Springtime Inspiration and Happy Easter!

This time of year is so beautiful here in Germany. After a long, cold, winter, each flower that pops out is a welcome feast for these eyes that have seen nothing but grey. Those blooms provide so much inspiration for the type of stitching we do, and each year, both Teri and I (Kara) take a plethora of pictures as reference for future projects. Here is a little bit of our German inspiration.

 

Spring isn't the only source of inspiration over here. Since we will be leaving Germany in May, I have been actively trying to purchase some European antique treasures that have been on my must-have list. The first was a Bavarian painted armoire, or Bayerisch bemalter Schrank. The one I found has been re-painted, but the cabinet itself is from 1854. I fell in love with the bright colors and authentic paint style and knew that I had found my treasure—I even named her Elsa because that is how much I love it!

Another "unicorn" that I was searching for was a set of Mason china. My mother had purchased a Mason coffee set back in the 70s, long before she knew her daughter would marry a Mason. My mother-in-law also possessed a set of Mason china for her everyday, so owning my own set was my destiny (at least that is what I told my husband). I fell in love with this particular pattern because of the colors—you will probably see a version of it in a future design.

Easter is celebrated with enthusiasm here in Germany. Many homes will have eggs hung on the shrubs and their windows decorated. Collecting decorated eggs is also a hobby here as well. You can read about my visit with one such collector in a Spring "Egg"stravaganza.

Wanting to have a memory of the beautiful egg decorations, I found a lovely lady from Glasgow who was selling her collection of Ukranian painted eggs. The colors and designs on these eggs are so lovely that I may just leave them out all year long!

Teri actually made Ukranian painted eggs with a neighbor

Aren't they beautiful?

Inspiration comes from many places and we hope that we have brought a little to you with our images of what inspires us. May you have a lovely Easter even in these somewhat challenging times, and may the beauty of this season bring you hope and inspiration.

Flora, Fauna, and Free Patterns to Come!

A couple of weeks ago, I (Kara) wrote about the inspiration of nature that I see on my daily walks with the dogs here in Germany. (You can read about that here). What inspires me most is the abundance of wildflowers and insects present along the trails. As I see each one, my mind begins to think, "How could this be stitched?" 

 I have been itching to actually stitch some of what I've seen, and now that my fabric is here, I can! But what we think would be fun is to stitch these images from nature together! Would you like to stitch along with us?

The vision for this project is to re-create all this natural beauty in a series of small, relatively simple designs, that can be finished easily without a lot of fuss and offer them free to our readers for a limited time. Each month a new, small design will come out for you to stitch—suitable for appliqué, wool appliqué, or embroidery—whatever you choose! I will show you what I have done and what materials and stitches were used for that particular block, and any tips or tricks I encountered as it was stitched. Since these will be small, scraps of fabric or wool can easily be used, and if you have some threads that you have been wanting to use, this might be just the project for them. I've laid out some of the possible choices for the first block just to give you a hint as to which block will be first!

Some of the potential fabric and thread choicesfor the first block.
What could it be?

Each design will be done as a 6" finished block, but what will the end result be you might ask? That will remain a mystery for a time, but rest assured, there is a delightful finish planned! If you have a different vision for the blocks, that would be great, too—and we would love to see it. This project is all about flexibility, simplicity, and stitching fun. Our hope is that you will join us in this stitching adventure and share your blocks with everyone as you stitch along. 

Come back next week to get your first free pattern and see the first finished block!

Local Inspiration

When Teri and I found out we would be going global, we knew that running our business would be faced with some new challenges, but we also knew that we would now have a whole new field of inspiration from which to draw. 

I now live in southwestern Germany, and the area is stunningly beautiful! Exploring the local region and all the many things it has to offer has been our primary focus over the last month and a half. We have been to a couple of fests, one castle, and a waterfall. Everywhere we go, I have found some form of inspiration for either embroidery, appliqué or both. In this post, I would like to take you on photo journey of my travels and show you some of the things that have inspired me.

The urn on this armoire would make a stunning appliqué pattern.
Too bad this piece didn't go home with me.

This amazing view is from Castle Hohenzollern

I see appliqué!

The detail on this door is striking.

A painted wall in the castle.

An amazing ceiling in the chapel.

A beautiful stained glass window that would be fun to recreate in fabric.

This reminds me of a papercut pattern.

More lovely stained glass.

I fell in love with this awesome verdigris door.

Even the architecture can be inspiring!

I would love to stitch the pattern on the little sewing box,
but the gnome creeped me out a little.

Since we arrived at the beginning of June, I have been on the GWTD diet. That stands for Gotta Walk the Dogs! It's working pretty well since the beasts below went from a fenced acre to run in to depending on us for their exercise.

Thankfully, just a block from our house are paved trails that meander through orchards, horse farms, and gardens. If that wasn't enough, just a little beyond that is a network of wide trails through the forest. The dogs and I go there just about every morning, and I have been inspired by all the natural beauty I see.

Most of the poppies have bloomed, but I was able to capture this straggler.

These remind me of the Canterbury Bells we have in the states
and would be a lovely wool appliqué project.

A hand-dyed silk ribbon would be great to use to stitch these.

Lots and lots and lots of French knots!

Wildflowers are not the only things we see on our walks—critters of varying kinds can be seen as well. 

This little guy was loving this thistle-like plant!

How kind of this butterfly to pose for me. 

I guess he wasn't finished with his photoshoot! What stitches would you use to make
this "social butterfly"?

Straight stitches for the thistle and appliqué with some French knots for this butterfly.

The snails are pretty big around here!

These sheep remind me of a friend's wool felting project.

A tranquil stitching spot, perhaps?

I have been diligently working on the sample for the Academy of Appliqué, (the catalog will be available August 5th,) so that hasn't left much time to act/stitch on the inspiration I see on a daily basis. Soon my collection of threads and fabric will come into port and make their way to our new, humble abode—maybe then,  I can try to recreate some of the beautiful things I have seen. 

I hope you have enjoyed a little trip to my corner of Germany, and may these pictures inspire you in some way. Have you traveled somewhere that inspired a stitching project? We'd love to hear about it!