My very first embroidery

This was my very first embroidery. I knew three stitches: the split stitch, the satin stitch, and the french knot. (You can see that this was not a very neat or spectacular embroidery, but I figured that it would be fun to display.

Those three stitches are actually very useful, so I would advise to learn them first!

-Avamae

;D

Stitch sampler

I began teaching my friend Lauren how to embroider. We began, as I always think is best, with a stitch sampler:

Stitch Names (Top to bottom):

Coral Stitch

Satin Stitch

Split Stitch

Stem Stitch

French Knot
Blanket Stitch
Lazy Daisies

Chain Stitch

Back Stitch

Feather Stitch

Hopefully I can post also how to stitch these in the future.

The most complex stitch is probably the stem stitch or the feather stitch. The easiest would probably be the french knots, and the longest is definitely the satin stitch. All are enjoyable and useful to know how to embroider.

(Fun Fact: The blanket stitch serves two purposes: as the hem of a pillow or cushion, and as a cute border for embroidery!)

-Avamae (and Lauren)

:D

Sweet Shoppe

A few days ago I tried embroidering the inside - or outside - of a shop. ("Shoppe" is a fancy, old-fashioned way of saying "shop." It is pronounced the same way.) Also, since I love both eating and embroidery sweets, I decided it would be called the "Sweet Shoppe."

Here is the picture of what I created, so I could have an idea of what each thing is and where I would embroider it:

(I do not know why I added an apple, flowers, and a pumpkin, but I was running out of ideas.)

I finally finished the actual project with much difficulty and a few tweaks on the original.

Although I am disappointed I did not decide to do the pretty blue teapot atop the purple table, overall, it turned out fairly well. 

I mostly used the straight stitch, the split stitch, french knots, and one lazy daisy. (I won't go into detail about the placement of these stitches, as that would be extremely extensive and remarkably dull.)

Cute, bright, colorful embroideries like these can become lovely wall hangings or a thoughtful gift to a friend.

-Avamae

:)

Red embroidery flowers

I like this embroidery especially because of the unusual and vibrant petals. The leaves, however, are my favorite part of the embroidery. They seem airy and flexible, just like the spindly stems.

Every petal is made with a french knot with a tail, the stem with a stem stitch, and the leaves with an interesting variation of the stem stitch.

The first difficulty I faced while completing the project was repetition. It would look strange if four out of the five blossoms were facing a certain way, or if three out of the four leaves were light green and only one was dark.

Fortunately, it seemed to turn out very well, and I am very pleased that I decided to try embroidering a rather funny looking, half-circle shaped flower with a thin, spindly stem.

-Avamae

Three large embroidery flowers

This was a really fun embroidery because of the creativity and uniqueness of each flower. The bright, wide sunflower on the left, the pointy, delicate bloom in the middle, and the last round, pretty pink rose all are different and are embroidered with completely different stitches.

The sunflower's petals are embroidered with a long and short stitch, and the middle with a crewel stitch, french knots in the middle of each square. The stem is a stem stitch (which is pretty predictable) and its leaf is a fishbone stitch.

The middle flower's petals are fishbone stitches, the yellow dots are french knots, and the stem is a variation of the feather stitch. 

The third and hardest blossom, the rose, is made of of many, many, many bullion knots. It is the largest bullion knot flower I have ever completed, and certainly the most difficult. (Bullion knots are very pretty on fabric, but a pain to embroider!) The stem is another stem stitch, and the leaf is a satin stitch.

(Funny Fact: Did you notice that the blue flower has three petals on one side and four on another? I had already drawn it when I noticed this flaw. However, the petals were so pretty that I just decided that flowers are not perfect anyway, so this error, in a way, made it more realistic.)

-Avamae

blue vine embroidery

This embroidery is one of my favorites! It is, in my opinion, cute and very fun to complete. I also prefer it because it is difficult to mess up with, as everything looks completely unsymmetrical and no area is exactly the same.

Every single leaf and vine is embroidered with a split stitch (that is, except the small dots, which are french knots). 

I started this embroidery with the light blue vine in the middle, I thought it would stand alone. (Although to do so would be wasting a large amount of fabric!) However, I am glad I expanded it! :)

 This is a perfect project to embroider while watching a movie or doing before bed. It looks amazing in a circle hoop or frame, and would look adorable as a circle pillow (although, in my experience, circle pillow are extremely hard and end up looking rather squished).

Also, I wish that I would have been a bit more creative with the colors. Even colors that are not very daring (such as red, orange, and yellow) might have added interest which this lacks. Overall, though, I am delighted with the result!

-Avamae

vine embroidery

When I began this embroidery, I had no idea that it would grow into something so large and fun to complete!

Each of the leaves are made with a fishbone stitch, and the vines are embroidered with a split stitch. This can be an enjoyable project to complete in a longer period of time, thinking of ideas for different flowers. 

I really like that each blossom is unique and that I never repeated it. It adds interest, because if you only stitched one flower it may become tiresome. Also, it is much more fun to examine each in turn. :)

Although a different fabric color might have been pretty, it is also an extremely busy embroidery, so even if I chose one solid color, it may clash with other flowers.

The most complex flower, by far, was the bullion knot rose (the blossom in the middle which has orange, red, and yellow hues). Bullion knots are very difficult. 

However, the flower that probably took the longest time was either the blue lazy daisy variation, or the pink and yellow bloom, since it is a sort of padded satin stitch. (A satin stitch takes, in my limited experience, a very long time!)

-Avamae

four embroidered flowers

When I first embroidered this, I began with the pink rose. I thought that I would simply continue embellishing on that particular flower without adding any others. However, I am very glad about the result! If there were two things I could change, they would be this:

1. I should have made the purple and yellow flowers slightly different and not next to each other, so it does not look so repetitive.

2. The background looks a little bit plain. Although a different colored fabric might have clashed, a light blue material or something of that sort would look better than the plain cream muslin. 

The first flower (from left to right) is embroidered with various colored french knots, and the next is a bullion knot. The third is a lazy daisy with extra petals and a french knot in the middle, and the last, the yellow flower, is a bullion knot-detached chain combination with lazy daisy petals in the middle. 

Each leaf on the two middle flowers is a fishbone stitch, and both the stems the leaves of the first and last blossom are embroidered with a split stitch. 

This is a really cute and easy project that you could hang in a frame, sew into a pillow, or create some other adorable artsy item!

-Avamae

yellow embroidery flower

I recently completed this yellow flower embroidery and thought that it would be a fun first post on my new blog! It is very simple, but cute on a wall with a wooden hoop or sewn as a pillow.

(The petals are embroidered with a satin stitch, the stem with three stem stitches, and the middle of the flower with multiple french knots.)

Here is a picture of the flower up-close: