A Floral Embroidery Update

My flower embroidery project continues!

I used two shades of coral to sew the flower outlines, then filled in the petals with lines of peach. Similarly, I stitched the leaf outlines with a leafy green then used a lighter spring green to fill them. The stamens are stitched with a light, bright orange.

I had some concerns about these colour and stitching choices but I think it's (mostly) turned out okay. It doesn't look too busy and the leaves aren't too dark... but I do think the orange stamens don't stand out well enough from the surrounding peach of the petals. The photos are actually a little misleading in this respect as the orange looks much brighter and stands out a lot more in these pics than it does in real life.

I'm thinking I might try stitching over it with a different shade of orange to make it stand out more. I'll let you know how that goes!

I've also decided to stitch a second version of the flower in a different colour palette - one more similar to the colours I used for the original felt flower. This time I'll just be embroidering the basic lines of the pattern and not filling it in, though I might make use of some of my recently-learnt embroidery stitches, maybe adding some French knots to the stamens?

 

P.S. Just for fun, here's a snap of the back of the flower :)

UPDATE: This embroidery pattern is now available as part of my Romantic Flowers sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

Crafty Ladies: Meet Gretel Parker

This fortnight's Crafty Lady is Gretel Parker, who makes the most amazing little felt creatures. I am always slightly in awe of needle-felters but especially of Gretel's magical work.

Gretel creates needle-felt sculptures, teaches needle-felting workshops and is the author of Little Needle-Felt Animals. She writes about her work and life in the countryside on her blog, Middle of Nowhere, and sells her sculptures and a range of needle-felting kits and supplies from her Etsy shop.

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Hello! I'm Gretel; I've been a professional needle felter for seven years. Previously I was a freelance children's illustrator and designer, but needle felting took over my life. I live in a scruffy little cottage in the middle of the Shropshire countryside with my two cats.

Most of my time is spent working - at the moment I am expanding my design range, planning new needle felt kits to add to my existing stock and building up my supplies business, as well as organising workshops. When I'm not doing that, I like watching horror films and listening to pretty heavy music. Crashed on the sofa with my partner Joe and the cats is my favourite way to relax.

Recently I’ve been making...

I've recently been using alpaca wool to make little birds - this is a first for me, as I use merino wool exclusively.  I have a workshop coming up at the p-Lush Alpaca show in Coventry on Friday March 27th  and ought it would be nice to use the relevant wool. I've found it more difficult to get a smooth finish, but it's been interesting to work with something different and I kind of like the fuzzy effect, though it's not my usual style.

    
I’ve been working on…

I've just started my first teddy bear design - not the cute cuddly kind, but an old fashioned scruffy bear with a wonky head and slouchy tummy. I've never previously been drawn to teddy bears, but it's a challenge and I do love challenges. It's easy to get into repetitive habits when making is your full time job, so this is stretching me a bit. So far I've spent over ten hours on it, trying to get the right shape and I'm about halfway through. New designs always take longer, with quite a few false starts and ripping out.

My other new work this year is a little hare brooch - I wanted to do something a  bit different to the standard leaping hare and this crouched hare design looks lovely pinned to a jacket.

I’ve been blogging about…

Many people know that my world was shattered two years ago, when my long term partner died. I'm now in a wonderful  relationship with a great guy called Joe. As my blog isn't just about my work, but my real life too, I was really happy to announce the change in my circumstances as I know that people think of me and the support has beem amazing. That's what I love about blogging; it's a real community.

I've also posted about a visit to the historic Chetham's Library in Manchester, with lots of pictures of dusty old books - all very Harry Potter! And updating my readers on my latest work for sale and workshops that I'm doing this year.

 

I’ve been reading…

I don't have time to read much, but at the moment my bedtime book is The Lamplighter by Anthony O'Neill - it's a dark, Victorian crime novel, which is my favourite kind of fiction. And provides a nice break from the cuteness of the teddy bear I'm working on!

