Modern Cross Stitch by Hannah Sturrock

Normally I would start a post about a book with a photo of its cover, but my cat Milo photobombed this picture so elegantly, I chose this one. It is as if he's saying 'I really like this one, mum!'.
This cute project is from Hannah Sturrock's (of Bobo Stitch) new book 'Modern Cross Stitch'.*

'Modern Cross Stitch' has a wide variety of styles: some projects are slightly retro (like the banner), some are a bit folksy (like the snowflakes below) and some are inspired by popular culture like a 'Kapow' cartoon style mobile phone cover or Skull patches. There's also a few projects in the 'young ones' section that hint at traditional nursery themes (Alphabet, a teddy etc) but with a more modern approach.

I really like these Stitchy Bugs, especially the dragonfly! All patterns in the book have a colour key and are printed on a good scale, which makes them easy to follow (depending on your skill level, of course). Skill level (complexity of the pattern) and Material level (28 count linen is harder than 14 count aida for example) are also indicated, so you know what to expect!

The 'Cross Stitch Basics' chapter is really useful, especially if you're starting out with cross stitch.  It has easy to understand diagrams and as far as I can see, it answers any question aspiring cross stitchers may have. Check your local bookstore for a copy of 'Modern Cross Stitch' or find it in various online bookstores.


*The publisher sent this book to me a little while ago and I thought I'd share some of my favourite things about it here!

Handmade Scandinavian Christmas

A little while ago I was asked by Stitch Craft Create whether I was interested in taking part in a book tour about Handmade Christmas Decorations. One of the books immediately caught my eye: Handmade Scandinavian Christmas by Hege Barnholt.*

Having spent a few years in Norway I'm familiar with some of the Scandinavian Winter/Christmas traditions. To me a Scandinavian Christmas means: light, warmth and bringing nature inside your home. I was pleased to find all of these elements in this book.

The projects in Handmade Scandinavian Christmas are not just 'inspired by' but 100% Scandinavian. There are too many projects to mention: they range from knitting projects (more about that in the interview) to decorations for your home made with berries, branches and pine cones to wrapping ideas. There are typical Scandinavian recipes (I for one can't wait to make the Rice Pudding with Cinnamon!), a chapter about flowers and also simple projects involving food that make great Christmas Gifts. Another thing I definitely want to try are these cute bird feeders.

The project descriptions are rather concise at times but with a little common sense you can work it out. I must admit that the simplicity of many of the projects make it all seem very doable even if you are not especially gifted in cooking, crafting or making decorations. Some of the projects in the book (like the one pictured below) however involve sawing branches and using a drill, which is a little outside my comfort zone. ;)

Me and my daughter Luna opted for the safer paper ornaments (no sawing required) and we were pretty successful! Also: it's hard to stop at one so we made several :)

We did change a little detail, using needle and thread rather than a paperclip to bring the whole thing together. We also made a paper 'woven heart' which again was easy to do with very satisfactory results. There is actually a separate chapter in the book with projects for kids but I found that these paper Christmas decorations were very suitable to make with children too.

I thought it would be nice to learn a bit more about the author of the book, Hege Barnholt and she kindly agreed to answer the questions I sent her! Hege lives in Norway with her husband (a photographer) and works as an interior stylist. Their blog and Instagram account are well worth a visit/follow because of the beautiful photography and styling.

Is there much difference between the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Christmas Traditions?

The original Scandinavian Christmas is in the colours red and white. And we use a lot of natural materials. The Swedish and Danish Christmas are almost similar. Only the food is a little bit different.

The book has many projects and I read that some of the recipes were passed down from your grandmother but how did you source the many other projects? Where they also passed down from your family or did you make new ones in a traditional style?
I made all the projects my self.  Some in traditional style but also some with a new design or look. All the Christmas cakes are old recipes from my grandmother and mother. My mother made them for me, she died last January. So this book means a lot to me. She made me to the creative person I'm today. 

There are quite a few projects in the book that require knitting. What is it with Scandinavians and knitting? It’s seems immensely popular in the Nordic countries!
We live in a country where part of the year is darkest and cold. We stay inside and love to have crafty projects. And we love to wear them when its cold. The Scandinavian design use a lot of old pattern in a new way,  and the wool is typical Scandinavian style.


Do you have a special Christmas tradition in your family?
I loved when my family sat around the table preparing for Christmas with scissors and paper needles and thread. Making homemade presents and decorations for Christmas. We also used all things we had collected from the nature in the autumn such as cones, moss and crooked branches. And my husband and I always make each other an advent calendar, Its so nice all the 24 surprises until Christmas.

Santa or Julenisse (the Norwegian Santa, but a little different)?
Of course - Julenisse,  it is the cutest. 


Thank you for a lovely interview Hege, God Jul!

***

Handmade Scandinavian Christmas is perfect if you want to bring a genuine piece of Scandinavian Christmas into your home. Many of the projects are easy to do and require little expertise. 

Now if you'd like a chance to win £100 to spend at Stitch Craft Create you can share a picture of your own handmade Christmas on the share board of Stitch Craft Create or use the hashtag #SCCXmas on Twitter or Instagram. Definitely worth a try I think :) 

Happy Crafting everyone! 

*I received an e-book version of the book for the review. All my opinions are my own. :)

IKEA Sewing Machine Review

When my youngest daughter turned six (she's 9 now) we bought her a Mini Janome sewing machine. For the 100 euros it cost I expected a simple but good machine from a well known brand like Janome. Sadly the Mini Janome has never worked properly, made a terrible noise when it did work and using it was frustrating for both Luna and myself. Because it's no fun trying to teach or learn how to sew when the machine jams all the time! We ended up practising on my own sewing machine (a Husqvarna Sapphire 835) and I wish I hadn't traded in my simple but perfectly fine Huskystar E20 when I bought my own machine a couple of years ago. Because it would have been perfect for my daughter.

Ye Olde Huskystar E20. I even made a stuffed turtle with it. 

Fast forward to 2014. I was at IKEA with a shopping cart full of stuff I didn't know I needed when I left home that morning, when I stumbled upon 'Sy' (it means Sewing in Swedish) the IKEA sewing machine. It was a little under 80 euros*, looked pretty sturdy to me, with all the basic stitches etc you would expect on a simple machine so I decided to take a chance and take it home with me.
* I later checked and in the US and the UK the Sy is much cheaper, about $80 (50 euros) and 45 GBP (55 euros), wish I could have bought it for those prices!

And while I bought the Sy for my daughter I really want to stress that this isn't a kid's sewing machine. It's a proper-grown up machine, so you will find no extra kid-friendly or safety things on this machine. Luna is very careful when she sews and has been watching and learning for a few years now which is why I trust her with a 'big' sewing machine.

Obviously I wanted to try it out immediately (before handing it over to my daughter) and after an initial misunderstanding on my part about the front loading bobbin case it was ready to go. Here's my (and Luna's) experience with the machine so far.

The machine is quite heavy, about six kilos, which is good as it doesn't 'walk away' from you while you sew as smaller and lighter machines sometimes do. It has all the basic stitches and then some. Like most people we just use the straight stitch and zig zag stitch. You can't adjust the stitch length on this machine but there's three straight stitches on the dial with three different lengths. I find the smallest one (A) rather tiny and the third one (C) is nearly regular in length but we use the middle one (B) the most :)

There are also various zig zag options so we're good with the most basic stitches.

There is a back stitch option and (yay!) a thread cutter on the side. It also has a light which is good. The bobbin loads in the front, something I'm not used to, so it's always a surprise when the thread runs out. On the little metal plate there's a seam guide too.

The Sy comes with a pedal (which is quite small and very plastic-y) and several extras like a seam ripper and some bobbins. I forgot to take a photo of the accessories when we just had the Sy (and by now some have gone MIA in the sewing room) but you can see them here on the IKEA website.

