PORTRAIT March 2014

The subject is Portrait

INSPIRATION LINK

Portrait board

DATES TO WORK All of March 2014

SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us at

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HEART RUNNING STITCH January and February 2014

WEAR/CLOTHES/DRESS/GLOVE YOUR CHOICE OF STITCH NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2013

The subject is WEAR
Your choice of embroidery stitch

INSPIRATION LINK

WEAR/CLOTHES/DRESS/GLOVE  Pinterest Board

DATES TO WORK All of November and December 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us at

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BIRD RUNNING STITCH OCTOBER 2013

The subject is Birds
The running stitch is a basic embroidery stitch in which the needle is passed in and out of the fabric in a series of even stitches in a straight row.

Here is a great running stitch tutorial by Mary Corbet

INSPIRATION LINK
BIRD  Pinterest Board

DATES TO WORK All of October 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us at

so it can be put up on the Gallery page.  If you wish, we can link to your blog and etsy or other shop. You may also send us an email or leave a comment on this website to say you’ll be joining us for this challenge. We love to hear from you!

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MONOGRAM SATIN STITCH SEPTEMBER 2013

The subject is Monogram/Initial/Letter
Satin Stitch is a stitch consisting of rows of flat stitches placed close together

Here is a great satin stitch tutorial by Mary Corbet 

Jan found this great link: https://www.sublimestitching.com/pages/how-to-satin-stitch with an example of beautiful lettering

INSPIRATION LINK
Monogram/Intial/Letter Pinterest Board 

DATES TO WORK All of September 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us at

so it can be put up on the Gallery page.  If you wish, we can link to your blog and etsy or other shop. You may also send us an email or leave a comment on this website to say you’ll be joining us for this challenge. We love to hear from you!

Traditional or pushed to it’s limits, any way of working is fine. When you’re done, please send in a photo for us to add to the gallery. You can join any challenge that speaks to you or you can sit out a month. You can work on one idea for more than one month if you need it.

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TEA TIME STEM STITCH AUGUST 2013

The subject is Tea Time.

In the Stem Stitch each stitch overlaps the previous stitch to one side, forming a twisted line of stitching, with the thread passing below the needle.

Here is a great stem stitch tutorial by Wendi Gratz.

INSPIRATION LINK 
Tea Time Pinterest Board https://pinterest.com/theresamartin/embroidery-tea-time/


DATES TO WORK All of August 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us at

so it can be put up on the Gallery page.  If you wish, we can link to your blog and etsy or other shop.

STARTER IDEAS AND DIFFERENT WAYS TO WORK:
• Draw teacups or cakes in outline and embellish with thread.
• Tea dye fabric or use tea bags as a base for embroidery.
• Collage fabric over your outline and use stitches it to hold it onto your piece.
• Use paper for a base.
• Add felting or beads to your project
• Stitch a phrase such as Tea Time, or Tea for Two
• Use lot’s of different textures or just one or two.
• Your color scheme can be Monochromatic, Analogous or Complementary

Traditional or pushed to it’s limits, either way of working is fine. When you’re done, please send in a photo for us to add to the gallery. You can join any challenge that speaks to you or you can sit out a month. You can work on one idea for more than one month if you need it.
Send us an email using the form below to let us know you’ll be joining us for this challenge. You can also leave a comment to this post to say you’ll join us.

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HOUSE COUCH CHALLENGE
July 2013

The subject is House or Home.

The Couch Stitch is the assigned stitch to use somewhere in your work and is a stitch where one or more threads are laid on the fabric surface and sewn to the fabric at regular intervals.

DATES TO WORK  All of July 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us so it can be put up on the Gallery page. This is not a requirement but we sure hope you’ll do it! If you wish, we can link to your blog as well.

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Here is a great couching tutorial by Mary Corbet:

INSPIRATION LINKS
House Pinterest Board
Examples of couch stitch
Example of a complex 3D house
Example of a sweet simple stitched piece

STARTER IDEAS AND DIFFERENT WAYS TO WORK:

• Draw a house in outline and stitch it with thread. This can be the end in itself. It can be a way to practice a particular stitch you wish to learn or use.
• Lay down a piece of fabric, or several, over your outline and use stitches it to hold it onto your piece.
• Use paper for a base.
• Add felting to your project
• Add beads.
• Make it 3D by sewing and stuffing.
• Keep it 2D and loose and abstract.
• Stitch a phrase such as Home Sweet Home
• Make a negative space house by stitching all around a house form and leaving the form plain.
• Use lot’s of different textures or just one or two.
• Your color scheme can be Monochromatic, Analogous or Complementary
• Look up images of Houses on Pinterest and google for ideas.

Traditional or pushed to it’s limits, either way of working is fine. When you’re done, please send in a photo for us to add to the gallery. You can join any challenge that speaks to you or you can sit out a month. You can work on one idea for more than one month if you need it.

Send us an email using the form below to let us know you’ll be joining us for this challenge. You can also leave a comment to this post to say you’ll join us.

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FLORAL FRENCH KNOT CHALLENGE

June 2013

The subject is Floral: Of, relating to, or suggestive of a flower.

The French Knot is the assigned stitch to use somewhere in your work and is a decorative embroidery stitch made by looping the thread three times around the needle, which is then inserted into the fabric.

DATES TO WORK  All of June 2013
SIZE OF WORK Any size you wish
FINISHED WORK Once your work is done, please take a photo and email it to us so it can be put up on the Gallery page. This is not a requirement but we sure hope you’ll do it! If you wish, we can link to your blog as well.

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Here is a great French Knot tutorial by the fabulous Mary Corbet of Needle ‘N Thread:

Here is a static tutorial with good images from the Hand Embroidery Network:
https://handembroidery.ning.com/page/french-knot

INSPIRATION LINKS
Flower Pinterest Board
Examples of french knot art
Example of a piece of fruit with a flower added if you want to go 3 Dimensial
Example of a traditional sampler of  flowers
An example  of a book if you want to try a long project: Ruth Rae’s stitched journal Bloom

STARTER IDEAS AND DIFFERENT WAYS TO WORK:

• Draw a flower in outline and stitch it with thread. This can be the end in itself. It can be a way to practice a particular stitch you wish to learn or use.
• Use only one stitch.
• Use different stitches.
• Lay down a piece of fabric, or several, over your outline and use stitches it to hold it onto your piece.
• Use paper for a base.
• Add felting to your project
• Add beads.
• Make it 3D by sewing and stuffing.
• Keep it 2D and loose and abstract.
• Stitch the actual word Flower.
• Machine sew some fabric together in a collaged, crazy quilt kind of way and hand stitch a flower on top.
• Use a floral fabric instead of creating flowers from stitches
• If you want to make one small flower a day and combine them into a big assemblage piece, that’s another way to go!
• Use lot’s of different textures or just one or two.
• Your color scheme can be Monochromatic, Analogous or Complementary
• Look up images of Flowers on Pinterest and google for ideas.

Traditional or pushed to it’s limits, either way of working is fine. When you’re done, please send in a photo for us to add to the gallery. You can join any challenge that speaks to you or you can sit out a month. You can work on one idea for more than one month if you need it.

Send us an email using the form below to let us know you’ll be joining us for this challenge. You can also leave a comment to this post to say you’ll join us.