Cruiser Bicycle Crewel Embroidery

One of the new pieces I made for the re//STATE event this past weekend was a cruiser bicycle in a vintage oval frame. I’ve made a cruiser bike in the past, and was feelin’ the itch to sew up another one.

 The frame I used for this piece matches the frame I had my most recent Michigan piece in as well.

I was really happy with this piece- the vintage style bike fit well with the vintage and rustic feel of the frame. 

I finished the piece just in time for all of the bikers to come out of hiding for the summer, now I just need to get my bike fixed so I can join them!

You can see more photos in the shop where this piece is up for sale.

xoxo.

Build A Better Block: re//STATE

Hello everyone!

I haven’t updated in a couple of weeks, but for very good reason! This past weekend I participated in Build a Better Block: re//STATE in my city, Grand Rapids, MI. It was a really fun event that I was so happy to be apart of. It took place on State Street with the idea of showing what the street could potentially be like if shops, restaurants, and other businesses filled the empty buildings that take up most of the street. I’ve worked on State St. for just over five years now, so it was really great to see the street flooded with people for the first time.

This was also my first time every being a vendor at an event, or even selling my work in person! Now I’m hooked and I can’t wait to do another event.

My space was a Parisian-Style box that rested on a concrete fence that was painted with chalkboard paint!  I was obviously very excited about it!

There are a few pieces here that I haven’t shared yet, so I’ll be featuring them individually throughout this week. A few of them are still available too, so those will be up on Etsy too when my shop reopens this week! 
 Bryan made patches using a few different linocuts he carved up. They turned out pretty awesome and still has a couple left if anyone is interested ($3 each or two for $5)!

 There was some yummy food from the food truck, and this was my favorite. Quinoa, Kale, Pumpkin Seed, Siracha, and fire roasted bean nachos!

I was also lucky enough to have the best helpers there with me this weekend!:
Bryan and our roommate Lauren sat with me pretty the entire time both days, besides when they were awarded breaks to the beer garden! They’re the best. My lovely friend Carrie came down for a few hours one of the days too. Thanks, Carrie!
On the second day of the event my dad and Bryan took advantage of an empty alley way next to us to practice their fly fishing skills.

(source)
The second day I split some of my space with my co-workers wife who spins some seriously beautiful yarn. She just got some rabbits, so soon she really will be doing it all herself! Hopefully soon I’ll have a project to share with some of it that I got from her!

All and all it was a really great weekend and it was wonderful to meet so many other like-minded individuals in the community!

xoxo.

Michigan Embroidery on Acid Wash Fabric

Today I have another piece to share that I did on fabric that I acid washed. This time around it is a Michigan embroidery on brown fabric, placed in a thrifted oval frame.

 The thrifted frame works well with this piece, as it gives it an antique feel.

 I did a double layer of the back stitch because one line was just too thin and it just sort of got lost in the frame.

I’m really happy with the way this one turned out. I have a second frame that is exactly the same, and I’m working on a cruiser bike (similar to the one I made in the past) to go into it. I’ll have that to share next week!

xoxo.

Home Sweet Home Embroidery Wall Hanging

Recently I played around with acid washing fabrics, and I was pretty happy with all of the results. This piece of fabric turned out to be one of my favorites.

One of my girlfriends pointed out that it turned out looking like clouds with the acid wash, and I have to agree. I embroidered the message “home sweet home” next to a simple outlined house.

I hung the embroidery from a stick that I painted, and backed the fabric with a piece of tan denim to make it a little heavier. My thoughts were that this could be a piece hung by your front door or entry way as a welcome message.

This piece was a fun one to do because it was so different from anything else that I have made. I have another stick to paint so I’m thinking I’m going to make another piece similar to this one.

xoxo.

Embroidered Clutch Collaboration Piece and Giveaway

A while back I was contacted by Beth of the wonderful DIY design blog Lula Louise. She is amazing with the sewing machine, and has tons of tutorials on her blog for anything from jewelry to dresses. I was pretty excited when she asked me to do a collaboration piece when I checked out her blog and was able to see how talented she is.

We ended up deciding on a clutch, and after sending photos of our sketches and discussing color palettes via email this is what we came up with:
I did the embroidery on the outside of the clutch, and Beth did the construction and the running stitch on the inside. It turned out pretty cute, right?

