Have you ever thought about creating an embroidery journal, but weren’t sure that you could commit to embroidering an icon for everyday of the year? Well after Tessa Keel completed her 2022 daily embroidery journal, she decided to only stitch the most memorable icons of 2023 onto her mini embroidery journal which led to a beautiful array of colourful and meaningful motifs.
Tessa has taken some of her valuable time away from her studies in order to answer some questions about her mini journal. Learn all about how she selects her icons of the month, what supplies she uses, and even more tips & tricks!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Tessa and I’m a graduate student working on my Master’s in Speech & Language Pathology. I grew up on Vancouver Island, Canada, and am now studying in Alberta, Canada. I learned how to cross-stitch from my grandmother as a kid, then picked it up again as a hobby at the beginning of 2021. I fell in love with stitching and branched out into embroidery and began specializing in pet and family portraits. Between studying and stitching, I am also an avid reader and love my two cats, Muffin & Lucky.
What supplies do you use for your embroidery journal?
This year my hoop is 7″ and I stitch on 28 count Aida fabric. I use a water soluble pen to mark my icons before stitching. I also recommend using a needle minder, I learned my lesson from countless needles lost in the couch!
How do you decide what 5-6 events to add to your embroidery journal each month?
Throughout the month I keep a running notepad in my phone of ideas whenever something exciting, stressful, or noteable happens. Then at the end of the month when I sit down to stitch in my journal, I can rank which 5-6 are the most important/representative of the month. Even during “slower” months where not many events happened, I can think of something good I ate or an interesting book I read. I also have to consider the size/spacing when picking out my icons, so having the water soluble pen is a great way to sketch a draft and then wash them off and re-do if needed.
How did you decide to create a mini embroidery journal?
After completing a full-size embroidery journal in 2022, I was on the fence about whether I wanted to continue one this year. While it was such an enjoyable experience and I love looking back on all the different icons of that year, it was also a fair bit of work. At the beginning of 2023, I was hopeful that I would be accepted into grad school this fall and knew that I wouldn’t be able to commit the time to a full-size journal. So I decided to compromise and do a mini journal! I love that it has become a journal of this year’s highlights.
What tips do you have for someone wanting to start an embroidery journal?
If you’re intimidated by the scale of a full-size embroidery journal, I would highly suggest trying a mini one! I’ve seen others online that are even smaller, like a journal for one season. That could be a great way to dip your toes into embroidery journaling. I often get asked where I come up with the design for my icons; if it’s not a simple idea I can freehand – use Google images! I will look up “coffee cup simple line drawing” and you’ll find hundreds of easy icon designs to copy into your journal (it helps to have an erasable pen). My last tip is to keep notes throughout the month – whether in your phone or in a physical notebook. Things happen, life gets busy, and your embroidery journal will inevitably take a backseat. It can be really difficult to get back up “on the horse” after a long break, especially if you are trying to remember what you did during that time away. But if you can commit to jotting down a few quick notes when something exciting happens, you will save yourself a lot of stress when you do come back to add to your journal.
What is your favourite icon on your embroidery journal?
It’s so hard to choose! There are icons that I have the most emotional attachment to, like receiving an acceptance letter to grad school and flying to the Netherlands to surprise my grandmother. Then there are icons I just love the look of, like the bike with a flower basket and Ghostface.
How do you go about spacing out your icons?
At the beginning of the year, I used my water soluble pen to divide the hoop into 12 equal “slices”. Then I traced a coin to figure out how many coin-sized icons I could fit into each slice, which turned out to be 5-6. Some icons that have more detail are a bit bigger, while others are simple and I can keep them small, but in the end I know to limit each month to about 6 icons (plus the first letter of the month). Again, using the pen to draft a sketch of all my designs per month is a great way to picture how they will all fit together before stitching.
What have you learned from starting an embroidery journal?
The biggest thing I’ve learned is mindfulness. This was especially true during my full-size journaling last year, when days would pass and I’d claim “I didn’t do anything fun, I just worked/was a couch potato” and then I’d think back and go, “well, there was that funny interaction with a customer” or, “I liked that movie last night”, or even, “I enjoyed my cup of coffee this morning”. You don’t need to live a super busy, exciting life to journal it – in fact, I think the point of journaling is to find small moments of intrigue (good or bad) and once you’re in the mindset of keeping track of them – you start to look for them.
What do you plan on doing with your embroidery journal once you finish it?
Right now my 2022 journal is hanging on my wall, and I will do the same with this year’s.
Are you working on an embroidery journal for 2024?
I am! I loved doing the mini version so much that I am carrying it on again this year.
Where can we find you online?
I’m on Instagram at @embroidery.bytessa and lurking Sophie’s embroidery journaling Facebook group, occasionally sharing there. My embroidery commissions have taken a backseat during school, but I always post a monthly journal recap on my IG!
Go ahead and give Tessa a follow on Instagram! She’s always sharing photos of her embroidery journal and hosting Q&A in her story about the process. If you’re interested in making your own embroidery journal, I have a variety of resources available on Etsy.
Enjoyed this post? Then check out some of my other blog posts or purchase the in-depth embroidery journal guide. You can also join the free Embroidery Journaling Facebook Group to chat with others working on their own Embroidery Journals. You can also follow me on any of the following social media websites:
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