How to choose what craft project to work on - 4 super quick steps

Yay, it's craft time!

Ok, let’s go. Grab one of your projects.

I’m waiting.

Hello?

Oh, I see the problem. You don’t know which project to pick!

You have so many projects, both new and unfinished, and now when you finally have time to craft you don't know which one to work on.

Having too many choices can end up being a barrier to crafting.

And any barrier that gets in between the decision to craft and the actual crafting is a huge problem, because even the tiniest barrier can be all that it takes to kill your motivation.

You need a plan so the act of choosing a project doesn’t lead to no crafting at all.

Here are my 4 super quick steps on how to narrow down the choices so the decision becomes easy.

1. Assess your location.

Start to narrow down your projects by assessing your location limitations.

You can probably eliminate many projects in less than 5 seconds.

For example, if you’re headed to a doctor’s appointment and you want to craft in the waiting room, you’re probably not going to drag a sewing machine with you, or a box full of card making supplies. So those projects are easily nixed.

However, an easy crochet project could be perfect. Maybe you like English paper piecing or coloring books. They're all compact with minimal supplies needed, great for the doctor office location (or in my case above, the Apple store).

Assess your location and eliminate the projects that aren’t an ideal fit.


2. Estimate the time you have available for crafting.

Do you have a lot of time to craft or only a little?

Will you likely have lots of interruptions or one uninterrupted block of time?

If you have a limited amount of time, it’s probably best to work on a project where you don’t have to get a bunch of supplies out which sucks up a lot of time.

If you expect interruption, it may be a good idea choose a craft that’s easy to stop quickly and is easy to remember where you left off. I love embroidery for this.

On the other end, if you have a large amount of time, break out that king sized quilt top that you’ve been piecing together for the last seven years (my situation), put on a good podcast and get sewing for the next few hours.

Eliminate the projects that don’t fit the time you have available, or the amount of interruptions you expect.

3. Determine your mood.

Craft time should be a good experience. The BEST experience. So if you try and force yourself to work on a project that you’re just not “feeling” right this moment, then you’re not going to have a great time. And even worse, you might start to resent the project.

Here are questions to ask yourself to determine if a project fits your current mood.


Do I just want to relax and not think?

After a long day I want to work on a craft that hypnotizes me into total relaxation and lets the stress melt away. For me that means choosing a craft with repetitive counting and minimal decision making required. A simple crochet, knitting, or cross-stitch project does the trick.

Always make sure to have a “relaxation only” project in progress so it’s there when you need it.


Do I have a project idea that I can’t stop thinking about?

If this is the case, it’s almost always a good idea to work on this project. If an idea needs to come out then you should let it. Allow yourself the grace and creative freedom to go for it. There is always something to learn and gain by exploring your ideas.

Exploring your ideas is what makes you an artist. But only if you get them out of your head!


Am I feeling ambitious?

Are you pumped and up for anything? It might be time to break out that large project that you’ve slowly been making progress on and now really forge ahead with it. Or maybe it’s time to give that new craft a try that you never started because you were too scared.

When you’re feeling ambitious it’s time to use all that strong creative willpower to do something scary, big, and exciting.


Do I want to finish all of the things?

Occasionally I get in the mood where I can’t stand all the projects piling up and I feel compelled to “finish all of the things!” Do you ever feel this way? When I’m in this mood I go with it. Look at your unfinished projects. There are probably a few in there that can be finished quickly or get to the next step quickly.

Wanting to “finish all of the things” often means your brain needs an “easy win.” Pick an unfinished project that you can complete in the time you have available. Get that win!


Determining what mood you’re in can often narrow your project choices to just one or two.

4. Go with your gut.

Ultimately this is one of the best ways to make a decision. You can do this right away, even before you go through the other steps. If you feel strongly about working on something, you’ll figure out how to make everything else work.

Look at your remaining projects. Touch them.

Which one is pulling you towards it the most?

That’s the one to work on.

