Tag Archives: cross stitch

Finished Cross Stitch – Malarky Graffiti

10 Aug Malarky Cross Stitch

4 weeks of hard stitching and I have finished my latest cross stitch. You might have seen my posts showing off the work in progress but here is my finished embroidery, my first project from a completely new own made pattern.

Malarky Graffiti Cross Stitch

East London residents might recognise this cuddly multi-coloured bear, it’s a character created by Graffiti artist Malarky, as seen on the shop shutters in Shoreditch. I first discovered his street art in the brilliant Street Art Magazine VNA, and since I can’t walk down Brick Lane without encountering these cute colourful characters.

Malarky graffiti East London

Image by snakefightinglife on Flickr

I have been a fan of this London/Barcelona artist for a while, but inspiration struck when I saw his prints for sale at the Pick MeUp Graphic design fair. I was toying with the idea of buying a print for several months, but I then decided to make my own as a homage to his fun and playful work. Browsing through Flickr I was instantly drawn to the this bear, a) for the Bolt shades (it is the Olympics after all) b) for the colour c) for the gnarly gnashers. This hipster bear has attitude! To make the design I borrowed an image from Flickr, put it into Photoshop and modified to make sure the colours were all in blocks and there was no shading, put that image into Kit Pro App and then commenced stitching.

Malarky Cross Stitch

Malarky Back Stitch

And…. (and this is going to become a running them with my posts)… I couldn’t resist making another animated gif of my stitch in progress.  Note: The Gif doesn’t replay – yet – so just refresh the page to watch again!

Malarky Gear gif

Not sure what to do with my latest work, it seems like it would work well to be turned into a cushion cover, or I could stick in a frame. Not decided yet, but I am sure I will share it all with you when I do.

Now for the next project… this latest embroidery has given me the bug for making my own designs. Rather than cheekily copying designs from other people’s work I defiantly want to start drawing again and see if I can come up with some new patterns and designs to share with the world.

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Craft in progress

21 Jul

What have I been up to? Other than trying to attend closed down festivals and flirting with the idea of setting up another craft blog? Stitching.

A little while ago I put the colour palette together for a new cross stitch project, learning how to make a composition and new pattern from an existing image. I have been working on this new hand embroidery for just over 3 weeks now, slow to start but is coming along really fast now I’m in the stitching flow!  I’ve been posting some pictures online of my stitch in progress, but here’s a compendium of the images that I’ve previously posted to Instagram. This graffiti character caught my eye on the shutters around East London…. can you tell what it is yet?

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New Cross Stitch Project…

3 Jul

New Threads

I have a new cross stitch project on the go. This time I have selected an image of my own choosing, done a little photoshopping to make sure all the colours are 2D and processed the image through the Knit Pro App to get my own cross stitch pattern.

This will be very exciting as it’s the first time I have made a design, my only forays into stitching have been from other designs, so very excited to see how this will turn out.

But what is the image? Well, lets say he’s a familiar sight on every shutter in East London, and will be a very cute addition to the craft wall, which I am sure will be growing exponentially in the future.

So I have picked my DMC threads and I am ready to stitch, I might even make a little animated gif of the process…

DMC Threads

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The Finished Cross Stitch Skulls

8 Jun

It’s no secret that I have fallen in love with Bombastitch and her amazing Sugar Skull designs. They are the cutest and most colorful designs, and very easy to make, even for the humble beginner like myself. I love her designs so much that not only have made an animated gif out of them, I have made and framed a triptych of her designs and hung them on my Living Room wall.

Sugar Skull Triptych

They fit perfectly in my Living Room, and as if by magic, it feels that little bit less Ikeaised. Ahh, what the homemade touch can do to a place – and the slightly dead plant in the middle of the room! Suddenly those crazy cushions don’t seem so alone.

Sugar Skull Triptych - The Living Room

I think I am not the only one who has fallen in love with these patterns. I have already had two requests for gifts and have made two extra for presents to my nearest and dearest. Newcomers into the flat often gurgle; “Wow, you didn’t make those did you?” Yes I did! I ooze pride. As every girly crafter should do in her homemade flat. But if I have the patience to make more though is a different story… I might be skulled out for now.

