February was quite prolific here on StitchFloral, which makes me so happy! Here's a quick round-up of what we've managed to cover and discuss last month as well as some hints to what you can expect in March.
The “prolific” word might mislead some of you, though, so I would like to make a disclaimer – it doesn't mean that I posted every day here. But I finished some things that I've been delaying for a while, started something new and was able to discuss the topics that I find important. So, let's see what February brought to us here!
*For the new readers: monthly round-ups are a tradition here on this blog which allows you to catch up with all the recent posts and news in one go if you've missed something. All the older round-ups are available under the tag “month round-ups”!
Round-up
The post from this month that made me especially happy was the one about your Cecelia Rose stitch along results.
Getting the letters and messages with your embroideries or seeing them on Instagram is one of the most enjoyable things EVER about having a Stitch Along. It feels amazing to see how one design is expressed differently from one embroidery artist to another, sometimes with only subtle details and sometimes with a whole new concept! Also, your enthusiasm is always so contagious, you gift me so much energy and motivation! Thank you!
Speaking of Cecelia Rose stitch along, there were some messages that upset me where you were too harsh to yourselves about the shading results, so I felt the need to write more about it. So, in the Needlepainting tips we discussed few different cases of shading using 2 or 3 colors and saw which of them grant a smooth gradation of color and where the blending is not as smooth but is still just as valid and for some situations might be exactly what you need.
The main thought in this post was that sometimes, even if your long and short stitching technique is commendable, the choice of colors might still prevent them from blending in a smooth way. Personally, I find this post quite important and hope that you stitch few similar shapes (they don't have to be big) and practice shading the same way using various color combinations.
Another helpful post this month was about transferring patterns with the help of light. There are few ways listed there of how you can use light to trace the pattern.
I prefer writing about things I have personal experience of, and I personally use only the light method of transferring embroidery patterns – it's been working excellently for me since I started hand embroidery. So I didn't go in depth about all the other various methods which I've never tried myself. However, I still mentioned them at the end of the post so that you can explore them if you don't find the light method satisfying.
Also, I shared a bit of my stitching routine with the finished floral wreath. It was the first time I tried filling up a flower shape with chain stitch and I really liked the effect, so check it out – maybe you will want to try it as well!
Lastly, there were few new stitches that we covered this month: Pekinese stitch and Interlaced back stitch (band stitch), both based on back stitch, as well as rope stitch. With this, we finished the section of line stitches and their variations in the Stitch Library and closed it with a sampler.
Plans for March
As for this month, there are few definite plans that I have.
First of all, I'm excited to re-launch my Etsy shop with the new designs! You can see a preview in the “behind the scenes” from the last round-up and I also post some of the designs on my Instagram. I'm now at the stage of making the instructions documents and it's a bit struggling, but I hope to finish by the middle of the month!
By the way, I got a whole bunch of questions about the Cecelia Rose pattern, which wasn't available for anyone who missed the deadline to apply for the stitch along. So I decided to put it in the shop as well. The price will be smaller than the other designs, and you could stitch it following the instructions on the blog.
Secondly, I want to complete the Stitch library as soon as possible, so I'm going to cover new stitches and maybe there will be more of them than usual... it will depend on my free time so we will see. But if you see a lot of new stitch tutorials, don't be surprised, haha.
I also want to discuss the process of mounting needleworks on cardboard and wooden canvases, but I'm still waiting for the canvases I ordered... I hope they will come in time though. These tutorials would be really helpful for those who don't want to use embroidery hoops as frames.
Other issues I want to speak about include the problem of anxiety of stitchers (I asked you some questions in the last round-up) and also “Needlepainting tips part 2” with new color choices. I think this topic deserves more exploration and study so we will take a look how blending happens in other cases.
And, of course, a bit of my stitching routine, which I haven't done so much lately because I've been stuck with other things, ugh.
What about you? Any complete or new projects last month? Any new goals for March? Share in the comments section below!
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