Winterkist Blog Hop - Gnoma Advent Calendar

When Katie asked if I wanted to be part of the Winterkist blog hop I said yes in about 0.2 seconds. And then in about 0.5 seconds I knew what I was going to make.

Even though I knew what I was going to make, I wanted to ensure that anything with Winterkist was made in the epically fun spirit of its designer. So I thought to myself: WWMSSD? That's What Would Monica Solorio-Snow Do? for those of you who are behind the times :) Monica's a pretty fun and hilarious lady, so I tried to rise to her level - this is me channeling my inner Monica.

I gathered myself a gnoma and we set out into the world, Flat Stanley style. I took the Prince Harry of gnomas, because he's not directly next in line for the throne, so he's allowed to engage in shenanigans and go out and rabble-rouse, whereas poor Prince William gnoma had to sit at home waiting for his moment to shine in the project. What did Prince Harry Gnoma and I do on our day of fun? Take a look:

1. Buckle up, Gnoma, safety first! 2. We had to get gas, and he pumped it [it builds character] 3. He was thirsty, so we had to stop for a Coke 4. Prince Harry Gnoma's favorite artists are ABBA, Tracy Chapman, and Tenacious D, in no particular order 5. Kelly and I buried him in the sand at the beach 6. I told you Prince Harry Gnoma was all about the shenanigans...wonder where he got all that cash money?! 7. Went hiking and had a zen moment at the top 8. Practiced the art of seduction with a mustache

By the end of the day, we were tired, but ready to get to work!

A Winterkist advent calendar! When I was growing up we had a Christmas tree advent calendar and you hung an ornament up for every day. I loved doing that [still do] and so I really wanted to be able to physically move something for each day to countdown to Christmas.

So to count down each day closer to Christmas you get to take a snowflake from the pocket [the snowflakes slide in more, I just wanted them to be seen for the picture] and snap it up around Prince William Gnoma. The snaps that are on the calendar itself are very hard to see since they're clear, so when none of the snowflakes are snapped on then it still looks great!

I Steam-a-Seamed the largest gnoma in the collection to the background and then stitched in DMC Perle 8 around the edges. The only thing I'd do differently next time is layer some white fabric behind the gnoma so you can't see the background when it's stitched down. I kind of think it looks like freckles?

The snowflakes are interfaced and then stitched to some heavy duty red felt for durability.

The white background [which is also Winterkist] is free-motion quilted in a new-to-me design. Swirls! Hopefully so it looks windy/snowy/blustery. I don't have the patience for practice, so this was my first try at this design, and I'm pretty darned pleased.

Winterkist pairs up so nicely with this red Farm Fresh dot for the pockets, and the Riley Blake [I forget the line] for binding, and some fabric marker drawn numbers to indicate the day. In all honesty, I'd originally planned to embroider the numbers, but wanted nothing to do with more hand-work when I was sewing this all together.

AND LOOK. Baby gnoma! From Holiday Happy! For the 25th :)

I love it! I love that it's on the bigger side [about 18" by almost 36"] so it will take a commanding space in my living room this winter. And I love that it's not "Christmassy" and so I can leave it up in January and February and June. The pockets are plenty big enough [3.5" square] to hold the snowflakes and even a little treat or note.

I plan to sew some snaps onto some double fold binding or some ribbon so that I can use the snowflakes as a garland in January if I want. You could totally do that with the gnoma too, I just didn't think of it until I had already sewn him down.

Thanks Katie for letting me join the fun, and for Monica for having gnoma fun with fabric!

Don't forget that if you leave a comment on this post, or any other blog hop post this week, that you get entered to win a FQ bundle of your choice from The Fat Quarter Shop!

The remaining blog stops:

Aug 16  Diane at from blank pages

Aug 17  Allegory at {sew} Allegorical

Aug 20  Kim at My Go-Go Life

Aug 21 Di at Random Thoughts...do or "di"

Aug 22 Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts

Aug 23 Jenelle at Echinops & Aster

Aug 24  Katie at There & Back

Potter Pattern Reveal, Day 2!

We're at Day 2 of the Potter Pattern reveals [check out Day 1 here]! Plus they all go on sale today, so check out the information at the bottom for details.

