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In the Fifth Friday Festival of Fabulousness we introduced you to the pattern series from our newest designer, Sailormouth. They’re a terrific bunch of tattoo inspired no-holds barred designs, and the first in the series is no exception! But before we get to it, here’s the legal bit.

WARNING!

NSFW SATURDAYS WILL CONTAIN CONTENT THAT IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK!
IF YOU READ THESE POSTS, AND ARE OFFENDED, WE’RE SORRY BUT WE DID WARN YOU!

see more of this cuteness at Daily Squee

Those Texans, they’re a crazy bunch. Sailormouth sums it all up in one sentence.

This pattern is technically a black/red work piece, and it does a great job of getting the message across.

It comes in PDF format and is now available to buy in the Mr X Stitch etsy store for the bargain price of $6! Yeehaw!

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NSFW Saturdays are brought to you in association with
Subversive Cross Stitch, the original snarky stitching site!

It’s Saturday here at Mr X Stitch, and that means… Well. You know.

WARNING!
NSFW SATURDAYS WILL CONTAIN CONTENT THAT IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK!
IF YOU READ THESE POSTS, AND ARE OFFENDED, WE’RE SORRY BUT WE DID WARN YOU!

This is the last week of Miriam Blaylock Appreciation month, and I wanted it to go out with a bang. Instead, it’s going out with a tinkle.

Miriam enjoys the artwork of George Tier and decided she just HAD to stitch Trixie. It’s the only embroidered golden shower in existence as far as I know – if I’m wrong, please feel free to tell me!

Be sure to see more from Miriam at her lovely blog, or look back through the last four Saturdays here at Mr X Stitch to see more NSFW posts featuring her work. It’s all great stuff.

NSFW Saturdays are brought to you in association with
Subversive Cross Stitch, the original snarky stitching site!

In this episode of Stitching n Junk we interview the amazing Penny Nickels! How exciting is that??? Answer: very, very exciting.

Big Love to:

• Kit Lane
• MadebyMoxie – (art and store)
• Cate Anevski
• Friday Feltz

We read letters from:

• GigglyMama
• Rosalyn McWatters
• Robyn Enz

AND we got a message from GigglyMama too! NEAT!

We love hearing from you, so please – email us at podcast@mrxstitch.com or leave us a message at 847-802-9242.

Subscribe on iTunes or listen to the podcast here!

As you may know, here at Mr X Stitch Towers, we’ve been supporters of the charity Fine Cell Work for quite some time. The charity works with people in prison, teaching them embroidery skills and giving them an opportunity to make money from producing stitched goods. There’s more information on the work they do, which has tremendous positive impact on the prisoners, on their website. And what’s more, they’re a really lovely bunch of people who genuinely believe in the work they do and are committed to help the charity develop. It’s great stuff.

I’ll be working with Fine Cell Work more closely, and to get the ball rolling, I’ll be running two cross stitch workshops at the Vintage at Goodwood Festival, on Saturday 14th August. It should be a fun afternoon, you can come along and stitch your favourite number or phrase for an hour or so. And I’ll be in the company of the legendary Curegreed and stitching Goddess Jessica Aldred from the Royal School of Needlework, all of whom are armed with stitchy knowledge and skills. The festival looks amazing and if you’ve got the time and the money, I’d do the whole four days.  At the very least, go and look at the site and make a note to save a space for it next year.

We’ve decided to start a series of cross stitch and embroidery patterns where the profit for the sale will go to Fine Cell Work. We’ll be looking to engage new artists to help us create patterns for the cause, and we’ll release them on future FFFoFs. But I’m getting slightly ahead of myself here as I have a story to tell and a credit to give.

Alex Walters, aka Alexcateye, aka one of my favourite stitchers of all time, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. She had stitched an amazing redwork pistol, and said that I could have it if it is was used to raise money for Fine Cell Work. And I took her up on the offer. So I am the proud owner of a terrific piece of stitchery, and Fine Cell Work have now got their own ongoing range of stitchery patterns from the Mr X Stitch design house.

