A squirrely update

No, my Blue Squirrel isn't on fire or victim of a vicious attack. The orange thing underneath him, is supposed to be some sort of toadstool, something similar to this.  The colours are fairly bright and a little out of my comfort zone, but it's good to challenge yourself sometimes. The only regret I have, is that I used just a scrap of fabric to stitch on. It's a bit of a hassle with that tiny hoop... The squirrel is from this retired pattern. Looks very different in blue doesn't it?

In other news: my Shading Workshop started last week and the good news is that I'm running it again this Fall! Sign up will be open early August. :)

Secret Garden Embroidery

My stitchy friend Sophie (aka What Delilah Did) has released a new book called Secret Garden Embroidery and it's really lovely so I'm excited to share some of the wonderful projects with you today. The best thing about Sophie's books is that each book is a little different from the one before, but still has the same timeless, unique style that many of us love. Secret Garden Embroidery is no exception and with its 15 projects a fabulous resource for both beginning and more advanced stitchers.

One of three Lace Wing Butterfly patterns in the book

Sophie's first book, Storyland Cross Stitch had a lot of her signature style silhouette designs in mostly muted colours. Stitch the Halls, the Christmas book, featured more colour and lots of fun stitch ideas for Christmas decorations. Secret Garden Embroidery is all about botanical and garden themed projects, framed in stories about Miss Merriweather's Thistledown Farmhouse. The book is elegantly illustrated by Katt Frank and the beautiful photography is by Rachel Whiting.

Are you ready to join me for a short walk to Thistledown Farmhouse and have a look around? Be prepared for lots of delicate stitching and gorgeous muted colour palettes!
First, we visit the Vegetable Garden...

And look...here are some cute bugs (and a spider too)!

You cannot leave Thistledown Farmhouse without meeting Miss Millicent Hare...

The first chapter of Secret Garden Embroidery deals with stitches and supplies used for the book's projects. All of the projects are counted embroidery or cross stitch. The larger patterns are included in an envelope at the back of the book, the other patterns are printed in the book.

I think the real fun is in how to make the lovely designs work for you. If you are not into belts you can stitch the pattern on a bag. And colours are easily changed too. The bugs look fabulous on a magnet but would look great on a table cloth or on napkins as well.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into What Delilah Did's Secret Garden! Secret Garden Embroidery is published by Pavilion Books and available now. You can buy the book from Sophie's store (and have it signed too!) and many other bookstores.

Designer Insights with...me!

A little while ago I was asked to answer a few questions about my design process. I chose some craft/embroidery favourites as well. If you are interested you can read more below or here. :)

For some reasons I couldn't find links in the article for my 'Top Choices'. So from one to five (although I didn't put them in a particular order):
1. Satsuma Street Patterns. This one is called Pretty Little San Francisco and just this week Pretty Little Hong Kong came out.
2. Sophie Simpons' new book Secret Garden Embroidery (which I will be reviewing next week!)
3. Heather Ross' new fabric line Tiger Lily 
4. Needlepoint kit Kumo by POMPOM Design. I interviewed POMPOM Design founder Helena on the &Stitches blog last week.
5. Lovely The beaks, the birch and the bees design by Hanna Mason found on Spoonflower (via Pinterest)

Courtesy of: Terrys Fabrics

A Fine Pen: Trying a New Iron-on Transfer pen

A few weeks ago I received a new Sublime Stitching invention: the Fine Tip Iron-on Transfer Pen.* Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Could this new pen resolve the issues I have with Iron-on pens? I think it does!

My main problem with iron-on pens (I used Sulky Pens in the past) is the thick lines they produce. You need a minimum of four strands to cover the design. Another issue is the uneven distribution of ink when tracing a design. I tried out the Sublime Stitching Fine Tip Pen with a small Squirrel design, which I traced without blobs or other unwanted side-effects onto tracing paper. The ink is permanent so make sure you trace the design carefully.

I followed the instructions on the package and pre-heated my fabric (a small scrap of lovely quality cotton satin) and then put the tracing paper on top, with the ink-side down. After pressing briefly with a hot iron (no more than 10 seconds) this is the result:

The lines of the transferred Squirrel are nice and even. Maybe not as thin as the original design but definitely thin enough to cover if you stitch with two strands or more. I'm fill stitching my Squirrel so the transfer works out fine for me. The ink transfers several times and you can always re-trace the design of course. For really detailed or delicate work I will still use a regular pencil to trace a design but I'm charmed by Sublime Stitching's Fine Tip Pen and think it's a great addition to my embroidery tool kit. The Fine Tip Pen is available in five different colours and costs $6.50 (or $25 for a set of five)

Oh and this is the Squirrel with a little bit of stitching done.

It's supposed to be a Turquoise Squirrel but he looks more Blue to me. Either way, the colour choice is very different from what I usually would choose to stitch a furry creature but I so enjoy stitching this!

*I received this pen without obligations to try it or write about it. As always all my opinions are my own. So if I like something, I really like it :) 

Say Hello to Wave Goodbye with 20% off!

It happens to be very warm today here in the Netherlands and I thought it would be fun to offer you my most Summer-like pattern with a discount. Only this weekend (and only in the Follow the White Bunny Shop) you can purchase the Wave Goodbye Iron-on pattern with 20% off! All you have to do is enter the code 'WAVEGOODBYE' on checkout. Offer ends Sunday at 12 PM CET. Happy Summer Stitching everyone!