Sometimes people ask me how I get ideas, which is of course a difficult question to answer as they come from so many sources. But I’ve noticed one interesting thing – solutions to design problems often come in the middle of the night, in that strange state between waking and sleeping. Often if I’ve been having a problem with a design, I’ll wake up in the morning knowing perfectly clearly what I should do next.

This is an example. I wanted to do a simple design of “nested” birds done in a naive, folk-arty style, but I didn’t have the least idea what I could put in the background. I didn’t want to have the design just floating aimlessly in space – I wanted it to be part of an overall pattern. I came up with a few ideas but didn’t really like any of them. But then next morning there was the solution, finished in the last detail in my mind. Birds live in trees, right? So put the birds in a textured background with a feeling of leaves. It could be stitched on fabric painted in irregular blotches of green, and the birds would go well in blues and reds

Here are some of the leaves by themselves

The basic pattern of leaves 

and here are the birds with a background of leaves

Leaves plus birds
 

They’re OK but I think I’ll re-do them with more patterns on the bodies – either that or stitch them with bright, busy prints as the appliqué fabrics. And I might just put in a few branches among those leaves

I don’t sell much on this blog any more – if you’d like to see some collections that you can buy, just have a look at my Secrets of Embroidery store:

 

https://secretsof.com/machine-embroidery/designs/The-Accidental-Embroiderer

 

But there are a few other designs for sale here designs (click on link to see details)

The Owl Collection

The Zentangle Zodiac

The Elemental Horses

 

Next, please read this before you order!

1. Price. I appreciate that these designs are more expensive than many you will find on the internet, but their price reflects the time it takes to draw and digitise them

2. Unless stated otherwise, all designs are digitised from my own original drawings and paintings

3. Payment. Payment will be through PayPal

4. All designs are digitised in .pes format. I can convert to a few other formats, but the designs will not have been tested in those formats, and if at all possible I recommend that you ask for .pes files. If you really can’t cope with .pes at all, let me know when you ask for the designs and we’ll see if we can work something out

5. These are usually very complex designs, which means

            a. There are sometimes unavoidable jump stitches

            b. They may not be appropriate for absolute beginners. Some designs may require as many as 7 or 8 applique fabrics, and while it isn’t difficult to stitch them out (your machine does that!) you have to make a great many decisions about which colours of fabric and thread to use. That, of course, is what makes embroidery fun and creative, but it can be challenging if you’re a first-time beginner

            c. You should do at least one trial stitchout before you use the designs on a valuable project, because it can be difficult to get the colours right on a first trial. In fact, I usually need two or three tries myself before I’m satisfied with the colours I’ve chosen

6. Colours. I’ve read somewhere that it is illegal to stitch out a purchased design in any other colours than those mentioned in the file. I suppose this might be true of something like a Disney design but it certainly is NOT true of my work! Of course you must always use your own creative judgement as to what colours you use. In the worksheets I specify the general colours I’ve used (that is, “Blue”, “Teal Green”, “Russet Brown”, etc.) but not the catalogue numbers of specific brands.

 Before you order, PLEASE ensure that:

 1. You can use .pes format, or if not, that you have checked with me before ordering. Try one of my free designs to see if you can stitch it out – if you can, then you should be able to stitch any of my designs.

 2. You have a hoop of the right size to take the designs you order

 3. You have a PayPal account

 4. You really want and can use the designs. Once the files are sent, no refund will be possible

 

Finally, the usual rules and regs:

 You may use the stitched designs on items for your own use, items to give as gifts, or items for sale. However you may not sell or give away the digital files themselves in any form, or claim them as your own work.

 As with all electronic media, once the files are sent no refund of money will be possible. Therefore be sure you can use them before you order. If you are not sure about this, just contact me for advice

 

How to order

 Choose the designs you want and send me an e-mail telling me what you want to the address miabdesigns@gmail.com. I will get back to you, confirm the order, and send you a PayPal invoice for the total. You can then pay PayPal, and when they confirm that the invoice has been paid I will send you the designs.

