Royal Stitch Stash

Have you guys checked out Botanical Knits 2 by Alana Dakos yet?  It’s full of so many pretty patterns!  Pictured above:

Verdure fingerless mitts

Twigs and Willows mitts

Sunlit Autumn sweater

Ivy Trellis hat

Flourish sweater

Forest Foliage wrap

Sprig Sweater

Ferns hat

Hanging Leaves wrap

Firmaments is finally done and blocking! 

Part 1: Row 1, First Star Part 2: Subsequent Stars Part 3: Row 2 Part 4: Row 3

The star stitch requires prior knowledge of the half double crochet (hdc) stitch. 

How many chains should I make to begin? Crochet - one example of a ‘real-world’ application of algebra! (Sorry!) Chain: 2 x (the number of stars you wish to make), + 4 extra chains.  e.g. for a row of 5 stars, 2(5)+4 = 14 chains. 

Note: you don’t have to begin with a chain! To start a row of star stitches mid-way through a project, skip straight to part 4. 

Cyprus the Microraptor! 🦖🌲

Artist on tumblr - Julie Sarloutte is a French artist, graduate from the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France. She focuses on embroidery, but she isn’t making clothes; using string, Sarloutte creates pieces so detailed that they appear to be composed of paint strokes instead of individual stitches. Sarloutte draws inspiration from technology and the media, as her work focuses on what the world news is covering. Omnipresent tragedies such as war, hostages, natural disasters and repression are most often the subjects of her embroideries. She also works with painting and mosaic, every method leading to what she believes is an unexpected contrast between the subject she is portraying and the material it is being made from via

Lithuanian artist Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė uses cross-stitch embroidery to adorn metallic objects such as plates, spoons, pot lids, lamps, rusty tin cans, pails and shovels, even automobiles. Some of her pieces feature traditional floral motifs while others are much more unusual and playful - the ashtray appears to contain stubbed out ends of cigarettes. The spoon reflects the mouth of the person about to eat from it.

Visit Severija’s website to check out many more examples of her awesome embroidery.