That is an afterimage illusion of the American flag. If you stare at this image long enough then look at a plain white surface, you’ll “see” a red, white, and blue flag. It works–ask Bev.

It’s small and easily transportable (good for outdoor stitching), it’s seasonally appropriate (Flag Day- and Fourth of July-related), and it makes a great bookmark. Although, technically, if you want it to hang vertically as a bookmark, according to flag etiquette, you should stitch a mirror image of the given pattern. When a flag hangs vertically in a window, viewers from outside should see the stars in the upper left corner. It’s an easy enough pattern that I’m going to let you figure out the mirror image. You can do it!

I’m out for a bit. I’ll see you back here next week.

Happy stitching!

We, Funk & Weber Designs, are offering our Bookmarks 101: Simple, Smart, and Swanky Finishes class May 9 – June 5.

I developed this class to teach stitchers to make bookmarks from scratch so we can use all kinds of materials, fabric scraps, UFOs . . . pretty much anything. This satisfies my strong desire to waste not. Bits of fabric and fiber we might throw away can be used to craft beautiful and useful embroidered objects.

And not just bookmarks. These pieces that we make into bookmarks might also be gift tags, bag tags, key fobs, zipper pulls, pins, and all sorts of other things. The stitching, sewing, and wirework techniques we learn can be used to finish larger pieces you might otherwise frame or simply not know what to do with.

I just posted details on how Funk & Weber Designs online classes work. There are many ways and formats to host online classes. Ours is super-simple, so don’t worry if you’ve never taken one before. Besides, it’s a class—it’s about learning! And I’m there to help.

Two-dimensional photos don’t do it justice, if you ask me.

I experimented with some different techniques, lengths, and products, thinking I would publish this pattern.

Then it dawned on me that I might enter it in the Craft It Forward contest. I want to read the rules again and look at Sponsor products to see if I might incorporate some in the design. Sounds like a good weekend project, don’t you think?

It looks as though public voting helps determine contest winners. I don’t like that, but I may enter anyway. I like asking people to vote for my submission almost as much as I like brussels sprouts and lima beans.

Might you use a book that you’re reading to inspire an original bookmark design that you can enter into the contest and then donate to a Stitching for Literacy collection?

It’s here. It’s really here.

What’s here?

Go there and find out.

Really.

Go now.

we have a new Funk & Weber Designs logo.

True, it’s not on the Funk & Weber site yet–it will go up with the new website–but it’s ready to go.

I love it, and I loved the process of designing it even more. I worked with Lindsay from Purr Design. She’s got skills and resources I don’t have, and a whole different perspective. You know how I love marrying different perspectives. Well, the marriage of ideas for this logo was an affair I’ll remember fondly. Heaps of fun!

I’ll tell you all about the design development in a post on the new Funk & Weber World blog…when it goes up. Which will be soon. No, really, it will. Change is coming. Honest. And it will be good.

What other goals would you like to set for 2011?

A big one for me is to get the new Funk & Weber Designs site up, running, and moving forward. I’m enjoying the web design, but I’m eager to get back into new embroidery designs, projects, and classes. I’ve had a long hiatus from those.

Another major goal for me is to get the new Puzzle Project up and running. Both projects are oh-so-close to the “up” stage. I can’t wait to show you!

After the Funk & Weber site goes up, we’ll start our makeover here. It won’t be anywhere near as extensive as the other two sites, but it should make things tidier, more flexible, and more convenient.Even better than the makeover is an exciting surprise coming to Stitching for Literacy in mid-January: someone new is joining the S4L effort. Dum-dum-dum (dramatic music).

All right. What are some of your goals for 2011?

So idea #22 is an embroidered necklace pendant. The metal blank is nice because it gives the pendant weight, allowing it to hang nicely.

However, when I couldn’t find blanks, I did without. If you want, you can try this one. I added beads to the necklace chain to give it weight, but adding beads to the embroidery is another option.

This is such a quick project, you could have one whipped up and under the tree by Saturday if you really wanted. Honest.

Once again, while I plan to write complete instructions for such a project, I will not be doing it today or anytime during this 24-day event. Tutorial schmutorial; you can do this.

I suspect you have little holiday motif patterns coming out your ears. If not, I know you know how to find a gazillion online. Start with that.

Then stitch your bands which will hold the card stock with printed names. These bands are 1/2 inch tall, and the yellow card stock is cut slightly smaller.

You can design your own T, O, F, R, M letters or use an alphabet from another pattern or online. Or eliminate that stitching to make a smaller tag, and include similar words on the card stock.

Finishing is what trips up many stitchers, but it’s really quite easy. If you’ve taken the Bookmarks 101 class, you know exactly how I finished this one. If you’ve taken the Bracelet Basics class, you know another way such a tag might be finished. Do it!

The hanger is two strands of size 8 green pearl cotton and two strands of size 8 red pearl cotton twisted together into a thicker pearl cotton. Yep, I need to make a tutorial for that, too. You can always braid fibers for a hanger, or how about using a narrow ribbon?

What do you think–would someone on your gift list like to receive one of these?

This is one of my personal favorites. I introduced the idea last year in The Needlework Nutshell (subscription box in the sidebar), and it’s great for our holiday gift purposes, too. How would you like to make (or receive, for you non-stitchers) an embroidered photo ornament for your tree?

The outer frame can be any kind of embroidery, any stitches, any colors. The corner bands are the key to the project, holding the picture and allowing it to be changed. There’s a tutorial on the Funk & Weber site to get you started. Someday I’ll write instructions for a whole project using this idea, but that day isn’t today.

I can see making one of these every year to celebrate Baby’s first holiday, Baby’s second holiday, etc. Stitch names and dates on the frames, take a picture of that day/event, and put it in the frame to keep forever and ever.

Or you and your family could print or cut out images of gifts you’d like to receive and hang them on the tree as hints to Santa! Call them Wish Ornaments.

Or you artists out there could paint tiny pictures to go in the embroidered frames.

Oh, the possibilities!

How might you use this idea?

We can stitch a shortish ribbon (about 18 inches–or you can always measure the head) and sew a few inches (about 3 inches) of elastic between the two ends to make a stretchy headband. Or we can stitch a longish ribbon (32 inches, or more if you want dangley ends) and tie it in a knot around the head. I find backing the stitchband with Ultrasuede not only covers the back side of the embroidery but also makes it less slippery on the old bean.

If you’re going with long dangley ends, maybe you’d like to add some beads to them.