Martin Lewis Portrait, Free Embroidery Pattern

Stitch a portrait of Martin Lewis with my latest free embroidery pattern! 

I shared a free "WWMLD"  ("What Would Martin Lewis Do?") embroidery pattern last month, inspired by everyone’s favourite money-saving expert. 

I love Martin Lewis and his no-nonsense advice about financial matters, and as bills and other prices have been sky-rocketing I've been thinking "What Would Martin Lewis Do?" a lot... and I just couldn't resist turning that into a craft project.

 

When I was sketching ideas for the pattern, I drew a little portrait of Martin because portraits are something I'm trying to challenge myself to do more of (gotta keep trying new things and stretching yourself creatively!)

I was quite pleased with how the sketch turned out and planned to share a pair of WWMLD patterns (one with simple text, the other this portrait version)... and then I had an attack of self doubt and decided the portrait was terrible and no-one would want to stitch it anyway so what was the point in sharing it - UGH!

And now...? 

Well, I've decided that January Laura was being too hard on herself and needs to learn to share her work even if it's not "perfect" - because that's an important part of creative development. 

And maybe people WILL want to stitch this (or just print it out and put it up on the wall) as a little reminder to make sensible financial choices, or to resist the urge to turn the heating up! 

Feel the creative fear and do it anyway, right??

Happy stitching, pals xx

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE MARTIN LEWIS PORTRAIT PATTERN

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE WWMLD PATTERN 

These patterns are for personal use only: you can use them to stitch as many  as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. Thanks xx

Enjoyed these free patterns? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!

P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly(ish) free patterns and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more creative projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns and lots more:

What Would Martin Lewis Do? Free Embroidery Pattern

This free embroidery pattern is an homage to everyone’s favourite money-saving expert, who has become one of the loudest voices campaigning for support during the cost of living crisis and sharing lots of useful information during this tricky time. 

 

I love Martin Lewis and his no-nonsense advice about financial matters, and as bills and other prices have been sky-rocketing I've started to think to myself "What Would Martin Lewis Do?"... so, obviously, I had to turn that thought into a craft project because that's just who I am as a person.

I can’t promise you’ll become a wise money-saving guru after stitching this, but I hope it’ll make you smile all the same!

Printed at 100% the design will fit neatly into a 5 inch embroidery hoop, but you may wish to use a larger hoop when stitching it.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE FREE PDF PATTERN.

This pattern is for personal use only: you can use it to stitch as many  as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. Thanks xx

Enjoyed this free pattern? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!

P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for monthly(ish) free patterns and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more creative projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns and lots more:

Stack of Books Embroidery Pattern

UPDATE:  I shared this project with my subscribers earlier this year, it's now available as a printable PDF pattern in my Etsy shop!

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This stack of books embroidery pattern is perfect for book lovers, and easy to customise to include your favourite titles!

You can stitch this as it is, or add your own text to the spines to customise it. If you're a confident stitcher you could add the titles of your favourite books. For an easier, quicker project stick to the surnames of your favourite authors!

This pattern is fairly easy to sew with backstitch, though I'd recommend taking care as you sew all those straight lines. A bit of patience will make all the difference to the neatness of your finish. I'll be including two versions of the embroidery pattern: one with the book page lines added and one without in case you'd prefer to stitch those freehand.

Dove & Robin Christmas Ornament Tutorials

UPDATE:  my felt doves tutorial and little felt robins tutorial (originally shared with my newsletter subscribers) are both now available as printable PDF patterns in my Etsy shop!

Stay Home, Save Lives: Free Embroidery Pattern

This week I'm sharing lots of little houses to stitch while you're stuck at home!

 

Maybe your community is currently in lockdown due to Covid-19, or maybe you're just staying home as much as possible to practise social distancing and help save lives. Either way I hope you'll enjoy stitching one of these projects to keep yourself entertained while normal life is on hold. I'm finding creative projects a great solace right now!

Today I'm sharing a sweet "Stay Home" pattern, then later in the week I'll be posting a set of five cute house patterns which you can frame in embroidery hoops, use to make embroidered ornaments, or stitch on anything else you fancy.

You'll find the "Stay Home" embroidery pattern at the bottom of this post.

I stitched my version in mainly pastel shades, on a bit of lovely grey linen-blend fabric. I used backstitch for most of the design, using all six strands in the skein to make the lines stand out really boldly, but you can of course use fewer strands if you prefer. Sewing with all six can be a little tricky!

I also used lazy daisy stitches for the leaves, and a French knot for the door handle. When sewing the flowers, work clockwise (or anticlockwise, either is fine!) sewing one single stitch per petal. I'd recommend sewing the flowers in front of the house before you sew their stems, so you can fill all of the vertical line that remains (after sewing the vertical petals) with green.

I stitched the design in a 7 inch embroidery hoop and framed it in a 6 inch hoop. Using the slightly larger hoop gives you a bit more room to work with.