It takes practice to go with your gut instead of doing what your brain says you “should” be working on. The trick is to give yourself permission to choose your gut over your brain without guilt. When it comes to crafting, you’ll almost always feel more fulfilled when you go with your gut. Remember, that “should” project will still be there later, and next craft time your gut might tell you to work on that one.

Trust your gut. It’s is pretty smart.


I encourage you to try using these 4 steps to pick which craft to work. The goal is to get as much out of craft time as you can, both physically and emotionally. Your craft time is precious. Follow these steps and you’ll be crafting in no time.


Now that you’ve picked a project, I invite you to come craft with me.

At 9:30 pm central time every evening I LIVE craft on Periscope.

It’s a time to relax, work on a project, hear some tips and tricks, and chit chat. I love hanging out with viewers and we have the best conversations. Periscope allows you to type into a chat box, and I can see what you say LIVE and can respond. It’s so much fun!

To chat and participate in a LIVE Periscope with me, download the free Periscope app from the itunes store or google play store, then search for and follow “penguinandfish”. Your device will notify you when I’m LIVE.

You can also watch without downloading the Periscope app by going to periscope.tv/penguinandfish at 9:30 pm central time. You can still watch LIVE online, however you won’t be able to comment. For that reason, I recommend using the Periscope app.

I hope you join me for nightly #RelaxAndCraft time. I’ll see you on Periscope!

I'd love to hear how you choose what project to work on. Do you have lots of unfinished projects? Lots of new project ideas? Do you use Periscope?

Lemme know.

Comment below, or feel free to contact me (Alyssa) at emails [at] penguinandfish [dot] com (type out using the “@” and “.” symbols with no spaces).

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If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get weekly emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE Picnic Pals minis hand embroidery pattern.

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My number 1 organization tip - Don't clean your craft space. Do this instead.

I have “drifts” in my craft room

Like snowdrifts that get bigger and bigger during a snowstorm. Except my drifts are accumulated piles of fabric, embroidery hoops, magazines, books, sewing thread, loose papers and all sorts things that build up around the edges of the room.

Not pretty.

One of many "drifts" in my craft room.

What about you? Any drifts in your craft space? Those drifts can really mess up your craft time. If you’re anything like me, it might go something like this:

You get super motivated to craft and, amazingly, have time right this moment to dedicate to crafting.

The stars have aligned!

You go into your craft space. You see the “drifts” and get a little stressed. But you’re not discouraged. You have just enough willpower to get past the “drifts” and get working on your craft project. But where is your scissors? Where did you leave the floss you needed? Where’s the pattern?

Then Bam! Motivation is gone.

It’s too stressful to find everything you need, you’ve wasted your time looking through the drifts, and you don’t even feel like crafting anymore. You could clean up your craft space. But that would take forever and sounds like the least fun thing to do right now.

You give up and check your Instagram feed instead.

Any of this sound familiar?

Our crafting time and motivation are precious. 

And our lack of organization is getting in the way.

So how can we be organized enough to capitalize on our time and motivation, but not have to clean our entire craft space to get started? Here’s a solution that might work for you:


My number 1 organization tip:

Don’t organize your craft space, instead organize your projects.


So what does that mean?

It could mean the difference between crafting or giving up. Seriously.

Ideally an organized project consists of a container that holds everything you need to work on a single project. This includes all materials, supplies, tools, patterns, inspiration, notes and other reference materials.

Everything is right at your fingertips while your motivation is still at it’s peak. And you can ignore your unorganized craft space all together.

Your project container doesn’t need to be anything fancy, however it should have a lid or the ability to close. I use everything from small plastic sandwich containers, to spare handbags, to large plastic storage bins depending on the size of the project.

Here’s an example of what an embroidery project container might look like.

