The dog ate my clothes! - Embroidery repair

Lets just gloss over the fact I have a cheeky pup that likes to chew clothes and focus on the fact that said chewed item of clothing is a favourite summer jackety type thing of my 10 year old. Immediate repair was required!

The fantastic part about all of this is that my daughter loves (and coveted) this jacket because of the gorgeous embroidered design on the front. This was VERY handy because I really had no other idea about piecing the chewed parts together and disguising the damage other than using embroidery!

I thought I'd share a little step by step below incase you too should find yourself in a similar 'dog chewed' scenario! :)

I cut a bit of cotton fabric big enough to cover the damage and used a glue stick to rearrange the chewed fabric bits into position.This was to hold everything together and gives me something 'solid' to embroider onto. I avoided adding glue to the fastener and planned to trim the cotton fabric as I embroidered. 

Rummaging through my threads lo and behold I managed to find some pretty spot on matching colours! Yes!

I drew on a flower design which vaguely mimicked the already existing design. The main point here was to make sure that the parts where the fabric had been ripped apart would be stitched over completely using Satin stitch. I added the extra leafy stem to the left  of the flowers to balance out the design and make it a bit more believable that embroidery is 'meant' to be there!

Stitching and trimming begins......

The rescue repair job is complete!!....

When I showed Skye the finished jacket she gave a thumbs up followed by a double take and a delayed 'oh wowww'  after it dawned on her the added embroidery had not actually always been there!

 My work here is done :)

All we need now is a pic of my daughter in her jacket and the dog ....however that sounds far to much like tempting fate!!

Wintery felty friends

Most things have fallen by the wayside here as things really hot up in my shop and I'm busy making kits and sending them off. 
Every so often I do find myself in the midst of packaging a kit off to Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland (to name a few of the many countries I have sent to)...and have to stop and marvel at how incredible the internet is and how priviledged and grateful I am to be in this position. Absolutely amazing!
Anyhow I digress.
The botanical sketches in stitch have been well and truly put on hold for now (that's ok, they'll be back!) But I do still crave something that I can pick up easily when the opportunity presents, and this lately has taken the form of handstitched felt friends... 

The deer are based on the deer kits I sell (here), and the fox softie sculptures are based on a pattern I will be offering in my shop shortly (fingers crossed!)

I've been sharing them on a new Instagram page I created so that my embroidery page wasn't inundated with deer spam! :) You can find more pics of my felty friends at overhillsandheather, and if you are interested in buying one you can find them in my other etsy shop here.

It would normally feel a bit premature posting such a festive pic..but the temperature here over the last few days has been well below zero (the words 'brass monkeys' come to mind!), and a thick white frost covers every available surface.....so it feels rather in keeping :) Hope you are keeping cosy xx

Botanical Sketches in stitch - update

Ooh yes! I've made it before November sneaks in. (Whaaa November already??)
I'm very pleased to say I've managed to keep up my 'challenge' of stitching a botanical sketch each week (though that could all change as I've one day to go and I've still to do this weeks one.. aherm).
I thought it would be nice to gather the little sketches that have been stitched so far in one place (and help keep me motivated!).

Rowan

Oak Wand

Conker ( from Horse Chestnut )

Fern

I've discovered a few things through doing these stitched sketches so far. I know that stitching is sloooooow, but it can become almost painful when a simple line that would take milli-seconds to sketch takes several minutes. It's fine if i'm not working within a time constraint,but to make this challenge do-able my aim was to fit the sketch in an hour. I didn't manage that on any of these pieces except the oak wand,the longest being the fern which took me 3 hours. 

I took some photos while stitching the fern, which you can see below. The photos are not the greatest as it was evening time (I was sitting on the sofa watching a film). You can see the running stitch which I use as a quick way to stitch the shape of the line and work from, as it's all free hand stitched.

I'd like to make my stitches more loose, and I miss using colour.

I'm going to play and see how I can add some colour to the mix and still keep things 'quick' and sketchy. I shall be back with more soon :)

Have a lovely weekend xx

Botanical sketches in stitch - A personal project

So I've started this little personal project which I announce with a little trepidation because my track record is that while I'm great at starting something, I'm pretty rubbish at keeping them up! However this project ,I feel, is a little different because it's bite sized and manageable...and it's one that I'm really interested and curious to see where it takes my stitching style and skills.

The project is to create one botanical sketch a week using freehand stitching...or perhaps I should call it  'skitching' , because basically I'm aiming to create a rough line drawing as I do with any sketch, only this time I'm using stitches...no pencils (or rough drafts) involved!

