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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Multi-colour

Going through my pile of magazine clippings, a small multi-colour checkered piece and that inspired this. Satin stitched squares. Quite meditative to make, but I don't think I'll take it much further than this for now. Not sure what I'd make with it. Although this one is in the final stages of being turned into a brooch. Maybe.

And it just occurred to me that it kind looks like those coloured things that decorated military folks wear on their jackets when they are not wearing their actual medals. Anyone know what they are called?

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scribbled by Carina 11/11/2009 01:46:00 PM


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Friday, October 23, 2009

It's Friday, yay!

Something I'm working on. Maybe a new pattern. Is it too late for a Halloween pattern? ;-) Notice that 'glow in the dark' embroidery thread there? It feels different than the normal DMC thread. But it works the same, of course. And it does glow in the dark! Something like that can make me downright giddy. It's the little things, eh? ;-)

And look, oh! I finally found a place to buy this fabric for a price that wasn't too ridiculous. And even more important: not charging an arm and a leg to post it to England from the UK.

I am often tempted to buy fabric from shops on Etsy, because the price is lower than overhere. But then I look at the shipping costs that most people quote for sending 1 yard overhere and it seems ridiculously high. $10-13 for a single yard! Maybe it's just laziness? They know an envelope of a certain size costs, regardless of the number of yards in it and so that is the price they use. Maybe they can't be bothered to figure out how much 1 yard would be to send. So, often I don't buy anything because the shipping is more than that coveted yard costs in itself!

Well, I guess it's a good thing or I'd go broke from buying fabric. ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 10/23/2009 06:30:00 PM


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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Lefthanded Small Stitches

Good news, everybody! Hooray! I have finally got my act together and finished the 'leftie' version of the Small Stitches ebook. It is available now in the shop.

It is essentially the same book as the 'rightie' one. But all the instruction photos are reversed so they should match what you see when you are working on the stitches. The feedback I've had on this version of the book (from a southpaw) has been very positive, so I hope this book will be useful for lefthanded embroiderers.

Sister Diane of Craftypod kindly did a review (thank you!) of the book when I had first released it (into the wild). I completely forgot to mention it here, because it was while we were on holiday in Denmark. So if you'd like to read the review of the book (before you buy it, he he ;-) ) head on over to Craftypod.

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scribbled by Carina 10/20/2009 01:46:00 PM


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Monday, October 12, 2009

Marigold Sugar Skull pattern

Hola! It's a new pattern! I bet you can tell where the inspiration for this one has come from. Mexico and Dia de Los Muertos. It is called Marigold Sugar Skull. Hope you like it. :-)

Actually, to be honest, a lot of my embroidery is inspired by folklore type embroidery. Stylised natural elements with lots of colour. This one has a bit more 'natural' or maybe pictoral elements. The skull and the large flowers.

Years ago I went to an exhibition of Frida Kahló's paintings and they made a big impression on me. An interesting thing about them is that most are quite small. But I guess that's only natural, since she made a lot of them in bed. At that exhibition they had also made a Dia de Los Muertos shrine which was very beautiful. Lots of candles and flowers. Yellow and orange flowers. Marigolds. So there is the inspiration for the flowers. And it is such a lovely, happy colour. :-)

I think it is interesting how Mexicans (and other South American countries too?) celebrate the dead. But in a non creepy way. Celebrating the life and love of friends and family. That is beautiful. I think other countries/cultures could learn from that...

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scribbled by Carina 10/12/2009 02:30:00 PM


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Friday, October 02, 2009

Leafy stitches

So I wasn't quite done with the leaves yet. I wonder if I'll ever be. Aren't leaves just one of the most amazing things ever? The come in any shape, size and colour you can possibly imagine. And probably some you can't. Do you have a favourite leaf?

Dear Universe, thank you for the leafy abundance! xo

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scribbled by Carina 10/02/2009 01:48:00 PM


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Monday, September 28, 2009

Cozy + Posy

I am finally able to 'unveil' another couple of embroidery patterns (in the wee shop: here and here). I made the embroideries some time ago, but I have only now got round to turning them into patterns. I guess some things take time, eh? ;-)

I really love these. I love it when something is heavily embroidered. That feeling of running your hands over a stitched surface. So lovely. Do you like the names? It's fun to think up names. I don't want my patterns to just have a number - how boring would that be? I hope the names tell a story; even if the pattern itself is abstract... Does that make sense?

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scribbled by Carina 9/28/2009 03:25:00 PM


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Monday, August 31, 2009

Small Stitches - with love

Happy Monday, everyone! Wow, I am absolutely excited about my news today: I have written an e-book! I've been working on it for the past month and half and now it is finally done so I can share this news with you. The book is called "Small Stitches Booklette" and it is an introduction to embroidery stitches. You can get the book here.

You know I love embroidery (you DO know that, right?!) and I hope that this little book will help others to discover the joy of stitching. Embroidery isn't just cross stitch, it can be anything you can possibly imagine. I think maybe that is what I love the very most: that it is so versatile; there's a type of embroidery to suit everyone!

I've made a page for the book where you can read more about the details, like what stitches you can learn from the book and sneak peeks at a couple of pages and some of the patterns and images. The book includes 9 patterns for you to have fun with. Atleast I hope they will be fun!

Yes, that leaf there is filled with like a gazillion French knots, which is a great way to perfect your 'knotting' skillz. This is one of the patterns in the book, along with 2 other leaves. And guess what! Because autumn is right around the corner, you can download a page with those 3 leaves in 2 sizes for your own foliage-related stitching fun. Yay!

I am going to make a 'leftie' version of the book too, it's almost ready, but it may not be completely done until we come back from holiday. However, if you want this version of it, buy it and let me know in a note to seller to hurry up already with that 'south paw' version - that should speed things up! ;-)

I hope people will be inspired by the book and take the patterns to places I can't even imagine. Embroidery is fun! And although it is time consuming, it is also a great pleasure to work on. And the more you work on it, the easier and quicker it will be! :-)

This is one of the patterns in the book and it is also available on its own, because it is goes with some of the other patterns I've done. I reaaaaaally love it! It is called Pompeii Arabesque, because when I had finished stitching it, it really reminded me of some of the frescos we saw in Pompeii. You can find it right here.

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scribbled by Carina 8/31/2009 03:42:00 PM


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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Closeup

On the slopes of Mons Vesuvius...

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scribbled by Carina 8/30/2009 11:40:00 AM


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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Herb patterns

I am so happy to finally be able to tell you that my herb embroidery patterns are now available. I really don't know why I have been so slow with these - they have been ready for a little while!

But anyway, here they are! Five of them: sage, oregano, parsley, chervil and basil. Available in the shop, of course. This week only (until Sunday) you can buy one and get one free, just quote "gimme some free herbs" in note to seller and let me know which free herb you want. :-)

I love them to bits. So far I have embroidered them on tea towels and placemats. I could also see them looking really lovely on a table cloth. But that's a bigger project so that's not going to happen right now... ;-)
I have worked them in either white or some variation of green, but I think it would be pretty to use other colours. Maybe red on pink or white on blue. I guess that's one of the best things about embroidery; it's so versatile. Changing the colour of the size of thread makes for so many different expressions.



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scribbled by Carina 8/18/2009 07:13:00 PM


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Monday, August 03, 2009

Wip colour

Say what? Nah, I don't do cross stitch. Not me. Nope. Nuh uh. But I am trying to use up bits of embroidery thread... ;-)

Another wip. I started this several months ago, but then never really got anywhere because I had to take a crochet break because of my thumb being weird. Anyway, I did a couple of rows yesterday and this morning I tried it on the bed. Too big. Like... waaay too big, hanging off the sides of the bed with about a foot to spare on each side.

What the heck do I do now? I am considering frogging it and starting over a bit smaller. But considering that each row takes around 45 minutes..yeah, that's not gonna happen! So I am thinking that maybe I'll just fold the surplus at the side, sew it to the 'back' of the blanket and then keep going like it's a smaller blanket. What do you reckon? What would you do? Any crochet 'rescue' ideas out there?

