patterns // kawaii symbols for rosh hashanah

Not too long ago I was learning a little more about Jewish new year celebration of Rosh Hashanah, and had this moment where I knew that I was going to draw some embroidery patterns for the occasion. I'm not Jewish, but I love the festivals of the Old Testament.

Making foods with faces is one of my favorite things to draw and stitch, so apples and honey were a natural for me (there's an apple slice in the PDF too!). I also learned that pomegranates are a symbol of this holiday.

And then I had to do a shofar trumpet, even though it's not food. Because I love shofars. And a happy shofar just makes me happy.

If you will be celebrating soon, I wish you a very happy and blessed Rosh Hashanah to you and your family. And even if you're not Jewish, I hope you enjoy stitching a few treats!

DOWNLOAD THE ROSH HASHANAH PATTERNS

project pattern // pumpkin spice latte felt applique

You know I'm all about the pumpkin spice. I love it so much that I made my brother work at Trader Joe's just to have access to all the pumpkin goodness! (Just kidding...he works there, but it was his own idea and I just reap the pumpkin rewards!) In addition to enjoying this yummy flavor, I'm also all about crafting the PSL. Hence a felt applique!

If you're a sewing purist, you looking at this photo and saying "um, Mollie...that's not an applique." It is true that there's no sewing in this tag you see, but the pattern works how you want it to.

You can make a fast and easy tag with the felt pieces glued in place, you can cut the pieces from fabric with fusible interfacing and then add some machine sewing details, or you can hand stitch these pieces in place. I'll show you how to make the tag, and you can then use the pattern however you'd like!



You will need:

Orange and white felt
Black embroidery floss
Shipping tag
Scissors
Needle
Craft glue

DOWNLOAD THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE APPLIQUE PATTERN



Cut out the pieces from felt. Use white for the two lid pieces and cup sleeve and orange for the cup and pumpkin.



Embroider the face on the pumpkin. I usually just freehand where the face should go and stitch it with french knots and a scallop stitch.



Attach the pieces from the bottom layer up to the top. This goes for whether you are gluing or stitching.

Start with the cup and larger lid piece so they are just touching.



Add the tiny strip of lid piece to cover where the cup and lid meet. Attach the club sleeve and pumpkin last.



You now have a little PSL!

If you glued like I did, the tag may ripple a bit, or at least have a slight curve to it. Once it dries completely, that will flatten out.



Add a ribbon to the tag, and tie it onto a sweet gift (I recommend a can of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice coffee), hang it as an ornament, or simply tuck it into an autumn display.

Of course, if you're sewing this, it would be great on a mug rug or coaster, a cloth bag, or as part of a mini quilt!



For those of you who aren't fans of the PSL, I still love you. And you can also use this pattern and customize the sleeve area with another shape or some embroidery. A heart would be perfect for any coffee lover!

How will you use your pumpkin spice latte applique?

around the house mini quilt

This week was the end of the Around the House Stitching Club. I love sending patterns out to so many folks and seeing each person's progress along the way. It's actually quite sad when it's over, but sharing my own finished quilt comes at the end, so that helps. Because I'm really happy with this mini quilt!

I remember someone telling me a few years back that I really needed to learn quilting because it's a perfect pairing with embroidery. She was so right. Especially with English paper piecing, because it's all hand stitching. And it's so nice when it's small because the slowness doesn't mean you won't finish for ages and ages.

Okay, so you could take ages and ages, and there's nothing wrong with that. But it's nice to have a thing you can make within eight weeks, right?




Choosing the designs for this was tricky, as every house is different. Thankfully, club members embraced that and a few decided to alter the patterns so they more closely matched their homes and the way they spend time in each room. Seriously, you need to go look through the photos on Instagram. My favorite laundry basket has a kitty in it, and more than a few folks added some crafty elements to their stitching.



And if you missed joining this club, don't fret. There are two things you can do.

The first is that you can still sign up! Just head to my Etsy shop where you can purchase the entire club as one PDF. It's also available right here on my blog.

The other thing you can do is get ready for the next club. I'll be sharing more information soon, but this time it will take you out of the house for another eight weeks of embroidery and EPP!

making old new // i heart pumpkin spice embroidery pattern

You guys, I get so excited when pumpkin spice time comes around each year. I enjoy a variety of pumpkin spice treats (my brother works at Trader Joe's, so you can imagine that we find all the good stuff!), but coffee remains my favorite. Naturally, I made an embroidery pattern declaring my love of the PSL.

This is a pattern that I made a while ago for another website that is longer around. For those who love their pumpkin spice lattes, it was time to bring this freebie back. And I took the opportunity to add a little something as well.

The I Heart Pumpkin Spice pattern remains almost the same (slight face adjustment), but the PDF now has an iced coffee version too.

That's because when it's still warm out, I LOVE Dunkin Donuts' Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee. I get mine with cream and sweetener and it's so yummy. Especially when they are running their happy hour and a large is just 99 cents!

