Lark Crafts

My five-year-old daughter is really into growing things. She loves digging in the dirt and watching as the seeds she planted sprout and mature into vegetables and flowers. This spring, she got her very own raised bed and was told she could plant anything she wanted:

Yep. She promptly planted herself. I can’t say I blame her — there’s something about a sunny spring day that just makes you want to get as close as possible to the warm, fresh earth.

To celebrate the joys of gardening, we’re giving away a bounty of garden-related motifs from Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection! Use them to embellish your gardening totes or gloves, a kitchen towel, or a set of napkins. Click here to get a free PDF full of motifs of peas, asparagus, strawberries, a flower, and more!

And, by the way, my daughter didn’t stay planted in her bed for long — she’s now growing tarragon, tomatoes, and oregano in her little plot of earth!

Into each life some rain must fall — or so say Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ella Fitzgerald. Too bad Henry and Ella didn’t have a pair of spiffy knee high socks with storm cloud appliqués from Stash Happy Appliqué to perk them up. But you’ll be right as rain this spring when you grab a pair of  socks, download the Stormy Weather Knee Highs pattern here, and start combating those rainy day blues in no time!

Authored by the oh-so-talented Cynthia Shaffer, Stash Happy Appliqué offers up a bevy of ways to use your stash of fabric, including a mod skirt, café curtains, a tote bag, a lampshade, and so much more.

Don’t let April showers get you down — download your free pattern of Stormy Weather Knee Highs, then snag a copy of Stash Happy Appliqué for more creative ways to use your fabric stash!

It seemed like spring was never going to arrive this year (Snow in March? Totally unfair.), but I think warmer weather has finally settled in for good here in Asheville. And with the higher temperatures, a lot of us are feeling the urge to get stuff done: cleaning our front porches, packing away sweaters and scarves and pulling out sundresses, and planning our springtime craft projects—like these cross-stitch designs from Trice Boerens’s Two-Hour Cross-Stitch: Animals. The great thing about Two-Hour Cross Stitch is that every design can be made in a short amount of time—just right for stitching while you take a spring break road trip, soak up the sun in your yard, or indulge in an extra-long lunch (ahem) to enjoy the warmer temperatures.

Get started on your spring craft projects by entering to win a FREE copy of Two-Hour Cross-Stitch: Animals, plus two finished, framed pieces from the book: a little duck holding an umbrella and a squirrel with an acorn. You just can’t get any more spring than that!

Plus, you can download a PDF pattern of these two designs for free: just click here and get stitching.

For even more cross-stitch fun, pick up a copy of Two-Hour Cross-Stitch: Animals at BN.com or at your local bookstore. You’ll find animal-themed projects to fit every occasion – birthdays, holidays, baby showers, and more!

UPDATE: The contest is over and we have chosen a winner! Thanks to everyone for participating!

To enter to win two framed cross-stitched pieces and a copy of Two-Hour Cross-Stitch: Animals, leave a comment on this post between now and 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 17. Any comment is fine, but we’d love to know what cross-stitch project you’re currently working on. One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and announced by Thursday, April 18. Click here for the official rules, and good luck!

What do cowboys, rock stars, Edward Cullen, and Wonder Woman have in common? They all recognize the awesomeness of wearing a wrist cuff.

Up your cool factor and join us in celebrating this month’s release of Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond by downloading a free pattern of Aimee’s Butterfly Wrist Cuff. Now available from BN.com, Embroidery & Beyond offers over 20 projects that feature redwork, cross stitch, sashiko, and more!

Keep checking our blog and Lark Needlearts Facebook page for more on Embroidery & Beyond all month long – including an interview with Aimee, a giveaway of a project from the book, and lots of other fun stuff.

Get started stitching your Butterfly Wrist Cuff by downloading the pattern here. And don’t miss out on all the other beautiful projects featured in Aimee’s latest Doodle Stitching book! Order your copy of Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond at BN.com or find it at your local bookstore.

A long time ago, in a felted world far, far away, there lived a cute little cub with his canine companion, an alien girl who loved to watch her favorite Martian on her retro tv, a circus menagerie ready to astound and amaze, and a pretty scientist who channeled her inner Sheldon Cooper to create a robot sidekick.

Miniature becomes magical when you make it with needle felt, and Wee Felt Worlds offers up all sorts of diminutive scenes, each conceived and created by a talented group of needle felt designers. Here you can craft a Land of the Dinosaurs where prehistoric creatures rule the planet, a Sweet Shoppe that will have you drooling for doughnuts, a Sewing Room complete with a miniature sewing machine, a Wooly Woodland where adorable squirrels munch on mini acorns, plus many more!

