colors inspired by summer

Here we are, in the middle of summer, and it's about time I pick some DMC embroidery colors to go with the season! These color combos are inspired by summer classics, as well as some patterns that are coming to the blog next week! When I go through my stash (DMC has been super kind to me in supporting my habit!), I like to name the palettes that I create. Sometimes they have silly names, but silly works.

Above, we have "Impossible Tomorrow." They aren't truly neon, but they are as close to neon as you can get with the standard cotton floss, which makes them less expensive, and easier to stitch with! EDITED: The second color from the left should be 741. Sorry about that!



"Super Snowcone." I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that a snowcone with these colors would be pretty tasty!



Above is "Just Beachy", because when August comes, I think beach. I don't actually go to the beach, I just think it goes with August.



These colors remind me of Rosie the Riveter, but I named the grouping "Waterloo". It'll make more sense next week!



Some summer colors feel like fall may creep in at any moment, but these reminded me of some "Puppet Pals" which are good any time of the year!



How about an "Idea Garden"? Pretty bright, huh? Get it? Bright idea? Ha!



And finally, "Iced Tea with Lemon". I'll take my tea with or without lemon, so long as there's no sugar in it! I've tried to like sweet tea, but I just can't get used to it.

Sometimes I use these colors to stitch, sometimes I just admire them. How about you? What might you stitch with one of these sets of floss shades?

PS: I try to keep the colors accurate, but monitors differ. Trust me, the colors are always best when you have them in your hands, and threaded in your needle!

in the works

Jenny Hart has a piece of embroidery that says what I feel right now. I feel it in a good way, and in a tired way. This work never ends.

The photo above is two things in the works. The floss is for a post tomorrow (pretty colors are coming!) and the hoop is about to be stitched (with the floss) for an exciting blog series next week. If you like letters and music and embroidery and free stuff, you won't want to miss it.

This work may never end, but my time to get certain things done will end. Best I get back to work!

we're praying

Sundays on Wild Olive are a point of prayer. Please pause, leave a prayer request, and pray with us.

How can I pray for you this week? How can we pray for each other?

PS: In an effort to spend less time preparing blog posts over the weekend, I'm setting up a designated page for prayer. It will be available all the time for prayer requests, and we'll get to see all of the prayers and comments in one place. Find it here or in the sidebar.

snapshot saturday // shiny

new silver and gold thread. waiting for a project needing some shine.

pieced with love

I promise this isn't becoming a quilting blog! It's just that this craft has been everywhere in my life lately! Friends of ours are visiting from Canada, and their daughter Stephanie is one of my crafting buddies. We've chatted almost non-stop about making things (with some movies and fashion thrown in).

Well, Stephanie brought me a gift...this lap quilt! I love, love, love it! The girl has good taste...this is Moda Reunion fabric. Such a great mix of color and pattern! Oh, and did I mention...Steph is only 13! She's got me beat when it comes to quilting and (ahem) use of the sewing machine...




But here's what makes this quilt special:




She added an applique of one of my Jordnöts! Eep! So cute! Thank you so much, Steph! Just in case you didn't already know it, I love my quilt...and am more determined than ever to make one too!

project: diy needle threader

We have this fun calendar with crazy days and holidays listed, and imagine my delight when I saw Thread the Needle Day was coming up. And here it is! I made a special little project just for today. Are you ready? Here she is!



A needle threader! That you can make and love. What? You're wondering who would actually love a needle threader? Seriously. Look at that face and try not to love her. Rarely do I use a threader, relying on my eyesight that is only going to last me so long. But this one is cute enough to convince me to save my eyes!



Here's what you need:

Felt in tan plus another color (I recommend wool)
Embroidery floss
Super fine wire (I believe that fine fishing line also works)
Craft Glue

Note: The wire I used came in a kit years ago, so I don't have specifics on the gauge. But you can see from comparison to the other items here that it's really fine and on a tiny spool!



Cut a piece of felt to 1 x 3 inches. Cut two pieces of tan felt to 1-1/4 x 3/16 inches.

Fold the larger piece in half, then make two small holes along the fold line. (I used this punch...I love it! You could also use a large needle.)



Stitch a little face, if you want, then add some lines of running stitches to act as thread. Yes, my lines are a different color than the spool. Yes, I like it that way!




Cut a piece of wire or fishing line and tie it through the holes. Leave a loop that is about 1 inch long, then securely twist and/or knot the ends on the wrong side of the felt.



Apply some craft glue to one half of the felt piece, then fold it closed.



Glue the tiny tan strips of felt to the top and bottom to finish off the spool. It's a good idea to place this under a heavy book for a little while as it dries.





To use your new needle threader, bend the wire just enough to poke it through the eye of your needle. Slip a strand of thread or embroidery floss through the loop of wire, then pull it through the eye of the needle.



Hey! You just threaded the needle on Thread the Needle Day!

my new mug (also, more love of arrows)

A while ago (like months and months!) I picked up a Sharpie Paint Marker planning to make something fun. It has sat here unopened until this week. Can I tell you just how happy I was to find it and a plain mug both sitting on my desk? It's like it was meant to be!



After a quick Google search to make sure I would get this right, and be able to wash the mug in the dishwasher, I found this post. Basically, you draw your design, place the mug in the oven, turn it on to 350F (so the mug warms with the oven). When the oven reaches 350F, set the timer for 30 minutes, then turn it off and allow the mug to cool in the oven.

