Scribble Town (ST): From afar and up close, Erin Schmidt’s cross stitching is magnificent!  Erin is drawing with needle and thread!  Erin lives in Hudson, OH, which is outside of Akron/Cleveland.   Her family moved here from the St. Louis suburbs back in 2011.  Not only is she a cross stitching extraordinaire, she is also an attorney.  Erin, what is your favorite thing to create?

Erin Schmidt (ES): I think my favorite thing to create is a little bit of magic and the emotions that surround the work.  It is capturing something beautiful and preserving it for time.  Sometimes it is the picture as a whole that catches my interest, and sometimes it is just a color.  But often it is the emotional response.  Not only does this come from the finished project, but also all the work that goes into it.

ST: I like how you create magic  What other forms of art do you practice?

ES: Besides cross stitching, I also do crocheting and some photography.

ST: Both are very expressive mediums in very different ways.  Is there something you want to say with your art?

ES:It depends on the form.  My cross stitch evokes a lot of emotion for me.  It can be used to memorialize events in your life, which I have done.  But I tend to lean towards patterns that invoke a more elegant or magical age.  Which is why  you will see lots of ball gowns, faeries, and a lot of detailed use of specialty threads and beads.  I love the artwork of Nene Thomas and I have several of her prints in my house and have started gathering others in the form of cross stitch patterns.

When it comes to crochet, it is all about home and comfort.  These are much more for everyday usage, and a daily reminder of the person who made it for them.

Photography, like cross stitching, I like to capture a simplistic beauty.  I live near a National Park so I do a lot of scenery and wildlife pictures.

All of these activities I find rather relaxing, even when I mess them up or become frustrated with them.

ST: It’s great when we can relax even when we mess up.  Thanks for reminding us about that!  Where do you get your inspiration from and who inspires you?

ES:Part of my inspiration is just a need to relax and allow myself to drift off to another place.    With Cross Stitch, we get the luxury of being able to do just about any drawing, painting, or picture that catches your eye to recreate into multi textural work.  The best part of the art I like to do is that anyone can do them, even younger kids.   Cross stitch patterns come in many sizes, from projects with very few stitches to the ones I do with 60,000-100,000 stitches.  I started cross stitching at age 7 with simple Christmas ornaments that I gave to relatives.

ST: Thank you Erin for sharing you artwork with us.  We all need to relax and let ourselves get swooped up by the activities we enjoy.  You have found your magic!  To start your own magic you can go to Scribble Shop Blog and see the Box Stitch activity Erin has created for you:
http://www.scribbleshop.com/content/box-stitching-erin-schmidt

Hi Scribblers,
Today I was looking through my craft supply bins and decided to try  something new! With lots of felt, a fat quarter and embroidery thread and a button I came up with this cute little brooch!

The best part is, this can be sewn on and layered with other similar patches to dress up a bag, a hat a coat or more!

First I traced the bottom of a mug onto a piece of felt, then I made a smaller circle out of the fat quarter and then an even smaller circle out of another color of felt. Next, I got creative with embroidery!

For a border, I did the split stitch around the large piece of felt.

To do this first do a single stitch coming up through the felt and then down through the fabric about a quarter inch apart. Next, come up through the felt directly though the stitch you just made. This will split the stitch- a split stitch. Then pull the thread through and go down about a quarter inch away from where you came up. Continue doing this all around the circle.

To add the second circle, I used the linen stitch.

Starting from the back, come up through the felt  and then down about a quarter inch away through just the fat quarter and the felt. Come up on a diagonal through the felt, again about a quarter inch away. Before you pull the needle all the way through, loop the thread around. Now, pull the needle through.

Go down again straight through the fat quarter and felt. Continue all the way around this circle.

For the third inner circle, I just got creative and alternated between a single stitch going vertically and a stitch going horizontally. Sew on a butt of your choice.

For the lines coming from the button, I did the chain stitch.

To do the chain stitch, come up through the back. Go down into the fabric and weave the needle back up about an 1/8 of an inch away (do not pull though). Loop the thread around the back of the needle and then pull through. Place the needle back down almost exactly where you came up and repeat.