So, about a year ago or more, in an attempt to make myself less hung-up on formulating a clear idea of a finished product and tossing out my need to draw out my embroidery patterns in advance, I decided to make a pillow that was just one thread colour on a background of my choosing, and the pattern was to be determined as I went along. About 1/3 of the way into it, I got discouraged and stopped. So now that I’m not working, (thanks to my husband’s encouragement too) I’ve had time to pick it up once again . Anyway, I finished last week finally! It still has yet to be sewn into a pillow cover, but that will be the easy part!

My mom was so sweet, and bought me the much coveted Mina Perhonen book- vol.2 which is the Embroidery volume. I’m very excited about it. It was on my Christmas list, but I made my Christmas list a bit too late in the season (oops). So my mom gave it to me as a Valentines/Moving In present (we recently moved). The folks over at Tortoise wrapped it so nicely. Thanks again mom- I was not expecting this! See how pretty it is…

Here’s a closeup of one of my great find this weekend.  Oh yeah, and it was 89 cents!

These felt pillows are sweet and simple.

These wool felt rugs by Melina Raissnia are gorgeous… I am a bit obsessed with felting since I took a class last year at Machine Project Gallery in Echo Park. I can’t imagine ever felting something this size!
(via here)

I found Karen Kimmel’s work (via here) and I was really interested in her collaboration with Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, which serves artists with physical, mental and developmental disabilities. During a series of workshops, the group created over 200 drawings with various stencils. Several of these were selected to be transformed into hooked rugs, at which point the rugs were sent to Kimmel and upholstered onto wooden bases.

A singular find: Complete Book of Needlepoint by Carolyn Ambuter. I just want to make something with these letters!

I keep finding more and more designers who are creating artful, high-fashion pieces with crochet/knitting techniques, often used in conjunction with other media. The result is often very sculptural and highly textured. Here are a few that I’ve found recently.

Lina Peterson:

Yarborough jewelry:

Sandra Backlund (who I found via Dezeen) is amazing- this photo is from a previous season, but you should really explore her site to see the full range of her work:

I stumbled across work from Emily Barletta, who is making fantastic crocheted pieces which are very biology-centric. You can check out her work on her site, or on Art Star (where she is showing currently).