Alex, as well as being awesome with a needle and thread, runs the thought-provoking Meet Me in the Dayroom blog, exploring self-guided art therapy. It’s great stuff, and Alex is a true gem, with more talent and compassion than the rest of us.

So without further ado, the first Fine Cell Work charity cross stitch pattern – Rock Out…

The pattern is available to buy in the Mr X Stitch etsy store, at the bargain price of $6! Four bucks from every pattern will go straight to Fine Cell Work. The design is an instant classic that you can stitch in any color you want, just watch out as it’s designed in 22ct so it needs a bit of control! Go get it!

And if you’d like to work with us to create designs for the charity, drop me a line!

This FFFoF we’re introducing the newest series of embroidery and cross stitch patterns from the Mr X Stitch design house – the Sailormouth series. Sailormouth’s a cool Texan with a penchant for bunnies and a good dose of funnies.

And this fourth piece in the series is a classic sampler that deserves to live on many a wall in many a home…

It’s 7.5 inches wide by 4.5 inches high and is available in PDF format. As with all the Mr X Stitch patterns, it’s terrific value at a mere $6.

Do you like fish? Do you know anyone with an aquarium? Well we’ve got a pattern for you and all fishy fanatics!

4.2 inches wide by 5.5 inches high, it’s a tattoo style piece that is perfect for anyone with aquatic interests – same as the other patterns it’s $6 in PDF format from the Mr X Stitch etsy store.

And finally Sailormouth brings us another bunny bonanza with this dead rabbit piece…

Nothing like the gift of a dead rabbit inspired embroidery to tell someone you love them. You can pick this little beauty up, you know the drill, in PDF format for six bucks from the etsy store.

So there you have it, five new patterns from Sailormouth for your stitching pleasure! Buy them all and put your own spin on them. Send us pictures of them when you’ve finished them!

But wait, what’s that you say, we’ve only shown five of the patterns, but we’ve not shown pattern 001? Well that’s because 001 is very special, and we’ve placed it behind a NSFW Saturday banner to be on the safe side and you’ll get to see it tomorrow. Can’t say much about it right now, but let’s just say, that if you’re from Texas, you’re gonna want to see this pattern…

We hope you like the patterns we have on sale at the etsy store – email us at etsy@mrxstitch.com with questions, ideas, suggestions or feedback. now go and stitch your asses off!

Ever since I discovered the work of Jimmy McBride and Luke Haynes I’ve been thinking about doing a quilt. I can feel it in me and I’m going to find a space to make one. But I don’t really have the foggiest idea how to actually start making the thing, and so Kathreen’s book is a god-send. In case you didn’t know, Kathreen is the driving force behind WhipUp.net, one of the best crafting blogs out there without a doubt. And she’s a damn nice person to boot.

Whip Up mini quilts is a well designed workbook that introduces you to the world of quilting and gives you a terrific array of patterns to help you on your way. There are 24 mini quilt patterns in total and they’re of sufficient breadth of design that there’s something that will appeal to everyone. The limited size of the designs mean that the construction period is pleasantly short in comparison, and the scale is manageable for n00bs upwards. The patterns come with detailed instructions of how to go about everything, and by the time you’ve done a couple of them, you’ll have a robust handle on how to go forward and quilt your own stuff. Or you could keep quilting the whole book. I’m thinking about it… Kathreen has curated a collection of contemporary quilted designs from some top quilting talent including Victoria Gertenbach, aka Boodilly and Jude Hill, and Kathreen flexes her shibori skills to deliver a top notch design of her own. I really liked several of these patterns – particular favourites included Power-Line Sky by Meg Spaeth and Granny’s Delight by Nicole Vaughan. I think I might try Lisa Coll’s cool geometric design and see what happens. The book is ring bound, sturdy and very useable. It has 46 pages of instruction and covers the whole process in straight forward terms. It works perfectly as a manual and has a pocket at the front containing the designs for elements of the quilts. I’m new to quilting, I’ve never done it, but this book makes me feel like picking up the next bit of fabric I find and having a go. It’s a great book and I hope it finds its way into the hands of all the people who haven’t really thought about quilts in a contemporary way. The book contains enough variety to get anyone going and will genuinely push the boundaries of many people’s perceptions of the craft. I’d say more, but I need to go off and get some fabric. Anyone got any spare shirting? Whip Up Mini Quilts by Kathreen Ricketson is published by Chronicle Books, and is available on Amazon, or via whipup.net. I’d normally give away a book after reviewing it, but I’m keeping my copy of this. Sorry. Go get your own copy.

