Early Bird Special

Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

2008-10-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Try your luck, again! Thanks, Sarah for the tip.

xoxo

New Patterns!

2008-10-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited to spread the news about Sublime Stitching's new patterns! I had the pleasure of stitching up 2 and a half of the examples.

Just in time for Halloween, Zombies & Monsters!

This sheet was designed by the super talented Alicia Policia. Alicia also designed the Sexy Librarians sheet. I am loving our Sublime collaborations.

Next in line are skater patterns by artist Michael Sieben.

I can't think of many dudes that wouldn't think something with these patterns stitched on them would be totally rad. Hello, holidays?

Finally, Jenny and I both contributed to this stitched example. Handmade Nation patterns
designed by Kate Bingaman-Burt.

The Handmade Nation patterns are a limited edition, so that means you'd better get 'em while the gettin's good. While you're at it, be sure to visit the Handmade Nation movie website to stay up to date on all things Handmade and see if there is going to be a screening in your town!

Lastly, I didn't stitch up these Cute Little Heads, but I am so ordering them asap.

I'm really looking forward to stitching these designs on to some of Darcy's clothes, and possibly some of my own. They are just so sweet!

Don't forget to subscribe to the Sublime Stitching newsletter if you aren't already.

**For some reason, a few of the links from the website directly are not loading, but the links I have posted above should get you to each said pattern.**

xoxo
Amy

Giveaways!

2008-10-04T15:02:00.001-07:00

Happy Weekend to you all!

My girl Sarah over at Welcome to Girl Land is hosting a couple of really fab giveaways, but you have to hurry! Giveaway #1 is already over, giveaway #2 ends Sunday October 5, and giveaway #3 is over on Tuesday October 7. So get on over there and leave her a comment to try your luck.

Speaking of giveaways, my one year blogiversary is coming up on November 1! I have a few ideas in the works as far as prizes, but if you have something particular in mind, I'd love to hear about it!

xoxo

Wiz Kid

2008-10-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

I know you've heard it before, and I hope it's not dull by now, but I am a Wizard of Oz fan. I'm not a crazy over the top fan, I just like picking up extra cute Oz items to treasure, especially of the vintage variety.

My Mom and I went to a church rummage sale a few years ago, and I found a vintage Wizard of Oz latch hook rug kit, made by Bucilla. It was just adorable, and only $1.00 or less, so of course we got it. Mom is currently working on it, and should be just about finished with it, if not already. I can't wait to take pictures of it to share with you!

Earlier this week I looked on eBay for more vintage Bucilla kits, focusing on Wizard of Oz, and found a kit to make a Scarecrow doll! It came today, and it had never been opened. Have you seen this kit before?

The instructions seem pretty easy, and I'm hoping he will be a good companion for my Tin Man doll.

Isn't he so sweet? This Tin Man doll was a gift from my Mom a few years ago. She found him at a local vintage shop that was going out of business. There are no tags, so I think he is hand made. The craftsmanship is flawless, and I just adore him.

The Scarecrow might be a little bit larger than Tin Man, but I won't be certain until I start assembling him. The kit also boasts, "No embroidery required." But we'll just see about that. There's always need for embroidery, don't you think?

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

le sigh

2008-10-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just look what my little stinker did today.

No, I'm not a McCoy collector, but I did enjoy this particular bowl / planter. I picked it up at a yard sale a few years ago for only $0.99! I was just eyeing this bowl yesterday, thinking it would look cute with some tiny gourds in it for Fall. Oh well! At least Darcy didn't get hurt or anything. She was surprised and said "Oops! I'm sorry, Mommy." I can't be upset with that kind of apology.

Too bad I don't mosaic. I hate to just throw it away though. Any suggestions?

On the embroidery front, Andrea has posted a free pattern for October, and guess what? It's a Halloween pattern!

Get it here!

Isn't Pumkin Girl a doll? I'm going to print her out and transfer her to some fabric for some afternoon stitching as soon as I finish up here. What are you waiting for?

xoxo

The First

2008-10-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Happy October to you all!

This is a busy month for me, with birthdays and pumpkin parties and the witching hour. I love it!

I put the Halloween decorations out today, and this is one of my little treasures. It's a little wooden pumpkin with a gang of wooden dolls, similar to what you find in the heart of a Matryoshka.

