Friday 24 January 2014

Grow Your Blog Party Post - Welcome!

2 Bags Full
This event is being run by Vicki of 2 Bags Full and I hope at least some regular readers were able to join in and enter their blogs.  As a representative of the Craftsy team told me that they were rather short on embroidery blog entries to their Blogging Awards, it would be especially great to see what lesser known stitchcrafts blogs are out there waiting to be discovered!

Hi!  Welcome to Sew In Love. I'm a 42 year old (even though I look more like an overgrown 12 year old) textile hobbyist living on the southernmost tip of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.  I'm originally from 30 miles north of here - from Leeds in West Yorkshire.  I've been married to Martin, whose originally from Germany for nearly 15 years.=)

I love to travel and have visited 19 countries to date, if you count England, Scotland and Wales as being separate countries, and I'd love to get to 30 or more some day.  Maps showing which countries those 19 are are on our travel blog, Brauns on Tour, (which needs updating) and one of my main dreams is to have the 'need' to increase its scope somewhat.  I've lived for a total of about two years in Taiwan and a couple of months in Germany as well as here in Yorkshire and have a passion for foreign languages, especially Mandarin Chinese, which I used to teach too.

You can find out a bit more about this blog on my About page (link above, under the header photos) and you'll have got some ideas from my header photos and those I've included here what I do on this blog.

On Mondays I try to post my weekly update from the Needlequest challenge which I run and which you're most welcome to join in.  Participants spend some time each month working on a certain design theme or embroidery technique.  Sign up on the challenge page here on blog.  This month we're all trying our hands at needle-painting, and next month is dedicated to Japan as a theme.  Here's my latest effort from the challenge.

Many Wednesdays find me posting to Sharon B's Work in Progress Wednesdays event.  It's not exactly a challenge, more of a Weight-Watchers weigh-in for stitchers where we can show off how far we've got with a long-term project, an unfinished/long neglected piece or something like that and I've completed three neglected pieces so far.  I even started my current WIPW project partly to be able to continue joining in and this is how far I've got.  I hope to enter the finished piece into the Sheffield Fayre in August this year. From this you can tell that I love a bit of cross stitch as well as the more complication forms of embroidery.  I like to include lots of variety in my stitching diet.

I don't just embroider, I also do some knitting here and there - although I do tend to embroider on my finished knits!  Here's a close-up of a baby cardy I knitted last summer.  It's a nice design in itself, but looks so much prettier with the flower buttons and stitched stems and buds.  I loved baby knits as I was able to learn so much doing them as well as complete so many pieces in a relatively short time.  Trouble is, I've run out of babies to knit for!!=)

Sometimes I post tutorials and things on other pieces I'm working on and have created a whole page of them for you to be able to find what you want most easily.  There's also a page dedicated to feature articles, such as the series I posted on Korean stitchery and costume recently.  I'll be starting a Reviews page and posts soon, on which I'll be posting about books (and a few kits here and there) that Mary Corbet hasn't covered on the Needle'n'Thread reviews page.

My style tends to lean towards the classic, but I have been known to do and enjoy some more contemporary pieces as well and may well even develop that later on - especially through the Needlequest challenge I mentioned above.

Other than that, here are some random facts about me:

* I'm vegetarian with serious vegan and raw foodist tendencies.
* I learned Mongolian for an academic year when I was at university.
* I'm verging on fanatical about things being straight!!  I can't bear curtains or bed quilts to be skew, table mats not to line up on the dining table or books on the shelves.
* I learnt the basics of playing the viola back in 2007-9, but never got very far.  Maybe one day...  My favourite viola piece is Galzunov's Elegy, which I can only dream of being able to play, other than via a CD!!
* I'm mad keen to see Liechtenstein and the other tiny states in Europe.
* I love colourful eye make-up, although I rarely get to use it much myself, and have a Pinterest board dedicated to rainbow looks.  (I also have a few needlework ones too....)
* I hate the words 'beverage', 'persons' and, most of all, 'purchase'.  What in heck's wrong with 'drink', 'people' and 'buy', huh?
* I have a Squidoo account and have created five lenses there.  I'd be grateful if you'd visit some of them, vote in the polls, leave comments and, if you have an account, Squidlike them, esp the one on healthy grocery shopping on a budget, because if they get no traffic and activity, they go back to WIP status and it's really annoying having to re-activate them every so often.=(  The others are on stumpwork embroidery, finishing up stalled craft projects, starting a needlecrafts blog and budget beauty shopping.  I'm planning some more on other embroidery styles such as thread painting, hardanger and goldwork.
* I am actively looking for shades L310, L739, L779 and LEcru in the DMC Linen Threads, which are now discontinued.  If you have some and are interested in parting with it, please leave a comment with contact details...=)  Ditto the chart for Anchor's 'Birds and Seasons' cross stitch picture.  I have all the materials, just need the chart!

