Fabulous Friday: Learn How to Embroider

(I set blogger to post this yesterday at 8am. Wonder why it did not?) 

Embroidery is like painting with thread. Don't know where I heard or read that, but it is true. 

It can delight, frustrate, calm, relax, and allow one to express themselves in an age old medium. Ancient civilizations used embroidery on garments.

There are almost as many styles of embroidery as there are brands of threads and fabrics from which to choose.

There is basic embroidery that can be utilized to create simple 

 or elaborate works.

(Sorry, that's sideways)

 These are some I've stitched.

There is redwork, blackwork, and chicken scratch.

There's the whole 'nother category of Cross-stitch which can be counted or not.

Yeppers, stitched this one too.

And there's crewel embroidery that usually means using wool or wool-like yarn for your stitching.

Whew!

It is always wonderful if you have someone to teach you - as my [Grand]Mama taught me. But, if not, there's a plethora of resources available!

Books are good - like any of the books written by Erica Wilson - THE Queen of Crewel Embroidery

Or by Jenny Hart - THE Queen of Embroidery's current revival!

I also like online tutorials.

My pal Wendi Gratz is on a mission to teach everyone how to sew but takes time to add embroidery to the fun!

http://www.dmc-usa.com/Education/Technique/Embroidery.aspx

http://www.sublimestitching.com/

http://wendigratz.blogspot.com/p/embroidery-lessons.html

Stop in next Fabulous Friday, February (already!?) 1st 

for some more resources, tips and 

some vintage patterns!!!

Have a Fabulous Friday and Weekend! 

Welcome Along 2012

Ah, a New Year!

I am so ready! 

Looked outside at the seriously too warm for Winter weather and thought, "looks the same to me."

The calender flips and nothing has changed.

Good. 

I like sameness.

Not that I am an advocate for the status quo mind you. 

I actually like to think of myself as a one woman Crew of Anarchy. 

But, as I am also The Queen of Pro Crasty Nation, not much upheaval is achieved here in our cozy new home.

I want to change that in some ways. 

Not that I ever anticipate giving up my Crown but 

some changes would be good.

Thus I think I shall dub 2012 "The Year of Along."

Look over to the right there -------->

I have joined a couple of Stitch Alongs.

My pal Jodi of Pleasant Home is going to help me, and lots of us, use up all those scraps we can't bear to throw away with 

her 2012 Sew Scraps Along.

New to me blogger, Karen of Sew Much 2 Luv, is hostessing 

the 2012 After Christmas Sew Along.

Karen's giveaway includes weekly prizes! 

Both gal's blogs are chock full of tutorials and beautiful ideas and inspirations.

Jodi's Quick Pinwheel Table Runner 

inspired my Pinwheel quilt for GrandBaby A.

Karen makes the cutest stuff. 

I love combining stitching (Cross or embroidery) and sewing as she did in this little bag!

I want to sew more. 

I want to embroider more.

I want to knit more.

I want to read more.

For Fun.

For myself. 

Even for profit. 

For my sanity.

Join me in welcoming the New Year with a renewed love for whatever is your favorite craft or your passion.

What do you want to bring along to the New Year?

What Have You Been Doing?

I have days that I feel as if I have been so busy but that produce little in the way of "getting things done."
How about you?

I often find myself doing what I want to do rather than what I "need" to be doing.

Lately I have been re-inspired to embroider and cross-stitch.

It is so much more fun than doing the laundry or dusting.

 

I made this one up.

It's a fire in honor of our first ever Fire-Pit party back in December.

I'll show you when it's finished.

 

This is a Kristy Kizzee design. I won

Zombie Cross-Stitch kit by Erika Kern and Kristy Kizzee!

I'm stitching it with waste canvas on black fabric that will soon (hopefully) be a shirt for BillHubby.

I'm taking poetic license with the colors. I just started stitching again and didn't have all the absolute exact DMC flosses. And there's no way BillHubby is goin around 

with a blonde on his shirt!

Kristy's etsy shop - Bombastitch

The Fabulous mr x stitch's review of the kit I won!

The last couple of weeks have been stressful so I escaped into an old habit.

