Embroidered Gratitude

I started this small project a couple of years ago as a monthly marker for my Instagram - a little quote to stitch each month. It seemed like a fun idea, but after finishing only two (January and February), I tucked it away in a box with other unfinished projects and settled on drawing my Little Miss Mousy instead. That felt much easier to achieve.

Embroidery Book "Garden Stitch Life" by Kazuko Aoiki

I cherish my small collection of embroidery books, most of which come from Japan. These books are filled with tiny, delightful motifs and creative designs - delicate florals, playful animals, and everyday objects all stitched with precision and charm.

Among my collection, Kazuko Aoki’s books stand out for their quiet elegance. Her designs capture nature’s subtle beauty - a single leaf, a bee suspended mid-flight, or the intricate structure of an open seed pod. What makes her work truly special is its deceptive simplicity: she transforms these ordinary natural moments into stitchable masterpieces. The clean lines and thoughtful compositions create patterns that are beginner-friendly, yet full of intricate details to challenge experienced embroiderers.

A Story of a Small Label

If you have followed my work over the years, you will know how much I adore making small labels from linen scraps with an addition of delicate stitches. There is something deeply satisfying about creating these "miniature signatures" - those small but meaningful touches that add soul to a handmade piece and make it unmistakably yours.

Little Town Stitching Pattern

When I just stated sewing years ago, I designed this simple stitching pattern that is done with only backstitch, almost like a pencil sketch, and a few small patches of colour. A couple of years ago I stitched my Little Town again, but left it unfinished. I am ready now to turn it into something special, but I need to add a few more touches to it first.

Embellishing Hexagon Flowers with Floral Motifs

This month during our Sip Tea and EPP party we are talking about adding embellishments to your English Paper Piecing projects. There are many ways you can beautify your hexagons or any other shapes of your EPP projects by adding small embroidery motifs, foundation paper piecing designs or some hand quilting. These small additions will give your work a unique and charming touch.

How I Make Hexagon Flowers for Grandma's Love Quilt

I have been asked multiple times how I put together my hexagon flowers for the "Grandma's Love" quilt that I am working on at the moment. I thought I would take you behind the scenes and show you the process from choosing the prints for each hexagon flower to finishing the hand embroidery in the centre of each flower.

Sashiko Coasters

Last month I visited the Sydney Craft and Quilt fair for the first time ever and I truly enjoyed this experience. There were plenty of amazing quilts to admire and get inspired by, wonderful stands to browse and shop at and lovely people to talk to and ask for an advice.

As I was leaving the fair, I came across a stand Indigo Niche that was selling Sashiko supplies. I have always loved this Japanese embroidery technique and even gave it once a go that failed miserably as I was not prepared to follow any instructions or even read the basics of Sashiko at that time. A panel of six designs caught my eye, and I gently pushed closer to the stall so I could see what else was there. Women were buzzing around picking fabrics, printed panels, needles, threads...talking about beautiful items hanging on the wall. Even though I have been sewing and embroidering for a long time now, I felt completely lost and had no idea where to start, but I really wanted to give Sashiko another proper go.

Teeny Tiny Labels

Today I would like to share with you a behind the scenes process of making cute additions to your projects - fabric labels. There are no strict instructions here, but rather an idea for you to play with and design your own labels using the same methods and tips, but mostly your imagination.

Christmas Mitten

It's pretty much Christmas time and I have to say that I am not even remotely ready for this. This year simply whooshed by and I had to slow down a lot to enjoy the small moments of everyday life, enjoy my Little One being little and needing me all the time, enjoy my Big Boy being a young man and not needing me as much as before. I even had to make sure that I enjoyed the mess and the little time I had for sewing.

Artist Trading Card Swap

It's been a while since the last swap and I was wondering whether Ali would run another round this year. She usually organises four swaps per year, but taking into account how busy she has been lately, I was not sure she would do it. When I saw her announcement about the ATC swap a couple of months ago, I was really happy and could not wait to sign up. The theme for this swap is "Small Things" and it fits so perfectly with my sewing because most of all I do enjoy working on small things and adding tiny finishing touches. So here is my card for this round called "Small Things".

