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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Animals that Say Hi

 

So, okay. I probably haven't mentioned this here before, but I'm a bit of an embroidery dabbler. It's a little side activity I enjoy, mostly because it frees me from the perfectionism of sewing. For whatever reason, I just don't feel the same need to be meticulous which—sometimes—can be a very refreshing thing.

For the past couple years, I've slowly been stitching away at a kind of bizarre goal: I want a whole wall full of embroidered animals that say hi. It started with this little bird. (Taken from a Sublime Stitching pattern, and then embellished with hand lettering, as all of my little creatures are.)

 A monkey came next. Embroidering the type is the hardest part!
 This hedgehog greets you cordially.
 As does this blue squirrel.
 The Tiki god is a little more intimidating, and not technically an animal.
 The kitteh speaks LOLCat, of course.
Jeff and I just hung these up in the entrance way, which seemed an appropriate place. Between you and me, it's my life's goal to have a full hallway of these little creatures by the time I'm an eccentric old woman.

That's all! Just a window into my weird little life. Kthxbai!
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49 comments:

  1. MichelleFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    Oh don't worry - I'm a mad embroiderer as well! I love Sublime Stitching - it got me interested in it again!

    I do love the idea of filling up a hallways with these crazy creatures, though.

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  2. carlycraftsFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    That is just hilarious! And so cute! I want a wall like that too now.

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  3. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:32 AM

    Thats such an adorable idea!! I love doing embroidery, I find it so relaxing. I love just practising new stitches too.
    I haven't done any embroidery in a while, you've made me remember how much I enjoy it. Thanks :)
    Ashley x

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  4. Boo Boo KittyFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:41 AM

    These are Just too cute!

    Did you see Casseys blog.. Yu should add these design to garments!

    http://blog.caseybrowndesigns.com/2011/01/dash-away-the-winter-blues-with-embroidery/

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  5. KatieFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    These are so cute! Makes me want to pull out my Sublime Stitching books and get started on a little project too :)

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  6. CaseyFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    What a great idea! I too love embroidery for similar reasons to you--it is a bit more laid back than sewing can be. ;)

    ♥ Casey

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  7. ErikaFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    How cute! Just one or two might be a bit weird, an entire wall will be eccentric and fun =)

    I couldn't agree more, a "side-kick" craft that is without demands or expectations is a great way to relax! Instead of embroidery I weave lace, so much fun =) A small example: http://swinginvintage.blogspot.com/2010/02/lace-mania.html

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  8. MiaFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:30 AM

    Embroidery was my first crafty love. I adore all the thread colors and different stitches.
    I think having a hall of stitched animals saying hi is a lovely goal!

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  9. 'noraFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    Love these. Especially the lolcat-speaking kitteh.

    I have a plan to do a series of embroidered plant portraits ... maybe I should get on that.

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  10. ClareFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    Oh brill! They're cute and I love the lolcat. Reminds me of this etsy cross stitch shop. Very awesome http://www.etsy.com/shop/steotch

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  11. StephanieFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    Sounds great to me. I plan to have all sorts of quirks by the time I'm old.

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  12. Mary Effing-PoppinsFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    Cuteness, Awesomeness, and Cleverness!

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  13. coffeeaddictFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:05 AM

    This just made my collection of animal magnets on my refrigerator look so lame!
    I love LOVE your cutesy animals, maybe I'll start my own collection :-D

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  14. TashaFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    I love embroidery as well, though it does play second (third) fiddle to knitting and sewing. You can put so much fun and whimsy into embroidery. Like your hi animals! What a fantastic long-term project. Love it.

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  15. AshleyFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    I haven't embroidered since I was a kid under the instruction of my great aunts, but after seeing yours I'm thinking of picking it up again. I love having handmade decor items around the house!

    It's probably also very relaxing not having to worry about fit and inseams on a project. ;)

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  16. amyFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:18 AM

    Gretchen, you never fail to amaze me and bring a smile to my face! I love these. I would love to be the person to walk into an old lady's apt and see this wall of self embroidered animals!

    The letters are the hard part. I find sometimes its difficult to keep them legible!

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  17. Abigail B.February 9, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    SO cute!!!
    They're all adorable, but the squirrel is definitely my favorite!
    I have just started to embroider after getting some books about it for Christmas, and I really love it. I love the rhythms of the needle going in and out...it's very relaxing and therapeutic...

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  18. Yuni MurharjantiFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    So beautiful...,I think your embroidery design suitable also for clothing. My husband is also happy to embroider themed paintings by using the many colors of yarn.

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  19. RosieFebruary 9, 2011 at 11:52 AM

    These are so adorable. A friend and I were discussing that hand embroidery is becoming such a lost art.

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  20. Katie WFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    It's just one more reason to love you, Gertie! I have stitched the monkey and the bird, too, from Sublime Stitching and just love them. However, the idea of a wall of animals saying hello is turning the awesome up to 11! Good work1

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  21. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    Lol, they are too cute!