The one thing that I noticed right away is that the machine sews very fast, even if you can control the speed a little bit with the pedal it still goes quite fast. If you try to go slow it tends to jam. This is clearly something Luna still has to adjust to. It's also important to guide the fabric until the last bit of your sewing or it will trail off and leave you with a crooked seam. My Husqvarna which was about 800 euros more expensive does that too by the way...

For most of your straight line sewing (paired with a little sewing experience) the speed isn't a problem but sometimes you need to sew slowly, when you sew curves for example, and that would become tricky on this machine.

Winding thread on the bobbin was an interesting experience. The manual was very clear and easy to follow but it involved pulling out the hand wheel on the side which was a new to me action. The end result was a quite loosely wound up bobbin. However that didn't give us any problems when we started sewing with it. I only just found out IKEA has some excellent Sy instruction videos on YouTube including one for the winding up bobbins.



Currently Luna is making Log Cabin blocks for her very first quilt on the Sy and it's going very well. The actual quilting will probably be done on my Husqvarna though as I don't expect the Sy is quite up to that task.

If you are a beginner and you have a little more cash to spend then you might consider buying something like The Huskystar E20  I mentioned earlier. It was about twice the price (perhaps a little more) of the Sy and in my view definitely in another league. A good second hand sewing machine is always option too of course... However if you only sew every now and then and if your projects are quite straightforward (pillows, simple curtains and bags etc) the no non-sense Sy is good value for your money in my opinion.

Hope this review was useful!

Happiness Halter Playsuit Pattern Review and Giveaway

When my youngest was a toddler I had just started to learn how to sew and over the years I made a few pieces of clothing for her but nothing as cute as the toddler top you see pictured above! It's made from Lisa Lam's new sewing pattern called Happiness Halter Playsuit.* It's a pattern with a lot of variations and possibities. Because I was a bit pressed for time I chose to make the simplest option which is the Halter top but you can also make a dress or a Playsuit from the same pattern.

For my review I used a PDF version of the pattern so there was some printing and sticking together of paper involved before I could start cutting fabric, but the pattern normally is available as a 'hard copy' with full sized pattern sheet which is much simpler to use obviously! I made the top for a 2 year old (as I happen to know a nearly 2 year old girl) using fabric from my stash. The main fabric is Jenn Ski's Mod-Century Petal and I'm not 100% sure about the ties and ruffles but I think it's from the Urban Chicks Boho line of fabric.

A bit of elastic on the back to ensure a good fit

Even with quite a limited experience in making kids clothes, or clothes in general, I found the pattern quite easy to follow. There are always moments when you use a pattern for the first time that you have to read something a few times before you get it. In these instances the illustrations (photos) were very helpful. All in all it did take me a few hours to put this top together.

Things like the ruffles make the sewing a little less straightforward (or quick) but add to a professional looking finish I think. There was a point in the process where according to the pattern I had to put my machine on 0 tension (which I did) to make the ruffle and that didn't quite work as well on my machine. I ended up with a huge nest of thread and found that when I repeated the step but putting my tension on 3, gave a better result.

I do think the pattern is suitable if you are very new at sewing as each step in the process is well described and illustrated. It will take some time to finish but you'll learn some good basics along the way as well like making a ruffle, ties, hemming, inserting elastic in a casing etc. and you will have a great looking piece of clothing for your toddler in the end.

Alongside the Happiness Halter Playsuit Pattern, Lisa released another pattern called the Dance with me Dress which also includes a few cute variations on the basic pattern. The photo on front of the pattern shows that with the right choice of fabric you can create a simple but fabulous looking garment for any occasion! Both patterns are available here OR if you leave a comment on this post before 12 noon (Amsterdam Time) on Saturday the 12th, you have a chance of winning both patterns. Good luck everyone!  Giveaway is closed winner will be announced soon.

Take a peek at the 'blog hop' schedule for more posts about this pattern (including more reviews and giveaways).

*I received the PDF versions of the patterns without obligations to review and as always everything I write is my own opinion. 

