i’ve been trying to limit my extra-curricular commitments with all the house business that’s going on over here, but i couldn’t help signing up for the “dr whoopla’ swap on craftster this month. embroidery hoops with a dr who theme? come on! how could i possibly resist?

i went for a simple-but-cute look, and i’m pretty happy with how it turned out. the lettering is a little wonky, because i’m used to working either with less strict lines, or more structured fabric (aida, or dublin linen, for example).

here’s where the quote comes from:

i hope my partner likes it. i’ll be sending it off this week!
essie xoxox

skulls aren’t really part of my usual aesthetic, but i think día de los muertos is a fantastic holiday. i think it’s important for us to honour and remember friends and family that we’ve lost, and if that can be done with sugar skulls, flowers, fireworks and noise, i say that beats black crepe and lilies.

in a recent craftster swap, i was partnered with someone who likes this holiday, so i thought i’d make her an embroidery of a sugar skull…

it was supposed to be a small project, but i got so into it that it ended up being a big one!

it was fun to work with brighter colours than i normally do.

these hoops are now living in california, where i hope they will be very happy.
essie xoxox

i have just GOT to show you all what i received from a wonderful craftster swapper today…

it is a fox scarf! the cruelty free kind! i am going to wear it around and pretend i am constance trentham in gosford park.
brilliant.

essie xoxox

like most crafty people, i have my own shtick. i like flowers, i like woodland creatures, i like things to be cute and a little bit funny. things like skulls, monsters and zombies are not really what i do.

but i’ve been signing up to a few swaps on craftster lately, and it’s been taking me outside of my crafty comfort zone. for example, i made this plushy for a craftster who likes zombies:

she might be a ruthless brain-eater, but i couldn’t help making her a leeeetle bit cute…
essie xoxox

here are a few stitches from an embroidery i’m working on for another swap…

i’m liking the results so far, and i’m looking forward to showing you the whole thing. i think it might surprise you
essie xoxox

my little swap package has arrived in holland, so i can finally show you all the things i made for my partner!

the theme was samhain/autumn, so i went with a leafy motif, and also included some australian treats (with instructions on how they should be used!).

(click the image to be taken to an annotated version!)

my swap partner said she liked teal and amber, so i brushed off my rusty jewelery-making skills and made her a pair of earrings

she said on her wishlist that she needed a pincushion so i made her an embroidered one with acorns and oak leaves

i had fun stitching the little acorns. i might make something with a similar motif for my own house one of these days…

one of the other things on my swap partner’s wishlist was a set of coasters. i showed you a glimpse of these the other day, and now i can show you the finished product

it was such fun to craft for someone on the other side of the world. and now i get the pleasure of looking forward to a parcel arriving with surprises in it for me!
essie xoxox

i’ve spent the last few days working on a swap that i am doing through craftster. i even brought my needle and hoop alongto the market with me on the weekend.

one of the three projects for the swap is now finished, and while i can’t show you the whole thing, i can show you some of the tiny stitchy details…

i’ve worked mostly with cottage garden threads for this project, because the theme of the swap is “autumn” and the changing colours of that season seem to be very well expressed by the luscious variegated colours in their hand-dyed, botanically inspired range.

now to get started on the next project!
essie xoxoxox