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  22. cbFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    those are adorable! i love embroidering! you should add those to the original hand embroidery flickr group!! i added some of my own...i do bike embroidery :D

    xo,
    cb

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  23. ClodaghFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    These are delightful! I wanna visit your fabulous crazy lady hallway when you're old

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  24. KristopherFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  25. CarolineFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    That is so awesome, how cute to be greeted like that coming home after a long day. Ive been having some embrodierystuff laying around for months, while trying to figure out what to do, cant think of anything else than old pixle games, but that idea is so old.

    Btw, check this lady out, she´s embroiding the entire first level of Super Mario bros on 6meter fabric. (also a retro loving lady ofc;)
    http://supermariobrosworld1-1.blogspot.com/

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  26. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    That's it! I'm working on drawing up an embroidery pattern right now for someone specific, which involves an octopus and some words and... that's really all I can say. Still, I wanted to release a more general version (ie: less specific words), but couldn't come up with what the octopus should say. I think "Hello!" will be lovely, though!

    Sublime Stitching is fantastic. I'm also a big fan of Sew Lovely Embroidery patterns ( http://sewlovelyembroidery.com/ ), and I'm even trying to start printing my own patterns as iron-on transfers.

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  27. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    haha these are adorable!! i love embroidery, but i don't mess with it nearly enough bc i can never figure out what to do with the finished product (too much stuff hanging on my walls to justify *another* wall hanging, for the most part). but it sure is fun :) and so portable!

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  28. ChristineFebruary 9, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    These totally made me giggle. Especially the lol catz kitteh.

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  29. ShannieFebruary 9, 2011 at 2:51 PM

    This is why I like you, Gertie! So cute!

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  30. a little sewingFebruary 9, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    oh I love it!

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  31. Rosie AliaFebruary 9, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    I LOVE these!! So adorable! xx

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  32. elizabetheFebruary 9, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    This is awesome. These make me think of my gramdma's happy fruit magnets that she had up all over the kitchen.

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  33. AmandaFebruary 9, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    I love your captions to go along with your creations. Made me laugh! (in a good way, of course :)

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  34. liza janeFebruary 9, 2011 at 4:22 PM

    Those are all so cute! Thanks for sharing them.

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  35. SunniFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    This seriously just tickles me! Ha ha ha! I love it! One of the best things will be when you finally give one away to a most beloved grandchild or niece (when you are much older, of course). Oh how they will treasure it and think how wonderful it would be to have their own wall of "hello" animals. Seriously cute!

    xoxo,
    Sunni

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  36. Pattern JunkieFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Love it! But then again, I have a bathroom devoted to thrift store paintings of animals...

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  37. kazoomFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    Very intersting! You should check out "redwork" - it's embroidery with red thread and very vintage.

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  38. KateFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    So cute! I definitely want a wall of embroidery now too :D

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  39. OlgaFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    OMG cats! This embroidery hobby if yours is cracking me up! I too have succumbed to the charms of Sublime Stitching embroidery patterns a few years ago (as in, bought a bunch of embroidery floss and patterns and a super cute embroidery kit), but it never materialized in anything more than a couple of embroidered cats (as in 2 out of planned 4) on a kitchen towel. Now, I am inspired! I think my theme can be just cats with LOLCat sayings. Well, and maybe monkeys (just because I love monkeys...)

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  40. KellyFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Ok - I LOVE this!!! You should post a pic of all of them in your front hall - I bet it's adorable!

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  41. edyBFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    Love these ~ your wall will look wonderful!
    Keep Stitching

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  42. MeganFebruary 9, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    I love to stitch, and I love this idea! Please tell me that I'm allowed to steal it! =]

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  43. anitaFebruary 9, 2011 at 11:02 PM

    What a great idea! I shall steal it, I think . . .

    (BTW, one of the great things about being an old lady is that my "weirdness" is now "eccentricity" and much more accepted.)

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  44. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    They're great! What a cute idea. I want to learn to embroider now just so I can have cute hedgehogs and squirrels.

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  45. CassieFebruary 10, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    Adorable!

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  46. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I'm an embroiderer in my "free" time, too! I really like your hedgehog - I've always wanted one as a pet! Most of my embroidery ends up on dresses and coats for my 3 girls, who are starting to be past the age of appreciating embroidery.... Time to look for new things to keep my needle busy. I'm intrigued by stumpwork. Is that something you've tried?

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  47. Alyson ClairFebruary 11, 2011 at 12:36 AM

    This so amazing, I don't even have words. The kitteh is my fav.

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  48. frk.bustadFebruary 15, 2011 at 10:18 AM

    They're so much fun! And thanks for the link to sublime stitching - what a great web page!

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  49. A readerFebruary 17, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Someone is splogging your blog entries here.

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie