The pattern for this brooch comes from the Rijks Museum Collection. The Rijks Studio is designed to inspire people to get creative with their collection – and the Rijksstudio Award shows off the best things people have made using the collection. I stitched it mainly […]

Teacup and saucer brooch
This little teacup is done mostly in split stitch, couched in gold. The blue flower details are done in lazy daisy and outline stitch. After the stitching was done, I glued the fabric to a piece of felt and attached a brooch back. It’s pretty […]

Tea cozy brooch
I wanted to create a super cozy teapot. The design is inspired by the Brown Betty teapot, wrapped in a vintage cozy. I used a silk/merino blend thread for the knitted details and regular DMC for the tea pot. Next time I might make the […]

RSN mistletoe
Back in November I signed up for an online class with the Royal School of Needlework. It was designed and led by Kate Pankhurst. I really enjoyed tuning in to the sessions on Sunday mornings and was so impressed by how the course was organized. […]

Quilt progress pics
I’m just getting back to to this quilt after a year long hiatus. There’s still quite a bit to do, but it’s starting to come together. The pattern is based on a Japanese marquetry puzzle box. I love how the geometric patterns in woodwork resemble […]

Tutorial: Mini Motto Magnets
Steps: Pick a motto and draw it or print it onto a piece of paper. Trace your motto onto fabric. Use a window as a light table. Put it in a hoop and stitch it using your favourite stitches. I like split stitch or backstitch […]

Tips for stitching with kids
Tips: Set up your embroidery so both hands are free. Having two hands makes stitching so much easier! If you’re using an embroidery hoop – put it on the edge of a table and put a pile of books on top to hold it in […]

Tutorial: Make a notecard out of recycled materials
You will need: Used cereal box or other thin cardboard Exacto knife or scissors to cut Ruler Paper and pencil Needle & thread Thinner paper for lining Cut out a card Cut out a template in regular paper, then cut out your cardboard. Use a […]

Tutorial: Embroidered chainstitch notecard
Steps: Draw your design onto the card in pencil Poke holes with a large needle Stitch using a smaller needle Chainstitch is a bit of a pain to do through paper (as I discovered when making this card). If you’re not enjoying it, try backstitch […]

Tutorial: Embroidered Fern Notecard
Steps: Draw your design onto the card in pencil Poke Holes with a large needle Stitch using a small needle I started at the bottom of the stem and worked the way up. Then I worked my way back down, while filling in all the […]

May Morris Mask
I made this embroidered mask for my aunt Nancy. The flower is done with vintage fake silk embroidery floss and the leaves are with regular DMC cotton. The pattern is adapted from a May Morris embroidered fire screen. The card in the background is from […]

Tiny sheep photo shoot
I made some tiny crochet sheep for a friend’s wedding present. We learned how to crochet together for the Handmade Herd project and it was nice to get back into the swing of things – albeit on a smaller scale.