped in stitch families. Includes 20 projects, a special techniques section covering crewelwork, beads, monograms and more, plus over 75 design motifs.

Embroidery Stitches: Over 400 Contemporary and Traditional Stitch Patterns by Mary Webb.
The most exhaustive reference guide to embroidery stitches ever published. In a small format for easy portability, this book contains detailed information on more than 400 embroidery stitches. From the basic to the more intricate and from traditional to contemporary, each stitch is demonstrated through clear, colorful illustrations and detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. Stitches are grouped according to type, making it easy to locate a specific stitch, and presented in order of difficulty, from beginner to advanced.

The Embroidery Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden.
More than 200 stitches are photographed and accompanied by easy to follow charts in this essential reference for embroiderers. From basic cross stitch and chain stitch to more complicated couching, laid work, and drawn thread work, this is the stitch bible for embroiderers wishing to improve their technique and add new dimensions to their work. Stitches are arranged according to their use, including outlines, filling stitches, isolated stitches, motifs, edgings, hems, insertions, flat stitches, backgrounds, and textures. Concealed spiral binding allows embroiderers to read and practice simultaneously.

Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches by Mary Thomas
Mary Thomas' Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches was first published in 1934; regarded as a standard, this book has long been a favorite of novice and experienced embroiderers alike. Later updated by Jan Eaton, it pictures and describes over 400 stitches; arranged by usage, they range from basic outline and border stitches to more complex detached-filling and pulled-fabric stitches. More than 100 color photos show the stitches worked in sampler form, while individual diagrams, color-linked to the photos, illustrate the working method for each stitch. An outstanding reference book that will enable all needleworkers to master the art of embroidery.

While I can't personally recommend these books because I haven't seen them, all sound like good overall reference books for stitches. I'm definitely going to check them out myself. But I'll look at the library first. Once I've determined whether they're "keepers" or not, then I'll buy them for my library.

Reading patterns

Carrie-Lee asked "I was wondering with some of the free printable embroidery designs, there doesn't seem to be much detail. Just straight lines outlining the little girl, little boy, etc and I am wondering what stitch do you use with those?"

I talked about this a little here, but I hadn't covered many embroidery stitches at that point and I didn't want to confuse anyone. Now that we've advanced past the basics, I can expand on that post a bit.

When you have patterns separate from their original packaging (like most of the ones you'll find online) it's sometimes hard to figure out what stitches were intended to be used. That's good and bad depending on how you view it. If you're new to embroidery you probably want more direction; if you're more experienced you may see it as an opportunity to try something new.

Since you mentioned a little girl in your question, let's use that as an example. The simple answer is to use outline/stem stitch to follow the drawn lines. Use appropriate colors for her different parts—skin tones, hair, etc. But, if you want to get more creative, here are some ideas:

• Choose a print fabric, cut out the shape of her dress, and applique it in place. And then add embroidered details. This is a vintage bib I bought last year that I need to finish. Whoever started it used the same fabric for the binding and ties of the bib.



• Use a filling stitch and completely cover the shape of the dress. While it's difficult to cover a large area without distorting the fabric, cross stitches (like in the bonnet) work well, especially if you leave some open spaces. Filling stitches work best in small areas—like her hair. Try one of the braided stitches or French knots packed closely together, like this—



• Work a series of stitches over the blank area in the dress to simulate a pattern—like French knots for polkadots or small lazy-daisy flowers or tiny cross stitches. You see this a lot on the hoop skirts of Southern Belles.



If you're just learning to embroider, work with the basic stitches until you've mastered them. Then, don't be afraid to experiment. Often, when I do a Stitch School post, I'm learning a new stitch along with you. As I do them I can picture interesting uses for them. Where I may have used outline stitch for a basket before, now I'd probably try the woven filling stitch I showed you a few weeks ago.

Stitch School: Raised Fishbone

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Raised Fishbone Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

new sachets

Wow, I've had almost 200 signups on my website for the Happily Handmade Giveaway, many of them through this blog. So, thank you! If you need a bit more incentive to sign up (and the contest is open until March 31), here's a photo of the five sachets I've donated for the gift baskets:



A couple of them may be familar if you saw my Inspired by Handkerchiefs post where they were still in construction. Yesterday, I added a page for these new vintage handkerchief sachets on my website so they're finally available.


One positive thing about working with handkerchiefs is that many of them have four usable corners, and I can make four sachets in the same design. As you know, most of my work is one-of-a-kind, so this is a new development for me. I actually don't like to repeat designs, but four of something isn't really enough for the boredom factor to kick in. And I've found I'm more productive if I can make things in a production line fashion. Kind of funny, though, if you could see my very low-tech studio :)

This flurry of creative activity has just about depleted my stash of hankies so you know what's moved to the top of my vintage-things-to-look-for list. I'm looking forward to all of this recent snow melting so I can get back out there and do some much-needed treasure hunting.

