Pages

5.05.2013

A LITTLE NEEDLEWORK IN THE BEDROOM


sadly i'm not much for crafting. it such a perpetual source of disappointment in my life! there are a million reasons why crafting is dumb but it mostly comes down to i'm not much of a perfectionist so whatever i make ends up looking sad and rumply, and getting craft supplies is sort of tragic when there isn't any room to put anything. 

oh but i doooo love needlework. like a very old granny, my favorite thing is an evening at home with blanket over my tootsies, a needle in my hands, and a hoop of fabric in my lap. and a good strong head lamp. one time i very seriously considered buying some of those fabulous old man magnifying glasses from the drugstore to wear while doing counted cross stitch but luckily for my poor dear husband i'm not quite that far gone. almost. but not quite yet. 

one of my more ambitious dreams is to someday needlework a whole tapestry. like a full-on medieval tapestry huge-ass wall hanging. pardon my french. 

i'm running out of conceivable wall space for any future projects, but here is one that i finally finished that i've been enjoying lately. i hatched up the idea randomly when i was searching for a good excuse to need more deer antlers for my apartment (there aren't any good reasons) and i realized i could probably cross stitch one instead, somehow. like that would be any better.


so i google-imaged a deer and i eyed it into cross-stitch replica of sorts it and it was very idaho-y and then i realized i should do one for the time we spent living in portland as newlyweds. a series!


same process as before, and my little rain clouds came out so cute and i loved them so much that i needed one for our utah time. we were only in utah for about four months as very newly-newlyweds and already it was four months too many, but such as. (just kidding, utah!) (OR AM I.)


it's a beehive obviously please tell me you love it. ;)


the one that took me the longest to conceptualize and the one that i finished in the most slipshod way was the one for our times in new york city. i used a photo i took from the 5th floor of abc carpet & home for inspiration. water towers! i have a thing for water towers these days. hey guess what you can see all the dark threads through the back and it's super rumply, but perfectionism isn't really my jam.

they live on the wall in the bedroom and every night as i climb into bed i like to look at them and smile. 

i also spend a lot of time rehanging them. huck seems to delight in sneaking them off the wall and leaving them for me on my pillow. a little needlework surprise. ;)

there! 

58 comments:

  1. Pure talent sister! I love the idea of each representing a time in your life, so awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great job! I would love to create my own pattern. I just don't think I can get things from the visual in my head onto "the canvas". Instead I've been doing the funky designs in Cath Kidston's "Stitch". She's a good egg.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely love the little deer! You're making me want to give a go at this needlework business. I'm not much for perfectionism either.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love them! Very cute. Since adding my little voice to the craft blogging community, I've learned that sewing-crafting bloggers are the best, best kind. Always kind words, never perfectionism or nitpicking. Make all the things! Make them rumpled! Rumpled is best. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AMAZING. I love this so much.

    now I need to take a needlepoint class! i've been thinking about it for a few months now, but you've inspired me to really make it happen!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are talented and lovely! I have the exact opposite problem when it comes to crafts: I'm a complete and total perfectionist. I undoubtedly become paralyzed halfway through an art project because I realize that its not going to be absolutely perfect and therefore I am incapable of finishing (make sense to you? yeah, me neither). This series is 100% perfect - and thats high praise coming from me! You should take your show on the road and start designing custom needlework - as though you aren't busy enough.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These are great! You have so much talent Hanna

    ReplyDelete
  8. That majestic deer would like a turd if I did this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. love you even more now... if that's even possible?

    ReplyDelete
  10. those rain clouds are especially cute.

    ReplyDelete
  11. also, when my husband looked over my shoulder and saw this, he asked, "why don't you get into needlepoint?" so, well done!

    ReplyDelete
  12. oh my GOODNESS. these are fantastic. i especially love the deer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the idea of all the places you have lived! Is there a picture you have of all of them together?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Adorable, and inspiring for those of us that aren't perfectionists, and find that our crafting projects come out rumply.

    anaudblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh I love these. The deer and the Portland one!

    ReplyDelete
  16. So I dont know much about needle work... but do you just free hand it? or follow some sort of a pattern? so cute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i freehanded these, which is actually easier than you'd think when you're doing counted cross stitch. i don't think i could ever free hand an actual needlepoint.

      Delete
  17. I rather like Salt Lake City. Between the two places I've lived Bay Area, CA and SLC, UT I would honestly pick Utah. Anyways! Darling wall and cross stitching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i like to tease utah, i should probably always include a disclaimer. i loved it there, i did. i just also really hated it there in that particular kind of way ;). and thank you!

      Delete
  18. I'm not a crafty person. I so wish I was. But nothing comes out looking right. I love your needlework! I need something like that to brighten up my flat.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, those are so great! You think you're not creative, but I betcha most people (like me) can't even conceptualize something like that! Those are seriously so wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you ashley, you're so sweet!

