Backside of the Hoop with Linda Sandoval

Linda Sandoval, June 2015

This month’s Backside of the Hoop feature is Linda Sandoval! Linda and I met on Instagram, where she’s @tofupansa. Linda is one of the most positive and supportive people in social media! Linda finds the most interesting fabrics and embellishes them with hand embroidery. I’m in love with the Frida patterns, in particular. She also creates unique felt designs embellished with embroidery.

My name is Linda Sandoval. I am a forward thinking Mexican American vegetarian obsessed with pop culture, foreign films, books, and music. I am part of an artistic family, and enjoy making jewelry in my free time. I recently, well actually about a year and a half ago, became an Instagram junkie. You can find me by my user name Tofu Pansa.

I started doing embroidery about 12 months ago. I do not have the first piece that I created. I am self taught. My daughter was gifted a felt embroidery hoop that I really liked, and I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could recreate one.

My favorite place to embroider is in my bedroom. It is my personal space where I feel the most comfortable and I listen to music while I stitch.

This is the only way I know how to finish my pieces. I’m a brand new to the embroidery world, and I’m still learning as I go along.

My favorite part is starting it. I look forward to starting a new project. My least favorite part? I don’t have a least favorite part at this time.

The truth of the matter is I don’t know any names of stitches, I just do a basic stitch.

I’ve never used a pattern, and you can see by the photos… I stitch on fabric. I have made my own felt pieces.

I don’t have anything in particular planned as of yet… but I’m always excited to do stitching and see where this embroidery adventure takes me. I usually do art swaps on Instagram, and hoops are always involved.

Thank you, Linda, for sharing your story and process with us! Look for the next Backside of the Hoop with Jill Shivers on Saturday, July 3, 2015.