It’s not as fast as Instant Download, I know, or as efficient as a checkout system, but I don’t yet have the facility for these things – I’m still a very small one-woman band.  But I will usually be able to answer you in less than a day (allowing for intercontinental time differences). If I am going to be away from my computer for any length of time I will put up a notice at the top of this page

 

 

Looking for a home…

 Continuing the cat theme, February’s free design dates from several years ago, when I was experimenting with various ways of representing fur in embroidery. I did a large series of semi-realistic cats, but this one, I think, was the best of them. You may need to experiment to get the colours right. The various browns and beiges should blend well together, but shouldn’t be too similar, otherwise you won’t get the furry, stripy effect. There are a lot of jump stitches on the whiskers – it was necessary to do them like this to keep them very thin and fine, the way a kitten’s whiskers should be!

If you’d like to try the kitten just drop a comment to the blog asking for it, and I’ll send it out. It’s for the 4×4 (100 x 100mm) hoop

Every now and then I get fed up with doing very serious, arty things, and feel like taking a break to do something silly and colourful. The other day I found a picture of a cat which I thought was really funny, and which seemed perfect for turning into a folk art cat. I think it’s a breed called Selkirk Rex, that has thick, curly hair, but it was the expression and the arrogant, defiant pose that I liked. (Unfortunately there was no photo credit with the picture, so I can't credit the photographer. If any cat enthusiasts out there recognise it, let me know and I'll acknowledge him/her correctly)

A cat with attitude

 

So I turned him into a cheerful folk art cat, and now I can get back to the heavyweight design things
 

A really Fat Cat

Whenever I drive around the varioius parts of Scotland that we visit, I always notice the wildlife and especially the birds, so that some kinds of birds become associated in my mind with specific places. I thought it might be fun to do a series of Scottish birds, each pictured in a place where I’m used to seeing it.

 Glenbuchat is a beautiful little glen near us, and every time I go there the roads seem covered with pheasants. Pheasants aren’t the most intelligent of animals, and they mostly just stand in the middle of the road staring vaguely at the car, which gives me time to have a good look at them and make some quick sketches. So here’s the first in a series of Scottish birds in Scottish places – the pheasants of Glenbuchat, having a peck over the harvested fields

The pheasants of Glenbuchat in the autumn fields

Hi everybody. Sorry to bother you with this, but it's worth repeating that when you ask for the free design, PLEASE make sure that you have given Typepad access to your e-mail. If you don't then I don't know your address and I can't send you the free design!

Remember that I always respond to all requests, so if you don't hear from me, there's something wrong with the system

Right – before we get to this month’s freebie, I have a question. How many people out there have a large hoop, in particular the 6 ¼ x 10 ¼ inch (160 x 260 mm) hoop? I ask because many of the designs I’m thinking of giving away are for this large hoop. For example, this month’s free bird is really meant for the 6 ¼ x 10 ¼ inch hoop, but because I didn’t know if everybody would be able to use the large version, I’ve edited it and made it smaller so that it will fit into the 5 x 7 hoop. So if you ask for the free bird this month, could you let me know if you have the 6 ¼ x 10 ¼ inch hoop? That way I’ll know if I need to “shrink” any future freebies. Thanks!

 

January's Free Bird

Anyway it’s time for a change from floral motifs. Some people have said they’re interested in how I do feathers on birds, so here’s one of the birds from the Sunset Birds panel that I posted a few weeks ago (28 November). It’s got 15,684 stitches, two applique areas, and it’s for the 5×7 inch hoop. The scan isn't great but my scanner is down at the moment so I've had to use another one with a lot fewer facilities. The bird would look good done with patterned fabrics as applique, but I’ve stitched it in plain fabrics so you can see it more clearly.  If you’d like the file for this design, just drop a comment to the blog asking for it and I’ll send it out to you. And if you can tell me if you have the large hoop, I’d be very grateful!