Craft With Conscience Series by Sarah K. Benning

I am blown away by the latest interview of Michelle Kingdom on Sarah K. Benning's site - her work is so consistently innovative and breathtakingly beautiful and daring. I also had the honor of interviewing Michelle for our blog - here is that post.

The interview with Michelle is part of a larger series called Craft With Conscience - in Sarah's own words:

"This series arose out of my own frustrations related to seeing my work constantly copied stitch-for-stitch, sold without permission, and credited to other people. Rather than wallowing in unproductive negative emotions, I wanted to find a way to bring this common issue to light in a positive way. My solution was to share the work of artists, crafters, designers, and makers who I greatly admire for their originality and dedication."

I love the idea of using a negative experience as inspiration to share something positive and inspiring with the world. Definitely an idea I come back to, again and again, and my main source of inspiration as I write my posts for Feeling Stitchy.

I highly recommend a visit to Sarah K. Benning's site, and the Michelle Kingdom interview!

Wonderful Wednesday #28: Modern Folk Embroidery

This lovely free cross stitch pattern was tweeted to us by Modern Folk Embroidery - and I think it couldn't be more fitting as we come together this week in the US to unite with our families and friends and to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Wherever you are or may be, I'm hoping you all can let your light shine. Thank you for this beautiful pattern, Modern Folk Embroidery - be sure to check out their shop for more cross stitch loveliness!

Minted: Gorgeous Paper Invitations

First of all, no jumping up and down - no one at Feeling Stitchy is getting married... yet. :) But I was contacted recently by the nice peeps at Minted to have a look at their Wedding offerings. Feeling Stitchy? Weddings? The two didn't seem to go together, until I saw their beautiful designs...

Is it just me, or wouldn't these invites look amazing with just the slightest thread embellishments, on maybe your most special invites?

How about going over a few lines in delicate white thread, or adding a french knot here or there, to give a tiny bit of added texture to an already lovely design...

I can definitely picture delicate knots and thin hash lines looking beautiful in white thread on these flowers:

And, how adorable would some thin black thread embellishment look here? :)

Embroidered embellishments aside, the Minted online editor is very easy to use, and you can mix and match fonts, font sizes, and nudge elements around.

Their bold, graphic designs give a custom-designed feel, and as a DIY-er I love being able to preview the finished design:

I'm a straight-up paper snob, so I'm thoroughly impressed by their explanation of paper weights and texture options. I also love all the different edge options and the simple square card options:

Minted also has some mouthwatering letterpress designs like this one - and again, being a paper snob, I am smitten by the lovely vintage look of them:

In short, I'm quite impressed by the gorgeous, graphic feel of Minted invites! And I was also impressed by the pages and pages of positive reviews they have on numerous sites, which was the main reason I chose to recommend them here.

Thank you to the nice folks at Minted for some lovely inspiration today!

~ This is a sponsored post, but the ideas and opinions I expressed here are completely my own. ~

Interview with Margaret

Today I have a special and inspiring treat for all of you stitchers - recently on Flickr I stumbled on some breathtaking needlework photos by Maria Blackstone, who is currently working on a photo documentary project of her Great Aunt Margaret. The photos and the needlework were equally breathtaking, and I'm happy to say that Margaret was kind enough to answer a few interview questions for us. 

Let's all say hello to and meet Margaret!



Your work is so exquisitely detailed, especially your landscape piece. Is this worked from a pattern or did you create this design yourself?

The landscape is worked from a postcard. I enlarged it to the size I wanted, then traced the outlines, pin pricked all the outlines. Laid that on to the material, rubbed ground charcoal over all the holes, which made marks on the material. Then joined up all the dots with pencil.

The stitched reflection in the water is amazing. May I ask how you achieved this look?

Having done the embroidery I covered it with a chiffon material and now I am embroidering the weeds, and have now put the duck house over that.



Your threadwork is so finely detailed - what kinds of threads do you use in your embroidery?

It is mainly done in single thread DMC stranded cotton.

How long have you been embroidering? Can you recall your first embroidery piece? Or your favorite?

I have been doing cross stitch for many years, but have only been to classes over the last 12 years, which is where I do silk shading, as in the landscape, Gold Work Black work (method) as it is now done in colour as well as all black. I can’t remember my first piece. My favourite I think is a blue iris. This idea came from the Gardening Section of the Daily Telegraph.

In the photos we see you doing cross stitching and freehand embroidery - do have a preference for one or the other?

I enjoy doing both. The cross stitch I can get on with on my own from a chart. The other methods I do at the classes, as I need guidance, then get on with at home. I go to classes once a month, this gives me time to do homework. I also embroider greeting cards for people who have special birthdays or anniversaries.



