hand stitching and visible mending

You guys, of course I had to jump on the visible mending band wagon :). How could I possible not? As soon as I first saw the fabulous combination of distressed denim and chunky, prominent hand stitches I was in love.

And, as luck would have it, I had a pair of jeans in my closet that was perfect for giving this technique a try. Now, for a full disclosure, my jeans already had holes in them. But not from wear and tear, they came like that from the store :).

Pretty cool, right? I added a piece of denim to cover the hole from the inside and neatened the frayed edges by stitching them to the denim patch. And then I used cotton yarn to do my visible stitches over the whole area. I absolutely love how this experiment turned out.

It was 100% inspired by Katrina Rodabaugh's fabulous work and I hope you'll check out her IG account. You won't be disappointed.

Now, since I've always enjoyed adding chunky stitching to my projects I decided to take it a step farther and see what happens. I used a 6 strand embroidery thread and added these rows of stitches to cotton fabric - Grunge in Nocturnal. I then turned it into a pouch and I'm smitten.

Just look at this fabulous texture!

How fun is that? I now want to sit and stitch all day long :)

Oh, and I also made this one block where I mixed scraps of fabric with stitching - sort of boro style, I think. So far I like the way it looks but have no idea what (if anything) it will become in the end. That's ok though, I so enjoy the slow, meditative nature of hand stitching that I don't even mind if I end up with a usable item in the end.

Off I go, more stitching to be done!

Wishing you all a happy and creative weekend. Svetlana

mini coin pouch in 50 Little Gifts book

Hello, hello everyone!

Have you seen Lucky Spool's newest book? It's called 50 Little Gifts and is a lovely collection of quick and easy patchwork projects perfect for swapping or gift giving. I'm a huge fan of Lucky Spool books so when I was asked if I'd like my Mini Coin Pouch to be included in 50 Little Gifts I was more than happy to say yes.

I reworked the pattern just a tiny bit and sewed up new samples for the book. Love how they turned out :). These little cuties really are super fun and quick to make.

 I already found quite a few new projects I want to whip up using this new addition to my library, of course.

And you know what? Lucky Spool were kind enough to send me an extra copy of the book which I'm happy to share with one of you. Would you like to play? If so, just hop over to my IG account (click here) and leave a comment for a chance to win this book. Winner will be randomly chosen on Thursday (8- 23).

Wishing you all a happy and productive day. Svetlana

hello :)

Well, hello lovelies! Anybody still there?

I can't believe it's been so long since I last popped into this place :( How are you all doing?

If you follow me on Instagram you probably noticed last few months have been pretty busy and full of change for our family. The biggest thing, of course, has been our intercontinental move from the US to the Netherlands, eeek! And oh-my-goodness! What a change this has been. It's been wonderful in so many ways, while super challenging in some others. That's how things usually are though, aren't they? At least that's what I'm telling myself :)

We traveled a lot, visited many family members we haven't seen in years which was absolutely  wonderful, and now we're slowly adjusting to our new lives. The thing I probably love the most about Netherlands is the bike culture. We bike everywhere! Everywhere! To the grocery store, movies, doctor's office, ... even to Ikea! We actually don't even own a car at the moment because there's just no need for one. How crazy is that!

My new wheels and a tote bag I made using fabulous watermelon print purchased from Miss Matatabi on Etsy. Such a perfect summer tote.

I have, of course, been working on setting up my sewing space. It's tiny but will definitely do for now. I've been sewing up a storm so no complaints here :)

One of my favorite things to make these days are fun little scrappy coasters. They are perfect projects for trying new ideas as well as using up some favorite scraps. Plus, they are super handy to have around the house, too. I can totally see my coaster collection growing in the next few months.

You can see more of the projects I worked on over the past few months on my IG account, of course. Here's the link if you're interested: https://www.instagram.com/sotakhandmade/

Talk to you soon. Svetlana