I have to freaking try this --> epic embroidery transfer

Thank you God for Pinterest.

While doing my usually start the day internet rounds, I was greeted by this wonderful pin whilst trolling Pinterest

Which led me to this wonderful post 

Which means that I have to figure out if they'll let me do this at OfficeMax.

Mind. Blown.

^_^

Silky Awesomness!

As I mentioned before, I went on a trip and did some stuff.

Mostly, I paid my very first visit to a specialty thread shop: Creative Stitches and Gifts!

Imagine a kid in a candy shop, 

Times ten.

In the end, I walked out of there with a nice little selection of silks and a metal awl...which I promptly had to turn around and return when I realized that I didn't have a checked bag to stuff it into for the plane ride back. 

>_<

But all was not lost! 

From Needlepoint Inc., observe:

From left to right, we have: 855, 857, 571, 862, 863, 864, 865, 225 and 224

^_^

Magnifying magnification

If you remember, a while ago my poor fuzzy eyes caught a break in the form of a hands free magnifier.

I heard angels sing when I saw things, details, I hadn't even known existed!

But then, I found this: 

It's original use was for work with tiny circuits, and its magnification lives up to the task.

While this is what I saw with the hands free, 

I felt like I was looking through a microscope when I saw this, taken at the same distance from the brush as the picture above:

Great, huh? 

I don't know what the actual magnification is (I got it at a Mexican version of Radioshack), but it's waaaay stronger than what I was working with before.

I've actually been working with it for about a month and a half. I just never got around to posting about it.

^_^

Landmark!!

Just hit 20,000 page views!

WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!

^_^

Ohh have mercy....

Here's something to know about me: when I really like something, I start swearing. 

To be more clear, I say things like: 

"Oh d***!"

and "Son of a *****!"

and of course: "sh**!"

I think my computer was electronically wincing when I found this: 

THE SILK MILL

Now, like many textile enthusiasts, I'm an admitted threadophile, and since my introduction to Chinese silk embroidery, I have been searching high and low for a filament silk thread supplier with a wide variety. 

Previously, I had landed on Needlepoint Inc., because they produced their own Chinese silk <-- emphasis on the Chinese.

But DAMN! The Silk Mill has 600 colors!

Six hundred!

Granted they're in France, so shipping might be a little interesting... but I'm not above digging around seat cushions for loose change ^_^

Here's a screenshot of their website.

O_O

p.s., thanks to Mary Corbet for letting me know about this!

SCORE!

There's a story behind this one. 

For Christmas, I ordered a few things online <-- that's the short version.

Long version: 

I was so incredibly excited/nervous/freaking flipping out on Christmas Eve because I'd gotten some cash as a present and was getting my first online specialty stuff that I gave the wrong address.

To both companies. 

Of course, I don't realize this until the package tracking lets me know that: Hey, we weren't able to deliver your package.

Yes, I'd given my aunt's address. And yes, I'd forgotten to give the apartment number. 

V_V

To say that I was upset with myself would be a hideous understatement.

Now, why did I give my aunt's address instead of my own? Because, for those of you who don't know, the Mexican postal service is terrifyingly unreliable and FedEx is bound to break the bank. My aunt, however, lives in Dallas and my dad had to go back for a couple weeks to take care of some business.

So it's either: get the address right, or have them shipped back to the seller and wait until May for my dad to go back and get them.

Aagh!

Thank God, things got straightened out and my dad was able to pick one package up from the post office while I was able to edit the other address before that package got shipped off. 

Phew!

Now, what was it that I got?

From Hedgehog Hadnworks: 

A Hardwicke Manor embroidery hoop, twill tape to bind it

Size 11 pony needles and...

...my very first spools of SILK THREAD!!!!!! Soie de Paris in white.

This is the package that got stuck at the post office (thank God for that!)

Yet, there was another delectable treat en route from a land far, far away --> down under to be exact. 

(Sorry, I had to say it.)

I give you the pièce de résistance: The Art of Chinese Embroidery!

Oh yes. 

If you remember, I did a post on Chinese Embroidery a few months ago. Then, what seemed like the very next day, Mary Corbet over at Needle 'n Thread did a post about the Art of Chinese Embroidery. 

It was a sign.

^_^

I just freaking fell in love.

First of all, I'd like to thank the fine author of N e e d l e p r i n t for posting about this. 

Second of all... oh my freaking goodness.

"Blue Lotus Flower" from Art of Silk

Forgive my nutty summary of the whole shebang (I'm too busy flipping out to be able to manage significant higher cognitive function), so here's the watered down version:

This guy: Christopher Leung  went to China way back when (more like a few years ago, but you get my point) and discovered Su Embroidery (see above example O_O). He's like some super computer guy (I'm sure that's the technical term, coming from a computer family myself), so he started this company where they take hand designed and stitched works of silk embroidery art by super crazy master embroiderers and recreate them perfectly (I mean freaking perfectly) with machines. The point? Making beautiful silk art affordable.

This video does a better job of explaining than I do:

O_O