New Things...

So...I have (therapeutically?) been stitching on a Very Interesting Project recently. That is to say, I think it will be quite lovely when it's finished but as I'm embroidering it I'm already thinking of a thousand different ways I could have approached this project. The stitches aren't perfect but overall the effect that I'm after is definitely reached. A bit cryptic I know but it in this case it will be so much nicer if you see the finished piece first and perhaps in progress photos afterwards (although I don't have too many). The red rectangle isn't part of the project. I wanted to add an appropriate text there but in the end I couldn't think of anything.... it contrasts nicely with the rest though. :)

Also new is this Wave Goodbye... pattern. As you probably know this pattern was published in Australian Homespun magazine a few months ago and I'm now releasing it for all to enjoy.

As always the pattern has a Stitch and Colour key and valuable tips from yours truly. :) There's still enough time to stitch this in time for Christmas for the VW van or cute animal fan in your life!

Most Excellent Birth Sampler

Photo by Sophie of What Delilah Did

I love Sophie's version of my Most Excellent Party Bear pattern so much! She cleverly turned it into a Birth Sampler (by adding a date and initials to the balloons) and stitched it al so beautifully that I got a little teary-eyed when I saw the pictures on her blog. It's just perfect. :)

This week

For some reason a whole week went by without blogging. There were happy occasions at home (birthday parties!) to prepare and recover from. Sad happenings in the news to ponder about... So this is a bit of a hotch potch post about my small crafty news from this week.

I finally got round to updating my Princess and the Pea Sampler PDF pattern. The previous version dated from 2010 and since then I somewhat improved my PDF making and computer drawing skills.  Find the updated pattern here! I have a whole new pattern in the works by the way, it's one of my loveliest yet (at least I think so) and I hope to bring it to the shop before the end of this month.

I continued work on my Blackwork try out piece. After a shaky (and wonky) start I kind of got the hang of stitching that diamond shape. The whole composition is a bit static and not really refined like this impressive blackwork Whale's tail but you have to start somewhere, right? Also, I'm tempted to use other colours than black. Back in the 17th century it was not uncommon to use other colours than black either! This lovely piece by Sami Teasdale shows how you can get all creative (and colorful) with this traditional technique.

Kingfisher by Sami Teasdale

Find more fabulous pieces on Sami's blog Teasemade. I picked up some new blackwork tips from another recent addition to my Stitchy library called the Stitch Bible by Kate Haxell. I haven't properly read through the whole book yet (it also covers other techniques like Crewel and Hardanger) but found the instructions and diagrams in the blackwork section really useful. And soon I need to make room on the shelf because Sami is actually going to send me this book about Blackwork, as she had two copies. How sweet is that?

Ok that's all from me this week. Hope you all have a great weekend. :)

Snowy Owl & a new winner

Yesterday I posted a freebie Snowy Owl embroidery pattern on the &Stitches blog. I made a Christmas Tree Ornament with mine! It was super quick to make (took me less than an hour) so if you are looking for a small last minute handmade gift this pattern could be useful.

For those of you who entered the weelittlestitches giveaway: I picked another winner! Congratulations to B Greene! 

Pattern Parade: Ofelia Owl Pattern Giveaway

Throughout November I'll be giving away some cute prizes on the Follow the White Bunny Blog! Recently I discovered that I would be writing my 500th post here on this blog some time in November and I thought it would be fun to do some giveaways to celebrate. In the next couple of weeks I'll be giving a way patterns I love, donated by some lovely crafty folk I know.

First up in the 'Pattern Parade' is the Ofelia Owl PDF Embroidery Pattern by my friend Paloma of Three Kitchen Fairies! Paloma quilts, sews and embroiders. On her blog you will regularly find new sewing and quilting tutorials so be sure to visit it often. Ofelia Owl and other lovely patterns are available in Paloma's Etsy shop.

