How To Tuesday: Embroidery

This week's 'How To Tuesday' was written by Evin of Spring Stitches.

Embroidery is one of my favorite textile arts because it can be added to just about anything for a personal touch. Some other reasons to love a little embroidery in your life and textiles is that it gives it a handmade appearance or vintage feel and the supplies don't take up much space.

Some crafty bloggers that inspire me to embroider while sharing their knowledge are:

Made Marian

Hooked On Needles

Grannymar

I would consider myself an embroidery beginner and think these are some useful links for those of us learning to embroider:

Embroidery 101! from Instructables.com

Free Embroidery Instructions from Craftown.com

Free Embroidery Lessons from Needlework Tips & Techniques

How to Embroider by Hand By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa

Knot Know-How Tutorial from The Purl Bee

How-To: Embroidery from Martha Stewart

How to Embroider a Bag from guardian.co.uk

How to Embroider On Crochet - For Dummies

Of course, as with most creations, it is often easier to understand how to do something after seeing someone else do it, so here are a couple of our favorite YouTube videos on embroidery:

Auction Item Spotlight: Suzanne's Pink Socks

This post is written by Suzanne who is knitting a pair of beautiful socks for the Pink Auction.

I started working on these in Cork while studying, so they've been fully immersed in physics, but they also have a playful side. The colour of these socks reminds me of old fruit salad sweets from the corner shop, yum!

The pattern is Angee by Cookie A (found in her excellent book, Sock Innovation) and the yarn is Trekking [from Vibes & Scribes on Lavitt's Quay].

The simple stitch pattern looks a little geeky straight off the needles, but blocked and on a foot (or arm like the photo), it blossoms into the life of the party.

Free Pattern Friday: Toys

This week's Free Pattern Friday link list was compiled by Evin of Spring Stitches.

Soft and squishy toys make the best bedfellows since it keeps things from going bump in the night. We can't resist these darling playmates!

Whim Wham has a delicious Felt Ice Cream Cone.

Mallory Murray helps you make your own Owl Softie in a helpful Whoo-too (how to in owl speak).

And then there are the lists! Oh yes, blogs or sites that take the time to offer many free patterns or to compile links for you. Here are a few of those with a variety of toy patterns:

Bittersweet Blog - My favorite is the Hungry Hungry Hippo

Knitted Toy Box

Knitting Pattern Central

This post has inspired us to focus on a few creatures great and small that we like so keep an eye out for next week's Free Pattern Friday!

The short link to this post is: http://bit.ly/fpf-9

How To Tuesday: Crochet a Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Left-handed

Because 'Free Pattern Friday' is such a popular blog feature, we're starting 'How To Tuesday' which will show different creative textile arts and how you can learn to create such things yourself! For our very first 'How To Tuesday', we're learning how to crochet a Breast Cancer pink ribbon left-handed.

Volunteers Needed

Hello, everyone! We have only three months left until the Pink Auction. We know you'd love to help fight to find a cure for and alleviate the stress felt by those battling Breast Cancer.

We will having a drop-in day in Vibes & Scribes when people can drop in their work, chat with others who have donated work, and enjoy a cup of tea. Date and details available soon.

The closing date for donations is the 10th of September in order to give us time to create the auction catalogue.

Consider your plans for the 10th of October. We would LOVE more volunteers for the day itself.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Please offer to help by telling us what role you would like to do out of the following options:

• Help prepare the room and help display work on the day of the Pink Auction (10-10-10)

• Lend your creative skills to art demos and knit events we're holding around Cork City

• Print and hand out flyers to your local knitting group, library, and yarn shops

• Sell pink ribbons

If you can't commit to help on a specific day, here are ways you can help on your own time, in your own community:

• Print, post, and hand out flyers to your local knitting group, pub, library, and yarn shops

• Tell your friends and family about the Pink Auction

• Donate your own creative textile art or fashion

• Share photos of your donation on Flickr

• Hold a knit in or make-a-square night in your local club or pub

• Join our Facebook group

• Post our info/links on your Facebook profile page

• Follow @PinkCork on Twitter

• Spread the word about the Pink Auction by retweeting one of our Tweets

• Ravelry members, join our group for knitters and crocheters

• We need fabric, sewing notions, and wool for volunteers and asylum seekers create donation items

• Use your creative textile skills to make a donation for the Pink Auction

Free Pattern Friday: Stars

This week's Free Pattern Friday link list was compiled by Evin of Spring Stitches.

Summer, to me, has starry nights and sunny days, so this week's Free Pattern Friday is all about the stars in the sky upon which we wish to cure Breast Cancer.

Crocheted Baby Star Afghan by YarnDiva

Coraline's Star Sweater created by Althea Crome for the film Coraline

Star Fling Quilt by Terry Atkinson

Crochet Stars by Rachel

Cosmosdust Quilt

Photo by Tatyana Ogryzko

Come On, Get Involved

The Pink Auction would love for you to become involved! Here are a few of the ways you can make a difference:

Do you knit, sew, design textiles, crochet, dye wool, weave, or create fibre art?

Auction items will be your beautifully crafted donations of high-quality, sellable textile art. This can be: Crochet; Knitting; Lace; Weaving; Quilting; Felting; Batik. We welcome creative textile donations in a range of creations, including: Fashion; Creative textile jewelry; Quilts; Blankets; Shawls; Bags; Wall hangings; Mittens; etc... Donation Guidelines

Are you a member or leader of a community group?

Community groups are wonderful forums to create a collaborative project for the auction. Blankets, baby sets, or quilts are wonderful for groups to make together and donate.

Do you own a wool or fabric shop - or have clean wool/fabric to donate?

We're seeking donations of fibre materials, such as wool, yarn, fabric, thread, felt, and fabric dye for asylum seekers and our volunteers to create auction items. It may not seem like much, but even a skein or two of wool or a meter of fabric can be made into something beautiful. We have volunteers with skill and dedication, now we just need to give them something to work with.

Are you a publican or restauranteur?

You could host a workshop or publicity event to promote awareness. It doesn't have to be big to make a big difference.

Are you on Facebook, Twitter, or Ravelry?

You don't need to create or donate to help us spread the word about The Pink Auction in Cork City. Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and Ravelry and tell your friends!