Review + Giveaway: Mr X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch

I've been a fan of Jamie Chalmer's site MrXStitch since I first discovered it, years ago, so I was really excited to receive The Mr. X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch for review from the publisher - what a treat!

Just so you know, the book link above is an Amazon Affiliate link - clicking through the link and buying is one way to support our volunteer reviews - we use funds in our Amazon account for new giveaways and reviews.

In a nutshell - Jamie's book is perfect for those of you who would like to see cross-stitch through a unique lens - Jamie's book is all about modern, unexpected, and unusual cross stitching. If you're widening your sphere of interest from very feminine or cutesy stuff, this could be a good place to start - this book also has interviews of numerous stitchers to get you inspired to see embroidery and cross stitch in a new way. I think it could also make a great gift for a beginner to embroidery, and particularly a male beginner to embroidery who might enjoy a male perspective on stitching on trains, for example. :)

One of my favorite features of this book was seeing Jamie's decidedly not-female hands getting his embroidery materials together and stitching:

I'm not sure why I got such a kick out of that, but I think it might also help a reluctant male stitcher to see that embroidering isn't merely a girly act - it's about creativity and art form, neither of which need to be manly or feminine, but can take something from both of those tropes.

What's in the book?

This book is divided into 6 large sections (with nicely photographed section titles) which include patterns, tips, and interviews as follows:
Tools and Materials
Colour
Glow in the Dark
More Than a Hobby (embroidery as therapy, craftivism, and art form)
Pattern Design (create your own cross-stitch patterns)
Thinking Outside the Hoop (includes projects stitched on leather, plastic, and metal)

With 23 cross stitch projects and 4 cross stitch alphabet fonts, there is quite a bit of variety to be found here. There are also 5 interviews with embroidery "outliers" Zoe Gilbertson, Kate Blandford, Severija Inčirauskaitė Kriaunevičienė, Lord Libidan, and Les Deuz'Bro.

I really enjoyed the Pattern Design section and how it walks you through all the considerations you might make in terms of stitch count and the number of colors used:

Most impressive is that every example along the way was stitched, so you can compare and contrast. I found it fascinating to see that you don't need a ton of colors and stitches to get the basic idea down, and it's a great argument for approaching one's custom pattern as simply as possible. Plus, the project is a pineapple, and who doesn't like pineapples?

My favorite pattern of all was of course the squirrel pattern. Alas, poor squirrel, I know I'll never finish thee, but it won't stop me from loving thee from afar. :)

Giveaway time!

The publisher has generously offered a free copy of The Mr. X Stitch Guide to Cross Stitch to one of our lucky readers in the US and Canada! To our international readers, just stay tuned - we have some upcoming giveaways that include you, too!

To win a free copy of this book, please leave a comment on this post, and answer the following question - what is the weirdest place you've ever stitched in? As you read above, Jamie is fond of stitching on trains. I'll leave the comments open through next Thursday, Sept. 7, 9 PM US CST, then close the comments and choose 1 random winner.

Edit: 9/11/17 - We have our winner! Thanks all for entering!

Review: Stitcharama Embroidery Transfers

Hello all, today I have the pleasure of doing a review of Stitcharama embroidery transfers, which you can find at www.stitcharama.com. They were kind enough to send me the embroidery transfer you see, so that I can try it out and report back to you with my findings.

Well, I suppose I can tell you the end at the beginning if you have no time to read this - I was very pleased with my results, and I do recommend them. But let me walk you through my process!

I started off with a regular flour sack tea towel and my transfer pattern. I did a quick read through of the instructions, and I wondered how well it would transfer. It looked just like a regular medium weight sheet of paper, and the lines didn't look particularly thick or dark.

I pinned the transfer into place and started ironing. After a few passes with a hot, dry iron, I pulled the transfer back to peek and I did indeed see some very faint lines appearing...

And after a few more passes with the iron I began to see darker lines appearing.

And voila! After working at the fainter lines for a bit, I was rewarded with a very nice transfer, and nice clean lines - not too thick or inky. I really like that the pattern is still clearly visible on the paper, which could be really handy if you wanted to re-trace the pattern to use it again.

I was curious to see if the ink had passed through the tea towel fabric, as the directions warned me it might, so I flipped over the fabric...

Indeed, I did see a very ghostly image on the back, but it did not transfer to my ironing board, which was nice.

In summary, I am really happy with the transfer, as I mentioned above. When purchasing a transfer pattern, you also receive a nice PDF with a finished image and stitch and color guide. I like how Stitcharama promotes the work of many artists through its patterns and credits them. Just FYI, this particular Kasia Jacquot pattern is no longer available.