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scribbled by Carina 8/03/2009 07:16:00 PM


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Friday, July 24, 2009

Bird embroidery patterns

Oh me! Oh my! I am all a-twitter with joy because I can finally show you my bird patterns! I do hope you like them - they have been so much fun to make. And I suspect that I am not entirely done making birdie patterns. Because, well, you know, there's like a million different birds out there!

They are available in pairings like you see them in the images: lady duck (what is mrs duck called?) and robin; macaw and flamingo; gull and puffin. You have to be seriously coldhearted not to love that little puffin guy. Just look at him!

Can't you just imagine them all on a quilt? Maybe with even more birds! Because, I am not done with the birds yet, remember? Or how about all in a row in embroidery hoops? They are all available in the shop.

And! There's more: a free penguin pattern for your stitching pleasure. Yay! You can download it by rightclicking on this link and then 'save link' or simply click on the image below and then save the pdf file you are taken to.

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scribbled by Carina 7/24/2009 06:36:00 PM


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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Stitch memory

This is a shot from my parents' living that I took when we were last in Denmark. Flowers from their garden. I made the cushion covers. I only just noticed how well they go with that vase.. :-)

The embroideries on the cushions are made from a couple of my sketches from Rome. I can only recommend embellishing cushions (or other things) in this way. You don't even have to use drawings. You could just use a picture from a holiday. It will give you enjoyment twice: while working on the embroidery you'll be taken back to that time and place and afterwards you get to live with your memories in a tactile form. Not buried in a photo album. ;-)

Eventually I will get similar ones made for us as well. One day. For now I'll enjoy seeing these when we visit my parents. Which isn't that far away now, less than 7 weeks. I can live with that.

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scribbled by Carina 7/23/2009 09:22:00 AM


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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Pink stitches

Of course I have done some embroidery in between everything else. Of course I have. Just a simple thing. No idea, no planning ahead. Just stitching.. relaxing...

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scribbled by Carina 7/22/2009 09:54:00 PM


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Friday, July 17, 2009

Stitchin' Summer Garden

There is something nice about working on something that is symmetrical. It is calming, meditative. Well, most embroidery is. Except for cross stitch, it makes me nauseuos, strangely.

And have you noticed that I am actually using a fairly limited palette here? I find that really challenging! I have to really restrain myself from using every single colour in my thread stash. :-) Anyone else have that 'problem'?

Although, obviously symmetrical should be used loosely when looking at my sample there. It's a wee bit lopsided at the bottom. The pattern, of course, isn't lopsided. But feel free to make it so, if you desire. ;-)

Available here (4 available) and here (2). :-)

Oh and before I forget, I finally got a Flcikr group up and running for those of you who feel like showing off some Polka & Bloom stitchin'! Go join here.

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scribbled by Carina 7/17/2009 06:53:00 PM


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Friday, July 10, 2009

I want to run off to a tropical island!

Jeez, I totally overslept! I hate it when that happens - it feels like most of the day has vanished already. I better get going and run some errands.

I just wanted to remind any interested parties that if you buy the Tropical Island pattern with any other pattern between now and Sunday you get the cheaper one half price. :-)

Ok, really gotta get going now!

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scribbled by Carina 7/10/2009 09:54:00 AM


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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Happyscape winners!

Sorry I didn't post about the winners of the Happyscape embroidery pattern yesterday. I was just absolutely exhausted - been doing too much lately! Too many ideas, too many patterns, not enough chocolate!

Anyway! The new pattern now has a name! Happyscape Tropical Island. Noone suggested exactly that combination, but there were a few with island or tropical. The name popped into my head after reading Kelly's comment, so one pattern goes to her, and another one goes, completely randomly, to Karin. Congratulations, ladies! Congratulations to all of you for making so many wonderful suggestions!

And thank you, all, for supporting my patterns in one way or the other. That is really unexpected and very, very muchly appreciated.

The new pattern is, of course, available in both the Artfire and Etsy shop (more in Artfire). Buy this pattern with any other pattern this week (July 7 - 12) and the cheapest one will be ½ price. :-)

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scribbled by Carina 7/07/2009 02:33:00 PM


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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Cycle patterns

It's the beginning of July and that means that I will actually be watching the telly in the afternoon (I rarely have the telly on when I'm on my own). Why, you ask? Because it is time for the Tour de France! Hooray! I don't really care about sports in general. But Le Tour? That I can get into. And have been for many years.

Not sure why, exactly. Maybe it's because it is awe inspiring to think that these guys cycle some 3,000 kilometres in less than 3 weeks. And not only that, but they climb some rather steep mountains in the process. That is pretty cool, I think!

So, my new embroidery patterns are inspired in a small way by Le Tour, although most of the cycles I've drawn up are probably less than ideal for participating in Le Tour. But how cool would it be if someone entered on a penny farthing?!

There are 2 patterns, Freewheelin' and Keepin' Steady. Each has 3 cycles. Freewheelin' is old skool lady's bike, racer and a tandem. Keepin' Steady is a bit more adventurous: unicycle, penny farthing and tricycle (based on the ones I remember from my child hood).

Now, not only are the patterns inspired by Le Tour, but also by my sweet husband. This year Tony is participating in the London to Southend bike ride (60 miles/100 kilometres) for the British Heart Foundation. He's pretty cool, huh? Funny thing is, when he did it last year; immediately afterwards he said 'never again'. But shortly after he said that he was doing it this year after all! ;-)

So, for the rest of July (the bike ride is on July19), the proceeds from both of the cycle patterns will be donated to the BHF. I hope you will help me (and Tony) support this very worthy cause.

Get them here: Artfire & Etsy.

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scribbled by Carina 7/05/2009 07:09:00 PM


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Saturday, July 04, 2009

There's a tomato on my tomato plant!

Some new patterns are in the work. Quite cute! More about them tomorrow - right now we're off to visit Tony's parents. Escaping this flat in the late afternoon is always a good thing this time of year!!

PS - buy anything from either my Artfire or Etsy shop today and tomorrow and get an exclusive embroidery pattern for free. Yay! :-)

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scribbled by Carina 7/04/2009 03:10:00 PM


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Thursday, July 02, 2009

I've been making stuff today!

Today was a lot more creative than last Thursday. I actually made something! Yay! I spent a good chunk of time on the sofa, working on some more embroidery. At long last a new Happyscape embroidery. It 'only' took me a couple of months! ;-)

I used some silver dmc thread in this, and it reminded me why I rarely use that. It is so tricky to thread into the needle. It is stiff and it splits and is generally not very cooperative! Any tips for using silver or other metal threads? I would like to use the silver one more, but I just can't be bothered when it frustrates me so much!

Anyway, this Happyscape doesn't actually have a name yet. The other one is called Spring, but this new one... not sure. The only thing I've thought of, and I'm not sure if I like it, is 'Happyspace - the desert island'. Probably because of the shells. Who knows.

So. Help! Leave a comment with a suggestion for the name and I'll send a random commenter + the Chosen One the pattern (once I get it done, that is, heh!) - I'll pick the name + winners on Monday.

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scribbled by Carina 7/02/2009 04:20:00 PM


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Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The mad embroiderer, that's me

Goodness me! I really have been bitten by the embroidery bug this time. It is ALL I do! And when I'm not actually embroidering I am thinking about it or doodling the next thing. Crazy! Maybe it's the heat... ;-)

Although, this one didn't come from any sketch or drawing.. I just added a bit here and there and it ended up looking like this.

I really cannot emcourage you enough to just have a play with a needle and thread. Let the stitches guide you, with the help of the colours. It is FUN! And, I believe that the brain needs this sort of 'switching off'. It's good for ya, just like staring out the window, thinking about nothing in particular, is good for you.

I stayed up ridiculously late to make a pattern for this (find it here and here). It is a bit more streamlined than my original; my original needle wanderings are usually quite wonky! ;-) While making the pattern I can't help playing around with different colour possibilities. And I just seem to gravitate towards white on blue (or blue on white sometimes) - it reminds of old china... and it just looks pretty..

