Hello Again!

Like many artists I have found myself in the past year or so posting more on my Threads of Inspiration Facebook page than on this blog. I am not very happy with that platform for many reasons I won't go into and so, I'm getting back to blogging. I will continue to put links to my blog posts on Facebook so if that is your place to find me, I'll still be there. 

Now for the updates. Wow! I've had so much going on and so many exciting things coming up! Here are just a few. I continue to teach at Textile Center of MN and expand the classes including Wearable Stitches on March 24. We'll add some stitched embellishment to clothing, accessories and even shoes!! I've got a pair of light weight canvas slip-ons just waiting for some design and color. A great new addition to the Textile Center's line up is a series of classes that will be taught over the course of 8 weeks geared to learners over 55.  I will be teaching Interlace: Embroidery which I'm really looking forward to. Click on the title to see the full description. It begins on April 25.

I'll also be teaching at two great locations, Crossings at Carnegie, an art center in Zumbrota, MN and Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI. While the Crossings at Carnegie classes aren't listed on the website yet, I'll be teaching Rumi Wisdom on Saturday, April 7 and Quilting Outside the Lines on Saturday May 16. I'll put the links up as soon as they're  available. Here is the link for the class at Shake Rag Alley called Beginning Embroidery: Summer Spiral with Rumi Wisdom on July 28. This will be an all day class where I'll be covering some extras - more stitches (YAY) and special focus on various ways to stitch text. 

I plan on making some updates to my blog including a list all of the classes I'll be teaching on the sidebar so you can always find out where to take a class. If you'd like to have me teach at your guild you'll find a contact section on the sidebar.

I hope to meet some of you in person this coming year!

Four Ways to Embroider Text

Rumi Wisdom

When I taught my first beginning embroidery class a few years ago, one of the first questions I was asked was how to embroider text. It is such a good skill to have so I made sure the design I made for my next class included text. As you can see, it was a spiral with text underneath. I enjoyed the format of the design so much that I have continued designing spirals with interesting quotes. It also has led me to try out different methods of embroidering text. I'll discuss the three I've used, each one giving a little bit different effect and another that is quite common but not on my spiral designs.

Back Stitch Letters

When I designed Rumi Wisdom I knew I wanted to use back stitch because this was going to be used to teach beginning embroidery stitches. It is an easy enough stitch that covers lines very well and works up pretty quickly. A drawback is the letters end up looking a little blocky. If you want smooth curves, this might not be the best stitch to use. 

Emerson Winter

The second spiral design, Emerson Winter, has letters that are a little more stylized with small curves at the ends of some of the letters. I knew that using a back stitch wouldn't give me the look I wanted, so this time I used couching. If you've not done any couching you might find it awkward at first because you have to manage two threads in two needles but after a little practice it is easy. Basically one thread is placed over the line you want it to cover (called the laid stitch) and with the second needle and thread (referred to as the working thread) it is tacked down with tiny stitches. In the case of Emerson Winter I used embroidery floss, but this method allows you to use laid thread that is difficult to stitch with (metallic, thick, fuzzy or loopy threads) because it isn't going in and out of the fabric with every stitch. Couching allows you to get all the loops in the letters you could ever want. 

Couched Letters

Grateful Heart

The next design I created, Grateful Heart, used a different treatment. These letters also have a lot of loops and serifs but I wanted them to stand out more and so I first stitched them all using stem stitch. If you've stitched many curves with stem stitch you know the thread sometimes has a tendency to fall over on itself and the curves aren't very well defined. To keep the definition of the letters I then stitched a satin stitch over the stem stitch. So, essentially, the stem stitch acts as a padding. Although this is fairly time consuming, it creates a really lovely raised letter and I would do it again in a minute.

Working Satin Stitch Over Stem Stitch

All of the lettering in these projects is pretty linear but another method of covering letters that have larger areas to be filled is satin stitch. This is often seen on vintage linens that have monograms. to see some fine examples of satin stitch monograms go here. Mary Corbet's Needle n Thread has a fine list of amazing examples.

In addition, here are links to Mary's videos that give excellent instructions for creating the stitches that were discussed. 

Back Stitch

Couching

Stem Stitch

Satin Stitch

Happy Stitching!

