Fowl Talk. A New Pattern!

I've been pretty busy designing, stitching a writing this new pattern. It's called 'Fowl Talk' and it's inspired by Shakespearean insults and grumpy birds. It combines a few of my favourite things: owls, flowers, quotes and literature. With a bit of 16th century swearing thrown in for good measure. "I'll tickle your catastrophe' sounds so much better than 'I'll kick your posterior",  doesn't it? And the addition of flowers make it almost a friendly message as well! A great gift for unsuspecting family members or colleagues. :D

Included in the pattern is a stitch and colour key. The stitches used are pretty basic so it isn't a complicated or slow pattern to make. The Fowl Talk pattern is only available as PDF in my Etsy store for now. You may remember that I stopped selling PDF's since the beginning of this year. This was partly due to complications with new European VAT legislation and I also wanted to do more with my embroidery than 'just' making patterns. A lot of my time in the first half of 2015 went into getting some of my patterns printed (a lengthy process) and writing the Simply Shading workshop (of which I'm very proud). And I was, and am still exploring new paths with my embroidery. But I do miss releasing a pattern every now and then and regularly I get requests for PDF versions of my other patterns, so I though I'd give the PDF a whirl again. See how it goes.

And if snarky owls aren't your thing, please remember there is free shipping in October on all iron-on patterns in both my Follow the White Bunny shop and my Etsy store if you use code SHIPSHIP  at the checkout!

Owl Embroidery from start to finish

Of all the embroideries I did this past year, my Owl embroidery is probably the piece I'm most proud of. I have regularly posted updates on Instagram of its progress and I thought it would be fun to put them all together: from (water colour) sketch to finished embroidery.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

P.s. if you have time please vote in the &Stitches Poll I made. We want to know your favourite embroidery techniques! Because it's likely you have several favourites you can choose three. :) You can vote here. Thanks!

Owl Embroidery Finished

Embroidering this owl was an interesting journey. I started out with the idea of stitching a quite natural looking owl but in came the crazy neon floss and that made it so much more interesting. The French knots weren't in the original plan either. A flowery border was meant to frame the owl, but it didn't look right. Then I was a bit unsure about adding the dark green background but again I think it was the right decision. It's finished now (at least I simply stopped embroidering) so on to the next furry (or feathery) embroidery! :)

Owl

Here's a half-finished Owl for you. With just a few pencil lines on fabric to roughly mark the outline and the eyes, I started embroidering. Although I started this piece stitching a quite natural looking Owl, I added some not non-natural colours along the way and I'm glad I did.

I love owls and a few years back I got to stroke a real owl which was really awesome. Here's a dorky photo of myself with two of the owls from the Owl Centre I visited in the UK :)

Spooky Blackwork Owl

Later this week I'll be posting a small Blackwork sampler I made for Single Colour Stitching theme on the &Stitches blog. Well the technique is Blackwork but my little sampler is made with different shades of green instead of black as I was allowed to use any colour except black. I found much inspiration in these two books from my personal 'library'.

I even purchased another Blackwork book on Ebay yesterday. Anyway, my small sampler was stitched on 14 count aida but I wanted to raise the bar and try stitching on a higher count even weave fabric. I found some 18 count aida (at least I think it's 18 count) in my stash, made a not very accurate copy of an owl I found in the book you see on the right and continued exploring blackwork in blue and green this time. The owl looks kind of spooky but then the example is a bit strange at well. ;) If you want to try Blackwork too you can find some simple templates (same ones I used for my small sampler) and useful links here. 

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!

Free Scrappy Owl Ornament Pattern!

I made a free Scrappy Owl Pattern today for you all to enjoy.  If you want to put a link on your blog please do so but link to this blog post not directly to the download link. Thank you! You can download the Scrappy Owl Pattern here.

I hope your owls will turn out slightly better than mine. I was just playing with some felt and trying stuff when suddenly this owl was 'born'! It's an easy & quick project so there's no excuse not have a Scrappy Owl in your tree this year. Would make a cute tag or bookmark too by the way.... Or how about a Snowy Scrappy Owl for Harry Potter fans? Of course I'd love to see your Scrappy Owls! Please post them in the Follow the White Bunny Flickr Group or on my Facebook Fanpage!

Scrappy Funky Owl Tree Ornament

Today I made this Scrappy Funky Owl Christmas Tree ornament. Literally from scraps found on the floor beneath my sewing table. That and some felt, embroidery floss and a bit or ric rac. Any-hoo I think he is kind of cute and funky and you might like a similar Owl in your tree.  It's not really rocket science of course but if anyone is interested I could make a template for the shapes and so on and share it here on the blog. If you have young kids you know why felt and fabric ornaments are especially good to have on hand if the littlest ones want to 'help' decorate the tree. ;)

Oh and in case you missed it earlier today I have a *COUPON* for 10% off all my patterns in my Etsy Shop.

Update: a downloadable tutorial will be available later today on this blog!

Free Embroidery Pattern Owl & Pussycat

As promised: a new freebie embroidery pattern for you all! I had these two in my sketchbook for a long time and I thought it was time they got out. You can click here, to download the Owl & Pussycat PDF pattern.Enjoy!

This pattern is for personal use only. It is not allowed to copy, distribute or sell in any form. If you decide to share this on your blog or website please link back to this post not directly to the PDF thank you. :)