Lest you think that I'm only all about the sugar (okay, so most of the time I am), I will gladly take a cup of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee with nothing added. Any time of the year. As in, I try to always have several cans on hand for those days when no other flavor will do.

Yes, I really do love pumpkin spice coffees this much!

DOWNLOAD THE I HEART PUMPKIN SPICE PATTERN

How about you? If you're looking for more pumpkin spice goodness, I have a few more posts that carry that very special tag!

book review // cuter stuff by aranzi aronzo

If you saw a book that claimed to have Cute Stuff in it, you'd want to look, right? What if it declared that it was filled with Cuter Stuff? Well, you'd pick up that book, find that it was indeed super cute, and then you'd buy it. Full price. This is what happened when I spotted this Aranzi Aronzo book at Barnes & Noble the other day.

A few years back, I picked up the Japanese version of Cute Stuff (before it was translated), and loved it. The sequel to this title is similar to the first and both are true to their names.




Each item in the book has a photo, or sometimes several photos, but all of the instructions are illustrated. This was a huge inspiration to me when working on my own book, but I don't think anyone could do it better than the Aranzi Aronzo books. The projects and motifs are cute, but so is the whole process!

Along with the project photos throughout the book, at the back there is a gallery of pictures showing some most of them in use. I love that they are often modeled by stuffed animals designed by the authors!



And here's a better look at the illustrations. These are from the basics section. Sewing instructions from bunnies? Yes please! This is a good example of why buying the Japanese version of Cute Stuff worked for me. I can't read Japanese, but the illustrations explain so much. A picture is worth 1000 words, right?



The projects range from magnets to pencil holders to coasters and more, most of which have a useful quality to them. This doggy is just cute, and I'm good with that. I think my sister and I might make one to play with her American Girl dolls.



Some projects are rather simple, for example, I didn't need a book to show me how to add faces to fruits and vegetables. But you can bet that I'm crazy for this page. Seriously...things are better with faces.



One thing I really appreciate in Cuter Stuff is that you don't absolutely need a sewing machine. They tell you when you can use one, but nearly everything works with hand sewing. Even a panda zipper pouch!



Most projects have a distinct Aranzi Aronzo style to them, but a few feel more generic. They are all still super cute, and I'm looking forward to making these felt flowers. Speaking of felt, that is the most common material you'll use for the Cuter Stuff in this book. Love that!




Working with felt is one of my favorite materials, and seeing easy ways to work with it is good for me. There are several projects that use the collection of felt applique motifs in the book, including hiragana. Just seeing these kinds of ideas is helpful, because it will get you thinking about new ways to use favorite patterns.

Cuter Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo is simple and good for kids or beginners, as well as for those who just need a dose of cute inspiration. Look for it at your local bookseller or at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

calendar // a past psl for a present september

September is a good month for one very important reason: Pumpkin Spice Lattes. It's kind of a staple around here each year, and this September can be no different.

That said, I could probably stand to have a do-over for August. An unexpected blogging break and other things meant that I only created five posts here. And that just bugs me. At least a new month can be a new start of sorts.

Though I only posted five times at Wild Olive, I did manage to write a bunch for the other blogs I work with. Here are a few of those posts:



For Hello Bee, I shared this felt frame to hold your child's artwork. It would also make a great DIY gift for kids to make for grandparents or friends!



At Handmade Charlotte you can print customized crayon wrappers or give them the wild Olive treatment. Because crayons are better with faces.



Speaking of crayons with faces, this free embroidery pattern is available at About.com. Who doesn't want to stitch some dancing crayons!



For when you have some embroidery but aren't quite sure what to do with it, why not make a pillow? The sewing on this is SUPER easy!



And finally, also at About.com, you can add some flair to your embroidery scissors with a tassel charm made from embroidery floss.

Oh, and all through August, my Around the House Stitching Club has been stitching along. We're not quite done yet, but you can see what folks have been making. All their progress makes me feel like I'm doing even more than I actually am, so stitching club members deserve a special shout-out for that!

Now, let's officially jump into September! Grab yourself a PSL calendar and perhaps an actual PSL too!

Download the 2560x1440 Wallpaper.
Download the 1920x1280 Wallpaper.
Download the 1280x800 Wallpaper.
Download the iPhone Wallpaper.
Download the iPad Wallpaper.

For your home screen or for keeping up through the entire PSL season, these have the PSL mugs, but no calendar. Side note, the rows of mugs are absolutely inspired by the rows of dancing beer steins in Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast.

Download the iPhone PSL Wallpaper.
Download the iPad PSL Wallpaper.

For iPhone 6+, choose the iPad version. To use the iPhone and iPad versions, click the link 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.

You can also download a printable September calendar. Trim it and leave it in black and white, or enjoy a bit of coloring!

All of this talk really has me ready for a grande pumpkin spice latte, skim with whipped (my typical order!).