How to hobby: embroidery

Hello and welcome to the start of a new series on my blog-- How To Hobby!

I have been accused by my friends of doing all the hobbies and it is true, I have dabbled in many things from watercolor to bread making. And something I love doing almost as much as my varied hobbies is trying to convince everyone to join in on the fun.

This week I thought I would kick off the series by talking about my newest found hobby: embroidery. (I am also a self-proclaimed 90-year old lady who reads her local newspaper each morning and enjoys things like embroidery)

I can't even remember what was going through my head when, last December, I decided embroidery was going to be my next project. I had seen my grandmother embroider before but I don't know what sparked that sudden desire to try it myself. A picture on Pinterest? An instagram post? Whatever it was I came to the quick decision that I wanted to learn how to embroidery.

Let's get into it!

Of course you are going to need some thread. Walmart (if it has a sewing section) sells DMC thread by the color-- that's the high quality stuff. I wanted to start out with a large selection of different colors, so I bought a box of cheap 'friendship bracelet' thread from Joann's.

And of course you are going to need a needle and an embroidery hoop-- both are sold for a couple dollars at Walmart. For fabric I buy the one dollar fabric squares from Walmart. They come in a variety of colors and it is enough fabric for several projects. (and it's cheap!)

I started out with this kit that came with everything you need: a hoop, needle, thread, and a piece of fabric with a pattern printed on it. The kit also came with a small handout explaining how to do the variety of stitches the pattern called for.

I changed the words because the original pattern had weird words ;)

What I love about embroidery is that straight away you can make pretty things. There isn't a steep learning curve-- if all you can do is push a needle in and out of fabric then BAM you can at least make something. The more time you put in, the more stitches you learn, and the more intricate the results can be.

The bird on the left is one of the first things I freehanded aftering finishing the kit. Almost every stitch is a basic in-out straight stitch and I rather like how it turned out (the rest of the piece isn't as fabulous but hey, I'm still learning).

Embroidery is great to do while listening to audiobooks-- I don't listen to many of them but I am more motivated to listen if I have something else to do.

Now if you are looking for a craft to do while watching TV, this is not it-- embroidery requires too much attention to be trying to watch something else (the only craft I can really do while also watching TV is knitting).

This piece that I freehanded was inspired by a Victor Hugo quote my friend sent me : Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight on a limb too slight feels it give way beneath her, and yet sings, sings knowing she has wings.

This is a super small piece (made on a mini hoop I got for a dollar at Walmart)-- it took an hour or less to complete and required no fancy stitching. Orion is my favorite constellation and I love how this turned out-- I'm planning on doing a couple more constellation to hang on my walls.

If I have convinced you to give embroidery a try, here are some super helpful blogs to check out!

Pumora-- this is an amazing blog full of resources on different stitches, materials, how to start, etc. She is also very active on Instagram
Cozy Blue-- Along with having a blog, this lady runs a really cool monthly pattern program. For just ten dollars a month she'll send you fabric (with the pattern already printed) and the thread you need to complete the project. It's something I've been thinking of signing up for. She is also very active on Instagram.

Whew! That's it for me. I hope you found this post a tad bit inspiring or helpful. Stay tuned for the next installment of this series (whenever that might occur) because heaven knows I have enough hobbies to fill ten posts.

What about you? Have you ever tried embroidery?