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scribbled by Carina 7/01/2009 06:42:00 PM


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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Threads of clutter

Oh boy, oh boy. It is a small miracle that I ever get any embroidery done with my threads in a state like this. They used to be nice and tidy, organised by colour in little zip-loc bags. You gotta ask yourself (i.e. me) what the heck happened?

Not a clue. But I DO know that I spend a ridiculous amout of time looking for the colour I need. Ah well, I am sure I'm not the only one. Please, tell me that I'm not the only one! ;-)

Atleast that messy pile lives in a pretty bag I made all by myself, embroidery and all! Shocker, I know!


PS - just to remind you, today (June 30th, I'm letting it run overnight until it is actually July 1 everywhere on this wee globe) is the last day to get a free pattern (it's a very cute flower) when you buy any embroidery pattern from either of my shops. But you gotta quote "I wanna beat my computer with a stick" to get it. ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/30/2009 01:35:00 PM


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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Parsley coming soon

One of my 'coming soon' embroidery patterns. Parsley is very summery to me. Dunno why. Have you got a favourite herb? I think mine is basil. As in, fresh basil on a pizza. Yummy. Man, wish I was having that for dinner now!

Speaking of which, dinner is almost ready so I guess I better get goin'! ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/27/2009 05:26:00 PM


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Thursday, June 25, 2009

My not so creative space

My goodness. What was supposed to be an hour's worth of work turned into an all day kind of thing. Just because bloody software wouldn't cooperate! If any of you are Scribus experts, I'd love to hear from you: Scribus keeps crashing, especially when I save a document!

I finally succumbed and downloaded a trial version of InDesign, which I can barely remember how to use, which took a wee bit to install and stuff. Oi. Don't you just hate it when tech misbehaves?

Anyway, I have managed to put together a pattern for the Tree of Life embroidery. Not terribly creative today, but I did play around with different colour ideas and stuff. I have done some cushion covers for my mum which are white embroidery on blue and that's the inspiration for this particular one. I 'owe' her another one, so I may just have to make her one of these. :-)

The pattern is available in my shops (Etsy + Artfire) or you can email me and we can sort it out directly. :-) Anyone who purchases this pattern (until June 30) and quotes "I wanna beat my computer with a stick" will receive an extra little embroidery pattern. :-)

And here's to hopin' that tomorrow is a bit more creative and bit less frustrating!

More folks with more creative spaces!

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scribbled by Carina 6/25/2009 08:33:00 PM


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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Stitching makes me happy

My latest embroidery. It may not look as random as recent ones, but actually it is. I only had the vaguest idea of what I wanted to do before I started it.

I guess you could say that it just sort of made itself, I just happened to be doing the work.

Inspired by Mexican embroidery but without any specific reference. It's a sort of 'tree of life' image, I guess. I also see some Scandinavian influences...

As I mentioned yesterday, I want to get better at satin stitch so I incorporated 'circles' of that in some places. They are more like oblongs because I can't seem to get them "just right". I find it difficult to get them completely even. Hopefully, with practice, I'll get better at it.

I love this. I am willing to overlook its flaws and wonkiness and just love it. I think this deserves to be put in a frame/hoop and hung on the wall. This one is NOT for the drawer where embroidered pieces go to be forgotten... ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/24/2009 12:08:00 PM


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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Less random...

Just a wee sneak peek of my latest embroidery efforts. Trying to get better at satin stitch. We're still not the best of friends...

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scribbled by Carina 6/23/2009 08:47:00 PM


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Monday, June 22, 2009

More randowmwork

How about that? I actually managed to limit my colour choice in this one! And not a bit of green or pink in sight. Who knew that was even possible?

Although neither yellow or purple are anywhere near being my favourite colours, I actually quite like them here in the company of orange and blue colours.

I've got to come up with an actual use for these embroideries - would be a shame to just have them lying in a drawer, right? Maybe when I get tired of actually making these I will use them to embellish a quilt or something. Or maybe they could go on bags... Who knows..

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scribbled by Carina 6/22/2009 12:03:00 PM


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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Circular randomwork

Is there no stopping my making these random embroideries? Well, I really don't think so! It is just so relaxing to stitch the time away. Without a plan or a pattern to keep to. Just picking whatever colours I feel like. And usually I feel like a LOT of colour. ;-)

But hey, I was wondering if any of you would find a few stitch tutorials useful? To be honest, I sometimes forget how to make certain stitches, so it would probably be useful for me too! That's why I usually use the same stitches pretty much all the time.. the ones I can remember how to do without looking in a stitch dictionary! ;-)

If this would be useful to you, what stitches would you like to see?

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scribbled by Carina 6/21/2009 01:55:00 PM


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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Promises, promises

Another spam email title embroidered. More to come. I've got my embroidery mojo back. For a while I'd gone off it a bit because embroidery is kinda slow. But that's all in my mind. When I get into the groove it actually works up pretty quickly.

Please comment or email me if you come across some good/funny/interesting email titles.. :-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/13/2009 10:04:00 PM


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Friday, June 12, 2009

Act. Inspire yourself

Hey, here is that embroidery wip I posted earlier (this week? - I can't even remember, this week has been rather muddled..) and now it is no longer a wip because it is finished.

I really cannot recommend this sort of thing enough. Just stitching away with no plan whatsoever. Of course, you could use it to practice new stitches and/or to use up bits of embroidery thread. It's all good. Keeps you busy and out of trouble! ;-)

I think it is so important to sometimes do something that has no purpose, where there are no expectations for the outcome and, most importantly, where there is no right or wrong so you can't mess it up.

Randomwork (I literally just made that up! ha!) holds a massive potential for inspiring new, more intentional, work. I've already got several ideas from working on this one. I read or heard a quote somewhere the other day that goes something like "you can't wait for inspiration before you take action, you have to act to be inspired".

I think that is so true. So many times I have procrastinated on this project or another because 'I'm not feeling inspired' but if I just do one little thing, take that first step, something happens and it just sort of unfolds. You know what I mean?

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scribbled by Carina 6/12/2009 07:15:00 AM


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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Herb preview

A little preview of one of the embroidery patterns I am working on. I was hoping to have it finished today, but I've woken up with a cold and a sore throat, so not sure if I can concentrate on it!

These embroidery patterns are a series of herbs and I am wondering if I should include lettering for the name of each one? I didn't think of it originally, so I haven't done any lettering with my own embroidered versions. What do you think? With lettering? You could always leave that out if you didn't feel the need for words with your herbs...

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scribbled by Carina 6/09/2009 07:19:00 AM


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Monday, June 08, 2009

Embroidery in progress

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scribbled by Carina 6/08/2009 09:38:00 AM


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Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Not so spammy spambroidery

My latest spambroidery - embroidering the title of a spam email. Isn't it weird? "Said the Quangle Wangle Quee", what on earth does that mean?! Edit: I actually just googled it and it turns out that it is from a poem. But why would you use that as the subject title of spam mail? How bizarre.

So, uhh... it is sort of spam and not spam. Oh well, I had fun working on this, making it up as I went along. I was tempted to use different colours of thread but in the end decided to stick with just the red. Which looks kinda orange, I know, But trust me, it is red. ;-)

Looking at it, it reminds me of embroidered Mexican blouses and I really, really wish I had a white flowy blouse that I could embroider on...

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scribbled by Carina 6/03/2009 08:27:00 PM


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Quick blooms

Ahhh... embroidery. Wee flowers in a circle embroidery. I made the flower in this while we sat in the queue waiting to see QI a couple of weeks ago. A girl next to us in the queue actually said to me "that is the coolest thing to do in a queue!" Hooray for crating in public! :-)

The other evening I made this friend for the other one. It is very satisfying to make things that are so small that you can finish them in one sitting. Maybe I'll make more. Or maybe not. I guess it depends on whether I find a purpose for them. Any ideas?

