The Story Behind My Beautiful New Marigold Botanical Embroidery Designs
Today I’m pinching myself because my first embroidery kits and digital pattern are here!
I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly when I first began dreaming about creating my own embroidery designs, but I know it was many years ago.
I’ve found that sometimes a dream needs a little nudge.
I was nudged into learning how to make block prints by my 2x2 Sketchbook collaboration with Dana Barbieri.
I was nudged into teaching when I was approached by Skillshare and invited to create a class.
I was nudged into embroidery design when I was creating my summer sketchbook class and wanted to include some fun alternatives to working on the page. I picked up a hoop I’d been using for stitching practice and literally sketched with needle and thread.
It doesn’t look like much, but I was so proud of myself for following through with my idea.
You never know where a dream will lead once you let it out in the world, even if only in a small way.
My embroidery dream got another nudge when Laura Bray interviewed me on her blog last year. One of the questions was about embroidery and I admitted my dream in the interview. Later Laura came back and offered to help me make my dream a reality.
I had already begun sketching some ideas, refining the stitched sketch from my class.
Delicate “gem” marigolds seemed the perfect choice for a simple design. I’d sketched and painted them many times.
With Laura’s expert stitching help, I refined my design even further and began turning it into two stitched versions.
One in full color and one in a single color. Laura test-stitched the patterns for me and assisted by choosing stitches and colors to best complement my design.
She was so lovely to work with and was always willing to answer any questions I had throughout the process. She even gifted me the sweetest tiny bottle of threads to commemorate the project.
It was a LONG process. Much more involved than I originally imagined, but it helped that I was happy to take things slow. I had no deadline or pressure to get the project finished.
Both designs, the single- and full- color versions, are available as kits with everything you need to complete the embroidery project.
Each kit is beautifully packaged in a sturdy box, the perfect place to store your project as you work on it.
The kits contain pre-printed fabric (no need to transfer the design), embroidery floss, needle, 6-inch bamboo embroidery hoop and a paper stitch guide.
I had such fun designing the packaging, too.
I love imagining my customers opening the boxes.
Because I wanted to offer as many options as possible, these designs are also available in a digital format. It’s the perfect option if you have plenty of embroidery supplies or if you’d like to choose your own fabric and floss colors. The downloadable PDF includes the full-size pattern and stitch guides for both the single- and full-color designs (the DMC floss colors used in the samples are noted in the guide).
I’m so grateful to Laura for all her help in bringing my dream into reality. (If you’re also dreaming of creating embroidery patterns from your art, Laura offers consulting services. Reach out to her to learn more. I’d highly recommend it). And if you’d like her perspective of our project you can read it in her blog post.
For so long my dream of creating embroidery designs was held back because I believed I wasn’t good at embroidery. I’m still not very good at stitching, but over the years I’ve learned 1) not to let a lack of knowledge or skills stop me from pursuing my dreams and 2) to stop listening to negative self-talk.