Happy Penguin

05/07/2024

Custom embroidered clothing is something I’ve been wanting to try for awhile, and other than being incredibly slow at stitching, I love how it’s looking.

03/06/2024

I’m not a planner by nature, I mull things over in my head and make lists but usually just jump into projects and see what happens. Lately though I’ve started to properly understand the value in doing practice runs and trying techniques before starting the “real” piece. So right now I’m doing trial runs with watercolour to see how I can use them in mixed media pieces.

The first is on 90lb paper (terrible, do not recommend 🤣) with cheap kids pan paints on the left and tube paints from the same set on the right, and the second is the tube paint fabric I received in a big mystery box of remnants and sample fabrics (likely cotton but not 100% sure.) I’m going to mess around with pens and acrylic on the papers and do some textile collage and embroidery on the fabric, both as test runs for future projects.

I definitely need better quality supplies for working with watercolour, so if you have paint, paper, or brush recommendations I would love to get them!

02/22/2024

Latest (and last for awhile) yarn splurge 😍 published a gorgeous colourwork sweater pattern for free, and the yarn was also on sale, so I couldn’t resist grabbing some. It’s Linen Quill, a lovely highland wool/alpaca/linen blend. Unfortunately I have to finish a few other things before I cast on, but I’m so excited to get started.

02/14/2024

I stitched this for my husband for Valentine’s Day, as my first slow stitching style project. It took about a week, and changed a little bit every time I picked it up - the finished piece wasn’t exactly what I had originally planned, but I still love it. I’ll be starting another project in this style soon, which I’m pretty excited about.

Felt base with a mix of new and thrifted fabric and embellishments, cotton embroidery thread, metallic thread, and glass beads.

02/02/2024

Finished up the second version of a previous piece, and I’m much happier with it. It’s for an upcoming project that I’m very excited about, and hopefully will have more details soon!

01/28/2024

Added this heart to my roll, as a practice run for a bigger Valentine’s piece I’m planning. Turns out beading curves is a lot harder than I expected 😅 But switching to a sharper needle helped get through the fabric easier, and I’m pretty happy with how the blanket stitch turned out.

01/19/2024

I’ve been really inspired by fabric collage and embroidery lately, and especially the slow stitching style of work, but have very little practice with that type of work outside of cross stitch. A lot of artists do roll-style pieces, which seem like a great way to practice techniques and stitches, so I grabbed a precut felt roll from the dollar store to use as a base for one of my own. I started today with a piece of floral scrap that came in a thrifted fabric bundle and some cheap single ply thread to practice blanket stitch. I purposely didn’t measure or mark to just let the stitches flow, but I like the messiness of it for a Freeform piece like this. I’m planning on doing a little bit at a time, trying different stitches and techniques as I get more comfortable. First thing I’ve learned, make sure to use a sharp needle, my normal cross stitch needle struggled to get through the tighter weave of the floral fabric.

01/10/2024

This year I’m focusing on finishing projects, so I pulled out this blanket to keep working on. It’s being knit for my son, from the yarn I reclaimed from a blanket I previously knit that he had been using. It’s slow going because it’s quite pilled from frequent laundering and I can’t help but pull it off whenever I see it 😅

12/13/2023

Had some yarn left over from a big project and realized I needed a scarf, so decided to try making a tube scarf with rainbow stripes between blocks of black. I’m still deciding if I want to finish it with black or rainbow fringe, though I’m leaning towards rainbow.

11/25/2023

Trying magic loop for the first time, but I think the cable I picked is a bit too long 🤦‍♀️🤣

11/04/2023

11/01/2023

Working on this lovely cabled scarf made from recycled acrylic blend yarn, which is giving the stitches an interesting texture. It hasn’t been claimed yet if you would like to add it to your cold weather wardrobe. I have enough of the yarn that I could make a matching hat as well, which would be a fantastic gift for someone special.

Feel free to message for more information or to purchase, or wait for it to officially be put on sale soon!