Mr X Stitch continues to push forward in the world of contemporary stitchery, and our stable of pattern designers has recently grown with the addition of the fantastic Sailormouth. Hailing from Texas, Sailormouth has a fantastic sense of humour and has done a great job with these tattoo inspired original designs!

First up we have a classic design for the horny devil in your life. 5 inches wide by 7 inches high, this simple design is quick and easy to make, and ould be stuck anywhere! The pattern is available in PDF format for only $6!

Sailormouth does have a bit of a thing for bunny rabbits, but his are no ordinary bunnies. He gives us rock n roll rabbits, in this instance, adorning a wonderful phrase for the hallway of any decent home. Bust out this backstitch blessing and your house is guaranteed cool.

We’ve got some more Sailormouth patterns to share with you, but we don’t want you to overdose. So we’ll show you the rest of them in another post later on! For now, just head on over to the Mr X Stitch etsy store and get your hands on the best patterns out there!

Hey everyone! It’s Friday 30th July and that means another FFFoF! Hurrah and huzzah!

We’ve got some groovy posts and thangs for you today:

• A review of Whip Up Mini Quilts by Kathreen Ricketson – it’s a great book!
• A chance to help us raise money for Fine Cell Work by buying an exclusive pattern!
• We introduce you to the newest patterns in the Mr X Stitch etsy store, from our new designer, Sailormouth!
• And let’s not forget that the doors on the latest Phat Quarter Swap are now open! Register your interest for this movie themed swap – you know this is going to be a good one!

Because it’s an FFFoF we’re pushing forward the publishing date of Episode 6 of Stitching n Junk to today! It’s a fantastic episode, with the first part of a great interview with the legendary Penny Nickels! We also read out some great letters and shoot the breeze in the way that only Beefranck and I can. So, look out for the post later on, and download Stitching n Peg, the latest instalment of the world’s best stitching podcast.

How’s that for ya? Happy FFFoF everybody!

Ready for take-off!

See more great stitchy characters in Caffaknitted’s flickr photostream.

Eliot BK is a mixed media artist from Berlin. He blends cross stitch with graphic art to great effect.

Eliot not only stitches, he draws, he paints, he beatboxes. He is one cool dude. He has previously exhibited a collection of embroidered works, featuring the tools of his trade.

As a cross stitcher myself, it’s really interesting to see Eliot’s approach to his work, which clearly comes from a graffiti standpoint.

There’s a looseness to the design and use of colour that intrigues me, and echoes the freeform approach that graffiti requires.

Not content with this cool collection of pieces, Eliot’s work has evolved to make more use of the canvas, and to incorporate other elements into the work. His new series of Embroidroids illustrates his development perfectly.

Similar to MimiLoveForever, a terrific amount of work and creativity is embedded onto the canvas before a single stitch is sewn. It’s a bold move, but Eliot pulls it off to great effect. There’s a real vibrancy and excitement about the work, and I think it perfectly reflects Eliot’s artistry.

Definitely someone to keep your eyes on, I’m excited to see what Eliot comes up with next.

You can find Eliot in different parts of the interwebs – his Flickr is a good place to see his work. As he would say “Voll! Super!”

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The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with Embroidery As Art, the inspirational stitched art blog from the legendary Jenny Hart.