Book review & Interview: Sew & Stitch Embroidery

I have been a long time admirer of the quirky plush animals and patterns of Penguin and Fish and now Alyssa Thomas (of Penguin and Fish) released a craft book called Sew & Stitch Embroidery full of those fabulous critters!  I'm delighted to be part of the 'Sew & Stitch Embroidery' blog tour* and even got to interview Alyssa about her book and work (see the second part of this post)!

The book starts with an intro into various embroidery supplies and techniques, with special attention for 'transferring' methods. There is also a fairly concise section with simple sewing basics, which is primarily aimed at the novice sewer. The rest of the book is divided in themed chapters. Each chapter has several sewing and embroidery projects, a good number of them with 'second stitches' which are variations of the main project.

This adorable pillow is from the 'For the Home' chapter.

I love it when I see a project in a book that makes me want to grab my floss and needle and start stitching immediately. The great horned Owl Pillow totally has that effect on me. As I often make tiny things it would be a good project to get out of my 'tiny' comfort zone and embroider something a bit bigger for once!

For the embroidery part of the (regular sized) main projects you will find a stitch and colour guide in the back of the book and many of the main patterns (but not all) are included on the 'iron on transfer sheet'.

Another favourite project in the book are these pet characters. The budgie looks just like my budgie Haddock did and the guinea pig reminds me of our Pippin. Other projects from the 'Just for Fun' chapter (which is mainly to make things that will appeal to children) include a gigantic cross stitched racing sack, dinosaur finger puppets and a Dream Catcher.

It's not just animals that star in these projects, the last chapter features this fabulously elegant feather on a tablet sleeve and a pretty clutch with a feather too. Other projects from this part of the book include a wonderful Bird-in-Ferns Patchwork Tote and cute little animal brooches which would be fun to make with (older) kids too.

Sew and Stitch embroidery is a treasure trove, full of appealing and fun projects. The photography throughout the book is beautiful and the projects are well documented. Quite a few of the projects require just basic sewing skills and this book would be perfect for non-sewing embroiderers to jump in and learn something new! There are also several relatively simple embroidery projects that kids, with a little help could make as well. Actually my 8 year old daughter Luna is stitching the Dream Catcher at the moment. :)

Q & A with Alyssa Thomas

Sew & Stitch Embroidery has simple sewing projects featuring your embroidery designs. Are you secretly hoping to 'convert' some sewers to embroidery and embroiderers to start sewing?
Hah hah, well, that would be OK with me for sure! :-) My real reason for having sewing projects and embroidery together is because I feel like lots of embroidery books just have embroidery motifs to stitch as embellishments onto something else. While embellishing something is nice, I really want the embroidery to be the STAR of the project. I include easy instructions and diagrams for both sewing and embroidery, so maybe I will convert embroiderers who want to start sewing, and sewers who want to start embroidering! But my main goal was to create sewing projects where embroidery is an integral part of the design.

What is your favourite project in the book? Why?
I really had fun with all the projects, so my favorites kind of keep switching around. Right now I have two favs. I really love the dream catcher project. There's no sewing involved which makes it super easy. I used to make dream catchers all the time when I was younger, so it brings me back to being a kid. I love the little feathers made out of fabric scraps and that the actual hoop becomes the dreamcatcher frame.My ultimate favorite project from the book is the Octopus quilt. It uses the big embroidery technique which is so fun to do. I think I love the project because it's crazy to have an embroidery that big. And it's fun that if you lay on top of the quilt it looks like the Octopus is giving you a hug, but if you lay underneath the quilt, your head becomes the head of the octopus. The quilt is "hand tied" which means that instead of sewing all the quilt layers together with a machine, the layers are all tied together by hand. Hand tying the quilt makes it a simpler quilt for a beginner to do, even if you haven't made a quilt before.

Several of your projects involve making huge embroidery stitches with yarn, how is that different from doing 'regular' embroidery? (except for the size of course!)

