It seems impossible that we’re just over halfway through January already, which means I have completed 18 blocks of my stitch journal. top right, January 2022 I worried that it might be a cho…
Many people have contacted me about how to start a stitch journal, or other form of daily stitch practice, and I thought a page covering the most frequently asked questions might be helpful. I shou…
It seems impossible that we’re just over halfway through January already, which means I have completed 18 blocks of my stitch journal. top right, January 2022 I worried that it might be a cho…
Many people have contacted me about how to start a stitch journal, or other form of daily stitch practice, and I thought a page covering the most frequently asked questions might be helpful. I shou…
So, this journal didn't grow that big, after all. I really felt like wrapping it up, there was a strong sense of... fulfillment, so to say? All the works found their place inside the journal. I liked how they matched being paired up together and didn't want to drag it out anymore just to incorporate a couple of other old embroidery pieces that I didn't even have a vision for in this journal. Besides, I wanted to make a journal cover already, and check if my idea would work! :) And I think it worked well, alhamdulillah. Basically, it is a “sheet” that is double the size of the journal with a couple extra centimeters added to the center to accommodate the spine comfortably. The method of joining the cover with the pages is a little different though. In this case, both the journal cover and a page were already treated with buttonhole edging, and I joined them by sliding my needle in between them while wrapping the thread around the shaft. I probably should do a tutorial some time because the explanation above is frankly lacking :D By the way, if you missed any posts on this topic, check out embroidery journaling tag and see how it came to life in stages! And now, let's see how it looks inside: This journal is a true delight, I'm just so happy that something cute came out of my lockdown slumber :D Also, the new method of “binding” seems to be both functional and fun! I still have to practice a lot to make it neater, but even at this stage I'm totally pleased with the look :) Journal #3, wait for me!
Let's get started with our 2024 Embroidery Journals! Whether you have my sold out book, Embroidery Journal, or you are waiting for a restock and eager to start your hand-stitched journal hoops now, this is a great resource to get you started. What is an Embroidery Journal? It is a fun and unique way to record your year
How to make sample stitch book Here’s the method I’ve devised to make the Take it Further Fiber Book and the two volumes of Take a Stitch Tuesday stitch sampler. The Take it Further Fiber Book is my…
Introducing to you my new friend! :D As I've told you before, as soon the new patterns for beginners were complete I immediately ran to start a new embroidery journal – my new passion. Can say that with certainty now. You might wonder, why it is blue... ...and I don't know either, haha. It just came to my mind that I want to make a color-centered journal. The choice was between yellow, green, and blue, and the latter won. I didn't choose by any logic, though, it's just what I felt at that moment. But I'm so happy because you might notice that I don't use blue in my embroidery much. This pansy fob was probably the only stitching I did with this palette, and that's such a pity. Hopefully, making this journal will help me make better friends with blue and all its shades! Take a look below at what I've already stitched: For now, I'm taking it slow and simple. Nothing too challenging and demanding in effort. But there are many ideas and plans for this journal: the blue folk art, blue china and tiles patterns (azulejo!), traditional sashiko, sea/ocean theme, beautiful sky, and, of course, flowers! Hydrangea, forget me nots, blue anemone, hyacinth... And that's apart from any other casual stitching done in blue pallette :) If you have more ideas of what is blue and what should be in this journal, write in the comments! I also decided to incorporate some pretty fabrics that I was able to find. You can see one page being just simply fabric. This kind of addition seems to fit in very nicely and I like this idea of just appreciating lovely textiles next to a needlework. It would be hard to stitch only in blue colors for a long time, though, so most probably, I will start a parallel, casual journal for all colors and themes. But I wonder how thick the Blue Journal might be? There are 3 spreads right now, and I'm only getting started! Hope you enjoy this ride with me. Happy stitching!
