introducing the enchanted forest quilt and embroidery patterns!

I am very happy to tell you about a collaboration between my friend Kristin of woollypetals and me. And it's called the Enchanted Forest Quilt. This quilt is filled with adorable trees: some have happy little faces, some have ornments and garlands, some have snowcaps, and lots more.

English paper piecing in my usual quilt method favorite. Traditional quilting, like this quilt uses, is less my thing because I'm not always a super precise machine sewist. But I've made an exception for this (and probably for more woollypetals quilts going forward).



If you're unfamiliar with woollypetals, let me tell you about my friend. First, Kristin is so sweet and getting to spend time with her (and our small group of sewing friends!) often helps bring about some of the ideas that keep Wild Olive going. It's a bit of a brain trust! She designs super cute quilt patterns, many of which use a lot of simple patchwork, and I always look at them and want to make them.

But I've been intimidated by all the squares. You see, I really dislike cutting all the pieces. But we'll come back to that.

So there we were, looking at these tree quilt blocks Kristen had made and our friend Faith said something like "These would be so cute with strings of lights on them!" And a collaboration was born. We almost immediately started the conversation around what it would look like for me to design a companion embroidery pattern so folks could add decorations to their trees.





I knew that lights would be a must, so there are three styles of lightbulbs in the pattern set (large, round, and small), and ornaments were the next thing we talked about. I ended up making two styles of baubles, a star, a heart, a bird, and a mushroom (which goes with the mushroom mini block in the quilt pattern!).

But I felt like this could go beyond a few motifs. The Enchanted Forest Quilt has 8 styles of tree blocks, a snowman, wonky stars, and those mushrooms, so mix and match is a big part of this.

So I created 4 garlands (popcorn and cranberries are my favorite!), some candies and a gingerbread kid, snowflakes, and presents to go under the trees. And I ended up with a 25-page pattern.

You can watch how I use the patterns in the video below. I think it's helpful for people who quilt but haven't embroidered their quilts before (at least in the way I did mine), but it's also a good way to get an idea for what you can do with the Enchanted Forest Bundle.

Now let me share a bit about the quilt part of this.

I've only done a little bit of traditional quilt making. And as I said, the cutting part always intimidates me because getting it wrong can mess up everything after that. My imprecise sewing can do that too, but that's a whole other thing. So while I wanted to make the very quilt I was designing patterns for, I was also nervous.

But Kristin showed me the special ruler she uses. It's called the Stripology XL ruler and it's so fancy! And it also made all the difference for me. I cut hundreds of squares in a few hours which would have taken me several cutting sessions without the ruler.

I got my ruler (and a bunch of the fabric I'm using on my Enchanted Forest Quilt) from Missouri Star Quilt Company. I'm a partner, which means if you use my link you'll save 15% and support my work at the same time.



Back to the quilt making. The pattern is for advanced beginners and I'm not sure if I'm very far past beginner. But because there a lots of ways to make the trees, there are options for everyone. You can make them simple (even more simple than I did) or you can add more patchwork and some foundation paper piecing (a technique I've tried exactly one time).

You can also make this with more or fewer blocks to change the size and scale of the project.

Can you tell I'm excited about this? Because I absolutely am. I'm making a quilt, I created super cute embroidery patterns (which do also work for non-quilty things), and I got to collaborate with a friend. It was so much fun.

You can find the quilt pattern alone in the woollypetals shop, the embroidery pattern alone in my shop, or until the end of the year you can get the discounted bundle in either of our shops.

pattern // remember me floral embroidery design

Back in the spring I shared a Remember Me embroidery pattern that was connected to Jesus' last supper and communion. But when I was working on it, the song Remember Me from the Disney/Pixar film Coco kept playing in my head. I knew then that I needed to make a Coco version with flowers, and my plan was to save it for October.

Día de Muertos starts on November 1st and is a celebration and remembrance of deceased relatives, and that's a key element of the movie Coco. Flowers, and specifically marigolds are an iconic part of the celebration and they are used for LOTS of decoration. I'm not going to claim to know a whole lot about Día de Muertos (my family is Swedish!), but I think it's beautiful.

And no matter if this holiday is part of your family heritage and tradition, if you're a big fan of Coco, or if you just want to stitch something as a reminder of a loved one, I think this is a fun pattern to embroider any time of the year.

