I am a longtime fan of Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching book series. In fact, Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection was one of the very first embroidery books I ever purchased! I combined one of the designs from that book with one of the Kokeshi Dolls from Sublime Stitching to create the very first hoop I ever stitched!
So, when Aimee reached out offering the opportunity to review her latest book, Doodle Stitching Embroidery Art and to be a part of the Embroidery Art Blog Tour, I jumped at the chance!
The tag line for Aimee's new book is "Move Beyond the Pattern" and that is exactly what makes Doodle Stitching Embroidery Art stand out in my library of embroidery books. In this new book, Aimee provides ideas and tutorials that will really get you "thinking outside the hoop" in terms of what you can create with embroidery. With 20 different project ideas that are intended to give you the opportunity to explore your creativity, this book is filled with inspiration!
As I sat reading through the book with my favorite mug of tea, one project in particular caught my attention and I knew I needed to try it. I recently asked folks on Instagram and Facebook, "What do you do with your leftover thread bits?" I received so many great ideas, from using them to make handmade paper to filling glass ornaments with them for your Christmas tree to displaying them in glass jars. I am grateful for all of these ideas because I have always just kept mine in a little storage bin hoping that I would one day find a cool project for them.
Aimee has a suggestion for just such a project! She calls it Scrap Floss Art. While the main project she highlights in this section of the book intrigued me, it was the variation suggestion that inspired me to give it a try. This is one of the things I appreciate most about Aimee's book. Almost every project includes suggestions for variations of the main project, so when you think about it, you are really getting a lot more than 20 project ideas here!
My floss bits come from embroidery, cross stitch, Sashiko, quilting and mending projects, so I have a wide assortment of thread types in my floss bits bin. From perle cotton and Sashiko thread to metallic thread and embroidery floss, I loved how all the different kinds of thread came together. A sparkle of metallic floss here or a thicker strand of Sashiko thread there all combined to give the whole piece more visual interest.
I love this new addition to the wall of hoop art in my studio! Not only was it a lot of fun to make, I love that it is a memento of past projects as well. That is a running theme throughout this book - how to use embroidery as a way of capturing your memories. From the Stitch A Day Journal to the Under the Moon Hoop or the Pet Portrait Hoop, Aimee has so many great ideas for how you can use embroidery to fill the walls of your home with your memories and special moments.
The generous folks at C&T Publishing and Aimee Ray are giving away several FREE digital copies of Aimee's new book as part of the Embroidery Art Blog Tour! Entering to win is easy. Just stop by any (or all!) of the participating folks blog or Instagram pages and leave a comment on the post about Aimee's new book.
Embroidery Art Blog Tour
August 24:
August 25
August 26
August 27
August 28
Each day a winner will be selected from each of the posts to receive a free e-copy of Doodle Stitching Embroidery Art. So, leave a comment below for a chance to win here and then check out the rest of the blog tour for additional chances to win.
The scrap thread heart looks great and would be fun use of what’s typically thrown away.
This doodle book goes way beyond the cute little doodles. I love how it expands the possibilities!
I save all my scrap threads and have been waiting for inspiration to put them to use!!!
I love the embroidery on the cover! I would like to learn more about this artist’s work.
This is quite an intriguing book. I love finding ways to use bits of fabric and threads and the project you showed would help me use up a bunch at one time. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of the ebook.
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