So...what do you do to have a chance to win this fabulous pattern? Simply leave a comment and share something nice with me: something about this blog, a book recommendation, a background story on Ofelia Owl, your favourite floss colour, anything will do as long as it's nice. I'm also curious for how long you have been following my crafty adventures here on the blog. I doesn't get you extra points though haha. Don't forget to leave a 'trail' so Ofelia Owl can find her way to your mailbox. Giveaway ends Tuesday the 6th of November 12 noon (I always, always mix my AM's and PM's up when I write giveaway posts ) Central European Time.  Give away is closed winner will be announced later today!

Good luck everyone!

New Pattern! Tales from the Forest Motifs

I'm so excited about presenting my new pattern to you all called Tales of the Forest Motifs! At long last a Follow the White Bunny pattern with some smaller sized motifs. :)  The main motifs are: a silhouette bear (pictured above), a dainty doe and a bird who is also a key-keeper (see pics below).

a Dainty Doe

Bird & key-keeper

V.I.B. Very Important Bear

The Bear and Doe are approx 3 inches across, the Bird is a little bigger because of it's tail. I also added some tiny motifs (stars, a letter and a flower) to the collection for further stitching pleasure. I think these patterns are great starting points for making up stories for your kids (or even better: make up stories with your kids) about the adventures of these forest critters!

Needless to say these smaller motifs are perfect for pillowcases (see top photo), bags, tea towels, wall decoration and last minute Christmas Gift stitching! If you like the look of this pattern (only $4) you can purchase one in the Follow the White Bunny shop!

Special price on Tales of the Forest Pattern

Yesterday I received a question about my Bear patterns and that gave me the idea to bring this cute pattern called 'Tales from the Forest' back in the shop for a couple of weeks to celebrate the change of seasons. :)

This little forest scene, where a chatty squirrel talks to a friendly bear is perfect for this time of year! The pattern is available for immediate download in the Follow the White Bunny shop during September for the special price of 3.50$  You can also purchase it in my Etsy shop.

Variation

I have been using a lot of this Colour Variation Floss in the last couple of weeks, including some in my new 'Abel, the Stitch Explorer' pattern. I actually used a ridiculous number of different colours in that pattern as you will find out if you decide to purchase it. (Still working out the details but I'm aiming at launching it next week!) Some of these variation threads have more than one colour in a skein, other skeins have different tones of one colour.  The colours are very soft and the changes in colour (or tone) very subtle.  Anyway these Colour Varation Flosses, or any other variegated floss for that matter, obviously are best used in a bit of your embroidery (or cross stitch) where the change of colours can be seen. Having said that, I also sometimes use small bits of variegated floss for a detail just because it's the right colour! (or so I think). I think (cross)stitching lettering with variegated floss could give lovely results too. Where do you use variegated threads for?

If you follow the &Stitches blog (or Facebook page or Twitter) you will probably already have seen a couple peeks of projects from our next issue. The second issue of &Stitches is all about books and reading. Our featured artist is the very lovely and talented Cate Anevski! This is the pattern I designed...

"Books&Stitches" is available from the 17th of April.

on Plagiarism and what makes the world turn...

While I was sorting my crafty area (well not really, I was just looking at all the stuff I have) I came across a set of vintage game and flash cards I bought on Etsy a year (or maybe two?) ago. From the collection of Flash cards (meant to teach the meaning of 'difficult' words) I chose Plagiarism. And some cards that went with that theme. Oh and Scooby Doo, just to lighten the serious mood a bit. ;)

Plagiarism is pretending that stuff someone else has made or has written (or elements of it) is your own work and it's not an ok thing to do (and it's not the ultimate form of flattery either). Since I have been in the online crafty and blog scene (a couple of years now) I encountered too many examples of plagiarism: (embroidery) patterns, tutorials, art, style.

This issue bothers me especially because I've noticed that I don't feel like I can share everything about my creative process on my blog anymore. Frankly I'm a bit scared someone will run off with the idea before I have even finished it! But maybe I'm giving myself too much credit in the 'steal worthy department' and designs can also be copied after you have released a pattern.  So I'm going to be brave and show you my latest not-yet-released design. I'm in doubt whether to release it as a single pattern or as part of a set. If I do release it as a single pattern (most likely) it will be available sometime in the next two weeks or something.

