hello there {thursday threads} and a give away!

Posted on 2012/11/08 by daisyeyes

It feels like years since I did a thursday threads post! I’ve been swamped for the past month or so with some crazy big orders and this week I’ve had the chance to catch my breath. As my friend said, it’s “feast or famine” over here. And honestly as grateful as I am for the way that my little etsy shop is contributing to our family (and my ability to stay home) it sure is nice to have a little breather!

I’ve got a few things on my table and on my needle starting this week. A couple things for the shop, a fundraising sort of holiday sale I’m going to participate in and some holiday gifts for family.

First up is a new adoption embroidery that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I saw this quote on Pinterest a loooooong time ago and have loved it ever since. This is a gender neutral version that could hopefully hang in a nursery for either a boy or girl or even just in your home. Can’t wait to share the finished project!

Second up are these felt gingerbread houses. The pattern comes from umecraft shop on etsy (she is generous enough to allow you to make and sell items from her patterns!) and it’s totally a stretch for me but something I’ve been wanting to tackle for a long time. I’m hoping if these gingerbread houses are a success, I can modify the pattern and make some little storybook houses with peg doll characters next year. The that I love about these is that they are reusable. I know that decorating a real, food gingerbread house is fun, but it drives me crazy to spend all that money on food and let it sit there for weeks and then throw it away! This way you get the fun year after year and it’s good for all ages!

Another new item I was able to finish this week are these sewing/hand embroidery kits for young children. I’ve had the idea for these stored up in my head for a while and I’m still tinkering with the results, but after a test run with my 5 year old they are ready to go! It is such a joy to see something that I’ve dreamed up in my head come to life. I’m super proud of these and I am so excited to share them that I’m offering a give away of one set. Just leave a comment by Friday, November 9 at midnight and I’ll use a random number generator to choose a winner on Saturday.

Last up is this camera embroidery for my brother. It’s time to start stitching holiday gifts and this is the first in line! The pattern is from Urban Threads. I’m planning on doing the whole thing in black, but changing up the types of thread (linen, cotton and cotton pearl) and stitch thickness (aka 1 v. 3 strands).

That’s about it! Whew!
Don’t forget about the give away!!!

thursday threads

Posted on 2012/09/27 by daisyeyes

I’ve got so many projects under way and honestly all of them are half complete! So, instead of showing you half done projects, I thought I would take today’s thursday threads and highlight some neat embroidery/hand sewing finds from around the web.

First off is this awesome play apron that was highlighted on feeling stitchy this week. The pattern is from a Needlework magazine from the early 1900s and was converted by Lia. This looks like a super fun sewing project that would be perfect for those fat quarters you have lying around and would make such a cute holiday gift for a little friend in your life.

I highlighted this kit offered by Purl Soho in last week’s Fantastic Friday post, but I had to share it again. It is the perfect embroidery kit that involves so many things I love: applique, sewing with felt and simple embroidery stitches. I’m always a sucker for trees too.

I’m working about 2 months behind where I wanted to be on planning for holiday items for the shop so I’m trying to keep it simple. One thing in my sketchbook is a large banner with this tree in the middle stitched onto linen. I’m thinking of hand embroidering the swirls and using some vintage buttons for the ornaments.
The other holiday item up my sleeves is an advent calendar set. I’m hoping to make 25 little felt envelopes with the numbers hand appliqued onto the envelopes all put together with some red/white bakers twine and little clothespins to hang it with. Here’s hoping this idea makes it out of my head!

What’s embroidery patterns or sets have caught your eye this week?

thursday threads {adoption fundraising}

Posted on 2012/09/20 by daisyeyes

I totally blanked on Thursday Threads last week. Sorry about that! This week I wanted to highlight something that is dear to my heart. I am surrounded by a whole host of sweet friends who have adopted or are in … Continue reading →

thursday threads {august stitch along}

Posted on 2012/09/05 by daisyeyes

Welcome back to Thursday Threads! I try to dedicate Thursdays to showing off either an embroidery project of mine and/or other stitching goodness from around the web. This week I’m so excited to share my latest stitch along.

If you haven’t visited the blog feeling stitchy and you embroider (or aspire to) it’s an awesome resource. They have a great community on flickr and I’m always amazed at the creations I see added in the group every day. Once a month they host a stitch-a-long. A free pattern is always offered (and boy do they vary!) and then you stitch it any old way your heart desires.

This month was a pattern by Cate Anevski and it was super cute. What was most amazing were all the different ways people stitched this one cute girl. One of my most favorite people is getting ready to move her girls into the same bedroom, so I decided to make some special embroideries for the occasion.

I decided to try some applique and she provided some scraps from their coordinating bed quilts.

I experimented a little with some different stitches and also combining floss colors to try and get their hair color. One is more of a red head and the other a blondie. The hoops are wrapped with some of those quilt scraps and measure about 8 inches. Not making this a great hang alone sort of hoop, but hopefully a great addition to some sort of wall collage in their new space.