The plan is that I bring a little piece of nature back home from one of my runs each week and stitch it up. I'm allowing myself an hour to create each piece to keep things loose and quick (hey, thats quick in embroidery terms!), if it takes a little longer and I have the time then all is good and well.

If I can do more than one a week then it's 'pat myself on the back' time.....however I've come to realise that over stretching only ever brings guaranteed doom!! haha!

The thing I really love about this project is that by gathering a little piece of nature each week I'll be recording the changes of the seasons in stitch, AND I'll also get to learn the names of flowers and trees that I'm not familiar with yet.That tickles me no end!

So I'll stop going on and I'll show you my first Botanical sketch in stitch....

 

Summer stitching - fushia, marigold, dahlia oh my!

We are exactly half way through the school summer hols here and there as been a flurry of activity as well as plenty of stitching (surprisingly!). Holidays usually mean a slowing down on the creative front, but it's been amazing how productive I have been alongside the holiday fun. 

I think the key has been 'focus', so any moment spare has been put to good use......this includes a couple of REALLY fun and super cool projects I've been involved with which will be revealed soon! Can't wait.

The 'focus' maybe came when there was a complete LACK of it at the beginning of my hols....I managed to leave behind my bag in the holiday home we stayed in a few weeks ago. It had all the embroidery supplies I'd been working on, my sketchbook full of designs and some vintage reference books I'd been using...... oh man I was sooo annoyed...mainly because I'd made sure everyone else's stuff had been packed and put in the boot...just not my own. *sigh*

Anyway it will be returned to me in a couple of months, a sweet chain of people and meet ups will eventually bring it back (postage costs just seemed too outrageous and the reality was it was nothing I couldn't LIVE without!)

Silver lining was I found a new embroidery 'holder', an old pouch I made years ago which had been gathering dust in a drawer...and I started a new project (the flower pieces you see here). I have (yet another!) plan in mind for these samplers...but given that I have so many other little projects in the works it may take a little time...but I'm having fun playing meanwhile :)  

It made me smile as I realised that my nails were matching my embroidery...well I suppose if I was a 'real lady' then I guess it always would haha!

Verbascum

Dahlia

I hope Summer is treating you well so far...... let these summer inspired flowers infuse you with sunshine if not :)xx

Embroidery Samplers- sneak peak

It's a shame we can't enjoy a slow, relaxing process AND get things to completion quickly!
It feels like I've been working on the same project for aaaaages.......
Let's rephrase that.... I HAVE been working on the same projects for aaaages!

I've designed some embroidery samplers , 8 of them infact and I am slap bang in the middle of stitching them up, choosing colours, deciding stitches, tweaking and unpicking.(lots of unpicking!)
I've also been getting myself versed in the technique of screen printing as I have grand plans for these samplers. That's all I'm saying for now.... 

The plan was to have them ready for summer but that's clearly not going to happen! Oh I do like to give myself the most unrealistic of deadlines ;)

So I wanted to give a little taster of what I've been working on and what's to come.....

As per usual the designs are nature themed:

It's in full down pour here so the leaves are looking luscious and green but too wet to photo.

I chose a combo of 10 thread colours, with the intention of using only these for all 8 samplers. I went for muted tones and a collection of colours that are quite the opposite to my norm. This has probably presented the biggest challenge as while I really love the look of the muted tones, it's the vibrant colours and playing with different combinations which make stitching fun for me.

Hopefully I'll have all 8 finished samplers to share with you soon!!

New stitchery projects

A friend posed a question this morn, which in turn has prompted this post (the first in a while you may note!).
The question went along the lines of : When did comparing my experience to someone else's rob me of happiness, and cause me to miss my own unique experience? 
How can I enjoy my own experience more?
Ok, so that was 2 questions!
They weren't being directed specifically at me, and they weren't asked in a way that needed an immediate answer (more of a quiet rumination).... but despite the focus on a less than pleasant thought process, the questions felt expanding and inviting.

We can all think of a moment where we have compared ourselves and felt rubbish. (Ha! If only it stopped at one moment!) 

My latest 'comparison moment' lead me to feeling that I wasn't showing up enough on social media, that I 'should' be doing more, posting more, promoting more,more,more....
As you may have noticed my reaction to that was to do the polar opposite and just not show up at all..... *sigh*
I blame my stubborn streak....I hate being told what to do even if it is me telling my self! 

Ridiculous...and funny :)

So anyhoos I'm neither going to let my 'comparison' OR 'stubborn' JOY robbing thoughts stand in my way.....I have so much stitchery goodness to share. Yipeeee!

