Flowers; Works of Art

Hand embroidered flowers are so beautiful! Of course, nothing compares to the exquisite magnificence of living flowers, however, even a handmade representation makes my heart sing. 

(Notes: book author is マカベアリス  Alice Makabe a designer/artist from Japan. You may find her here: @alice_makabe)

Cute Birdie from Sweet Stitches book by Aneela Hoey

As promised, here is a closer look at the cute birdie from the Sweet Stitches book (which I mentioned in more detail, fourth picture on this post). 
All embroidery threads are DMC skeins, color numbers I to use: 22, 326, 3781, 3881, 3895. Stitches used: Running Stitch (bird's body and legs), Back Stitch (birdie's chest / belly), Chain Stitch (cherries) Straight Stitch (beak and eye) , Stem Stitch (cherries' stems).
It is a very simple design and so cute!

Here is the picture that I posted before.
Perhaps, later on, I may want to stitch it again in a different color combo. That is, after making progress on some of my other projects... like the ones mentioned on previous post.
Until next time! 

New and Vintage Embroidery Transfer / Patterns Haul

Things didn't turn out as I was expecting these past few days... kids appointments were put on hold do to myself having to do an unexpected medical visit. A couple test pending. With all that anxiety, besides prayers, I did some retail therapy. One of my purchases was from Wings of the Morning on Etsy. Nothing better than super cute vintage embroidery transfers that evoke nostalgia and sweet memories of long ago. I had great customer service from Amy! Perhaps you may want to go check her shop out, there are still a few treasures to be found!

She even included this lovely gift! I tell you, around here it is so hard to find vintage embroidery transfers. So I'm grateful to have these on my stash now! My mom was the one who introduced me to embroidery (as I posted on a previous blog entry), vintage transfers remind me of her. Hand embroidery is therapeutic in so many ways for me!

So I will go thru the box little by little to distract myself while awaiting my upcoming tests, and of course take care of my kids appointments. Maybe I can find a few vintage designs I could share here. 

Kathy Schmitz released this pattern today! It is a PDF available in her Etsy shop, and her website. It'll be used for a stitch-along starting March 16th, not sure if I'm going to be able to wait to start mine, LOL. I'll be transferring it soon and have it ready... will try to wait.

Also added this book to my stash, a new book from Annela Hoey. Solely iron on transfers from designs on her previous books and a few new ones as well, there are a couple of design elements that are repeated a few times (for example a design of a small pair of embroidery scissors, the same pair of scissors appears in 3 designs). Not a biggie.
This cute birdie was a pattern Aneela use to sell in her shop (not sure now). I always liked it and wanted to stitch it, but I do not use PayPal... 3 times my info was compromised, very bitter experiences. Since canceling my account I've never gone back, not even use the feature of not needing an account to buy. Thereby, so glad to have found that this cutie was part of the patterns in this book purchased from Amazon. Didn't waste time and stitched it right away! Will post a close up later detailing the stitches used.

Here is a 'just for fun shot', organizing work-in-progress projects and getting ready to start new ones... like the cutie birdie that is now all done ;-). I'll expound a bit more on this on a future post.
So, tell me... do you sometimes do retail therapy? ;-)
Have a nice weekend! Until next time!

Dreaming of Spring

Cold rainy days are not good for autoinflammatory illnesses. Despite the achey stiff joints... so thankfully I managed to get laundry done, just a couple of loads that were pending. Dinner is done too; Savory Herb Chicken with carrots, potatoes (in the electric multi-cooker pot done in less than 20 minutes) also added broccoli and a side of  rice. 

 Cold rainy weather is perfect for stews, and hearty soups... but I'm so looking forward to warmer weather and all the pretty blooms in spring! In the meantime I leave you with some eye candy from one of my Japanese embroidery books in my collection. My apologies if already posted about it... can't remember.

 This book is by Kazuko Aoki. Her specialty is on the embroidery of plants you may find in a flower or vegetable garden. This particular book is all about flowers, embroidered using common stitches.

 Perhaps in the future I'll post other tiny peeks of some of the other books in my collection by Kazuko Aoki. In fact there have been some already translated to English, I got one from Amazon, if you do a search you'll be able to preview it. It is entitled The Embroidered Garden... on one of my old posts (here) there is a peek of it.

