The boy and the fox.

I promise that I don't generally finish three or four embroidery projects in one week. :)

It's just that after taking a little break from embroidery to focus on knitting, I had forgotten how much I love it. Embroidery is my main crafty hobby for relaxing. :) Honestly, sewing and knitting can both be stressful at times, but embroidery always calms me down a bit. Even though it requires to me to think a little about colors and stitches, I don't have to really focus on it. I can stitch while I watch old movies or visit my grandparents. {I have not yet mastered the whole knit and talk at the same time thing...I have to put down my needles to join the conversation.}

And unfortunately this week wasn't super-productive for me. I fiddled around with a few things for the Etsy shop, but I didn't get too much done. Except embroidery, apparently. :)

I bought this pattern a couple of months ago. It's from Studio M.M.E. This one is Mister Mal Laird.

I love her embroidery patterns because they look like drawings until you get closer. And both times I've used them, I am surprised by how quickly they go. I finished this one in two evenings, which is still several hours, but much, much quicker than Nessie. :) You only have to use one color of embroidery floss and two types of stitches, which speeds things up quite a bit. {I really want to do this one soon.}

You might remember the girl that I embroidered back in November? They're companion pieces.

I have had the Ryan Berkley pattern from Sublime Stitching for probably six months. And I finally got around to it. :)

Maybe it comes from reading so many talking animal stories as a child, but there is something about illustrations of dignified-looking animals in clothes that I love. Check out Ryan Berkley's whimsical animal portraits.

I had to add the little banner underneath (the pattern includes four portraits and a page of extras, including the banner) and I had to name him Fantastic Mr. Fox, after the character in the Roald Dahl book and the film.

{Fantastic Mr. Fox is one animated film that completely suits me. Quirky, old-fashioned, a little awkward, and sometimes amusing in spots where it might not intend to be.}

Now that I'm finished and looking at the photos, I wish I had used a little more orange and a little less black on the face, so he would look more like a fox and less like a dog. :)

And I wanted the name banner to look a little special (or fantastic :), so I mixed in one gold metallic thread with two brown ones. This was my second time working with metallic thread (it's not as terrifying as you always hear!), and I love how it turned out. It's subtle but still a little sparkly.

I had the Boggis, Bunce, and Bean song (start at 2:10) stuck in my head as I framed this one.

Until next time,