Surprisingly, the big embroideries actually stitch up quicker than the smaller embroideries (which makes them even more fun to do). For the big embroideries everything gets bigger because you're stitching with yarn instead of floss. There are so many beautiful yarns out there to stitch with! Since yarn is fatter than regular embroidery floss, it's helpful to use a crewel needle which has a bigger eye. It's also better to stitch onto a fabric that has a looser weave than standard quilting weight fabric. I used linen for many of the big embroidery projects because it typically has a looser weave which makes it easier to pull the needle through. I also use a large quilting hoop instead of an embroidery hoop. The hoops I use for the big embroideries are 18'' - 24''. The only reason to use a bigger hoop is that since the stitches are bigger and you're covering a larger area faster, It's helpful to have a larger working space so you don't have to keep moving the hoop. Making a big embroidery is definitely a way to give a project instant visual impact.

You have been embroidering since you were small, are there still things you want to learn in embroidery?Absolutely. My patterns use basic stitches because I think there's a ton you can do with just a few stitches, however, I do like playing with more advanced stitches. There are so many fun stitches out there and it’s neat to try out new ones. I would love to try "painting" with embroidery, where you add layers and layers of stitches to build up different colors and textures. I have a little project in mind for that. We'll see how it goes.

What is next for Alyssa and Penguin & Fish?

My new organic fabric line, Critter Patch, will be arriving in stores any day now. I am also working on the next 2 fabric collections, one which will come out in Spring, and the other next Fall. Right now I’m brainstorming fun patterns to go with the fabrics - and you can bet there is plenty of embroidery on my list!



I hope you all enjoyed this review and the interview! The Sew & Stitch Embroidery blog tour is nearly finished but you can visit these blogs for more reviews and info on the book:

Tuesday, Oct. 8 - Mr. X Stitch  http://www.mrxstitch.com/

Wednesday, Oct. 9 - Pellon  http://blog.pellonprojects.com/

Thursday, Oct. 10 - While She Naps  http://www.whileshenaps.typepad.com/

Friday, Oct. 11 - The Last Piece  http://thelastpiece.typepad.com/

Saturday, Oct. 12 - Feeling Stitchy  http://www.feelingstitchy.com/

Monday, Oct. 14 - Wild Olive  http://wildolive.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, Oct. 15 - Bad Ass Quilters Society  http://www.badassquilterssociety.com/

Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Spoonflower  http://blog.spoonflower.com/

Thursday, Oct. 17 - Sew Mama Sew  http://sewmamasew.com/

Friday, Oct. 18 - Skunkboy  http://www.skunkboyblog.com/

Saturday, Oct. 19 - Meet Me at Mikes  http://meetmeatmikes.com/

Monday, Oct. 21 - Quilt Dad  http://www.quiltdad.com/

Tuesday, Oct. 22 - Follow the White Bunny  http://blog.followthewhitebunny.com/ (here!)

Wednesday, Oct. 23 - Sarah Jane Studios  http://sarahjanestudios.com/blog/

Sew & Stitch is available online and possibly in your local bookshop as well. If you want a really special copy (and support Alyssa more directly) go here. She will add a special doodle to your book, yay! 

*the publisher sent me a copy for review. As always this posts reflects my own opinion!

Book review: Stitched in Scandinavia

If you love the clean, fresh and and timeless look of Scandinavian design Stitched in Scandinavia by Karin Holmberg is definitely worth checking out. A more appropriate title for the book would have probably been 'Stitched in Sweden'. The techniques described in the book and the inspiration for the motifs in the book really all originate in Sweden. Obviously similar techniques and motifs would have been found in other parts of Scandinavia but the other Scandinavian countries definitely also have their own needlecraft 'specialities' and motifs. 

Karin's designs give a contemporary twist to traditional Swedish needlecraft techniques such as På or Järvsö embroidery. If you haven't heard of these techniques before (I had not) don't worry!  A lot of the stitches used will be familiar to you if you have a good basic knowledge of embroidery. There is an overview of what materials and stitches are used with the different techniques. In some cases local Swedish, materials are used but internationally available alternatives are listed too. 

There are 39 projects in the book. Some of these have short instructions on how to sew the item you'll be stitching on (like a cushion cover) and others use store-bought textiles like underwear or a hoodie. 