Riddikulus:

This is the simplest pattern in the batch and is an excellent pattern to start with if it's your first time embroidering, as it only requires backstitch and a tiny bit of satin stitch! In fact, it was Jessica's first time embroidering! Look at her even stitching on the lettering! Crazy.

Quidditch:

This pattern contains a broomstick, Quidditch hoops, and a Snitch! You can stitch them together or separately. I absolutely loveeee the texture of all the motifs in this pattern. But I don't love how the wings of my Snitch look a little messy; I started to get antsy after days and days of stitching Potter Patterns. Jennifer tested this pattern for me, and she chose the broomstick...considering she just moved to Maui and also tested a quilt pattern for someone else, she's pretty much Superwoman right now. And how cute is her broomstick?! I love that she added extra twigs at the bottom to give it a little more fullness!

Expecto Patronum:

Beth's daughters are Harry Potter fans and they helped her pick the pattern to test! If you're a fan of the stories then you know the significance of this spell, but I love the safety and reassurance of the spell in the books, and hopefully you can feel some of that magic when you stitch this up! Next time I think I'll make my own Patronus with smaller French Knot eyeballs, so he doesn't have a perpetually surprised look on his face, ha! :)

Always:

This is my favorite pattern. I cry every time I reach this part in the books, without fail, despite the fact that I've read all the books probably hundreds of times. I worked the longest on this pattern because I wanted to convey a really ethereal magic; I hope you find it as beautiful as I do! This pattern finishes at about 14" across, so it's at least double the size of all the other patterns. As such, I asked two people to test the pattern. Katie's is the top and Fiona's is the bottom. Katie named her doe Herman! I love how she individualized it. And Fiona added some seed beads to her version, which I LOVE. Plus she's using her stitchery on a memory box, as she doesn't have HP-aged kids anymore. It's great that this can be used for a more mainstream purpose!

I want to thank all of my fabulous testers! You all were invaluable in streamlining the patterns so that anyone who purchases them can be assured of a quality product!

All 8 patterns are now on sale at my Etsy shop and my Craftsy Pattern Shop! I'm celebrating the release with a special sale of a bundle of all the patterns. The bundle is $28 from today through Friday August 10th! That's a total of $2.80 per pattern [as the Quidditch set is 3 patterns in one!]. The Etsy shop and Craftsy Pattern shop will also have each pattern listed separately for sale if you only want a couple. I will also be selling completed hoops that are stitched-to-order with the option for custom colors on some patterns.

I'm so excited and happy to share my Harry Potter and stitching love with everyone! :)

Potter Pattern Reveal, Day 1!

I'm so excited to share these with you! These Potter Patterns have been my biggest behind-the-scenes project all summer, and I have spent countless hours drawing, stitching, designing, and working on the computer to bring a clean, professional product to you all!

I've decided I was utterly crazy to work on 8 patterns all at once because it was a huge undertaking. And while I always knew that making patterns of any kind took a long time, I have such respect for those who do it for a living, especially after this whole experience.

I still want to talk more about my pattern-making experience, but I'll save that for another day. Until then, here's the first 4 of 8 patterns that will be available for sale tomorrow!

Each pattern is anywhere from 10-14 pages and includes pictures of my sample on the pattern cover and in a hoop on the wall, supply list, tips for tracing your pattern, pattern notes, ideas for individualizing your pattern, suggested DMC floss colors, stitch guide, black and white pattern for tracing, reverse black and white pattern for iron-on transfer, and color pattern with recommended stitches.

Orchideus:

My favorite thing about this pattern is that you could totally use it even if you're not a Harry Potter fan! Those bunches of flowers would look great on all sorts of things :) Jenni stitched this up for me and I have to show two pictures from her because that second one is probably the most perfect detail embroidery shot I've ever seen!

Wingardium Leviosa: 

Stephanie tested this pattern for me, and she was invaluable in making some extra notes in the pattern to make it easier for you all to stitch! Plus how clean and fantastic does her embroidery look?! I did change some things after she stitched up her test pattern, so you'll notice that her feather has a stem stitch outline, but after some careful consideration I switched the pattern up so that there is no outline. Of course you can still choose to outline the feather, but I like the more ragged look of no outline...somehow it's more "feathery" to me.