Got a cat? Then the feltastic organic catnip-filled toys of OhBoyCatToy (“Weird cat toys for weird cats”) on etsy are a must have. I think I’ll get these ones for my Mum’s cats!

I fell in love with the lovely work of artist Leslie Schomp at first sight. I met her work for the first time at the opening of an exhibit we both had work at in Massachusetts a few years back. Her pieces were 2 small scale embroidered portraits, one a self-portrait, one a portrait of her son, both embroidered beautifully and painstakingly from hair.  They sucked me in with their muted palette, their uneven texture, their thin strands, their beauty, and their presentation.  Since then I have yet to see Leslie’s work in person again but have made every attempt to see her work however I can.  Sadly, she does not have  a website so I do not get to see enough of it.  Therefore-  all of  you are in for a huge treat in discovering a new and talented artist.

Get ready to be truly inspired.
Where do you live? Does this affect your work?
I just moved to a rural town outside of Worcester, MA. I have lived all over, Ireland, Florida, Boston, Worcester. Although I was born in Florida, I spent 11 years of my childhood in rural Ireland. This has most affected my work. I gravitate toward grey, black , white muted color schemes. Ireland has a rich history so my love of antiques and stories from the past came at an early age. Where I live now feels a little like my childhood. I have an amazing view of mountains and trees. I have a child who is about to start school so I think I’ll definitely be staying put for a long time now.

How did you begin to embroider?
I began to embroider, knit and sew as a child in Ireland. I went to an all-girl’s convent school and was taught the basics by the nuns there. We did patchwork quilting, knit, and embroidered linens and pillowcases. I remember also embroidering pictures as gifts. In some ways I am trained. However, I moved to Florida at age fourteen and from there taught myself.

I look at books and textile examples to learn new things. When I first started to work on vintage handkerchiefs as my picture plane I let myself be inspired by the existing imagery to form my images as well as my methods of making marks. Lately I use thread to make linear drawings.

How does the practice of embroidery affect the conceptual aspect of your work?
In terms of drawing I use sewing as a mapping process. When one sews the movement from mark to mark is recorded on the back of the thread and I can follow my process . I am just as interested in the images that get formed on the back as the ones on the front.

[and when I saw her work both were on display geniusely. I always love the back of embroidered work it is such a glimpse into the mind and process of the artist.]

In terms of the content and installation of my work, sewing refers to the domestic practice of recording aspects of one’s life. I think of my work as my memoirs, recording my relationships with myself and others ( usually my son, husband, mother , father etc.). I also am someone who loves that drawings can be objects as well. Thread and cloth and wooden hoops and furniture are all part of my work.

[I love her use of the word memoirs here. The process of sewing and working autobiographically is truly that, a formation of memoir.  The use of this word so poetically and perfectly states what so many of us fiber artists are doing.]

Describe the evolution of your work.
My work in college involved two sets of work, printing lithographs on fabric and sewing forms out of them, and making self-portraits with charcoal. In Grad school I sewed stuffed sculptures , but also made a number of drawings and woodcuts as well. After graduate school for years I drew obsessive drawings and tried lots of imagery, sewed more stuffed sculptures. It was a difficult time as I felt like I was doing everything but not accomplishing any body of work. I really wanted a child but I was nervous that would be the temporary end of achieving much with my work.

[I think many of us can empathize and relate to this feeling as a female artist, I know I can]

Contrary to my fears after my son was born, I realized I really wanted to be an artist and since I didn’t have time to talk myself out of things and to only really make what I wanted my work became more focused and the textile work and drawing came together. I also re-use some of the ideas and work I made after graduate school in a new way. I have multiple sketchbooks also that collect things that inspire me, drawings of ideas and experiments with new materials.

What is the importance of using hair? Where do you get the hair you use? What are the
challenges of working with hair?
I make portraits with a combination of brown translucent nylon thread and hair. At first the hair, my own, served as another shade of brown to create value range. I liked that it genetically linked my self-portraits to myself. I also get hair from my husband.

