fabric Archives - Peony and Parakeet

Designing Cross Stitch Patterns

Posted on April 5, 2024April 5, 2024Posted in Crafts, Digital, Fantasy, Portraits & FacesTagged embroidery floss, fabric, software23 Comments

This week, I have something very different than before: cross stitch!
Buy my first commercial design Primavera from my Etsy shop called Needle and Peony!

Primavera fancy lady portrait cross stitch pattern by Paivi Eerola.

There are two main reasons for designing this pattern. The first is the need for creative play and the second that I couldn’t find anything like this from other designers: a fantasy woman’s facial portrait that wouldn’t be a huge project.

Playing and Drawing in the Stitchly App

My need for creative play comes from being very serious with art this year. I have spent a lot of time in programming computer art and I have been painting a bit too. It’s all great but I started to miss drawing, and especially, making something that is purely illustrative and not so abstract and artistically challenging.

So because I have had cross stitching as a hobby almost all my life, I bought an app called Stitchly and started drawing there – on lunch breaks and such, a few stitches at time. First I just doodled freely with the Apple pen to get to know the app.

Designing cross stitch patterns in the Stitchly app.

Stitchly is easy to use and with the pen, drawing is fun and the squares get filled nicely. Of course, you can also import a photo and let the app create the chart automatically. But to make the image look realistic enough, the stitch count needs to be high and the design … well I don’t think it would be a design anymore, just a pixelated photo. So, when I design, I like to draw with the pen and if I use references, I only use them as inspiration and draw every square myself.

I also like that you can have a custom palette in Stitchly. I have made a palette that has all the DMC colors from my stash, so I can also check the real color when designing.

Drawing and Stitching Faces

When people begin drawing in adulthood, they often start with faces. Eyes, mouth, nose too. Facial features create a connection to the person born on paper. It’s also fun to draw hair and add decorations there.

So, one day it hit me that even when doing cross stitches, I can get company from the character I am stitching. However, couldn’t find a cross-stitch pattern that was a reasonable size and where the character was naturally asymmetrical, but still sparked the imagination.

My stitching time is lonely time in the evening. I clean the studio if I have been painting, and then pick extra glasses and while stitching, watch other cross stitchers’ videos on Youtube, so Flosstube as we cross stitchers call the channels.

So when I wanted to stitch a facial portrait of an imaginary person, I decided to draw it in Stitchly. After making the chart, the fun started – I was stitching my own pattern!

Cross stitch project Primavera in progress

Primavera can be stitched in the colors I suggest in the pattern, but since there are only 11 colors, it’s easy to change them as you like.

Although Primavera means spring, by changing the colors you can associate a different season or different theme with the character. The decorations are designed to be so general that they don’t limit the character you create.

The hair has three colors of different darkness, the skin has four. The hair band has two colors close to each other. It is easy to change the accent colors of the mouth and eyes, and also the colors of the decorations.

You can buy the pattern for Primavera in my Etsy shop!

Needle and Peony

It feels nostalgic to have something on sale at Etsy again! Long before I became a full-time artist, I opened the Etsy shop called Kukkilintu, then later changed the name to Peony and Parakeet. That little shop had a major impact on my career and life. Most of my customers lived outside Finland and I started communicating more and more in English.

Folk bags by Paivi Eerola, Finland — Me and some of my folk bags in 2008.

Maybe some of the current readers of this blog were my customers over ten years ago when I sold folk bags (currently available as a knitting pattern), handknitted doll clothes, hand-decorated papers and cards!

Now I changed the shop name to Needle and Peony and intend to add some charts over time. Maybe some slow stitching ideas also, as I have some of them too. Last week, I set up an Instagram account called @needleandpeony to show my cross stitch projects – also what I have stitched from other designers.

My other instagram accounts are @peonyandparakeet for fine art, @paivipeony for quilting, and @paivipioni for knitting.

Which Design Should I Do Next?

While designing Primavera, it hit me that I have a pile of drawings that I have made for classes and that could be turned into cross stitch patterns. When I browsed them, I couldn’t decide what to choose next, so I now ask you – what would you like me to design next? I have picked 5 drawings to choose from, leave a comment and let me know which one is your favorite! Which one of these would make a great cross stitch design?

A) Angel

See how I drew the angel in 2022: Angel Drawing for the Inner Child

B) Girl

This flowel girl was drawn for the course Doll World.

C) Cat

This cat was drawn for the course Magical Inkdom.