Needle felting is easy to learn—simply pick up a few basic materials, and before long, you’ll be lost in your own wee felt world. As Amanda mentioned last week, we’ve got all sorts of fun things planned this month for needle felting, so keep checking back for felt-a-longs, captions contests, and giveaways!

Create a caption for me!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Charlotte! She is our randomly selected winner of the Wee Felt Worlds giveaway. Thanks so much to everyone for participating!

Speaking of giveaways: Enter today to win a copy of Wee Felt Worlds! To enter to win, leave a comment on this post between now and 9 p.m. Sunday, February 10th. Any comment is fine, but we’d love for you to create a caption for this needle-felted scene. One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and announced by Monday, February 11. Click here for the official rules, and good luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Aileen! She is our randomly selected winner of the Doodle Stitching giveaway. Thanks so much to everyone for participating!

Six years ago, I had the pleasure of working with Aimee Ray on her first Doodle Stitching book. It was so exciting to see Aimee’s talent come to life on the pages of Doodle Stitching, and when the book was completed, I knew we hadn’t seen the last of her.

And, lucky for us, we haven’t! I left Lark to have a baby and stay home for a few years, but as many of you know, Aimee went on to author Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection. And oh-so-serendipitously, the first project that came across my desk when I returned to Lark last July was helping to shepherd Aimee’s third Doodle Stitching book, Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond, through its final phases before publication.

It didn’t surprise me to discover that Aimee hadn’t lost her knack for creating stylish, fresh, and fun designs. True to its name, Embroidery & Beyond includes a variety of techniques such as Cross Stitch, Appliqué, Redwork, and Sashiko and Shisha, just to name a few. And you’ll be treated to all sorts of new and fetching projects, like a charming Fair Isle Doll Skirt; a cozy Snow White, Red Rose Fleece Scarf; a snazzy Canvas Cuckoo Clock; and an adorable Felt Appliqué Babushka doll.

Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond will hit the shelves this March, but one lucky winner won’t have to wait that long. We’re giving away all three copies of Aimee’s Doodle Stitching books, including an advance copy of Embroidery & Beyond! To enter to win, leave a comment on this post between now and 9 p.m. Wednesday, January 23. Any comment is fine, but we’d love to hear what embroidery projects you’ve got lined up for the coming months. One winner will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and announced by Thursday, January 24. Click here for the official rules, and good luck!

(To pre-order a copy of Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond, click here.)

No, it’s not a subscription to the Jelly-of-the-Month Club. This holiday bonus is way better. Our friend Amanda, of Amanda Lilley Designs, is giving away a few of her fabulous patterns! You might remember Amanda from my Etsy wishlist blog post, where I featured her Redeemed Cowl. Amanda was kind enough to share her pattern for the cowl, which you can download here.

And, this week only, you can enter for a chance to win patterns of her Lace Boot Toppers and Oxford Mitts!

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post by 9 p.m. EDT on Monday, December 31. Any comment is fine, but we’d love to hear about your favorite holiday memory. Five winners will be selected at random from among all eligible entries and announced by Wednesday, January 2, 2013. Click here for the official rules. The winners have been chosen and will be notified soon! Thanks to everyone for participating!

Check out all of Amanda’s fantastic patterns at Amanda Lilley Designs on Etsy!

Your never-ending quest to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list might just end with the projects and motifs you’ll discover in Aimee Ray’s Doodle Stitching series. Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection is chock-full of designs that you can sew on almost anything, from sweaters to stockings. Begin by downloading these motifs, then grab a pair of mittens and a hat, add the adorable snowflakes and—voilà!— you’ve got a great gift for your cousin. Stitch the snowman motif onto a scarf and —presto!—a little something for your favorite teacher. Add the mittens motif to some tea towels and you’ve solved the dilemma of what to give your next-door neighbor.

You’ll find even more unique holiday gift ideas when you dive into Doodle Stitching! The “All Season Ornaments” on page 39 can be displayed all through the year, and the “Songbird MP3 Player” on page 45 is perfect for your tech-savvy niece. And after all the presents have been unwrapped, don the “No Peeking Eye Mask,” and settle in for a long winter’s night.

Now available for pre-order: Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond, featuring fresh and updated embroidery techniques, will be released this spring! Pre-order your copy today, or look for it in early 2013 at your favorite bookstore.