the joy of stitch

One of my favorite things about this time of year is that everything slows down a little and we take the time to make things...meals, gatherings, and especially gifts.  And my favorite word of the holiday season is definitely... JOY.  It just sums up what the season is about, and without any specific ideas about what should bring you joy.

For me, joy is spending hours and hours making beautiful things by hand.  To give to others, to decorate my home, and just to give myself the present of sitting quietly and peacefully, enjoying the Joy of Stitch.

In that spirit, I present Satsuma Street's first holiday pattern, Joy.

just in time for fall...

I love Fall, even though I live in Los Angeles where the trees don't really change and it doesn't drop below 70 degrees.  It's more the idea of Fall that I love... it just feels cozier, doesn't it?  Like it's totally ok now to wear your pajamas all weekend and curl up under a blanket and add a little schnapps to your coffee even if it's only 4pm.  So in that spirit I designed one of my latest patterns, Forest:

Wouldn't you love to spend this fall stitching these vibrant autumn trees?  (while wearing pajamas and sipping schnapps, or not)  I stitched the sample for this pattern on natural colored linen evenweave, which is my new favorite material for cross-stitching.  I was originally planning on framing it, but the long horizontal design just called out to be made into a pillow instead.

Here's a close up of these vibrant colors on the natural linen:

Now that I think about it, the only thing that would make Fall even better was if trees really did turn magenta and teal and coral and purple.  But on Satsuma Street they do!

Happy Halloween and a cross stitch pumpkin!

Gosh I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog... lots of new patterns in the shop!  But as it's almost Halloween I thought I'd post a little project I did that isn't in the etsy shop... my cross stitch pumpkin!

That's right, I'm crazy and I embroidered a pumpkin.  It was easy, and there was wine and power tools involved.  So, not a project for kiddos, unless you leave out the wine.  But who would leave out the wine?!?

Anyway here's what I did:  first I scooped out my pumpkin as you usually do, except I did it from a hole in the back of the pumpkin instead of cutting out the top.  Then I drew a simple heart template on paper, taped that to the pumpkin and then marked where my holes would go with a push-pin.  I drilled the holes with a power drill with a 1/8" bit, but I wish I'd drilled bigger holes...they got really tight as I started stitching.

Then it was just a matter of cross-stitching my heart with that big bulky weight yarn you see in the photo and a very large tapestry needle.  I found it was also helpful to have a toothpick to shove in the holes from the front of the pumpkin when I was searching around for the right spot on the slimy dark inside.  Your hands, the needle, and the yarn will all get really slimy and it gets harder and harder to pull the needle through the holes, the more yarn that is passing through them, so I found I also needed a pair of pliers to help pull the needle through sometimes.

And voila!  Now I can say I have embroidered fruit.  That's right, pumpkins are a fruit!  Look how much you've learned today!

Now that's amore! Pretty Little Italy has arrived!

Here's the latest in my series of modern cross-stitch travel patterns!  For this design I combined Rome, Venice, Pisa, and Tuscany to incorporate all the best spots in Italy.  It's a perfect companion piece to my other European patterns, Pretty Little London and Pretty Little Paris!  And I'm offering a deal in my etsy shop for all three patterns for $15!

    

Pretty Little London!

Still working on the elephant pincushion, but I thought I'd mention one of my favorite Satsuma Street patterns, Pretty Little London!

This modern cross stitch design of the London skyline features some of the city's most iconic landmarks, done in my colorful graphic way.  You have Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and St. Paul's cathedral, as well as more modern structures like the London Eye, the Shard, and the Gherkin building.  And of course because it's London, there's a happy little raincloud!

Like my other city patterns, this London design is inspired by Mary Blair and her designs for It's a Small World.  I love taking the features of a city and trying to make them graphic and stylish while still evoking the place.

This pattern is available in my etsy shop, and makes a great companion piece to my other city designs!

Elephants!

Just thought I'd share the latest pattern in progress...a cross stitch elephant pincushion!  This is actually going to be a biscornu, which I had never heard of until recently, but they are all the rage in needlework these days.  They're made with two squares of fabric that are offset, which gives them a funny shape.  I thought it would be fun to put my modern cross stitch spin on the biscornu, but I've never made one, so hopefully it turns out well.  If it works, the pattern should be in the shop next week!

New Patterns on Satsuma Street!

So much has been going on since launching the shop, it's been hard to keep up with blogging!  But there are lots of new, modern and hip cross stitch patterns available in my etsy shop!  This latest pattern is a new favorite of mine...it's Pretty Little Tokyo!

  Like my other city patterns, Pretty Little Tokyo channels the design sensibility of Mary Blair and It's a Small World, while bringing in modern elements such as Tokyo's Cocoon Tower and Skytree.  This pattern looks so lovely as a companion piece to my other travel themed patterns, Pretty Little Paris and Pretty Little London!  I'm so happy with how this one turned out, and I hope other modern cross stitchers agree!

In other news, I'm also blogging now on tumblr!  I'm using my tumblr page as a place to collect my favorite photos of colorful, hip embroidery and needlework; cheerful color palettes; and inspiring graphic design.  So check me out at satsumastreet.tumblr.com!

Greetings!

Hey.  Hi.  What's up?

I love welcome signs of all kinds, so I designed this cross stitch sampler as a modern, happy version of all my favorite ways to say hello!  With each word in a different font, it's a perfect project or gift for a font nerd like myself.  Available in the Satsuma Street etsy shop here!

Pretty Little City!

I thought I'd start the blog off by introducing the different modern cross-stitch patterns I'm selling in the shop!

First up is my personal favorite, and by far the most popular design in the shop right now, Pretty Little City.  This pattern is inspired by one of my favorite artists,  Mary Blair.  If you don't know Mary Blair's name, you almost certainly know her work...she was a concept artist and designer at Disney in the 1950's and 60's, and her designs were featured in Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Peter Pan, along with many other animated features.  But she is perhaps best known as the designer behind the beloved "It's a Small World" ride in Disneyland.

I've loved Blair's work for a long time, and when I started designing cross-stitch patterns, I couldn't help but be influenced by her colorful, graphic style.  So this pattern, Pretty Little City, is my tribute to her.  I loved stitching it up, and couldn't help but use just about every color of the rainbow!  If you buy the pattern I provide a floss color key so you can match my choices, but I also think this would be a great way to explore your own color choices and come up with your own palette.  I can't wait to see how different cross stitchers interpret this one!

I think this would make such a great gift for a fan of Mary Blair or vintage Disneyland.  It would also make an adorable addition to a modern baby's room or nursery!  If you'd like to purchase the Pretty Little City pattern, you can find it in my shop on etsy, Satsuma Street!  

welcome to Satsuma Street!

so glad you found me!  this is where I'll be posting updates on all the goings-on around Satsuma Street Designs.  the first big piece of news is that my etsy shop is finally open!  I'm starting out small, offering five really fun, modern cross-stitch patterns.  I'm working on more patterns as we speak, and soon I'll be adding counted cross-stitch kits, embroidery patterns, and more!