embroidery – Page 5 – Geek Crafts

Accessories Sold Separately

As promised, I come bearing geekiness as gleaned from Mr X Stitch at the Stitch and Craft show…

I am, frankly amazed (and a little appalled) at myself for never having come across Lord Libidan before. His work is amazing – generally centered around video games, and packed full of original, interesting ideas.

The Transformers, sewn onto plastic canvas, actually transform. Oh yes. There’s Jetfire & Optimus Prime (as seen here) who of course become a plane and a truck respectively – and also a couple of tapes; Ratbat & Laserbeak, which will fit into the soon-to-come Soundwave/tapedesk. I love that they are based on the original toys, not the new versions – tres retro chic. And (this is the best bit) all of the patterns are all available from his Etsy Shop. Huzzah!

This Pokemon image is stitched stereoscopically – so if you put on red & blue 3D glasses (great fashion choice, btw) it pops out at you. Excuse me while I cry at the awesomeness.

This manbroiderer may not really be a lord, but I agree with him; he should be.

No Face Embroidery Hoop

I was taking an animation class just for fun at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design when Spirited Away came to the USA. That was more than a decade ago, but I remember hearing about the movie, pining to see the moving, and begging some friends to come along and watch it with me. We saw it at the beautiful Landmark Oriental Theater and I can’t remember a time before or since that I was so riveted by a movie. If you haven’t seen it, I implore you: Stop what you are doing right now and go see it.

It is certainly difficult to pick a favorite character from the movie, but one of the most memorable is surely No Face. A strange, silent spirit overcome by greed. Unable to verbally communicate on his own, we’re left to ponder his intentions and motivation.

Love & a Sandwich (aka Chelsea Bloxsom) captures this unusual character in an embroidery hoop: the distinct mask paired with an amorphous body, among spa tokens and cold coins. Absolutely perfect.

Selecting a project from Love and a Sandwich was rough, by the way. She’s got a million projects (OK, maybe a few dozen) on her Flickr that made me FREAK OUT, but No Face takes the cake.

A Hoopla of Robots!

Over on Craftster, there has been a great big HOOPLA! Actually, this Hoopla has been going on for a couple of years now and has not lost momentum like so many other crafty trends. The term applies to any sort of needle work framed in an embroidery hoop regardless of size.

I have to say this particular set of Hoopla is some of my all time favorites. It combines R2D2 and C3PO, needlework and felt. How awesome is that??! Loveandasandwich stitched up these wonderfully detailed pieces bringing our favorite ‘bots to life. She even gives us a bit of insight as to her creative process towards the end of her original post.

Fantastic work loveandasandwich! The Force is with you!

R2D2 and C3P0 – NEEDLEWORK.

A Call To Arms

I’m not much of a quilter – and after seeing this amazing little piece I think I know why. They are all in support of The empire! Clearly us needleworkers, dressmakers, papercrafters and up-cyclers need to form an impromptu branch of the Rebel Alliance and quell the evil quilters to re-establish the reputation for good that crafters have so long held dear. Just as soon as we finish chuckling.

I spotted this piece on Strawberry Jam Designs, a craft blog ran by an anonymous ’30 something gal in San Francisco’, that is well worth checking out for some amazing embroidered and quilted craft inspiration.

Strawberry Jam Designs

Germy Genius

I am in love (that’s the only Valentine’s reference you’re getting. I’m one of those awful smug-coupled types who ignores Val’s day because they can have romance any old day they want. Sorry.) with this Petri dish mini quilt by Rachel over at Cornflower Blue Studio.

It uses all different kinds of embroidery thread and quilting to make it a really touchable textured piece – perfect for people like me who always want to poke the squishy agar but normally have to refrain for fear of contamination; this one you can play with all you like.

Rachel is entering this piece into The Festival of Alabama Fibre Arts, where she will also be teaching a hyperbolic crochet class. I’m sure we all wish her well with the competition, and all of us not living in the Southern US are a little jealous that we won’t get to come learn from such an uber-geek-crafter.

Cornflower Blue Studio – Rachel’s blog

Cornflower Blue Studio Etsy Shop (Rachel also sells from her blog)

Mini Petri Dish Quilt

Festival of Alabama Fibre Arts

A S’Minchin of Miraculous Matilda

Matilda is one of the quintessential geek kid’s books; the story of a nerd girl who uses her brain to bring a pinch of justice to the world is bound to resonate with swots of all ages. A couple of years ago I managed to get myself to Stratford ‘pon Avon to see the RSC’s christmas musical version of the book and was completely blown away by it – one of those performances that remind me why I work in theatre. Anyway, since then the production has transferred to the West End, won a load of awards and caused a considerable dent in my finances from ticket purchasing.

Laura, or LollyPolly as she is known over at the Minchin fan forums (the music for Matilda was written by our very own rock nerd Tim, who of course did a fantastic job with Dahl’s dark comedy), made this brilliant cushion commemorating the show’s opening song – which echoes the prologue to the book in that we get to hear about how miraculous all the children except Matilda are. It’s a fantastic example of how effective even simple embroidery can be if the colours, fabric and design are well chosen. With any luck Laura will now have caught the needlework bug and will go on dazzling us with her work in future.

Matilda the musical official site

Angry (Feet) – Tim Minchin’s fan forum