I went out for lunch today and found this cute chopstick wrapper at the Chinese restaurant I visited:

I really like the design, and would like to use it somehow. I’ll have to think about that a bit more.

After lunch, I stopped by a Korean stationery store called Morning Glory, and happened upon some mini cross-stitch kits. They were mainly keychains and phone charms, but they provided all the supplies and various patterns to give you a few options. I found this really cute one that I wanted to buy, but the actual fabric for the charm was missing, and it didn’t seem worth $5 without it.

Though I didn’t buy the set, it did remind me that I found a Korean cross-stitch community awhile ago, and there were some cute patterns there. Unfortunately, the site was pretty outdated, with the forum closed down a few years ago from what I remember. I can’t find the link at the moment, but I’ll dig around in my files and see if I can find it again.

Thanks to Rebecca for sharing some cross-stitch links. I especially liked the Asian designs on one of the sites, and the Sanrio one has been a favorite of mine for awhile.

I decided to check out a local embroidery store this morning, and was reminded why I don’t visit these places all that often. I didn’t really need any fibers or other supplies, but just wanted to browse, taking some time to look through the various patterns and kits they had.

I did find a few patterns that seemed somewhat ok, like a few involving satin and other stitches in nice, geometric patterns. But all of the rest were so completely cutesy and unappealing to me, that I felt almost too young to even be in that store, let alone interested in embroidery.

Now, I like cute things, like crazy Japanese characters that don’t make much sense (cats in food?!), but I do not find anything appealing in teddy bears, cherubs, baby dolls, animals wearing aprons, or any other traditionally cute things that seems geared towards grandmothers and housewives. That’s fine if you dig that kind of thing, but it makes me want to puke.

I know there are some cool embroidery pattern makers out there, who actually make stuff I like, like Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching (fun and retro) or Katherine Shaughnessy of Wool & Hoop (modern, but simple), but that’s really all I know of and that’s not very much. I mean, I adore their designs, but they only have so many, and none are cross-stitch or things like that. Well, there’s Subversive Cross-Stitch, though they’re more focused on funny phrases.

I guess this just leads me back to creating my own designs, which I briefly tried my hand at earlier this year. It does take a bit of work, of course, and I don’t often feel that inspired or creative when it comes with what I can come up with. Here are some photos of what I did though:

 

The one on the left was sort of a cheat, because I started with an icon I found on a Japanese illustrator’s site (Hot Apple Pie). And the one on the right was a few steps away from a past art class project idea I borrowed, though it turned into practice using the Norwich stitch. So, not entirely original, but still fun to work on.

Anyway, I would love to know if there are some other cool embroidery sites out there that have something that is more appealing than the grandma-style stuff that seems to be pretty plentiful. Anyone?

While clicking around on some craft blogs this morning, I came across a pretty neat site that offers audio files all about crafting:

Crafty Pod

So far, they have files covering topics like pipe cleaners and bead art, and the parts that I listened to were very well done. Not only do they include information about potential projects, but some have interviews with artists/crafters and even trivia about certain craft supplies. Very cool stuff.

I have definitely been doing a bit too much shopping at craft stores lately, mainly stocking up on more scrapbook paper (as if I need more!). Unfortunately, this seems to open up my craving for even more supplies, and it’s hard to force myself from buying things.

At the top of my list right now:

• A sewing machine! I’ve been thinking about getting one for awhile, especially after coming up with some neat project ideas for stitching on paper, and having seen other crafters sewing great things. I bought of those mini crafting ones awhile ago, but it was awful, so I never used it. But if I had a real one, maybe I’d actually use it, at least once I learned how to.

  I’m not working at the moment though, so maybe it’s not the best time to buy something like this. But it’s only $100 or so, and maybe I could make things with it that I could sell. I’ve had my eye on the Kenmore Mini Ultra models, though maybe I should just get a real one, since they’re not that expensive. I need to ask around some more, I guess.

• The cutest ribbon ever! I still have a brand new, unused pack of another of this company’s ribbon, but I still really want these too. The designs are just the kind of thing I like, but what will I really do with it all? Run it through an adhesive machine and decorate cards with it?
• Embroidery patterns/kits! I just started working on a rather large cross-stitch project, which I should really focus on, but it’s made me want to start additional projects. The problem is finding ones that aren’t too ugly or cutesy, and that usually means that the goods ones are a bit expensive. Maybe I should just try making my own patterns with PC Stitch, since I can create patterns that I actually like then.

I finally was able to attend a craft group meeting at the Campbell Library last night. It was organized on Craftster in June, but I wasn’t able to attend until this month. And I’m so glad I did!

The overall atmosphere was very mellow, with everyone just working on projects and chatting about both crafty and non-crafty things. A few people brought snacks, and there were some crafty books off to the side as well.

It was really cool to see the variety of projects that everyone brought. A few women embroidered, while another woman painted a swap project; someone else was decorating a canvas painting of the Virgin Mary with sequins, and another woman was making yarn from dark green roving.

I didn’t have any particular project to bring, so I sat and made envelopes while I was there, leaving with a total of 22 envelopes, including a set of 6 matching ones that I will make cards for. Not bad for about an hour’s work.

For next month’s meeting, I think I’ll bring the cross-stitch project I started today, assuming that I’m still working on it by then. And I am going to try to rope in at least one former co-worker who is crafty too. The more, the merrier.