In honor of our collaboration we are giving this clutch away to one winner! You can find out how to enter over on Beth’s blog (Lula Louise). This giveaway is open today (May 1st, 2013) through May 15, 2013.

xoxo.

Stormtrooper Crewel Embroidered Onesie

A couple of weeks ago I shared some embroidered onesies I made for my sister  for their very soon to be twins along with the promise I would have a new one to share very soon. My brother-in-law is a huge Star Wars fan, so his request was a Stormtrooper.

I decided to use crewel embroidery on it, with just the outline it looked pretty boring and incomplete.

It worked in my benefit that the onesies were white that I bought, because then I did not have to worry about embroidering the white parts of the Stormtrooper.

  Isn’t my soon to be nephew, Willem, going to look so freaking cute in this? I can’t wait to see him wearing this, and Hannah wearing some of the other ones I made.

ps. Today is the last day to enter THIS giveaway!

xoxo.

Skeleton Bikers Embroidery

A couple of years ago now Bryan illustrated a few skeleton biker guys for a class project, and recently I found a copy of them again. I’ve always wanted to try and do a collaboration piece with him, so this was a good place to start. His line work and style lend themselves well to embroidery as a medium.

 It was also a nice way for me to practice doing something that guys may also like, as embroidery is usually most appealing to the ladies.

 I decided to keep these guys as outlines in black to keep it similar to the original. After I was finished with the embroidery I sprayed it with bleach to give it a little bit of acid wash. I wanted to make it a little more interesting to look at, I think it turned out pretty well (all of the skulls heads ended up turning white!).

  

The best part of the whole piece is that it is something my man and I both put something into.

ps. After this I went on a bleach frenzy with my fabrics…get ready for a bunch of acid wash pieces in the next couple of weeks!

pps. Don’t forget to enter this month’s giveaway! It closes tomorrow night at midnight!

xoxo.

Hey! You! Smile! Embroidery

Happy Thursday, everyone! Sometimes when things are a bit difficult and we are feeling down we just need someone to remind us to smile. This little reminder can sometimes do wonders, so I decided to use some of the ‘notebook paper’ fabric I made and embroider up this thought.

 This really is a little piece, it hangs in a 2.5″ embroidery hoop. The hoop was thrifted, and a flexi-hoop with a wood grain. I love when I’m actually able to find flexi-hoops, I wish you could buy them at the craft store!

I think it turned out pretty cute and simple. You can check out more in my shop, where it is up for sale!

xoxo.

ps. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for this month!

April Embroidery Giveaway NOW CLOSED

It is that time of month again…giveaway time!

This time around I’m giving away an embroidery that simply states “Celebrate,” with a party banner on it. It hangs in a 10″ wooden hoop, so it is a pretty large piece.

 Interested in entering? Here is what you do!…

 The giveaway is open Tuesday, April 16-Tuesday, April 23.

How to Enter:

• Leave a comment simply saying hello! (Mandatory- 1 Entry)
• Tweet about this giveaway (mention @toocrewel in the tweet) (1 Extra Entry)
• Follow Too Crewel on Twitter (1 Extra Entry)
• Follow Too Crewel on Instagram (1 Extra Entry)
• Like Too Crewel on Facebook (1 Extra Entry)
• Follow Too Crewel’s blog (1 Extra Entry)

That is a total of six ways to enter. In order for each entry to count you must leave them in a separate comment, otherwise they will be counted as one. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 24th.

Good luck!

xoxo.

The X-Files Notebook Paper Embroidery

A couple of years ago I made a few “notebook” embroideries. I always really liked them and had been meaning to make more, I just never got around to it. Recently I made a few more finally, one of which was an ode to The X-Files (I naturally love the X-Files).
I sewed the notebook paper lines on with the sewing machine, and hand embroidered the rest. It is The X-Files slogan “I want to believe” with a flying saucer above it.

A little fun fact: Gillian Anderson (who plays Scully) went to the High School that is just a mile down the road from my house!

 This piece is also up for sale for all of you fellow Mulder and Scully fans, you can check it out on etsy where you can see more photos!

xoxo.