Extra Credit

Good Morning! I have a little something to share with you before posting the next lesson tomorrow. A free pattern!

I drew these mice a couple of weeks ago, and I've been stitching one of them up as an example. He's all finished, so I'm ready to share the pattern with you today.

Say hi to City Mouse and Country Mouse!

I think they're pretty darn cute, what do you think?

The pattern images are the flipped version, so if you'll be using the transfer paper technique, you'll want to flip the image.

I hope you like it!

Hugs & Stitches,
Amy

Get Your Stitch On

I have a special and exciting announcement today. I've decided to host a virtual embroidery class right here on the Early Bird Special blog!

Basically what this will consist of is a series of posts covering five basic embroidery stitches to get you comfortable and started on your own embroidery projects.

I hosted a class in person a few months ago, and it was a lot of fun. But I want to share the knowledge with all of my out of town friends too.

Here's what you'll learn:

I will try to keep instructions as clear as possible as well as post a video of each of the stitches, to make it feel like I'm right there with you.

Don't worry, this is a free series, so all you need to do is show up to class with your supplies in hand!


Fabric: I recommend using a white cotton fabric for embroidery, but feel free to use what you like. Just make sure it's a quilting quality cotton.

Hoop: I like to use a hoop that is between 5" to 7" in diameter, simply because this is most comfortable for my hands.

Needle: I often get asked what size needle I use for embroidery. I think I use an embroidery size 5 or 6 most often. The main thing is to make sure that the package says it's especially for embroidery, because this means the eye of the needle will be large enough to accommodate all 6 strands of embroidery floss.

Floss: DMC floss or Presencia is what I like to use. Try not to buy the off brand cheap rainbow packages of floss. These really do tend to tangle and shred quite easily, only frustrating things. Go ahead and splurge on the good stuff.

Scissors: Embroidery scissors are preferred, but not required. There will be times when you might need to cut some stitches out, due to a mishap or if you want to change the stitch color or stitch style and tiny, sharp embroidery scissors are perfect for the job.

I'm going to show you the stitches on various projects, because I want you to have the freedom to choose what pattern you like.

Here are some resources for my favorite patterns for purchase:

Sublime Stitching
Kitschy Digitals
Follow the White Bunny
Penguin & Fish
Badbird
Wee Wonderfuls
September House
Wild Olive

And here's a list of my favorite free patterns:

Sublime Stitching
Follow the White Bunny
Badbird
doe-c-doe
Hoop Love Vintage Patterns
Vintage Transfer Finds

Take a look around, I'm sure you'll find more than enough patterns to keep you busy for a while.

You know what they say about assuming, right? I hate to assume that you already know the ins and outs of transfer techniques, so please tell me, do I need to cover this topic before getting started on the stitch lessons?

Who's ready to learn how to embroider or freshen up your skills?

Hugs & Stitches,
Amy

**Update: I decided to add "Transfer Techniques" to the lesson list. Once this topic is covered, we'll get to stitching! ;-)

Makings of a Snuggly

I'm pretty much an expert at waiting until the last minute to start making something for a gift.

Here's what I'm working on today for Darcy's Easter basket:



I'm using the free embroidery pattern Helen Dardik shared with her readers last year.



I thought it would make for a cute snuggly.

Are you making something special or did you find a sweet handmade lovely for your little one's Easter basket?

xoxo
Amy

Free Pattern!

My friend Dana over at Craftyminx is sharing the cutest little vintage Valentine embroidery pattern!

This a-deer-able sample was lovingly stitched by Dana.

I just might need to stitch this up for the girls, or go through my collection of vintage Valentines to make my own.

xoxo
Amy

The First Onesie

Well I did it. I finally stitched a onesie for our new baby girl, due at the end of September. I think it's a little funny that it took me so long to start onesies for her, seeing how I'm 31 weeks pregnant this week.

I've had a little case of stitcher's block in the baby department, and I know that's why it took me so long to get things started. But on Tuesday, I received the cure to end all mom-to-be stitcher's block.

The new Sublime Stitching Baby Bib Embroidery Kit truly is as wonderful and adorable as people say it is. The baby started kicking and flipping just from me looking at the patterns! (Ok, maybe I made that last part up. But believe me, you will fall in love!)

The kit comes with six iron on transfers, two of which I think can be used on things other than bibs. Also included are two bibs, five skeins of floss, a needle and an instruction booklet.

I decided to start out with the 2 non foodie patterns and embroider onesies, since I'm out of stabilizer and decided I'd like to add stabilizer to the back of the bibs before I start stitching them. Although knowing me, I'll probably get impatient, and start embroidering the bibs before making it to the craft store for stabilizer.






I just love all of the patterns included in the kit, and I thought this one and the owl pattern would look super cute on onesies. (I should finish the owl onesie later today.)

I know I mentioned I'm out of stabilizer, and normally, I prefer to have stabilizer if I'm going to be embroidering on onesies or t-shirts. But I don't feel stabilizer is necessary when I am embroidering on the Gerber organic onesies, which is what I used.

If you love this pattern as much as I do, but you just can't wait for your own Baby Bib Kit to arrive before stitching it, you can download it for free, from this archived Craftzine Podcast!

Stay tuned for more projects made using patterns from this kit!

xoxo
Amy