out in nature stitching club

I'm so excited to announce my next big embroidery and EPP project, the Out in Nature Stitching Club! But before I get too far, let me share a little background story

Last summer I designed and ran the Around the House Stitching Club. From the very start I planned it to be part of a series of 8-week-long clubs known as the Exploring Your World Stitching Clubs. My intention was to have one run, take a few weeks off, then start the next.

The first club ended in September of last year, right as a dear family friend was losing his battle with cancer. And basically, my life was turned upside down. I could keep some things going, but I couldn't start a new club. I had sketches, but that was it, and it has taken me until now to get everything ready.

And it is ready!

Registration is now open for the Out in Nature Stitching Club, which will start on Tuesday, May 2. Now for the details...




This club is part embroidery and part English paper paper piecing (EPP). The result is an embroidered mini quilt (different from the Around the House mini) that is almost entirely stitched by hand.

We start with embroidery. This project features six embroidery patterns representing different elements in nature. And I've tried to choose things that will be fairly universal, so everyone around the world will feel some connection.

Each pattern fits on a 2-inch hexagon, and that's where the English paper piecing comes in.



Along with the embroidered hexagons, you'll also make extra pieces and everything will fit together to make a mini quilt.

And because both embroidery and EPP are so portable, you'll actually be able to stitch out in nature!

Basic instructions for English paper piecing, quilting, and binding are included, though it's helpful to have some knowledge of embroidery. If you need assistance with this project along the way, I'm happy to help.

Plan to set aside a few hours a week for this, and you'll have a hand-embroidered, hand-pieced, and even hand-quilted mini quilt in eight weeks.



The Out in Nature Stitching Club begins on May 2, and club members will receive an email with a new pattern or set of instructions each Tuesday for the 8 weeks. If you sign up after the club starts, you'll still have access to all of the emails and files that have already been sent.

As mentioned, this is part of a series. Which means that if you end up signing up for all four parts (two more parts will still be coming!), you can combine all of the Exploring Your World patterns into one large quilt using EPP templates.

Oh, and one of my favorite parts about these stitching clubs is the connections that form between club members as we all share our progress via social media, using the hashtag #OutInNatureStitchingClub

Out in Nature Stitching Club: $8.00

NOTE: If you are outside of the US or Canada, please visit my Etsy shop to sign up.

When you sign up you will receive a PDF containing a list of supplies, templates, and some instructions to get you started.

If you have any questions, please ask them here and I'll answer right in the comments. Or, feel free to email me (molliejohanson at gmail) or reach out via social media.

Let's stitch out in nature!

printable // watercolor faith reminders

I am a maker of lists. I live by them. And when I don't write down my lists, I try to keep them running in my head and risk the impending feeling of "oh my goodness what all am I supposed to do?". And why do I rely on lists? Because I'm forgetful. I need reminding.

In the same way, I doodle and draw patterns and printables with Scripture, song lyrics, and faith phrases. I stick them in places I'll see daily. I share them with others who do the same. Why? Because we're forgetful. We need reminding.

Occasionally I make these little printable reminders for the group of girls I lead at church. And when I showed them on Instagram, a few folks said they'd be interested in printing some for themselves or for groups they know. Because we're forgetful. We need reminding.

Some of these phrases have been patterns already (find them under the "faith" tag at the bottom of this post), and others are taken directly from the Bible.

My favorite, at Easter time and really, any time (because it's the rest of the time when I need the most reminding) is this one: All is well. Christ is risen. You can read more about it in a post from a while back, when I also made a bracelet to hold onto this reminder.

DOWNLOAD THE WATERCOLOR REMINDER CARDS

Friends, we're forgetful. But these things are worth remembering. Even if that means plastering reminders all over the place. We need this kind of reminding.

pattern // a guinea pig dressed as the easter bunny

Wheek! Here comes the Easter Piggy! I'm not sure which came first, me seeing a picture of a guinea pig wearing bunny ears (on Instagram, of course) or my little sister suggesting that we should dress our guinea pigs up as bunnies. Either way, I know that our actual piggies wouldn't have it.

So I drew a pattern of a guinea pig dressed as the Easter bunny and delivering some little jelly beans.

