Sunday, August 31, 2014

The winners of the Pinterest...Pins and Homespun Magazine are..............


Pippirose from NW Ontario Canada! won the Homespun Magazine and a set of Stick with Me Pins

Joan from McMinnville Oregon won a set of Stick with Me Pins (see note below)* Joan- Please see the important note at the end of this post.

I would like to give you all a 10% off coupon code to use in my Fiberluscious Etsy Shop! Just type in the code, FiberBlog10. (This offer expires January 1st, 2015).


I hope you love your prizes. The magazine is so very lovely and fun!


The Pin Assortment includes 10 assorted flower topped stick pins. Each pretty, glass flower sits atop an extra long pin. They are boxed and wrapped with a sheer bow. Perfect for giving or keeping!



I want to thank you all for entering my giveaway. It is always fun to share my passion for creating fun fiber projects with you.

It has been are really hard month. My mom passed away recently. She was my dearest friend. She was instrumental in nurturing my creative spirit and taught me that there is nothing I cannot do if I try hard enough. She was an artist too. She was my muse and inspiration. I hope you understand that it was hard to chat with you about your all of the kind compliments you gave about my blog and my work. It was so nice to come home each day to meet so many new creative spirits.

I know that the Homespun people are so happy that you know a more about them. In reading the magazine, Its east ti see their dedication to sewers and crafters like us. Half way around the world there are women and men, striving to breathe new life into traditional art forms such as embroidery and quilting. Its a small world when we think of how much we are all alike.

I will soon be posting the next flower for the Summer Garden Pincushion and show you how to embroider a variety of leaf shapes. I will be dedicating this project to my mom. I know her joyous way of seeing the beauty in nature and in the way we express ourselves in the art we create will inspire us all as we work on our pretty pincushions.

I have some more exciting news to share!
DMC-Threads.com liked my Summer Garden Project so much, they featured it as one of their Mid-Summer Inspirations! I love their products and am happy to feature them in this project. I was stunned that they noticed my little blog and am grateful for their support. Life is full of surprises!

Well, I hope you are enjoying the last beautiful days of summer.
Thanks so much for joining in on my giveaway.
Sign up for my newsletter and I will let you know when the next one rolls along. I normally don't send a lot of newsletters out so if you are busy, like me, I promise not to fill your inbox with offers or advertisements.


Bye for now and happy stitching!


*Dear Joan- Please email me at jillverbick@gmail.com. I do not have your contact information and I need your address to send your prize!

If I do not hear from Joan by September 7th, I will draw another name and announce a new winner.
In future giveaways, contact information must be provided with each entry to win.


Monday, August 11, 2014

Giveaway- Pinterest...Pins and HomeSpun Magazine!


I owe so much to Pinterest and the lovely people who pin my work. I have so many new customers and contacts via Pinterest. I've discovered so many amazing techniques and lovely creations and talented artists. I have been fortunate to have been discovered by many others in return.

I can spend hours on this site. I love to just soak in all of the crafty goodness. It amazes me how many talented artists there are. I am inspired by their out-of-the-box way of patchworking, stitching, felting, photographing and just plain making.I learn so much, not only from the tutorials of the many generous souls who choose to share their crafts with all of us. I also discover what people like and how much they like it. That is an invaluable tool for a Etsy shop like mine.
Now I can't give you Pinterest, but I can offer a glimpse into my favorite Pinterest Pins. Here are my boards.

I am grateful for how Pinterest has changed my life. It never ceases to tickle me when I run across one of my creations. So when I was approached by Homespun Magazine, published in Australia to have my Flying Geese Needle Case in their August-Best Patchwork in their "Best of Pinterest" Pin feature, I was honored and extremely thrilled!



In honor of this auspicious occasion, I am giving away 2 "Stick With Me" pin assortments! Two winners will receive 10 assorted Pins in a Gift Box, just like the pin assortment you will find in my Etsy Shop here.



Look at all these pretty pins! You'll receive 10, already boxed, bowed and ready to give to your favorite sewer to add to your best pincushion or just to keep for yourself.





How to Enter-
First Visit the Homespun Magazine Facebook page here and give them some "Like".
Check out their Website Here.
Click on their Web Projects Page and write down the name of any of their Web Projects.
Then...
Just comment below and make sure that your contact information is linked to your profile or provide your email address so I can let you know if you won.
To win, don't forget to give me the name of one of the Web Project from the HomeSpun Magazine.

The Deadline to enter is Friday, August 29th. The Winner will be announced On Sunday August 31st !
One winner will receive a "Stick With Me" Pin Assortment along with your copy of the HomeSpun Magazine "Best of Needlebook" Issue. It just arrived and I am in awe of the lovely projects in it. It is much like the Stampington publications here in America. I cant wait to share it with the lucky winner.
The second winner will receive a Stick With Me Pin Assortment only.

This Giveaway is Now Closed.

There is lots to see here, so stay awhile! Sign up for my newsletter and I will let you know when I will giveaway another fun project.

Happy Sewing!



Friday, August 1, 2014

Summer Garden - Part Two -6 Flower Pincushion Tutorial Continued....




Here is a revised Embroidery Floss Basic Color List (pdf) you'll need for this tutorial. .
Please note that I have revised the previous list. I actually forgot to add the color numbers for green! How could I forget green?

