Blog / embroidery

For a dear friend's birthday last week, I stitched up one of Jenny Hart's bluebirds (the transfer is available in Embroidered Effects). The pattern reminded me a lot of the sparrow necklace that my friend often wears, so I knew it was the perfect motif for her gift.

Inspired by my friend's living room, which is filled with yellow accents, I used gray embroidery floss and a vintage yellow napkin that my mom sent to me after cleaning out one of her linen drawers. I used a chain stitch for the entire piece.

For those of you lucky enough to be in the Seattle area on Friday, you should stop by Assemble Gallery and Studio's May Artwalk Extravaganza. In addition to the opening of their show of Emily Katz's embroidery work, Assemble is also hosting an embroidery contest with the theme, "Not for All the Tea in China.

I visited and fell in love with Assemble during our trip to Seattle, and I'm so excited to have the chance to participate in their contest. My piece, which is currently untitled, will be on display alongside the other entries starting on Friday. 

The eleven-by-eleven-inch piece of fabric features cross-stitch text in the center (the first time I've ever done cross-stitch on a surface other than aida cloth), French knots (of course!), large isolated chain stitches, and buttonhole stitches (which I learned how to do during an embroidery class with Rachel Hobson at The Stitch Lab).

I chose the design after a lot (a lot!) of deliberation. I ultimately decided to stitch a phrase that was a variation on my husband's response to the question, "What wouldn't you trade for all the tea in China?" The flower frame was inspired by the Liberty of London line of products that recently hit Target shelves--and the floral storage box I picked up from the clearance shelf during a shopping trip last weekend in particular.

For those of you that can, I do hope you'll stop by the event, check out the entries and vote for your favorite one, and support a great crafty and creative space.

UPDATE: Though my piece didn't win the contest (you can see the winning entry here), it did sell. Thank you for all of your lovely comments, both here and on Flickr!

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of taking the Artistic Embroidery class with Kat McTee at The Stitch Lab in South Austin. After falling in love with a doily-themed embroidery project, I knew I wanted to try out something similar.

I started off using a simple circular design that I found in a book at the sewing studio. I transferred the design to my piece of linen and then started stitching, embellishing the pattern as I went along. I experimented with a variety of stitches, including a modified blanket fan, to create a sampler of sorts.

 

One of my favorite sections of the doily is its center, which features a cluster of French knots.

I finally framed the piece last week and finished the back off with a vintage sheet.

So in exchange for the matryoshka cross-stitch I sent Adaiha, she stitched up this adorable crafty kitty for me, using this vintage transfer from doe-c-doe's Flickr stream.

I love the little cross-stitch details, especially the little x's that form the pattern on the fabric spilling out of basket below.

The back of the hoop is finished off beautifully with a piece of goldenrod floral fabric.