Do you have any other artistic habits - painting, drawing, or other sorts of crafts you enjoy to do?

I do Calligraphy, and various paper crafts to make greeting cards.

Do you have a favorite place to stitch?

In my lounge, as the light is good.

What do you think is the best way to learn embroidery?

I think you want a friend to start you off, say with cross stitch which is most people's starting point, and after that attend a class. I am not creative, I need to be given the inspiration, then I can do it, or adapt it.



Well, I think we must disagree with you, Margaret - your projects show that you are indeed VERY creative and a gifted needleworker! Thank you, Maria, and thank you Margaret, for sharing your talent with our readers!

For more on Maria, visit:
http://www.mariablackstone.tumblr.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariablackstone

For more photos of Margaret and her needlework, visit:
http://mariasdocumentary.tumblr.com/

Trying out this Tumblr thing...

Stitched by Amanda

After poking around on Tumblr and being inspired there, I decided to try out this Tumblr thing. For about a year now, I have felt that there are SO MANY inspiring projects in our Flickr Embroidery pool that I can barely keep up with them all. It takes time to put together a nice post, even a short one, and I want everyone to see the awesome stuff I'm seeing.

I maintain a slideshow on our blog (in the upper right corner, there) to show off all the cool things I find. I'll keep up the slideshow, but I want to add to that.

So I'm trying out this Tumblr thing! What I like about Tumblr is that it's super easy to use, and when you post there from Flickr it includes the linkback and credit to the author, which is always important to me. It's also easy to queue posts, and easy to reblog them. When people reblog photos, the credit to the stitcher remains, so it's a great way for people to see your work. So far... I'm liking it!

Do any of you guys use Tumblr? Is there another place you'd like to see us share embroidery inspiration? We've had requests for an official Pinterest, but I'm not quite ready to set that up although I have my own account... What do you guys like?

We will absolutely continue to feature cool things here, but for the many "ooh that's awesome" moments I have all day long, I'll be posting to Tumblr throughout the week.

So, visit us on Tumblr, too: http://feelingstitchy.tumblr.com/

Beauty in progress

Stitching by Jeni Baker

I've said this before, but oftentimes, looking at a project right before you begin, laying out your colors, and being in touch with your inspiration is every bit as exciting as finishing a piece. I am in love with the bright, gorgeous colors Jeni has chosen for this project - read more about her project on her lovely blog, In Color Order. Beautiful work, Jeni!

Native American Inspiration

One month ago I visited a Navajo reservation to help my sister with a ladies craft class. Each year she returns to a small one-room church with a group that does a variety of service projects like painting, re-roofing, and re-tiling as well as organizing a Bible school and sports camp.

Before we left, I found myself suffering from jitters - I'm shy, and although I enjoy sharing my love of crafting, I had no idea what it would be like, and how I would cope without my morning coffee on schedule, limited access to plumbing, no bed, and no air conditioning in 100+ degree desert temperatures. Would I be crabby? (yes) Would I accidentally curse in front of the children? (no) Would I smell bad? (sometimes) Important considerations, all. ;)

To alleviate my jitters, I grabbed a handful of floss, and a wonderful alphabet from the 1973 Handbook of Lettering for Stitchers by Elsie Svennas, and began adapting an alphabet to take with me.

Download the alphabet

The original alphabet has oodles of lazy daisy stitches, but I thought they'd be intimidating for beginners, so I traced the letter shapes and added small feather-like hashes in contrasting colors. I call it a feather-stitch alphabet, but FYI, it's not a real feather-stitch. :)

I had no idea how relaxing it would be to stitch this simple alphabet! I chose 7 neutral, lovely colors that reminded me of the desert, and brought it with me as inspiration.

From left to right, in DMC: 946, 611, 954, 834, 3824, 832, and 3853.

Now, on to some photos from the ladies craft class... We met only for a short time each day, so I was only able to snap in-progress shots. They took their projects home to finish or would work on their favorites each day - I so wish I had finished pics to show you, but this gives you a taste of the stitching we did.

I had tons of gorgeous floss a wonderful person sent me years ago -after the class, we asked the ladies to take it home with them. I loved that I was able to pass on the generosity of one lovely person to these talented ladies.

For weeks, I'd sat in front of my television, cutting out felt flower shapes from 2 free Purl Bee templates, found here and here, to use in our crafts.