DOWNLOAD THE REMEMBER ME FLORAL PATTERN

For this design, I show some colors in the PDF, but I don't have any specific DMC colors to suggest. Use what you like for where you will display your embroidery. You may want to start with the flower colors you'll use.

At the size provided in the PDF (printing at 100%), I would suggest stitching with all six strands of embroidery floss. If you go smaller, consider using fewer strands and if you go larger, you could even use a thicker thread like DMC's soft matte cotton or tapestry wool. Obviously, you would want to make sure your fabric will accomodate anything you use.

As for stitches, I'm always a fan of the basics: back stitch outlines, french knot eyes, and a scallop mouth. The center of the two flowers would be best with lazy daisy (detached chain). And if you don't want the face, add a lazy daisy flower in the middle of the large flower. If you were to stitch this a little smaller, you could stitch the flower outlines with scallop stitch, which has a loopy effect.

Finally, if you stitch this, I think it's a wonderful project to slow down on. Take time with each stitch to think about the people you love and the ones who have gone before you. And maybe hum a few bars of Remember Me...

Want to stitch more for Día de Muertos? Check out my sugar skulls pattern with more flowers!

pattern // loth-cat cross stitch chart

If you've been watching the new Ahsoka show on Disney+ or if you're a fan of animated Star Wars series, you might be familiar with Loth-Cats. My sister loves them, so I created a cross stitch pattern so I could make her a cute little hoop, and now I'm sharing the pattern with you!

Interestingly enough, my sister was introduced to this adorable furry creature at the Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World. They have one there that sleeps and snores in one of the shops, but it's in a cage so you can't touch it. Of course, they also sell a stuffed toy version that you can pet (it purrs!) and take home with you. My sister has played with this thing so many times but it's kinda big to carry home and so has resisted the purchase. My plan goal is to convince her that she just needs this thing.



Anyway, I couldn't resist the urge to stitch a loth-cat and so here we are.

I love making Star Wars related patterns, and the timing of Ahsoka coming out near my sister's birthday made this perfect. Previously I made my brother an Ahsoka Tano neck pillow, but there are lots of other Star Wars patterns for making soft toys, embroidery, and cross stitch all here on my blog.




This is a pretty easy pattern to stitch. Not many colors, and only whole cross stitches with the teeniest amount of back stitch.

DOWNLOAD THE LOTH-CAT CROSS STITCH PATTERN PDF

If you are feeling adventurous, you could easily change the colors and the fur markings because these creatures are not all the same. I especially like the lighter colored ones that look like they might belong on a snow-covered planet. I went for the markings that match the plush that my sister loves!

As a reminder, I make these Star Wars patterns just for fun because I love them and so do my family members. The characters are owned by LucasArts, so you shouln't sell any of the things you make with these patterns. But you SHOULD stitch them up and enjoy them!

project // quilt star book band

It's officially back-to-school time. And that makes me want to craft school-type things. Like a book band that can hold a stuffed full notebook together or also double as a bookmark. But what's even better is that you can use this same idea to make a reusable gift bow! We'll get to that in a moment.

This month I shared a wallpaper that has a quilt star on it, and I wanted to use that design to make something fun and not too complicated. So that's what inspired this. Even though it's based on a traditional quilt block, the plan was not "make a quilt." In fact, there's not really any sewing involved. Just a few embroidery stitches.

And the way this works is that it has elastic to stretch around your book, whether that's a notebook, binder, text book, or even a favorite novel. What's even better is that you don't even need a pattern. You just cut some squares and then cut some of the squares into triangles. Easy!

I like things with faces, so I embroidered a face on mine, which also matches the wallpaper I shared. But I realized that you could use the center of the quilt block to show off a favorite design on fabric, which led to the gift bow version.



I found this adorable Santa fabric (it's from the line called 'Twas the Night by Jill Howarth for Riley Blake) and I thought it would be so cute in the middle of the star! I don't always like to fussy cut fabric, but celebrating a cute print like this was worth wasting a bit. The quilt star has a bow-like look to it, and I realized that you could use the elastic to go around a box as easy as you could a book.

Instead of disposable ribbon (or even other fancy ribbons), this makes a cute addition to a gift and the recipient to pass it along on another gift or keep it to use as a book band later. Who doesn't love double-use projects?