But there are many lovely patterns and kits still up for grabs on the Stitcharama site (including some really cute Mollie Johanson patterns). Here are a few of the latest patterns that I think are adorable:

I wholeheartedly recommend the transfer option for your lighter colored fabrics, and the PDF pattern option if you'd like to do your own transfer method.

Thank you Stitcharama, for sharing this lovely pattern with us. For more on Stitcharama, you can follow them on Instagram @stitcharamacraft, or visit their site: www.stitcharama.com.

Book Review: Stumpwork Embroidery

One of the fun things about being a blogger for Feeling Stitchy is that free books and materials sometimes come my way. I received a copy of Stumpwork Embroidery: Techniques, Projects, and Pure Inspiration by Kay and Michael Dennis to review.

Stumpwork is an embroidery technique that I would like to be able to do. I will be honest and admit that I found the projects in this book very difficult to complete. While each project does walk you step by step through it, I feel as though many projects in the book are geared towards the embroiderer who has a better grasp of how to do stumpwork already. I started a project making a butterfly with 3D wings, but I have a hand injury that's preventing me from finishing because of the dexterity involved.

Stumpwork Embroidery starts out with an introduction to Kay Dennis' journey into stumpwork, and then goes into the history of this art form. I found that aspect fascinating! In this photo below from the book, it's a closeup of a British stumpwork box from circa 1650. Look at that detail and how well it's held up over the centuries.

Some of the projects in the book, like this poppy seed below, are definitely projects that someone who has some basic understanding of embroidery can accomplish.

Completed poppy seeds from the book Stumpwork Embroidery

The author, Kay Dennis, is a big fan of needlelace, and she is exceptionally creative at creating interesting projects! Needlelace is made using needles and thread to create many stitches to make lace. It requires dexterity and an attention to detail. The end result is fantastic!

Once my hand is sufficiently healed, I'm going to dive further into this book to master the techniques. You can find me on Instagram where I share on the Feeling Stitchy and my personal Random Acts of Amy accounts.

Have you tried stumpwork? Have you read this book? Or do you have recommendations for other books or resources on stumpwork? Please leave your comments below!

Review - Mastered Creative Embroidery Class With Diana Springall

I was recently contacted by the wonderful people at Mastered to preview their Creative Embroidery class taught by Diana Springall, author of numerous books on embroidery and textile arts. This class lends itself to "designer-makers" who want a spark to push them in a new direction, and it's a unique opportunity to learn from and interact with a leading person in the textile arts. In addition to Diana Springall's wonderful presence, the class also benefits from another skilled maker in the room - Anna Alicia, author of the book Make It Your Own.



Gorgeous sampler by Diana Springall

Students begin with painting exercises designed to spark their creativity and provide an inspiration point for the later exercises. After a discussion on basic color concepts, there is advice on how to choose a motif, how selection of embroidery stitches can enhance that motif, where to graphically place the motif on your finished piece, and best practices on sewing your finished piece. There is also a "Take it Further" section at the end of the lessons with examples of other designer-makers offering their own perspectives and gems of advice.


One of Diana's gorgeous samplers - I love the circuit-like quality of the interacting stitches

Diana is a delight to learn from, and her approach is warm, knowledgeable, and encouraging. Having taken in-person art and design classes in the past, I'd have to say that this online class is the closest I have come to that experience. You are not told exactly what to do or stitch so much as you are given a series of concepts and ideas to form the springboard for your own interpretation.

I think this class is ideally suited to someone who has already started on the design path, so maybe not a beginner but a moderate to advanced beginner,  although it can also function as an inspiration class for someone interested in embarking on a designer-maker career. Being able to have constructive, quality feedback on your work from a respected person in the field is something not easily found, even in our expansive world wide web environment. Overall, I think this class is a unique and wonderful opportunity for designers looking to add some creative spark to their craft. While this class is clearly not meant to be a compendium of every stitch you could know, it is instead a wonderful first step in your journey down a creative path.

I'd like to thank the kind people at Mastered for giving me the opportunity to preview their wonderful class. Visit Mastered for more on all the classes they offer!

Craftsy Hand Embroidery Class with Jessica Marquez

Photo courtesy of Jessica Marquez and Craftsy

When Jessica Marquez contacted me about her new Craftsy class on embroidery: Design It, Stitch It: Hand Embroidery, I was beyond excited. I've been a fan of Jessica's clean, elegant style for some time now - you can see her work in her book Stitched Gifts, and in her lovely shop, Miniature Rhino. She was kind enough to let me preview the entire class!