Studio Friday: Drawing a blank!

It's one of the most feared events in the life of an artist. Sometimes it can take a long time to overcome this sudden stop of the creative juices. What do you do? How do you act and react? How do you get back to splashing around in all colours? Do you fight it or work with it?

My head is so full of ideas that this rarely happens to me. But, when I'm feeling blocked, I pull out my idea notebooks or go through my piles of fabrics and linens, and I can usually find something to inspire me and pull me back in.

If that still doesn't work, then I don't fight it. Sometimes we just need a break from our everyday routine. I like to walk in the woods behind my house, usually with my camera in hand as it forces me to really look at my surroundings. Sometimes I'll do a short roadtrip to a local antique mall or junk store to hunt for materials to inspire me. For me, the blocks don't last very long and I've stopped getting stressed about them.

When you have your own business there are so many things that need to be done that aren't creative so, on days when I'm not feeling very inspired, I'll work on mundane tasks. Like ironing, or photographing products, or updating my books for taxes. I get impatient with these kinds of tasks when I am inspired, so it's the perfect thing when I'm not. Or maybe it's that they're so boring :)

Read more Studio Friday posts here. And happy second birthday, Studio Friday!

white out

This is what 15 inches of snow looks like. Our first real storm this winter, and all within a 24 hour period! I had the snowblower out twice yesterday because I figured I'd have more trouble the deeper the snow got. To the right in the picture is the corner of the screened porch and the snow is almost up to the part where the screen starts. Yikes! The pictures are from this morning and you can see more of them on my Flickr page.

By last night I was exhausted and freezing cold—you know that feeling that you just can't get warm. I curled up on the couch near the woodstove, with a blanket and my two cats curled up near my feet. Very cozy. And I finished one book—Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman (love her stuff) and started another—The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther (a first novel for her). Good thing I got to the library this week!

Stitch School: Fishbone

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Fishbone Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

Studio Friday: The perfect art book

"As I was talking about books so much lately... if there was the ideal book for you as an artist on studios and life as an artist what would be the absolute most important thing in your eyes for it to have in it? What kinds of topics, elements, images would you love to have in it? A few words from your favourite artist as well? What would inspire you, what would support you, give you courage? Would you like it to be a big book with tons of pages or a small book?"

Reading over the question again this morning, I think I missed the part about the book being about studios and life as an artist. I got stuck at the title. So I didn't really answer the question properly. But I'm already late and I'm sticking to my original plan :)

An art book should have beautiful photographs or drawings, of course. We expect to see the art itself. But what really interests me is seeing into the artists world and reading about their process. How does their personal environment inspire their work? How do they get from here (thought) to there (finished piece)? It should feel personal and conversational, like blog posts often do.

I have a couple of books like this that I return to again and again. One is called The Undercliff: A Naturalist's Sketchbook of the Devon to Dorset Coast by Elaine Franks and it's designed to look like pages from a sketchbook. Interspersed among the drawings are little hand-lettered paragraphs with stories and observations about the subjects she's drawn. It feels like a diary—very personal and as if you're peeking over her shoulder. I could spend hours admiring the detail she captures in each drawing.


Common Blue Butterfly, © Elaine Franks

Another book I love is Patchwork Folk Art by Janet Bolton, who creates fabric collages that are beautiful in their simplicity. In it she talks about how she begins with simple sketches (beautiful, too), then moves on to choosing shapes, fabrics and details, and finally to how she presents the final piece.


The Small Bird,© Janet Bolton

I buy a lot of art and craft books (probably too many) and I'm often disappointed. They have nice pictures but nothing that makes me want to return to them again and again. So, the perfect art book, to me, should have substance and depth along with pretty pictures. That's not a bad thing in people either :)

Read more Studio Friday posts here.

an old favorite

There are times, mostly during the winter, that I don't make it to the library. I intended to go inside last week when I dropped off my books, but the police had the street blocked off (?) and I drove around on a fruitless search for a parking space. I gave up looking, slipped my books into the drive-up book drop, and went on my way.


But, that left me with nothing new to read. So, I revisited an old favorite from my bookshelves—The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I'd read this a long time ago and picked up this newly-illustrated version at a book sale a couple of years ago.

It's been on my mind to reread this since my friend Camilla posted a picture of one of those weird English animals that we don't seem to have here in the states. When I asked what it was she said it was the same creature that Mr. Rat was based on—a water rat. Perhaps we do have them here but I've never seen one. This week she posted a picture of a toad (just like Mr. Toad!) on her new gardening blog.

Anyway, great book and worth a visit if you've never read it or can't remember when you did. I love the black and white cross-hatchy illustrations done by Patrick Benson in this version. He also did the art for the sequel The Willows in Winter by William Horwood, which I have not read and will add to my running list of books to look for. Yes, I have one of those and regularly carry it with me to the library!

