I’m obsessing over cross stitch and embroidery, so finding a magazine like Stitch Idées only feeds the fire. I found out about this Japanese needlework magazine a little while ago and got a couple copies for the shop to check out. WOW. Every page is more inspiring than the last. I have been going though the issues over and over again taking in the goodness.

So many awesome ideas – embroidered bunny postage stamps, jam jar labels, coin purses, cute sewing accessories, tote bags and a miniature photo album in a matchbox. (what!)

My favourite project is a heart friendship sampler. It looks like you get all your friends to cross stitch a heart and their name onto a piece of linen and you have the sweetest wall hanging. I totally want to do this!

We have issues 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Stitch Idées at the workroom. Also, we received more copies of the beautiful Wild Flower Cross Stitch book. Now, if only those pretty Cosmo embroidery threads would get there!

Wild Flower Garden Cross Stitch
by Kazuko Aoki
ISBN 9784579109173
available at the workroom

I am obsessing over cross stitch right now. It’s something I’ve always been really interested in, but haven’t officially learned. I’m working on changing that! I’ve ordered a line of Japanese embroidery floss called Cosmo (over 400 colours!) for the workroom and once that arrives we’ll be launching an Intro to Cross Stitch class. Yay!!

In the meantime, I’m doing lots of ‘research’ and pre-planning for future projects. When I came across this book, I ordered it right away for the shop. (and grabbed a copy for myself!) It is filled with page after page of gorgeous cross stitch flower designs and projects. I am imagining cross stitching these happy floral designs during the cold winter and feeling cheered up by creating a stitched garden scene.

Speaking of cross stitch and general cute-ness… I wanted to let you know about Amanda & Ashleigh’s new shop for cross stitch and quilt-y patterns. The shop is called ‘The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery‘. The shop just launched and I am really excited to make these patterns. Cross stitched candy corn in halloween costumes?!! TOO cute. Their holiday patterns are coming soon and I can’t wait to see what they are.

Sorry about the teaser the other day, I was just so excited that I had to share a wee bit. Here are the beginnings of my idea. I’ve been wanting to cross stitch into wood for a while, of course the thought of drilling hundreds of tiny holes (in a perfect grid formation) into wood does not appeal to anyone. Luckily, the workroom possesses a magical machine called a laser cutter. (That statement alone deserves its’ own post)

After a little computer fiddling, I came up with a few very simplistic designs. I hope to refine them much more. These wooden cross stitch pendants are tiny little canvases that you can stitch little designs or monograms into. How fun! I’m just learning about cross stitch patterns, so my first one is just a simple heart. If you look closely, you’ll see it’s not symmetrical.

In my cross stitch research, I came across the site, Radical Cross Stitch which is full of fun, modern cross stitching. I especially love the Banksy cross stitch. Hmm, embroidered graffiti…

Also, the Antique Pattern Library is a huge (free!) online resource for vintage needlework patterns, including knitting, crochet and embroidery. There are hours of fun there.

Of course, now my mind is racing with a thousand ideas and it’s keeping me up late at night!

I almost didn’t head out to this show, but I’m so glad that I did. There is no way that I would have seen Grant Heaps’ textile piece otherwise, it’s absolutely massive. A few months ago Grant put out a call for vintage cross stitch patterns and now I know why. His piece is an interpretation of one of those patterns, made up of one inch squares of fabric loosely stitched together. It’s absolutely incredible.

Grant is a regular at the workroom’s Quilt Sunday and each month he brings in one of a series of quilts he has been working on for over a year. They are each magnificent, using only scraps of fabrics and detailed embroidery to depict a narrative in imagery and text. You can read a great profile of Grant on Toronto Craft Alert.

Bev Hisey’s hand-tufted carpet representations of various diseases and bacteria in petry dishes was my other favourite from this show. Who knew that SARS could be so beautiful?

Take a look here to read about the other participants. Radiant Dark is organized by MADE and is now on my list of MUST SEES for next year.

Of course, there’s one last thing to report on from the weekend – the Love & Rummage Trunk Show! But since today is my day off and I worked extra hard last week, I’ve scheduled in a few hours of seriously indulgent relaxation. I’ve just made a pot of cheese fondue and I’m going to curl up under my quilt and read a deliciously trashy novel. I won’t admit just yet which novel it is, but I’ll give you a hint – it was very recently made into a movie. (MB – Yes, it’s THAT novel and I’m swooning already)

{NOTE: WOW, a huge thanks to Grace for posting these photos on Design*Sponge. Welcome, to everyone who is visiting from one of my all time favourite blogs! Also, Grant Heaps has posted some comments below speaking a bit more about his textile piece. Be sure to check them out to find out exactly how many little squares make up that huge piece)

Trimmed Quilt Block, originally uploaded by the workroom.

My quilt top is now completely pieced together. I can hardly believe it. Since this is my first quilt, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to make it absolutely perfect. This personal pressure definitely accounts for the fact that it took me 5+ years to collect all the ‘right’ fabrics for it.

You’ve already met Lorelei (the centre piece blue floral), now you can meet all the other fabrics. The fabrics that started it all and set the tone for the colour palette are the first three from right to left. These fabrics were designed by my dear friend Angela for a bedding line that didn’t end up going into production. I snatched up all the sheet samples after the market show was over. The fabrics are yarn dyed, meaning that the yarns were dyed beforehand and then woven together. That stripe is not printed, it’s woven. Even the two solids have multiple coloured threads woven in which really adds another dimension. Besides being designed by a close friend, this fabric doesn’t exist anywhere else, except for in this quilt. How cool is that?

The dark brown fabric was a purchase from the legendary Purl Soho. It’s hard to see, but there is a very subtle cross stitch print with the alphabet going through it.

The last fabric is from the My Folklore collection by Lecien. I found this fabric in the very first order I received for the shop. It was last summer when the boxes of fabric arrived at my house. (I hadn’t even secured a space yet) I couldn’t resist opening up the packages and checking out the fabrics I had chosen. It was even better than Christmas. When I saw that brown floral on blue, I ran to my room and got out my bag of collected quilt fabrics. Yes! This was the final fabric I had been waiting for.

Stay tuned for a look at all the blocks together.

p.s. I had key lime pie for breakfast today. I thought somebody should know that.