I loved how much fun everyone had incorporating these bright, colorful shapes in their projects:

I loved the creative way the ladies incorporated traditional Navajo designs in all of their projects, always making them their own. This woman is also a talented weaver, by the way:

I fell in love with this stitcher - each project we tried, she gave it her all and worked with patience, sweetness, and creativity:

More of her impossibly tiny stitches:

Every person I met was very gifted and creative, and would use projects as a springboard for incredibly detailed, beautiful work. I know I will carry the memory of their creativity and skill with me as an inspiration to make my work my own.


Lastly, how can I possibly summarize the beauty of the desert? I just can't. You have to see it. My pictures only sort of help. I warn you that you must see it yourself.

Hope you enjoyed a little bit of Native American inspiration!

Blog Love: Interview with Alicia of DMC España

I'd like to introduce you to Alicia, the lovely blogger behind the beautiful DMC España blog. I've been following this gorgeous blog for some time now, and I was very excited and honored to meet the blogger behind it.

This is Feeling Stitchy's first English-Spanish interview- Spanish was actually my (floresita's) first language, so I've done my best to translate Alicia's answers, but if you native Spanish speakers detect any egregious errors, by all means tell me. :) Without further ado, let's meet Alicia:


Photo by by Dong-yeon Yu

You have such an eye for color and texture - reading through your posts is so inspiring - how do you find the blogs, artists, and photos you feature?
Every day I spend time on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/dmcspain/), and I follow various blogs (http://www.planetaki.com/dmcspain - my blog reader is public, if anyone would like to take a look.) I enjoy doing it and it puts me in a good mood. When I find a blog I like I visit their favorite links and I jump around from blog to blog, finding new things. I also like Flickr because there are so many great images and many artists have their portfolios there.

Cada día paso un rato navegando en Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/dmcspain/), y sigo varios blogs (http://www.planetaki.com/dmcspain, mi lector de blog es público por si a alguien le interesa). Es algo que me gusta hacer y me pone de buen humor. Cuando un blog me gusta sigo sus enlaces favoritos y así voy saltando de uno al otro encontrando cosas nuevas. También me gusta Flickr porque hay muy buenas imágenes y muchos artistas tienen allí su portfolio.




Do you consider yourself primarily an embroiderer, knitter, or crafter? Or artist?
My favorite craft is crochet, it was the first I learned and the one I feel most comfortable with. However, I also know how to embroider, knit, cross-stitch, do macrame, tapestry, and loom knit. But lately I spend so much time inspiring others to pick up a needle or crochet hook that I've actually put aside my own crafting. But it's a question of timing - during vacations I have more time, I'm more relaxed, and I always take a crochet hook with me.

Mi técnica favorita es el ganchillo, es la primera que aprendí y me siento más cómoda. Aunque sé bordar, tricotar, hacer punto de cruz, macramé, tapicéria y tejer en telar. Actualmente paso tanto tiempo animando a los demás a que prueben de cojer una aguja o un ganchillo que he dejado mis labores de lado. Pero es cuestión de épocas, en las vacaciones es cuando tengo más tiempo y estoy más relajada y siempre me llevo un ganchillo.


Do you have an artistic training or background?
I studied digital design and animation, it was all done on computer but we also studied aesthetics, color theory, typography, art history, and history of design. When I finished my studies I didn't want to spend my time designing on a computer so I started crocheting and printmaking. Sort of as a return to simpler things. Ever since I was a child I've been interested in art, design, and handcrafts.

Estudié diseño digital y animación, era todo por ordenador pero si estudiamos estética, teoría del color, tipografía, historia del arte, historia del diseño. Cuando terminé mis estudios no quería trabajar diseñando por ordenador y me puse a hacer ganchillo y serigrafiar. Como una vuelta a las cosas sencillas. Siempre desde pequeña me ha interesado el arte, el diseño y las artes manuales.




Where are you from and where do you live now?
I am from and live in Barcelona.
Soy y vivo en Barcelona.


What is your first crafting memory?
When I was little I spent summers in a house in the country without television or telephones so I spent all my time drawing, painting, making ceramics, and a thousand other activities that my mother prepared so that I would always stay busy.

Cuando era pequeña me pasaba los veranos en una casa en el campo sin televisión ni teléfono así que me pasaba el verano dibujando, pintando hojas, modelando cerámica y mil actividades más que mi madre organizaba para que siempre estuviera ocupada.


Do you sketch or paint?
I haven't sketched in many years, I should take it up again, but I have no idea where to start.
Hace muchos años que dejé de dibujar, debería retomarlo pero no sé por donde empezar.




Please name your 5 favorite DMC colors:
DMC Light effects E940 - it glows in the dark, E966 pearlescent, DMC Natura in Aquamarine and Passion, DMC 3851 because I love that range of colors, DMC mat yarn 2351 and DMC tapestry wool 7911.

