Shel Silverstein’s stories and songs were a big part of my life when I was growing up. He seemed like a fun, cool uncle that never got tired of spinning yarns and cracking jokes, and he was always as close as my nearest bookshelf.

I got that warm, fuzzy childhood feeling all over again when I spied LilyVanilli72‘s spot-on embroideries depicting Mr. Silverstein’s wonderfully weird illustrations.

I love how this traditional blackwork method of embroidery lends itself perfectly to Shel’s art style. Lily’s meticulous stitches don’t hurt the sketch-like effect either!

So far she’s done “Razor-Tailed Wren,” “Who Ordered the Broiled Face?” and “Running Giraffe.” I’m hoping she’ll stitch some more, like the classic “Boa Constrictor” (a personal favorite of mine).

• “Razor-Tailed Wren” Embroidery
• “Who Ordered the Broiled Face? Embroidery
• “Running Giraffe” Embroidery
• LilyVanilli72’s Flickr Stream
• More embroidery on Geek Crafts
• More book crafts on Geek Crafts