Found on Flickr, February 29

Stitch Love #2, a gallery on Flickr.

A few delicious stitchy things found on Flickr lately. Some found in the &Stitches group and some found by searching for 'embroidery'. It's amazing what you can find! It never ceases to amaze me the variety of stitching that people do!

Do click on the thumbnails to see the larger image on Flickr. And do join the &Stitches group and share what you're making - we'd love to see it!

Proto type for Issue 2

This is a very sneaky peek at a proto type for a pattern which will be in the next issue of &Stitches! It's going to be pretty cool, we think! Completely different colours from what you see here. Using a stitch which isn't that commonly used but which is really quite awesome. We can't wait to share!

Fab VW vans

I spotted yet another fabulous free pattern from Hancock's house of Happy in our &Stitches group on Flickr! You can download the pattern for these groovy vans here.

New winner of Lucky Giveaway!

We have drawn a new winner for the Lucky Jackson Giveaway!

Congratulations Lewmew, you have won a Lucky Jackson Vintage Dress Love pattern! Please contact us at hello@andstitches.com  within the next seven days to claim your prize!

Book review: Colour Confidence in Embroidery

Just as we were finishing the first issue of &Stitches with colour as theme, Colour confidence in Embroidery by Trish Burr was published so we couldn't review it in the e-zine. But this book is too good not to share! There are over 250 pages with information about using colour in your embroidery work and 12 well documented projects as well.

The first half of the book has lots of information about techniques and how to use colour effectively. Beginners and more advanced embroiderers alike will certainly find something (or more likely a lot) in these pages to learn from and I couldn't help but feel very much inspired to try new things. 

The book covers embroidery basics, including information about floss and what fabric to use. There is an abundance of helpful photos of stitched colour combinations (about 40 pages in total!) all presented in a petal shape and with DMC colour key. One of my favourite parts of the book is the chapter about shading: the effect particular stitches have and how to make a 'perfect blend' with the long-short stitch.

The second part of the book contains 12 patterns, flowers, fruits and birds. Each pattern is an exponent of a certain colour. The patterns are exceptionally well documented. There's a (long) list of DMC flosses needed for each project, fabric, needles etc and the pattern itself is explained very minutely. The patterns are aimed at stitching a quite traditional very realistic looking flower or bird.  If that is what appeals to you the book is worth buying just for the patterns alone. Now if that isn't exactly your style, you could consider the patterns as further study material on how to apply colour blending and other techniques to your own work. If you are interested in this subject the book a must-have anyway. For me the best way to really get the most from this book, is to make at least one of the patterns though. I quite fancy the Tufted Flycatcher or the Lilac-breasted Roller pictured above!

Trish Burr/Colour confidence in Embroidery/Milner Craft Series

ISBN: 9781863514262

We were not paid for this review in money or goods. Santa gave me this book (he has such good taste!) last Christmas. :)

The Birds (part 2)

There are just too many great bird stitcheries on Flickr. So after The Birds (part 1) it's now time for the Birds (part 2)! A Bird Portrait Gallery this time...First up is Theodore, a wonderfully stitched Peewit-portrait made by Valerie. I especially love the delicate stitching of the white feathers on Theodore's head.

Sachi has made many, many awesome bird embroideries. From a Turkey Vulture to this cute little songbird known as Ovenbird. The fill stitching is just so wonderful!

Crystal shows that a bird portrait (pattern by Ryan Berkley can be found here) without lots of fill stitching can turn out pretty awesome too!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Bird portraits. If there's any other theme you'd like to see featured here, let us know!

Give away winners

Winners of the thread have been picked - using the very scientific method of asking my husband to say two random numbers!

Congrats to Flaming Nora and Anne!

And thank you to everyone who entered!

Found on Flickr, February 15

Stitch Love #1, a gallery on Flickr.

A few of the gems I've come across over on Flickr lately. Do click over to see them large on Flickr!

And do add your own stitchy creations to the &Stitches group, we'd love to see what you're making!