Mouliné Efectos Luminosos E940 que brilla en la oscuridad, el E966 efecto perla, el hilo Natura en Aguamarina y Passion, el Mouliné Spécial 3851 porque me encanta esa gama de colores, el algodón mate Retors Mat 2351 y la lana Colbert del color 7911.


What do you LOVE most about the online crafting community?
I love how people share their projects and use tutorials to teach others. Sharing knowledge is very important.

Me gusta que la gente comparta sus proyectos y enseñe a los demás a hacerlos con tutoriales. Compartir conocimiento es muy importante.




5 movies you LOVE?
Irma la Douce, What a Way to Go!, Some Like it Hot, The Royal Tenembaums, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World


Name 1 person you would LOVE to meet: (past, present, real or fiction)
Thérèse de Dillmont, who wrote the Encyclopedia of Needlework, and lived in the 1800's. She dedicated her life to learning, perfecting, and teaching all types of handcraft and she traveled throughout the world, compiling techniques. You can find out more about her here: http://elblogdedmc.blogspot.com/2011/01/los-origenes-de-dmc-un-poco-de-historia.html

Thérèse de Dillmont, autora de la Enciclopedia de Labores de Señora, que vivió en el siglo XIX. Dedicó toda su vida a aprender, perfeccionar y enseñar todas las técnicas manuales y viajó por el mundo recopilando obras. Puedes ver más información aquí: http://elblogdedmc.blogspot.com/2011/01/los-origenes-de-dmc-un-poco-de-historia.html

*****

Thank you so much, Alicia, for sitting down with us and giving us a glimpse of the vibrant artist behind the blog of DMC España.

If you'd like to follow Alicia, check out her posts on the DMC España blog, DMC España Facebook page and their Pinterest. Warning: you might lose an hour or two surfing though her lovely finds! :)

Pure Adventure

With the anniversary of the tragic events on 9/11 ten years ago in mind, I thought today I'd post something positive and inspiring. Stitched by Disobedient Child on a vintage (looking) hankie. I like the idea of stitching messages on a hankie so you can carry your inspirational quote with you... (or even better: give it to someone you love!)

This Tuesday I will be telling you everything you need to know about our fabulous Feeling Stitchy Embroidery Contest. Amazing Prizes? Strict Rules? Fantastic Theme?  We've got you covered!

Interview - Katie Kutthroat

Some of you may already have seen this lovely piece in the Feeling Stitchy group. It is pretty awesome, isn't it? It is stitched by Katie Kutthroat, who does lots of cool and colourful stitcheries. Do check them out in her Flickr stream. Not all of it is 'safe for work' as it were, and we can't be held responsible for any reactions to checking it out! ;-)

Right, so we had to know more about this awesome piece! And about Katie, of course, so let's see what she has to say!

Thanks, Katie!

Please tell us a wee bit about yourself
Well my name is Katie (Kutthroat) the nickname isn't nearly as exciting or violent as it sounds! I was born in South Alabama and raised in Alabama and Florida. I am currently living in the Metro-Detroit area and going back to college, studying the Culinary Arts. On the side I sell my crafts @katiekutthroat.etsy.com to help pay for school.

How long have you been stitching? What got you started?
I have technically been "stitching" since I was 14, I started cross stitching then.. which is my first love in needlework. I didn't fall into embroidery until I rekindled my love for crafts and picked cross stitching back up a few years ago. I guess I felt sorta limited by the boxed designs and wanted to branch out. At first I was really intimidated so I tried out a few Sublime Stitching Patterns. A few failed attempts and a few not so impressive pieces I was sorta getting the hang of it and I really enjoyed the freedom of embroidery. I then started stitching Sailor Jerry styled pin up girls and those really took off.

Tell us a little bit about this wonderful piece.
This piece is a fine example of how you can start out totally unsure of what you are doing and eventually it can lead to evolving with the craft. The design is by an upcoming tattoo artist, Don Chuck Carvalho. You may not have heard of him because he is still going through his apprenticeship. He resides in Brazil and is so very talented, if you want to check out his stuff:www.facebook.com/donchuckcarvalho But please respect the artist, I have received permission to use some of his designs. When I came across this particular design I thought what a positive message, "Your Ruin, My Gain." I wanted to stitch something as beautiful as the saying truly is.

Do you have a favourite stitch? Why?
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch, it is the most addictive stitch I have learned to this day. I think the kid in me loves coloring things in still :) I like bringing life to the pieces with really bright colors.