The house embroidery patterns I'm sharing this week are all adapted from a tutorial I designed a few years ago for making cute little felt houses. Follow the link for the templates and step-by-step instructions! These patterns also make super cute gingerbread houses, perfect for Christmas.

This pattern is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch as many houses as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire  post or share my pattern on your site. Thanks!

Enjoyed this free pattern? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


P.S. Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:


Click here to open the pattern in a new window, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.

Stay Inside & Make Stuff

UPDATE: this pattern and tutorial is now available in my Patreon pattern library.

 

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time. 

 

Click here to check out my Patreon page and sign up!

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Hello! I hope you're doing okay? These are weird, scary times, huh?

This is just a very quick blog post to say that I'm going to be self-isolating to take care of my dad over the coming weeks/months and won't be making any trips to the Post Office any time soon. So my weekly sales are paused, and I've removed all the handstitched samples from my Etsy shop (my printable PDF sewing patterns will still be availavle from my Etsy and Folksy shops).

I'm hoping that this extra time spent at home will mean I'll get a whole bunch of new patterns in my shops soon (especially now we're starting to get good light for taking photos!). I'm also going to work hard catching up with the freebies for my newsletter subscribers, and I've got some fun stuff planned for here on my blog, too, which I hope you'll enjoy if you're stuck at home for a while.

In the meantime, I thought I'd re-release my "Stay Inside and Make Stuff" embroidery pattern for my pattern newsletter subscribers, as it feels super appropriate for this time of social distancing! (Plus I feel guilty about having not sent out a new pattern in ages - sorry guys!).

The pattern also includes templates for making a felt applique version of the floral wreath, and a "Go Outside and Get Inspired" embroidery pattern (I'm trying to get out at least once a day for a walk at the moment and am feeling very thankful for all the signs of spring in my neighbourhood).

  
Take care of yourselves xxx

Freebie: Anti-Fashion Zine

I've been having a bit of a clearout this week and last night I found a whole folder full of clippings from women's magazines and beauty columns and was totally at a loss as to why I'd kept them... until at the back of the folder I found some half-finished anti-fashion zines.

Before I had a blog, I used to write lots of zines (including one called Bugs and Fishes which I published at irregular intervals for about 6 years, hence the name of this blog!). I wrote about all sorts of weird stuff, stuck it down on a bit of paper with pritt stick, photocopied it and handed it out to friends, and later sold a few copies through my fledgling Etsy shop.

As I don't sell my zines anymore, I thought it might be nice to share one here instead: issue #3 of my anti-fashion zine This Season's Must Have (yes I know sharing issue #1 would make more sense, but I can't find the files on my computer and my scanner needs replacing, so shh).

I love clothes, but fashion (and fashion journalism) drives me crazy! This Season was inspired by endless articles about the new "must have" jeans and how not wearing them would be social death. It's packed with clippings that made me either fall on the floor laughing or grind my teeth in a vaguely feminist, and distinctly anti-fashion rage. Hope you enjoy it :)

This Season's Must Have by Laura Howard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Click on the images to view full size and print (each page prints to A4 size)

Special Offer!

I realised this week that I've hit 3,500 items sold in my Etsy shop! Wow.

To celebrate that big number, and all those trips to the Post Office... if you place an order in my Etsy shop this month and mention BUGSANDFISHES in the "message to seller" during the checkout process I'll send you a free gift with your order.

If you buy something handmade, you'll get a handmade freebie. If you buy felt or other supplies you'll get something crafty :)

The offer runs until the end of the month (midnight, September 30th 2010), is only valid in my Etsy shop and you must mention BUGSANDFISHES during checkout to receive your freebie.

Festive Freebie

Christmas in July continues over on Sew, Mama, Sew! ... you can read a little interview with me and (rather excitingly) my gingerbread house ornament from Fa La La La Felt is now available as a free PDF pattern - you can download it here. Hurrah!



UPDATE: Fancy some more crafty goodness? Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

February Giveaway - twice the fun

I completely failed to do a giveaway last month (thanks to being distracted by snow and illness and assorted other things) so this month I'm giving away two things to make up for it :)

This month's prizes are the brooches featured in my recent tutorials, a cute brown owl brooch...
... and a sweet heart brooch:
To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying which brooch you'd like if you win: the heart or the owl.

Leave your comment before midnight (UK time) on Sunday 14th February and I'll pick two winners at random on Monday 15th Feb. I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter.

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please) and be sure to come back next week to see if you got picked. Good luck!

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

And the lucky number is...

... seventeen!So the inspiration pack will be going to missleslieanne who wrote: "the first thing I can really remember making, was a paperweight for my dad - it was effectively a big rock, splattered with paint & glitter! bless him though, he treated it like a masterpiece & it's been with him in every office he's had since, even now!!"

