Inspirational Fridays: Monsters, Robots, and Creatures! Oh, My!

We asked Naomi Cayne what inspires her to create her unique embroidery.  This is what she had to say:
Bright new days full of possibility inspire me.  Hundreds of colors of thread waiting to be sewn into a fresh swatch of fabric inspire me.  A yearning to come up with appealing images and better items is a constant push and inspiration.  I am compelled to create in the same way that hunger and thirst compels me to eat and drink.  I am also inspired by other artists, my customers, and friends.  Mostly, my imagination is responsible for the images I create. 
  
Inspiration to embroider something specific hits me at random moments.  I see, hear or read something that conjures up an image and sticks with me, nagging me to illustrate it.  My drawings become inspiration for my embroideries.  And I draw a lot.  My sketches are often of strange creatures, monsters, robots, or animals with human characteristics.  Some of the lucky sketches get to take on a life of their own when they are set down on fabric with a needle and thread.  For me, embroidery is essentially painting or drawing with thread.
  
Inspiration for these creatures may be derived from subconscious memories of children’s books (I always loved the illustrations) and definitely pull a bit from the work of other artists, some of whom I find on Etsy.  Like Harold and his purple crayon, I draw what is in my mind, dying to get out.  Inspiration often comes from daily life; I try to create characters that have personality, are endearing or charming in their own way and sometimes have real-life human feelings and issues.  To me, the creatures can tell a story without a single word.
  
Some of my pieces are directly inspired from other sources - for example, my series of unsung scientists and inventors.  This series started when I read Bill Bryson’s humorous and informative tome A Short History of Nearly Everything, which is basically a science textbook for dummies.  Even though critics have found a number of errors in this book, the point of his text still comes across.  His book opens up a world that is obscured to many of us, unveiling the many mysteries of the universe.  I was amazed by reading about discoveries of things that we all take for granted, yet never having heard of many of the scientists behind the research.  These scientists need to be recognized (aside from by the Nobel Prize awarders, from which many have received their due) and my embroideries are a small way to pay homage to them. 
  
For all artists, inspiration is elusive and can be hard to explain.  The key for me is to always be open to that inspiration, to let it strike when it chooses to, and to be ready to illustrate or stitch whatever life throws at me.
  
www.naomicayne.com
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Related links:
  
My Embroideries:
http://naomicayne.com/embroideries.htm
http://www.etsy.com/shop/naomicayne?section_id=5376543

Harold and the Purple Crayon
http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Purple-Crayon-Anniversary-Books/dp/0064430227

A Short History of Nearly Everything
http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/076790818X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269006909&sr=8-1
  
  
 
      
 
    
     

Sale!! Embroidery by Naomi Cayne

In celebration of our focus on needlecraft this week, Naomi is offering 20% off all her wonderful embroideries. Just mention the EtsyCREST blog and you will receive a revised invoice or a refund via Paypal.



www.naomicayne.com
www.naomicayne.etsy.com
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Cross Stitch Tutorial from Kitty City Creations

This week our blog will be focusing on needlecrafts. Today we are happy to bring you a wonderful tutorial from Aileen at KittyCityCreations.

Cross stitch tutorial: How to secure your thread to keep the back neat

Many of my friends comment on how neat the back of my stitching is. True, there is a bit of planning involved in my stitching “trail,” but much of it is how I secure my thread when I begin stitching. This may be non-traditional for many and some may feel that I am cheating. It is a sort of knot, which is a no-no in cross stitch! But it’s a nice flat knot, I assure you! (I’m such a rule breaker!) This was taught to me by a friend of my mother’s when I was a few years into my stitching habit.

Note: This only works if you are stitching with an even number of strands.

1. Start by cutting a piece of floss twice as long as you normally work with. I tend to cut mine about arm’s length.

2. If you are stitching with 2 strands (the most common), separate out only 1 strand of floss.Fold it in half and thread the open ends through the eye of your needle, leaving the loop on the end you will stitch with.

3. Bring the needle up through the back and make your first stitch as you normally would. Instead of leaving a “tail” to stitch over, bring your needle through the loop and pull taught. This creates the flat knot. (Images are of the back of the fabric.)

Note: Don’t pull too tight or you risk pulling the knot through to the front.

4. Continue stitching as usual and when you come to the end, thread the needle behind the last few stitches as you normally would. Be sure to clip the threads close to the fabric so you don’t leave thread hanging out. In the images, I started in the bottom left corner and ended in the top left corner.

So essentially the back looks the same as before, you just have fewer “beginning and ending” spots visible, which makes it look just a little cleaner.

http://KittyCityCreations.etsy.com

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