    •    A gallon sized Ziploc bag to use as your project container
    •    embroidery hoop
    •    fabric
    •    pattern
    •    needle (slid in the corner of the fabric so it’s easy to find)
    •    embroidery floss (in a small sandwich bag to protect it from getting caught on things)
    •    small scissors with cover
    •    additional small sandwich bag to use for trash like embroidery floss discards
    •    piece of paper to jot down notes (notes could include a list of supplies to still purchase, a link to a good youtube video on a new technique to try, where you left off last time and what you want to do next, tricks learned along the way that you don’t want to forget, etc.)
    •    pen or pencil to jot down notes

It’s everything you need to work on the embroidery project. You only need to grab the project container and you’re ready to craft.

Project container with all the needed supplies, materials and tools.

Do this for all of your projects, or at least the most current ones you’re working on, and you’ll be surprised at how easy it will be to start crafting, no matter how messy your craft room is.

:-)

However, you may be thinking: I don’t have tons of scissors to put one in every project container.

Here’s a solution if you don’t have tools to spare for each project. This also applies if you’re working on a project that needs large rulers, liquids like paint, cutting boards or common specialty tools like a rotary cutter or fabric scissors.

Gather like items and give them a highly visible place of honor in your craft space.

For example. Find all of your scissors (whether they’re large, small, for fabric, or paper) and place them in a jar with a pretty ribbon. Put the jar in a place of prominence in your craft space. It could be the centerpiece to your cutting table, or it could sit right next to your sewing machine. Make sure the jar is in a place where it doesn’t have to move often and is highly visible at all times.

Then when it’s craft time, just grab your project container and a scissors from the jar.

another idea…

make a grab-and-go tool kit.

A grab-and-go tool kit is a small container that has all the general supplies you might need for any project that comes up.

My grab-and-go tool kit is simply a plastic sandwich container with a lid and contains:

    •    small embroidery scissors
    •    piece of felt holding a variety of needles
    •    neutral colored sewing thread
    •    measuring tape
    •    pen
    •    pencil
    •    water soluble pen
    •    a couple of crochet hooks
    •    thimble
    •    a few random buttons
    •    piece of paper for notes
    •    small crocheted chain stitch piece of yarn that my husband stitched that makes me smile when I see it

With my project container supplemented by my grab-and-go tool kit, I know I’ll have everything I need to craft.

Nothing, not even a craft room full of “drifts” can get in my way.


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What about you?

Do you have a special container for your projects or tools? How clean is your craft space? Does an unorganized space keep you from crafting?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Comment below, or feel free to contact me (Alyssa) at emails [at] penguinandfish [dot] com (type out using the “@” and “.” symbols with no spaces).

________

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get weekly emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE Picnic Pals minis hand embroidery pattern.

Click here to join (it's FREE too!)

The best diagram ever - from Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

I’m only 6 pages into this book and I know I have to buy it (and return this one to the library so someone else can read it).

Here’s why.

Page 6 has the best diagram ever! A diagram that should be painted on my wall so I can see it all the time.



Good, right?

The diagram shows all the effort we expend working on things.

On the left, it shows us working on multiple things, and not getting very far on any of them. As quoted in the book: “a millimeter of progress in a million directions.”

Uhg.

However, on the right the diagram shows if we focus the same amount of energy to less things we can make real progress on them.

What if those few things we give our energy to can leap us ahead at our job, or are things we really love doing. Things that matter.

Think about how effective and happy we would be.

The book, btw, is:

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
by Greg McKeown

I needed to see this diagram today and thought you might too.

It’s timely for me because yesterday I was feeling super anxious. All of the projects, emails and things I “needed” to do were swirling in a storm above my head, all vying for my time. I’d grab onto one, and another would try and push its way in.

The left diagram perfectly illustrates how I was feeling. Doing too many things and not getting anywhere.

Currently, when I start to feel like I’m doing too much, I find it helpful to make a giant list of all the “to dos” swirling in my brain.

This helps right away because things aren’t buzzing in my head anymore, they’re stuck on paper. Kind of like flies on flypaper. (Gross)

Then I take that list and try to isolate the things the REALLY matter.

I work on only those things and let the rest slide.