I hope to share more treasures with you this month, as well as some Halloween and birthday related crafts that I'll be busy making.

In case you haven't noticed already from Flickr or from other embroidery blogs, there are a lot of really wonderful (and free!) Halloween embroidery patterns available for your enjoyment.

First up is Annie Oakleaves' adorable Ghosties pattern.

Get it here!

Annie Oakleaves strikes again with this adorable little witchy poo.

Get it here!

Be sure to stop by Annie's Etsy shop for more embroidery patterns.

I'll leave you with those two Halloween freebies for now. They're both in my to do pile, and I really hope to start them soon!

xoxo

Around the House

2008-09-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your encouraging words about the mouse fear, and sharing your fears too. Sometimes it's not easy to admit what we're afraid of, so thank you!

To help ease my worried mind, we adopted a new kitty cat last week. He's super cute, sweet, playful, and has all the makings of a serial mouser. Meet Dexter:

He hasn't had a chance to officially test his mousing skills, as there has been no sign of a mouse for over a week. Thank goodness. So in the meantime, he's resting up for his big adventures.

Sorry to be such a bore with the mouse talk. I'm happy to put a lid on it for a while.

Tuesday I noticed some beautiful flowers hiding behind some ugly, over grown weed bushes, and I couldn't resist snipping a few to enjoy indoors.

Of course I left a few outdoors, so the bees and butterflies could enjoy them too. I had no idea what these beauties were called, so I Googled it, and found out they are a perennial called Lycoris, also known as a Spider Lily. I just love finding lovely surprises like these, don't you?

I promise my next post will be a craft related one. I'm finally wrapping up a big work order for Sublime Stitching, which I will share with you soon. Now I can focus on Darcy's birthday, in less than a month, and our annual pumpkin carving contest, exactly one month from today!

xoxo
Amy

Sunday, Scary Sunday

2008-09-16T05:27:00.000-07:00

This post is totally non-craft related. Excuse me, but there is a mouse in my house, and I'm freaking out just a little. Mice are my one thing. One thing that I can't deal with. My poor husband is such a trooper when it comes to these things. He is diligent in the hunt and capture of the mouse, and usually succeeds in 24 hours. Don't worry friends, we only use humane traps, and JAB always sets the little mouse free, far from the house.

I thought I heard a mouse Sunday night when we were watching Heroes, and then I saw the mouse about 15 minutes after that. So I went to the store and bought 4 traps. Just standing there looking at all the mice on the packaging was creeping me out.

I got home, and JAB set the traps out, and we continued watching Heroes, and waited. We heard the mouse trying to get in to one of the traps and we thought we got him, but he was too tricky. We finally went to bed, and I laid there thinking every little sound was the mouse coming to eat me up.

The next day Darcy and I went to my Mom's all day. Yes, that's right. I'm so scared I can't even stay at my house without JAB when there is a mouse. I can't even go in the kitchen.

When we got home that night, JAB was in the kitchen, standing at the sink, and I walked up to throw something away and the mouse scurried across the floor! I bolted in to the living room and jumped on the couch. I asked JAB if he saw it, and he said yes, it went down in the floor vent. O. M. G. NO!!

He told me that particular floor vent doesn't work, which leads us to think there must be a hole in the duct, so maybe, hopefully, it's under the house, or outside now. We haven't heard or seen anything for over 24 hours. Today, Wednesday, is the first day Darcy and I are staying at home, and we don't have the car, so if there is a monster still in the house, I just have to face my fear. (I've actually been in the kitchen a few times, jumping at every sound and shadow, mind you.)

We have decided it's time to add a cat to our family. So after looking on Craigslist, I am going to look at a 3 month old male white and tabby cat! He has already been neutered and has had his first round of shots. His current foster Mom says he even gets along with dogs and is always hunting for bugs, so he sounds like he will be a good mouser. I'm really excited to meet him.

What scares you the most? Any tips on facing your fears?

xoxo
Amy

Little Things

2008-09-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Good Friday to you all!

Sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference. Take this tea towel I made a few months ago for instance:

It's a very cute design, but it was just too small for this tea towel, making it questionably cute.

So I finally decided to make the little change that this design has been so desperately needing. I put it in a picture frame!

There, that's better! Now it's undoubtedly cute, don't you think?