 As I've mentioned in the past, I love Japanese embroidery books! A basic knowledge of embroidery is all you need in order to understand the well illustrated diagrams/pictures. The art of needlework transcends multi-cultural, international barriers!

Well, I better get dinner on the table! Until next time!

New Fall Projects, A WIP Update, and an Outing.

What a month October proved to be! Looking forward to a beautiful November! I started a new towel.

This English Paper Piecing project below, it is the one I made reference to on my last post.  I'm using autumnal fabric prints, mixed with a few hand embroidered 1" hexagons (hexies). It will become a bedside table mug rug. The stitcheries are part of various patterns by Mollie Johanson at Wild Olive blog.


While on an outing I worked a bit more on this work-in-progress (aka: WIP) kitchen towel. Only a few more stitches left to complete it.

It is very interesting to me that I'm not able to read in a moving car without getting carsick, but hand embroidering is not a problem :-).

Well, enough "chatting" for now. I need to keep moving in order to accomplish today's To Do list. 

Hoping all of you are doing well! Have a great weekend!

Summer Doings

Our summers tend to be busy; fun outings with the kids & friends, volunteer work, and yearly spiritually upbuilding Regional Convention. The basement in our new place is in the process of being finished which adds to an already hectic, but productive schedule.

Lately, when sitting to rest, I don't really feel like stitching... 3rd utility towel with the fruit theme is not done yet. However, while sitting I've been inclined to read for entertainment, transporting my thoughts to beautiful country sceneries (just finished A Fine Romance: Falling in Love With the English Countryside by Susan Branch), or looking out for autumn weather recipes (my favorite weather!), and just admiring the lovely embroidery in my stash of hand embroidery books. 

Didn't even get to bake the beer bread, will leave it for September.  Might even make it with apple or pear cider instead. 
Many of you might be also busy with vegetable or rose gardens. The heat is unbearable at times. We try to schedule our activities in the morning whenever possible. Whichever your summer doings are.... stay hydrated & cool! 

Gladiolus Update and...

Here is my finished gladiolus! Definitely in love with stitching flowers. Embroidered flowers have a very long lifespan ;-). Plus the only bugs around are cute and harmless... like that cute bee needleminder.

Was able to complete my personal volunteering time goal for this month! Very thankful and happy for it!
(Picture below just for eye candy.)

April started with getting ready for upcoming move. Guess what was the first two things I packed? Yes, all my fabrics and craft books... LOL. All my collection of books didn't make it, sadly, no space for all of them (at least not for some time). Donating many to local library, and listed some in my Etsy shop. The link is on the side bar just in case you fancy a peek ;-). 

These pictured above are the ones I've listed so far, with a few more to come soon. Three of the listings are already gone! So grateful for that!

Well, I'll try to pop in again soon to show you another completed embroidery. It's already posted on my Instagram just in case you rather see it sooner than later :-D ! Till later, enjoy the rest of the week!

Stash Enhancements: Japanese Embroidery Books

On our recent trip to New York City we stopped by Kinokuniya (Japanese bookstore), at my request ;-). We were just a few blocks away so we walked there.

My husband and kids were so patient. I browsed the entire hand embroidery section and a bit of the patchwork section as well. The kids requested to browse the Sanrio section... which I happily obliged.

Here are our spoils!

Three books for my ever growing Japanese embroidery book collection. Which I may never get to make something out of each one of them... but, hey, collections are mainly for looking at ;-). Right? Like teacup collections, spoon collections, thimble collections, you name it.

The kids also got a couple cute folders for their homework... ok, ok, that top one is mine... LOL. 

It was fun to visit NYC once more! Especially since we got to tour all the Bethel facilities and the Stanley Theater in NJ.

I'm still catching up on things around here, better go! 

Until next time!

Japanese Embroidery Books Collection

Some of us enjoy collecting things. Do you? One of my favorite things to collect are Japanese embroidery books, they are so cute! My other favorite collection is of Aunt Martha's embroidery patterns. Perhaps you already knew this about me ;-).

When it comes to Japanese embroider books, I collect them for inspiration, motivation, and just for pure embroidery eye candy! Don't mind at all if I never get to make something from each of my books, in reality that'll be kind of impossible. 