Like maybe I should call that store that wanted to sell Penguin & Fish products instead of making a fun Facebook graphic.

Or maybe I should finish designing my current fabric collection instead of cleaning up my email inbox.

Or even, maybe I should take that long walk on this beautiful afternoon instead of vacuuming the kitchen.

Working on what matters calms me down and gives me a sense of accomplishment. I know I’m getting farther on the right things.

When I finished my list yesterday, I could see right away a few things that stood out as most important. I worked on those items and I’m happy to report that yesterday was the most productive day I’ve had in weeks. I even got in that long walk.

I need to isolate the things that matter more often!

I look forward to reading the rest of the Essentialism (like I said, I’m only on page 6) and see what new directives I can apply to get me to the right side of the diagram.

As I’m writing this, in my office that’s filled with craft supplies and projects, I’m realizing the diagram also applies to my unfinished craft projects. Or UFOs (UnFinished Objects) as the crafty blogs say.

Just in my direct line of sight I can see 8 UFOs. Oof, counting them even triggered my anxiety a bit.

None of them are getting very far because I don’t know which one to focus on. Actually, not knowing which one to work on is keeping me from working on any of them. That’s a big 0% progress.

I wonder what would happen if I categorized my UFOs by how much they matter to me. And then work on those ones.

I think I would be much happier in craft land. Not only would I be working and finishing projects that I love, I’d be working on them period.

I’m going to give it a try.

I’ll be sure to report back on my UFO progress, and also relay the juicy tips I learn (and apply) from Essentialism.


Click this link to sign up to my newsletter to receive updates.


What do you think?

Would prioritizing your unfinished craft projects by which ones matter most help you finish them? Does the diagram from Essentialism ring true to you like it did for me? What tricks do you currently use to get things done?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Comment below, or feel free to contact me (Alyssa) at emails [at] penguinandfish [dot] com (type out using the “@” and “.” symbols with no spaces).

P.S
All links in this post are Amazon.com affiliate links. That means if you click on the link and purchase the book, Amazon will send me a couple of cents for referring you. Or you could go to your local library and check it out like I did. I’m on my way to actually purchase the book right now. This one needs to be in my “at home” library.

P.P.S.
On a side note. Essentialism is beautifully designed. Check out the Contents page below. My “Typography 1” professor would approve.

If you found this post interesting, I hope you'll join me to get weekly emails on how to craft a happy life - and make something cute in the process. For signing up you’ll also get a FREE Picnic Pals minis hand embroidery pattern.

Click here to join (it's FREE too!)

The “no instructions” experiment - RESULTS!

Two weeks ago we started our “no instructions” experiment blog tour. For the experiment we asked several embroiderers to stitch our new Crafty Cat and Knitty Kitty embroidery patterns, except that we gave them no instructions, no reference on what embroidery stitches to use, no color suggestions, no transfer instructions, and no photo of the finished embroidery. We only gave them the basic line art design to use. 

Check our our “Path to creativity: Don’t follow instructions” post here to read more about the experiment.

Well, the results are in!

I’m overwhelmed by the amazing stitching of our experimenters. And if you’ve been following the tour I hope you were just as blown away. There were so many ideas. So many techniques. So much cuteness. Not to mention attempts at posing real kitties. 

I LOVE everyone’s creativity!

Below are direct links to the embroidery experimenters and their posts. Click the links to hear their full story about stitching the Crafty Cat and Knitty Kitty embroidery patterns with no instructions.

Abby from While She Naps 

Nicole from Follow the White Bunny

Mollie from Wild Olive

Olisa and Leigh from Mr. X Stitch

Floresita, Gabi, Kristen, Jo, and Pam from Feeling Stitchy

Wendi from Shiny Happy World

I had so many creativity "ah ha" moments while I was looking at everyone's pics and reading their stories. Below are some of their pics and the experimenting tips I learned through this project.