I also have an art blog, Art Excursion, which I really need to do more posting on - and more art to post, but I suppose that type of art doesn't really hit the spot with me as embroidery and textiles do.  There's something deeply nurturing (to me) about textile arts, a feeling I don't get from the paper based variety, much as I admire and like them.  I think the reason for this could be that I'm not very good at them and haven't the patience to practice....!!

I find goals lists help me enormously in being productive and keeping my activities focused, so I maintain annual goals lists and here's the current one.  I'm a big list maker and get a real kick out of crossing things off them as they're done.=)  I don't like part-finished things hanging around or to work on too many pieces at once.  Ideally, I like two on the go at any given time so that I have a choice, but it doesn't get out of hand or mean that I never finish anything.

So, do stay for a couple of minutes more and have a look at some of my gallery pages (links just below the header photo series - most people seemed to like the Raised Embroidery and Stumpwork one best) and leave me a comment telling me about your work and where to find you.  I'm always on the look-out for more textiles and embroidery blogs, but I also sometimes follow others, so you just never know!

Many thanks for coming around to see me.  There are a number of ways you can subscribe, if you want to, other than by using the 'Follower' function, (which I don't think tells us very much after the demise of Google Reader), including the Bloglovin' service and e-mail updates that there are options to sign up for on my sidebar.  I have a dedicated page on Google+ and there's a sidebar widget to follow that too and that's more useful to blog readers than circling me.

Hope you'll call in again soon....

Text and images © Elizabeth Braun 2014

28 comments:

Wendy said...

arggghhh, just wrote a big long comment and Blogger ate it!

So, what was I saying? I agree about the embroidery blogs, I can find lots of cross stitch ones, but not many for embroidery.

I was interested to hear you learnt Mongolian as I visited Ulan Baatar in 2003.

I also want to go to Leichenstein, I've been to Monaco and Andorra a couple of times as I lived close by.

that was about it!

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I follow you and it was nice to learn a
Little more about you.

Anonymous said...

ni hao..

ooohhh.. didn't know that you've stayed in Taiwan.. that explained the excellent mandarin. :D
Thank you for the beautiful post.

Sparklyjools said...

Ooh, lots of things I didn't know! Will pop over to Squidoo!x

Melody said...

Hi Elizabeth, I'm one of Vicki's helpers in the GYB party. Welcome to this fabulous event and I hope heaps of people pop by to say hello. I must say I love your blog as stitching is one of my passions too. Hugs from Melody in Melbourne

Catherine King said...

Elizabeth,
Lovely. I am a Bead Embroiderer and spend time teaching Bead Embroidery techniques. As a quilter of twenty or so years ( not telling the age ), I am admiring your stitch work. Come play at my blog. We have a new Beaded Art Doll Round Robin starting with new and ever growing stitching and bead placement.
Catherines-Musings.blogspot.com.
Raised Embroidery.....love it! Thanks for sharing.

Treasures by Louise said...

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog. Your embroidery is beautiful. It's fun to be a first time participant in the GYB Party. I'm sure I'll discover many interesting blogs.

Tiffany said...

Very nice. I would love to visit Scotland and New Zealand some day. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Marit Johanne said...

It was nice to look at your embroideries and your travels! I saw on the map that you have not been to Norway yet, You are welcome!
Greetings from Marit Johanne in Norway

Tami Von Zalez said...