With all of that project background in mind, let's make a quilt star book band!



You will need:

Small Pieces of Fabric
Wonder Under (or other paper-backed fusible web)
Wool-Blend Felt
Fold-Over Elastic
Embroidery Floss
Scissors
Iron and Ironing Board
Ruler and Rotary Cutter
Needle
Optional: Fabric Glue



Cut two small pieces of Wonder Under and two small pieces of fabric (one for the center and one for the points). Iron the fusible web to the back of the fabric. Cut the pieces down to 1-1/2 inch squares.



Cut the fabric that will be the points in half and then in half again so you have four small squares. Cut each of those in half from corner to corner. You will now have eight triangles.

Note: If you don't have a rotary cutter, you can still mark the squares and triangles with a ruler and then cut them with scissors.

Arrange the trianges around the edges of the center square as shown.



Peel the paper backing off the fabric pieces. This can be the trickiest part. On the triangles, it's best to peel from the right-angle corner. It just comes off easier.



Place all the pieces down on the felt, making sure that the edges line up well. Carefully iron the pieces so they don't shift.



Cut around the quilt star, leaving a little bit of felt showing.



Place the cut star on top of the felt and cut a second star shape to match.



Embroider a face on the quilt star if you want. I used six strands of floss and just freehand stitched it like you see me do in this video.

Cut two slits in the plain felt star like this:



Fold the star in half so the fold is vertical. Cut on the fold with each cut about half-as wide as your elastic.



Cut a piece of fold-over elastic. Slide it through the slits in the plain star.

I cut my elastic to 18 inches. It's long enough to tie the ends with a knot and go around a composition book.

If you're making this to fit a larger binder or a gift box, you should add several inches. For smaller books or boxes, use less elastic. Remember that you want this to stretch to hold around a book or box, but it shouldn't pull tight.



Place the quilt star on top of the star with the elastic. Stitch around the edge with three strands and running stitch. Make the stitches right next to the fused fabric.



Make sure that the elastic isn't twisted and then tie the ends together with an overhand knot.



Slide the book band around a notebook and you're all set to study, write, draw, and more!



For the gift bow version I made, I used glue instead of stitching and a knot. First, I glued the two layers of felt together. This is a lot faster than stitching, but it does need time to dry.

To make the elastic band flat, which is nicer for the underside of a box, I started by trimming the elastic end with a scallop shear (pinking shears or plain scissors are good too). Then I overlapped the ends and used fabric glue here as well. Once again, make sure that the length of elastic is correct and then give this enough time to dry before adding to a gift box.



Even on a simple white box, this bow band makes it festive. And there's no waste!




No matter which version you make, these are fun and fast. The quilt inspiration make me smile and I love that you can use them in different sorts of ways!

Happy crafting!

wallpaper // quilt star sticker for august

Digital quilting wallpaper, anyone? Embroidery is my first love, followed by English paper piecing (or EPP, and more recently cross stitch. But I'm definitely a fan of all crafts. And since EPP is a form of quilting, I thought it would be fun to create a sticker wallpaper with a quilty design.

The star block design isn't really a block because it isn't the full square, but I really like it this way. And along with the star I added in some hexagons because I just love EPP hexagons.

To go along with this star, I'm working on a little project that I'll be sharing here soon. It's not really embroidery (though it has some embroidery) and it's not really quilting (though it has quilting fabric and will look like this star!). I can't wait to share more! On to the wallpapers! There are several sizes designed for desktop (or laptop!), phone, and tablet, plus one that says "August" for those who like using them as "month markers" on Instagram. Even if this is a day or two late. Finally, there's a plain orange background to match if you want for your phone. (I use the plain one on my IG stories, and you're welcome to do that too.)

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone/Smart Phone Wallpaper

Download the iPad/Tablet Wallpaper

Download the Month Marker Image

Download the Orange Graph Paper Phone Wallpaper

Speaking of stickers, this year has had all these wallpapers with my own "sticker" designs on them, but I haven't made any into actual stickers. Which is funny since I DO have stickers available for purchase on Threadless. Maybe I need to add some of the designs from the wallpapers? Which would you like to see?

pattern // retro roller skate cross stitch

It's possible that the new Barbie movie subliminally influenced me while I was designing this roller skate cross stitch pattern. But it wasn't intentional! A few weeks ago I shared a similar embroidery pattern that had lyrics from a Disney Parks attraction. I took this one in a different direction, but it's definitely looking PINK and I love it.

