Embroidery allows you to add a bit of whatever you fancy to something run of the mill and is an essential weapon in any crafty warriors arsenal. Inspiration for what to embroider is another thing entirely but happily there's help at hand. If you haven't already stumbled across it then Sublime Stitching may very well be your stitching saviour.
Sublime Stitching is "an independently owned and operated honest-to-goodness home-grown business" founded in Austin, Texas by Jenny Hart. Her aim was to drag embroidery into the crafty present and she's been rather successful at doing just that.
From pirate booty and sassy skull 'n' crossbones to the more bizarre meaty treats there's enough choice there to tempt anyone to pick up their needles and get their stitch on.
There are also featured sets from well-known artists. The lastest being a set designed by Tara McPherson, famed for illustrations gracing the posters of music makers such as Death Cab For Cutie and Beck.
The site also includes tutorials if you're a stitching novice. So there really isn't any reason not to train yourself in stitching skills.
So everyone is howling at the New Moon as the second film in the Twilight series hits the screens across the mortal world. Whether you're on sparkly Team Vampire or hairy Team Werewolf it's really all about getting a bit of Twilight into your crafty life in any way possible.
So I was amused, and slightly horrified, to find that lonesome Edward stalkers can now cross stitch themselves their fanged fantasy's undead-cool visage to vamp up their own home. Wrap his mush around a throw pillow to lay beside you and read Wuthering Heights while you sleep, stick it to a blow-up doll and introduce him to your parents over a Sunday roast or put it on one of your cats and re-enact scenes from the films by training your cat to stand in poses that suggest sullen and slightly goth while you trip over things and flirt with a werewolf.
Flit through the shadows over to the Guardian site to download the full pattern. If you can't have the real Edward then a cross-stitch Cullen will just have to do.
The 'sprites' depicted in these cute samplers are instantly recognisable as Mario's friends and helpers, making them the perfect accessory for the modern day Geek home. Presented in miniature hoops, they're a simple idea you could easily reproduce at home, but this batch are the work of Benjbot over at Sorry Town USA [Via Sprite Stitch]
Related: Super Mario felted sprite t-shirt | Heroes of craft: Super Mario Bros.
If you love the hand-made look, why not bring it to your desktop? How About Orange has collected together a selection of fonts that really capture the crafty spirit and will be really useful for your blogs, Etsy shops, or other online hauts. Go here to download 'starry stitch', 'x-stitch', 'knitfont' and 'home sweet home'. [Via Craft]
Related: Spell with Flickr for crazy lettering
As a Londoner I was bound to be impressed by this astonishingly accurate cross-stitch rendition of the Tube map, made by map lover and self-professed geek Meg Pickard.
Seen up close, her map includes all the interchanges found on the real underground, and I love that she's managed to find thread that gets the colours just right for each line. The 'pattern' can, in theory, be found on the Transport for London website (or, indeed, on the back of any London A-Z!) but if you're looking for info on how the map tapestry was put together, Meg has provided it here. [Via Going Underground]
I spotted this charming miniature cross-stitch brooch over at the Craftzine blog today and though it summed up the spirit of crafty thrift that's in vogue at the moment pretty nicely.
I've never seen anyone use cross-stitch in this way before, and the possibilities are endless for messages you might want to display. You can see a whole assortment of them here, from Bugs and Fishes by Lupin, the maker of the 'Make Do' brooch.
Related: The 'Get Excited and Make Things' tee
Or should that be 'point'-dexter needlepoint? Either way, there's been quite a lot of geeky cross-stitch coming in on my radar lately, and I've picked a few of my favourite pieces here.
Top left is a collection of framed tapestries showing scenes from Portal, including the famous 'there will be cake' icon. It's the handiwork of tracethekat on Sprite Stitch. Just underneath is a Kirby/Star Wars mashup scene by gamerghoul13. Too cute!
The geek-stitch cushion is a nice idea that could be adapted to display any tapestry in a useful and home-friendly way. This one shows a DOS prompt in what appears to be a tiny courier font - very old school.
Related: Cross stitch: the internet sampler | Giant Donkey Kong cross stitch
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