Nicole stitched the kitty above. I love how she filled in the kitty with all the little stitches, and how she used different floss colors for the fur. Look at how well the fur colors blend together. The texture created from all of the little stitches and different colors is amazing. And that little heart in the quilt block is just too cute. Also really love the idea of stitching on a patterned fabric.

• Experiment: Try filling in shapes with different colored floss to create blended color. Stitch on a patterned fabric.

I'm absolutely drooling over the colors that Kristen used in her Crafty Cat mug rug in the above pic. I love that mustard yellow. This is a palette that I definitely would like to try.

• Experiment: Play with color! Try colors that you don't use often.


Speaking of floss colors I don't use often, check out Pam's embroidery above. I almost never use variegated color floss. But after looking at this cute kitty, it's going on my list of things to experiment with.

• Experiment: Play with different ways to use variegated floss.
 
First off, love the blue fabric that Floresita used for the background in the above pic. Also love the textured kitty. But check out that ball of yarn and the knit square! The ball of yarn looks just like a 3 dimensional ball of yarn. And the knit square was actually knit with tiny needles then attached to the background afterwards. How fun.

• Experiment: Combine different crafts together in the same project.

 

These kitty embroideries by Gabi were stitched onto cork fabric! I've never heard of cork fabric before. I think the textures created by the embroidery stitches and the cork are pretty amazing.

• Experiment: Use a material you've never used before.

Abby's kitty above is another great use of variegated floss and a type of floss I don't use all that often; metallic floss. Isn't that silver scissors just the cutest! I also love that she thought about how to use the embroidery in a finished project.

• Experiment: How can you make embroidery the STAR of your project?

Check out Mollie's awesome knitting bag in the above pic. I love how dark the background fabric is, and I'd love to try stitching on a bold fabric color like this in the future. I tend to stick to my plain unbleached muslin, so doing something like this is out of my comfort zone for sure.

• Experiment: Stitch onto bold colored fabrics.

Now this is an experiment in color, texture and materials! Olisa's kitty above is stitched onto watercolor paper that she first painted, then stitched the scale pattern, then transferred and stitched the kitty. Love the combination of all these ideas together in one piece.

• Experiment: Be bold!

Leigh's kitties in the three pics above were stitched using a technique I've never used before and now absolutely have to try: free hand machine embroidery. That means she used a sewing machine to make all the stitches but instead of having the machine move the fabric, she moved it herself to basically "draw" with the sewing machine. The third image is a process pic. Look how she layersd colors!

• Experiment: Try a new technique.
 

I think Wendi's kitty above is just darling! Again, really excited about the bold background fabric color. Wendi used a "whipped back stitch" to stitch the yarn to make it look like actual twisted yarn. What a great idea. I love how she changed the knitting needles to a crochet hook.

• Experiment: Make a pattern your own!
And now...

the posing kitties!

Path to creativity: Don't follow instructions.

I love buying patterns.
 
I purchase patterns for sewing, embroidery, knitting, and other crafts, typically because I want to learn a new technique (or the design is so cute that it’s irresistible). However...

I have a confession to make about my pattern purchases.

I rarely stick to the instructions.

I almost always adjust the pattern to put my own spin on it. In fact, unless it’s a craft that I’ve never touched before, I don’t think I’ve ever followed a pattern’s instructions 100 percent from beginning to end.

What about you? Do you follow instructions exactly or do you veer?

Following instructions is wonderful when you want to try a new craft or technique. Pattern writers work hard to share their techniques and there’s a lot to learn from good instructions. Even if a pattern uses a technique you already know how to do, the pattern writer may do the technique differently, so there’s always something new to learn.

But what about the instructions after that? What about color or stitch choices? Do you follow those too?

When I stray from instructions, sometimes little fear bubbles float the surface. What if I mess up? What if I do it wrong? What if I don’t follow the rules?

These are all questions that hinder creativity.

It can be difficult to actively step away from instructions to do your own thing, however taking that step allows for creativity to happen. It’s the magic of taking a “spark” from your brain and making it real. That’s my definition of “art”.

Ask yourself these questions:

What would happen if you had a project and didn’t have any instructions?
 
