busy busy busy

Just some stitching at my desk...working on new Stitcher's Revolution envelope. We decided to add some actual embroidery on them-It is keeping my fingers busy this week!

Sorry for the poor quality phone photo-but back to stitching for me! Lots left to do. P.S. notice the new pattern coming? Thats right, a long awaited sewing pattern! More soon!

Happy Stitching!!
Brooke

Cute embroidery from Japan

Another post about the CHA show....I know I know, but there was so much to be inspired by there. These had to be my favorite things. I found a booth that was a distributor for Japanese craft books. I have purchased a crochet book before and I love it. I wanted to see the embroidery books in person. They did not disappoint.

Even though they are all in Japanese, you can still trace the patterns and get the idea for colors. No problem. Amazing how embroidery can be understood in any language!

This super cute tote bag could be easily made with our new grocery bags and a monogram pattern. Might just be what my Mother-in-Law and Mother will be getting for Mother's day. 

Too cute! There is just something I love about their illustration style. 

Has anyone out there bought some Japanese craft/sewing books? I'd love to hear about it. I will be ordering a few of these myself soon.....I just can't wait until next Christmas!

Dreaming of little embroidered squirrels....

-Brooke

Fabulous Stitched Vintage Valentines

Just in case you need a little extra love in your life this month, check out these awesome stitched vintage Valentines from Craftyminx! I always love Dana's posts. She is such a fun blogger-right up my alley, a thrift store shopper, a sewer, crocheter, a crafter of all kind really. I think you will like her site!

Here is the original Valentine

And the line drawing Craftyminx did.....I'll explain the reverse image below.

Original post here

So cute--here are a few more she did!

 Original post here

Original post here

These are simple to do with our Transfer Pencils, just trace and iron it onto your fabric! You will need to use the reverse image of you Valentine (create your own by photocopying your Valentine in reverse or flipping it horizontally in in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Acrobat), trace it with a transfer pencil onto tracing paper. Then iron it onto your fabric and stitch away! The pencils are great--you can personalize any project.......add name or phrase--the possibilities are endless!

And just in case you need a Valentine to work from...there is a great flickr group here, full of vintage Valentines. There is certainly one in there perfect for you!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Remember the holiday isn't about having that one true love, it is about telling the people you love how much they mean to you.
-Brooke

Thousands of candles can be light from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreased by being shared. 

-Buddha

Cool bags to show off your embroidery

MORE from CHA!

I saw these very cool bags from Colonial Needle (no relation to us, but they do sell GREAT needles for embroidery, and we get a lot of their calls :) at the trade show. There are built in windows so you can display your needle point, embroidery, or crochet.

There was one clutch/wallet type on that had a great purple fuzzy crocheted piece in it....too cute (sorry I didn't get to snap that picture). These are just a great way to show off all your work and still have a nice sturdy bag to carry all your things!

I couldn't find them on their website, but I bet you can call and get pricing info about them. There were a lot of color choices and sizes. They even had neat travel jewelry boxes and small coin purses!

Be sure to drop hints to your loved one for this great Valentine's gift!
Happy Stitching!
Brooke

Home from the CHA show in LA

Well we made it home safe and sound (only getting delayed one day from the massive snow storm aka Blizzard of OZ)! Here are some pictures of our booth at the show. We got some new signs and tried little clothes lines this year to display the linens we offer. It turned out pretty cute.

Chris and Matt

There were so many wonderful ideas at the show-one of the coolest new items I saw was the g2 Glass Bottle Cutter.  Check out the you tube video here. This product is so cool, made from recycled aluminum and can help you recycle other products into art! 

Another great thing I learned about at the show was Zentangle. It is a wonderful way to relax and create something at the same time. 

These are the zentangles that were created in my class--each person is making the same basic patterns and given the same instruction, yet they all come out different. It is a wonderful exercise for people of all ages. You can give this project to a 4th grader and a 50 year old man. No matter what the results are something beautiful both aesthetically and mentally. It really gives you focus without having to follow rules. It is very liberating. Sometimes you just need to draw....and not worry what it comes out looking like. Zentangle is kind of like yoga for the mind. Check it out! Read more about the creators and get signed up for the newsletter here.

There were so many booths and so little time, but I did get around to see a lot of them. I will post more this week. I must get back to finishing the four new SR patterns (yes four!!) They will be available in March!

Happy Stitching all!
Brooke