My collection was started the year I was diagnosed with a life threatening illness from which, thanks to God, I'm able to call myself a survivor. During that trial-some time, (besides trying to keep myself built up spiritually, and surrounding myself with family/friends, and lots of positive thoughts) starting this collection gave me something to do and look forward to, especially since I wasn't able to be out and about. So much cuteness and beauty in each page gave me something to dream of that was at reach.

Nowadays living with a chronic illness is challenging, but it's not life threatening... from which I'm so very thankful for! These books keep having the same effect on me, they help with cheering one up a bit when in pain, however I'm not attached. They are just things, and "things" don't give me life and/or love. When I'm not able to participate in volunteer work (which is the activity I truly enjoy the most) these books serve a purpose; a therapeutic distraction from pain, especially when I get to make something from them! 

That's actually what this embroidery hobby is for me.. a therapy! My collection is still growing here and there. I have plans to have some fun making a few projects from some of these books once I complete certain in-the-making projects for some very special friends. In the meantime they keep entertaining me on challenging days, and helping me dream of better times ahead - Isaiah 33:24 / Revelation 21:3,4.

Do you have a special collection(s)? How did it started? Do you see your collection being complete at some point in time? Please do share! ;-) Below are a couple of pictures of the craft section of a visit to a Japanese embroidery book store in NY city. That was in 2011, how I wished I had more time to stay and browse more than what I did that day! Maybe some other time!

Hope y'all have a great weekend! 

Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork

I've been looking for this book for awhile, and finally was able to find it at a reasonable price from an Amazon seller from the UK.

It arrived in two weeks and was in better condition than stated in the listing, to my delight. Here are a few peeks of "Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork" by Priscilla M. Warner.

An embroidery sampler. To practice the various stitches that will be helpful to know in order to make the book's main project.

Here is the only picture in the book portraying the book's main project. It's a English Paper Pieced quilt, using scraps of fabric basted to hexagon shapes, with quite a few embroidered hexagons.

Do you see that subtitle under Patchwork, it reads: "Advantages Of Hoarding... ", LOL. I guess hoarding fabric has been around for many years ;-). This book is a 2nd edition from 1960, the 1st edition was published in 1950. So you see, hoarding fabric could be a good thing! 

The designs are really cute, perfect for making projects for little ones. There is another hard to find book by Priscilla M. Warner that I will love to add to my collection, it is entitled "Embroidery Mary". I haven't seen it available at this moment, and if it does come up it might cost an arm and a leg. Anyways, I'm glad I was able to find this one!
What hard to find item(s) do you like to collect?

Until next time!

Throwback Tuesday: This Little Piggy Went To The Market

Miss Piggy was stitched few years ago, more precisely four years ago in 2010, shortly after I got the book. It was a very quick and simple embroidery project, the kind that makes you smile every time you look at it. 

I used the pattern provided in the "Embroidery Craft: Stitching through the Seasons" book by Vicki Haninger. This book is a lovely book with a warm vintage charm to it. It for sure is a pick-me-upper in days like this one filled with nostalgia. 

As you can see, I haven't done anything with her yet. Perhaps she could fit on a small quilt among the hand pieced blocks I'm slowly working on, so I may have to stitch a few other blocks -eventually- to even things out a bit ...hmmm, we'll see. 

What I should be focusing on is on my CQ block Task 5. I'm sure hopping to be back on track once I'm able to shake off the blues.

Non-affiliated links:
Embroidery Craft book on Amazon (nice preview).
Embroidery Craft book on Vicki's blog (nice introduction and previews here and here).

Stash Additions: Embroidery Books

The 1st one, on the picture above, is 

Colour Confidence in Embroidery by Trish Burr.

I have 3 other books and a DVD from her and I really admire

her work and really like her method of teaching.

To me this particular one (above) is a seminar/workshop on color

 in a book. 

Mary from Needle N Thread wrote a

very nice review on it on her website in case you like to

know more. 

The 2nd book is the one below,

Ma Vraie Nature by Sylvie Blondeau.

Very cute and simple embroidery, it is in French however

you don't really need to know French in order to trace and stitch

the patterns in it ;-). 

I happen to have in my stash one of her other books,

very cute as well but is mostly on applique for children.