For embroidery lovers only

I think that must have been true then as it is now. You certainly have to love embroidery to make it through a project of this size!!!  This project is nearly 2' x 2'.

I have come back to my reproduction wool embroidery that has been pushed to the side for a very long time. I started this a year and a half ago, and I am determined that this year it will be done. To be honest I am a bit ashamed that it was left sitting so long. I will keep at it, although I do intend to go back to my other projects as well!

I've mentioned this project before, but I will again. It's been a long time. This project that I bought (it wasn't one of my own creations) is after an old pillow that was found in the south of Sweden. It's very typical with the colors and the folk-arty themes, as well as the black wool fabric too. Black was highly prized and a sign of wealth, since it was hard to make black.  The cushions were meant for use, not just for decoration like mine will be. The seats were hard wood, so a cushion was very welcome.

I've been a fan of these old embroideries for a while now. To me they tell a story of the joy of embroidery and decoration, as well as the joy in the creative process. I find them fascinating to look at and ponder.  The reproductions are fine and all, but the next one I do will be of my own design, because I think it's more important to use our arts and crafts to tell our own stories.

Now for some true cuteness. Around here, the little long-tailed tits are pretty much considered to be one of the cutest birds in existence! Whenever I hear them out there, I always stop to watch them because they are just so fun to watch!

February 2013: What is there to be afraid of?

That's the real title of my latest project but I will come back to that in a moment.

Last week I had a serious case of stitcher's block. Actually it's still there, but I can't let it stop me. It's not a lack of project ideas or designs or anything, but it's a matter of finding something that makes me want to actually pick up the needle. It's not a problem with motivation, it's a feeling that is grounded in something else.

So I tried a different approach. I picked up some materials that felt interesting to work with and used that as my start instead.

This is my free embroidery for February's journal project, and I call it Art from the heart. I didn't know what I was going to make when I started.  I started with a heart and went from there.

It wasn't at all inspired by Valentine's day. There was something else I was trying to remind myself of. And that is what is there to be afraid of? As the ongoing stitcher's block reminds me, what is stopping me from picking up my needles and materials and making something that flows out of me.

The lines on the heart represent how I feel about perfectionism. They trap us in, imprison us and prevent us from being ourselves. As I mentioned, I created this to remind myself not to let the mindless pursuit of perfection stop me.


I chose to do this project as a traditional Swedish style crewel embroidery, wool on wool. Thick wool felt is a popular material to do wool embroidery on here in Sweden. 

There is resistance where the thread meets the fabric, I can definitely say. And I won't say it's impossible, but exact, perfect stitches are hard to manage on this type of material. You have to accept that the overall effect is more important than the individual stitches.

We've had a little visitor a couple weeks ago!! This was exciting since owl-sightings are so rare.

This little pygmy owl stopped by one morning and sat in the bird box for about 10 minutes. I saw it go in. 

The owl is smaller than a cardinal. So small, but yet this bird is a predator of other little birds and small mammals.

No doubt it was here looking for breakfast. The peanuts and sunflower seeds flow freely here, so the little birds are always at hand.

January Embroidery Journal Project

Here I am finally! This time I have my embroidery journal project along with me.

This year I decided to give myself more freedom with the size of the project to allow the size to suit the project instead of the other way around. I like the 4 x 4 inch format though, so I will return to it in other projects.

This  little project I call Let your heart sing.  First a short mention of the techniques. I used an acrylic ink wash to color the fabric. Then I have coming crewel embroidery with raised embroidery.

I had the idea in my head, but it didn't quite take it's full shape until one of the commenters on Stitchin Fingers left a comment on the Folk Art Crewel Bird that it made her heart sing.

I thought that was such a nice thought that I decided to make it my theme for this month. This project is about joy. Find where your joy comes from and show it to people near you and especially yourself.

And don't forget to hear the bird's songs. They are full of the joy of living.

And by the way, you can find the tutorial for making beaded berries on my site.

Fall 2012 Blog Tour Stop

It's neither fall nor 2012, but I did have one final stop I lined up before Christmas. The holiday got in the way though, but it's always better late than never.

This final stop is Ann's lovely blog called Harvest Moon by Hand. Ann does quilting and embroidery and a good many other crafts. One of my favorite things about Ann's blog and work is how she finds ways to make everything personal. Symbolism and meaning in so much of what she does. It's a great way to help steer you through life. Ann was kind enough to answer a pile of questions I sent to her.

How long have you been embroidering? 
I learned how to embroider when I was in junior high school - about 35 years ago. At that time, cross-stitching was very popular so that's what I began with.

Why did you start?
I was in 4-H and it was one of the projects I enrolled in. It was a new hobby and skill I wanted to learn.

How did you learn to embroider?

I taught myself how to do cross-stitching. Then, after I adopted my daughters I began making handmade toys for them. I learned how to do other embroidery stitches by looking at pictures in books. This would have been in about 2003 or 2004...so about 9 years ago.

During the past year - 2012 - I did the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge. Each week for one year, a new stitch was presented. I learned how to do the stitches presented or found ones I wanted to learn when the stitch was too complicated or I knew I wouldn't use it again in the future. So, in 2012 I learned about 50 new stitches which was fun. The internet has been a valuable resource in terms of step-by-step instructions and/or videos for some of the more complicated stitches.

What are your favorite projects?

I definitely like combining embroidery with quilting; and some of my favorite projects are of this nature. I made a quilt a couple years ago that used sashiko embroidery. By the time I was done, I had done more than 10,000 stitches.

