Featured Designer - Wild Boho May 01 2017 1 Comment

What do you get when you cross embroidery and textile art?  This month's featured designer, of course!  Please welcome Nichole Vogelsinger of Wild Boho whose self-described style is a free-spirited blend of chaos and control!  

Nichole's style and creations have inspired me to look at fabric in a completely different light.  When I am thinking of bringing a line of fabric into the studio, I now not only consider what fussy cutting potential it may have, but also, how would it lend itself to surface embroidery.

Now, let's get to know Nichole!

Jen:  Where were you born and raised?

Nichole: I was born, raised and live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not too far from Philadelphia.

Jen:  Tell us about your stitching journey.  How did you learn to embroider?

Nichole:  My very first hand stitching project was a cross stitch bookmark that I started stitching when I was about 10 and finished when I was about 13!  That project took me FOREVER, and today I couldn’t even tell you where it is (although, I wish I could find it!)  It was about then that I decided cross stitch wasn’t really for me!  I loved the idea of stitching something by hand, I loved organizing my little bin of threads, but to actually sit and concentrate on a counted cross stitch pattern, well, it just wasn’t enjoyable to me. From then on, I half-heartedly stitched things from patterns but it wasn’t until about 2012 that I picked it up again. I had a toddler and a baby and the need to create!  I also was drawn to some of the beautiful fabrics that were being designed, and I wanted to do something with them.  Looking for smaller projects that could be portable, I began combining fabrics and then embroidering them, learning stitches as I went along.

Jen:  So, how did Wild Boho come to be?

Nichole:   Wild Boho began as a way to share my creative process on social media, connect with other artists and designers and not flood the feeds of my personal friends with the things that I was creating!

Jen:  Tell us about the process for designing your hoop art.  What are your inspirations?

Nichole:  I never really know where my next inspiration will come from...it could be from a visit to an art museum, a run-through my local craft store, a fabric that has caught my eye, a quick stop at a garden shop...my interests and what I stitch really are all over the place.  I’m constantly inspired by what surrounds me, and I try to translate some of those interests into stitchable pieces!

Jen:  Complete this sentence. When I am not sewing, I am...

Nichole: Counting down the time until I can pick up whatever piece i’m currently stitching!  And in the meantime, I’m probably cleaning up from my kid’s art projects and procrastinating on making dinner!

Jen: What is your favorite thread?

Nichole:  Hands down, Eleganza Perle Cotton from Sue Spargo.  The color palette is perfect for the colors that I am drawn to working with, and I love how Perle cotton looks in my work.  I also love her new Ellana Wool Threads as a way to add in different weights and textures.

I’ve also recently been working with other fibers such as mohair, silk, etc.  I’m always looking for a new element to work into my embroidery!

Jen: What is your worst sewing habit?

Nichole:  Piles!  Piles which stem from taking on too many projects at the same time!  I have a minimum of 3-4 hoops that I work on at a time and usually about 5-6 sitting in piles with my thread choices waiting for me to be stitched up.  When inspiration hits and I actually have the time to work, I can churn out several hoop ideas...but then those hoops get added to the piles of the hoops that I put together previously, and it’s just a vicious cycle!  I’m sure every crafter out there can identify with this cycle, though! Right?!  I can’t be the only one!

Jen:  What is one sewing notion that you can’t live without?

Nichole:  Scissors!

My two favorites are my Tula Pink Micro-Tips and my Fiskars Micro-Tip Spring Scissors.

Jen:  With Boho Embroidery now on the shelves, any new big plans for the rest of the year?

Nichole:  I've been working on creating patterns that can be created using the embroidery skills that readers have picked up from Boho Embroidery.  My most recent pattern (available in my Etsy shop), the Fractured Color Wheel, is based on the color wheel from the front cover of my book, which wasn’t an included pattern.  I want to continue creating patterns that each person can tailor to the fabrics and colors that they love and that allow them to add embroidery and create personal works of art that they can proudly display in their space!

In the meantime, be sure to follow Nichole on Instagram for more inspiration in your hoop!