Featured Member stitchnmomma

This week's Featured Member is stitchnmomma

Q.  Tell us a bit about yourself and your shop.

A.  I’m a proud mom of a future U.S. Army soldier and 3 furbabies. I work full-time by day in the Operations Dept. of a franchise office for a national pizza chain and almost full-time by night and weekends as a stitchaholic. My Etsy shop started as a way to sell my original design patterns and other cross stitched goodies in the hopes of building a nestegg to one day move to Italy. I try to keep a variety of patterns as well as finished items (magnets, buttons, wall art, etc.). I have a personal business philosophy that I won’t sell a pattern until I’ve stitched it myself to make sure it looks just right. It takes longer for new patterns to be available, but at the end of the day, I’m happy with my decision.

A.  What or Who inspires you?

Q.  I’m inspired by many things, people and places. Sometimes it’s a quote I’ll see, others it may be a piece of artwork or something from nature and sometimes it’s just a color combination. As an example I recently went to the M.C. Esher exhibit at my local art museum and came home and immediately started sketching some ideas I have. Unfortunately the ideas always outweigh the time available to design and stitch them.. I also love bright, bold colors and try to incorporate those into my works as often as I can.

Q.  When you're not doing things for your shop can we find you around the internet?

A.  I have a poorly neglected blog and I’m on Facebook and twitter  which is also neglected since my son set my Facebook account to auto-tweet for me.

Q.  What tool could you not live without?

A.  I would have to say my colored pencils. It may sound a little crazy, but I use them to sketch out new designs with the colors I’m thinking of, and “color in” my patterns as I’m doing them. I typically have 5+ projects going at one time and it makes it so easy to put one down for weeks (or sometimes months) and know right where to start stitching when I pick it back up.

Q.  How did you learn to stitch?

A.  My mom taught me how to needlepoint when I was 6-years-old. My first piece was a boldly colored geometric pattern that my dad and I designed on canvas with markers. I did that for about 10 years and then around age 16 I saw a cross stitch kit of an oriental fan that I fell in love with and taught myself how to do it. I’ve belonged to a few needlework guilds over the years and have taken classes in many other techniques (hardanger, couching, peyote beading, etc.) but always come back to cross stitch. It’s truly my passion and a day without stitching just doesn’t feel right.



~Bekah

Adventures in Needlepoint

After my last post you saw how many needlework things I have now.  The items that enticed me the most were the needlepoint canvas.  Some are stamped, some are hand-painted, and some are half-way finished but .... none and I repeat none of them have instructions!  I have no idea how to needlepoint it has eluded me for years.

So of course getting into my head that I must needlepoint before I can knit another sock or embroidery another item.  I went on a quest....a quest to find a needlepoint kit! (ta tah dah can you hear the trumpets blaring?  Oh wait that is just Brian practicing in the next room)  Little did I know that this would be the hardest quest of my life!

We went into town on a Sunday and I went to Michaels they have needlepoint supplies and had kits before.. I searched all over I found the floss but did not find one kit not even a cross-stitch kit.  I asked for help and they brought me over to the  latch hook rug kits.  I looked at the person and said where are the needlepoint kits and he said these are the needlepoint kits.  I looked at him again and said these are latch hook rug kits totally different and walked away disappointed and to continue my quest.

I then went to Craft Warehouse surely just by the name they should have kits but alas they did not.  I asked there and they at least knew what I was talking about but they do not carry the kits because they do not sell.  I am starting to think they do not sell because you do not CARRY THEM!  Ok ok I was getting a bit testy by then.

I talked Brian in to going to one more store JoAnn's Fabrics they surely carry kits.  They do not carry needlepoint kits only Cross-Stitch and of the Cross-Stitch they only had three!   What is happening here?  I thought embroidery and cross-stitch were still popular.  I guess I am totally wrong and not trendy anymore.

Then I thought hey Hobby Lobby has to have them how could I have forgotten about them.  So we drove over there and they are not open on Sunday!  What a store not open on a Sunday!  Nice for the workers but sad for me who only goes into town once a week on Sunday for Church.

