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Knowing when to quit.

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I’ve been working on my ballerina for some time now. The main obstacle in beginning the work was that I couldn’t come up with a nice tutu design. Sooo, I’ve begun looking at actual ballet tutus used in dance companies.

Of course, I had to settle down for one of the most complicated looking tutus out there. Even though I grossly simplified the detailing, stitching this would require a lot of layering of different stitches and working with incredibly thin lines. None of that I have ever practiced but I didn’t want to sell myself short. It can’t be that hard…

Sadly, after not too long I began resenting my choice. I wasn’t happy knowing that each element of the piece would be a challenge. Differently from when I’ve embroidered the hunk pillow, it wasn’t a question of mastering a single stitch, but three or four on a very limited surface: the split stitch, the satin stitch, the tailed french knot and who knows what else would come to my mind.

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It just didn’t look good enough. I wasn’t good enough of a stitcher. Yet. That’s a tough thought to swallow.

 

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In the end, I was faced with one of the tougher decisions for a perfectionist/completionist like me: either keep on going and feel miserable about the process and the product, or abandon it while I’m ahead. The final push was the realization that I didn’t look forward to stitching this project anymore, unlike with the pillow where I had a ton of fun doing it.

I hope I was able to learn a lesson here: if it’s not fun, it ain’t gonna get done. I need to remember that this is a hobby, not a job and not to push myself for the sake of pushing. So many stitchers make it look so easy, but one forgets how much time, trial and error goes into mastering a single stitch. A tough reminder, but I’m ready to try again!

Do you know when to quit while you’re ahead?

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New ballet pattern: Relevé

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The next pattern in my Ballet series is here! While I was browsing through history of ballet dancing, I came across this photo of the Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso performing the ballet figure Relevé. When I think of a ballerina, I pretty much have this beautiful pose in mind.

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Needless to say, I had to adapt it for embroidering! Can’t wait to bring her to life.

Amazing fact: Alicia was almost blind during her ballet career and yet managed to become a ballet superstar! I guess extraordinary circumstances produce extraordinary people… or extraordinary people thrive in extraordinary circumstances?

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Manicure your pattern!

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Today I have a tip for improving your tracework using a tool straight out of an over-the-top nail art salon!

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When I began stitching, I couldn’t get my head around transferring a pattern onto fabric. It cost me a lot of trial and error before I’ve figured out something that worked for me. Where I live, iron-on patterns are unavailable or hopelessly dated (ducks in bonnets, yarn-covered kittens…). I’ve also had bad experiences with iron-on pencils turning out to be barely visible on the fabric. Drawing on the fabric directly seemed a daunting task for a perfectionist like me. The only method that sort-of worked was transferring a pattern using carbon (dressmaker’s) paper.

The problem was that it cost a lot of effort finding balance between the right amount of pressure from a blunt pencil and the visibility of the line underneath. Press too light and you can’t see a thing (and while you’re peeking, the paper shifts from it’s original position…), press too hard and it tears. There had to be a solution…

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Practice Makes Tidy

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I’ve recently completed my first big project: a cheeky pillowcase for one of my friends using one of Jenny Hart’s patterns:

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I felt reasonably comfortable with the split stitch from my previous projects and decided to embroider the whole pillowcase in the stem stitch instead. I’ve figured that any mistakes would be a good exercise in letting go of perfectionism. I’ve comforted myself with the knowledge that my friends praise my food regardless of how awful I think it is, so it should be no different with my handwork. 

Just that… bad food disintegrates (in the bowels or the bin), but bad gifts are forever…

However, to my pleasant surprise, it didn’t turn out half bad. So much so that I am still putting off actually gifting the pillowcase. What’s even better, the stitching clearly documents my progress in mastering the stem stitch, front and back!

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IKEA and Thick Skin

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While I’ve only ever admired them from afar, last night I have most likely experienced what all ballerinas experience: grinding pain on the tools of their trade. In their case, their toes; in my case, my fingertips.

A while ago I have acquired a variety of textiles from IKEA. I was looking for something tightly woven to hold my stitches well. Most local and online shops carried counted linen which was too loose for my liking (16 count at most). Having had a great experience with the GURLI pillowcase from IKEA, I’ve found they carried nice, thick and tight cotton sold by the meter for half the price of AIDA linen: MINNA. It was really nice to the touch… drum-tight in my hoop…

Hoop Ballerina

 

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Ballerina With an Attitude

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Behold, my very first embroidery pattern! ❤

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This ballerina is performing the Attitude ballet figure. You can find the design page here, or in Embroidery Patterns > Ballet Figures in the menu above. I’ve kept her tutu nice and simple, that way you can design your very own outfit! You can even ignore the ruffling and go for a clean, straight hem or pleating!

Okay, to be completely honest, I’m at loss when it comes to her costume design myself. I’ve even gone so far as to print out copies of the pattern and color them in with different designs in question… I have a color palette, but still not a clue. Maybe you have any ideas?

As for the design, I’ve been inspired by a behind-the-scenes documentary series about the dancers of the Dutch National Ballet. I’m a sucker for ballets and operas, but can only afford a ticket once in a blue moon (usually sponsored). This way I can bring some of the drama into my life.

Make sure to tell me what you think! More ballet to come your way soon!

Un, deux, trois… rond de jambe attitude… 

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How It Came to Be!

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Welcome!

I’ve created this blog to document and share my experiences with surface embroidery. I will also share embroidery patterns that I create for myself. I’m currently working on a series of ballet-inspired patterns! Stay tuned!

I’m very much a beginner, only having started to embroider in January. I was in a bad place and I wanted to find a simple task to bring some calmness and creativity into my days. On this blog I hope to document some progress and encourage myself and other to get the most enjoyment out of my new hobby.

I will post all of my work: The good (enough), the bad and the ugly embroidery. As with everything in life, practice makes perfect – or in this case, pretty!