I don't roller skate, but I'm pretty sure that I had a Barbie doll with roller skates. Maybe roller blades? Anyway, I do love pink, so while the embroidery pattern version of this skate was left without any color so you could choose what you like, I needed to add a color to this one. And pink was obvious.

What you see above isn't the full pattern, but the PDF below has the stripes off the back more extended, among other things. And here are a few more notes about the pattern:

I typically use two strands on 14-count Aida. For the eyes, that can leave them looking like Xs, which makes them look dead. To prevent this, outline the eyes with black backstitch or stitch the entire face with 3 or 4 strands.

Even though I went for pink on my skate pattern, I do think it would look excellent stitched in white on black or another color aida. You'd just need to change the color of the back stitch lines near the laces. And maybe also use a different color for the wheels?

There was a mishap with the symbols on the chart, so several colors have matching symbols. Black and white are obvious, and not even relevant with the white (which is only backstitch). The purple and teal and closer to each other in value, and may be tricky for folks who are color blind. Please accept my apologies that I ran out of time to go back and get this all changed.

Speaking of patterns and symbols, my cross stitch patterns, both here and in my shop always have the color plus the symbol. I (USUALLY!) try to keep the symbols obviously different from each other, especially when colors are similar.

I'd be curious to see if you prefer cross stitch charts to be shown this way or if you prefer them to be all in black and white with symbols. Which is easier for you to read and follow?

With all that covered, let's get rolling on this pattern!

DOWNLOAD THE ROLLER SKATE CROSS STITCH PATTERN PDF

Happy stitching!

pattern // nothing can stop us now!

Lace up your skates and get ready to stitch at the roller disco! Because I have a new free embroidery pattern for you today! It features a classic roller skate, lines coming off of the skate that give me all the 70s and 80s vibes, and lyrics from a song: Nothing Can Stop Us Now!

Now, before we get too far, I want to apologize to a group of people. Those people are the ones who have been to a Disney park, ridden Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and don't like having the song stuck in their head. I think these people exist, but I'm not one of them. From the first moment I heard the song Nothing Can Stop Us Now, I was a fan and wanted to make a pattern happen. Now it has.

If you have no idea what song I'm talking about, go ahead and look it up on YouTube. Or don't. It's fine either way because I think these words are fun whether you think of them as being Disney-related or just as some positivity!

I will say that the Disney attraction that the song comes from doensn't have any roller skating involved. So why did I pair the words with my retro skate? Well first, the other sketches I had were just not coming together. Next, think about rolling on a pair of roller skates...it's definitely a forward motion type of thing! And then finally, back to Disney, there's a recent Mickey animated short that takes place at a roller disco and it was hiliarious, so this connects all the things for me.

Now, let's talk embroidery!

First, if you print the pattern page at 100%, the design fits in a 6-inch embroidery hoop. At this size, it will be best to stitch with 3 strands of embroidery floss, especially for the words. But it would be cute if you enlarged the pattern and made it into a pillow or a larger wall hanging!

I didn't select colors for this because I think you can make it so many colors that you like. You can design your own dream skates or even choose to match your own actual roller skates! The lines from the back would be great in 5 colors in rainbow order or a gradient of shades of one color.

You can stitch the entire thing with my 3 favorite stitches + one: Back stitch (all outlines), french knot (eyes and dots on the exclamation points), and scallop stitch (mouth) + running stitch on the skate. Easy peasy! But I do also like some cute little extras, so you might consider chain stitch for the "vibe" lines and satin stitch for the laces.

Enough words...let's get you the pattern PDF!

DOWNLOAD THE NOTHING CAN STOP US NOW EMBROIDERY PATTERN

Now that you have the pattern, nothing can stop you from stitching it! Unless of course you need help learning some embroidery basics. But I've got you covered. Learn how to transfer a pattern and all the stitches you'll need for this on my Embroidery Basics page. There are even some video tutorials!

ko-fi klatsch // what we've been stitching

At the beginning of 2023, I launched my Ko-Fi Klatsch, which is a subscription-based membership on the website Ko-Fi. I haven't shared much about it here since then, so I thought I'd show off a few of the things we've been stitching!