I would have to wait until Wednesday to continue my quest.  I hitched a ride with Brian to his Big Band Rehearsal and stole the car.  I headed straight to Hobby Lobby and went down the aisle where they have the kits.  As I was looking I was only seeing cross-stitch kits and getting really disappointed.  As I moved down the aisle it switched to stamped linens for embroidery and cross-stitch that was kind of nice I thought but still no needlepoint kit in site.  Then by a freak chance at the end of the aisle on way bottom was one needlepoint kit.  Did you hear me one kit not one kind just one single solitary kit!  I just about jumped for joy and nearly ran to the checkout.  The lady asked me if I found everything alright and I said yes!  You are the only ones to have a needlepoint kit in town.  She smiled at me a little weird thinking that maybe I was to excited for this item but she sold it to me anyway.

Here is the kit!  I will give you updates as to my progress.  So far it is mounted on stretch bars and I plan to start tonight!  Are you finding it harder to find supplies?

~B

What does it takes to make me happy.

On my way home today I saw some kids playing in the dirt and they looked so happy.  I remember those days when all it took was dirt pile, my barbie doll, my brother's metal tonka trucks and a hose with water.  Oh good times.

That got me thinking, what does it take to make me happy now?  Lucky for you all I have the answer.  Besides the usual. My hubby, cat and family.  I think I have narrowed it down to 3 or 4 things.

1)  The angry birds hat I made my brother, and my brother because he is as fun to be with as he was when we were kids.

2)  Making handmade socks for family members.  This is the latest pair for my Mom.

3)  Yarn my Mom saw and had to buy me from her friend who raises alpacas.

 

4)  Last but certainly not least.....embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint and knitting supplies from my Grandmother-in-Law.  Man I do not even know where to begin.  At first I was on cloud nine then on day three of organizing I thought I was in hell and now I am back to cloud nine.  I now officially have all the DMC Floss colors except 28 of the colors.  Yes, I do plan to get the last 28 might as well it will be under $10.  This picture does not even represent my own supplies. 

I do have a question for all of you how do you organize your floss?  By color or number?  I have 6 boxes of my own and now I have added 6 more boxes from Granny.  I organized by color and she organized by number.  I am confused!  The floss in the baggies are perle cotton, rayon, rayon mix, hand painted, metallic, ribbon and wool.

The box in the back is full of needlepoint hand painted canvas and some half finished work and some I have no idea what to do with.  I will be researching needlepoint.

I did not take any pictures of the knitting supplies because they are not to organized yet.  She also gave me her Bernina sewing machine.  I see I will need to start reading up on lots of things and do not even know where to start.  Needlework?  Knitting?  Sewing?  Going Crazy?  I am thinking the latter. What do you all think?

~Bekah

Scavenged Yarn

 

I was teaching my friend to knit over a year ago and she decided she wanted to make this scarf.  She bought the yarn and needles and gave up on it. for some reason.  I really can not remember why.  Since then I have been badgering her to give me the yarn so I could make the scarf for her.  On New Years Eve this year when we went to see them in Seattle she finally gave in.  I have so excited I finished this about a month ago and just now got around to downloading the pictures.  It was fun and she only gets to keep it because it is blue and I really detest blue.  (long story why but it has to do with private school and blue uniforms. blah! and of course all the blue socks I knit last year)  It was an interesting project and making all the points stick out was fun. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

~Bekah

Spring Flower and a Christmas Apron.

Several weeks ago I got in another button making mode and stitched up some cute spring flowers. They are smaller than my normal buttons they are just barely 1".  It was fun to see how many flowers would fit.  I used pima perle cotton for all of the colors.  I love making buttons because they are so instant gratification and fun to look at.


I had mentioned a week or so ago when I was out at the antique store that I found an apron pattern and I planned to make an apron.  I did finish it and I made it reversible.  I do know it is a Christmas one.  In my defense I bought this fabric over 2 years ago and I had to use it up before another Christmas came and went and went unused.

Hmmm not sure that helps my cause it makes me look like a procrastinator.  Here it is anyway, as you can probably tell the waist band is wonky around the pleats and my arms barely reach the pockets.  If I ever get around to making another one I will make the pockets further up and hopefully do better on the waist band.
  

Other Side

So what kinds of things do you put off until the last minute?

~B