I bet you didn't know the world was turned by an acrobatic Circus Bear? He still has to work on his juggling skills though. ;)

Happy mail & a peek of a new project

Just when I needed something to lift my spirits this arrived in the mail from my Danish embroidery friend Carina! How sweet is this needle book? I can store plenty of needles in it and it has a neat little pocket to put some floss in as well. :)  I know (and this is not why she send me one trust me!) that Carina sells these in her shop too. Thank you Carina!


So...here's a little something I've been working on in the past week. I've been 'playing' with Saffron Craig's 'Beetle Bugs' fabrics, trying to translate them into embroidery. I kept the design very close to Saffron's original designs for this line of fabric. Not sure where this will lead but I'm very pleased with this 'Bouncy Bug' design. Even my husband commented on it! (in a good way....)

Wouldn't this be cute embroidered on a boy's pillow case? Or on a book bag? Let me know what you think!

Small embroidery, long story & a very large quilt

This is a small embroidery I'm working on. I think it will be a perfect 'boys' pattern! With each pattern I make, even small ones like these, there at least a few sources of inspiration. What makes a pattern unique in my opinion is how you translate your inspiration into something that is truly your own.

The boat in this pattern is from a sketch I made of a vintage illustration of a Chinese boat, I think it even was a Pirate ship! I love embroideries with text or lettering in them so I decided to include a little sentence I made up in this embroidery as well. One of my friends is expecting a baby in July so when I inquired after colours and themes for a baby quilt the colour orange and the Polar bear came up. The mauve bit on the boat, which I admit is an odd touch, was inspired by the colours of a dress I was wearing last week. And I thought the little patch of fabric on the sail was just a nice thing to add. So...there you go: small embroidery, long story...

And before I move on to my progress report of the Scrap Vomit Quilt I want to share the two pieces of art I received this morning from Zoe and Luna. Even though the Unicorn does look a bit like he is about to do a very large pee I thought it was a lovely drawing.

And I'm impressed by the use of colour in this painting!

The Scrap Vomit Quilt is coming a long nicely. I so enjoy working on it and I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of new squares from my quilt-y online friends! It will be 7 by 7 blocks and on the photo (it's the big one, the other is half a lap quilt) you can see the full width laid out on the floor.

 

Hope you all have a pleasant day today and if you have the time, do hop over to Carina's Craft blog. She has some wonderful giveaways (including one for a voucher for my shoppe) on her blog right now.

&...because it's fun

I promised there would be a new pattern from me soon but there isn't one yet and I would like to explain why.  Not sure what happened but sometime, earlier this spring I lost my embroidery mojo a tiny bit. Only a tiny bit... On top of that  I also felt slightly pressurized to release a new pattern. Seeing that others make one pattern after another and my last pattern was months ago! I guess the final straw, was what happened to me a couple of weeks ago (I kind of wrote about it here) which took away any fun that was left in being creative.  So considering all this it was not strange that the pattern I was working on (not the one pictured!), was not coming along smoothly. I'm sure many of you would think it is lovely as it is but I don't want to put anything out there that I'm not 100% (or at least 95%) happy with....

So I put the pattern aside, even though I had been working on it for weeks, and it felt like a big relief! I sorted out my floss, went through my WIP's, dug up this small Ampersand embroidery and finished it! I also went through some older sketches I had made for patterns and found some nice new candidates for (smaller) patterns. After all that my embroidery mojo was back and I'm stitching away on a new pattern idea. Besides that, I also signed up for two fun embroidery projects.

One is the Phat Quarter Swap, I just had to play along this time because the theme of the swap is books! I also know from previous embroidery swaps that it's great for your creativity, even if you are simply following an existing pattern.  The other project, Embroidered Digital Commons, is a bit high brow, which is probably why I don't understand half of it, haha. Several groups are stitching terms from the Digital Commons. I'm in Mr. X. Stitch's group and we are stitching the term 'Fractal'. I was designated  to stitch the words 'In the same way'. I think I can do that!

Another thing that felt really good was opening my own shop (see previous post) with downloadable patterns. Hopefully I will be able to put something new in there soon (but I'm not promising anything!)...