Do you love this design? It came from a Japanese embroidery book, ISBN: 4-8347-2498-0

xoxo
Amy

I <3 Your Blog!

2008-09-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

Sarah of Welcome to Girl Land gave me a cute little award, letting me know she loves my blog. Thank you, Sarah! I love your blog too! I love Sarah's blog because she makes wonderful embroidery projects, providing lots of inspiration. Plus she has an adorable Etsy shop, and it's stocked with the cutest vintage kitsch. Not to mention she's funny and I like her style!

Here are the award rules:

(1) The winner can put the logo on their blog.

(2) Link the person you received your award from.

(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

(4) Put links of those on yours.

(5) Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

Here are my nominees! Like Sarah, I'm going to try and tag people that I haven't tagged before.

Heather of Heather Hales Designs blog. Heather is also a fan of vintage goodies, she makes sweet vintage inspired baby/children items, and is a home cooked foodie. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop. I am in love with this vintage Pyrex bowl she has listed!

Jenni of Hambone & Jennicakes blog. Jenni loves to make quilts, and dabbles in embroidery from time to time, stitching up adorable smiley face cupcakes. Reading Jenni's blog always sparks up my desire to make a quilt. If only I had more time.

Jessica of How About Orange blog. Jessica is my go to girl for cute, affordable and easy domestic inspiration. She often posts tutorials for projects that can be completed in an afternoon. Plus Jessica has a dreamy line of fabric called Modern Flora, which you can find here.

Kristi of Stitchy Stitcherson blog. This is really a no brainer, considering all the buzz Kristi's been getting on my blog lately. In fact, she nominated me for a little blog award a few weeks ago, so right back at ya, babe.

Katie of Needles & Pins blog. Katie makes funny, tongue in cheek cross stitch samplers, as well as jewelry, and she is a Sublime Stitcher. She gave me the same blog award Kristi did. Thanks, Katie!

Old School Acres blog. OSA steals my heart with her handmade softies. She makes other lovelies, but it's her softies that truly make me swoon. I would love to have one of her owls sitting in my craft space to inspire me daily.

Trans-craft-inental blog. This blog has one of the cutest concepts I've come across. Two friends living on opposite coasts, discussing crafts in between. Each blog post is in letter format, addressing the other friend, sharing a craft that they made, or something they found inspiration from.

Which blogs do you love?

xoxo
Amy

Swap Love, Part 2

2008-09-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Now that my swap partner, Kristi received the package I sent to her, I can tell you about it. Be sure to also get the run down from Kristi, via her blog!
Note: I forgot to take pictures of my items before sending them off to Kristi, but she has mad photography skills, so the pictures below are courtesy of Kristi.

Remember, the purpose of this swap was to make something cute for the others' bathroom. Kristi had just finished remodeling her bathroom and she chose aqua as the new color base.

A while back, she embroidered this amazing lady for her bathroom, so I started thinking of "mod" style designs.

After brainstorming over 3 basic ideas: aqua, mod, and French knots, I embroidered this:

I decided to embroider on linen, with the original intention of stretching it over canvas. But with the design, it really looked best with some sort of frame / border surrounding it, so I put it in a pretty white frame.

This piece measures approximately 9" x 12", so it took a little while. Not to mention all the French knots! Kristi says there are over 300 French knots! Whew boy!

I also sent her other goodies including: embroidery books, a zippy pouch I made, and an embroidered tea towel. You can see the rest of her loot here.

I have participated in swaps before, but this was Kristi's first, and I have to say this was the best one yet!

xoxo
Amy

Oh, Deer!

2008-09-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, I gave you a little sneak peak at a squirrel tea towel I've been working on. Well I'm still not finished with that little squirrel, simply because I've been busy with other projects that take priority.

But I did complete a deer towel before starting the squirrel, so I will share that with you today!

These adorable patterns are courtesy of doe-c-doe. You can find the deer and the squirrel patterns in this post here.

For more inspiration, check out Flor's deer! I love that she did hers in baby pink, and it was hard not to follow her lead. Truthfully, I enjoyed this pattern so much, I just might do another one in Flor's color choices.

I'd like to wish a happy birthday to my girl Rachel!

