Story of the Stitch: Aunt Bea

Aunt Bea

Once upon a time there was a young bride who wielded a brush and painted cute little signs with silly sayings on them. Sayings like, "If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy".  She would paint all sorts of barnyard animals but far and away her most popular character was a chicken known only to herself as Aunt Bea. Aunt Bea sold many a sign and took an early retirement when a cute little baby showed up on the scene and took the young bride off into the world of motherhood. 

Aunt Bea waited patiently in the background of the brides mind manifesting herself as a real chicken when homeschooling brought real chickens into the backyard. (You can read all about our chicken raising days here.)

The Real Life Aunt Bea

And then one day the real life Aunt Bea became egg bound and went to that big chicken coop in the sky where her wings weren't clipped and she could catch all the worms she wanted without fear of her sister chickens stealing them from her. 

So Aunt Bea returned to the back of the bride's mind. The children grew and needed less direct attention from the bride and she decided to go back to her crafting ways.  (You can read about that here.) It seemed only natural that Aunt Bea would once again make an appearance only this time she would be rendered in thread. And she would have a newer, hip saying..."Fresh". Because if ever there was a hip(ster) chicken it was Aunt Bea. 

Aunt Bea

And in case you wondering where her name came from and thought perhaps of another Aunt Bee from a certain 1960's series....you are right. She is a bit of an homage to Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show. And so was the original painted Aunt Bea. And there were other members of the female cast that showed up in our little backyard flock as well! (Thelma Lou, Helen, Skippy and Daphne (the Fun Girls) and Clara...all chasing worms in chicken heaven now.) 

And that, in a corn kernel, is the story of Aunt Bea.  You can find her in my Etsy shop, LuhuStitches, as a PDF Instant Download and very soon she will be available as a hard copy pattern that will also be available in my Etsy shop. 

Aunt Bea

Story of the Stitch: Modern Love Birds

This is the first in a series of posts called "Story of the Stitch".  In each post I hope to give a little background on what inspired the design and how it goes from being an idea to a finished piece. 

Modern Love Birds by LuhuStitches

I have always loved color. My Mom used to tell the story of one my earliest coloring projects in which I was coloring a birthday cake and put together almost all the colors from my crayon box on the cake and, she says, made it look great.  Of course your mother always likes everything you do but as I grew up I did notice that others would come to me for advice in choosing colors for their own artistic endeavors. My Mom considered it a bit a coup if she could have me along for the choosing of fabrics/colors for any new quilt project.

And my favorite class in design school was color theory.

With that said, the inspiration behind my Modern Love Birds pattern was a very colorful bird tray that I purchased at IKEA.  The birds on it are lovely bright colors that makes one think of a fiesta.  In fact one of my favorite things to serve on it are the toppings for tacos. Yum!

IKEA Bird Tray

I wanted very much to capture the spirit of that tray and somehow translate it into a cross stitch pattern.

I sketched out a lot of ideas before I landed on the idea you now see. In looking back at my idea book I think what helped me get there was the fact that near my sketches of the birds I had sketched some more traditional (as in tole painting traditional) motifs.  The thought occurred that I could maybe marry the two in some way.

Final Love Birds Sketch

The colors were inspired by Valentine's Day.  But I didn't want it to seem too Valentine-y so adding the blues, yellow and green help keep it from being exclusive to any one season. 

When I choose colors I usually begin by coloring my sketches with my Prismacolor pencils (absolutely my favorite!) and then using my DMC Thread Book to help me find just the right shade of thread. This particular pattern uses only DMC thread but my personal selection of "fancy threads" is growing and I'm beginning to draw from them more frequently for new projects.

Close up shot of Love Birds

Choosing color feels very intuitive to me but I know that it is also informed by my color education.  I can at least explain why some colors work together better than others and how their value and hue play a part in that.  (For more on color theory stay tuned for future posts!)

I did not end up stitching this piece as at the time I was working hard on a couple of other projects and was keen to get more than five patterns in my Etsy shop. My sweet Mom, who has since gone to heaven, stitched it for me, which, of course, makes it all the more special to me.  I even recall her saying to me, "Cyndy, I would have never put these colors together but they work."  She may have even told me the coloring book story again.