I also am happy to have done the Embroidery Journal Project during 2012. I did a 12"x12" quilt square each month that featured some of the activities and highlights of the particular month. During 2013, I'm going to sew the embroidered squares together along with other fabric to create a quilt of memories.

What inspires you?
Nature definitely inspires me. Living on a ten-acre farm, I'm always surrounded by nature and wildlife. I also am inspired by the work by other crafters and artists whose work I see on Flickr or Pinterest.

You've joined in the embroidery journal projects this year.  Have the projects been a help for you and if so how?  

Yes, the Embroidery Journal Project was a huge help to me this year. My father died on January 5, 2012, so the year started out on a difficult note. I wasn't sure what I would do with the EJP, but after my Dad died I knew that I wanted to focus on the positive elements of the year. This helped me deal with grieving and loss issues throughout the year. I feel like I have a positive quilt filled with lots of good memories to look back upon...despite the difficulties I was going through.

Do you have any advice for people who would like to learn more about personalizing their projects?

I try to look at the positive things that are happening in my life rather than dwell on the challenges. In that way, whatever you create radiates joy and good memories. 

You have some young children, do you think it's important to pass on the handicraft/making tradition to them?

Definitely! Both Sophia and Olivia learned how to do embroidery and other handicrafts when they were young - starting at about 5 years old. Teaching them basic and practical skills that will last their lifetime is important to me.

What else do you enjoy doing?

I enjoy reading, traveling, photography, bird watching/feeding, nature, and sewing.

You can also find Ann on Flickr and Etsy. Be sure to stop by her blog and say hi!

More Crewel Embroidery

Here I am once again with a new finish. The first for the new year! Although I have cheated by working on this during December too.

It's already been nearly a week since I finished this.

The color choices caused me great pains. I somehow managed to pull it together well enough for it to look alright, but my problem isn't that I don't know the colors I want to use, it's that I don't have them! I will keep collecting crewel colors until I have want I need!

New Beginnings

This was the theme I chose for my January 2012 embroidery journal project. Little did I know that that theme would stretch through the whole year. Actually, I purposefully didn't choose a theme. I didn't want to limit myself. I wanted the freedom to make a project for each month as it came.

Each of these projects have a meaning, something I was trying to convey, to remember. All of these I have done for myself. Most didn't even get any particular notice by the public, but that was never the goal. But each one is a new beginning of sorts. For me. I will go ahead and list them.

January - this project was created with the idea of new beginnings. I took a pencil and drew. What I came up with was a seed. The perfect new beginning.

Februrary - I did this little bird with crewel yarns. This has been a new thing this year. I have found threads that I love. When I pick them up and sort them out, they always make me feel like making something. Every time.

March - I rediscovered music. I got a clarinet and began playing it after years. It doesn't matter how good I ever become, what's important is the challenge it gives me. Another way to express myself, another front to grow on.

April - Spring is my favorite time of year. It came a little late this year, so it officially began in April.  The whole world explodes in joy.

May - I captured the tadpoles in stitches. As the squiggle about searching for food, growing, developing. New life is always amazing in any form.

June - This was my effort to capture my beginning point in free form embroidery. Abstractness never gets the interested that recognizable forms get.  But I would argue, that learning to abstract is a necessary skill for any artist (or there could be a good many other uses for such a skill), since we only ever make representations of things, and never the actual thing.

July - Moving in to color. This was me marking a point in beginning to really see color. It changes your world when you do this. I encourage everyone to try their hand at color journals, even if you are like me and don't make it far.

August - I was restless to try something different. A new way of thinking. I chose the idea of a gate into a magical forest world. It marks a beginning into a more fantasy-oriented place for me.

September - Sitting by the window reflecting on the light filtering through the maples. Fall can be glorious.

October - I was moved to try something new for me. I made this small project wtih the purpose of learning how to take advantage of the yarn's properties to create interest and texture. I hope this is just the beginning of this type of work.

November - My somewhat feeble attempt to capture the forest around me. Again, a beginning for creating richer, textured embroideries.

December - My crazy santa, based on real life! This is a beginning too. As I end the year, my thoughts turn to using art to tell a story. My own stories, real or imagined. I am not sure I could do a good job telling someone else's!

This year has been busy, it has practically flown away. I'm afraid this is how it is as you grow older. It becomes even more important to grab hold of the things that are important to you. Moments deserve to be remembered. They are the foundation of who we become.

Now as I said before I have come full-circle. This is a new beginning for me now. I have changed so much myself in the past year or two. I was restless, anxious, not sure what the heck I wanted to do about my work, embroidery, art, blogging, you name it. The way is hardly clearer now. It never is or will be, but perhaps I am more at ease with that. Uncertainty is a difficult thing for us humans. But through art, you can learn to embrace it. Appreciate that it can mean a great many good things if you let it.  Explorations and discoveries await around every corner.

I can't go back to the way I used to blog anymore. It isn't interesting, it stops me in my tracks, every time. My projects are lovely and all, but they are not the important part. It's what I learn from them.  About myself, about the world, and how well I can inspire and challenge others with them.

I will end with the words I steal from a post I just made about the embroidery journal project, which I do hope you can find a few minutes to read:

This is the time to look ahead to 2013. To be thankful for the days we have together. To fill them with meaning and purpose and joy. To be better than we are now. 

Peace n Love!

I had this design idea sitting around for weeks before I finally came around and decided it was time to make it. I'm glad I did! Really glad even.

I can honestly say this one was fun, very fun even. Soft wools, bright colors, fun shapes. I think I shouldn't have waited so long! Now I have another idea brewing that's in a similar style. Maybe even more shades!

This will be another square in my crewel squares project.