Around the World Blog Hop

Chrissie of Chrissie Crafts invited me to take part in this blog hop. The idea is to answer a few questions about your work and then you in turn invite others to do the same. See below whom I have passed the questions on to...or in my case who I follow.

What am I working on?
Like most folks who are creative I have multiple things on the go, nothing like breaking up projects with having several more projects to work on.

As of yesterday I started the preparation work for my next complex piece, a stumpwork dragon, based on the idea of Medieval illuminated manuscripts. 

I'm also stitching a project for myself, the Pretty Little San Francisco design by Satsuma Street. I work on it a little bit at a time in the evenings, so the progress is really, really slow but that's fine by me. I have a feeling though I'll be taking it on my holidays at the end of August to finish it!

I also have the quilt for my bedroom, which needs one more row of blocks for me to cut out and stitch together then it will be the sashing. I'll get all the fabric out again in the coming months to do it.

I know whilst I am working on the dragon I'll be wanting to work on some other new designs that have yet to be thought up. I'd quite like to do another typography piece, just not narrowed down the quote I want to work on next. 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I don't think I have a genre? I have a style I think? And I have a craft // technique that I use but don't think i have a genre. So I'll focus on the craft itself to answer this question. My embroidery is different from others because it's me doing the designing. Sure I was taught the same way as my peers that went to the RSN (before they dropped the Apprenticeship) but the way we stitch is different from each other. I'm quite certain if we were given the same design to stitch, and even limited the choice of materials and colours, we'd still work it differently. Put our own little stamp on it. Or even if there was no deviation from the design, materials, stitches and colours and we were forced to do it exactly the same way it would feel a little different. I'm not talking about experience of our stitch work, I am talking about the way we impart a little bit of ourselves into the work we do. Like to think of it like a stitching fingerprint. 

Why do I write/create what I do?
It keeps me sane.

No, really! It's my go to when I am not at work, though I think about stitching all the time. I always carry a notebook around with me so that I jot down an idea, or make a note about how I would do a part of a project. Being creative is a part of me. Take it away and I am not sure I'd be the same person. 

And you know, I have to doodle new designs all the time, otherwise I'd never have an excuse to buy more notebooks:

Just the tip of the iceberg folks, just the tip.

How does my writing/creating process work?
It starts with a doodle. If I can't stop adding to the design, or have already started to figure out how I would stitch it and what materials I'd use then then I'll progress it to tidying up the design and if by the end of that stage I really, really itching to stitching it....THEN I do. Sometimes I can get to this stage and either I am not thrilled with the design as much I thought I was, or I'll do it bit by bit over a longer time or leave it for another day.

Now this is where I should list the next folks to participate and this is where I have to hold my hands up, I've not had the head space to chase folks and by the time I did alas some of them have already done it or couldn't do it. And in some instances I felt a little embarrassed to ask them because I've never approached them before. Very silly I know! So, I don' t like to admit defeat instead I am just going to pick a few folks that I follow and encourage you to go and look at their work, and follow their blogs and you know offer them a cookie or something.

Spirit Cloth - I've been following her work for a couple of years now. I just love not only her style, her ethics and her craftmanship.

Materialistic - love her embroidery designs, and use of colour.

Jen Goodwin - super lady, who frankly works flipping hard. Always stitching, always designing new kits and always teaching. The latter she's really good at.

So there are a few for you to have a look at, and hopefully follow.  

Summer Bugs and New Product

I've retreated to the comfortable surrounds of my livingroom this weekend, as I've picked up a rotten summer cold. Not quite the way I wanted to spend my free time. Ah, well the slow down time isn't necessarily bad, though I could do without the sore nose, the fever but you know, my little camp I've set up in the livingroom is rather snug, I won't share as it's a little messy...

What I had planned on doing was starting my medieval illuminated text stumpwork idea, i.e. the Dragon. I've played a bit with what fabrics I want to use this afternoon but I can't focus too long on any one thing as my eyes are getting sore (hayfever too, yay!) but fingers crossed I really will get on with that next weekend. 

I did manage one thing yesterday which I was pleased with which was taking photographs of my new note cards. I mentioned a while ago that I was planning on starting to release some of my embroidery designs as cards and I finally got round to ordering a small selection and these were listed yesterday.

With six packs I've got on sale, each will receive an additional postcard of my selection from my prototypes. If you would like to grab a set head to my Etsy store, £3.50 (plus P&P). I hope next week that the new pocket mirror designs will be arriving next week for me to list.

Now it's time to go and rest up again on the sofa and watch a silly film and perhaps work a bit more of the cross stitch.

Summer Time - Embroidery Pattern

The second of the seasonal designs is now ready for you lovely lot to download and stitch to your hearts content. 

It's a bright design to bring in summer, the third in the series will be available late August, newsletter subscribers get first dibs to download it. Once all the four designs have been released they will be turned into a mini art quilt. Of course, you don't have to wait till then to do something with the designs when you've stitched them.

Click to download the summer embroidered pattern.

The pattern includes how to transfer the design and stitch diagrams too boot. I hope you enjoy stitching it, and feel free to make your own mark by using the threads you have to hand and even add a few more stitches if you fancy it!

Please be mindful of the fact that this pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you do wish to share it on your blog, please can you make reference to me. 

Though please note and respect that this is pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you share it on your blog, please reference me or I may be forced to set Hamish on you.