I have introduced 2 new kits to my shop, which may be my favourite designs yet.(Available here)

This bear one is called 'Homeward Bound'. I may have mentioned before about my love of bears.....they remind me of 'home' somehow....hard to explain, coming from a somewhat 'bear-free!' Scotland...but they do. I really love the rose quartz coloured background and the mix of pink threads. A new colour mix to the kits but I'm so happy with how the designs all sit together. 

I'm a proud embroidery kit mumma!

Kit number 2 is below...... and introduces Long and Short stitch in some more pinky threads. Each kit I create comes with illustrated instructions on the stitches involved, but I like to add extra support for those who need it. You can find an extra detailed tutorial on Long and short stitch over on my website, here.

The idea for this kit was that the flowers are stitched and the swallow zooms out from the negative space.....This piece is stitched on a 4" hoop and so is a great pocket sized project to take out and about with you. I find this time of year so great for stitching in the sunshine while the kids play merrily...be it beach, park or bubbling stream :) It's available here.

I've also added a couple of new pdf's to my shop.

The first one is based on some bee designs I stitched up last summer. It's called 'Free to bee' and comes with a few different versions of the design so you can be(e) creative with it! The pdf pattern is available as an instant download here.

The other Pdf is a pattern now available is to make this sweet owl. He wants to accompany your little one for snuggles, or sit on your shelf or computer and whisper to you sweet secrets from the woods......

I've safety tested this little Owl, even though it's not normally done or legally required for patterns. I've been negotiating the tricky waters of safety testing some deer 'doll' designs (I shared about here), and got this owl involved too. Feels good to be able to offer designs that are not only sweet sewing projects but safe too! The pattern Pdf is availabe here.

Phew! So that's us all up to date now...and the comparison/joy thief has left the building :)

I'll be back with a fun FREEBIE to share next week.....A collaboration with Cloudcraft and a Sweet Summer Garden stitching project...if you like the sneakpeak below then you'll LOVE what's a'coming x

A textile workshop...stitching memories.

I'm currently on an enforced break with carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. Sewing, drawing, writing, even typing this post sends my thumb and forearm into a strange mix of tingling/numbness/ache/ burning... and I have to stop.

The word 'pants' comes to mind! 

It's been a challenging couple of weeks, not being able to do anything creative. So today I want to focus on some lovely stitching...keep my mind on things to look forward to when my body decides it's ready...... (please be sooooon!!!)

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to do a little intimate workshop where we played with a transfer technique along with some embroidery to stitch up a little memory, using a personal photo and a mix of neutral fabrics and vintage linen.

I stitched a couple of 'sentimental stitching ' samples which I shared on my blog here and here.

I opted for a neutral colour theme for a few reasons. The main reason being that each person coming along was to send me a photo in advance so I could edit it and print it out for the day. Knowing that these photos would vary in quality and colour I reckoned turning all the images to black and white would help get the best transferred images.

This also helped reduce the amount of fabric to bring which was necessary as we were working in a small intimate studio space.

(Which is helpful as I've discovered from experience that it's impossible to cater for everyone's colour preferences! A limited palette means I don't have to worry about missing someone's preferred choice out.)

This also presents an opportunity to try something new and work outside the go-to colour choice. (never a bad thing me thinks!) 

Saying that however almost everyone managed to add in a little pop of colour!

Above are the ladies busy stitching away which you can tell by the glasses balanced on the end of noses . Love that :) 
Below are the beautiful pieces sewn on the day....

You can't tell from the photo, but the darker fabric was a gorgeous, sumptuous, deep purple velvet. It was inspired from the clothes that Kate remembers her Great Grandmother wearing, depicted in the photo on the right ...she lived to be over 100 years, and was quite a character by all accounts. Really like the variety of textures in this piece....sumptuous like the velvet.

This is Karen's work (below) in progress, with her Grandfather in his milking gear. A lot of time went into her beautiful stitches...I love the little white running stitches which contrast with the black lace.

And I love how the stitches follow the fabric shape and create a little arc. I'd like to see this piece when it's finished.

This is Sharon (below) as a young girl with her family, and some fantastic floral wallpaper in the background! I really enjoyed seeing the layers build on this piece and the addition of blue stitches and ribbon are such a great compliment to the tiny seed beads that were on the recycled lace.

Dorothy's photo was the most recent....a sweet embrace of her husband and son. She created a super composition, combining a mix of shapes and textures with fun pops of blue....feels quite reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

All unique and gorgeous, I think you'll agree.

And while we are on the topic of these stitched memories,or 'sentimental stitching' as I like to refer to it,  one of the samples I created caught the eye of Amy who hosts Friday instagram finds for the popular sewing blog 'Feeling stitchy'. So some of my stitched bits and bobs got a wee feature....that made me smile :)

Hope all is good in your world...and if any one has the urge could you do a couple of stitches for me ;)xx