Paris Spring - new embroidery pattern!

Happy April! Is it spring yet? It's so cold here in the UK, we're still wearing our winter coats. Where's the sun, the warmth?

♥ Paris Spring pattern ♥
Atleast with my new pattern, Paris Spring I can fantasize about being in Paris, sipping a nice beverage at a rickety table on the sidewalk outside a cozy café. Oh if only, right?! :-)

The pattern is inspired by Paris Metro signs, Art Nouveau (with all its curly and swirly bits) and of course the Eiffel Tower. It's not a naturalistic Tour Eiffel, because that would just be boring!

Paris Spring - in the shop now

My stitched version is full of hearts because Paris has that reputation of being all about l'amour. But! If you're in a less romantic mood, the pattern also includes a version without a single heart. And there are also stripped down versions of the Tower, without any decorations. Plus a few frames and borders and a flurry of hearts (très romantique, non?)

The patterns of 2012

I was thinking earlier that last year I didn't make that many patterns because I was so busy making patterns etc for the book.. So I had a look and the result isn't that bad! 7 new patterns in a year where so much other stuff was going on - that's not too shabby!

I hope to make more this year! Maybe as many as ten. I can totally do that. I think! ;-)

Is there anything you're itching to stitch?

Oh and in case you're wondering about the patterns in that collage, they're: Tree of Joy, Matryoshka, Dandelion Wreath and Fresh Blooms. And of course the 2012 set of snowflakes. :-)

2012 Snowflake Collection is here!

The 2012 snowflake collection is here! And for a limited time you can even buy all three for just $10!

Find the flakes individually here: Red, Blue and Purple.

Do pop over to Carina' Craftblog (my other blog) because I've got a wee giveaway going on - you could win some Sublime Floss - the new embroidery floss from Sublime Stitching! :-)

Matryoschka - new pattern! Plus a sale!

There's a new pattern in the Polka & Bloom shop: Matryoschka!

The idea has been in my head for a little while, but the timing just wasn't right. Too many matryoschka things were available at one point, and then I didn't have time and couldn't quite the design just so.

But now I have and I'm so pleased I waited, took the time to do it when it felt right. :-)

In other news: I'm closing the Artfire 'branch' of Polka & Bloom, so through this month I've got a sale over there. 20% off everything! You don't have to enter a code or anything, the prices are already reduced. :-)
Not all the most recent patterns are in the Artfire shop, but you can find most of my 'old' patterns etc. Great opportunity to stock up if you're missing something in your Polka & Bloom collection! ;-)

My other shop isn't going anywhere, in case you were wondering!

Tree of Joy - new pattern!

It's my new pattern! Tree of Joy! It's called that because it is sort of a tree design - a sister design to the Tree of Life and the Tree of Love patterns - and I think the colours are quite joyful. :-)

It was not my intention, but the pattern feels kinda Christmas-y.. Maybe it's the sort of triangular shape.. or the colours? A pretty nifty thing about this pattern is that you can use it like this - or upside down!

And I think this pattern would also lend itself very well to being stitched with more strands of stranded cotton than I have used here. I used two strands as with all my patterns. But this one... would be smashing with the extra colour saturation that more strands would give... :-)

Tree of Joy is in the shop now for your stitching pleasure. :-)

10% off all patterns!

Maybe you don't know this but I loooove the sport of bicycling. I've watched the Tour de France for 20 years - it's just such a fascinating sport! Chaps on bikes braving mountains in sun, wind and rain. The sport of real champions if you ask me! ;-)

Well, you may have heard that some English/UK cycling chaps have had a bit of success recently? First winning Le Tour and then gold in the Olympic Road Race and Team Sprint. That's worth ringing your bike bell for!

So, to celebrate, there's 10% off all embroidery patterns in the Polka & Bloom shop between now and Saturday (included). Just enter LOVEBIKES at check out.

And if you want to stitch up some bikes, well, I've got you covered - there's two different sets of bike patterns in the shop: Keepin' Steady and Freewheelin'.


PS: The Christmas Stitches class will start soon - perfect for making stitchy presents this year! More details on Monday. :-)

New flowery pattern + a discount

A quick post to let you know that the Nature's Jewels pattern is now available in the Polka & Bloom shop!

And to celebrate that I sent off all the projects for my book last Monday, there's 16% off everything in the shop until (and including) Monday, July 23rd. 16% because last Monday was the 16th. ;-)

Enter the code PHEW16 at the checkout. :-)

May Flowers pattern in the shop

This is my new pattern: May Flowers. I really like the colours of this one. It's so very spring-y! Which is funny because I actually started it in December or something. Maybe I was dreaming of spring then...

May Flowers is a fairly large pattern, about 8" wide! You need a pretty big hoop for that - if indeed you use a hoop. It just fits in 9" hoop! The pattern also includes a smaller version in case you want something that's Not Quite So Large!