If you want to stitch up these pretty little Modern Love Birds you can find the pattern for them in my Etsy shop as an Instant Download PDF.  Coming soon-ish will be a hard copy!

The Adventures of Luhu Bird

Luhu Bird - Snow Bum

If you are following me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter you have, by now, been introduced to Luhu Bird.  He's just a cute little bird looking for adventure and I am having a lot of fun seeing what he is going to do next!

So far he has been a Snow Bum and today he is going to the beach to be a Beach Bum!

Luhu Bird - Beach Bum

He has his swim ring and his flippers and he can hardly wait to get out there and play in the water.  

My sister asked me where I got the inspiration for me and to be perfectly honest I don't remember.  I just remember that one day about a year and half ago I sat down and drew a picture of him.

Luhu Bird when he first hatched

I knew that I wanted to translate him into a counted cross stitch project but that didn't happen until more recently. 

Luhu Bird becoming a cross stitch pattern

He is a fun and fairly quick little cross stitch pattern to do.  Which, I have to admit, is my favorite kind of pattern to stitch.  And now you can stitch him too!  The pattern for Luhu Bird Snow Bum and Luhu Bird Beach Bum are both available at my Etsy shop.  Just click the links and you'll be there!  

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you have a great stitchy day!!!

Sun, Moon and a Freebie!

Sun and Moon Sampler - Luhu Stitches

                           
At last, I am so happy to be introducing and telling a little of the stories behind the patterns I am offering in my Etsy shop, Luhu Stitches. The first piece is a sampler I designed about 15 years ago. If you would like to know a little of what inspired the design you can read about it here.

I also thought it would be fun to show you a little of the process of designing a pattern, at least for me. The first step is brainstorming and sketching, which I usually do with colored pencils.

It begins with doodling

Many times I find that my sketches don't translate very well to a grid so there is a little redesigning to do on graph paper.  In the old days I would use colors that most closely matched the threads I wanted to use and color in my graph paper accordingly.

Then I do some graphing

I would then label the colors with their corresponding thread codes.  Now 15 years ago this is when the stitching would begin.  Now I do things a little differently, I am not as detailed in the hand graphing and I do the main pattern work on the computer.

Then on it goes to the computer

After I've input my design on the computer I print out the design and stitching begins.

I like to stitch up my designs before making them available online in case the colors don't look like I want them to or a stitch formation needs adjusting.  It has been my experience that things can look great on the computer and not so great when actually committed to fabric and thread.

There were some adjustments that went into this design, but I like the way it finished up and I hope you will too!

And just in case you want to give it test run I have a little freebie for you!

Mini Moon Magnet by Luhu Stitches

Here is a magnet I made using one corner of the sampler.  And you can download the pattern for it HERE!

I added checkered border to the design and lost all the half stitches due to the fact the I used Janlynn Vinyl-Weave and there is just no making half stitches with that. I was worried about making the French Knots but they turned out to be no problem at all.

To make your Mini Moon Magnet you will need the following supplies:

           - Janlynn Vinyl-Weave Fabric, 14 count
           - DMC threads indicated in free PDF download
           - size 22 Tapestry needle
           - scissors
           - 1/2 inch wide strip magnet (can be purchased at any craft store)
           - glue gun and glue stick

After you have finished stitching your moon motif trim off any excess fabric. If you look at my example in the above picture you will see that I left a "one stitch" border.  The great thing about the vinyl-weave is that it doesn't fray.

Warm up your glue gun.

Now turn your moon over and from your magnet strip cut two one-inch sections of magnet.  (If the strip is self adhesive you can try getting it to stick with that, however in my experience the adhesive does not work well with thread and other textiles.)  Peel off any paper that may be on the magnet and apply some of your hot glue to the magnet and place on the back of your moon motif as pictured.

 Let cool, turnover and now you have a cute little magnet for your fridge or magnet board or wherever you choose to use it!  If you have any questions please comment below.

A happy moon!

I hope you enjoy your Mini Moon Magnet and I hope you will be by to visit me at my Etsy shop, Luhu Stitches!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Grand Opening of Luhu Stitches

Woohoo!!!!

I did it!

I have officially opened my Etsy shop Luhu Stitches!

