embroidery hoops – Rae Nudson

izabel from saga (embroidery no. 16)

I feel like I come late to the game to a lot of things. I just discovered Sandman–only 15 years after the first one came out. I am furiously trying to catch up on the Good Wife, which just started season 5. Last year I got really into Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, and the first one came out five years before I was born. I guess I can’t help being late for that one.

But I am into the comic books series Saga. And Saga is coming out right now. (To be fair, I did only read it after the first two volumes were complete.) Issue 15 came out on Oct. 30, and that issue is the inspiration for this embroidery of Izabel.

I like so many of the characters in Saga. Alana is a badass. The Will and Lying Cat really love each other. And Izabel is so nice and fun. Izabel may be dead, but she’s still a great babysitter to Alana and Marko’s daughter Hazel. She seems like a spunky teenager who cares for the family she is now working with. I really like Izabel’s fresh voice and positive attitude. Marko’s mom, on the other hand, may never warm up to her.

Saga has kept me on my toes and in love with the characters and stories. The next one comes out Nov. 27. I’ve been reading on my iPad, but if you can, swing by your local comic books store to check out Saga and see what else looks good!

I am working on a project to sew some of my favorite quotes and images from books. You can see the other pieces of my embroidery project here:

(I bought this comic book on my own and am not being paid to write about it. I just like it!)

i am the one who knocks (embroidery no. 15)

Well, guys. Today’s the day. The series finale of Breaking Bad. Today we’ll say goodbye–and good riddance–to The One Who Knocks. (See an embroidered version of him here.)

I have never enjoyed a TV show more than Breaking Bad, but my emotions can’t take any more of this. These last few episodes have been nonstop intensity, and the following week is nonstop discussions, and my brain is nonstop fried.

But what a ride, right? It’s been blast. I’m so excited to see the end, but I’m sad for it to be over. I am also worried for the mental health of us, as a group. Will there be a giant sigh of relief tonight? Or stunned silence?

I used green and brown to reflect the colors in the Breaking Bad credits. They are also reminiscent of the desert dirt in New Mexico. When Walt yelled at Skylar that he is the one who knocks, it was an iconic moment in television. We had a new phrase for evil, a new kind of bad guy. And I expect tonight’s episode will be a new kind of send-off–a finale that takes us to depths we haven’t seen before. I can’t wait.

I am working on a project to sew some of my favorite quotes and images from books (and TV). You can see the other quotes in my embroidery project here:

embroidery display update

I have finally added my latest embroideries to my embroidery display!

I am slowly but steadily filling the space above my bed. I love having them in my home–I love any handmade item in my home. I think it adds originality and personality, and I’m of course also proud that I made them myself.

I’m getting quite a collection, and I’d love to keep going. I think they look lovely as a group. The whole is just as good as the parts.

I am working on a project to sew some of my favorite quotes and images from books. You can see the other quotes in my embroidery project here:

God bless you, but… (embroidery no. 12)

When a dome falls over your entire town, cutting you off from the rest of the world, things can get a little stressful. One of my favorite parts of the book (and show!) was watching how people handled that stress–whether it was admirable or terrifying.

This embroidery is from Under the Dome and, well, has language that’s a little NSFW. Click through the jump if swear words won’t offend.

Continue reading “God bless you, but… (embroidery no. 12)”

chapter 19 (embroidery no. 10)

I did something a little different for today’s embroidery. For those of us who grew up with Harry Potter, a charming part of those books were the illustrations in the American version at the top of each chapter. I had a small embroidery hoop lying around that was really the perfect size to fit the drawings at the top of the page–just a few inches across. So I took my paperback of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and picked one of my favorite illustrations. And using the back stitch and Sublime Stitching’s tutorial for the chain stitch, this is what I came up with!

Continue reading “chapter 19 (embroidery no. 10)”

i carry your heart with me (embroidery no. 9 and happy mother’s day)

This one is for my mom. Most of you are familiar with this E. E. Cummings love poem, but I believe this particular line can speak to many kinds of love.

I don’t live near my mom. My parents are in Atlanta where today I believe they are going on a motorcycle ride in the nice Southern weather. So we can’t spend this Mother’s Day, or many other days, together. But my mom has made me strong, so that I can come to New York and go to work and build a life. I bring her strength and her love with me always.

I talk to my mom just about every day. (I asked my sister once if you need your mom less when you get older. She said no.) She listens to me when I go on and on about some boring thing that I’m now super interested in, or she lets me explain the plot of whatever book I’m reading, and she celebrates with me when things are good, and is sad with me when things are sad.

Continue reading “i carry your heart with me (embroidery no. 9 and happy mother’s day)”

this weekend

No new embroidery this week, but I did update the display! My mom is in town visiting and the week was full of errand running and getting ready, and now that she’s here it’s full of fun. We are working on my apartment in between running around the city. I got some fabric to make pillow cases for the couch and bed. I got a new mirror for the bedroom that I hope to hang up today. I also got a flamingo blanket that #fatcat likes to nap under. Hope you all are having a great weekend! Doing a lot of work around here, hope to post some updates this week and get back to embroidery next Sunday.

Usually each Sunday I post the embroidery project I am working on to sew some of my favorite quotes from books. Let me know if you have any quote suggestions! You can see the other quotes in my embroidery project here:

oodles of charm (embroidery no. 6)

I can have oodles of charm when I want to. This quote is also from Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. I love his writing because there’s a darkness and a kind of rambling that has these brilliant quips and nuggets of truths.

Continue reading “oodles of charm (embroidery no. 6)”

embroidery display

No new embroidery this week–instead I got everything I have already done ready to put on the wall above my bed. A few weeks ago I was struggling with what to do above my bed, and I think this might be my new solution.

To get the hoops ready, I first had to paint them.

Then I placed the embroidery back into the hoops and loosely sewed up the back. And then it was time to hang them up!

#fatcat helped.

It’s been really great to take a step back and see all the work I’ve done so far. I’m really proud of my progress as a new embroiderer and excited to see what I’ve made displayed in one place. I think I can easily add more as I keep going, which was important to me, too.

Back to a new quote next week. After my vacation I’m really inspired and am excited to get going on some new quotes!

This is part of an embroidery project I am working on to sew some of my favorite quotes from books and post the images here each Sunday. Let me know if you have any quote suggestions! You can see the other quotes in my embroidery project here:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: