Early Bird

 This is the piece I've been working on since January in preparation for the class later this year.  I like how it's turning out although it's taking me a little longer than I planned to because I'm writing down a lot of details. After I have finished this (and I'm guessing there's about 8-10 hours of stitching left) I really want to embroider another small furry creature! 

Shading Extravaganza

I'm trying my best to put a super fabulous online class together, as well as kits to go with it (and feed the family from time to time and conquer mountains of washing) so posting on this blog might be a little less frequent the coming months. I hope this Shading Extravaganza makes up for it....You guessed it, my online workshop will involve a good portion of shading but I'm putting my own spin on it. It's 'shading for the uninitiated', so if you have some basic embroidery skills and want to really learn something (instead of copying an example to the exact stitch) this might be a good one for you. :)

Come and join me in some Furry Stitching

Polar Bear stitched by Jorie

Preparations for the second Furry Nice Class are in full swing (you can still sign up but hurry!) so I thought I'd share some of the fabulous things my students made in the first Furry Nice Class and tell you a little bit about the class. Just in case you were interested in joining in. Pictured above is Jorie's version of the Polar Bear pattern that students receive at the start of the course. All the elements I talk about in the class, such as stitching animals furs, how to create depth in your embroidery and basic shading techniques, come together in this small design!

Polar Bear in Progress stitched by Kim

Throughout the class students get to download additional patterns (a sailor fox, a lucky bunny and more) to practice their newly learned techniques. The Beetle is part of the Shading Practice Pattern Sheet for example. A beetle may not be furry but it's a good design for trying out shading techniques. Central in the class is the Polar Bear design though, step by step I explain how I stitched my version and why I use certain stitches, colours or techniques.

Beetle stitched by Michelle aka Mooshie

Teaching an online class has advantages as I'm able to reach people all over the world (from Colombia to Sweden and from the US to Australia) without having to travel all over. On the other hand it's more difficult to connect with students when you are not literally in the same room. I do like to give the students the feeling that we are in a (cozy!) class room situation though and that I'm there for them to answers questions and encourage. From a survey about the first class I learned some things that I used to tweak the upcoming class and I was happy to some very impressive results from Furry Nice students. :)

The new Furry Nice class starts the 25th of September and you can reserve your spot here.

Sign up for the new Furry Nice Embroidery Class!

I'm very excited to announce my second Furry Nice Online Embroidery Class! It's basically a repeat of the class I hosted earlier this year but with a few tweaks and improvements, based on my experience with the first Furry Nice Class and the feedback I received from the students. 

Together we'll be stitching the Polar Bear you see pictured above. My aim is not simply to let you replicate the original but to show you what's 'behind' my furry stitching. It's about shades and colours and creating depth in embroidery. To me one of the most striking things of the first Furry Nice course was how well the students were able to absorb and use the information and techniques I provided them with.  As a result some very lovely Polar Bears were stitched during class! 

In addition to the Polar Bear the class includes several exclusive patterns including a Sailor Fox, A wistful looking Bunny and smaller patterns to practice your newly learned shading skills. 

The Online Furry Nice Class starts on the 25th of September 2014 and will run for five weeks. The information and downloads will be available for much longer than that (at least until the end of 2014) so you can follow the lessons in your own pace. You can go directly to my store to secure a place in the class and you will also find more information about the class there. The price is $40 if you sign up before the 9th of August and $45 if you sign up at a later date. Hope to 'see' you in my class!

Order of things

This must be the Most Photographed Polar Bear ever. For my class I'm taking lots of photos to document each (small) step in the stitching process. I think I made about 50 photos today. 

Usually my stitching process is quite random: a bit of fur stitching here, a bit of the scarf shading there etc etc. But this time I really have to create some order in the process to show what I'm doing exactly. :) 

Join my Furry Nice Embroidery Class!

I'm incredibly excited (and admittedly a bit nervous too) about my first online Embroidery Class called Furry Nice which launches this April. In this online class I'll be sharing with you tips and tricks that are at the heart of my unique way of stitching small embroideries of furry creatures! We'll be stitching a small portrait of a Polar Bear (with scarf obviously) and several other patterns will be included as well for you to try out your newly learned skills, like the Dapper Sailor Fox pictured below.

Learning new skills is the best present you can give yourself! So why not join my Furry Nice class? You can find out more and sign up here.