Its finally time to start some embroidery!
This is the fun part! Lets start working on your pincushion.
If you have read the previous post, you should have all of your tools at hand.
You should have a sketch, (on paper) of what you want your pincushion to look like.
You should have your linen cut into the round template shape with 6 sections marked off. If not, here is the Template PDF.
You should have lots of colors of embroidery floss.

Part 2 Downloadable Instruction Sheet for the Lovely Lavender Section of this tutorial.

Step 1
The tutorial download has the actual size pattern for this section on it. Its small and its hard to sketch on bumpy fabrics. So, loosely sketch your flower design onto your linen. Be sure to use a water soluble or friction (heat erasable) pen. You don't have to be exact.
If you want to practice your stitching first, a loosely woven muslin is a good choice. If it is too flimsy and soft, starch it first.
You can mark each flower section as we go, or mark the entire pattern. Its totally up to you.


Before stitching, I recommend running a stay stitch just outside the seam line. This will help to stabilize your fabric even more and create a boundary for your embroidery. You will want to stitch just short of that seam line so your stitches will be in the right place once you sew it together.
I don't use a hoop. I don't like that I have to cut a big chunk of fabric to fit the hoop. I also find it tedious. If you are used to a hoop, you know how to set it all up.

Tips about Marking your Pattern-
I love the new friction pens! They stay until you iron them. They come in a variety of colors. They have a nice sharp point. If you hate your design, you can simple iron it off and try again. The lines will stay indefinitely.

Water soluble markers are good to use as well. Be sure to use the kind that you have to get wet to erase. They are normally purple in color. They will stay visible until you erase them. (If you are in a humid climate, beware! They can sometime disappear in a few days.)
Try to avoid an air erasable marker, sometimes blue in color. Like the purple marker it may disappear in humid weather.

If you are a free spirit, you may also create your own sketch! I'm all for originality.
Be sure to leave room for a 1/4" seam allowance around the outer diameter of the pincushion circle.
Do not cross over the section lines. You will be separating each section with Perle Cotton later on.

Step 2
Lets start stitching.
The illustration below will show you the steps. I'll also talk you through them.
If you need help with how to create each stitch, go to my Stitch Tutorial Page. Just follow the steps. If you would like to print the below image, you can just click Here.


Begin by back stitching the stem. Begin at the base and work your way to the top. Don't tie off. When its time to add the leaves just head back down the same stem. Don't tie off. Wrap a few of the bottom stitches. Now move over to the next stem and repeat. I like to complete all the stems before I start the petals.

As you work on the petals do one color at a time. Be organic in the size and shape of your petals. Flowers are not symmetrical nor are they evenly balanced or perfect. Have fun with this part. Don't worry about staying on the pattern. Mix it up a bit and make your own mark!
Once you are finished with your purple petals, dive into your light blue violet shapes until your stems are full of pretty lavender.

Then add some french knots here and there in dark blue. It adds more texture and interest.

Here is a pincushion filled with Lavender flowers. It was my first pincushion in the linen series. You may find that one flower is your favorite. Go ahead and fill your pincushion with it!




Once you get comfortable with this stitch, you can start thinking of alternative flowers. I found that pink delphiniums use the exact same stitches. The shape of the flower is just a bit different. I just put another lazy daisy stitch inside the first. Then I put a french knot into the center of those loops. It looks complex, but like all of these flowers, its the same motions repeated over and over in different places. In fact the leaves are just layers of lazy daisy stitches. Easy peasy! Take a look.


One word of caution when working on a light colored fabric.
Try not to drag one color across the back of your work from one stem to the next. You can often see that floss through the fabric and it looks a bit off. I like to work up and down each stem. If I need to cross over, I do so at the bottom of the stem where there is a lot of petals that touch. Here is kind of what the back of your work should look like. (Note that I have not cut my thread just yet).



Just a note-
Embroidery can relax you and help you to unwind. If you pick this project up and you are really tense or nervous your stitching can reflect that. Beautiful stitching lays nice and flat. If you pull your stitches too tight, your embroidery will pucker. You may also find that you encounter more knots than usual. Take a few deep breaths and relax.

Let that not be an excuse to not work on this! After all our stitching, I'll show you how to block your work.
This is a magic step which makes all your wonkyness right with the world. Think of it as a nice relaxing warm shower for your embroidery.
See my Blocking Your Embroidery post. Do Not block your embroidery until all of your flowers are stitched. I'll let you know when and how then.

Once you begin stitching, you will find that the rhythm of embroidery creates a nice "zen" feeling. All your worries will kind of go to the back of your mind and the colors and pattern will be a wonderful distraction to life's little worries. I love it for that very reason. I think embroidery has actually changed me in a very good way. I find I am more patient, more organized and happier for my embroidery work. I know that may sound silly, but it is true. I know knitters say the same thing. There is something about the repetition and rhythm. Its good for the soul.

I will be back with another flower in a few weeks. I have some work to get done and my mom is not feeling well. I hope It won't take too long. I will be teaching you another very easy and really lovely flower, the Chrysanthemum. The stitches are even easier! So I will be adding a leaf that uses the same easy stitch.

We have a lot of creative folks joining in. Its like a pincushion party!