Xstitch Magazine

so as some of you might know i'm a huge cross stitcher. i cross stitch all the time. i'm so glad that i found cross stitching. i say all the time that cross stitching helps me fight my depression and anxiety. i've completed big and small projects and just love doing it. little by little my cross stitching world has expanded from just making things for friends and family but to also get paid for my work. i've even had a piece of work up in an art gallery that was later sold (woot woot!). if you want to see the projects i've completed and are currently working on, check out my instagram.

recently i've started writing articles for the cross stitching magazine XStitch Magazine. now i don't get paid, i actually pay for the opportunity to be able to write the articles. through patreon i pay the magazine a monthly fee (which helps fund the magazine's expenses) and i get the perk of writing an article for the magazine. (Check out the XStitch Magazine Patreon here). i get to write about whatever i want, but since it's a cross stitching magazine, i make sure to write about cross stitching/embroidery in some way. i've written three different articles and i'm actually pretty proud of them. if you haven't read XStitch Magazine you should totally go out and read the magazine. right now it's digital only, but as they make more money and are able to fund more, they will go back to making a print version of the magazine. it's a great modern magazine of cross stitching. (i'm not being paid to plug this magazine, i just really like the magazine and i'm proud to help fund it through patreon). 

the first article i ever wrote for the magazine, i wrote about craftivism. 

the second article i wrote about was finishing a project that took me over a year to complete and celebrating the completion of it. 

the third article i wrote about being colorblind and cross stitching. 

so go out and check out this great modern cross stitching magazine and see my articles in the magazine. already have an idea for the next issue of the magazine and can't wait to share it with everyone. 

End Gun Violence

so there's a local cross stitcher by me that is totally awesome! her name is shannon downey or her crafting name is badass cross stitch. and she is totally awesome! i've taken an embroidery class from her and learned how to do french knots!!!!! (sorry i had to share that for i could never do them until she showed me how to do it). she also has some really cool patterns that you can download for free and that you can buy. so check out her etsy shop!

so in the awesomeness of shannon she is in Chicago IL and is doing a craftivism project to help end gun violence! the point of the project is: raise awareness and money to help end gun violence. so shannon put a message out on her website and asked everyone to make an image with a gun regarding gun violence in some way. then you send the finished project to her and it will be part of a gallery show that all the proceeds go to Project F.I.R.E. (Project fire is a chicago group that is an artist development employment program that offers healing through glass blowing to youth injured by gun violence in Chicago. Project F.I.R.E. combines glass arts education, mentoring and trauma psychoeducation in order to support trauma recovery and create employment opportunities for young people who have been shot or witnessed the homicide of a loved one.)

so when i saw that shannon was doing this i just knew that i had to make something for this project! shannon has been posting on her instagram some of the stuff people have sent to her and it  is amazing! so go see the images everyone made for this project. check it out here:

here's the gun that i made for the show. 

so head to the show and check everything out! i know i'll be going. i don't now if i'll make the opening reception night, but i know i'll be going to see the awesome gallery show! so you should check it out too! 

Craftivism

Craftivism - activism using craft (cross stitching, knitting, etc) as the way of protest.

So i found this website called craftivist collective and they are totally sweet. they combine the idea of activism with the awesome craft of cross stitch. the idea behind it is the idea of gentle protest. for example: if there an injustice in the world that you don't like, say equal pay for workers (meaning a company isn't paying their workers equally/fairly), go to the store that isn't paying their workers fare wages and sit outside that store and cross stitch a message for them. not blocking the way to the store or anything, but for sure in front of the store. then when you are done, you can mail the message to the CEO of the company so that they have the message you made. like a handkerchief that says 'don't blow it. pay your workers fare wages'. the gentle protest in this is that you are sitting outside the companies store and people might come up to you and ask what you are doing. so you kindly tell them. you aren't shouting in peoples faces what you are protesting. but you don't shy away when being asked what you are doing. after your 'sit-in' at the store, mail the handkerchief to the CEO and they have a gentle reminder that they should pay their workers fare wages.

i really like this idea of the gentle protest. you aren't shoving your ideas into peoples faces, but you still aren't backing down with what you believe in. and using cross stitching to do this just makes it even better!

