Sunday, August 27, 2017

Frenchy Stitchy Things







Ever since I was a little girl I've had a fascination with sewing supplies. I spent summers with my beloved grandmother in her tidy Brooklyn apartment. She lived near Shore Road in Bay Ridge. A block away was a view of  the Verrazano Bridge. My grandmother loved to go for long walks and ferry rides. We visited Manhattan and enjoyed ice cream on park benches. It was a real treat spending time with her.

Every night after a homemade dinner, she'd settle in to watch The Lawrence Welk Show. She always sewed something. My grandmother came from Lebanon. She learned to cook and sew at a young age. She used to embroider Christening gowns. 

My maternal great grandfather was a coal miner from Lithuania. He was a large man who relaxed by sewing quilts by hand. My love of hand embroidery runs deep. 

Sewing supplies are nostalgic. It's always nice to have pretty embroidery supplies in our sewing boxes, right? I'm excited to offer some French embroidery hoops and needles. They're available in my shop now. In the coming months, I'll be offering some beautiful French linens in my favorite azalea pink, frog green and crisp white too.   

Happy Stitching!
xx ~ Jilly    

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Tessa Perlow's Inspirational Hoop Art




I love sharing the work of embroidery artists. I stay inspired this way. Tessa Perlow's beautiful blooms can be found in her Etsy Shop. A wonderful interview with Tessa was done by Sarah K Benning in her Craft With Conscience Series. I hope Tessa's work inspires you too! Until next time...Happy Stitching! xx ~ J

Friday, March 3, 2017

Freestyle Embroidery & My Instagram Addiction

Cinder And Honey
Cinder And Honey
Cinder And Honey

Sew And Saunders 

Sew And Saunders 
Sew And Saunders 

Sew and Saunders 

Sarah K. Benning 

Sarah K. Benning 
Sarah K. Benning 


Tessa Perlow 

Hello Friends! How have you been? Sorry I've been MIA from the blog for awhile. We all need breaks to recharge our batteries, right? During my hiatus, I was involved in helping a few homeless folks in my city. Together with that, I spent way too much time on Instagram swooning over the work of freestyle embroidery designers and other cross stitch designers. I bought some beautiful hand-dyed pink wool from my cross stitching buddy, Jacob, across the pond. I was dazzled and bewildered with the amount of beautiful Instagram photos available 24/7.  Instagram was my addiction. I was distracted. I was annoyed by my lack of focus. There were a number of people who shared politics along with their arts and crafts. Like bitter pills, I take my politics in doses. All of this Instagram information was a very strange brew leading to burnout.

I find it hard to control how many brownies I eat. I can't seem to manage how much time I spend ogling Instagram photos or reading endless comments or watching videos of folks who exercise five hours a day or live in vans or eat vegan Australian food or journey around the globe. I'm rambling too long here. It's cathartic to write this. Thank you for your patience. I suppose everyone must find their own way in life, both online and in the real world. The journey continues....

In the world of freestyle embroidery on the 'gram, I'm drawn to the work of Cinder And Honey, Sew And Saunders  and Sarah K. Benning. Sarah is a traveling artist. Plants are her thing. You can read more about how Sarah quit her day job, at Whole Foods, to travel to Spain and pursue her embroidery passion on The Everygirl.  (As a side note, if you're looking for some cozy comfort food, The Everygirl also shared my Butternut Squash And Apple Bisque, along with many other delicious recipes here. Sorry for shamelessly plugging my recipe.)