First Craft Mission completed! Now to set myself a new craft challenge… what should I make next?

Disclaimer: I have since moved the sofa. Just encase you spy on my living room since and think “that bitch has re-arranged her furniture!”. I did. 

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What’s better than a Cross Stitch? An Animated Gif Cross Stitch!

16 Apr Skull-Movie

For my latest adventure in cross stitch, I decided to go one step further from my last craft project and make an animated gif out of my stitching. Using another Day of the Dead Sugar Skull design from the awesome Bombastitch. It’s my first animated Gif made with Adobe (rather than the India gif made with an online program), made of no less than 191 photos, with the final animation made in a combination of After Effects and Photoshop. It’s a little jumpy, both position and exposure wise, for a few reasons. Because I was stitching both in the evenings and the daytime over a two-week period, the variable light conditions meant the images needed Lightroom adjusting, which was difficult to make all 191 images exactly the same. The image moves because I don’t own a full tripod, so taking the photo at exactly the same position was also tricky. These are all excuses I know, but for a first attempt I am pretty chuffed, knowing it was a bit of a beast of a project. Expect more creative animated gifs from me in the future as my embroidery and technical skills get better…

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Craftsperation: Evelin Kasikov

10 Apr

CMYK Stitch - NFTU

This blog is getting  stitchier and craftier by the post, and this craftsperation is no exception. Evelin Kasicov is a designer that explores that unknown relationship between embroidery and print. With a background in Graphic Design and a MA from Central St Martin’s, Evelin is the inventor of CKMY embroidery. Using the colours used in the printing process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) she prints a design, hand stitches to with different thicknesses and overlapping, and creates her own typographical images composed of different tints of these colours. This embroidery is not stereotypically feminine or decorative, but analytical and precise. She has had previous commissions for Wired, The Guardian, Dezeen, and produced little make your own kits at the Poundshop by Mother – which I annoyingly was at but didn’t spot, but will be will be keeping an eye on in the future. Her website is also lovely, and often shows what every nosey crafty wants to look at… the back of the work.

Poster - Evelin Lasikov

Wired Logo - Evelin Kasikov

The Art of Lost Words - Evelin Kasikov

The Guardian Good Sleep Guide - Evelin Kasikov

First spotted on It’s Nice That, as well as an interview with Evelin in the magazine. Take a look at her website: evelinkasikov.com and follow her on Twitter.

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Cross stitch fantastic,very Bombastitch….

16 Mar

I have a new addiction. Two months ago it was mobile phone Sudoku. Now I spun into the crafty web that is cross stitch. And I am hooked… It all started with the desire to do something with my craft hands while relaxing in front of the telly – which I have been watching a lot more of since a) starting my new job working on web-pages for tv programmes and b) we bought a 42″ inch flat screen electric box. I’ve been doing quite a few crafty things, making paper flowers, collage, but I’ve been looking to start a cross stitch project for ages. And then, while browsing Etsy looking for my first starter kit, it was love at first sight with this item from Etsy seller Bombastitch.

Sugar Skull Cross Stitch kit

This cute and beginner friendly, Day of the Dead sugar skull cross stitch pattern was my first foray into cross stitch and has very much got my hooked. From the moment the box arrived I have been therapeutically stitching away every spare moment that I had, in front of the telly, in the car, even in bed. There was many a moment where I was tempted to take it on the tube, but I stopped myself for fear of early grannyhood and took a book instead. But even then I longed to stitch.

Cross stitch in progress

The piece took me just over two weeks to complete (I am a very slow stitcher) and I’m just a little bit chuffed with it. I am now scouring the internet trying to find a plain black Oval frame (can’t find any ANYWHERE) and I have already bought my next pattern, again from Bombastitch’s shop, all of which are her own designs. So if you are looking for a fun evening pastime (and not that expensive compared to something by Emily Peacock) I’d recommend buying one of Kristy’s starter kits. The kit comes with everything you need to get started, needle, thread, hoop and adia cloth, with a bit of additiveness thrown in for fun. This this lady is so nice, she is even giving patterns away for free on Flickr!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6840813348_c610c39b31_z.jpg

Now to start my next adventure in cross stitch…

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