Craftivist collective has a bunch of starter ideas/projects on their website to help you get going with how you can gently protest what you see in the world. i bought their starter kit, which gave you a book, some stickers, a button and the project Footprint kit. here's a picture of all the stuff i got in my starter kit:

the idea behind the footprint kit is this: "helping you find the wisdom that inspires you to walk through life as the best global citizen you can be." (from the craftivist website). and with this you get a piece of cloth cut and dyed to look like a foot, some string, a needle and a booklet to help you with inspiration to create your foot. what you do is cross stitch a quote onto the foot cloth and then frame it however you want so that it is on display. so when it is on display the person who has the foot thinks about their impact on this earth.

so for my footprint kit project i used the quote "when people ask me where my roots are, i look down at my feet, and i see the roots of my soul grasping the earth." by rudolfo anaya. i really like this quote.

here's some pictures of me working on my foot.

now another part that the craftivist collective talk about when making your projects is what your thinking about when making your projects. your 'crafter thoughts'. when i had tweeted to craftivist collective that i had picked my quote and started my project, they asked me what my crafter thoughts were. my crafter thoughts for this project were this: 'my feet make an impact on this earth and it should be a positive one. since my feet impact this earth i should help take care of her and all that are on her.' and i believe those things. my feet do impact this earth and so i should take care of the earth and take care of the people who are on this earth. this is where my quote comes into play. my soul is connected to this earth. and if i treat mother earth badly, i treat my soul badly. it is all connected. 

i really enjoyed making this project and enjoyed the thoughts it put in my head. i'm going to keep this project that i made for myself. i need to remind myself that i am connected to this earth and she is connected to me. this is a gentle protest to myself. i need to never forget my impact on this earth and how i can be a better citizen of mother earth. here is a picture of my finished work. i really like how it turned out. 

so overall i really like this whole idea of the craftivist. i really like craftivist collective and all that they stand for. i really suggest you check them out! i for sure will be doing more projects inspired by them. i'll make sure to share what i make and to who i send them to. i already know the next projects i'm going to get and who i'm going to send them too. so more to come for sure!!!!! 

30 for 30 crafting challenge

so for the month of may i worked on the 30 for 30 crafting challenge. i got to finish a couple of projects and got a bunch of work done of other projects. i'm proud of myself to finishing the challenge this year. here's the best pictures of the work that i did.

i read the book 'atlas shrugged' and loved it so much! i had been wanting to make a cross stitch somehow related to it and so i made this cross stitch. it's on a pre-stretched canvas. took me only a day to create the pattern and cross stitch it.

i've been working on this peacock cross stitch for a very long time. those feathers were a pain in my ass! and being color blind did not make it any easier. the only thing i have to do to complete this is a bunch of back stitching. once this is finished it will be going to my sister-in-law. she asked me to make this pattern for her. this is the only project i didn't fully finished during the 30 for 30 challenge. 

i made this pattern for my cousin and her husband for their wedding. the original pattern was for a baby announcement but i changed it for their wedding. 

this pattern came from a book called 'twisted stitches' it's a great book. this is the first pattern i made from the book. i put it on a canvas tote bag that was pre-holed for cross stitching. i gave it to my aunt who lives in mexico. 

30 for 30 crafting challenge 2016 update

so i've made an executive decision regarding my 30 for 30 crafting challenge. i've decided that for my challenge i'm going to work on a sugar skull design from the book twisted stitches by phil davidson. this is because i can't post my progress pictures regarding the design for my cousin's wedding. so yeah, i'm working on a sugar skull design from the book twisted stitches. i love the designs in the book and this is the first design i've made from the book. i'm putting the design on a tote bag. i'm really excited about how the design will look on the tote bag. if you'd like to buy the book that has the sugar skull design, please visit Urban Cross Stitch (there are also really cool other designs at urban cross stitch; you should totally take a look at this website!). here are my progress pictures of the work i've done so far on the sugar skull design.

