My dear pal Barbara Rushkoff embroiders fantastic minimal portraits of musicians and other artists, writers, and thinkers whose work has inspired her over the years. I love the seeming simplicity of her illustrations that still beautifully convey the essence of her subjects! Also, the name of Barbara's Instagram account has me in, er, stitches: yr_resting_stitchface

Above: Robert Smith of The Cure. Below: Billie Eilish, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52's, Nilufer Yanya; Mark Hollis of Talk Talk; Joy Division's Ian Curtis; St. Vincent; Debbie Harry; and David Bowie.

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Etsy artisan Humayrah turns gold and iridescent thread into the most charming and intricate beetles, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Humayrah says:

The influence of the natural creation is woven through a lot of my work. I like to incorporate iridescent materials such as gold leather, metals, beads and silks in my embroideries that are inspired by entomology and botanical illustrations.

• Humayrah Poppins (Etsy / TheOldeSewingRoom ) Read the rest

Of course you do. Read the rest

Best ASMR ever. She can read the full text of boring Wikipedia entries to me any time. Read the rest

Cayce Zavaglia hand-embroiders astonishingly hyperrealistic portraits from cotton and silk thread and crewel embroidery wool. Read the rest

My friend has had gallstones, but with no insurance, just suffered through them for the last year. She just had her gallbladder taken out at the ER and is, happily, doing fine. But for all the trouble it has given her, I decided to stuff and mount the little sucker like a trophy animal!

I even included a few pebbles in the stuffing so you can feel the gallstones!

Construction was easy and took a few hours. I had the felt and thread in my hobby drawer; the pattern was free-form (trust me, I have no skill). I used cut up-scraps for the stuffing, and, of course, rocks from the yard. It's sealed with a few scarps of yarn. The wood plaque was bought at a hobby store for $1 and sanded/stained with leftovers found at my local hackerspace. Someone had donated excess brass sheet stock, which I used in a minimill to engrave the plaque. I decided to use a magnet to mount it to the plaque so that the plushie can also live on her fridge. Our space didn't have extra magnets, and I didn't find any suitable ones in a motor I took apart -- so I had to buy a six-pack at the store and am donating the extras for the next person. Read the rest

You too can turn an old sweater into a comfy pair of swants! West Knits has a "Swants Tutorial." (Thanks, Brad Smith!) Read the rest

Fourteen-year-old Luna Ito-Fisher started making her own clothes and accessories when she was nine, after attending a friend’s birthday party at a sewing studio in LA.

“I remember at the beginning, threading was so hard and I could never get it through the needle,” Luna tells me as she sets up her machine on her family’s dining room table. Now, she slides the thread through the tiny clips across the top of the machine, guides it up and down the rigging, licks the end and pokes it, like nothing, straight through the eye. Read the rest