This is the header for my shop

I can't wait for you to see the three patterns I posted today so I thought I would give you a quick snap shot of each.

Aunt Bea

This is Aunt Bea.  She is a little chicken who patiently sits in her nest giving an occasional squawk to let you know that she's hard at work.

Luhu Bird

This is Luhu Bird.  He's a little chick who is ready for any new adventure. Right now he's in his knit cap and earmuffs, ready for a day in the snow but he's planning on doing a lot more throughout the year.  Keep your eye out for this little guy.

Sun and Moon Sampler

And finally (for now) this is my Sun and Moon Sampler which includes the assurance that Jesus Christ is never changing. 

Please come on by and pay a visit at the shop.  While there is not a lot in stock now there will be regular additions and I hope you won't miss any of them. 

And visit me back here tomorrow.  I'll be writing more posts over the next few days talking about each of the above patterns and the design process.  

Thanks for stopping by!

A New Beginning in Thread Painting

This is my first cross stitch project.

You may recognize it from my last post. It is the one that started my love affair with cross stitch. 

To be certain it is an affair that has waxed and waned over the years yet still one that I come back to time and again. 

Here are some of my other first projects.

Geese, bunnies, sheep...very early 90's

You can probably tell by the style and subject matter that I began stitching in the early nineties.  I was a young bride and my husband and I moved about 250 miles away from our nearest family within the first year of our marriage to a very rural area of California.  (Yes, it’s true, not every square inch of the Golden State is covered in pavement.)

In some ways it was all an exciting adventure and in other ways it was very lonely.  I had studied graphic design in college and in our new town there wasn’t a lot of demand for my skills.  As my husband settled into his new job, I took a part-time job as a receptionist in a doctor’s office and looked for ways to release my pent up creative energy. 

I did tole painting and sold my creations.  I began, at the instigation of my Mom, to explore painting with thread.  It was fun and a lot less messy.  I subscribed to a cross stitch magazine and waited for the arrival of each issue with eagerness.  I even started designing some of my own charts, inspired by Bible verses or contests in the cross stitch magazine (which I never entered!).  And then low and behold…baby number one arrived.

Cross Stitch & Country Crafts...definitely more cross stitch than anything else

Crafts of all kinds were put on hold as I poured myself into motherhood.  Occasionally I would do something as a gift but my creative energies were flowing in a new direction.  Baby number two arrived a few years later and soon the school years commenced.  I did a stint substitute teaching while my oldest, a son, was in Kindergarten through 4^th grade.  But my heart and creative juices were drawn to homeschooling and so off we went! 

During our time of homeschooling (which isn’t quite completed) we adopted our 3^rd child from Uganda.  Pretty soon I found I needed to explore a hobby for my health and sanity's sake. I went digging around in old drawers for my cross stitch. 

Painting with thread has some very appealing advantages.  It’s not messy and it’s easy to put down and pick up again without worrying about brushes drying out or taking up valuable space on the dining room table that you might want later for, oh say, having dinner.

As I perused through my drawers I found plenty of unfinished projects (which I still hope to finish someday!). Among them was a project I designed. 

A little light went on.  A little App on my iPhone glowed bright orange.  The creative juices were surging forth and the wheels of my brain began turning.

 

As you recall, I mentioned that I had sold my artistic endeavors before.  It involved traveling to craft fairs and making multiples of the same object.  I never seemed to really do better than support my crafty habit.  I learned then that the real profit was in selling patterns.  (It was about then that my son arrived.)

Etsy, the bright little orange App on my iPhone, provided the perfect platform for my thread painting designs.

 

And so, Luhu Stitches was born. Granted it is still in its infancy.  But this is one infant that sleeps through the night (thank the Lord in heaven!)

 

And I am so happy to introduce to you my very first design, and my oldest.  Yes, this is one of those projects that languished in my drawer all those years. 

It was inspired by a cross stitch magazine contest. As I recall the contest was to design a pattern based on a song.  When I originally designed it I chose an old Sunday School song.  As I worked to finish the sample recently, I decided to change out the wording to a simple Bible verse.  What I love about this design, after several years, are the colors. I am also partial to checks.  

I hope you will come visit my shop at Etsy.