30 for 30 Challenge 2016

A couple things before i go into my regular post:
-turns out my last post was my 200th post! Hurray!
-today is Beltane so Happy Beltane everyone!

ok for my post -
May is the 30 for 30 crafting challenge. i had tried to do this last year, but came up short. this year i'm going to do it and complete the whole month! this year i have a good incentive to complete the challenge, for i have a cousin getting married on June 4th that i'm completing a project for. and so i must have it done for the wedding. so i'm going to use the challenge to complete the project. for those who need a reminder of what the 30 for 30 crafting challenge is: the challenge is to craft (specifically cross stitch for me) for 30 days in a row for at least 30 minutes a day. it doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but when you are tired and just don't want to do anything, it can be hard to want to cross stitch. so this challenge will really help me finish my project for my cousins wedding. the only issue is that my cousin follows me on twitter and so the progress pictures i post will probably be super vague. sorry everyone. can't have my cousin seeing her gift before the wedding. i will for sure post the finished project when i am done and after the wedding. i promise!

Thanks to The Crafting Geek for inspiring me to do the challenge. check out her twitter and instagram to see her progress of the challenge. also you should check her out just to see the totally awesome stuff that she has made!

march cross stitch finished projects

so march was national craft month and i finished two different cross stitching projects this past month (and no this isn't an april fools joke), so i thought i'd share what i've done.

the first project is a key chain i made for a friend of mine. i got the design off of pinterest. and just used the colors i thought my friend would like better. my friend has a couple of dogs and she just loves them so i knew the paw print would be perfect for her! you can't see the back of the cross stitch, but it's just black felt sewed onto the plastic canvas that i used to make the keychain. i'm really getting the hang of making the keychain cross stitch.

sorry my hand looks a little goofy in the photo. 

the second project i finished was a project i had been working on for a couple of months. it's a design of the chicago land area. i got the design from a designer by the name of SatsumaStreet on etsy. i really like the design that she made and i just love the colors that she uses in all of her designs. but it was nice to just have a design just for my hometown, good old chicago.

i haven't framed the design yet, but i'm going to. i'm going to frame it different then i've ever framed before. normally i go out and buy a picture frame and just frame my work. but this time, for this project, i'm actually going to frame it in a hoop. when i do i'll take a bunch of photos and post on here. for i have a feeling it will be an adventure. hehe. this project is going to my mom. she loves chicago and she's been eyeing the design the whole time i've made this, so i'm going to give it to her.

Stitch for Syria

So the other day i was looking at my twitter time line and found a post by Mr X Stitch (if you don't know who he is, please check him out! a totally awesome cross stitcher!) about stitching for Syria. so i checked out the link and this is what i found:

From Concerned Worldwide: "In Lebanon, Concern helps Syrian refugees learn embroidery. these sessions give women a vital income and bring them hope and friendship. now you can support these women and get creative too! Sign up to this challenge and we'll email you one of their beautiful patterns. stitch and share it to show you care." here is the link for the challenge.

so i signed up for the challenge and got a pattern that Mr. X stitch created for the challenge. my finished cross stitch, i posted it on twitter, but i also mailed it back to Concerned Worldwide to show my support of the women who are learning embroidery. i know it's small and it's not money in the end. but knowing how much support means to me in my life, i wanted to show these women that they have support also. and if you you mail the cross stitch you've made, Concerned Worldwide will use it to make a special art project to show every's support for these women.

here is a picture of what i made for the challenge:

twitch cross stitch

so in the last couple of months i have discovered twitch and all it's amazingness. twitch is a big community from all over the world where people video themselves live doing things. playing video games, cooking, drawing, cross stitching and so much more. there are big name people on there like Felicia Day but then there are every day people like me and you on there also.

the amazing thing is that i have found a cross stitching community on there. and i love it. from watching other people cross stitch on twitch i have learned so much more about cross stitching that i probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.

from watching a streamer by the name of Sirithre i have learned how to make cross stitch key chains and so much more! Sirithre was the first person i followed on twitch that was a cross stitcher. she's great to watch and she makes some really cool stuff. (for the record, she does stream other stuff like playing video games).