This is a super fun pattern to stitch and easily lends itself to so many different variations. Why don’t you head over here and get your free pattern and get stitching yourself!?

And for fun…look at this awesome stitched door? Wouldn’t that be so cool to have?

thursday threads

Posted on 2012/07/19 by daisyeyes

I totally baled last week on thursday threads and honestly the next 6-8 weeks around here are going to be a bit challenging and spotty. My kiddos are starting up school again (our system goes year round) and I’m having some health things going on in a few weeks. Sooo, please bear with me! Hopefully after Labor Day it will be back to regular programming around here.

That said, here are a few new things I’ve done and some progress on some others.

I’ve been late in posting about these pennant banners. I was hoping to get a whole post up (maybe soon!) with all the versions that I’m working on but that hasn’t happened. Here’s the two versions that are up now:

a superhero custom name banner.
These are fully customizable and even the embroidery can be changed to a different one if desired. Just ask!

and a superhero happy birthday banner

I also completed another “tree of life” necklace for a client and I’m super excited how it turned out. I love doing these tiny embroideries!

Here’s a glimpse at a wedding cake topper I was able to embroider for a client

and I also embroidered the date on the inside of her dress

and here is the latest progress on my 1 Corinthians embroidery. Slow and steady wins the race!

What projects are you working on right now?

thursday threads {new supehero items}

Posted on 2012/07/05 by daisyeyes

New things are coming into the shop slowly over the next few weeks.

The ever popular DIY felt cape kits are back up and some fun changes have happened!

I have discontinued offering the black color as I was never happy with the quality of that felt. It was the same eco-fi that I use for all my felt sets, but it felt really coarse and never cut well…perhaps something to do with the dye used? In place of the black I am offering a different shade of blue that I call “batman blue” and also have added lavender for all the girl superheroes.

Capes can also be cut in a variety of lengths and as always you are free to mix and match colors, appliques and now lengths!

Now you can get a cape even for the tiniest of all.

For appliques you can still choose from stars, initials or bolts and now I’ve added a heart all in a variety of custom colors.

I’m also offering superhero belts now. No superhero is complete with his or her power belt! These are made with extra long strips of velcro that should offer a snug fit for many years to come.

These belts are fully machine sewn and put together…ready for the birthday boy or girl order a set for all your guests!

And last is another DIY activity to round out your party: superhero shields.
These have a double layer of felt with a handle already machine sewn and come with a white circle and your choice of a heart or star applique for your guests to glue down.

All of these items are available in daisyeyes handmade’s etsy shop! Order yours today!

thursday threads {on my hoop this summer}

Posted on 2012/06/28 by daisyeyes

My eyes might be bigger than my hoop (ha ha), but I’ve got a load of stitching I want to get done in the next month.

This is my entry into the vintage summer stitching contest and I’ve got the perfect vintage metal hoop to frame it in.

And these are some pennants I hope to get into the shop when I have my grand reopening.

Not to mention the Love embroidery I shared last week.

Whew…makes me tired and excited all at the same time!

thursday threads {June stitch along}

Posted on 2012/06/20 by daisyeyes

I’ve been steadily stitching, the likes of which I haven’t done in months, to finish up this month’s stitch along. I admit I had a hard time getting into it, but once I finally figured out my plan I ended up having a blast.

I decided to only use 2 main colors. I had 3 different shades of blue and then a gold (although I did use a cotton black for the words). I used a split stitch for the golden banner and a plain back stitch for the whale and all the crusty stuff that grows on a whale with a few french knots thrown in

I tried a rope stitch with my own variegated thread (2 darker blues to 1 lighter) for parts of the waves and used a solid darker blue with a stem stitch for the opposite waves.

Overall, I’m stoked with how it turned out. Probably one of the best things to come off my hoop in a while.

Next up, I’m bound and determined to start on this and get it finished with a pattern written for the shop by mid-July. We’ll see!

I’m also entering a stitching contest The details are here and more on what I’m stitching next week.

thursday threads {wip}

Posted on 2012/06/14 by daisyeyes

This month’s stitch a long for feeling stitchy is a narwhale. I don’t know what that is, other than a unicorn looking thing, but it’s a fish and my rooster is crazy about fish. Therefore this month’s embroidery is dedicated to him.

After a little thread shopping, I came up with this gold (his room is a variety of browns) and a mix of blues for the whole embroidery. I’m trying my hand at limiting the number of colors of thread and instead using a variety of stitches and also thread widths.

After spending just a tiny bit of time working on it, I’m finally getting into it and had to share my progress for today’s thursday threads.

I’m in love with french knots (perfect for barnacles) and probably my favorite “line” stitch is the split stitch (perfect for banners). Next up, i tackle some of the waves: the plan is to make my own variegated thread of varied widths. I can’t wait!