stitch swap: mailing time

I can hardly believe how fast this month has gone by. It's not quite over yet, but it will be soon.

For those who are in the Stitch Swap, this is a friendly reminder that the 31st is coming up, which means it's time to get your piece in the mail! I know that many of you already have mailed and even received your swap embroidery, and a few have had some extenuating circumstances delaying mailing. The rest are working and waiting excitedly! Do keep in mind that some of these are traveling a great distance, so it could take a little while for them all to arrive.

If you're not in the Stitch Swap: A) Don't worry...there will be another one in the fall, so you'll have another opportunity to participate! B) Take a look at the pool of amazing work that these swappers have been stitching!

I mentioned it on Flickr, but I need to say it here too. There is much talent being expressed with this swap, and even though I'm only the host, I feel a bit like a proud mother hen. Well done, everyone!

stitch swap: extra goodies

We're closing in on the end of the Stitch Swap, and I thought it would be fun to do a post dedicated to the extra goodies that are so much fun to send and receive with something like this.

With my hoop (which shall be mailed in the next few days!) I'm including some of my favorite loose tea, an eraser from the Japanese market, and some embroidery floss. There might also be an extra surprise for my swapee (someone used that term in a posting, and I loved it!)...



In with the hoop I received, there were so many goodies...I feel quite loved! Chocolate, a fat quarter, embroidery floss and a handmade pincushion!

Speaking of handmade, take a look at these extra treats that people have made to include with their swap packages:






Yes, the Buzz Lightyear is an extra...not even the regular hoop! And I'm a huge fan of those zippy pouches. Oh, but all of these are delightful, and made with such care. And I'd like to point out that participants aren't expected to add these things in. They are invited to, if they want...that makes these little gifts even more impressive to me!

I'm so excited to be watching everyone's work coming together and getting ready to be sent!

stitch swap: preparing a hoop for hanging

One of the Stitch Swap questions that came up several times is what I meant when I said that pieces should be "prepared for hanging". There are lots of ways to do this, but basically, the idea is to get your embroidery into a state where you can hang the hoop up on a wall.

Depending on how lazy or industrious I'm feeling, my hoops might look like what you see here. But today I'm going to show you one of the fancier versions of framing that I've ever done. This is, after all, for my swap partner and I feel a strange amount of pressure to impress...given that I'm hosting!

Here's how I did mine. To start, I painted my embroidery hoop (it takes a couple coats of craft paint), and then added some sealer. Once it's all dry, I placed my finished embroidery in the hoop, and got to finishing the back.



As you can see, I did my embroidery through the fabric and a layer of batting because I wanted a slightly quilty look. I trimmed the excess fabric, leaving about 1 inch of fabric and batting.



Using a large running stitch, I sewed around the edge, and gathered it in.



From the same fabric as my embroidery, I made a fabric yoyo large enough to cover the opening in the back of the hoop. Had I thought this through, I might have stitched something on this first. Sigh...dear partner, forgive me!



I flipped the yoyo, and whip stitched it in place on the back. It's a little puffy, but it still lays nicely against a wall.



To hang the piece, I added a strip of fabric to the screw to act as a hanger. Now it's ready to mail! Want to see the whole thing? It's hiding here in my Flickr stream.

As I said, there are lots of ways to finish off the frame and back of your work. Here are a few that I've pinned for reference:

Lova Revolutionary.

From Polka and Bloom.

From the Trouble with Crafting.

From Maximum Rabbit Designs. (via Craft)

From Little Lovelies by Allison.

From Wren and Stitchy.

I hope these help to inspire your embroidery hoops, whether you're in this Stitch Swap or just stitching because it's so much fun to do!

stitch swap: pattern ideas

(Image by Rachel of Stitched in Color.)

Already so many of you have gotten started on your work for the Stitch Swap. It's really been so fun to see and hear about your progress! But for those still figuring out exactly what you're going to stitch (I'm in this group!), I thought I'd share some ideas and resources.