Hair is very slippery and is often very short proving it to be difficult to work with at times. Hair work can be beautiful and creepy . I am intrigued and also repudiated by hair objects of the past. I like this tension of feelings about it. I also at times use pressed flowers in my work with the hair. Hair and pressed flowers are organic material that decay slowly. I like knowing that I grow the flowers and use them in my work with part of myself.

Can you discuss how you display your work and make the decisions in regards to this?
I am interested in drawings as objects and create stands/frames and furniture like objects that allow the work to be seen from both sides. I look at a lot of historical needlework and also look as much at the installation of these things in museums as at the work itself. This adds a layer to the work as I have to design and create these as well as the work itself. At times the display objects inspire the work itself. I’m always looking at frames in stores and have a lot of frames waiting for particular images ideas.

Describe how you select the images you recreate.
I try to work mostly from life/mirror. If I can’t, I take photos or select photos from my life. I make a number of drawings from life also to work from. Sometimes an image will be worked from a photo, drawing and from life. I seem to collect books and images constantly to recombine with images from my life and so everything can make an appearance in my work.

How does having a family both inspire and affect your work?
I always wanted to have a family, I now have a stepdaughter and son. When that [desire] was realized, I found I was more clear and determined about other desires I had, to be an artist. It made me focused on doing the work one really wants to do. Having a family made me realize the need to define the boundaries of my emotional and physical self, making my work helps me do that. Where do I end and they begin? How do we overlap? Who am I with and without them. What part of me is just for myself? How do I be a better person with them? This negotiation is what my work is. I look at past portraits and images of life and try to read and resonate with their stories. This leads me to ask “ what is my story”.

What inspires your work?
I think of my work as memoirs so the examining of oneself is a huge inspiration for me. The act of drawing also is my content. I am always looking for ways to expand that practice and knowledge . When I have doubts about my work I try to remind myself that I need to see the idea even if I’m not sure about it. I try to think of my work as a sketchbook. I also love to look at work that was made in difficult circumstances, women who work tirelessly at their domestic duties and found time to make notations about their lives that still exist for us today.

Describe your studio and studio practice.
I haven’t had a proper studio in years. I starting seriously sewing drawings 5 years ago after my son was born. I worked on my dining room table, on my couch in my living room and stored all my things in a tiny room in my apartment. It could be frustrating at times especially when I made large scale pieces that were very obsessive to make. It was also comforting at times to be able to pick up pieces and work often. I thought about how Louise Bourgeois had her early sculptures in her house, and how Hannah Hoch’s collages are called “Cut with the kitchen knife”. I finally have a space in my house that I can make into a studio.

What is the next direction or step for your work?
I am continuing portraiture both of myself and others in my family. I’m also trying new extreme scales, both tiny and very large. I’m playing around with ways of installing the drawing to view both sides and am looking at furniture and old ways of displaying needlework. I also recently made a sewn house-like structure of the scale of my body all in white embroidery and played with pulling threads out of fabric to create different layers of translucency and also layering images inside the structure than can be seen from outside from various windows and peep holes. I have sewn a book and am interested in creating more objects that are sewn. I also have tried a sewn sketchbook and wish to continue doing this.

[Oh my, that house piece sounds amazing. I have myself thought of doing a sewn house piece but it never really made sense in the context of my working practice. So I would love to see Leslie's in person. Being both the voyeur and the child as we peek through the windows to discover the home inside.]

Where can we see your work?

I’m currently included in the show “Seeing Double” at the Attleboro Museum of Arts. In the Fall I will be in a show “Exchange” at the Villa Victoria Art Center in Boston. Follow this link to see more about it.

And in 2012/13, I think, Leslie has invited me and a handful of other amazing artists to be in a museum exhibit all about artist working autobiographically.  I am honored to be included in this exhibit and to show with her again. And finally meet her.  So plenty to look forward to from both of us.

AND DON’T FORGET ABOUT THIS CALL FOR WORK.