Grateful Heart Embroidery Pattern

I had mentioned in my previous post that I was going to write about various stitches to use for text. I decided you should probably have a look at my newest design before I get to that. I've been showing bits and pieces of my newest embroidery pattern and of the process creating it here and on my  Facebook page which you can find @ThreadsofInspiration.

This is the third in a series of designs that uses a spiral and a quote. Each piece is inspired by a season and of course, the quote.  The newest one, Grateful Heart features the words of Celia Thaxter and little summer vignettes - a hammock swinging between two trees, a sailboat on the lake, a small campsite and sunflowers. With each piece in this series I have tried a different way to stitch the text and this pieces uses a combination stem stitch and satin stitch. I think it gives the letters, little swirls and serifs great definition.





You can find it in my  etsy shop.

Knitting, Sewing and Stitching

Ever since I added to my stash with things from the Textile Center's Garage Sale I've been busy making. I'm working on a scarf using this Ravelry pattern, French CanCan by Mademoiselle C. 

I also finished a skirt using the black and pale pink pique which fits perfectly. I usually have trouble fitting commercial patterns so I used this YouTube video by Felicia Zee and made a pattern from my measurements. I have to say it fits like a dream! I have sewn quite a bit in my life so I didn't have any problem making it. If you haven't sewn a lot you may want to find some instructions for cutting lining and facings and putting in a zipper. All in all I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

A funny thing to add is while I was writing this post I couldn't think of the word pique so I googled fabric types and found  Sirs Fabric, a site with images and descriptions of different fabrics.

I've also finished my newest spiral pattern called Grateful Heart. You can find it in my etsy shop here. I'll have more on that in my next post and some tips on stitching text to achieve the look you are going for.  Until then, enjoy your day - the weather here is (finally) stunning so I'm heading out to soak up some sun.

Inspirational Quotes Part 2

Austin Kleon's Rolodex

The other day I received a newsletter from Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, (which I wrote about here) and he had an interesting idea I thought I'd share with you. He used an old Rolodex to write interesting tidbits about people he knew. I thought it would make an alternative way to keep quotes handy. You could organize them alphabetically by author or topic. Here is the link to his post.

By the way I love his newsletter. He posts it every Friday and there are links to things he finds inspiring. I always save it for a time when I can leisurely check out what he's offered.

Largest Textile Garage Sale in the World!

Some New Stash!

I know I have posted about the Textile Center of Minnesota's Garage Sale, which they have billed the world's largest and I suspect they are correct.  The sale was this past weekend and of course I joined in the festivities! I've always wanted to volunteer to help before the sale but in the past I have had conflicts. Not this year though, so I sorted and priced needlework. The sheer volume of stuff that comes in is incredible and it's hard to believe that it all gets sorted, priced and displayed in two days. 

The yarn aisle

Almost ready!

A great wheel ready for a new owner.

As you can see in the first photo, I scored some yarn - there's a scarf pattern I want to make and why make one when there are two beautiful yarns to use? Check out the pattern on Ravelry. I also was drawn to fabric for a summer blue daisy dress, pink and black flowered fabric for a skirt and some funky neon geometry for a bag. Plus a few pieces of embroidery linen, and some great Vineyard merino wool for crewel. Plus a few odds and ends to make some samples for a class I'm going to teach, oh and sock yarn.

But the thing I'm most excited about is this fanny frame. You put your needlework in the hoop and then you sit on it. That way both hands are free for working which is a big deal for me.

I'm trying to think of one exclamatory word to describe the experience but I need more....fun, amazing, overwhelming, wonderful, creative.....I'll leave it at that. If you are in the area next April be sure to check it out!!!!

Inspirational Quotes

Various blank books for keeping good words.

Long before I ever started designing embroideries with quotes I started a little book to write down the words that inspire me. Some were by well known people, others things my friends and acquaintances said. Another fun inspiration was magnetic poetry. I had the little words on the refrigerator and while I was waiting for a pot to boil or toast to pop up I would compose little phrases and poems. My husband even got into the act and came up with some of the best ones. Of course now I have a Pinterest board called Good Words where I save lots of inspiration quotes and thoughts. You can check it out here.

Here is one of my favorites.

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

                                                                    Carl Jung

Patience is overrated. SWIM NOW!

                                             my friend Jan R.

Scream as though it is essential.

                                             magnetic poetry from Susan

What is your favorite quote? How do you save the words that are special to you?