D) Leaf

This folk leaf is an older design, from 2015. See more: Art Quilts in a Modern Way

E) Horse

This fantasy horse was drawn for the course Magical Inkdom.

Tell me your favorite of the five – A) Angel, B) Girl, C) Cat, D) Leaf, or E) Horse?

Support me in the cross stitch design journey, here’s the link to purchase Primavera!

Can Fine Artists Craft? Can Crafters Make Art?

Posted on September 24, 2020September 24, 2020Posted in Abstracts, Artistic Identity, Crafts, Visual Voice / StyleTagged acrylic paints, fabric, yarn6 Comments

In this week’s post, I share my newest painting and other creative projects, and talk about linking art and crafts together.

Elämän nälkä - Hunger for Life, an acrylic painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Here’s my new painting called “Elämän nälkä – Hunger for Life.” It’s made in acrylics. and the size is 54 x 65 cm (about 21 x 25,5 inches). I started it before my dog Cosmo passed way, but it feels very timely, expressing how we want to live and survive, even if life is not in our control.

How I Created This Painting

My paintings often start with a specific color in mind, and this one was all blue in the beginning, and the orientation was vertical.

Then I turned it around and added more colors, then turned around again!

I wanted everything in this piece to be wild and free. It’s enjoyable to paint this way.

My favorite part of the painting is the top corner. It’s so sinister, and yet, so beautiful!

A detail of Hunger for Life, an acrylic painting by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Here’s the whole painting again. I really like this one even if the atmosphere is gloomier than usual.

I always take the final photos before varnishing, because it’s easier to take pictures when the painting isn’t glistening. However, I love how the varnish makes the colors glow.

Varnishing an acrylic painting. By artist Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

Painting Feels Different from Crafting

For me, creating art is a strange mixture of letting go and paying attention to the tiniest details. It’s like I am the mother and caretaker for my paintings, but can’t fully control the children’s personality and actions.

In my spare time, when quilting or knitting, it’s different. I can feel a sense of control, and I like it a lot. After saying goodbye to Cosmo, I sewed a quilt for Stella. I had the blocks ready, so the project was already half-way. About 20 years ago, I participated a quilt block lottery, where a group of quilters sewed similar kinds of blocks and happened to win them all. I had also sewn some more recently.

A log cabin dog quilt. Crafting as a hobby by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Read her thoughs about fine artists, craft artists, and crafting.

Art Inspiration from Crafting

My relationship for quilting and knitting has changed over the years. About 20 years ago, I thought that crafting is my way of creating art. But the more I got interested in painting and drawing, the less creative it felt. During the past 6 years, art-making and crafting have been strictly separated: visual art is the profession and crafting is the hobby.

This fall, my mindset has changed. I now realize that knitting is a way to give space for the internal processing that my paintings need. When I knit, my subconscious is sketching.

Knitting a sweater. All together, pattern by Joji Locatelli.

I love stranded knitting with many colors. My current project is Joji Locatelli’s All Together Sweater.

Here’s my current painting in progress. At least in this stage, it has some similarities with the sweater!

Artist Paivi Eerola and her painting in progress.

In general, I am more open to inspiration that I get from crafting, and vice versa. I made this quilt for my friend’s puppy.

A dog quilt by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet. Read her thoughts about crating and art-making, craft artists, fine artists, and crafters.

Crafter, Craft Artist, Fine Artist – What’s Your Number One Creative Activity?

Many who create both art and crafts struggle with finding their style. For me, the working solution was to draw a clear line between the two. It made me see what things were missing in my artistic process, and what I needed to practice more. My artistic identity needed this isolation to make a clear hierarchy in what I create.

But now, I feel I can loosen up. Here’s what I wrote on Peony and Parakeet’s Facebook page last week:

“Art makes us more aware of what affects us and how we process it. Sometimes it means that we don’t want to immerse ourselves into something because it would not have a good impact on us. Other times it means that we want more of something because we know we need that. But for me, the most significant thing has been that accidental things happen, and I don’t need to filter everything. Both art and life run through us, and when the stream gets stronger, it will change not only us but our surroundings as well. When we say we want to loosen up, isn’t that what we really mean?”

Browsing a sketchbook by Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

This month, I have done a lot more than just creating canvas paintings. I am working on a new class about abstract art and Paul Klee’s teachings. I have talked about Paul Klee before, but now I am creating a class that translates his teachings to a more expressive style. Hopefully, the class is launching at the end of November, stay tuned!

Painting on a sketchbook. By Paivi Eerola of Peony and Parakeet.