Oh and there are 5 smaller elements in the pattern too. :-)

Get May Flowers in the Polka & Bloom shop now.

Pattern sneak peek

 

Can you believe it, it's May already? Here's a wee sneak peek of the next Polka & Bloom pattern. Coming soon!

Pattern subscribers will be getting it later today, though. Right in their email inbox. :-)

New pattern + a stitchy competition

Happy Tuesday! Are you ready for some spring stitching? I've got just the thing for you if you are: Dandelion Wreath - the latest Polka & Bloom pattern. This is my favourite pattern so far - I think I may say that about all of them....

Really digging the colours of this one - happy and bright, and there's green! Dandelion Wreath is also part of the 2012 Pattern Subscription.

Variegated Tree of Life

© Cam Narayan, Anecdotal Knitting

One of my favourite kinds of emails are those from people who've bought my patterns and then write to show me what they've made with Polka & Bloom patterns. Seriously, SO awesome. Always makes my day!

And it only gets better when people take the patterns and really make them their own. Like Cam of Anecdotal Knitting. Not only has she used all variegated thread on the Tree of Life pattern, but just look how's she's been inspired to do her own version inspired by the pattern and even a miniature inspired by the pattern. More on Cam's blog.

Awesome stuff! Thank you so much for sharing, Cam!

© Cam Narayan, Anecdotal Knitting

If you've also got some finished Polka & Bloom stitcheries, I'd love to see them! Please email me or leave a comment with a link. And don't forget you can share your creations in the Stitching Polka & Bloom Flickr group!

Fresh Blooms - new pattern

Here's the first Polka & Bloom pattern of 2012. It's called Fresh Blooms - named by one of the subscribers to the newsletter. Yup, sometimes I have... activities like that in the newsletter: help name a pattern and you could win a copy. Always exciting to see the ideas people come up with!

Anyway, back to Fresh Blooms - a very appropriate name seeing as we're just getting started on this year, and what better way to do that than with a bit of stitching. And you can dream of spring while you stitch. I can't wait for spring - it's so cold today, I'm wearing fingerless gloves as I'm writing this!

Fresh Blooms is in the shop now. :-)

Oh and it is also the first pattern in the 2012 Polka & Bloom pattern subscription, and you can download it straight away when you sign up for the subscription.

Snowflake patterns!

If you're not taking the Christmas Stitches class, then you're missing out on some fun projects and patterns! But fear not, like last year, you can get your mittens on the snowflake patterns! And then you can stitch the snowflakes on your mittens!

There are 3 snowflakes: Blue, Gold and Lilac. They are available in the shop right now. You can also buy all three together and save a pretty penny.

And if you fancy saving even more pennies, you can buy both the 2010 and 2011 collections together for a mere $20!

Calavera - new embroidery pattern!

If you're planning on crafting something for Dia de Los Muertos, I've got just the pattern for you! Calavera, which means skull, is in the shop now. It's inspired by Mexican sugar skulls.

And it's not the first time I've been inspired by those; you may remember the Marigold Sugar Skull pattern. But the skull in Calavera is a lot bigger! With lots of leafy details. The pattern is 2 patterns in 1 - because there are two different versions of it. And a flower motif which was also used in Marigold.. Lots of stitching fun for these ever darker autumn days!

New pattern: Owl Be Your Friend

Hello! I'm delighted to share another new pattern with you! It's called 'Owl Be Your Friend' and it features two cute owls and one little bird. The pattern comes in 3 sizes and all of those sizes in a reversed version. It's in the shop now.

Am I the only one who feels that owls are autumnal birds? Hiding in the foliage that is already starting to change colour.. :-)

New pattern: Flower Medallion

I'm really excited to share the newest Polka & Bloom pattern with you! Flower Medallion is its name. It's a little bit different and a little bit kind of similar. The colours are quite soft and not a hint of orange or green! But you are of course welcome to use whichever colours you like! :-)

It's inspired by the Happyscape patterns (images below), with their flower-y, succulent-y plants. Just a bit of fun, really! And this pattern only uses 3 stitches, mostly back stitch so it's quite quick to stitch. (Almost) instant stitching gratification, nice!

Available in the Polka & Bloom shop right now for your stitching pleasure. :-)

Dalahäst - Swedish horse embroidery pattern

There's a new pattern in the shop: Dalahäst - Swedish Horse. I've wanted to make a Swedish horse pattern for absolutely ages!

As you may know, I'm from Denmark which is very close to Sweden. But far enough away that some of their culture is quite different and sometimes pretty exotic to me.

The Dala horse isn't that exotic - I've grown up seeing the image. But I am really in love with the horse design. If only I could afford the real thing, they are so pretty!

Anyway, the Dala Häst pattern is more of a collection, based on the horse design, so there is a different version of the pattern and some extras too. All good fun if you want to stitch up something with a Scandinavian feel!

The Swedish horse is also known as Dalecarlian Horse - you can read about it on Wikipedia if you fancy. :-)