A Cross-Stitch Pincushion

Or as my Little One calls it "a pillow" and pretends to sleep on it making a very loud snoring noise. It makes me laugh. Without any planning, I have finished this little pincushion right on time for my Grandma's birthday and it warms up my heart to think that she would have loved it. I wish she could see it... As I wrote back in October, I wanted to make myself a pincushion similar to the one my Grandma used to have. I found a lovely pattern online that seemed absolutely perfect for this special project.

Work in Progress

It's been a while since I posted anything about my current works in progress. As always, I have quite a few small things going on at the same time that I switch between depending on my mood and the time I have available for sewing. Some of the projects have been planned, some are simply a spur-of-the-moment decisions, just like the project below. I came across that little scrap of Belle and Boo fabric (I keep a small basket on the desk where I put some of the precious scraps). I pulled a few more floral scraps and got lost in playing around with pretty fabrics and buttons. It did not take long for a vague idea to form and I can say that now it's finished. Something quite cute that I will be sad to part with. Pinks, florals and cute buttons. I cannot wait to show it to you.

Finishing Old WIPs

I wrote before that one of the things on my list for this year is to finish most of my unfinished projects that I keep in a special box. This little guy was left forgotten pretty much since the very beginning of my sewing journey. But I am happy to say that it's all done and dusted now. The embroidery is a copy of a photo of a small figurine that was given to my husband by his parents when he was little. We still have this special toy and it sits happily in a glass cabinet with my doll collection. I was going to make a fabric envelope and leave the embroidery as a "pencil sketch", just brown outlines. I only added some fabric for the ball at that time. But when I pulled it out recently, I felt like it needed some colour. So I filled the outlines with some colourful threads.

Tutorial: Little Prickly Friend

I have been enjoying some hand stitching with snippets of wool felt and linen lately and one night I got inspired to make this Little Prickly Friend. He is so fun to embroider!

Little Prickly Friend

Look who came for a visit the other day and decided to stay with us because he found a perfect house to live in. This small calico tote turned out to be just the right size for this Little Prickly Friend. He really likes it here. He looks quite content and happy.

Bookmarks

I love embroidery. Any kind really, but I have never enough patience for large patterns. So tiny motifs are the best choices for me because they take very little time to finish and they can be easily squeezed into my day. Just like these two camomiles. Delicate, simple and very pretty.

Molly Pincushion

How many pincushions do you have? Do you always use the same one or a few for different things you make? I remember my Grandma's pincushion (for some odd reason I remember only one, I am sure she had more) that used to hang behind a kitchen door along with some scissors and other tools. It always was there so anyone who needed a needle or a pin for some quick work could find it right away instead of looking inside Grandma's large sewing machine cabinet/table.

Cute Animals Baby Bib

I think a baby or toddler can never have too many bibs. What do you think? Our Little One has a whole stack, but most of them are store bought that were given him when he was born. But for some strange reason he takes them all off during his meal times. The only ones he wears happily are the ones that I made him. I honestly have no idea why. My only guess is that he does not like velcro. My bibs have snaps or ribbons to tie them. But anyway, I have a few more bibs on my To-Do list, but this one can be crossed out. I am really happy with how all the hexagons came together to create this lovely collage. I added a tiny touch of pink to this bib because I am afraid that the day when my Little One will insist on his own colour choices (that would not include pink, most likely) is not far away.

Spring Coasters

This year, like never before I have been waiting for the Spring to come and finally it's here. The sun is shining, the new leaves on trees are popping out here and there, spring flowers are blooming and you can just feel the warmth in the air. To celebrate the arrival of the Spring I decided to make a set of coasters with spring flowers based on Kazuko Aoki's book "The Embroidered Garden" that I bought recently. I have been a huge fan of Kazuko's work since the first time I saw one of her embroideries. Her work is exquisite, delicate and very detailed. If you like any kind of hand embroidery, I am sure you would enjoy Kazuko Aoki's books.

Little Foxy

I don't get much time to sketch these days. I find that I cannot sit and sketch if I know that I am going to be interrupted which is always the case with a little one around. I need some time to relax, get in the right mood and most of all be inspired. Well, some time ago, while we were having our usual late cup of tea, just the three of us, me, my Dear Husband and our not so little boy, I felt like doodling a bit. I just sat there sipping my tea, chatting and scribbling on paper. That's what came out of that late night doodling. A cute little fox with a couple of autumn leaves drifting in the air.