Each month, members receive embroidery and cross stitch patterns, both with the same design. No matter if you like one technique or the other OR if you do both, I've got you covered. The patterns this year are all coming from the "Wild Olive Coffee Shop" so there are things like the yummy snacks you see above, as well as plenty of things themed to coffee, tea, and other favorite coffee shop treats.



The year started with this But First, Coffee pattern, which features felt flowers added after the stitching. I've done something similar before with embroidery, but this was a first for me to add it to cross stitch. And I really like it! This saying was something my great grandma Mollie was known to say, so it felt right to include it here.



This little tea infuser was part of the March pattern. It actually included this plus two styles of tea bags, but I just embroidered the one. Of course, the cross stitch version had the same tea friends, but I didn't stitch them.




Speaking of not stitching things, in February and May, my schedule got a little busy, and sample stitching wasn't happening. That said, I did see several folks who stitched up both of designs in the different techniques, and they were great!

Whether it's Ko-Fi Klatsch members stitching patterns from the member-exclusive collection, shop customers or blog followers, I love when people tag me in their photos of finished (or started!) projects using my designs. Truly. Keep tagging me!



Most recently, in June we stitched a rainbow of mugs. I LOVE mugs and try not to collect too many. Stitching lots of them is completely fine though. Put them in rainbow order and I'm a happy girl!

Something new that I also started doing in June is that several tiers in the Ko-Fi Klatsch get stitch along videos to go with the pattern of the month. It's part how-to, part tips and tricks, and part podcast. I like to think of it as stitching along with a friend...I just can't see you!



You've seen the patterns so far this year, but let me give you a quick rundown of all the benefits in the whole Ko-Fi Klatsch.

First, all members get every bonus download that I share on Ko-Fi. These are things like alternate pattern versions, printables, special extras, and more that are available for anywho who leaves a tip. Members get them all. Including all the past bonus content.

Next, all members get the exclusive patterns each month, which is what all the patterns in this post are. An embroidery version and a cross stitch version. Of course, you also get all the past patterns in this category.

If you join at the Favorite Mug tier and higher, you ALSO get access to the stitch along videos that go with the patterns.

And finally, the top tier, Jumbo Mug and Pastry Combo, gets all the things PLUS a monthly discount code for my Etsy shop and ALL new pattern releases before they reach the shop.

So, if you like Wild Olive patterns, I think you'll really like being part of the Ko-Fi Klatsch. And if you don't you can always cancel any time!

JOIN THE KO-FI KLATSCH!

Before I end this, I just want to give a huge shoutout to all the Ko-Fi Klatsch members! I am so thankful for the support that helps keep things running over here. You're the best!

wallpaper // roller skate for july

Do you roller skate? Did you as a kid? Then you might just love this new kawaii roller skate wallpaper! I was miserable at skating when I was little and I haven't even tried as an adult because I don't want to break any bones. But I think that the whole roller skating vibe is delightful and I'm happy to celebrate it.

I know several folks who do roller derby and I've always loved all the shows like Charlie's Angels that seemed to require including a roller derby episode. Literally the closest I've ever gotten to attending one is watching an open skate night. You get enough skaters out on the rink and it's practially the same kind of thing. I joke of course.

Ultimately, this design is a full-on flashback to the things of my youth because I was an 80s kid and I probably had an actual sticker that looked very much like this.

Now, let's get you some wallpapers! These come in several sizes as well as one that says "July" for those who like using them as "month markers" on Instagram. There's also a plain violet background to match if you want for your phone. You can grab what you need here:

Download the Desktop Wallpaper

Download the iPhone/Smart Phone Wallpaper

Download the iPad/Tablet Wallpaper

Download the Month Marker Image

Download the Violet Handwriting Paper Phone Wallpaper

I've been sharing these near the beginning of each month like I have done before with the calendar wallpapers, but I didn't get to one for June. That's actually one of the reasons I didn't make these calendars this year...flexibility! Instead, I get to feel like I'm early for once!

