Sharing threads of creativity 🧵 Written by Sara Barnes

The past couple of weeks have been a blur. We adopted a kitten, Otis, two Thursdays ago. He's about four months old and very cute and funny. He fell in the toilet yesterday. Unfortunately, my two senior kitties think this is no laughing matter. They want nothing to do with him.

Through all this, I realized that while I've had young cats (I adopted my other kitties when they were each about a year old), a kitten is different. He has so much energy! He's teething right now! So, please give me your kitten tips. I could use them.

Enough kitten talk. Without further ado, here's 5/5: 5 creatively inspiring things and 5 ways to DIY!

👇 Scroll down for Shirt-Curtain, a lamp DIY I'm obsessed with, and a book that will show you how to embroider your shoes.

Shirt-Curtains and a life-changing project

✨ 5 creatively inspiring things

1️⃣ It’s a shirt and it’s a curtain. And it’s beautiful! Sarah Espeute had the idea for the Shirt-Curtain five years ago and recently brought it to life. Although this one-of-a-kind piece is made from vintage fabric, she has plans to offer it as a custom-crafted item in 2025.

2️⃣ The more I think about it, the more I know that participating in the 1 Year of Stitches project in 2017 changed my life. It solidified my embroidery practice and brought me more into the crafting community. The project, which I write about in my book, was started by Hannah Claire Somerville. She’s still working on 1 Year of Stitches even after creating it many years ago. Here’s where she was in early October.

3️⃣ I’m sending this after Halloween, but it’s still close enough to spooky season. And even if it’s not spooky season, Thread Handed Jill’s spiderweb embroideries are timeless. They showcase the delicate beauty of webs, accented by beading to make them glisten. Learn how to make one in her PDF tutorial.

4️⃣ I love the floral pattern on this handmade sweater, but that’s not the point of the video. See how Louise of DangKnitz chopped a pullover sweater to transform it into a cardigan. I’m torn (pun intended) about which version I like better. What do you think?

5️⃣ Sharece Studio creates mesmerizing short videos in which dots and squirts of paint become something else entirely. Watch this collection of pigment become a monarch butterfly.

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🪡 5 ways to DIY

1️⃣ I’m OBSESSED with this bespoke lamp tutorial. It combines DIY and thrifting to make something that’d cost hundreds of dollars from Anthropologie. Now I know what I'm looking for the next time I go to the thrift store.

2️⃣ Please vote! Then, make this Vote mini quilt using Carolyn Friedlander’s free pattern.

3️⃣ It was publication day for my friend Melissa’s book, DIY Embroidered Shoes. Yay! She shows you ways to stitch on your shoes through 15 embroidered shoe patterns (and much more).

4️⃣ Weave a bright bookmark when you work this little loom kit from Tabby and Tweed.

5️⃣ A screaming possum is a perpetual mood. Embroider this pattern for yourself or someone who could use a good screech.

Did you know I make DIY embroidery kits? They have everything you need to stitch a wild animal patch!

Talk to you soon,

Sara Barnes Embroidery illustrator and writer

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