Lumos:

Lumos was one of the first patterns that I came up with last year, but it has evolved over the year to the current pattern. Rebekah tested this for me, and look, she's already even got it sewn into a block. She told me she's thinking about making it into a pouch. This is another pattern that alerted me to the fact that my original pattern drawings might be a little confusing, which is why her radiating blue portion is lines instead of satin stitch like the pattern cover. I still think it looks great though! Plus, um, hellooo French Knot pro! If you want to perfect your French Knots, this is the pattern for you!

Alohomora:

This pattern is excellent if you're just getting into embroidery. It's short and sweet but helps you build some great embroidery skills including stem stitch, backstitch, satin stitch, and a few French Knots! Colby stitched this up for me and look how great it looks! How does she get all the wrinkles out?! No matter how much steam I use I cannot get the most stubborn hoop wrinkles out.

Come back tomorrow for the other 4 patterns, plus the information on the introductory pattern bundle! All patterns will go on sale tomorrow :)

Gold Medal Tuesday

Hey! Link up your holiday projects here! Because it's the cool thing to do! 

__________________________________________________________________________

...so I woke up today and realized it was Tuesday.

And then I realized that I'd been sucked into the Olympic vortex. I think I've probably watched all 16 hours of Olympic coverage on NBC every day. The TV is on if I'm awake.

Table tennis? You can wipe your face after every 6 points.

Beach volleyball? The Brazilian women's team goes by their first names only.

Regular volleball? You have to be prepared to hug after every point.

Badminton? The fastest hit was recorded at 265 mph.

Dressage? Whaaaaat? FYI, the horse doesn't get a medal, which I think is unfair.

You're welcome for all that knowledge. I'll be sure to give you an update in a few days.

Now, on to the Olympics of sewing. Otherwise known as the only event I'd get to compete in because I'm exceptionally average [oxymoron? yes/no?].

I need 510 charms for my queen-sized quilt.

I have 280. And no more fabrics that work with my color scheme. Epic fail. So I think that I don't even make it to the medal podium for that effort. I wish I'd won gold so I could pawn it for some fabric money...

I started working with a new project earlier today. In various shades of green paired with Essex in Natural. I'm not sure what it will become, but I've toyed with a triangle design for my king-size bed quilt, so this is helping me see if I like it.

Here we have a very orderly layout of triangles

And here we have a haphazard turning of triangles. I'm leaning towards this.

I know I want to make bigger blocks next time though. Maybe I'll keep making baby triangles and turn this into a shower curtain?! [slowly but surely letting patchwork take over my house; don't tell Stephen].

Because I like the project so far I'm going to award myself the silver in this event. 

::the crowd roars its approval::

And today is the day that Issue 10 - Sew Britannia of Fat Quarterly is available for purchase! Aka the issue with my Twirling Clamshells pillow.

You have to buy the issue to see all the good stuff!

In true Olympic spirit in honor of the issue, I win a gold medal for that pillow! Because...42 pictures in that pattern people, 42 pictures.

[In case you were wondering if it's worth buying the issue...it's 111 pages. Chock full o' goodness]

PS, I only got 4 hours of sleep last night. I'm a terrible Olympian. And human.


*Linked with Quilt Story

Handmade Parade Day!

Friday already?!

First things first, someone asked me yesterday how many entries per category were allowed for Christmas in July. Great question! After thinking about it I've decided to officially count just one project per person per category. But I don't want that to stop you from showing off your creations, so you can put anything else you've made [like if you've made TWO holiday quilts, whoa] in the same post so when people click on the link then they can still enjoy your other projects!

Oh, and don't forget that this past Monday's giveaway for Camille Roskelley's stocking pattern is open until Monday at midnight :) and it's international!

So what have I been up to lately?

I spent several days this week taking my little sister to UF Orientation, which meant that she had to attend classes about how to be the most successful Gator possible, while I got to lounge in a hotel room and wander around to my old Gainesville haunts and eat good food, read some books, and do some stitching.