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scribbled by Carina 6/03/2009 08:14:00 PM


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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Happyscape embroidery pattern revealed!

Here it finally is! My first embroidery pattern. I am so happy about it! It is called Happyscape Spring. Oh what else could it be? I love my little abstract fairytale world of Happyscapes! It is my plan to do more of these, embroidery patterns, not just Happyscape ones (although they are fun to make!)

I loved sketching it all out and inking it (well, as ink-y as it can get on the computer, eh?). Going through my stash of embroidery thread to find the right colours. Stitching my version of it. All good.

It's a special little world, drifting along in a cloud. Fairies live there, I think. In little smurf-like houses; colourful toadstools. Maybe they will offer you a cup of tea in their fairy tea cups?

It's funny, just a few years ago I never in my wildest dreams imagined draming up my own embroidery pattern. And if you had told me so, I think I would have asked you (in the nicest possible way) to F*** off! But here we are, pattern in hand! I don't know if she would have appreciated the image, but I think my grandma would definitely have appreciated the fact of it and the effort. She was a craft genius and even owned her own yarn shop for a number of years!

The pattern is for sale (Artfire + Etsy) and this is what you get in the pattern:

- the original pattern in 2 sizes
Approx. 6.5" x 4.5" and 5.5" x 3.5" - - 16.5 x 11 cm and 13.5 x 9 cm

- the same images in reverse

- enlarged elements from the original pattern (both in a 'right' and 'wrong' version)

- extra patterns using these enlarged elements

- instructions for pattern transfer

- suggestions for stitches and colours to use


Want to win a copy of the pattern?! Leave a comment telling me/everyone about your favourite thing about spring. Please fill in the email thingy so I can contact you! You have from now until Monday.

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scribbled by Carina 4/08/2009 01:25:00 PM


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Monday, April 06, 2009

Excitement. Barely contained.

Oh. My. Gawd. People, I am just sooooo excited about that little sneak peek there. And even more so about the whole thing. It is part of my first embroidery pattern. 100% fresh, new and original! Hurraaah! I am so, so, so happy about it. I hope you will like it too (nay, love it!?)

I finieshed doing the embroidering last night and this morning I ironed it and that is always such a magic thing to do with embroidery. First of all, it removes all the little wrinkles in the fabric, but it also makes the stitches lie closer to the fabric - and I may be imaging things, but it seems like it also enhances the colour of the thread?

I am almost ready to show it to you, just need to do the final adjustments on the pattern itself. Exciting!

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scribbled by Carina 4/06/2009 02:40:00 PM


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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Slowly does it

I started this more than 2 weeks ago. I really didn't mean for it to take this long to finish! But I guess it means I ended up doing it exactly how it says: slowly. Don't know what I'm going to use it for, I just felt like making it. And that is actually justification enough.

Here's another wip. Can you have too many wips? Can't remember where I got the idea for this from, but I'm pretty sure I've got a rough sketch of something similar somewhere. It's all good.

Yesterday I had an idea for a pretty ambitious project which I'll hopefully start working on while we're in Rome. It will require lots and lots of embroidery floss. :-)

Also, I have found out how Blogger's post scheduling works, so I'm thinking I'll prepare a few posts for when we're away. It would be a bit boring if there were no posts here for the better part of 3 weeks, right? What do you think? And what kind of posts would you like to see..?

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scribbled by Carina 9/17/2008 02:02:00 PM


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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Doing something

Just a little something I'm working on. I can't decide if the 'g' looks okay or weird... The 'g' is entirely my own creation and I'm starting to think that making your own type is difficult and, and harder still when you are working with cross stitch. ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 9/02/2008 08:08:00 PM


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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Feelin' the stitch

This is the banner I made for the Feeling Stitchy banner contest. The colours in the picture is not as flattering for the actual colours as they should be; but what can you do when you finish at 7:30am and the daylight is terrible and strangely blue so you have to rely on artificial light? Not much, I tells ya. I think I'll take a better picture of it later today.

Maybe it is a bit cheeky of me to actually make an entry for it, seeing as I am one of the contributors to the blog. But our blog mama said it was ok, so I thought what the heck, I'll do it! Heh. ;-) So many great entries for this contest. Those gals totally rock!

It was a nice little project to work on in my lunch break at work. I've not done any embroidery at work in a wee while, and, well, that's just not on!

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scribbled by Carina 7/01/2008 02:13:00 PM


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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Stitchy contest

Hey, if you are a stitcher don't forget to check out the banner contest on the Feeling Stitchy blog. There might even be prizes. But that's not the main reason to enter. Ok? ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/04/2008 06:53:00 PM


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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Yellow and...

I barely finish one embroidery before I start the next. Are you surprised? The last one I used only daisy stitches, in this one I'm using only cross stitches. I don't like doing 'normal' cross stitch work. Not sure why, it's the same stitch, but I actually have a physical reaction to doing the proper cross stitch stuff. My neck starts to feel all stiff and I feel nauseous. How bloody weird is that?

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scribbled by Carina 5/27/2008 11:22:00 PM


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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Skinny + FO


I finished this the other evening. Considering that I just made it up as I went along, it turned out rather well. I think I better write down how I made it!

And here's that embroidery I've been working on a for a little while. It is mostly random scraps of floss, although I did have to use 'extras' to fill some gaps. But the leftovers from that I have saved to use in the next project! ;-) I've pinned it over a stretched canvas for now, when I get round to it, I'll attach it properly. I like it simple like that.

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scribbled by Carina 5/20/2008 10:24:00 PM


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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Like a garden

My leftover embroidery is coming along and I've almost used up the floss. I like the randomness of it. It's like it has a life of its own.

I did a couple of drawings in my sketchbook, this is of a Maersk container ship - you can't mistake a Maersk ship with that blue and orange-y red! ;-)

Some plants and flowers. It is quite difficult to draw details when you are several metres away with the sun in your eyes!

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scribbled by Carina 5/13/2008 06:39:00 PM


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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Floss in wee bags

Look, these are the bags I bought last weekend for organising embroidery floss. Each bag has a little hole in it and then you stick it on that little ring in the middle. So far this system is working, but that might be because I've not done any embroidery the past week. I think you are really only supposed to put one skein (erm, is that the right name for it? The heat has started to effect my brain, I suspect...) in each bag, but I threw caution to the wind and put in several! ;-)

Well, I was lying a little bit, I actually did some embroidery last night, but I only used scraps of floss left over from when I organised my floss the other day. So the colours in this are completely random. And I like random, so this is working out rather swell! I have no clue what to use this for, other than using up those odds and ends of floss. Decorating a bag perhaps..?

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scribbled by Carina 5/10/2008 04:35:00 PM


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Friday, April 18, 2008

Huggable Happyscape

I may have gone a bit crazy over the top with this soft version of a Happyscape.

Lots and lots of felt flowers. Yes, that's why I did all that banging the other day.

And then there was the stitching. Many hours of stitching. But that is all good. Ahhh yeah.

Mostly buttonhole wheels and daisy stitches. But also French knots. I love French knots. And once I got over making them absolutely perfect each time, they are A LOT easier to do.

A rainbow, of course. And leaves.

Very wide open chains making waves. Oh yes, I really did just say that.

And how cute is the fabric on the back? It's from my mum. All my cute fabric is from my mum. She knows better than me that I actually like the cute stuff.

Another proof of my loving the cute stuff is the picture I have of Tony cuddling the Softscape, but I'm not allowed to post that. So I'll have to keep that one to myself. ;-)

Blogger seems to be having some problems right now, so fingers crossed that I can actually post this. Here we go.

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scribbled by Carina 4/18/2008 09:05:00 PM


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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Gorgeous reds

I cut this picture out of a magazine a while ago. Aren't those shoes fab? Seriously? Shame I can't wear heels or I'd hunt those suckers down so I could wear them at the wedding. I guess I'll just have to admire them from a distance.

If you want to have a look, my first post is up on the Feeling Stitchy blog. It's weird, I feel kinda nervous about it..!