      Delete
  20. This is so pretty, I'd love to have a wall like thatxx

    ReplyDelete
  21. That needlework? So pretty. So very, very pretty. Loooooooove it! (I'm almost tempted to learn how to do it, heh heh.)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love all your needlework! I was trying to picture you wearing granny glasses, snug in a blanket, and doing needlework while watching Vampire Diaries as I was reading this. The lone deer is pretty awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i would TOTALLY be watching vampire diaries while working, hahahah, so true!

      Delete
  23. My mom has a very large tapestry she's been working on for DECADES. It's hard to finish, apparently. I love that you do a needlepoint symbolizing where you've lived, and my hubby gets a tattoo....LE SIGH. I, too, am over Utah. 6 years this June! SO. OVER IT.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I wish I was better at needlework! Mostly I am a complete doughnut when it comes to crafting. I try, I fail, I eat a bit of chocolate...

    ReplyDelete
  25. needlework is something i haven't yet attempted but wish i knew how to do. guess i've gotta awaken my inner 70 year-old.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sweet, fun, personally meaningful; this is what crafting should be!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Those are so cute! My mom is a seamstress so I have been sewing since I was a little. I don't do it as much as I did when I was younger. I wish I had more time...and patience. haha

    xo Lisa
    Making Life's Lemons

    ReplyDelete
  28. Awe! I love it all! You have an eye for decorating!!

    xo
    Rachel

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love the idea for the series!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Great idea to do a series of them! Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  31. totally adorable
    www.thismomsgonnasnap.com

    ReplyDelete
  32. I've been in Utah for seven years and trust me, that is seven years and one day too many for me!

    ReplyDelete
  33. You rock sista! These are awesome. Sign me up when you start selling these beauties!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Love the bee! We are obsessed with bees around here!

    ReplyDelete
  35. really like the nyc one - very creative.

    ReplyDelete
  36. LOVE! IT! So talented and that wall is so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  37. these are fantastic, my friend also makes some beautiful stitch work. You can see some of her work here http://veromulas.blogspot.co.uk/ although they are so much more beautiful in person. x

    ReplyDelete
  38. Love these diy needlework!! I'll never have the patience to complete even 1.. Let alone a few of them. you go girl! :)

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a great collection, such a thoughtful representation of where you have spent your time.

    ReplyDelete
  40. the beehive is my favorite. but i do have an affinity for bees since i got married, my husband & i's first meal as a married couple was to a restaurant that threw felt bees at the customers!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thank you for featuring my rain clouds pattern :) - Tina, www.sewingseed.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 15, 2013

      Thanks for linking your pattern - it's obvious she didn't come up with it herself.

      Delete
    2. you should read the comment I left to a previous commenter--I didn't use any patterns but I did do a google image search for "cross stitch rain clouds" and "cross stitch reindeer." I didn't realize the patterns were for sale, that would have saved me some effort!

      Delete
    3. I love Sewingseed's work.....she's very talented and createf that raincloud pattern. I'm glad to see she inspired you but you should give her credit, it would be the right thing to do. ;)

      Delete
    4. AnonymousJune 16, 2013

      Nat, you also implied that you "conceptualized" these patterns. Seems intentionally misleading.

      Delete
  42. those are darling! I haven't cross-stitched since middle school, but I did love it. maybe ill pick it up again.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I like to cross stitch too. My husband actually did it when he was about 8 years old. I hadn't done it in ages and he challenged me to a race to see who could finish a pattern first. We got two mini patterns at Jo-Ann's for 1.50 each and the race is on! We can only work on them at the same time and had our first stitching session last night. I was looking forward to chatting with him while we did it, but last night was funny as we were both so focused we hardly talked at all! Maybe we'll relax more next time. :)

    We were looking up patterns online and found this site that makes patterns of famous (and not so famous) paintings. They are gorgeous and some of them are huge! I dare you to try one! Maybe it will be like a tapestry? http://www.scarletquince.com/index.php

    Your stitches are awesome. That is a fun concept. We're moving this summer to our fourth locale since being married. I've never created my own stitches, but my hubby is pretty artistic. Maybe I'll make him draw it out on graph paper and I'll do the stitching. (I'm pretty sure I'll win our race after all :)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Could you link where you got the patterns please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i didn't use patterns for these (probably should have!), but i did do a google image search for "cross stitch rain clouds" and "cross stitch reindeer" and sort of winged it from there. a few readers have linked to patterns in the comments so please use those!"

      Delete
  45. OH my gosh! These are so cute! Anyone who wants the little rain clouds pattern can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/93916338

    ReplyDelete
  46. I really appreciate your professional approach. I would like to thank you for the efforts you made in writing this post.mundocosturas

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated because mama ain't no fool.