It was nostalgic to walk around my alma mater, but because I haven't been with my machine I don't have much to show.

Project Runway started last night, which always inspires me to sew. Not so much what they make [as I think a lot of it is really bizarre], but just physically watching people sew!

And today is Handmade Parade day, so I thought I'd show you sneak peeks of three of the Harry Potter embroidery patterns that I'm going to be releasing for sale on August 8th!

I've stitched all the patterns up myself [although I'm not the best embroiderer in the world], and cannot wait to hang them and have a fabulous magical wall somewhere in my apartment. I will be showcasing the patterns on August 7th and 8th [plus the versions my testers stitch up!] here on the blog and I'll be selling them in a special introductory bundle from the 8th-12th.

The bundle includes 6 spell patterns and a Quidditch pattern [which is a set of 3 patterns!] and will be sold for $25 [for a total of 9 patterns that comes to $2.78 per pattern!]. The 8th pattern is one of my favorites and is about double the size of all the other patterns, and as such, will be priced individually at $5.

The fishbone stitch for the leaf is one of my favorite stitches ever!

I'm really excited about these! 

Do you have some people in your life that wish they were magical? These are the perfect gift of combining something you love [stitching!] with something they love [HP! Hogwarts! Magic!]. If you don't have the time or the inclination to stitch the pattens yourself I will also be taking orders for finished hoops :)

Happy weekend everyone!

Sewing for me!

Wow! Busy week!

After all the sewing I've been doing for various obligations I decided it was about time to do some things just for me.

Starting with getting my scraps a little more under control:

I keep my really small scraps in two plastic shoe boxes but I have pieces that are less than a FQ, so they don't get folded on the shelf with all my other fabric. Look! Apparently I only have 1 large scrap of orange...hmm...

I bought an over-the-door shoe rack and put it in the closet of my sewing room. The scraps are sorted by color, voile scraps, interfacing, holiday, and orphan quilt blocks.

And now I feel much better about my sewing space. We will see if it works. If not, I'm sure I can find other stuff to store in there :)

Next up on the list of things for me has been working to get some Harry Potter embroidery patterns written up. I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan [as I know I've mentioned! But seriously, I'm sad to be a Muggle] so I've been slowly stitching up some spells and other little graphics. The picture above is of some of the drawings that I made the patterns from :)

This is where you come in: I need some pattern testers!  I got 7 awesome people [actually 8, because I had another pattern up my sleeve] who volunteered to test patterns and I couldn't be more excited. Thanks everyone! :)

If you couldn't be a tester but want the patterns, look for them for purchase at the beginning of August!

I have 6 spell patterns  and a set of 3 Quidditch-themed mini patterns. So I need 7 pattern testers. You can be a brand-new embroiderer or someone who can stitch in their sleep. I will let you pick the pattern you'd like to test on a first-come, first-serve basis. I would really like if you could get it stitched up within 2 weeks of receiving the pattern from me [which will be Sunday night or Monday because I'm having problems getting them to print to scale], as they are small designs so they shouldn't take you too long.

If you'd like to be a tester, just send me an email by clicking the Gmail button on the right sidebar. Please include what level embroiderer you are. I'll reply with the pertinent information!

Note: It's not certain yet whether or not I can release these. I'm still looking into it and waiting for some responses back from people. The artwork in these patterns is my own, but the spells are obviously part of the books. I would not be claiming the spells as my own, but they did inspire my drawings that were then turned into the embroidery. This is a very murky and confusing topic, and I don't want to overstep any boundaries, so I'm proceeding with caution. So hey, if you pattern test you could get a pattern even if they never get released! Win for you! :) 

And finally, I got some Lecien fabric that is PERFECT for more hand-stitching, so I worked on that while I watched Friends last night. If I could have somehow eaten ice cream at the same time then life would have been perfect.

I have absolutely no idea what the finished product might be, but I want to make a conscious effort to be more consistent in my stitching. I can do French Knots and a lazy daisy stitch just fine, but I'd like to get to the point where they're all the same size! Kind of like my very own back-to-basics camp?

*Linked to the Handmade Parade at There and Back - go link up if you've got some handwork!