that is so pretty. makes me think of winter.
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Just popping on here to show you my adorable piece from @EriChanHime! I love it! It arrived at the end of a VERY long first week of school (6th graders are not very technology literate in practice…I am exhausted!) and was just what I needed to brighten my day!
The juxtaposition of the cute and cheery narwhal with the slightly sinister sentiment just checks all of the boxes for me! Normally, anything narwhal that I come across ends up being gifted to my BIL (he loves narwhals), but this one is staying with me!
Erin, how did you stitch the lettering? It’s very textural and so neatly done! Thanks a bunch for swapping with me! I’m hoping to have yours in the mail soon!
And, I’ll go back and look at the gallery later. Right now, the pillow is calling my name…
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Right!!!?? So true, cADDC!!
I am interested as well. At first glance I thought short stem stitch, but it’s really thick! Maybe couching?
Great job, @EriChanHime! I like the layers you created with the wavy background.
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That narwhal hoop! 
It’s so cute-n-sassy!
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Love the narwhal!
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I got my piece from @JoyfulClover
We both decided to do landscape pieces and she chose to do a sunset. I really like the hoops I’ve seen that have a 3-D look to the clouds so she made some puffy sunset clouds. I love all the colors going on! It’s so bright and vibrant.
It’s a great hoop! I love it. Thanks JC.
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WOWZERS!!! That is a gorgeous sunset! I just want to reach out and boop those clouds…
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Gahhhh!!! I am so glad you like it! I spent so much time picking colors to suit you!!! I learned a lot, and have better ideas on how to execute future clouds.
Also, thank you for taking such good photos. You make it look smokin hot! 12/10 would do again. Big hugs, GG!
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This is stunning!!
The sunset colours are gorgeous, but those dimensional clouds just…BOOM! No words. 
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Boop em! Then Boom! Ha! Thanks, ladies!
I have a second hoop already started to make them more bloopy and undulating, and less pommy and uniform.
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The hoops in this swap are unreal
He is just adorable.
What a great sunset, love all the texture.
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Absolutely stunning! The softer “reflection” in the water is done so beautifully. I love the darker background fabric here, as well.
@craftADDchick I’m so delighted that you love your hoop! I had so much fun making it. As soon as that popped up on her Pinterest, I was sold. I kept the pattern pieces I made in case I manage to do one for myself. fingers crossed
Also, the lettering on the Stabby Narwhal hoop is done in whipped backstitch! It’s my favorite stitch for nice, solid, well-flowing letters. Basically, you outline the words in a plain backstitch–I used two strands of floss for that, I think–and then you go back over each one with another 2-3 strands and do a spiral stitch through all the front-facing back stitches without piercing the background fabric at all. @JoyfulClover
Oh, wow! The thread painting there is just gorgeous! So much dense coverage… Adorable pompom clouds set it off nicely.
And here is my AMAZING hoop from cADDc! 
He’s SO PERFECT! cuddles One of my themes was horror/bizarre creatures doing cute things, and I love the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. He’s being all precious feeding the sweet birdies. 
The details on his tail spikes and armor are fabulous! The delicately embroidered birds just set the whole thing off fabulously! I could not be more thrilled about this thing, and now I just need to figure out how I want to display it, hoop or frame. 
It’s a good problem to have. For now, he’s propped on my living room bookcase.
Thank you for an amazing swap, everyone! 
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Thank you!
Holy Smokes!!! Look at each one of those spikes! How did you get them all tacked down so neatly! The juxtaposition of the fluffy birds against the metal is epic! Great job, @craftADDchick! Kudos for the prompt and the execution!
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Thank you! I had originally intended to cut the xenomorph out on the Silhouette, but it needs a driver update, so it derailed me. Instead, I ironed some Wonder Under to the back, ran it through my printer to get the design on it, and then carefully cut it out. I had a bit of a panic when parts of it lifted while I was doing the bird embroidery, but I was able to hit it with the iron afterwards to stick everything back down. Otherwise, I was going to have to use some fabric glue!
I actually prepped a second one for myself. I printed off 2 of them (partly in case I messed up, but also so I wouldn’t waste any materials). I also printed on Sulky Solvy so I could use it for my stitching guide (I lined it up on top of the black fabric with the help of a light box). I machine stitched the xenomorph details- the original was much more detailed, but I simplified it a bit. The birds took way longer than I expected for something so tiny (they’re between 1/4" and 1/2" each). I used 5 colors of floss on them, and it took about 2 hours! But so worth it!
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I know I commented on one or two of these on their own posts, but just to make sure I don’t miss anyone…
@roler, that orca hoop is fantastic! You never cease to amaze me with how you can take something as simple as felt and transform it into a work of art. It’s such a wonderfully done piece!
@Raury, I love that blackwork piece! I know it’s “only” backstitch, but it is so elegant in its simplicity. I really love how the designs on the walls fade away- it makes me imagine that the cat is sitting in the window of an old ruin, with untamed wildflowers growing up along the outer wall. It transports me to another place, and I simply love that about this piece!
I also love your sunflower piece! I’ve always liked sunflowers, but after visiting a sunflower farm, I have a new love for them. Plus, I never realized that they came in so many different colors! I already have seeds on order in the hopes of growing some next year.
@Lynx, I am so impressed that you designed that pattern on your own! You chose a beautiful fabric for it, too! And, I laughed when you said that PP is a mirror image. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter as much with the letter ‘M’! Lovely notecard, too!
@wittychild, I am in love with that mandala! Your color choice is gorgeous and I love how softly they transition. The addition of the little beads adds to the elegance of the overall piece. I have several mandala patterns, and I may have to use your color palette on one of them. It’s such a peaceful piece of work!
@geekgirl, the Northern Lights!!! Such a stunning piece! The background fabric was an inspired choice. I love how you captured the movement of the lights and how they reflect in the water and the mountains. I so want to see them someday, and your version just makes me want to see them even more!
@EriChanHime, thank you again for the fabulous hoop! And, I’m definitely tucking that whipped backstitch technique away for future use. It’s such a fantastic technique for lettering! I also love the wavy lines you stitched in the background, and your applique stitching is so perfectly neat!
@JoyfulClover, holy cow, that’s a lot of stitches! The colors you used are just gorgeous and truly capture the colors of a sunset. I love the pompom clouds, too! Are they separate pompoms that you stitched on, or did you use the turkey stitch (I think that’s the one I’m thinking of)? You created so much texture with this piece, and I love how it pops in color and dimension!
This was such a fun swap! I have gathered up all of my hooplas (I have more than I realized), and now I’m itching to get them all framed up and hung on the wall. Time to get some Command hooks!
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