My intention was to stitch up the pattern and post it with plenty of time for you to stitch your own before Easter. And then it became clear that I could either stitch it or post it before Easter. So I'm sharing the pattern here for you, and if I'm lucky I might still get some Easter piggy stitching in this week.

DOWNLOAD THE EASTER GUINEA PIG PATTERN

(Oh, and be sure to stitch the jelly beans in bright colors so they don't look like something else. Ahem.)

pattern // jelly bean mandala applique

While I may not love the taste and texture of jelly beans, I do love their shape and the fact that they come in so many wonderful colors. And that's why I had to make some colorful, stitchable jelly beans as Easter wall art.

The idea for this free pattern started as something that would be made entirely with felt. You can still do that. It's also a pattern that could be all embroidery...or all applique with quilting cotton! I decided to blend a few techniques and textures, resulting in crazy patterned beans and slightly fuzzy carrots.

And if you use fusible applique for parts, there's not tons of stitching, which means it's also a fast, finish it well before Easter, sort of project.



You will need:

Fabric scraps
Paper-backing fusible web (such as Wonder Under)
Freezer paper
Orange and pink felt
6in embroidery hoop
Embroidery floss or perle cotton (orange, pink, green, and black)
Pencil
Scissors
Iron
Needle

Jelly Bean Mandala Pattern PDF



Cut the fabric scraps down to about 1-3/8in x 2in. Cut pieces of fusible web to match and iron them to the back of the fabric.



Trace the jelly beans onto pieces of freezer paper and iron them to the fronts of the fabric pieces.

Peel away the paper from the fusible web, and cut out the jelly bean shapes. Now, peel away the freezer paper.



Trace the carrots and the heart onto freezer paper and iron them onto the appropriate colored felt. Cut out the shapes and then peel off the paper.



Lay the pieces out on the backing fabric. The spacing doesn't need to match the pattern page, but do try to have them even.

Tip: I discovered, via happy accident, that if you place your backing fabric in your embroidery hoop and then remove the hoop, you'll be left with a crease that acts as a guide. Working within that circle is helpful for spacing the beans!

Pull the carrots and heart off of the fabric and iron the jelly beans in place.



Stitch the jelly bean faces with french knots and scallop stitches. I did this freehand, giving each face a slightly different bit of character.



Stitch the carrots between the jelly beans, and the heart in the center, using two strands of matching thread for each.



Add the carrot tops with green thread and straight stitches.



Frame up your finished stitching in a painted hoop and you have some fun wall decor for Easter!

Although I'm showing this with instructions for the method I used, I hope you also see the possibilities for using this pattern in other ways. Use other techniques, add more rounds of Easter objects or stitching details, enlarge it to become a pillow, or more. Let it be a springboard for creativity!



Happy stitching!

flash sale!!! the genius blogger's toolkit

Today I want to tell you about a wonderful team I’ve been working with recently, namely Ryan and Stephanie from Ultimate Bundles. For several years now, they’ve been putting together some incredible eBook and eCourse bundles.

You’ve probably seen some bundles around from time to time, but they’re not all created equally. What I love about Ultimate Bundles is the quality and value of the resources included in each bundle, how easy it is to download and use, their amazing customer service team, and the bonus offers included with each one.

One of their latest bundle is called The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit. The toolkit contains 62 brilliant eBooks, eCourses, audios, and printables designed to help you:

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The combined value of everything in the toolkit is over $3,600, but you get it all for a ridiculous 97% off! Worried about information overload? Don’t be: it comes with a Genius Blogging Essentials eCourse to help you take action right away.



My Teeny Tiny Blog Buddies Planning Pages and Calling Cards collection is one of the downloadables in the toolkit! The folks at Ultimate Bundles are super-picky about the products and creators they accept, so I’m SO honored and excited to be part of such a valuable and genuinely helpful package.

AND, if you send me an email after you purchase a bundle, I'll send you EVERY Blog Buddies item, which includes an embroidery pattern, printable tags, and a digital kit (including 12 digital papers and 40 elements).

Because of their commitment to including only the best eBooks, eCourses, audios, and printables, over 180,000 people have purchased one of their bundles over the past five years. Whoa...that's a lot of happy people buying bundles!

The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit is available to you now, but only for a few days. On Tuesday, April 4 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit will no longer be available.

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