Thanks so much for sharing your crafty stories, everyone! It was an absolute pleasure reading them all. And remember, I'm playing catch up this month so there'll be a second giveaway coming soon.

August Giveaway - part one!

Thanks to the horrible flu, I didn't run a giveaway in July... so I've decided to double the fun this month to make up for it and will be running TWO giveaways this month!

First up, I'm giving away one of my new "inspiration packs" - contents will vary but each bag is bursting with buttons and ribbon and other crafty treats to help inspire lots of new projects.Because the inspiration packs make great starter kits for kids (supervised, of course!) and inspired by yesterday's peek at one of my early sewing projects, to enter this week's giveaway just leave a comment telling me about one of your first crafty projects. This could be something you made as a kid, or maybe an early project when you were discovering a new craft as an adult. Successes, disasters, proud memories, I'd love to hear them all!

Leave your comment before midnight BST (British Summer Time) on Saturday 15th August on this post and I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday (16th August).

I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter. Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please!) and be sure to come back on Sunday to see if you got picked :)

EDIT: this giveaway is now closed! Thanks!

Felt Flowers Galore... plus: a winner!

After a mammoth photo-editing and listing session this morning, there are lots of new floral treats over in my Etsy shop...

New cherry blossom headbands, one with my usual cherry blossom design and the other bigger and bolder:I wear my own cherry blossom brooch all the time (it seems to go with half the things in my wardrobe) so I'm definitely keeping one of those hairbands for myself! A matching large cherry blossom brooch will be popping up in my shop soon, too.

I've also listed a prototype brooch from some of my flower experiments, it's not quite perfect but it's a one off and listed at a bargain price!And I've finally listed the pretty butterfly flowers - brooches and headbands in a choice of colours:Even more flowery things coming soon, but I need a little break from photo editing for the moment! :)

In other news, it's time to announce the winner of this month's special birthday giveaway.
The number picked from the random-number-generator hat was number 23 ... Dianna, who said "Happy Birthday! What a lovely way to celebrate it. Hope you have a fantastic day." Many congrats to Dianna and thanks to everyone who entered - it has been lovely sharing the birthday fun with you all this week!

Birthday Giveaway: lots of lovely free things!

As it's my birthday this week, I thought it would be nice to have a super-special giveaway. So there's a whole bundle of felty goodness up for grabs for one lucky person...... a pink "I love tea" badge, a star rosette brooch, a lilac flower brooch, a fun necklace and a black moustache disguise (because everyone needs a moustache).

As always, I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter. Just leave a comment before midnight BST (British Summer Time) on Saturday 6th June on this post and I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday (7th June).

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please!) and be sure to come back on Sunday to see if you got picked :)

Also TOMORROW I'm offering a special birthday discount in in all my shops! 10% off any order for 24 hours only! PLUS: a free gift will be sent with every discounted order.

The offer runs for the whole of tomorrow (June 3rd) - to qualify for the discount place an order in any of my shops and wish me Happy Birthday during Etsy or Paypal checkout and pay as normal, and I'll refund 10% of your order via Paypal (excludes shipping) and include a special gift in your parcel.

A butterfly will be flying off to...

... lucky commenter number 74, Feral Moon who said "I love the blue butterfly!"
(All the butterflies can be found in my Etsy shop and also on Folksy, if pounds are your thing)

Sorry for the short post today, I'm spending the day with my sister. Normal service will be resumed soon! :)

May Giveaway: Butterfly Brooch

It's giveaway time again! Yay!
This month I'm giving away one of my very latest brooch designs - a butterfly brooch, in pink......blue...... or orange:I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter. Just leave a comment before midnight BST (British Summer Time) on Saturday 23rd May on this post saying which colour badge is your favourite and I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday (24th May).

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please!) and be sure to come back on Sunday to see if you got picked :)

EDIT: commenting is now closed! Thanks everyone!

And the winner is...

... lovely commenter number 55 (chosen at random), bloggerjeanne who said "With two girls, I would have to choose the pinks!" Hurrah!

Thanks again to everyone who took part - so many comments! and so fun hearing which colours you'd like and why! Apologies to anyone who commented after the midnight deadline, I forgot to disable comments on the post until this morning (oops).

I've got no idea what I'll be giving away next month, but giveaways will definitely be happening once a month round here as they're so much fun - so do stick around :)

A Freebie!

I thought it might be nice to share the felty love a little by having a monthly giveaway :)

As I've been spending the past few days making up packs of felt squares my very first freebie is a bundle of yummy felt!

The winner will get a pack of 10 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) felt squares in their favourite choice of colours. You can choose from...

Soft Pastels:Bright Mix:Natural Tones:Pinks and Purples:Or Blues and Greens:
I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter - just leave a comment before midnight BST on Saturday 25th April on this post saying which colour pack you'd like and I'll pick a winner at random on Sunday (26th April).

EDIT: this giveaway is now closed! Thanks for all your comments :)