Lots of crafters are looking back on 2023 and all the events that morphed together to define their year. It's rarely difficult to recall the setbacks and strugg
If you don't know what to stitch and don't want to start anything big, do some small stitching and turn it into a journal :) A tutorial inside! *Do you remember the embroidery art journal that I've made recently? It's getting a sibling! :)* I'm currently going through a little creative... confusion. It wouldn't be correct to call it a “block” because, in fact, the problem is that I have far too many ideas for projects, patterns, courses outlined in my notebook and I just don't know what to do and what to prioritize :D So let's call it confusion. Related: Where to find inspiration and how to deal with creative blocks: Part 1 Where to find inspiration and how to deal with creative blocks: Part 2 But since I don't want to sit and be completely unproductive, I decided to start with a new embroidery journal! And it's hard to express just how much I'm excited with it :D Actually, in current circumstances, I suggest you try and do something like that too! Nowadays, many of us are limited in resources, materials, and instruments. It may be difficult to source and prepare everything for a big and serious project. Besides, starting a big project in uncertain times can be a little nerve-wracking in itself (I feel like this is exactly the reason for my confusion... don't feel like starting anything significant and weighty right now). So why not dig into your stash and try and use all the materials, thread, ribbons, fabrics that you have stored at home but never found a way to use them? Why not take your old works and make pages for a little cozy book? :) I feel like that's going to be my coping mechanism in the next several weeks and I invite you to join me if you need some lighthearted creative outlet. My New Journal Well, these are just two pages! And they will probably be somewhere in the middle, I don't feel like putting them at the very start. Last time, I prepared all the pages first, and only then I “bound” them all together in a journal. But this time, I want to make pages and join them together little by little, and only when I feel satisfied with the size of the book, to make the cover. By the way, you can find some of the works from the pages in my creations tag. The size of the new journal is bigger than the first one because I had to adjust it to the old works that I wanted to incorporate. And I decided to change the way I make pages. Last time I stitched them together from the back and turned inside out. Because of that, they look a little “inflated” which I don't really like. So, this time I used buttonhole stitch to work the edges which made the pages flatter. These two pages are the easiest because I just needed to cut them the necessary size and work the edges. The REAL fun will start when I will have to find ways of making pages out of smaller works which will probably call for collages, applique and all that exciting stuff! Yay! How To Make A Fabric Page: Tutorial Yesterday I took pictures of how I made one of the pages to show you that there's nothing difficult! You only need to know buttonhole stitch. First of all, you need to cut the pieces according to the size of your book. When we use buttonhole, it doesn't change the size of the page so you don't need to add any extra length. However, remember that one of the sides will be used for “spine” so it needs to have at least 0.5cm available for that. You can see here that I already have one of the page's “faces” ready with its edge worked in buttonhole stitch. Despite the simplicity of the stitch, it is still quite effective in preventing fraying. This is quilting cotton so it doesn't fray that much and I could make my buttonhole spacious. But if you take a fabric that is very prone to fraying, it is better to make your buttonhole stitching dense or use fusible interfacing at the back. Working the edge with buttonhole stitch So, you take ONE of the “faces” of the page and work the edge of three sides. The three sides that will be outside. The one side that will be connected to the spine will stay raw for now. You start your thread (either by a knot or by anchoring stitches like I did) 3-5mm below the edge. You insert the needle near the starting point, all in one horizontal line, and you tuck the thread under the needle. After you pull through, you repeat the previous step: insert the needle next to the previous point and tuck your thread under the needle. And keep going like this. I'm bad at eye-measuring, so my stitches are jumping a little, don't mind that :) Now that we have one face of the page worked, turn it over so that the backside is up. Now take the other face of the page and put on top, so that the backsides meet. Look at which 3 sides you need to work now. Remember to align the two faces correctly so that when you flip the page, nothing will be upside down! So, one side will be connected to the spine. And the three other sides you will work the following way (it is a little different): Each time you insert the needle in the fabric, slide it under the buttonhole edging on the other side. Don't grab any fabric of the other “face”! It can result in bad fraying. Only slide the needle under the thread. And tuck the thread under the needle, like usual. This is how it will look like from the other side. The edging of the second “face” will be a little more prominent, that's normal. Joining two pages When you have two pages ready, you can join them together. Take their “spine” sides, baste them together with running stitch and then work regular buttonhole edging. Here's the result. Expect more tutorials and reports on the new pages that I make! Hope you find some inspiration to start yours too :) Take care and stay home!
What is slow stitching? A lot of fun! Learn how to get started with slow stitching and enjoy this creative textile art.
Learn what an embroidery journal is & how to start one, even for complete newbies! It's a great stress-free way to learn hand embroidery!
We’ve noticed a recent, striking trend in the embroidery community. Embroiderers everywhere are engaged in the daily practice of stitching embroidery journals. We see it as the confluence of many factors: an ongoing pandemic, a need to mark the time, a way to document the year, the accessibility of working a simple hoop design, the […]
We’ve noticed a recent, striking trend in the embroidery community. Embroiderers everywhere are engaged in the daily practice of stitching embroidery journals. We see it as the confluence of many factors: an ongoing pandemic, a need to mark the time, a way to document the year, the accessibility of working a simple hoop design, the […]
Slow stitching is becoming more popular as an art and craft form that takes bits of fabric and thread to create small pieces of art.
If you have arrived here from the UKScrappers Art Journey - welcome! This is the tutorial for the “making your own journal” option...
Here's how to stitch two easy pages for your embroidery journal
Hand stitching with fabrics and paper in art journaling with Roben-Marie Smith. Slow stitching adds lovely texture to art journals. Watch the process as she creates in this book made during The 100 Day Project 2023.
Free seed bead size 11 brick stitch with fringe graph paper printable .pdf.
One of the best ways to use scraps of material is to make a 3-hole pamphlet stitch journal! This is a simple stitch that can be dressed up.
The other day I looked around and had a choice. I could finish a number of pieces that are still in process, clean the studio, create new work or drive into the sunset. I decided to let the stitch tell me what to do. There was quilt back laying around from a piece that never did get finished. So I s
I first started sharing free printables back in May last year and I also designed a Christmas version too. Whilst bullet journals are still hot topic I'm becoming increasingly aware from comments on the look of my journal that some people struggle to make their journal look the way they want, or
You should know how to sew a journal if you love the scratchy-scratchy sound of pen on paper. Sew your journal on your own continue journaling.
On this page you'll find tutorials, instruction books and links related to my previous posts about English paper piecing, hexagons and diam...
Mini Stitched Collages with StencilGirl® Stencils