The instructions for the embroidery part of the projects are generally not detailed. To me personally that isn't a problem, especially as I'm not very good at following other peoples instructions anyway. The sweet nursery embroidery with two plumb birds for example is worked in Blekinge embroidery but which type of stitch (surface satin, French Knot etc) goes where is something you have to work out yourself. Again with a little embroidery experience under your belt this shouldn't be too much of a problem. All embroidery patterns can be found in the back of the book alongside information on embroidery stitches, transferring the designs and fabric care.

The book and the projects are mostly meant to inspire and there surely is a lot of inspiration to be found in these pages.

I'm smitten with these colourful Scanian Woollen embroidery designs...and the photography throughout the book is just lovely.

The many project ideas and patterns in this book are a wonderful source of inspiration if you are looking to  add a unique Scandinavian (or rather Swedish) touch to your home decor and clothing. I'm always keen to learn about traditional embroidery techniques and I admire how Karin Holmberg uses these in a modern (and practical!) way. 

Stitched in Scandinavia by Karin Holmberg is published by Bloomsbury and available from May 23rd.

This book was sent to me by the publisher for review. This review is my own opinion about the book.

Embroidery & Beyond: a review and a giveaway

Aimee Ray's first book (Doodle-Stitching) was a book very suitable for beginning embroiderers. I think I learned my first stitches (such as the back and split stitch) from that book! Her new book Doodle Stitching. Embroidery & Beyond is very much a follow up to that first book.

With only a few basic embroidery skills and this book in your lap you can dip your toes into several embroidery techniques without getting buried under heaps of information. Actually Embroidery Basics (like what materials you need and basic stitches) are covered in this book as well so a confident or enthusiastic beginner could definitely use this as a starting point to explore different types of embroidery.

All chapters (Cross Stitch & Decorative Stitches, Applique & Color, Redwork & Crewel, Sashiko & Sisha and Cutwork & Stumpwork) have short introductions to the techniques and many projects with instructions to try them out. It makes techniques that may seem a bit daunting, accessible and less 'scary' for beginners.  With a book with such a wide scope it's inevitable that the introductions cover the basics but do not go beyond that. Having said that, I do think the 'cross stitch' section could have done with a little more explanation and illustrations!

Now if you are a fan of Aimee's patterns you will find some really good ones in this book. There are too many to mention but I especially love the Hansel and Gretel redwork (with a bit of pink) Storybook Panels. There is a neat project to make your own Embroidered Cuckoo Clock and a lovely interpretation of the Family Tree in Crewel. And I think the Crewel Peacock on a bag is a really fun way too add embroidery to an everyday object. Many of the patterns will have to be enlarged before you can use them. I know a lot of people find that a bother and would rather have full sized patterns included but I guess it's a way of keeping the price of a book reasonable.

Doodle Stitching. Embroidery & Beyond is a book which just could set you off in an direction of an exciting embroidery technique that you want to explore further through other books and patterns. The book also offers lots of patterns in Aimee's unique whimsical style that are fun to stitch for embroiderers of any skill level. If you are a more experienced stitcher and looking to explore new techniques, such as Sashiko or stumpwork, it is likely you would choose a more specialized book to begin with.

Doodle Stitching. Embroidery & Beyond by Aimee Ray is available in (online) bookstores, for example here.

Lark Crafts (also publisher of my pal Carina's book due to be released later this year!) kindly offered me to host a giveaway of the book I just reviewed: Doodle Stitching. Embroidery & Beyond and a set of yummy DMC floss (see the first picture) as well.

If you want a chance to win the book and floss, leave a comment on this post before March 19th, 12 AM (Central European Time) and tell me what your favourite embroidery technique is and which one you would like to try some day. I think I'd like to try my hand at Crewel Embroidery. :)  You have to either leave your e-mail address in the comment or link to a profile with an e-mail address. If there is no way I can contact you, I will have to draw a new winner (sorry to be so strict but I have had quite a lot of trouble to find some of the winners of past giveaways!)  Good luck everyone!

Lark Crafts kindly sent me a copy for review without obligations.