Christmas Patterns

 Right click and save each photo so you can print the pattern according to your size choice.

 Get ready for Christmas with ornaments or bowlfillers.

 Or make cloth gift bags and sew on a muslin patch you've embroidered.

Use whatever color floss suits your fancy and your decor. I like to stitch these with 3 or 4 strands of floss.

 Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Happy Stitching!

Seasonal Bowlfiller Patterns

 This is a good set to start your bowlfiller collection with. One for each season and they are all really quick to stitch!

 Right click and save to print any size you choose.

 You may even want to stitch more than one if you have a 3-tier tray to use or if you want to use them in different areas of your home. Try finishing each a little bit differently, too. Or finishing them all the same.

Use whatever color floss suits your fancy and your decor. I like to stitch these with 3 or 4 strands of floss.

 Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Happy Stitching!

Favorite Songs Patterns

 Right click and save to print these patterns in the size of your choice. Wouldn't this one stitched with patchwork make a lovely Bible cover?

 This song is my very favorite and always reminds me that it will be alright no matter what. Do you have a friend going through a hard time or know someone that could use some encouragement? Stitch this into a lovely little pillow for them, add a mug and some tea bags, coffee, or hot chocolate and maybe a silk flower to cheer them up and let them know you care.

 Another song I love (Shhh...people who know me claim they're ALL my favorites!). Try stitching this one and adding some buttons and lace in a wooden shadow box you've chalk painted for a lovely gift.

Use whatever color floss suits your fancy and your decor. I like to stitch these with 3 or 4 strands of floss.

 Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Happy Stitching!

Primitive Blessings Patterns

 You can combine words in different ways by just tracing one word at a time and then positioning the next under your muslin before tracing. Right click and save the designs and print them the size you choose.

 They could even be finished in a frame or as part of patchwork for a couch pillow or a table runner if you like. I'm still learning to quilt myself, but I think adding a felt or wool heart with a button in the center would make "bless your heart" even lovelier.

Use whatever color floss suits your fancy and your decor. I like to stitch these with 3 or 4 strands of floss.

 Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Happy Stitching!

Friends and Family Patterns

 A few more bowlfillers for your home. Don't be afraid to go big either. Any of these would be lovely, stitched on a 12x12 or 18x18 piece of muslin in extra large letters and finished as a cushion for your couch, too!

 Right-click and save and then you should be able to print the size you want from a small bowlfiller to a larger page size. If you want it bigger, simply enlarge on a copier and you might need to take the pieces together. Once printed, cover with muslin and use a water soluble pen to trace the lettering. Or tape the pattern and muslin to a window to see better.

I love DMC 498, but I think these would also be lovely stitched in a dark brown or blue or whatever color suits your fancy and your decor.

 Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Happy Stitching!

Patriotic Stitches

 If you've heard of Stitching with the Housewives and Priscilla and Chelsea, you may have seen the adorable redwork 'America' bowlfillers that Priscilla has in her galvanized 3-tier tray for July 4th. She said she bought them years ago, but even if they were available now, I couldn't get them since I'm not in the US.

 However, as an American living outside the US, decorating for July 4th is a big deal. I also started thinking of all kinds of little pillows I'd like to stitch up for other holidays, too.

 You should be able to right-click and save these photos and then print them the size you choose. Then, you can lay muslin over the top and use a water soluble marker to trace the word(s) onto the fabric.

Use your favorite red or blue floss (I like to use 3 or 4 strands) to stitch up as many of the designs as you like. Feel free to sell products you make from these designs as long as you stitch them with your own two hands. And, if you do stitch them and are on Instagram, I'd love to see your finishes under the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches so I can see all of your gorgeous work!

If you'd like to make your own, of course, all you need is a Sharpie and some white paper.

Look for more designs in the future! Enjoy stitching!

A Lovely Little Boat

I made this little boat using Ann Wood's Dear Little Boat Pattern. The cereal box I used was really stiff, almost too stiff. I used old dictionary pages that were torn up to cover the boat and some glue mixed with water to hold everything in place. It turned out really cute and was a fun project. It took me out of my comfort zone in making, but that's good, too.

Bee Quilt

My first hexie quilt-as-you-go block is  initials and the year. When I washed the washable marker out, the thread bled, but since the background was muslin, it turned out really pretty. It looks like a watercolor fabric now.

My second block used the Chinese double happiness character and I used a Chinese lantern fabric for the backing. I'm really happy with how this block turned out.

Heart Map for Crafters

One of the activities I use with my writing students is the heart map activity. You draw a heart on a sheet of paper and section it off as you write or draw in things that interest you and this "list" gives them ideas of things to write about.

This could also be a great idea for crafters. Think of it as a way to visualize things to include in embroidery or on a quilt. It could be used as a starting point for things to sketch or paint. You could use it to make a collage or to make different pieces of jewelry.

A heart map could even be used on its own as a piece of art. Sketch it out on a piece of muslin, then embroider it and frame it or make it into a small art quilt.

Use individual simple sketches to create your own rubber stamps or stencils.

Add things you like such as coffee or tea. Add tools of your crafty trade.

#craftyheartmap

A Lovely Little Needlekeep

I'm putting together a little travel kit in a small plastic box for some traveling we are doing later this month and I wanted a simple little needle keep rather than a needle book to keep a few extra needles in that would also keep them corralled so they weren't just loose in the box where I would stab myself on them.

After stitching "NEEDLES", I was able to see how much space I wanted and stitched a border of 21 x 32 squares (1 square = over 2). I added a small piece of wool felt which I realize I didn't center, but that's okay. I normally would have chosen a natural colored linen, but I wanted to use something from my little scrap bag and this light blue was the size I needed. I believe it's 28ct, but I'm not sure since it was in the scrap bag.

For the back, I decided to stitch my design, blog, and Instagram name of Kind-n-Lovely Stitches so I could also use it as an identifier in my photos.

I sewed through the border stitches to stitch the front and back together and started with the top and the two top corners so that I could slide this tiny bit of Timtex in to add a bit of stiffness.

It should be the perfect size to hold 5 or 6 different needles which should be more than enough to suit my needs for a little bit of cross-stitch, some embroidery, and a bit of English paper piecing.

I'm really excited about how it turns out. If you make one, please post a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #kindnlovelystitches

Happy Stitching!

Define Your Color Palette

If you don't have a good selection of DMC or other floss at home, go to a craft store where there are plenty of colors. Choose 12 colors that are your colors. You might choose a rainbow of colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink), a selection of neutrals (black, white, gray, brown), a monochrome palette (baby blue to deep navy), or just an assortment of colors.

Keep these colors together and work with them. Is there a color you always avoid? (This yellow doesn't go with my other colors!) Switch it out. Maybe a color that you simply must include got left out.

Embroider a project using only these colors. Does one stick out and drive you crazy? Are there any you didn't use? Did you need a color you didn't choose in the beginning? (I love to stitch flowers and I have 6 greens, but no flower colors!) Adapt and change.

Go a step further and narrow these colors to 5. Work from only these colors for a few days. What works? What doesn't? What changes need to be made?

What other crafts you do? Can you find these 12 colors in yarn? In paint? In markers or colored pencils?

Knowing your favorite or most used colors can save you money since you can buy only those colors and know you will use them. Ever bought fabric that you got home with and the color just wouldn't work for anything? Wouldn't it be great to buy a supply and know that color will be used?

You might want to expand the colors to 20 if you need more colors to work with or, perhaps, you decide your just right grouping of colors is 8. Adjust and refine to make it work for you.