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scribbled by Carina 4/09/2008 08:22:00 PM


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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I'm Feeling Stitchy

I know there's very little evidence of it lately, but I actually do some embroidery from time to time. Recently, though, I've thought more about embroidery than I've actually made any stitches. Hopefully this will change from now on: I'm one of the new bloggers on the Feeling Stitchy blog - the blog for the Flickr Embroidery group. And I can hardly be a blogger for an embroidery blog without doing any stitching myself, now can I? It just wouldn't be right.

I'll be posting about contemporary embroidery which I'm very excited about. I don't by any means fancy myself an expert on embroidery, but a passionate amateur is just as good, right? ;-) Check out the Feeling Stitchy blog, there are some really talented ladies posting over there.

Ok, time to switch off and go watch the last episode of this season's Hotel Babylon.

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scribbled by Carina 4/08/2008 08:42:00 PM


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Monday, February 18, 2008

Now the garden is finished!

I finished the embroidered garden. I was going to add greenery of some kind, but decided not to. I'm glad I did. As much as I like green, sometimes you must leave it out. I also want this to be somewhat abstract and if I'd gone into the "the colours are all the flowers and the green is grass and leaves etc", it would have been slightly less so. Highlight this to see who it's for: my mum, and I can't wait to give it to her!

Here's the frame I'm going to put it in. I like these old frames, they are so pretty. And I especially like the pattern on the paper inside it and the little sticker. You don't see anything like that these days. It's basically just a clip frame, but so much lovelier than the ones you can get now.

Here's a close-up. Because I can, and because I happen to like close-ups. ;-)

Tomorrow we're off to Denmark (yay!) I can barely wait! Hopefully we'll get all the big things concerning the wedding sorted out and booked. Which will be a load of my mind. There might be some charity shop visiting, there'll definitely be some catching up with friends and undoubtedly some of my mum's lovely food. And really, what more can you ask for?

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scribbled by Carina 2/18/2008 09:34:00 PM


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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Stitched garden

The colour circle is not the only embroidery I've been working on lately. Here's another one. It's supposed to be a wee flower garden. Does it look like a garden yet? It's still not finished, but has to be soon. It's a present for a special lady, but I can't say more than that. ;-)

And I've also managed to do some 'crazy crochet'. And to think I'm always beating myself up for not getting a lot done! I think this will end up as part of a birthday present... we'll see.

Tonight we're going to see the second National Treasure film - I can't remember the actual title, but nevermind- we rarely go to the cinema, so it's lovely when we do. The darkness, the smell of popcorn, the half hour of commercials and trailers (booo!)

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scribbled by Carina 2/13/2008 05:11:00 PM


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Monday, January 21, 2008

Five stitches + the rainbow

I think I got the embroidery bug again. Which is very lovely, I think I missed it more than I realised. But crochet is so addictive, you know. ;-) This is a thing I've been stitching in front of the telly for the last 4-5 days. It is so relaxing. I'm using 5 different stitches and (almost) all the colours of the rainbow. Nothing pleases me more than using lots of colours, and add to that the wonderful feeling of running your fingers over the stitches. I think I've mentioned that before!?

Oh and yes, my needle is slightly warped. It's not really supposed to be, but I like it that way. ;-)

Since you want to know, I'm using the following stitches: French knot, cross stitch, daisy stitch, Danish knot (I think that's the name, anyway...) and small straight stitches.

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scribbled by Carina 1/21/2008 03:43:00 PM


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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Oct/Nov Whiplash

This is my entry for Oct/Nov Whiplash (process category). It's a brooch made from felt. Can you tell what I've embroidered on it? If you crochet I bet you recognise the first couple of rounds of the granny square. Do you?

Inspiration comes out of the blue sometimes. I knew I wanted to make something with embroidery for this theme, so I was playing around, sketching some bracelets in my sketchbook, but nothing seemed to catch my fancy. Then later I was drawing some crochet diagrams and I suddenly realised how pretty the shapes were and it suddenly hit me that I'd embroider a crochet diagram on a brooch.

It was quite fiddly to make. It kept getting wonky, but I finally got it all lined up right. It's made with a single strand of embroidery floss. Other than the fiddly-ness of it, it is quite simple to make. Embroider the diagram on one square of felt, attach the pin on the other square, sew together (right sides facing each other) and turn. Stitch the opening and that's it.

I like the symmetry of crochet diagrams. And the simplicity - even if they look difficult at first. Of course, before I actually knew how to crochet the symbols made no sense to me whatsoever. Now I actually prefer the diagrams to a written pattern. Once you get it, it just makes sense, I think. Plus with different names for the same thing in US and UK crochet, the diagram is easier. Of course it definitely helps when you get your hands on a Japanese crochet book as well!

Making this brooch my mind wandered and I was thinking about a lot of rather disparate things. Like how these diagrams remind me of geometry and mathematics which, although I'm not very good at either, I find absolutely fascinating. The diagrams are universal too, like mathematics. Once you get it, you can read them all. And make something. Maybe they should have put a granny square diagram on the Voyager 1 disc. Wouldn't that be cool?

I like the abstraction of the diagram. To the uninitiated it could be anything; random shapes, a tiny tile or whatever. But some might recognise it and then it will probably say: here's someone who can crochet. That's what I'd like to think anyway...

The brooch also made me think of my grandmothers. Especially my paternal grandmother (farmor). I knew her the longest, so I grew up watching her sewing, making lace, embroidering and of course crocheting. I really wish I'd found my crafty side sooner so I could have shared it with farmor. And just imagine all the things I could have learnt from her.

I recently discovered that my maternal grandmother (mormor) also was a crocheter - and who knows what else? I think I have to ask my mum about that... I think mormor was very creative too. I particularly remember how she used to cut sandwiches into triangles and squares and then make ships or faces from those shapes.

So crochet reminds me of both my grandmothers. And of my mum as well, although she only has the most basic knowledge of crochet - for once there's something crafty where I'm the know it all! ;-)

Right, I hope you enjoyed my brooch - and my little meandering post... :-)

whiplash

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scribbled by Carina 11/14/2007 05:04:00 PM


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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Red circle

I make circular doodles in my sketchbook. This is inspired by one of them. Dunno where it's heading; it might go nowhere. But that is fine. Sometimes going nowhere is what you need to do.

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scribbled by Carina 10/24/2007 07:50:00 PM


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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Seasons linen pouch

Well, well, well! I'm quite amazed with myself that I actually managed to get this done already. Sometimes my own projects sort of just end up in a drawer somewhat forgotten. But not this one! Partly because I REALLY wanted to make something with this embroidery and partly because I actually needed a wee pouch like this!

It's just the right size for the essentials when I go to the shops: money/credit cards, phone and keys. I think it might even be possible to fit in a little notepad and a pen - then I really have everything I need!

It is divided into two compartments to keep the mobile from getting scratched. The pink and the green fabrics are both from the scraps I got from Jenny yesterday, so that was perfect timing! :-)

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scribbled by Carina 9/19/2007 07:29:00 PM


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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Embroidered seasons

I finished my little four seasons embroidery piece. I think I say this whenever I do embroidery (especially as dense as this one), but I do so love how it feels. There's just something about the raised, yet soft surface that is so amazing. I sometimes think this is the reason I do embroidery; to be able to run my fingers over it! Well, that and how much fun it is to play with all the colours.

I was thinking earlier how amazing it is that with a bunch of (almost) random stitches you can convey something like the seasons of the year. I'm actually not sure I can properly verbalise what I was thinking... I guess it's a bit like Morse code, a bunch of dots and lines, but they do make sense. Or something!

The following stitches were used: french knot, danish knot (yay!), daisy stitch and straight stitch. I'm actually looking at it right now and I almost can't believe I've only used four different stitches, it seems like it's a lot more! But I guess it's all the different colours...

I'm kinda sad it's done, I may have to do another one. In the meantime I'm thinking about what I'm going to use it for. I might make a little bag and embellish it. Heh, for once I'm making something for me!