    

While I work, I’ve been watching…

Needle felting isn't the easiest of crafts to combine with watching anything; the danger is stabbing yourself when engrossed in a plot.  But I always have something on. I rarely watch scheduled TV, so have  been catching up with the new series of Father Brown on BBC1, Wolf Hall, Broadchurch and my guilty pleasure, Made in Chelsea. Otherwise I find a good horror film on Netflix.

Gretel’s 3 Top Tips for successful needle felting:

1. Try to draw out a design before beginning to construct it - you don't have to be a good artist and it doesn't have to be anything more than a doodle, but it will help fix the shape in your visual memory, especially if you can draw it from several angles.

2. Make things that you love - and pour your heart into them. It's a waste of time making things you feel you 'should' make, they never come out the same.

3. The question I am most often asked - how to get a super smooth finish. It's all about time and patience, there is no magic trick. Use a size 40 spiral needle to finish off with or a size 42 triangular needle and really pay attention to working down the tiny bumps and crevices.

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Visit Gretel's blog to see more of what she's been making lately and check out her shop for finished pieces, kits and needlefelting supplies. You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and Pinterest.

Click here to read more posts in the Crafty Ladies series.

Please note: the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links.

My Current "Exercise" Routine

  

Step 1:  Make plans to go on a Nice Day Out.

Step 2: Set my alarm so I can get up nice and early and make the most of my day off.

Step 3a: Oversleep!

Or, 3b: Think "I'll just quickly check my emails", waste time faffing about on Twitter etc and suddenly realise I'm going to miss my train.

Step 4: Rush around the house at lightning speed.

Step 5: Run to the train station (or rather, run for a bit then walk to catch my breath thinking "my goodness I need to get fit", then run a bit again). Collapse in a heap on the train.

Step 6: Spend the whole day walking everywhere. Walk to museums, around galleries, up stairs, down shopping streets, along riversides and through parks* (*delete as appropriate depending on the weather).

Step 7: Eat a nice bit of cake or an icecream (or two) and think about how this probably isn't the healthiest choice but who cares oh my goodness this is so tasty om nom nom.

 

Step 8: Go home.

Step 9: Repeat steps 1-8 as often as possible :)

Book Review: Crafty Dolls

Last year I reviewed a very cute, family-friendly craft book called Crafty Creatures... and today I'm reviewing the follow-up: Crafty Dolls.

Crafty Creatures was completely adorable and this second book is just as cute. As before, the book includes projects to knit and to sew, which are all achievable projects for kids or other beginners and which all include lots of possibilities to personalise the designs and to be creative.

How could you resist a book with a title page as cute as this one?
 

 

I love the little doll the author, Jane Bull, has knitted of herself and how both Janes welcome you to the book!

Crafty Dolls is divided into four sections: rag dolls, "woolly" dolls, "dolly mixtures" and a techniques and tips section with clear step-by step photos. The templates are all provided at full size and are dotted throughout the book.

The rag dolls build on the same basic patterns, with variations and accessories so you can mix and match bodies, hair, faces, clothes and accessories to create personalised dolls or dolls with a whole wardrobe of outfits to choose from.

You can also make ballerina or fairy folls, topsy-turvy dolls and a mermaid with wonderful yarn hair.

In the "woolly" dolls section there are dolls to knit and dolls to make from gloves and yarn scraps. There are step by step photos for the knitting patterns as well as the sewing patterns and, again, there are lots of suggestions for ways to personalise your dolls and create lots of different dolls from the same patterns.

I love these simple dolls knitted from simple squares:

Finally, the "dolly mixtures" section includes doll-shaped lavender bags, small pillows with characters drawn on and one of the cutest things I have ever seen: mini dolls for the rag dolls to play with... which come with even more teeny dolls of their own! All with matching outfits!

SO MUCH CUTENESS.

Cute, charming and with lots of clear instructions and simple, kid-friendly projects this is a fab little book. It would be a great book to buy if you've got young relatives to make gifts for (who wouldn't want a doll version of themself for their birthday?) or if your kids are learning to knit and/or to sew things for themselves.

Crafty Dolls is published by Dorling Kindersley Ltd. RRP £12.99. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

Please note: I was sent a free review copy of this book. The Amazon & Book Depository links in this post are affiliate links.