Until next time keep stitching.

Joetta Maue is a full time artist primarily using photography and fibers. Her most recent work is a series of embroideries and images exploring intimacy. Joetta exhibits her work throughout the United States and internationally, and authors the art and craft blog Little Yellowbird as well as regularly contributing to the online journal Hello Craft. Joetta lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, baby son, two cats, and a goldfish.

Some things are as scary as they are awesome.

Like this trio of embroideries from Meg Trivett, aka Trivo on Flickr.

Just imagine looking out of the window on the bus and seeing the beady eye of a huge Praying Mantis. Or don’t – it’s giving me the heeblie jeeblies!

These are all just fantastic. It seems that these are the only embroideries Meg has posted in her Flickr photostream so far, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing more!

Okay, we MAY or MAY NOT have developed a little bit of a crush on Robyn Enz. We can’t help it when she stitches such great stuff!

I love her take on this free pattern from badbird. Maneki neko’s have a special place in my heart anyway, but the quirkiness of this one is delightful.

See more from Robyn in her flickr photostream. Great things await!

Too Cute Tuesdays are brought to you in association with our friends over at Feeling Stitchy!

Fine Cell Work’s Annual Summer Sale in now on – here’s what they have to say about it.

“You will be able to pick up bargains online and at our showroom in London, Victoria. We are open from Tues July 27th – Thurs 29th July, 10am to 5pm and are offering discounts of up to 50%.

“Our limited edition V&A Wandsworth prison patchwork and Jail House Rock cushions are now half price. There is also 3 for the price of 2 on our Grease lyric design cushions, so you can add to your own collection, or pick up a perfect gift. You can pre order now to take advantage of any of these offers. Just check online from 10am on Tuesday 27th to snap up these bargains and take advantage of additional discounts across a number of ranges.“

Personally I’m digging the new Swag Bag, but I look enough like a ne’er-do-well already…

Love Subversive Cross Stitch? You’re gonna love this!

Over at Julie Jackson’s place, all purchases made before July 31, 2010 at midnight CST will entered a draw to win a $100 gift certificate!. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on August 1, 2010 on the Subversive Cross Stitch Facebook page!

Go get some!

Road trip!

There’s lots of strange and interesting scenes involving cats and dogs in Mujer Metralletas’ flickr photostream – go check them out!

Hi everybody! This week we’re jumping right into the topic: frogs.

I’ve always loved fairy tales, so the Frog Prince is the first thing I think of on this topic. Here’s a lovely pattern from Follow the White Rabbit stitched by the incredibly talented Georgia McDonald.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SUPER FROG from Greeting Friends!

These frogs are in love, according to Amy Hana, but one of them looks a little bit more excited about it than the other.

This counts as a frog, right? corduroy cat embroidered this common greeting from Daniel Johnston.

Angharad Jefferson used her cutting edge stitching skills to produce this beautiful specimen.

Mimiloveforever is known for her
pet portraits – and not just cats or dogs, as this proves.

Last but certainly not least, here’s an amazing redwork frog from my stitchy hero, Bascom Hogue.

I hope you enjoyed this look at our hoppy friends in hoops. See you next week!

Beefranck’s Emporium is brought to you by Kreinik Threads – go get some!

That Annie Saunders… Not content with creating a terrific Cooking Gaga stitchery and then telling us about. She bounced us another email to show us this terrific piece, inspired by the Pixar short, Presto!

Love it!  Don’t forget to send us emails with your stitcheries, your stories, your questions and anything else! We love to hear from you!

Time for another look at some of the great work featured in the forums at Craftster. Note: Although they’re the pick of this week, they may have appeared before this week.

One of the great things about Craftster is that no matter how many active members there are, someone is always finding it for the first time. Like deliriousgirl, who recently added her first post – and she started off strong!

Look at all of those gorgeous french knots! Don’t you just want to reach into the screen and TOUCH THEM? Alas, you cannot. You can, however, check out her original post here!