there are a ton of people who are on twitch that cross stitch. from watching their streams and chatting with the community, i have learned where to get supplies, how to do certain things and about local cross stitching/twitch communities.

overall i've found a community of cross stitchers that i didn't have before. cross stitching isn't as big as crochet or knitting. and so finding this community has really helped me. it's nice to know that there are other people out there who love cross stitching as much as i do. so check twitch out. go to twitch and then find the creative board and you will find cross stitchers in there. you will find other people who are doing other amazing things, don't get me wrong. but you will find cross stitchers too. and hey maybe you'll see me in group chat. my twitch handle is plantlamp. so if you see that name, make sure you say hi!

i'm baaaaaaack!

ok, it's been almost a year since i've posted last time. i'm changing that game. i will be posting much more often again. sorry that i haven't been posting. sometimes life gets in the way of things and then it's been so long you don't know how to go back. but now i'm back. back from outer space. hehe.

so today's post, i thought i'd just share a board i have on pinterest. so when i find a project on pinterest, whether it be cross stitching, cooking or some kind of DIY project, i will post it in one of my many boards in my pinterest profile. but then once i've actually completed the project, i will move it out of the original board and put it in a whole new board. i call the new board: Things I've Actually Done That Are On Pinterest.  a friend from work gave me the idea of the board, and i thought it was a great idea. i have a bunch of cross stitch patterns in there, but there is other stuff i've done. food i've made, mod podge projects, just tons of stuff. i have 81 pins in the board. some of them where fun to make, some where a pain in the ass! but over all i like the projects that are listed in that board.

ok that's all from me today. i will be back with more to come!!!! have a good friday!

Cross Stitch Patterns

so while i'm searching around on pinterest i look for different cross stitch patterns out there that i might want to do. and in my searching i have found that patterns for perler bead designs work perfectly for cross stitch designs. i've actually made a couple things from those patterns. in my blog post named 30 for 30 crafting challenge update i talk about making different cross stitch patterns in one night: jack skeleton, ariel and mario - all of those cross stitches were made from perler bead patterns. i've also made a nice little tardis for a friend of mine by a perler bead pattern. the perler bead patterns are just too perfect for nice little cross stitch designs. i just love them. so if you want to get some nice smaller cross stitch designs that you can finish in one sitting; go on pinterest and search for 'perler bead patterns' and you'll find a ton.

the only downfall of the perler bead patterns is that it doesn't tell you what colors to use. you have to guess what colors to use. don't get me wrong, the patterns are in color, there just isn't a list of what colors to use, so you're guessing the shades. and for someone like me who's color blind, it can be hard to pick the correct colors that have to be all mixed together. but other than that, i love the perler bead patterns for cross stitching patterns. :)

baby bibs

so this past weekend i went and visited my family in AZ and had a great time. while out there i got to see my 3 month old baby niece Nora Rose (she's adorable). before Nora was born i had made two baby bibs for her. she's still too young to be using baby bibs, but while i was out in AZ, i took a picture of her with each of the bibs. i thought i would share with everyone the pictures. i've made a couple baby bibs and this is the first time i've gotten to see the baby with the bib.

the bibs are so huge on her. hehe. but she will get bigger and they will work out perfectly. hehe.

may cross stitching

so i sadly was unable to to keep with the 30 for 30 crafting challenge. i got really close, but events came up and i couldn't keep up. i missed the last couple of days in the month of may. here are pictures of the last stuff i worked on.

 this is the fairy cross stitch. yesterday i did even more and finished the first half of the fairy cross stitch. i now have the second half and then i'll be done. 

this is the cross stitch i did for my friends wedding. they are big car people so i thought this would be perfect. i like the frame with it too. hopefully they like it too. :)

30 for 30 crafting challenge update

so this month i've been doing the 30 for 30 crafting challenge. i've been working on my fairy cross stitch. but also last week i did a new cross stitch every day for 5 days. well i did it for 6 weeks. on friday i was too tired to finish the last project that day. but i finished it on saturday. but i've still kept up and done cross stitch every day so far this month. some days it's challenging for i'm tired and just want to relax by not doing anything. but then there are days that i run through the cross stitch. here are some pictures of what i've done. this first picture is the fairy project i'm working on. still have a bit to go. but it's coming along.