What would happen if you were free from doing something in the right or wrong way?
 
What would happen if you had permission to just make art?

I decided to run a “no instructions” experiment.

We recruited some awesome embroiders for the experiment. We gave each of them only the line art template for our two new Here Kitty Kitty embroidery patterns, Knitty Kitty and Crafty Cat. We gave the embroiderers no instructions, no reference on what embroidery stitches to use, no color suggestions, no transfer instructions, and no photo of the finished embroidery. We asked each embroiderer to pick one of the designs then stitch it however they wanted. They had a blank slate. No limitations. No pressure. No right or wrong. Just play.

Below is an image of the covers for the two embroideries. Our embroiderers did not see this image before they started stitching.


Today, our embroiderers are ready to share their results!

We put together a blog tour for this week and next week where the embroiderers will share their finished embroideries and process. I’m so excited to see what they came up with and what decisions they made along the way. I know I’m going to be blown away by all the creativity!

Below is the list of embroiderers and the dates they’ll be sharing with links.

Wednesday, April 30 
Abby from While She Naps

Thursday, May 1
Nicole from Follow the White Bunny

Monday, May 5
Mollie from Wild Olive
 
Tuesday, May 6
Olisa and Leigh from Mr. X Stitch
 
Wednesday, May 7
Floresita from Feeling Stitchy
 
Thursday, May 8
Wendi from Shiny Happy World

Please check them out. It’s going to be awesome!

We’ll have our Wrap Up here on the Penguin & Fish blog on Friday, May 9th.

Would you like to participate too?

Click here for the “Knitty Kitty” embroidery pattern.

And click here for the “Crafty Cat” embroidery pattern.

I’d love to see how you experiment and veer away from the instructions! Email your pics to me (alyssa) at info (at) penguinandfish (dot) com, and tell us what you did. We’ll share your pics on our facebook page.
____________________________________________________________________________
 
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Click here to join (it's FREE too!)

Simple Knitted Legwarmers pattern - still time to make before Christmas

Simple, knit legwarmers

The last few days have been FREEZING, and I mean negative numbers. The weather is tempting me to add another project to my already long Holiday project list.

Legwarmers!

I can bundle up all I want on top, but if all I have on the legs are jeans, I'm still going to be pretty dang cold. I could wear tights underneath my jeans, but who wants to do that?

So, I thought, I should just make really long legwarmers, like mid-thigh length legwarmers. Doesn't that sound wonderful! They'll be like blankets for the legs!

I made the legwarmers in the image above back in 2009 and am thinking I'll use the same, no-fuss pattern. To update them for the thigh length legwarmers, I'm going to use the same design and just keep stitching until they're the right length. I'll take the measurement around the largest part of my thigh instead of calf to start. That may be all I do. However, if the legwarmer seems too big once I get lower on the leg, I may start decreasing a stitch or two every now and then to make the bottoms slimmer. But who knows, it might be just right with the bottoms being big. I'll decide as I go, and let you know what happens.

Here is the pattern for the original legwarmers from the photo above.

Simple Legwarmers:

I used black, sport weight, blue sky alpaca yarn, but you can use whatever yarn you'd like. Update: use the needle size that's recommended for the yarn. I don't know what the original size of needle I used to make these back in 2009.

First you'll need to make a quick gauge: Cast on 10 stitches in stockinette stitch (knit a row, purl a row) for 10 rows total. Measure how many horizontal stitches in an inch. Then measure the number of inches around the largest part of you calf. Use those two numbers to figure out how many stitches you'll need to go around your calf.

Figure out the number of stitches it takes to go around your calf (instructions above) and cast on the closest multiple of 4 to that number. For my legwarmers I cast on 36 stitches.

work in the round

(k2, p2) around for 15 rows

k 50 rows (or to your desired length)

(k2, p2) around for 15 rows

bind off loosely.

There you go. Super easy, no frills, but still cute.

