I have been a busy stitcher this past month and have made great strides on my journal. I have been primarily stitching poems and the written word elements for the pages
There’s still lots to do, but significant progress has been made. I’ve spent more time in contemplation on the layouts and design elements for some of the pages. Some of the pages just “speak to me” and deciding on a layout has been fairly straight forward.
Some of the pages are still elusive so I’ll keep plugging away on stitching my poems and sayings and hopefully eventually the light bulb will go on.
Filling some holes in the journal As i work on the design elements, it has become apparent that there are some “holes in the journal”. I am planning some smaller embroidery projects specifically to fill these “holes” and flesh out the book. I am still working on the “storybook” plan and I think that these new pages will do the trick.
Layouts, backgrounds, ribbons and buttons…I’ve also spent time this past month stashbusting – looking for other elements that I can add to my page layouts. I’ve found buttons, beads, more threads, rick rack and ribbon that may work as design elements on some of the journal pages. I’ve got a small basket going and when I find something I think might work, in the basket it goes.
I am thinking now about the final page size for the journal and which pages I’m going to start putting together first. What an exciting thought! I am enjoying the point to where I am at in this creative process. I have many pages on the go in a variety of different stages. I’m still stitching and creating pages, planning layouts and contemplating finishing pages and sewing them together. Amazing!
On embroidering words and letters…I’m contemplating on putting together a short tutorial on how to embroider words and letters. I have spent A LOT of time the last few weeks embroidering poems and sayings and have learned quite a bit. The best way to transfer to fabric. What stitch works best? How many threads do you use? What type of thread works the best? What colours of thread work the best? What font style works the best? There’s lots to think about and I’ve got some good insight now.
Journal Inspiration
Many of the ideas for my journal are the brain child of Amina from Stitch Floral. I’ve stitched a number of her quotes and am planning on using them in my journal. Please check her site out! She is an amazing embroiderer and her blog has provided me with a great deal of inspiration for my journals.
https://stitchfloral.blogspot.com
An update on “52 Flowers” (the 2021 temperature stitch) I am feeling some pressure – it’s week number 40! Fortunately I have a plan in place on how I want the layout to look for this page. To help explain the temperature stitch project the facing page is going to become a “reference” to the temperature stitch.
I have finished embroidering the temperature ranges and I need to add the colours to each temperature range and also finish up the random flowers that I added as embellishments. This page is going to be set aside for a while so I can continue to work on other layouts. I feel good about these two pages!
More fun finds from the internet…
Mini Pumpkin project
these two little pumpkin projects bookmarked for some time now and am now contemplating using them as a design element on one of my journal pages. Maybe I’ll try out a new technique on how to appliqué a stitched design onto another fabric. Stay tuned!
Mary Corbet’s wee pumpkin – so cute!!https://www.needlenthread.com/2012/10/how-to-embroider-a-wee-pumpkin.html
and another – this one’s beaded…. https://www.needlenthread.com/2020/10/how-to-embroider-a-beaded-pumpkin.htmlhttps://www.needlenthread.com/2020/10/how-to-embroider-a-beaded-pumpkin.html
After a year I’m still thinking about this kaleidoscope… maybe it needs to become a page….https://www.needlenthread.com/2016/10/coloris-kaleidoscope-hand-embroidery-project.html
I just love this designer! She’s got a cool store name and her animal designs are so whimsical! Especially the rabbit… and wouldn’t you know it, she’s got a fox too… and now she’s selling PDF downloads – I do love those!
https://paraffle-embroidery.com
Here’s another “new to me” designer. She’s from the UK her designs are delightful. I’m still looking for something for the front page of my journal… maybe one of her designs will work!
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LiliPopo?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=741942285
RSN Stitch BankThis is an amazing compilation of stitches that has recently been released by the RSN. Each stitch has diagrams, a how to guide and a video tutorial. This site is definitely worth a bookmark and a deep dive in to the magic of stitches. They are still building the library and when it’s finished it will be (and already is) an amazing resource for all stitchers.
More to come!
Happy Stitching 🙂
The Needlesmith 