Hi There Hammy

I forgot to put this picture  of the tins all together up during the last craftitude post, so here they are! Finding that embroidery this morning reminded me to hunt this up and put it up.

I’ve been putting more and more photos up on Flickr recently and finding some great design ideas at the same time. This morning I was cruising through the people who have favorited one or more of my embroidery photos when I discovered this little beauty tucked away in Chickenfoot’s “favorites”! Oh this makes me so happy!

Marilynkb bought one of my Manimals patterns and here I am, actually getting to see how it turned out! I never imagined how thrilling it would be to stumble on someone else’s interpretation of a pattern I’ve made. I think they turned out so well. Oh it’s a good day!

I haven’t been completely idle the last week or so. Instead, I’ve been doodling around with these things…    

I’ve been particularly excited about these two new tins. Can you guess who they’re portraits of? They turned out just as well as I thought they would. And they gave me the chance to try out a few new ideas like clusters of french knots for some interesting texture.

French knotty beard.

I’m officially an RS here now (the equivalent of an RA) I decided that we needed a new door sign for our apartment. Just in case someone gets lost. I just finished the stitchery bits but I haven’t quite decided how to finish and hang it. I got to use this new technique where I draw something (like letters) on a piece of paper, then pin it to the fabric and stitch along the lines on the paper, and then cut and pull the paper out from under the stitches. It means that I was able to get some really straight and accurate lines (can you tell which font I used?) but the stitches were a wee bit strained when I pulled the paper out from under them. Over all, I’m pretty pleased with the results… AND I wanted to try to recreate a display I saw in the windows at Anthropologie in Portland. They clustered a few dozen papier mache spheres together and put some little treasures in them. I love the idea and I’m going to make some more shortly. If you’re curious about the kinds of extremely wonderful things that Anthropologie does with their displays, you can see some over at 2 Sisters, 2 Coasts, 2 Opinions.

Over the holidays I made some embroidery patterns, tested them out and decided that they would be a great new embroidered recycled tin series. These wee suited people will be making an appearance in the etsy shop soon but you can feast your eyes upon them here for now. Enjoy!

I may be home for the holidays but I’m still doing some things. I’ve been churning out some embroidery patterns which has been fun, but also means I spend more time on the computer than usual, trying to retrace all of my scribbly little hand drawn patterns. Having these patterns means I can have things in the shop even when I’m away from homebase, like I am now.

These three guys make up the new Octopiddle embroidery pattern up in the shop only a matter of minutes ago!

And then there’s Bea the Bunny who joined the shop as a pattern yesterday. I really like this one…

And I’ve been making some little pocket bunnies. They’re about three inches tall from their bases to the tops of their round little heads and quite fun to make. They’re stuffed with wool and have some rice in their bases to give them a little bit of heft. I love stuffing the things I make with wool instead of polyfil. The wool compacts nicer and gives everything a more solid, satisfying feel. I’d love to get my hands on some lavender or other herbs to put in the next batch.

Welcome to the new embroidery patterns in the etsy shop!

Manimals!

Leo Le Lion, the sweetest embroidered lion you’ll ever meet…

I’ve been doing some small crafty things. I knit Joe a hat for Christmas and, since I couldn’t wait until that crazy holiday to give it to him I also decided to write a pattern for it and have him pose for some pictures. So, the pattern is in the etsy shop (check it out!) and the hat has been on his head ever since…

I also started a new series of tins. I’ve run out of the actual tins until after Christmas, but I’m busy making the embroideries that will go on them when they reach my sweat, busy little fingers.

Foxy Suit And a quiet Deery…

Stay tuned for these guys in the shop after the holidays.

via: Feeling Stitchy

Heyo, they’ve got the right idea! Villagers in Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset have re-purposed an old phone booth, turning it into a wee free library. Villagers can use the booth at any hour and exchange a book they’ve already read for a new one. Apparently this phone booth is just one of many being re-purposed as part of a national program (they are purchased for 1 pound) although the others have been turned into other things like toilets or art installations.

Via: BoingBoing/BBC News

Yes, there’s another addition to the tin collection and yes, it’s totally a chicken!

Margie the Hen is up in the shop with her buddies.

The gang, together at last…

I’ve been coveting the creations over at Penguin & Fish for some time now, ever since I saw the little horsies. They remind me of the Mr. Lunch because of how the eyes are placed on their heads. They have kitties, horses and embroidery patterns that you can buy and buy and buy. I wish their descriptions and names were as cute as they are though.

F Fox Embroidery Pattern

Unicorn #40