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Want more tips, tutorials, fun updates from Penguin & Fish, and a FREE embroidery pattern? Click here to join (it's FREE too!)

 

Sew & Stitch Embroidery is on tour!

Happy Tuesday!

Have you checked out my new book, Sew & Stitch Embroidery? Or are you waiting to hear what expert crafters, stitchers, quilters and sewists think first? Well, you are in luck!


Starting today, Sew & Stitch Embroidery will be making the rounds on a super fabulous blog tour! Check out the incredible bloggers on the schedule:

 

Book Tour Dates:

Tuesday, Oct. 8
Mr. X Stitch

Wednesday, Oct. 9
Pellon

Thursday, Oct. 10
While She Naps

Friday, Oct. 11
The Last Piece

Saturday, Oct. 12
Feeling Stitchy

Sunday, Oct. 13 - No stop today

Monday, Oct. 14
Wild Olive

Tuesday, Oct. 15
Bad Ass Quilters Society

Wednesday, Oct. 16
Spoonflower

Thursday, Oct. 17
Sew Mama Sew

Friday, Oct. 18
Skunkboy

Saturday, Oct. 19
Meet Me at Mikes

Sunday, Oct. 20 - No stop today

Monday, Oct. 21
Quilt Dad

Tuesday, Oct. 22
Follow the White Bunny

Wednesday, Oct. 23
Sarah Jane Studios

Not only are these amazing bloggers going to share their thoughts and projects from Sew & Stitch Embroidery, many of them are going to be giving away a copy of the book! I can't wait to see what other surprises they have up their sleeve! Be sure to check out the blogs on the dates above. And let me know what you think about what they have to say on our Penguin & Fish Facebook page. And learn more about Sew & Stitch Embroidery here.

Give yourself some time to unwind, stitch and smile!

best
-alyssa

Giveaway of Mollie Makes and Generation Q magazines.

Hi all. It's time for a giveaway! What kind of giveaway?

Yup, a "Lovely Magazine" giveaway. Do you love Mollie Makes, that super fabulous crafty magazine from the UK? Me, too! I especially love Issue Thirty because my Octo-quilt from Sew & Stitch Embroidery is in it. Yippee! The article includes full instructions on how to make the funny embroidered Octopus quilt and pillow sham. 

The Octo-quilt is making the rounds in super neat crafty magazines. An image of it also appears in the September-October issue of Generation Q! There is also a never-seen-before photo of one of my very first cross-stitch projects, along with an article on how I fell in love with embroidery.

I am offering BOTH Mollie Makes Issue Thirty AND the September-October Generation Q in our giveaway! The winner will receive both magazines AND 15% off in the Penguin & Fish shop.

How do I win, you ask? 


To enter:
1 - head over to our facebook page
2 - make sure to "like" us
3 - comment under the giveaway post

4 - Get an extra entry for "sharing" the post. Let me know in an additional comment that you "shared".

(please comment only 2 times. 1 to enter the giveaway and an additional 1 if you "shared" the post) 



We will randomly select a winner on Thursday September 26th at 11:00am central time, so make sure to enter before then.


If you win, I will Facebook message you so I can get your address to send you your magazines. I will also give you a code to receive your 15% off in the Penguin & Fish shop. (The 15% off will be refunded to you after your purchase.)

And yes, I will ship internationally.


Thanks everyone!

-Your friends @penguinandfish

No Coast Craft-O-Rama!

No Coast Craft-O-Rama is coming up soon! To all our Mid-Westerns in the Twin Cities Metro area come by and say 'hi!' on December 7th at the Midtown Global Market.

We'll be there with kits, patterns, and plush! Plus! We've got some new kitties just waiting in the studio to be featured at the No Coast Craft-O-Rama!

We're so excited to see all the wonderful handmade creations by the very talented designers at No Coast! No better venue than Midtown Global Market! If you haven't been there, there are just tons of great places to eat and neat shops. If you're going to No Coast, come hungry!



We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Your friends at Penguin and Fish

@penguinandfish