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scribbled by Carina 9/18/2007 03:41:00 PM


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Friday, September 14, 2007

I *heart* linen

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scribbled by Carina 9/14/2007 09:07:00 AM


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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Stitches wips

Just a couple of little things I've been working on. And not a crochet hook in sight, can you believe it!?

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scribbled by Carina 9/11/2007 09:57:00 PM


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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Pincushion challenge - Summertime

I won't blame you for thinking I might have fallen off the face of the Earth (isn't that a peculiar expression?), but I promise I haven't. I've just not done much crafting. Or not finished anything...

Apart from tonight! So the Pincushion challenge gives you two months to make a pincushion, and since I had a few elaborate ideas about what Summertime means for me, I didn't get round to making the pincushion 'till yesterday afternoon!! But I made it, and this is it. It's not any of those elaborate ideas. Because I suddenly remembered that this is what I always think of when I think of summer.

It is what I think of when I think of summer in Denmark; blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds, yellow rape seed fields and green bushes and trees. And some poppies to add a bit of red - the red was supposed to come from Dannebrog (the Danish flag), but it didn't quite go with the rest of the elements.

I've not done much embroidery lately (I'm blaming that on my crochet infatuation!), so it was quite nice to just do some stitching again. So relaxing. I even did some during my lunch hour at work today. I think they are getting used to me working on my projects at work.

Among others I've used the French knot and the buttonhole wheel (the poppy heads); I'd never thought of just doing a half or a quarter of a buttonhole wheel, I really like how it looks! And that's the beauty of the TAST challenge, to explore and learn...

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scribbled by Carina 7/31/2007 09:26:00 PM


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Monday, July 09, 2007

TAST bullion knot

Well, what do you know, I'm actually posting a TAST stitch. I haven't done that in a while; crochet has taken over much of my crafting time!!

This week the TAST stitch is the bullion knot. I rather like it! It was a bit confusing at first, I must admit, but once I got it, it was quite relaxing to do. And I like how they feel, especially done this close together.

I did it on felt, and just sort of let the stitches lead me. I picked the colours at random and I think that some colours are better than others for this stitch; some colours make the stitch look like something rather yucky...

Okay, back to the crochet hook. ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 7/09/2007 09:58:00 PM


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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Embroidery magazine July/August

When I came home from work on Monday, this lovely magazine was waiting for me! I think my subscription to Embroidery magazine is probably one of the best things I've ever done. It's just so inspiring and enlightening. Also, I must say it is refreshing that it comes out the month it says on the cover and not 1-2 months ahead!

This issues is a real treat, because it has an article about Tilleke Schwarz, does she need any introduction? I think not! So fab!

Also, this issue has a theme with the written word in embroidery. Something I really love, although I've not really done any of it. There's just something about words 'written' with thread, maybe because it takes longer to write it then, than with a pen and you need to think more ahead about what you are going to say. Or something.

And there's lots more inspiration to be found in this lovely magazine. If you love embroidery, I can only recommend that you get yourself a subscription!

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scribbled by Carina 7/04/2007 10:25:00 AM


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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Is it Saturday yet?!

A little embroidered thing I've been working on the last couple of evenings. Not sure what I'll use it for yet. But that's ok. Sometimes you just need some little thing to keep your hands busy without having to think too much about it. It reminds me a bit of a Monet painting...

I made a card for the birthday of a lady I know in Denmark. I sent it this afternoon, but since Royal Mail will be on a strike tomorrow, I suspect it might not make it to Denmark in time for her birthday on Saturday!!

This is the inside of the card; I thought it was funny how the glue made 'holes' in the card - it looks a bit like the cheese the moon is made from! ;-)

Hard work at work at the moment, because of the re-fit. Oi, so much moving stuff about and packing in boxes and such. I can't wait for Saturday!

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scribbled by Carina 6/28/2007 07:03:00 PM


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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The weary shopper

What with all the crocheting going on on the blog lately, you'd almost think that was the only thing I'm doing at the moment. And you'd be right. Well, mostly. I have managed to get this li'l lady done. Embroidered on linen.

When I start work at noon, I'm usually a bit early (mainly because I hate being late), but since I don't feel like sitting in the lunch room for 20-30 minutes, I sit down somewhere in the shopping centre and do some quick sketches of people. I'm not very comfortable with drawing people and doing it while they are moving and you only have a few seconds, a minute at most, to do it, is quite daunting to me.

But also very, very good! Because I feel like I'm getting better at it, even if it is only very slowly.

All that to say that this embroidered lady is based on one of those sketches. It is obviously one of the better ones, exactly because she was sitting still and for several minutes!

I like using drawings like this, or blind contour drawings, for embroidery projects. I have very little patience for patterns of any kind. They are nice if they work for you, but to me half the pleasure of embroidering is to come up with something myself. Transferring an image from one media to another.

It's like giving a drawing a different life, it becomes almost three-dimensional, and certainly the embroidered image is a lot more tactile than the drawing!

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scribbled by Carina 4/18/2007 08:11:00 PM


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Monday, April 09, 2007

TAST: bonnet stitch


Felt eggs with bonnet stitch
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I made some more embroidered eggs this week, and I used bonnet stitch (this week's TAST stitch) on a couple of them.

I quite like this stitch. It's very decorative. But I did have some trouble 'getting it'. The dictionary of embroidery stitches that I've got didn't say exatly how to start the stitch, so I was a bit confused at first!

But it's really pretty, I especially like how it looks in a circle, both when the line is on the inside (the green egg) and the outside (red egg) of the circle.

And I'm so happy that I actually managed to do this weeks stitch in this week. 'Cause I haven't really been keeping up with the stitches like I had wanted to.

The rest of the eggs, from this batch, can be seen over on Flickr and I posted about the previous batch here.

By the way, while I was doing these eggs, I was watching something on telly about the Versailles, and now I can't look at them (and especially the bonnet stitch ones) without thinking about that programme. Anyone else experience this; what you're watching, or listening to, somehow becomes 'embedded' in what you were working on?

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scribbled by Carina 4/09/2007 09:01:00 PM


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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Inspired by Fabergé


Embroidered eggs
Originally uploaded by wardi.
A little bit of embroidery from the last couple of days. It's just so relaxing to sit and watch telly while stitching away. And boy did I need it, I'm so glad my working six days in a row stretch is now over!

For some reason I've been looking at pictures of Fabergé eggs lately. I'm not sure if I've been looking at them because I kind of had the idea for these embroidered eggs, or if the eggs came about from looking at the Fabergé ones...

It doesn't really matter, I guess.

They are like little gems to me. I like how they are all different, and how they were an opportunity to do some different stitches. Although it was my attention to follow the Take A Stitch Tuesday challenge every week, that just hasn't happened.

I especially like the pink egg, the colours are so lovely together, and the pattern is really simple. To my surprise I also like the yellow egg. And this is surprising because I rarely use yellow for anything; I don't know why, but yellow just doesn't appeal to me at all. Neither does grey, too boring for my taste. Black is the colour I'm most vary of, probably from too many paintings gone bad from an excessive use of it!

I think I'm going to make some more of the eggs and then put them in a bowl as a little decoration for Easter.

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scribbled by Carina 3/31/2007 09:04:00 PM


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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Happy Spring




Anyone else in a happy spring kind of mood? Since Saturday, the weather has been absolutely lovely here. Sunny and quite warm; you almost forget that it's only March. And where did February go?? It seems like it was January the other day!

The pictures above are two pictures I've done for my friend Sara. She lives in a wee, and rather drab, room and she was talking about getting something for her walls. So I'm surprising her with these two. I hope she likes them! I think I may have to make some for us as well, 'cause I really like them!

I cut out the tree silhouettes from black paper, glued them onto some heavy paper and then embroidered the words. I attached them to a piece of card with those corners you use for photos, and I'm going to send Sara some extra of those, so she can change the 'background' if she wants.

