Through the Hobbit Hole

I have so many wonderful opportunities to craft for awesome strangers because I join up for swaps on craftster. This is one of the embroideries I have done this year.

I tend to browse peoples pinterest pages, looking for inspiration, once I am partnered with them. This is an example of the fun I have because of it.

This was just a black and white drawing that was pinned to one of my swap partners pinterest boards. But I decided that I needed to give it life by embroidering it.  I was able to use a few different stitches to give it the depth and texture I wanted. The grass is full of purple glass beads that I was hoping would resemble flowers or berries, I was able to use my punch needle to give the grass a bushy effect. I used a fill stitch for the sky and mountain and hillside and a satin stitch for the walkway. I used a split stitch on the trees and french knots for the hobbit holes in the distance.

It reads, "The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began... Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow, if I can."

I had so much fun making this for my swap partner and I was so happy to know that it is loved in it's new home!

Hand Embroidered Cuckoo Clock

I recently had the opportunity to craft a unique hand embroidered piece that I probably would have never done, if not for some outside inspiration.

I have become slightly addicted to embroidering this past year. And I will take any opportunity to put needle to fabric.

I decided to make a working cuckoo clock for an online craft swap. I bought a wood craft board at my local craft store near the clock work supplies. I picked up some generic clock hands and clock innards as well. I painted the sides of the wood board in a calypso blue.  My husband drilled a hole where I told him I needed it to be. He is awesome like that.

I embroidered on a piece of white cotton fabric, which I then sewed onto a piece of felt for support. My hubby helped me get the clock work screwed down properly through the wood and fabric. I also made a polymer clay cuckoo bird which I added to the window.

I sent it to it's recipient a few weeks ago and it is loved in it's new home. I am really happy with how it turned out. It was easier than I thought it would be, which is always a nice surprise!

Whovian doesn't even begin to describe it.

Last year I made a simple mistake; listening to a friend who recommended a British television show to me. It was on Netflix, so it was free and she told me to at least watch a few of the episodes (in order, of course) before making any judgments.

Here I am in the 7th season (having crammed 6 seasons all within a few month period) waiting for each episode to show up on my husband's xbox account.  It's been painful. Sweet, painful bliss. 

With any fan of any genre of geekery, it seems like it's almost always a requirement to be 100% committed to your love of that show. I hope I never disappoint when it comes to Doctor Who. I have loved each regeneration of The Doctor more than the last. (Even though I am only on 3 as I have yet to watch the earlier seasons of the awesomesauce that is Doctor Who.)

I have been signing up for swaps on craftster and it has given me an outlet for my love of Doctor Who.  I wanted to share a few.

I am an embroidery addict and I have had the wonderful opportunity to send my creative work all over the world. I made this hoop back in August 2012 and it now resides in France. She swapped a cute little french knot bunny that now hangs in my stairwell.

This is a holiday tree ornament that I made this past December 2012. This wasn't for a swap, but I did make it as a potential option for the ornament swap. I ended up swapping amigurumi snowmen. It's painted on stretch canvas and has a glow in the dark bead on top. I loved adding a TARDIS to my tree, and my girls loved it too!

"WELCOME TO THE DALEK POETRY READING. THIS ONE IS CALLED DAFFODILS, EXTERMINATE DAFFODILS!" 

This hoop was really fun to stitch up. I love how the Dalek turned out and I even gave him a TARDIS blue mug for his coffee. It was inspired by one of my swap partner's favorite quotes.

This one was just shipped off to New England. It's all satin, split and back stitching. I added beads to accent it as well. I used a blue satin floss in the same color for the whole thing.

It was really hard to part with. In fact, all my Doctor Who crafts have been tough to let go of, but each time I get a Whovian for a swap partner, I know that I am going to truly enjoy crafting for them.

Thanks for reading!

Link Heart Outlet Cover

This was a quick, easy project that turned out better than I thought it would! I got the clear wall plate for a few dollars down at my local home improvement store. I cut down my aida cloth to fit in it and used fray stop around the edges. Red, black and grey DMC floss and a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory later... ta dah!

Now I can charge my cell phone with the power of Link. ;)

Wise Old Owl

It reads:

A wise old owl
sat on an oak,
the more he saw
the less he spoke,
the less he spoke
the more he heard,
why aren't we like
that wise old bird?

You can find the free owl half cross stitch pattern here.

Happy Stitching!