Textile hobbyist - a perfect title!

Visiting from GYBH - come on by for a visit.
thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Elizabeth...what a lovely blog...and your work is exquisite. glad I stopped in to see you!

Donna Heber said...

Hi Elizabeth,

I'm visiting from the Grow Your Blog party. It is so nice to meet you. You are a woman of many talents! I plan to look around a bit more and then be on my way to visit the others. I do hope you will stop by for a visit and enter my giveaway. Have a wonderful weekend! Hugs – Donna

Lessons on Linen said...

What beautiful stitchery work you do! I look forward to reading more of your blog, as it is my interest also!
~Jaime

DebraKay Neiman said...

I am having fun finding new bloggers to follow...love sewing and quilting. Greetings from Oklahoma, USA. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

kathyinozarks said...

Hi I am visiting from the party. your work is just gorgeous-I am off to visit your art blog Kathy

Ann C. said...

Hi Elizabeth,
I found you through Grow Your Blog and am now a follower. I also love to cross stitch. You can find my blog at www.ColourfulCrossStitches.blogspot.ca

Silke Powers said...

Oh, how wonderful to meet you! I love all your work, but most of all I love your spirit! I'll be back often to visit... xoxo Silke

Createology said...

Elizabeth it is wonderful to "meet" you in this Grow Your Blog hop. You are extremely interesting and I adore your stitcheries and the baby cardy. I am now following and will be back to visit often. Creative Blessings...

Stitching Lady said...

Elizabeth, this is a wonderful informing post - I am often here on your blog and it is wone of the best blogs I know.
I learned of GYB through your answer to Vicky in January.
It is a great thing but, hélas, it is also a time consuming action - but there is no time limit to visit people.

Tisha Dolton said...

I wish there were more embroidery blogs. Lots of cross-stitch & quilting. Oh well, it will make me cherish the embroiderers all the more!

I'm still making the rounds from Grow Your Blog. Thanks for sharing your story & blog. My redwork/ embroidery blog is aprilsongstress.blogspot.com!

aprilsongstress

WhoMom said...

Visiting via Grow Your Blog and I am so impressed with how busy you are. I am also very envious of your travel, my hope is to get a passport and travel sometime. My quilting and bow ties are on Etsy, under the name Timetravelingties. I was hoping to earn money to take my family to Cardiff to see the Doctor Who exhibit. A small piece of our story is there. Congrats on a wonderful blog and I will be back again to see your beautiful work.
Lyn

Roses, Lace and Brocante said...

Hello Elizabeth
Lovely to meet you here!
This is a lovely bio post.
What a very talented stitcher and I'm impressed by your linguistic skills too.
Travel grows us in so many ways - yet basically we're all the same the world over. We love our families above everything else and enjoy pursuing our particular interests.

I've got a couple of new embroidery projects lined up for this year which I will get started on when our little stitching group meets.

I'm now following you.
I would love you to come over and meet me and enter my Giveaway - a vintage fabric and lace collage.
Have fun and enjoy the party!
Hugs
Shane

Lorraine said...

I've been to visit in the past Elizabeth but will sign up to follow now. Beautiful stitching.

Angie in SoCal said...

Hello, I'm here via GYB. Thanks for helping out and joining in so we could meet you, Elizabeth. Your work is beautiful. I'd like to visit 30 countries. Off to explore Brauns on tour.

Jennifer's Vintage Paperie said...

Oh wow! I love your embroidery. Thanks for the inspiration. It was nice to meet you at the BYG hop.

Linda H said...

Dropping by on the GYB party,and I'm SO glad I did!! I'm your newest Follower, and I've just spent quite a while going back through a number of earlier posts. Your work is exquisite! I love to stitch as well but guess I have too many hobbies/interests, can't find enough time for them all.I hope you'll pop by my blog too and enter my Giveaway. So nice to "meet" you, and I look forward to following your stitching adventures.

Judy Cooper Textile Artist said...

Greetings from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Following you on bloglovin. Your work is lovely.

macmillanmarie said...

Your work is truly beautiful - thank you for sharing.

 
Google+