Happy Birthday, pardner!

xoxo,
Amy

Girlie Girl

2008-09-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's official! I'm going to be in this year's Girlie Show! I just got the acceptance email this afternoon, and I'm very excited. I will be sharing a booth with my bestie, Susan of Born 2 Bee Wild. So it will be the Bird on one side and the Bee on the other! How presh.

This year's official flyer hasn't been released yet, so I'm sharing the call for artists poster with you instead. (You can click on the image for a full view.) The flyers are always super cool, so I'll be sure to share that with you when it comes available.

I will be focusing primarily on embroidered tea towels, instead of onesies, since onesies are Susan's specialty. So I might be picking your brains soon for what you think will be good designs to stitch up.

xoxo,
Amy

Swap Love, Part 1

2008-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Dearest Readers,

Sorry for the long, unexpected hiatus. I fell into a bit of a funk, plus I've been ultra busy with stitch work. The funk is over, thank goodness, so I'm ready to come back for the occasional show and tell post.

Today I'm sharing stitches not by me, but by my friend Kristi of Stitchy Stitcherson. She is just the sweetest little thing that I've come to know online. A while back, we decided to do a personal swap, and the subject was to embroider something for the other person's bathroom.

I told her I'd like something played off of my shower curtain, which is cream colored, with a print of chocolate colored foliage, and blue birds. Anything nature themed is what I wanted.

I received Kristi's package a couple of weeks ago, and I was absolutely thrilled with what she sent.
I wasn't really prepared for the cuteness that she made. My heart swelled with joy and satisfaction, just like I knew it would, because Kristi is a very talented stitcher.

This little hedgehog is my favorite of the cute critters.

She sent extra swap goodies, delighting my joyful self even more.

That's a Golden book called Baby Animals that she sent for Darcy, (which she insisted on sleeping with for the first 2 days after she got it.) a cute little zipper pouch with a sassy lady on it, some fancy hand dyed embroidery floss, and a Q-Snap embroidery frame! (The squirrel towel inside the frame is a project I started just after receiving my swap package, and I will share it with you soon.)
With my recent obsession of variegated floss, this hand dyed skein is a real treat. It's just lovely. So much so, I think I'm going to hold on to it for a while, and save it for something extra special.

If you don't already read Kristi's blog, I recommend adding her to your blog subscriptions or bookmarks, because that girl can make a needle smoke!

Stay tuned for what I sent to Kristi.

xoxo
Amy

Pimp Cake

2008-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I received a surprise in the mail from my friend Floresita. She sent me one of the 1st edition Pimp Stitch kits, totally making my day.

All of the patterns are oh so cute, but I knew right away I wanted to stitch that little cupcake! I am such a sucker for cute baked goods. *swoon*

I decided to make a little wall hanging for Darcy's room, so I grabbed a 4" wooden hoop, and got to work. Isn't she sweet?

I added the frosting details and used variegated thread because I'm fancy like that. This was a fast and easy project, and I think I might make a few more as party favors for Darcy's birthday in October.

Good news and bad news. Let's do the bad news first: it looks like Pimp Stitch is all sold out of this 1st edition kit. Rats!

Good news: they have the cutest little HOLIDAY kits available now! Eee! Gimme, gimme!

xoxo
Amy

Pear Girl

2008-08-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

I finished Pear Girl last night. I adore the design, but I'm not sure I'm crazy about the colors. What do you think?

xoxo
Amy

Apple Girl

2008-08-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something I embroidered yesterday afternoon.

The pattern is from one of my Japanese embroidery books, and I just love her. There are actually 2 other girls with fruit shaped heads that I'm embroidering as well. I will share them as they are completed.

I can't decide if I want to put the girls in frames, or in wooden embroidery hoops. Any suggestions?

xoxo

Vintage Kitten Embroidery Pattern

2008-08-01T19:07:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone for such nice comments on the onesies last week. It seems a lot of you are fans of the kitten, so I wanted to share the pattern with you.

Just click the image to print or download. Let me know if you use the pattern, as I'd love to see what you make!

xoxo
Amy

Vintage Kitten Onesie

2008-07-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Another onesie added to the shop this morning!

I think this little cutie is my favorite of the bunch. The pattern is from a set of vintage Tri-Chem patterns I purchased recently. There are so many cute patterns in there, and I'm in the process of learning how to clean up a vintage pattern, so I can share them with you. I'm hoping to have this particular pattern cleaned up and posted by next week.

Which onesie is your favorite so far?

xoxo

Hedgehog Onesie

2008-07-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Just listed this morning in the shop!

Please note that this onesie is $5.00 cheaper than the others simply because the design is smaller and didn't take as long to stitch.

Tomorrow: Vintage Kitty!

xoxo

Pink Squirrel Onesie

2008-07-22T06:18:00.001-07:00

Just added this little cutie to the shop this morning!

Again, this is an organic cotton onesie, so it's super soft and perfect for the wee ones.

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their day to cast a vote for me!

Also, don't forget I am now selling blank tea towels in my shop. These are really great towels perfect for embroidery or screenprinting!

Tomorrow: Hedgehog Onesie

xoxo

This Just In!

2008-07-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

I finally added a new onesie to the shop, and it is so cute, you have no idea!

This onesie is actually an organic Gerber onesie. I was pleased to find organic onesies at Target. I highly recommend the organic to the regular Gerber onesies, if you can find them. There is a BIG difference! They are super soft, thick, and the stretch factor is minimal. In fact, I didn't even have to use a stabilizer! That's how much thicker they are. (Don't tell anyone, but I think they are just as good as American Apparel! Shh!)

I will be listing new onesies in my shop all this week, and blogging about them too. Coming this week: a pink squirrel, a hedgehog, the cutest little kitten, a French knot poodle and a helicopter onesie! I would love it if one of my lovely blog readers snagged one of the new onesies.

Hey, I forgot to tell you! My banner submission for the Feeling Stitchy contest was one of the 5 finalists. So be sure to cast your vote for your favorite! *ahem* Oh, and if you're interested, you can read a mini interview with me, here.

xoxo

Blank Tea Towels & Half Off Sale!

2008-07-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

I know how difficult and frustrating it can be finding a good quality tea towel to embroider on, so today I'm sharing the love!

This towel is a sturdy 100% cotton, and not too big, measuring in at approximately 17" x 31", polished off with stitched edges and is made in the USA, baby!

Also, I have discovered that these towels get softer every time I wash them, and that's a very good thing.

Trust me, these towels will put those purchased at the big box stores to shame.

So be sure to check out my shop and grab a couple of these towels for your next embroidery project. They're only $3.50 each!

Oh, and I wanted to let you know that all remaining embroidered tea towels are 50% off!

Aviation Love

2008-07-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that my daughter loves transportation vehicles, especially ones of the aviation variety. Since she's under the age of 3, most airplane and helicopter toys have a choking hazard disclaimer on the package, so I just avoid them.

I've been on the lookout for an airplane or helicopter softie, but really haven't had much luck, so I decided to make one for her.

This was my Saturday night project, while watching Better Off Dead. We love that movie, and had not seen it in such a long time. There were two lines in particular that really cracked us up, and I jotted them down for a future embroidery project.

When I was finished with the embroidery, I thought it looked a little blank, so I decided to fill in the blank spaces with crayon. Yeah, if I ever do that again, I will be sure to color the spaces before stitching.

Saturday afternoon we went to one of the Asian markets and I found the cutest little transportation biscuits. They were under $2.00, so I decided if Darcy hated them, then it wasn't a big deal.

She really likes the little crackers, and is fascinated with the different pictures. They taste like a slightly sweetened rice cracker and have really cute names like, "Topless Car" for a convertible and "Shovel Truck" for an excavator.

Darcy loves her little helicopter and calls it, "Chopper." I actually caught her tickling it the other day. What a goober.

I have plans to draw an airplane and a rocket to go along with the helicopter, and I was thinking about offering these aviation designs as embroidery patterns in a pdf format. Would anyone be interested in that?

xoxo,
Amy

Feeling Stitchy Banner

2008-07-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Today I want to share with you my entry for the Feeling Stitchy banner contest. The original deadline was actually June 30, but Flor is being extra generous for last minute crafters, giving a gracious 2 day extension. Thank you!
I decided to bust out some of my craft doodles for this project. I really love these little guys, and I hope you do too. If you haven't already, please take a look at all of the other gorgeous entries over at Feeling Stitchy. Everyone has done such a wonderful job, and I'm sure Jenny will have a tough time narrowing it down to 5 finalists.

I'm sorry, but I have to keep this post short, as I have a lot of stitching in my future, starting tonight.

xoxo,
Amy