Stitch School: Roumanian

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Roumanian Stitch post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.

spontaneity, or lack thereof

Q: Do you make a conscious effort to match your fabrics and notions or is that inherent in your taste?

Oh, I so wish I could be spontaneous and just throw together a crazy mix of things and have it work. But, I’m not. While I’m not exactly matchy-matchy (in clothing or fabric) I do like things to coordinate.

When I'm embroidering a piece myself to use in a project I can control the whole process. As I talked about a few days ago, I coordinate the thread colors for the embroidery with the fabrics I'll be using later. But that doesn't work with linens that are already embroidered. Sometimes I'll have the perfect fabric in my stash but not always. Then I have to wait to finish the project until I can locate the accompanying materials. Needless to say I have a lot of partially-completed pillows hanging around my studio.

Some day I’m going to force myself to work more spontaneously. I recently purchased Denyse Schmidt’s Quilts book and I loved one of her suggestions for when you get stuck when choosing fabric combinations:

If you find yourself experiencing too-many-fabrics-to-decide paralysis, try this technique: Cut a swatch from each of the fabrics you’re considering for a project and place them in a paper bag, Give the bag a shake and. without peeking, pick a swatch and use it. It’s surprising how freeing this technique can be, and you may end up with fabric combinations you love but would never have tried. In addition to shaking up your ideas about color, this exercise can make you feel connected (however obliquely) to quiltmakers from bygone days, when too much choice wasn’t an issue.



I've started working more with patchwork lately and I think this will be a good start towards spontaneity. And a way to use up those really small fabric scraps that I can't bear to throw out!

Studio Friday: PORTFOLIO!

"I've never put one together. I would be very interested to see and hear what everyone else has as a portfolio and what makes up one." ~ Jo

I don't talk about this much but I used to be art director of several children's magazines. One of my responsibilities was to review portfolios from illustrators who wanted to do work for us. It's not an exaggeration to say that I've seen hundreds (seems more like thousands) of portfolios. So I know a little about this subject :)

"An effective portfolio accurately represents the designer's abilities and skills in the best possible light. This means that it is clean and well put-together, and while it's nice to try to be a little different, a portfolio should not look gimmicky. The viewer should be more aware of the work than the portfolio itself. An effective portfolio illustrates the designer's self-presentation and communication abilities as well as showcasing the work."

Some basic portfolio "rules"—
• Since you should only show 10-15 samples make sure it's your very best work. Start off with your strongest piece, end with an equally strong one, and have a good solid middle.
• Keep your samples fresh. Anything older than 3 years should be taken out. People want to see what you're doing now, not what you did several years ago.
• Tailor your portfolio to the specific interview and show work that's relevant to that business.
• Have a sample that you can leave with the person you're showing the portfolio to. And make sure your contact info is on it.

I work in two fields so I have two portfolios. But even these are fluid as I add or subtract samples based on the needs of the clients I'm showing them to. My graphic design portfolio has a lot of publication design work but, if I'm meeting with a corporate client, I add more business-oriented samples.

For Primrose I have a book of designs that serves as a carry-along portfolio. It's hard to carry more than one actual pillow when I meet with shop owners about carrying my things in their stores. So, the portfolio serves as a showcase of past designs and hopefully covers the kinds of things they sell. While I like making the funky and colorful pillows best, some shops are more sweet and girly. I try to do some research ahead of time and tailor my samples to what I think will work best in their shop. Here's what the book looks like.



I print up the 8.5 x 11 individual sheets on photo paper and slip them into the plastic sleeves. It takes just minutes to replace old designs with new ones and I can tailor the pages specifically to a particular shop. For a leave-behind, I have business cards and my latest postcard with my contact information on it.

Shop owners (and art directors) are busy people so make the process as easy as possible for them. Anticipate their needs and make sure your portfolio reflects those needs. Pretty simple really :)

See more portfolios here.

help wanted

Update: Positions filled!

I've mentioned before that I'm going to start offering copies of some of my vintage stamped-for-embroidery patterns for sale on my website. My packaging supplies arrived yesterday and I have five sets printed up and packaged. And I'm looking for a few testers...er, guinea pigs... to give me some feedback.

The first five people (in the US please) to email me today at janet@primrosedesign.com with their mailing address will receive a set of four cute animal quilt block embroidery patterns—a bunny playing a drum, a bear tooting a horn, a kitten playing with a spool of ribbon and a puppy knitting. Here's one of them as a completed design on a pillow I made last year:



In exchange, you'll provide me with some honest feedback. Tell me what you think. Did they arrive safely? What would you pay for patterns like this? Did I forget anything important on the instruction sheet? Should a basic stitch guide be included? The patterns will be yours to keep as a thank you for your time.

Serious inquiries only ;)

Stitch School: Granitos

Stitch School has moved to it's very own space on the web! You'll now find the Granitos post here. Comments are now closed on this post; if you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the new one.