Cross Stitched Feminism Pillow

We can find power and celebration in many things. We can turn old fashioned skills and arts into an expression of something else. I find some sort of strange comfort from turning something that used to symbolize much of a woman's bonds into something that can symbolize what we are capable. A woman doesn't have to reject the arts of her grandmothers to embrace the ideals of equality and feminine power.

For this project, I used the female symbol, cross stitched in black and red to embrace the ideals of feminism and equality.

I started with a template made on graph pattern for the pattern. The lettering and phrases around the edges were mostly just to get a template for the letters not for the final placement.

Using black and red embroidery thread, I cross stitched my female design with phrases around the edges that emulated the theme. "Never let the hand you hold, hold you down." "History and Herstory." "If your not outraged your not paying attention." "A woman's life is a human life." "I am not your Barbie Doll." "The meek are ready." "Proud to be a feminist." "equality.""I resist." And so on. I then embellished the sides.

When the needlework was completed I cut a square of a red velvet-like material (seen in a few other projects) for the backing. Instead of sewing them right sides together, I opted to sew them wrong sides together.

Wrong sides together, I pinned the edges securely, especially taking into account the stretchy nature of the red backing fabric. Then, using a strong backs titch hand-sewed the two sides together with black embroidery thread, using the stitches along a clear straight line as part of the overall design, but making sure to leave a small gap to stuff.

Using the opening I left, I carefully stuffed the pillow to the desire fluffiness with some poly-fil I had on hand, being careful not to rip open the stitches around the opening.

Once full, I pinned the opening (once again being mindful of the stretchy nature of the red fabric for the backing), and sewing it securely shut with black embroidery thread and the back stitch. I pulled the loose thread from the fabrics to give a fringed edge to the small square pillow.

A pillow to make any feminist proud. (Take ye inspiration where ye may.)

Needlepoint Bookmarks

Need something to hold your place in that book? Or mark your favorite poem? (Especially helpful since April is National Poetry Month.)

You could use a piece of scrap paper (we all have them and we've all done it), or bend down the edge of the page (the shame!), but I made these bookmarks using cross stitch techniques and colored embroidery floss to use in my large collection of books. (I love books... the way they look, feel, smell, and the stories they hold. It's a love story, a seduction, an addiction. Old or young, they are beautiful and magical.)

The hot air balloon pattern was approximately from a pattern in a book of bookmark designs (with some adjustments for my personal preferences). It's a good pattern to play with colors and combinations.

The second bookmark is my own psychadellic pattern using a swirling rainbow of colors and bits of leftover threads from other projects that there isn't enough for other other things. (Anyone who does a fair amount of needlepoint probably has a collection built up.)

Even the edging on these was hand done.

The Backside

We sew. We stitch. We embroider. (Well, at least I do.) But most never look at the back of their needlepoint (whether embroider or cross stitch) except to check something, start a thread, or end one.

I don't know why, but I am one of those people that is often fascinated with the backside of my needlework; the part not meant to be seen, the part that is often not seen, the part often overlooked. I look at the backside of something I've been working on or something I've finished, watching the colors and the lines that connect the images or words on the front, such an important part of a finished piece, yet... How often do we notice? How often to we look? How often do we even think about what is on the other side?

There are so many thing in this world that make up not just a creative process, but life, so many things that are below the surface or on the other side. Many sometimes we just need to stop and look or at least give them a thought without letting ourselves get stuck there.

Needlepoint - "Listen to Your Heart"

I learned to needlepoint and hand sew as a young age, young enough I don't remember learning hoe to thread a needle. I learned embroidery first, then cross stitch. My mother was afraid if we learned cross stitch first, we'd never learn the fancier stitches. I used a pattern, but not the pre-printed kind. (I never like the way they look for cross stitch).

I entered it in our county fair, but this one didn't place.