This Craftsy class was everything I expected from such a wonderful stitcher, and even more. I've been embroidering for years, so I'll admit I didn't expect to learn anything new. I was so wrong!

As proof of all that I learned, there are my stitched lessons, up above. Jessica's instructions were so inspiring, I found myself re-learning basic stitches, and trying new stitches I never thought I'd ever use.

The Craftsy class is a series of video lessons, and it actually feels like you are sitting and stitching with Jessica in a big, bright studio. Jessica is so calm, relaxed, and positive - I've decided that she's the Bob Ross of embroidery. :) You can ask questions at any time for Jessica to answer, (the video immediately pauses, so you never lose your place) and you can see all the questions other classmates have asked her.

If you want to get a feel for Craftsy, try these wonderful free mini classes on Craftsy.

In Jessica's class, you'll learn all the stitches you see above, learn to make a mini quilt, learn to stitch on a t-shirt, and learn how to draw your own embroidery patterns. I would definitely recommend this class to all levels of stitchers - if you're a fairly old hand, like me, you'll be surprised at the new stitches and techniques you'll learn, and if you're brand new to embroidery, Jessica does a really good job of making your first start non-intimidating and fun.

If you're on the fence about the cost, here's how I think of it - for the same price as 2 basic embroidery books, you are purchasing 3 hours of hands-on training with a skilled teacher. Books don't have that interactive learning component, you can't exactly ask the author questions, and as we all know, there are few things more inspiring than sitting down and stitching with someone.

Here's the most awesome news - as a special gift to Feeling Stitchy readers, Jessica is offering a 25% discount to all of you who sign up via this link!

Photo courtesy of Jessica Marquez and Craftsy

Thank you Jessica, and thank you Craftsy, for creating such an inspiring hand embroidery class!

Book Review: Blackwork by Becky Hogg

Today's book review is one of the Essential Stitch Guides published by the Royal School of Needlework:

Blackwork by Becky Hogg

Blackwork is one of those techniques you think should be insanely easy - a couple of basic stitches, a single colour... how complicated can it be? To a certain extent that's true, and if all you want to do is stitch up a pattern you've found to decorate your SCA Elizabethan wench outfit (we all have one, right?) you're well equipped with some double running stitch and black floss. If you want to step outside the bounds of basic blackwork and design beautiful, visually complicated work, this book will show you how.

The blackwork most of us have seen and identified with consists of repeating patterns, called diaper patterns, which created shading on a piece. However that isn't all it has to be - shading can be achieved by varying the thread thickness, by breaking up the diaper pattern or by changing the diaper pattern used in different areas. Becky introduces all of these techniques with photos of stitched examples demonstrating exactly how breaking up a pattern works and what kind of effect thread variance gives.

Becky has also supplied forty pages of example diaper patterns which you can apply to whatever piece you have in mind. They range from the very simple to the impressively complex and she's supplied not only the pattern, but a stitched sample of each. 

The icing on the cake, as far as I'm concerned, is that interspersed throughout the book are examples of finished pieces. Stunning pieces created by graduates of the Royal School of Needlework. Drool-worthy pieces. Gorgeous, intimidating and unbelievably inspiring pieces. The book is worth having just for the picture of the tiger, believe me.

Blackwork by Becky Hogg is a technique book aimed at stitchers who wish to create their own blackwork masterpieces. It is more than a casual stitcher needs, but a necessity for those who want to bring their blackwork to the next level (the one called Awesome).

My rating: 5 out of 5 Gold Needles (loaded up with black thread of course).

Sewn by Hand Blog tour + Giveaway

Susan Wasinger's new book Sewn by Hand: Two Dozen Projects Stitched with Needle & Thread offers 'two dozen' (or '24' to the rest of us) projects to hand sew. Not just at home but to take along with you and work on wherever and whenever you like. The book is aimed at sewers of all skill levels. There are quite some fairly easy-to-do projects (napkins, bibs, thermal packs) that can be made with little or no experience. And some are more challenging like the Hassock. If you are not familiar with hand stitching you will find lots of information about materials, tools, knots and stitches in the first chapters.

Do you sew by hand? Not counting embroidery, I rarely do. Maybe a tiny bit of hand sewing when I have to close gaps on soft toys and pin cushions. Or the occasional button on a coat... And for any other sewing project I get my sewing machine out. So the idea of sewing bikinis, aprons and hats 'unplugged' was kind of new to me! 

The portability factor is indicated with each project and varies a lot. Obviously most people will be unlikely to tag along some huge curtains to a cafe but the cute thermal packs could be sewn up quite easily when you are on the go.

