charity shop winner

 

mini wooden weaving loom: £3

 

velvet poodle postcard, from 1945: 20p

 

vintage tapestry backpack: £1.95

hand embroidered cherub on velvet £1.50

 

pink and purple Staffordshire dog: £4.99

 

 

 

 

I've been super lucky at the local charity shops recently, but to then find a genuine Staffordshire pup, which I've been after for forever as my nanny always had a pair (but couldn't bare parting with £50), for only £4.99?! WINNING. The tapestry backpack is pretty bloody good too.

Bonjour

Bramble

Another custom pet portrait.
I could make these forever, I love the use of colouring and shading with the stab stitch embroidery technique. I post step-by-step photos of custom pet portraits on my Instagram page @leighjennings

Sadly, just as the customer received this portrait (they lived in America), poor old Bramble had to be put to sleep after 15 years. A perfect little reminder on a sad day.

mini scribbles

 

 

Small post-it note sized bits of paper with patterns, notes, scribbles and drawings. I don't know what I'm doing with them, but drawing at this size takes away that stressful feeling of a blank paged sketchbook.

so this happened today ..

 

That mega fit model lady, Lara Stone, posted a picture of my embroidery on Instagram.

Many thanks to people tagging me in the photo and linking my shop.

As much as I'm astounded at the response of this work, I'm also worried that it seems to be getting a little 'lost' on the internet. In hindsight I should have put a watermark on the photo. But never mind, it's still pretty bloody amazing!

and this, she said, this, we call home

More of these infamous embroideries are online in my Etsy shop, seeing as you funny guys are still seeing it all over tumblr and want a piece of the action.

Madness.

super-mega-rad

I bought this original American duvet cover from a charity shop recently. Covered in stills from the E.T movie, I find it horrifying and amazing all at the same time. E.T made me cry a lot as a kid and I've never watched it since. However, the pattern on this duvet cover seemed like too good an opportunity to miss (especially at a bargain price). I'll re-work and embroider over E.Ts face and turn some of the other bits into cushions - the bmx bit is my favourite.

'self-portrait with embroidered dead bird'

save me, save me

 

 

'If nothing should save us from death, at least love should save us from life' - Pablo Neruda

This embroidery has sold now, but it's such a beautiful quote, I may have to make another.

the length of the sea and the depth of the dark

 

 

 

'only boring people get bored'

My wonderful nanny has always said this and it's something I've always lived by. I'm fortunate that I have a hobby that also makes me dollar, but it's not hard to get up and get outside, go an adventure or annoy your friends and family. Stop moaning about being bored or not having anything to do, find something to do or you'll get a sore arse from sitting on it all day.
Use this is as a little reminder to do something exciting, or as an award for being a busy awesome person.
I hear too many people say they're bored. I can't imagine what it feels like.

Embroidery available here.

sticks and stones and skulls and bones

'The skull is natures sculpture' - David Bailey

The first embroidery I sold on my Etsy shop was a vintage pink hanky with a detailed skull embroidery in a bright pink thread. I don't often embroider skulls anymore, keeping up with the sales of quotes and sayings meant these were kind of on the back burner. However, I've had some time recently and added these two skull embroideries, which come in a vintage frame.
Available in my Etsy shop.

huh?!

OH MY GOSH.
I was receiving a lot of custom orders and emails after this piece sold and couldn't figure out why it was so popular. Then someone emailed and said 'after seeing your work all over Tumblr, I need this in my life'. This tumblr page posts pictures and links of goods they find on Etsy that they love. Turns out they added a link for this 'home is where them fuckers ain't' embroidery. Then, with the internet being a vortex, lots of people started re-blogging it, adding comments and emailing me. LOTS of people. The last I heard, my friend from Sweden had seen it on a friends page and even an app that posts funny photos and memes had posted my work too.
I can't quite get my head around this.
Obviously, with the majority of my embroideries being re-worked vintage items, no 2 pieces will ever be the same. However, customers seem to love that each piece I make will be totally unique to them, it just means that the person that bought this piece, now has the tumblr famous embroidery.
Incredible. I'm so overwhelmed, even more so with the fact that I made the sentence up on a whim after a few fallouts with people in my hometown and dreaming of moving back to Liverpool.
I love you guys, thank you a million times infinity for all your support.

Kalopsia

 

Kalopsia (n)
the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are.

Such a beautiful word with a lovely meaning. Perfect for the day dreamers, the optimists, the lovers of life and the believers of a beautiful world.
Hand embroidered in navy thread on a vintage tray cloth. The cloth had original floral embroideries that leant itself perfectly to frame an equally lovely quote.

Peg it up, pin it up or frame it.
Measures 14" by 10"

 

Available here.

a photo a day keeps the doctor away

 

 

My Instagram feed isn't just full of work-in-progress embroideries and scribbles (or selfies, although, obviously, there's a few).

You can follow me at @leighjennings

the meaning of life is a life full of meaning

 

 

 

"It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zigzagging to show us the true nature of life"
- Virginia Woolf

 

Scribbles of dead birds to plan out future embroideries. I've completed one already of a song thrush, available in my Etsy shop here.

I loved making this, playing with layers of thread and trying to capture something so delicate, turning the morbid into something beautiful.

I'll definitely turn this into a series of embroideries.