I really like the look (and feel!) of the embroidery on paper, but it does take a bit longer than embroidery on fabric, and there's no room for error! Kinda scary! ;-)

Happy Spring

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scribbled by Carina 3/14/2007 06:26:00 PM


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Friday, February 16, 2007

Embroidered iron

I made another embroidery based on a blind contour drawing. This time it's our iron -and not the kettle, but I am working on that one! - and I think it's turned out pretty cute. I like the pink on the white/pale blue background.

I just love making these pieces, it makes me think of appliances and the like in a new way. In a "what else can I turn into an embroidered picture" way. Every day life is a big inspiration for me. The simple things, you know?

Every day life isn't perfect and I like the things I make to reflect that; it's made by a human being and I think that's what gives art and craft life...

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scribbled by Carina 2/16/2007 06:44:00 PM


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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Toaster embroidery

I made a blind contour drawing of our toaster over a year ago (really, that long?!!) and almost ever since I've had an idea to make it into a painting. It never happened.

But then, a couple of months ago, I had this idea: why not embroider it?! And so I did. And bloody hell, I'm so, so happy with it!

I want to do more! A whole series of kitchen appliances! And I actually already did something similar, but now I'm going to get serious about it. ;-)

I love making this sort of thing, I think there's far too few household appliances in art. Granted, some of them are not exactly eye candy, but we have a daily relationship with them, so I believe that they should be noticed somehow. And someone did design them, they are someone's creation too.

I mounted the toaster on a stretched canvas, and hopefully, I'll it up on the wall sometime. Or not, considering that it took us 18 months to get anything on our walls!

Or, I might sell it.. you never know...

Right, kettle, you're next!

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scribbled by Carina 2/10/2007 04:53:00 PM


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TAST week 6


TAST week 6
Originally uploaded by wardi.
The stitch for this week is Algerian eye stitch, or Eyelet stitch. This is what I did. Not liking it much, and not liking the stitch much either.

Not even sure I did it right, but nevermind.

However, I do like the smallest stitches I've made... they're nice to touch. I think that's one of my favourite things about embroidery, it's so tactile. :-)

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scribbled by Carina 2/10/2007 01:45:00 PM


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Saturday, February 03, 2007

TAST week 5


TAST week 5
Originally uploaded by wardi.
Chevron stitch... Six-stranded cotton on thrifted pillow case.

At first I thought I'd never figure out how to actually do this stitch. Perhaps starting on it at 9:30 at night wasn't helpful...

Anyway, I doubt it'll ever be a favourite, but I probably will use it for something...some day...

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scribbled by Carina 2/03/2007 08:56:00 AM


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Saturday, January 27, 2007

TAST week 4

Guess what! The carry-on bag that my embroidery hoop + needle were in, got searched at the airport! But they didn't take the needle! I guess an embroidery needle isn't an illegal pointy object!

I didn't do any embroidery on the flight, though. But this afternoon I finished this thing for TAST.

I'd never used this particular stitch before (cretan or Open Cretan), but it's fast becoming a favourite of mine. I think it's really pretty.

And I'm so happy with how this little thing has turned out. The stitches looked kind of like coral to me, so I decided to use orange-y and blue colours. A wee embroidered coral reef...

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scribbled by Carina 1/27/2007 03:52:00 PM


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Sunday, January 21, 2007

A wee brooch


Embroidered brooch
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I made this for a friend of mine. Not sure if she actually reads this blog, so I'll say nothing else about her, cause the brooch is a surprise. ;-)

Inspired by that Japanese book, Freehand Embroidery and very sweet and pink if you ask me! The lighting of the picture isn't too great btw, it's not quite as orange in 'person'.

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scribbled by Carina 1/21/2007 08:29:00 PM


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TAST week 3

Different sizes, and different types of thread, but it's all detached chain stitch. Or daisy stitch. Or whatever you call it. ;-) On felt. I love embroidering on felt...

And that's about it.

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scribbled by Carina 1/21/2007 09:21:00 AM


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Friday, January 19, 2007

What am I thinking, giving these away?!


Embroidered bracelets
Originally uploaded by wardi.
Hey-ho. Looky, looky at these bracelets I've been working on for a Swap-bot swap. They are of course inspired by this lovely, lovely book. And I feel slightly mad for actually giving them away, just like that. But I guess I can always make other ones. Goodkarma and all that... ;-)

I sometimes make stuff that I am so happy with that I can barely believe that I actually made it. Like these bracelets. I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I look at them.

I also have a real difficult time saying "I made this and it totally rrrrrocks!". Anyone else have that problem? I sometimes almost feel like pretending I didn't make it. Is it some kind of embarrassment over getting praise or maybe a feeling that, by making things and (hopefully!) making them well, you're kind of showing off?

I don't know. And that's actually not what this post was going to be about, but now I've confused myself... Huh...

Ah yes. I really like how the top bracelet has turned out. And I wasn't sure that I would because I've used some colours for it that I rarely use,let alone in combination. Brown and a sort of mustard-y yellow.

I don't know why, but I rarely ever use yellow. It's weird, cause it's a nice, happy colour, but I just don't go for it. I guess it's good to get out of your my comfort zone from time to time.

And speaking of warming to certain colours/colourways. The photo below shows the backs of the bracelets and the fabric on the yellow-brown's back comes from a thrifted pillow case which I picked up for no particular reason, cause the colours aren't ones I normally zone in on: white,grey, yellow and a sort of rusty colour.

But I'm glad I did, it was perfect for this bracelet! And I've had it lying on the table for a couple of days now and the more I look at it, the better I like it. Isn't that funny?!

Are there colours you rarely use? Why? Have you started using them more anyway? How? Why? ;-)
Embroidered bracelets: and backs

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scribbled by Carina 1/19/2007 08:35:00 PM


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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Redwork - another swap!

I've gone and signed up for another swap. And I'm really excited about it! Cause it's an embroidery swap, redwork to be precise.

What is redwork, you ask? Well, it's basically embroidery done with a single colour (that's right: red!) and traditionally backstitch, stem stitch and outline stitch were used. Read more about redwork here if you like.

Sign up for this swap closes on Monday so get yourself over and sign up. Just click on the badge below.

redwork swap badge

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scribbled by Carina 1/17/2007 08:07:00 PM


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Monday, January 15, 2007

Sublime Stitching

I got this book for Christmas (I asked for it) and was really excited: an embroidery book by Jenny Hart who makes cool stuff like this and this!

I guess I should have explored the Sublime Stitching website before asking for the book, cause I was expecting something else than what the book actually was. The website claims that "there are no geese in bonnets". And it's true, there isn't a goose or a bonnet in sight. But there sure is enough of cute (the bad cute, in my very humble opinion) things in the book: Kittens! Sundaes! Dogs! Drinks!

I SO wasn't expecting that after looking at the Jenny Hart website. I was expecting a book that would inspire me, you know, lots of pictures of interesting things to embroider. Not a book virtually lacking in photos, with most of the pages being transfers and the rest being an embroidery primer.

Hopefully, Jenny Hart does another book sometime, one that is more like her own work and less like this book. But perhaps I'm not the "target" for this book. I know how to embroider and I don't need transfers or anybody else's ideas for what to make...

Anyway, I'm swapping the book for the Happy Hooker - maybe I'll finally learn to crochet! ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 1/15/2007 05:41:00 PM


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Saturday, January 13, 2007

TAST week two


TAST week two: buttonhole stitch
Originally uploaded by wardi.
Like I haven't got enough things I want to do, I stumbled upon something called theTake A Stitch Tuesday challenge. It's basically taking one embroidery stitch every week and experimenting with it.

This is perfect for me, because one of my resolutions this year is to get to know a lot more about embroidery; the history, embroidery in different countries etc. So having a bit of fun with it like this is just great!

I missed the first week (I guess I could always go back and do it anyway), so I'm starting with week two: the buttonhole stitch. I haven't had time to really experiment with it, like using different threads, so changing the size and doing the stitches on top of each other will have to do!

