Stitch me happy!

One of my best creative pals here in Austin is an amazing artist named Curlin Reed Sullivan. I first met Curlin several years ago through a mom-entrepreneur group here in Austin, and was instantly smitten. You know when you meet those folks who just spark your insides and you know in a second that you connect and you hope to find anyway you can to work together? That's how it was with Curlin. She just makes me smile.

After semi-stalking Curlin from a distance, I finally got to spend time with her back in Septemeber during Kat's Surface Design Crash Course. It was one of those random twists of events that landed us both in the class together, and it was a fabulous week of fun times that left us inspired and ready to make fun stuff.

Curlin's work is whimsical and fresh ... literally. Most of her work consists of using gorgeous botanicals combined with her simple illustrations. I've always loved her style, and top that with her hilarious, witty writing and you've got some seriously good stuff going on.

So when Curlin pulled her first screen print back in September of one of her illustrated ladies with a hat exploding with flowers, the first thing that came to mind was "I MUST EMBROIDER THAT!" We started talking about how great her designs would be for incorporating embroidery, and as you can imagine - with a room full of creative minds - a new collaborative project was born.

Laurie Wisbrun of Scarlet Fig, Leslie Bonnell of the Stich Lab, Kat McTee of Studio 1408 and myslef all contributed in some small way to Curlin's latest project: Hand Embroidery Kits! You can imagine how giddy this makes me. Of course, anything relating to embroidery makes me happy, but seeing so many great creative women sharing ideas to bring the project to fruition was the best part of all of it.

Curlin was the supreme force behind making all this happen. She was kind enough to let the rest of us join along in the fun. She created the images and lovingly hand screen printed them on to yummy linen blend fabric (in a gorgeous chartreuse color) and packaged them up with all the things someone would need to be able to sit down and get to stitchin'. She's got a glorious lady whose hat literally explodes with flowers, and a dapper gentleman whose flower hat is under a wee bit more control. They make a divine pair.

That's a 10" hoop there, folks!

The greatest thing about the prints is that they stitch beautifully, and there is room for all kinds of variation. You can stitch solid directly on all the designs, leave some unstitched, leave just the leaves/vines showing, or stitch extra bits in between the printed designs. The options are endless. Once you're done stitching, you can frame the piece or make it in to something gorgeous like a pillow or center piece to a quilt.

Curlin's pair, stitched by Laurie of Scarlet Fig and sewn into pillows!

I couldn't be more proud to have had just a teeny part in all this, and I hope that Curlin's work inspires you as much as it has inspired me. She's the kinda lady who just makes you happy hearing her name. :) Spread the love!