February Round-up and apology

March is already here! Warm weather hasn't come to my place yet, but we'll get there. In the meantime, let's take a look at what happened last month on StitchFloral. Also, I would like to apologize for something...

I really hope it is the last time my technical inadequacy affects the blog and your experience as a reader, omg... I felt like such a fool today :(

In one of the recent letters, a reader mentioned that they couldn't post a comment for some reason. I decided to check and try to post a comment anonymously from Incognito mode and….Pause.... I forgot that I have to approve a comment before it gets published. I went to check and indeed, there were lots of pending comments waiting for approval :(

I am SO SORRY, guys! I was close to crying today, there were comments from as long ago as November :(

All this time I simply thought I wasn't receiving comments. I'm really, deeply, greatly sorry.

Today I sat and tried to answer them all, even though it is so late for many of them.

I am really sad but I hope to make it up to you somehow :( I don't really know how, but what about a discount week at my shop? Tell me what you think or you can share any other ideas!

February round-up

First things first welcome to the new designs! The series is called Amelia (don't even ask why, I just suddenly thought of this name while looking at the designs. Sometimes my own mind is a mystery to me). You can read all the details about them here.

This little one already stole many hearts, and I'm not even surprised. Isn't it pretty?

After the new designs were launched in the shop, I gave myself a couple of days to have a rest and then started working on the new series. You might already have caught a glimpse of it in my Instagram page. Look forward to a little preview post in the nearest time :)

Last month was also quite rich on educational posts.

We started the topic of open filling – when you fill a shape with a stitch in such a way that it doesn't cover the fabric entirely but leaves it to be seen through. To make it more clear, satin stitch and long & short stitch are examples of solid filling as they cover the background completely. As for the open filling, we learned seed stitch, arrowhead stitch, and chevron stitch in February.

With chevron stitch the last technique of February, we are going to launch into a new category of open filling – lattice grids. If I am to be completely honest, I have to admit that I've only played with lattice previously, but am in no way a specialist. So, this March adventure of learning new things will be just as exciting for me as for you :)

Speaking of stitches, we also had another crash course in February. This time we examined stem stitch. One of the basics of hand embroidery which may seem very simple at first sight but is actually rich on its own subtleties. I tried to compile together all the tips that I could think of for this post. So if there are any questions connected with that stitch, be sure to check the crash course!

Lastly, since winter is over, it means it's time to decide on your spring projects! And if you like to plan ahead, then maybe even summer ones? Here's a list of 8 projects for spring and summer from Stitch Floral blog for your inspiration. It also includes 3 new Planters free patterns.

A friendly reminder: if you work any Stitch Floral design, be it a freebie or my Etsy tutorial, it is your moral obligation to show me your results!

Well, obviously, I'm just joking :)

But also, not really, I hope you know that I would LOVE to see your works!

March plans

In the nearest time, you can expect a little preview of the new series. A spoiler of sorts. I will not go into many details to save it for the post where I officially present them to you :) I can say though, that there are only 2 designs in this series (for now ;)) and both of them should be ready by the end of the month. If everything goes according to the plan, that it. Unfortunately, because of my flu, I had to take a break, but it almost finished, so I should finish in time!

Also, as I stated above, hopefully, we will get some new Lattice techniques to the Stitch Library. I'm really looking forward to these posts!

I didn't manage to bring back needlepainting tips last month, but I'm fully determined to do it in March. I'm already itching, I have a whole list of things that I want to speak about concerning this topic.

For now, that's all. There are some other ideas, but we will see how it goes :)

Survey thingy

If you follow me on Instagram (I hope you do, I'm trying to be more active there lately), then you know I did a little poll/survey thingy there. If you didn't participate yet, I hope you will find some time to do it on the blog. And even if you did, but still have something to say - feel free to share it!

The survey is for me to improve my Etsy tutorials :) The questions are all very easy!

What is your level in hand embroidery? Beginner/Medium/Advanced/Other
Do you stitch with 1 strand of floss? If not, do you want to learn or do you think it is too difficult/too time-consuming?
Have you ever purchase a PDF tutorial (for an embroidery design)?
What are you seeking in a PDF tutorial? What makes it perfect for you?
Have you ever purchased my tutorials? If yes, were they clear enough)
Anything else you would like to say on the topic :)