Any advice for "newbie" embroiderers?
My advice for newbies to the world of embroidery is "Don't give up!!" Seriously, it takes time and mistakes to really learn the swing of things! Don't get discouraged if you mess up the first 10 times, I promise you aren't alone. The more you practice, just with anything, the better you will get. I am still learning as I go and it is a really fun experience!

White inspirations

White - lovely, frothy, angelic white is gorgeous, too. I love the effect of white thread on white fabric, or varying shades of whites and ecrus and beiges, or white on linen - natural, silvery, or cream-colored.

Again, this is not a part of a traditional rainbow, but it's a part of our rainbow - the amazing things you've created and added to the pool... So, have we inspired you enough yet? Are you ready to choose one? Or, will you not be able to choose one, and instead choose them all?

Take a look at all of them, one more time and try to pick just one color you want to inspire you... Then, if you want the biggest old hint of all, take a look at the name of this set, to see what we're up to (details tomorrow)! Excited yet? I know I am!

Enjoy these beautiful examples of whitework from the stitchers below:
1. Snowy Owl! by bugsandfishes
2. White seahorse by thejoysofjess
3. Snowflakes Pillow by bstudio18
4. The Guardian (Palomino) by What Delilah Did
5. Pale Hydrangea Bloom Ornament by jennybubbletime
6. Drink me! Hoop shot by thejoysofjess
7. Taxidermy Bunny by Janick • Nea
8. DANDELIONS by hareanddrum
9. white things by tiny happy
10. wip - happy cloud by bookwormbethie
11. CROW hand embroidered brooch by hareanddrum
12. playing by contemporary embroidery

Black inspirations

Here I am again, with another non-official color of the rainbow. But, after seeing the amazing things you guys do with blackwork, black fabric, and black threads, I must say I'm feeling the black magic. I love black - it goes without saying - but there's something about using the color black in embroidery that makes the work that much bolder and more dramatic...

Are you a fan of the blackwork, too? If it was down to one color for you... out of all the colors you've seen... and maybe one more surprise color... tomorrow - could you pick one?

Enjoy the black magic by the creative stitchers below:
1. Universal GillMan by SheenaRamone
2. Orion Embroidery by piddlipoo
3. wolf by fionabearclaw
4. not good enough by beefranck
5. blossoms by racaire
6. coinpurse by lifepieces
7. Black Rabbit Quilt by badbird
8. Finally finished by Mrs Gibson's Atelier
9. Blackwork Robin by konnykards
10. Vader Drinking a Pop by Mama Sass
11. Elizabethan Cross Stitch by whimsyandcharm
12. because I love you by Sarah Blick

Pink inspirations

What's that I hear out there? No pink in the rainbow? Well, pink's in MY rainbow, that's for danged sure! As evidence, look at those pinks up above. Salmon pink. Pale petal-pink. Carnation. Rose. Fuschia. Coral. Magenta. I challenge you not to heart the pink.

So, have you put together any clues yet? Rainbows? Favorite colors? Conte- I mean, hmmm? :)

Heart the following pinks, by the great crafters below:
1. Berries close - up by apple & eve
2. Pink curlicues by Carina
3. Pink Tulip details by thejoysofjess
4. Safflower Pink by barefootshepherdess
5. Pink flower close up by barefootshepherdess
6. ELECTRIC PINK felt coaster by VitaminJ_Singapore
7. Chihuahua on bowling shirt by sew alex
8. knotty brooch - pinks by One Little House
9. 69 by tishous
10. Happy Easter Bunny by allaboutthebuttons
11. serotonin by Girl Incognito
12. TAST 07 - 5 Chevron Stitch by konnykards

Violet inspirations

Ah, violet. Or purple. Or lavender. Or lilac. Or plum. Or any shade in the purplish vicinity. I like it. And I used to hate purple. But somewhere along the line, sometime last year, I woke up and loved purple. It was weird. Any of you have a similar change of heart? Or have you always been purple people?

So, um, still thinking about your favorite color? Let's say you had to race in the Color Olympics, and you had to pick a color to run for... is purple your native land? Would you proudly race for purple? ;)

Enjoy the purpl-y loveliness, as seen in our Flickr pool, brought to you by the peeps below:
1. lilac colored threads and wip by Ravenhill Designs
2. Floral hand embroidered brooch or scarf pin by hareanddrum
3. President Taft by Amanda Jean
4. detail by Veronica TM
5. Purple Embroidery Tree by kayla coo
6. I love you two cushion in violet by -syko-
7. peacock detail by soraia_bejinhos
8. White Flower Purple Pincushion by TheBlueDaisy
9. purple by raspberryfairy
10. felt brooch by Erratic Needle
11. TAST 7 Rope Stitch by konnykards
12. jack-in-the-pulpit stitch by crazybutcute