This design also has me inspired when it comes to pattern type things, so be on the lookout for a pattern (or two!) that will allow you to stitch a retro skate. Yay!

project // embroidered pillow cover

Do you love embroidery, but you don't really want to make another hoop to hang on your wall? Bring some stitching to your porch or sofa with an embroidered pillow cover! The thing that I love about this project is that you don't have to start with a pillow cover. All you need is a piece of piee of fabric with some embroidery on it and some extra fabric (and a pillow form!).

I recently looked at some blank pillow covers that are designed for you to embroider and I may use one of those sometime soon because there's no sewing involved. BUT, if you have some basic sewing skills, you can easily make your own cover with some already finished embroidery. In fact, that's exactly what I did with this because when I embroidered my pattern I wasn't planning anything other than the stitching. That's also one of the reasons that I usually try to make my fabric a little larger than I really need. It gives you options!

You can use this tutorial with almost any embroidery that you like, but I made my pillow cover with my new Hello Summer embroidery pattern. If you want to see how I embroidered my pattern, I also have a new Stitch Along video on YouTube, which you can watch below!

You will need:

Embroidered fabric
1/2 yard of fabric 1
1/4 yard of fabric 2
18-inch pillow form
Basic sewing tools
Sewing machine

Note about the embroidered fabric: Using the measurements given in this tutorial, you will need the embroidered fabric piece to be at least 7-1/2 inches square with some room around the edges. You can use larger or smaller embroidery, but you'll need to adjust the size of the other fabric strips or make the pillow another size. The overall process would be the same though.



First, cut all the fabric pieces. I recommend using a rotary cutter and ruler on a cutting mat.

Cutting instructions:

Piece A - embroidery: 7.5 x 7.5 inches (with the stitching centered)
Piece B - Cut 2 of fabric 1: 3 x 7.5 inches
Piece C - Cut 2 of fabric 1: 3 x 12.5 inches
Piece D - Cut 2 of fabric 2: 3.25 x 12.5 inches
Piece E - Cut 2 of fabric 2: 3.25 x 18 inches
Back - Cut 2 of fabric 1: 14 x 18 inches



Sew all seams with a scant 1/4" seam allowance, except where noted. Press seams to the dark side.

Sew the two B pieces to the left and right of piece A. The remaining fabric 1 pieces will go on next.



Sew the two C pieces to the top and bottom of the growing pillow cover front. The next round of color from fabric 2 will come next.



Sew the two D pieces to the left and right of the piecing. Finish the front by sewing the two E pieces to the top and bottom.

At this point, I want to point out that my sewing is not always the most precise and there are a few ends along the way that don't line up. It's entirely fine on this project. If I were to write an all-sewing book, it might be called "Don't Sweat it Sewing." Should you try to be as accuate as possible when sewing this or any other project? Yes. But this is the type of project that won't be affected by things being just a little bit off. I like projects like that.



Press a double-fold hem on the 18-inch side of each of the two back pieces. Fold the edge about 1/2 each.



Top stitch the two hems. I sewed two lines, just because I liked how it looked.



Give the pillow front one more press and square up the edges if you need to. Or don't sweat it! But do place the front face up.



Place the two back pieces wrong side up on the front piece. Align the raw edges with the top and bottom of the pillow front with the hemmed edges overlapping. I like to make the one coming from the top be on the outside, so I place that one first. Pin around the edges.

Sew around all four sides with a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

You don't need to leave an opening because the overlapping back pieces create the opening. The areas where my edges were just a bit off meant that some areas had a smaller seam allowance, but that's okay. The larger overall seam allowance covers this!



Turn the pillow cover right side out. I didn't trim the corners at all before turning. Now it's time to add the pillow!



Slide the pillow form into the cover. It's a snug fit by design, so just go ahead and squish it in there! (The official guide for pillow cover size is to make it have a finshed measurement of 17 inches for an 18-inch pillow.)



It's all ready to go on your porch, patio, or other seating area! Even better, you can make more pillow covers like this and swap them out on the same pillow form. You get lots of decorating options, but they don't take up much space. I'm planning to make this a set of four covers: hello summer, hello autumn, hello winter, and hello spring!




This one went right out on the front porch! We won't leave it outside all the time because of sun and weather, but it will come out when we're welcoming guests or sitting outside.



Where in your home do you need an embroidered pillow?