Apart from the blurry picture, I'm quite happy with it. I like how it kinda looks like a weird landscape of sorts. But what I really like, and what is one of the things I love about embroidery, is how it feels to run my fingers over the layered stitches. Very tactile.

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scribbled by Carina 1/13/2007 08:59:00 PM


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Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Freehand Embroidery


Oh my word! I am so so in love with this book (ISBN4-579-11012-9)! It is just perfect: the layout and the projects in it. I've been wanting to get some Japanese craft books to see what all the buzz was about (it seems like every single craft blogger out there is enamoured with these!), and I finally had the excuse to get one (Christmas present from my parents). And my hopes (expectations) have certainly not been let down one bit. And to think I had second thoughts about it and almost cancelled the order!


Just look at that bag, aren't the decorations lovely?? You may have to click on the image to see them better...


This book is so inspiring, and it has already had an impact on my way of embroidering. It has made me realise that you can do lines, almost like you would when you draw, but you don't have to necessarily stitch it all. What a time saver!


I've already started on some little projects (pics of those next week) which are heavily inspired by this book, but the decorations on this top is definitely something I want to try. I have an old cardigan which could definitely do with some embroidery to give it new life.



This picture is just to show one of the diagram pages at the back of the book. I think they are pretty in themselves. Even if I don't understand a single word of the instructions. I wonder if I'm too old to learn Japanese...?

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scribbled by Carina 1/09/2007 02:45:00 PM


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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Working on Berkshire


Counties embroidery
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I don't know where the counties are in this country, and although T says they don't really matter, well, they do to me. Because I don't know where they are! When people say they are from Dorset or Norfolk, I don't know where those places are.

So I had the idea to embroider a map of the counties to maybe learn it that way... I'm not sure all the counties are going to 'stick', but atleast some of them will. I hope.

And T can think I'm silly all he wants. ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 12/19/2006 09:16:00 PM


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Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Hula girl


Hula girl with odd looking hand
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I got a book called Hula a few months ago, because I wanted to do some embroidered Hula girls. I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to do that, but the inspiration came from a similar book called Mexicana which an image of a Hula girl.

Maybe it's not so much the Hula thing, but the style of these illustrations. I don't know. But I love looking at all those old advertising posters from the first half of the last century, i love the lines and colours...

And I find it amusing to see how people back then saw other cultures. Like the Hawaiian and Mexican. And I wonder if we look at other cultures in a similar way. Cause it seems to me that theirs wasn't always terribly nuanced. I hope we're doing better now in that respect...

I'm still not sure what to do with the Hula girls - there will be more than this one. Maybe I'll appliqué them to something, bags perhaps. Or maybe I'll just embroider them for the pure enjoyment. It's all good.

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scribbled by Carina 12/12/2006 08:47:00 PM


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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Hip in the mail


"Hip" mail!
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I felt like going like this yesterday when I got this book in the mail: squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal!!

Actually, I felt like doing that too when I heard this, because that was when I found out that I won this competition on Craftsanity. (Here are the other submissions).

I never win anything, and then to win a book as cool as this one, and about embroidery too. How cool is that?! And it's even personalised by Melinda Barta, the author! :-)

I took a few pictures of some of the projects (they are all pretty cool!) in the book, they're over on Flickr.

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scribbled by Carina 10/25/2006 07:49:00 PM


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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Lots of work, not much to show


Embroidered whisk
Originally uploaded by wardi.
It's annoying that I haven't got a lot of finished projects to show. Cause I'm working bloody hard at the moment, but it seems nothing gets finished. Possibly because I'm working on several different things at the same time.

I like jumping from project to project, because I get bored otherwise, but that does mean that actually finishing something takes longer than it would if I could just sit down and finish this dagnabbit!

At the moment I'm working on some mobile cozies/bags, a pincushion, a bag, x number of mittens, x number of embroidered bookmarks (actually, I haven't started those yet, but they are very much at the back of my mind).

But I did finish this little embroidery project. It is a whisk, as you can maybe tell. I first did a blind contour drawing of the whisk and then I used that as a pattern. I didn't transfer it to the cloth first, I just freehanded it. Much in keep with the spirit of a blind contour drawing, I think!

The brown is not part of the piece, that's just a bit of felt for background. The fabric used for this piece as all recycled either from clothing or old pillow cases.

Not entirely sure what my intention was with this, but I guess I think it's look nice in a frame or something. And it doesn't really matter, what matters is that it was fun to make and, I think, it turned out rather pretty.

And because it turned out so well, I'm going to do a whole series of them. Just because! ;-)

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scribbled by Carina 9/20/2006 10:29:00 AM


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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Embroidered bookmarks


Embroidered bookmarks
Originally uploaded by wardi.
As you may have noticed, I've been doing some embroidery lately. Today I finished three of my little embroidery projects.

Mexican inspired bookmarks. I'm really happy with them. I love the colours and the silly designs. One of the purposes of these bookmarks, was to learn some more embroidery stitches. And I have! Three or four new stitches. Yay!

I'm especially happy to have learnt the Danish knot stitch. At first it came out a complete mess, but once you learn it, it's easy! I liked doing the buttonhole wheels with variegated thread, I think that looks really pretty.

I'm working on more bookmarks. And also some other projects with similar inspiration.

Embroidery is really relaxing, and you can do it while doing other things, like watching telly. Which is actually exactly what I've been doing. In fact, I've gotten in to this habit of doing embroidery after I've eaten my lunch, while similarly watching the Gilmore Girls. Oh those girls!

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scribbled by Carina 9/07/2006 11:38:00 PM


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Friday, September 01, 2006

More on the reverse



Originally uploaded by wardi.
I'm still intrigued by the back of my embroidery projects. Here's another one. Maybe it's because of the relative randomness where there threads go...

Dunno...

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scribbled by Carina 9/01/2006 12:49:00 AM


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Friday, August 25, 2006

No title for the reverse


Reverse
Originally uploaded by wardi.
This is the back of an embroidery project I finished recently. I'm not going to reveal it just yet. Soon, though.

Anyway, usually when I do embroidery, I really like the back of it too. It's like a photo that's out of focus. You can kinda see what it's supposed to be, but still it's strange and different from the right side.

The colours are muddled and messy. And the reverse of the stitches are really interesting. I sometimes feel like using the reverse instead of the right side.

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scribbled by Carina 8/25/2006 11:09:00 PM


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Thursday, June 22, 2006

Embroidery on the go


Embroidery on the go
Originally uploaded by wardi.
I like having whatever (small) embroidery project I'm working on, with me in case I have a few minutes to work on it.

Before today I had it in a very un-glamorous plastci bag. Well, those days are over! I made myself a little bag for it. WIth no less than three compartments! One for the embroidery hoop, one for scissors and needlebook, and one for the skeins of floss.

I lurrrve it! It's made of two different fabrics, but inn the same colours. It's so simple to make I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!

Below is a picture of the needlebook - another upgrade from just sticking the needles into random pieces of fabric. The book is simply held together with a bit of velcro and has a wee bit of padding.

Needlebook

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scribbled by Carina 6/22/2006 09:51:00 PM


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Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Mr Kitty


Mr Kitty
Originally uploaded by wardi.

Looky! A cat! It's a mini softie! Smaller than my hand, which is very small! (Actually they both ate, my hands I mean, I have two...)

I've started making these, because I like having small things to embroider while I watch telly.

Funny thing is, I don't really like cats...

Anyway, this one is making its way across the Atlantic to Crystal in Colorado as part of the stuff I've sent with the magazine in the Mag Swap I'm participating in. I hope she likes him. :-)

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scribbled by Carina 6/21/2006 02:49:00 PM


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Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Robot for baby



Originally uploaded by wardi.

My friends are having a baby boy in July - this is a present for them. I'm so happy with it, I'm tempted to get myself some babies that I can dress up in robot gear!

I hope they like it. Cause I'm probably going to make them another.

It was such a joy to make as well. I had made some sketches of robots and then I just sort of did free-style. Embroidering is so peaceful.

Robots rock!

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scribbled by Carina 6/13/2006 06:53:00 PM


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