First of all, there were two favorite motifs that stood out because so many people listed them: owls and geometric designs. Have I mentioned that I have a new Little Owls embroidery pattern for just $2? No pressure though...wink, wink. Geometric designs are another thing. I've seen lots of inspiration, but not a ton of patterns available. But then, silly me...I forgot about how geometric Sashiko is!

The coasters pictured above are from Stitched in Color. Rachel is an amazing quilter, usually tackling large projects and completing them in record time. This is one of her smaller pieces, and one that I could actually handle! It inspired me to suggest that for those looking for some geometry in their embroidery, look to Sashiko! A google search will find some ideas, or here are some free patterns from About.com. You wouldn't even need to stitch them traditionally, but use them as a starting point and do some fill stitches or other favorites!

For those wanting to stitch something a bit different, without spending much, here are some more links:

Free patterns on Flickr

A new freebie from Sublime Stitching

Traditional style designs from Needle 'n Thread

Bad Bird's free patterns

Free embroidery designs from Cate Anevski

Every post with free Wild Olive patterns

Lots to choose from! Now it's time to choose and start stitching...

ALSO: I'm still looking for Helena from Australia! If you're Helena and you signed up for the swap, please email me!

stitch swap update

Something crazy has happened. The Stitch Swap became much bigger than I was anticipating. At the time I'm writing this (Tuesday night), there are nearly 270 people signed up. Umm...what?!?

It makes me so happy that so many of you are wanting to stitch something up for someone you don't know. Of course, there is the excitement of receiving embroidered happy mail, so I can't blame you!

I'll leave the sign up page open until 6PM CST tonight, then it's closing. UPDATE: Sign ups are now closed. You'll find full details about the swap on the original post.

Needless to say, with so many people participating, it could take a while to get the emails out with your swap partner. So, if you are signed up, please be patient with me. I hope to have all emails sent by the end of the day on Saturday, which is a bit later than I originally planned.

In the mean time, I've set up a Flickr group for the Stitch Swap! Add your photos of work in progress, finished pieces ready to mail, or your package when it arrives! Just be sure to keep sensitive information out of the photos.

And, if you're participating, why not grab the badge below to show off that you're in the swap? It links to the page I've set up for all of the Stitch Swap essentials.

Okay, folks...let the stitching begin! Oh, and happy Leap Day!

the first wild olive stitch swap

Last week I asked if anyone would be interested in participating in a little embroidery swap, and to be honest, I was overwhelmed (and so very happy) at the response! Thank you! But whether you've already expressed an interest, or if this is the first you're hearing about it, I'd like to officially invite you to be a part of the first ever Wild Olive swap!

We'll each be creating a small piece of embroidery, and mailing it off so we can each receive a bit of hand-stitched happy mail! It seems to me that no matter how much technology we have, receiving a little package in the mail from a real person somewhere in the world is still magical.

This is going to be a swap of embroidery in a 4" hoop. I find this to be a cute size, very manageable and inexpensive to mail. You could complete a piece in an afternoon at this size, or take more time and make it more complex. This is up to you. And you can embroider anything you want, although, it might be nice to take into consideration what the recipient might like (to this end, I'll be gathering some info in the sign up that will help with this!).



Also, Wednesdays in March, I'll be sharing posts related to the swap, including some pattern links, finishing techniques, and some extras. I'm really looking forward to it!

I want this to be fairly simple and straightforward, and easy for anyone to join in, so with that in mind, here are the guidelines:

• Finished embroidery should be in a 4" hoop, prepared for hanging.

• This swap is open to all, so you should be prepared to mail your embroidery internationally.

• You are welcome to include a little something extra, but it is not required. Please spend no more than a few dollars.

• All pieces should be mailed by March 31, 2012.

Instead of partnering people up, this is going to be a circular swap, meaning Stitcher A sends to Stitcher B, who sends to Stitcher C, who sends to Stitcher A (but with more than 3 people, I'm guessing!). Make sense?

On March 1, you'll receive an email with the information of the person you'll send to, but not of the person you'll receive from...that'll be a surprise! I'm stitching too, so at least one of you will get something from me!

Sign ups are now closed.

Questions? Ask in the comments, and I'll reply in the comments.