Summer Stitching Club with Mollie Johanson | Wild Olive

Last month, I wrote about a stitch-a-long that I was really excited about. The Wild Olive Summer Stitching Club with Mollie Johanson started at the beginning of June, and now I'm hooked on mini-embroideries and hexies!

Fabric & Floss for Summer Stitching Club

When I last posted about the SSC, I had picked out my fabrics and embroidery floss but hadn't gotten started yet. While at the fabric store, I found myself stuck trying to figure out what fabrics I wanted to use. I saw the same blue that Mollie is using, and tried to resist getting it, but it was so cute, I had to copy her! After I had the blue selected, it was easy to pick the rest. This picture shows a yellow fabric with white circles, which is similar to another fabric that Mollie is using, but I don't think I'll be using that one after all.






When the second week of the SSC began, I still hadn't started cutting fabric or stitching the designs. I was really worried that I would be behind the entire summer, but once I got started, there was no stopping. I was a stitching machine! I even have most of my non-embroidered hexies made, waiting to be stitched together.

2013 Summer Stitching Club - Week 1-3

At the end of the summer, all the hexies can be stitched up together to make a mini-quilt or placemat or whatever else you can imagine. I think I might make mine into a pillow, so I changed the orientation of the hexies. I have a tendency to change my mind, a lot, so who know what it will actually become in the end. I'm excited to find out!

I'm loving making hexies!

I've spent way too much time checking out everyone's projects on Instagram and in the Wild Olive Flickr group, but it's a lot of fun to be creating something right along with people from all over. It's also neat to see how people tweak the project and make it their own. The summer just got started; it's not too late to join us!

Goodbye Google Reader!

Since this isn't all that crafty a post, I'll keep it short and sweet.

I don't know if you've heard, but Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st.

I've been using Bloglovin' for a while now, and I love it! The interface is simple and clean, and you can easily organize the blogs you follow into categories. You can comment or like blog posts right from your feed, and my super favorite part is that that there are iPhone & iPad apps so you can get all your favorite blogs in one place while on the go.

If you are currently using Google Reader and need a new place to get all your bloggy goodness, consider switching to Bloglovin'. Here's a good tutorial to help you get your new Bloglovin' account set up.

If you're already on Bloglovin' and haven't followed me yet, here's a linky for you!  :)

Coming Soon: Monthly Newsletter & Stitching Videos

Monthly Newsletter

Yay! I'm really excited about this.

I've been thinking about setting up a monthly newsletter for a while now, and decided to finally take the plunge! I blog about my everyday "acts of craftiness" - my personal crafting, recipes I love, fun things I make for my toddler, things that inspire me, etc. - and not much about my cross stitch and embroidery.

I'm planning to include behind-the-scenes insight into my pattern development, new patterns and kits that have been added to the shop, awesome stitching resources and tutorials I've found or made, special sales and giveaway info, and free patterns. I have patterns I design that don't make it into the shop for whatever reason, and I wanted a way to share them as free patterns. I know I could just add them to a tab on the blog, but I thought it would be nice to share them with the people that support me most first.

I set up the subscription box up on my blog yesterday, and have already gotten some subscribers! Thanks so much to everyone that's already signed up.

Stitching Videos / Tutorials

As a teacher, I know that not everyone learns in the same way. I tend to be a visual and kinesthetic learner, so I need to see how to do something or do it myself before I really know how to do it. All of my cross stitch patterns and kits come with basic cross stitch instructions with diagrams, but sometimes seeing things in action is better. No one I knew growing up did embroidery or cross stitch, so I taught myself. I'd love to help out others, so I'm working on putting together some stitching how-to videos. I'll make sure to let you know when new videos are available so you can check them out.

What do you like to read about in newsletters? What stitching tutorials would you like to see?

Playing Catch Up

How has it been a week since my last post? Time seems to be flying by, but at least I'm having fun.

Here are some projects I've been working on:

My "Garden"

My son and I planted some Black Cherry tomatoes and basil in containers on our front deck, and they have been doing really well. Little Man and I go out every morning and water everything. He has his own elephant watering can, and loves it. I think I have an "awww moment" pretty much every morning when he uses it.

Yesterday I made some bamboo tomato cages for the plants. This video gave me the idea to use bamboo poles, but I changed the design a bit. I need to fix the spacing of the horizontal bars and add one more row at the top, but I think I did a decent job in just an hour and with the "help" of a two-year-old.

Gardening with Little Man

Wild Olive's Summer Stitching Club

Wild Olive's Summer Stitching Club started on Monday, and I'm already behind! I've had the welcome info for a few weeks, which included the fabric requirements, floss colors needed, and the hexie templates. I originally planned to have my fabric cut, and maybe a few hexies made, before the first pattern arrived in my inbox. Wishful thinking I guess. So far, I've purchased my fabric and floss and printed out the first pattern.

The fabric and floss colors make me happy. I can't wait to get started!

Fabric & floss for Wild Olive's Summer Stitching Club

ABC Quilt

I just finished stitching block #14 of my son's ABC Quilt this morning. I'm almost halfway done with the embroidery part of the project; only 16 more blocks to go!

I've been posting photos of the blocks on Instagram and Flickr as I finish them. Check them out and let me know what you think!

N is for Night ABC Quilt block

Me

I started working out again at the end of January, and as of this morning, I'm down 20 pounds! Finding the time to work out each day when I have a very energetic toddler and there are SO MANY other things I'd rather be doing is a challenge. I haven't been perfect about working out every time I am supposed to and I've let myself indulge on bad food a few times, but I'm glad I've stuck with it.

What have you been up to?