In previous work Susan Wasinger has been keen to recycle and re purpose stuff so it's no surprise that Sewn by Hand has a couple of  projects where recycled materials are being used.  There is a nice project (see photo above) using old men's shirts (that is not shirts from old men but...oh you know what I mean!) to make an apron. Personally I would be very much inclined to get my iron out to make neat seams and run the panels quickly through my sewing machine. Maybe because I already spend much time on other 'slow crafts' like embroidery and quilting... In other projects,  the hand sewing is part of the charm or decoration of the items made. Many of the projects, and indeed the whole layout of the book, have a nostalgic, timeless feel to it which fits the 'strictly Hand sewn' theme perfectly.

The nice folks at Lark Crafts have been so kind to provide us with some neat goodies to give away. Yay! Not just the book Sewn by Hand by Susan Wasinger but also the fun haberdashery that's pictured on the photo above.  

To have a chance to win, leave a comment on this post and tell us if you get your needle and thread out in public (and if so where!).I will close the comments this Thursday and announce the winner the next day. ed. comments are now closed, winner will be announced later today! If you can't wait to try out some hand sewing yourself you can find a project from the book here.

The Sewn by Hand blog tour will continue on the following blogs!

4/27 Zakka Life
4/29 BurdaStyle blog

Happy Stitching everyone!

Book Review: "Art of Embroidery" by Lanto Synge

This week I've decided to do a quick review of Art of Embroidery: History of Style and Technique by Lanto Synge. This is the type of book that acts as a corner stone to a good specialized collection.

This is a new work, a descendent of his earlier work Antique Needlework published almost 20 years ago. Lanto Synge has had a long association with the Royal School of Needlework in London, so has had access to an extensive collection of needlework, both old and new. This access shows in the depth of styles and techniques covered in this book. This is an historical survey of embroidery through history and not a how-to book.

The book is arranged chronologically, beginning with a general introduction, then moving onto early needlework, Medieval, post-Medieval periods and then by century to the present day. There are side chapters on specific aspects of needlework, of particular interest to me is the chapter on Heraldic embroidery. There are also sections on costume, furniture, Chinese and Indian work.

Each chapter looks at the major stylistic movements of the time and puts embroidery within this as well as wider political, social, economic and religious contexts. For example the impact of the Reformation on embroidery was huge, due to the fact that the Church had always been a major customer for and receiver of commissioned embroidery works. There were also major stylistic changes in the designs and techniques used.

The vast majority of the illustrations are colour, with only a few black and white. There are images on almost every one of the 352 pages, with most having more than one image, in addition there are several full page images which give greater detail of selected pieces (there are even images in the bibliography and index!). In addition to the text and images, there are informative end notes (useful for further research), a 4 page glossary, bibliography, acknowledges for images and finally an index.

For those like myself with an interest in pre-17th century embroidery, a bit more detail. The chapters covering early, medieval, post-medieval and heraldic embroidery take up approximately 78 pages. Images of interest include: full page image of Coptic roundal (silk on linen), full page image of 13th Century German chasuble (good illustration of typical Germanic motifs used for many centurys), 12th Century English mitres (images in black and white), variety of 14th and 15th Century copes - Pienza, Bologna, Syon and Steeple Ashton Copes, mourning cape with heraldic design, 16th Century tent stitch French bed valances and great examples of various uses of heraldic display in embroidery.

Why I Bought the book

My training and passion is history. I love it and that is reflected in my embroidery. My focus is historical styles and techniques. Because of where I live, I don't have access to any historical works in person, so I rely on books. So when a book like this one comes out, it goes to the top of my lust list. This book has lots of info and pics about a period that doesn't get covered much except in highly specialised books or journals or out of print works that I can't access.

As far as an "Aaahh" moment, it was seeing a whole chapter dedicated to heraldic embroidery. I am involved in the SCA and one of the main applications for embroidery in that context is in heraldic display in various forms. So any book that shows use of embroidery for heraldic display is going to get my attention!

So it was a combination of the above that finally pushed this one over the line. Don't get me wrong. I had to visit the book several times at the book shop before I bought it, but it is a solid bit of historical writing and that is something I am always interested in. On the whole my taste tends to run to about books, not how-to books. I tend to design my own stuff, and I like to be historically accurate as possible, so this sort of book is important in giving me data on which to base my own work.

Even if you don't specialise in historical embroidery, there are so many great images and information that it's bound to give everyone inspiration for their own work.

Details:

• "Art of Embroidery: History of Style and Technique" by Lanto Synge
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.29 x 11.26 x 9.04
  
• Publisher: Antique Collectors Club; (July 2001)
  
• ISBN: 185149359X
• Cost: $120AU or about $100US