 the next picture is the cinderella i did. a co-worker of mine asked me to make this for her soon to be daughter in law.

 this next picture is jack skeleton. i'm giving this one to my friend. she LOVES nightmare before christmas. and i just know that she will love this cross stitch.

 this next one is sylvester the cat. he is my favorite looney toon character. i've always loved him. so when i found this pattern, i just had to make it.

 this next one is ariel from disney.

 and this last one is mario from nintendo. this was the first one i made in the same day.

30 for 30 crafting

so i've been inspired by Jess at thecraftinggeek.com, i'm going to do the 30 for 30 crafting challenge. in may i'm going to cross stitch for 30 days in a row for at least 30 minutes a day. and we shall see how far i'll get. i don't know what i'll work on but i'll figure it out. hehe. but i'm excited for the challenge. either i'll finish a bunch of smaller projects, or i'll get really far in a bigger project. we shall see. hehe.

finished!

i'm all done with the cross stitch i was working on for my mom. i'm just so excited to be done. it took me a little over a year to finish. it's so nice to be finished! here it is.

project update

i'm almost done with the project i'm doing for my mom. i just have the upper left hand corner to finish and then the outlining. then i'm done! i can't believe how close i am. but yet i'm still so far away. hehe. i will finish this sucker!!!! hehe. here's the link to the last update i did. so you can see the progress i've made. :)

travel cross stitching

so i do a bunch of traveling. whether it's going to my dad and family in wisconsin, going to my moms every weekend for sunday dinner or visiting my siblings out west - i travel a bunch. and when i travel i at least take one cross stitch project with me. and i just thought i'd share the different things i use to take my projects with me everywhere.

the first thing is the bag i use to carry everything. the bag is actually a baby diaper bag. and i just love it. it has a million little pockets besides the big main pocket. and it just works perfectly for cross stitching. i can put my scissors in it's own pocket without worrying that i will poke myself when i dig for them (which happened a bunch before. hehe). my pencil sharpener gets it's own little spot. i just love the bag! with no issues i can pack some of my cross stitching books plus kits, hard box string containers and hoops of all sizes. and the best part about this bag is that since it is a baby diaper bag it is easy to carry around. needless to say i love it and think it's well worth getting a baby diaper bag to hold all your stuffs for cross stitching. it's perfect to take everywhere and can hold a bunch of stuff. here's a picture of my bag.

the other thing i wanted to mention is my string holder. when i've already started a project kit that gives me all the string, i never know what to do with the string when i'm done using it. for example i'll be doing a leaf and i only need one color for 10 stitches. what do i do with the left over string?! well i've figured out what to do is use baseball card holders to hold my string. no joke. i went to a local office store and bought baseball card page protectors to hold my string. so when i'm doing a kit and i know i'm going to use a certain color again, but i've already cut it off the original holder from the kit, i just write on a piece of paper the number of the color of the string and then stuff the string in the little pocket. i think it's a great way to hold all the string after i've cut if off of the holder from the kit. i use this mainly just for my kits. for all my other projects, i use my regular bulky box plastic string holder. here's a picture of what i'm talking about.

the wedding dress

so my mom printed out the wedding pictures from my sister Marianne's wedding and the photographer got a picture of the 'something blue' i made for my sister on the wedding dress. so i just wanted to share with everyone the picture. here's the post i did about my sisters 'something blue'. and here's the photo of the 'something blue' on the wedding dress. :)

Taste of the Mediterranean - a cross stitch update

so i meant to finish this cross stitch which is named - Taste of the Mediterranean - for my mother for christmas, but that never happened. this is the biggest cross stitch i've ever made and eventually finish. hehe. so i just thought i would give an update on where i was. so here's a picture of where i was the last time i updated you the project. and here's a picture i took yesterday of where i am now on the project. i will finish this sucker! hehe