I have also finished an art journaling mini-course for an artist collaboration project. It will be for sale in October – so very soon!

What’s Your Number One Creative Activity?

Here’s how I see myself now: I am a visual artist who creates abstract nature paintings mostly. I process my paintings by knitting, writing, art journaling, and doing daily walks. I live in a midcentury home, and my background is in design. I process my designs by growing plants and quilting. My paintings have design elements, and my designs have elements that are painted.

Painting is my number one thing. All the other activities serve it.

How would you define yourself through your creative activities? What’s your number one creative activity?

Drawing on Fabric – Illustrated Quilt Blocks

Posted on May 9, 2019May 9, 2019Posted in Crafts, Going Beyond the ConventionalTagged drawing pen, fabric, markers21 Comments

Drawing on fabric with Copics by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet.

This week’s blog post is for all who love fabric! I have started building a new class, a magical sequel to Animal Inkdom! I want these “Inkdom classes” to be as versatile as possible so that you can use your illustrations in gifts, everyday items, and whatever you like to create. This goal perhaps brings out the designer from me – always seeking for ways to get the most of the beautiful pictures.

Brainstorming when Making a Quilt

My best ideas come, when I am taking a break. Last week, I had to stop the class development for a few days, because my beagle Stella had been waiting for her quilt far too long. The old ones were so worn out that she could barely carry and wrap herself in them. I had almost finished the top of the new quilt but there was still quite a lot of work in quilting and binding it.

So I put the art supplies away, bought pink fabric for the back, and started stitching. The blocks had printed photos, crocheted doilies, ugly leftover prints, experiments that had piled up … I had just sewn them all together! But the more I worked on it, the more unique the blanket felt, and the improvisational way of working kept me energized. Just like when drawing!

Finished quilt by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet

So it hit me, that it would be wonderful to build bridges with this kind of fabric play and drawing.

See how full of “doodles”, improvised quilt patterns, the top has!

I doodled a bit with the embroidery floss too. But that’s a lot of work, and it doesn’t feel the same as holding a pen in hand. I missed my markers!

Drawing on Fabric with Copic Markers

Once Stella’s quilt was finished, I went to my Copic markers. I ironed a piece of natural white cotton fabric that had some print patterns. To make the patterns even more subtle, I drew on the wrong side of the fabric. So I had a lively background that wasn’t too busy. First, I made a line drawing with thin-tipped black pens. They were Copic brand too.

Then I started coloring and making the drawing more detailed.

Here’s the finished piece. I loved the easiness, the softness of the lines, and that I now have a unique quilt block. I will certainly draw some more!

Here you can see how the lines, fabric and color blending go well together.

Drawing on Fabric by Peony and Parakeet - a detail.

When I look at my fabric stash, this hand-made piece is definitely what I love the most.

Hand-drawn image on fabric by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet

My art studio looks so happy now! The best thing is when many things that I love to create come together.

Fabric and art studio by Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet.

While I am preparing the new class, tell me, what kind of ideas and instructions have you been waiting for building bridges between your arts and crafts!

Paivi Eerola from Peony and Parakeet holding her hand-made quilt.

Could Needlework Define Drawing?

Posted on February 11, 2016April 7, 2018Posted in CraftsTagged colored pencils, decorated papers, fabric15 Comments

Over 20 years ago, when studying computer science, control engineering, and automotive engineering, I got used to being the only girl in many lectures. But it was not only that. Whatever book I read, whatever formula I learned, it was all written by men. Soon, it felt natural. The field of technology was ruled by men.

When I think about drawing, I see the same thing. Throughout the history, the skill of drawing has been defined by men. Many say that if you draw 3-dimensional and photorealistic images, you can draw.

But could needlework define the way we draw? Could we think more about textures, structures, and shapes than the actual dimensions? Could we tell stories where we travel inside rather than outside?

I don’t say men can’t do all that. My message is that too many women who are experienced quilters, seamstresses, needleworkers feel that they are far away from drawing.

Why Draw?

When you hold the pen instead of the needle, you are able to experiment in much less time. With a little bit of guidance, your imagination will start to grow. You will be able to see your creativity in a new light!

My quilting and embroidery got a friend from art journaling when I began to draw.

Embroidery inspired pieces for the class "Artistic Embroidery with Pens and Paper" — Embroidery inspired pieces for the class “Artistic Embroidery with Pens and Paper”

There’s no reason why needlework could not define the way we draw. Or at least be our inspiration when we draw.

Exercises from the class Inspirational Drawing

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Color the Emotion

Tag: fabric