Backtracking a wee bit - in First Grade I determined that my crayons at school and those of my best friend should be arranged thusly - yellow, orange, blue, purple, red, green, brown and black.

I do not know why. 

I still arrange things in this order.

Since 1964!

Anyway, my doodles are most often a design surrounded by progressively bigger outlines of said doodle. If I use crayons or colored pencils or markers I always start with yellow and so on. (Oh please, someone analyze this for me!)

So this flower was born.

When I finished it the other day I felt so happy and cleansed of all 

that had been plaguing my brain.

I leave you with, as Jon Stewart says, 

"your moment of zen." 

Is there anything more peaceful than tired kittehs curled up for a nap?

Kitteh Kitteh Lovey and Stanley

P.S. Coming soon! Blogiversary and new etsy shop items!

P.P.S. Please go check out Jodi's Blog and her fab Giveaway!!!

And so it begins........ And A Give Away!

September! I love September!

Fall is really in the air with a mild and breezy 77 degrees here in central North Carolina.

The windows are open and the sheers are fluttering.

Atlantic Coast Conference football kicks off Thursday night with the Gamecocks (booooo!) of South Carolina traveling to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack!! Don't call our house - we'll be glued to ESPN!

Tonight, my son, Jordan and his band, 100 Yorktown, are releasing their new CD in Greensboro at The Blind Tiger. Admission is free if you are over 21. It will be a Par-Tay!!!!


I will be 50 years old on the 17th. Laughed really hard at the mail box today when this arrived -









There are so many wonderful resources on this here internets! Check out the Give-away folks over there to the left. Prizes galore!


This is National Sewing Month!



I plan to sew everyday. I have so much fabric that I should never even think about looking at at fabric store nor website shop! But you know I will.

Check out these fun month long promotions:

The FabShop Hop offers a chance to check out 100's of online shops and to win prizes.

The CraftShop Shuffle is a "searching" game that leads you from one craft shop to another in order to find and register DAISY, our disco bird at each shop visited. The goal is to locate all of the birds.

Everyone who achieves this goal is automatically registered to win the grand prize picked especially for each different shuffle. In addition, anyone who locates at least half of the birds will be placed in a drawing for one of the gift certificates provided by the participating shops.

and.........

Love Mystery Quilts? We have just the thing to give you the opportunity to visit online shops while earning a Mystery Quilt Dash pattern!

Here are some great online sources for inspiration and free patterns:

All people quilt

Apron Patterns and more

Anna Maria Horner, author of Seams To Me, has tutorials galore!

Coats and Clark, the thread and yarn folks, have lots of patterns.

More patterns at Craft Pudding - cute embroidery!!

Pink Chalk - Free patterns and fab fabrics!

Wee Wonderfuls

Amy Butler - Free patterns. Who doesn't love Amy's fabric!?

Living Creatively - way too much stuff and fun!

Burda Free patterns - yes, the pattern company offers free patterns!

Indygo Junction - I want it all!!!!!

I bet you have many bookmarked just as I do!! There are literally days that I am so busy reading blogs and creative websites that i forget to eat lunch!

Now I have a little more business to share with you.

GIVE AWAY TIME!!!!!!!

(One of many I hope to have this birthday month!)

2 PRIZE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE:

500 Business Cards

Winners may choose size: 2x3.5”, 2x3”, 2x2";

paper: 14pt card stock (matte or gloss coating) & 13 pt card stock uncoated

color: (4/4) Color both sides; (4/1) Color 1 side , B/W backside;

(4/0) Color 1 side, black backside

Shipping must be paid by Winner.

Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY.

You know you need some new business cards, don't cha? I know I do. I usually make my own but to win some would be cost effective and time saving! Check out their full range of beautiful products and great deals. They even have die-cut cards!

To win simply leave me a message below about how you will use the 500 Cards if you win.

If you are a twitterer and tweet about the give away, please come back and leave another comment for one more chance to win.

I will do the random generator thingy to choose 2 winners on Wednesday, September 10th.

And really last but not least, here's what I am working on for Jordan. Don't all rock'n'rollers need western style shirts?