Embroider-cizing

   

I started a new embroidery project yesterday and I'm so excited about it that I had to blog.

First of all, you may remember this piece:

 

Well, look what it turned into!!!

 

I know it's hard to get a good idea of what it looks like, being that this is an instagram picture and all... but I promise to take better pics of everything soon.

Last week I received a bundle of Aunt Martha's Hot Iron Transfers that I purchased from an Etsy shop called Glitzy Girlz Twinkle.

I love the Aunt Martha embroidery patterns because the designs are so kitschy and vintage-feeling.  The bird above was sewn from one of their patterns, though everything else was free-handed.

The two pattern packets I was most excited about were Native American themed, as my current obsession continues.

They look like this:

 

I bought a few 18x18" pillow blanks from Beverly's and I'm planning to embroider a throw pillow for my living room.  I'm using the sitting Indian in the upper left corner of the picture above right, and a huge totem pole from the picture above left!

Here's what I've got so far:

 

I cannot WAIT to show you all the finished product.

Finally Friday

Good morning blog-land!  I'm so excited it's

!!!

This morning I'm feeling particularly motivated after last night's super productive letterpress session.  In a mere three hours I pumped out the first color in a new edition of 16 prints.

Behold!

An antique letterpress ornament of an adorable German weather house is pressed onto a 5x7 sheet of hand torn Rives BFK cotton rag printmaking paper.

 

The picture above shows the image block locked up into a Vandercook proofing press.

It's alive!!!

Here's a detail of what the printed image looks like.  So excited I mixed the exact shade of green I envisioned!  Sorry for the crap photo quality... iphone, ya know...

All I need to do to finish this edition is decide what the type should say.  What would you like to see written there?  Home Sweet German Weather House?  Probably not, but I'm sure I'll come up with something soon enough because I want to get these babies in the shop ASAP!

The boyfriend is going to be with his family in Santa Cruz this weekend for Easter.   Being Jewish with nary a care for pastel colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, I personally will be locking myself in my studio for the next two days.  My decision to officially announce my shop opening as this Monday was in part done to force me to get my act together!  Luckily I already have most of my pictures edited which can truly be the most difficult part.  

I'd love to hear what your goals are for the weekend, if not stuffing yourself with Easter spoils :)

Happy Friday, all!

Embroider-cizing

   

Unfortunately I am not one of those people who can commit themselves to one project and stick with it until completion.  Instead, my attentions are eternally divided between a half dozen or so little things I'm working on.  Today I'm sharing three of my current embroidery projects, but in addition to these I'm working on a big paint by number painting for my living room, a line of faux-taxidermy plaques that are really adorable, two letterpress print designs, and a bunch of other miscellany for my etsy store.  No wonder my store isn't open yet!  Who has time?

 

This beast has taken me the longest of all my embroidery projects to date.  It is one of two vintage embroidery kits by Sunset Designs that I purchased on Etsy, this being the City Victorian and its brother is the Country Victorian (what else?).  All I have left to do is stitch up the remaining flowers and put it in the frame I bought months ago.  Definitely a keeper, however.  No Etsy store for this puppy.

 

This guy is a project I started for an old friend of mine living in Japan.  If you're reading this, sorry to blow the surprise... but its been so many months since I committed myself to making you something that the impact is probably lost anyways!  She had to evacuate the military base where she was living with her boyfriend during the earthquake/tsunami and come back to California.  

My newest project is a little bird I'm making from a pattern purchased at Cliff's Variety.  So far it consists of a billion tiny back-stitches, and will most likely be going into the Etsy store.

And so ends today's little embroidery work in progress update.  Hopefully the bus won't be too packed on the way home from work this afternoon and I'll get a little work done :)