kattitudes

Another entry into the Thanksgiving throw pillow gift possibilities. If you have time before next week (Thanksgiving is next week!), this would make an amazing hostess gift.

Click to see the details of the pillow itself. There are a lot of embellishments used on this particular little number.

Now that we have all types of references for how to do embroidery stitches, I have a whole series of Thanksgiving pillows to share over the next week.

I love the detail work on these. And while I usually keep embellishments off my pillows because I aim to get practical use out of everything I make, I do really like the beads that were used for some of the harvest fruits on this particular example. I think that as long as they were sewn on firmly, they would probably last through the rough treatment that the pillow would get in my house.

Because the detail work on these pillows are so great, I made this photo clickable, so that if you click, you can see the photo full sized and get all the details.

Remember that most browsers will now automatically resize pictures that are too big. If that happens, you usually only need click on the picture again to see it full size in all its glory.

I cannot help it. I am addicted to these little wonders. I love the detail work, I love the felt fabric, I love the simple stitching and basic cutwork that I can repeatedly duplicate over and over.

I can do this over and over. And it is something that really will not go out of style, if you know what I mean. It is a pretty basic design, so that every year, it is going to be able to come out and adorn my Thanksgiving setup.

And, if we get it together fast enough to get these done in advance, it would make a perfect hostess gift if you are traveling for Thanksgiving this year.

Again with the embroidery sampler. This is a simple stitch, with a very basic outline. Just a quick and easy tree. The nice bit about this particular design is that any mistakes and oddities are a very sought-after aspect of the primitive designs. So basically, if you muck it all up, all the better!

So now there are all types of instructional libraries, photos and videos stuck over in the right sidebar of my blog, so there is no reason not to whip about a kazillion of these out. Decorate your house, your neighbor’s house, your children’s house, your postman’s house, your everyone’s house. (Well, ok, maybe not that many.) But still, I’m just saying.

Now that we have all types of references for how to do embroidery stitches, I am going to start posting more of the adorable pillows and Christmas stockings for some gifts for the holiday season. There is plenty of time before Christmas hits for you to whip a number of these out.

This pillow is just adorable and relatively simple to finish. There are no complex designs involved, just a few simple stitches and pretty casual pattern to follow (casual as in no actual pattern… just make a circle).

The highlight of this pillow is adding red seed beads as holly berries to sparkle and catch the light.

Whilst this might just make a wonderful item to decorate your own house, I never end up keeping these for myself. So my house is always bereft of these adorable things. If you know someone like that, this would actually make a fantastic gift this holiday season. We get so programmed to give these away that we never spend the money on ourselves. If you have someone like that in your family - do take the time to gift to them, even if it is at the end of the season. I never mind if I get Christmas items for Christmas itself. It means that next season I have something that I can proudly display.

OK, now we are talking. I am so not capable of aural processing, even still at my ripe old age. I visually process. Translation? Please trust me and do not waste your time trying to tell me, just show me please. It just works better. Oh so much better.

So what did someone do? This blessed wonder woman created an entire video library of embroidery stitches. I saved this one for last. Whilst I still think the other two reference sites I posted are going to be oh so helpful (and I still cannot wait for Primrose Design to get her Stitch School website online) … Hello. Video of the stitches. Now we are in my territory. The just-show-me territory.

So now we can start dealing with all those adorable pillows and Christmas stockings and such because we have a visual reference on how to make all those stitches.

This reference just rocks. Mary Corbet of NeedleNThread did these. Adore her for this. Just adore her.

OK, now the bad news. When you try to watch the videos through the NeedleNThread website, the player is overwhelmingly bogged down and the entire video would not load for me. I have a sneaking suspicion that there is just a little too much to wade through on their site, so I went directly to Google Video and looked up NeedleNThread there and went through their videos and they were presto: they were just as fast as the speed of light. So if you are having trouble with the videos on the NeedleNThread website itself, go to Google Video (video.google.com) and search for NeedleNThread. All the stitch videos will appear and you can watch them all at regular speed.

Or conversely, I can just give you the Google search here: Google videos of NeedleNThread video library of hand embroidery

via NeedleNThread video library of embroidery stitches

Although I find that the Stitch School at Primrose Design works better for me in terms of my learning curve, this dictionary of stitches also has a fantastic visual reference for the individual embroidery stitches.

If you are in need of a particular embroidery stitch or just want to figure out how to stitch, you can check out the dictionary of stitches for hand embroidery and needlework to see if it fills your need. I have to admit that the stitch dictionary is pretty full and it does has a nice list of the different cross stitches that are available.

via Dictionary of Stitches for Hand Embroidery and Needlework

OK, there are just not enough words in my effusive vocabulary for how much I heart this woman. I want to run away with her to embroidery land and live happily ever after while she teaches me everything she knows (and only then will I let her out of my clutches and she can come back and do other things).

Janet talked a lot about embroidery, so in order to help her blog readers, she started posting what she called “stitch school“. And for months on end, she would post, with extensive photos, how to do oh so many embroidery stitches. Incredible.

All those confusing instructions with two dimensional photos from other sites suddenly popped out and made sense because you could see which way things were supposed to go and which way to pull the thread and where to poke the needle.

She has multiple shops where she sells all her incredible work (if you have pocket change and can support her, by all means, do it).

This is where those transfer pens and papers and methods that we keep going over to the craft stores to investigate come in handy. We download embroidery patterns (or if you are like me, clip art patterns that you adore) on linens that we scored for super cheap and spend some time in front of the telly over the next few weeks relaxing and mutitasking getting some presents out of the way. Then we have absolutely gorgeous handmade and inexpensive items to give this Christmas.

Janet also made some incredible rumbles (you did not really have to read between the lines but she mentioned it quietly) that she reserved www.stitchschool.com, so you know what that means. Another out of this world resource. I am watching that space anxiously myself. Her photos are so incredibly helpful, and I just cannot wait to see how the school turns out.

If you are trying embroidery and finding it a bit of a challenge, or you want to explore some new stitches, I cannot recommend Primrose Design highly enough. Janet’s stitch school rocks. She just rocks.

via Primrose Design (see in particular the posts in the sidebar listed under Stitch School)

Starting today, you will find a very handy page over there on the right hand side of the blog (it is listed under the pages). I have created a page that lists pretty quick and dirty some of my favorite shopping places online.

It is a first draft, so not all my bookmarks are up there by any means. However, some of the multitudinous places I wander online are up there so that you too can wander in and find some of the remarkable bargains I’m finding.

If you have places that you love, please - by all that is holy - let me know. I am always looking for a new place to shop. Send me a note, leave a comment, and I would love to check it out. I live to comparison shop (must. comparison. shop. It is in my blood).

Keep in mind, these are not places to purchase finished products. These are stores for you to purchase supplies for you to make your own gifts and wonders. This is for you to get your own crafty on.

And with these, we say goodbye to the little felt Halloween ornament fest and the plethora of Halloween embroidery orgy we have had with the embroidery and the felt and the pillows and the Halloween.

Tomorrow, we start with Thanksgiving and Christmas combined.

You think I am joking.