I forgot it was in there cooling, so in the morning I went for my coffee, and for the first time, pulled a mug from the oven instead of the cabinet! Here's how it looked after my first cup of coffee:




How much do I love my very simple arrow-doodled mug? Very much.

UPDATE: After 3 runs in the dishwasher, some scratches are showing up...it sort of adds to the charm, but I'm prepared to redraw when necessary.

more quilt love

As if I wasn't already ready to jump into quilting (see last week's post), Saturday I went to a local quilt show with my friend Catherine. This is the second time we've gone, but this time it was definitely much larger. And even more lovely.

Above is a quilt that was a raffle prize that a group made, raising money for a local charity. It was one of the first quilts we saw, and it was very WOW! The combination of colors and patterns in this one really made it a stand out kind of quilt.



The show was held at a community center that used to be a church and school. It makes the atmosphere pretty special, with the high ceilings and stained glass windows!

There was a nice mix of large, intricate quilts, and smaller guild challenge pieces (really fun to see different interpretations of things!). It made both my friend and I feel like we could make a smaller piece and not get too discouraged. For example, the yoyo quilt below looked feasible, if done smaller to start. Right?




The colors on this quilt were sooo great. Like pastel ice cream, but bright and warm. (Warm ice cream? You know what I mean!)

And while many of the quilts had a similar "quilty" feeling, no two were alike. Well, except for the two that both used the same pattern, which was mainly embroidery! (That's okay...one was quite possibly the best crayon tinting I've ever seen.) But in contrast to all the rest, were some like these that really have different looks and materials:




After viewing over 120 quilts, we headed to the vendor hall. The best shop in the whole place (at least to me!) had a lot of vintage items, quilting goodness, and embroidery to go with it all. I bought an apron (which I'll show off eventually), and Catherine bought an apron...for me!



Perfect for coming from a quilt show! And then, I might have bought these paper pieces for starting what could be a very dangerous road:



As one person pointed out to me, quilting and embroidery go so well together! And as I pointed out to her, the stash that accumulates for quilting is much larger! Official goal: Make a small quilty something by the end of this year.

we're praying

Sundays on Wild Olive are a point of prayer. Please pause, leave a prayer request, and pray with us.

I'm posting this a little early, because tomorrow (Sunday) I'll be teaching the kids in my Sunday school class about how God answers prayer. I'd love to share with them any of your requests that would be appropriate for them, as well as any examples you might have for answered prayers!

sponsor in august

If you've ever considered sponsoring Wild Olive, why not start now? Your ad will be seen by some of the most wonderful readers ever. They love crafty things, and all kinds of cute!

Sign up below through Passsionfruit, or find more information on my Sponsorship page. When you sign up, you'll receive an email from me to find out if you want your ad to start immediately, or delay until August 1st.

As a sponsor, you'll also show up in my tweets and/or pins! Join the Wild Olive team!

wallpaper: blog buddies

This week I finished up and added a new digital kit over at Kitschy Digitals! It's the only place to get these Blog Buddies, which come with papers, borders and tags, and of course the characters!

To go along with this, I thought it would be fun to make some wallpapers for iPads and iPhones...very bloggy things to have, yes? I couldn't help but make one with a phone on there. A phone on your phone? Yeah, I like that.



To use these, click the link below for the wallpaper you want. When it opens, touch and hold the image until it pops up with the option to save. After you've saved the image, go to your settings, choose wallpaper, then find the image you've just saved.

Coffee for iPad
Coffee for iPhone

Hoop for iPad
Hoop for iPhone

Phone for iPad
Phone for iPhone

Cupcake for iPad
Cupcake for iPhone

Now...which will you choose? I think I'm starting with the Hoop. But then, I might just download them all, and switch them up daily!

JUST ADDED: Computer desktops! They are all one size (very large) so you'll just need to find the right setting for "fitting" or "filling" on your computer.

Coffee for Desktop
Hoop for Desktop
Phone for Desktop
Cupcake for Desktop

book review: happy stitch

Do you like making things? I think so. Do you like cute things? I know you do. Do you like making cute things? Yes? Good. Then I have a book for you to check out!

Jodie Rackley is the author of Happy Stitch, a book of very sweet felt and fabric projects. She's also the person behind Lova Revolutionary, and if you like her shop, buy her book. It's as simple as that.




Jodie very kindly sent me a review copy, and I even made a little something! The felt decorative chains at the top are mine (made just a bit smaller than the suggested dimensions!), and I have to tell you, this was the first project that sold me on this book. Even before I saw the whole book, I saw these on the cover and loved them. They are cleverly made, and one of those, "why didn't I think of that things", which this book is full of.




There are plenty of projects that reflect the things you find at Lova Revolutionary, like her Owl iPhone cozies, but there are also many things that are completely new, and very original. A nice balance!

One of my favorite features of Happy Stitch is that it has step-by-step photos to go with the instructions. So helpful!



Next up on my list of things to make from this book (once I complete my chain!) is one of these modern penny rugs. Aren't they sweet?!

Thanks, Jodie for giving me the opportunity to review your awesome book! And thanks for writing an awesome book! Now, lovely Wild Olive readers, give Amazon a visit and go make some cute!