Eight-Year-Olds, Dude.

Holy smokes, 3 posts in one day!  Can you believe it?  Yep, you are that special.

Remember those errands I mentioned on Thursday?  One has been a long time coming.

That's right!  I finally finished The Jesus!!!  Took long enough, huh?  Poor Shannon had to wait forever for him.  I'll be honest, I set him down quite a few times.  Ready to give up and completely start over.  Unsure of my choices and a wee bit over the purple, after having it in several of my recent projects.  But I kept on truckin' and he's finally done.  He's arrived at his new home and now I can share some pictures with you.

(Click for a larger view.)

I ventured a little beyond my usual embroidery style, incorporating paint into this piece.  Feels good to bring my two loves together.  And of course, I had to fit in some metallic floss, even if I was embellishing a bit there.  Perhaps that'll end up being my signature.  I'm not much of a glitter/bling girl but I can never resist the urge to bring a little shine to my pieces.  I don't really know why.

The whole thing is stitched with DMC.  I only used 7 colors and the thickest was 3 strands.  Last time I made my own pattern for the piece.  However, this time I was inspired by the cover art for the book, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski, illustrated by Bill Green.  Which is a hilarious read, by the way.  It had to be kid friendly and surprisingly, there are hardly any pictures of him online (that don't involve him licking a bowling ball.)

This was the first time that I signed one of my pieces.

I still don't know how I feel about it.  Part of me thinks it's a bit presumptuous, like it really matters, right?  And then part of me thinks, well, I would sign a painting.  So, I'm not really sure.  What do you thing about signing pieces?  Does it make me look like pompous ass?  Honestly.

Tried This?

Hello kiddos!  I've been stitching a whole lot lately, so I've got nothing but needles and thread on my mind today.  It occurred to me that you guys might like to know some of the tips and tricks that I use when I'm embroidering.

One of the most common complaints with embroidery is how tough it is to work with metallic floss.  In the beginning, I felt the same way.  Years ago I suffered through a race car project made entirely of metallic floss... and all six strands of it too.  After a newcomer mistake like that it's a wonder I ever picked up a needle again.  I've mentioned Thread Heaven before as something that will help you out.  However, I'll show you a little something that you can do that won't cost you anything.  

Did you know that there is a correct way to thread your needle with metallic floss?  Yep, there sure is.  I know you're thinking, don't you just cut a piece, knot one end and put the other through the eye of the needle and then get to stitching?  Well, that will work too but trust me, once you try it the other way you'll never go back.  

Cut a piece of floss twice as long as the length you like working with.  Separate one strand of floss from the skein and fold it in half.

Thread the loop created by folding it through the eye of the needle.

Pull this loop over the sharp end of the needle.

Pull the loop back to the eye of the needle.

Adjust the loop so that it held securely under the eye of the needle.

Knot the loose end of the floss as you would normally and get to stitching.

Sometimes I like to mix metallic floss with a regular color.  You can use the same method to accomplish that, just place the two threads together before you fold them in the first step.  Running some thread conditioner or a damp cloth over them in the beginning with help when you are stitching with them.

A few more tips for metallic floss-

* Work slow, choosing the placement of your stitches carefully.  As this type of floss is stiffer than regular embroidery floss it will not lie the same against your fabric.

* Using a slightly larger needle helps too.  It allows the floss to pass through with less fraying.

* If you get tangled up, just let go.  Drop the needle and it will unwind itself.  And with this method you don't have to worry about losing the needle when you do this.

Did I forget anything?  Do you have a tip for working with tricky floss?  If so, I would love to hear it!

Thanks for looking, have a creative and productive day.  Go make something with your shiny floss.

P.S.  Dearest Sam... a teaser for you.  So, the copper floss I used to demonstrate this method?  One of your pieces has already used a whole skein of it!  Curious now, aren't you?  Hmmmm, what could it be?