Other Realm Blogs

Just thought I’d point out that I added a link section to my ‘other realm’ blogs. (see the right hand side of this blog column)

I started blogging on Blogger. I’ve written about our Hurricane Katrina displacement and disaster and how it catapulted us into the world of wool and spinning. From there I taught myself to knit…and the thread arts blossomed into crochet, miniature crochet, knitting, miniature knitting, pattern designing, woodworking for accessories…and on and on and on…(I created tags here to give hints as to what is on the other blogs as well)

I’m focusing mostly on embroidery here, but I felt that I had to link the old realm with the new to complete the journey into the present.

Feel free to explore.

Quick and Easy Embroidery Project- Basic Bottle Cap Pincushions

I found an absolutely fun, extremely quick, totally perfect canvas for quick, little, and (could be) easy, embroidery project! All thanks to a book I perused at my local B&N, Pretty Little Pincushions. The bottle cap pincushion, which inspired me most, came from Jen Segrest. (Her pincushions are on the cover of the Lark Book) I did a LOT of poking around her many links and sites and dove right in to give it a go! When I found this site, I knew we had many, many, many bottle caps. My dad is an avid, and I mean obsessively avid, “recycle-er” of bottles and cans. My mom drinks Joint Juice daily. A match made in pincushion embroidery heaven!

These little bottle cap pincushions are easily made out of felt, can be embellished in an infinite number of ways, are absolutely useful, and are so little you won’t get tired or bogged down with them as a project! They are just calling for your original embroidery designs, painted fabric ideas, silk ribbon embroidery, or any other inspirational designs and whims you would love to pour out on these little do-dads.

I find that I can do one as a ‘break’ from any other activity. Each is a vast canvas for stitchery practice, unlimited creative blossoming, or…well…let’s face it…Fun! Your life needs fun! Go ahead, have some fun!

Making up the little felt creatures are just as fun as embroidering on them. The felt is inexpensive, easy to sew (no fraying seams to mess with), color happy, versatile and very forgiving! I can choose from any threads available in my cool yarn, thread, wool, filament stash and find a zillion ways to attach them to the felt.

Here are just a few of my beginning pincushions.

Here is the whole gang of un-embroidered, destined to be masterpiece, pincushions. (I told you I had a lot of fun making them up!)

After making these basic ones, I had person request for a special pincushion. I will post that pincushion tomorrow, in a separate entry. *An–ti–ci–pa–tion…*

Embroidery Project Update-Little Teddy Bear Chatelaine-Embroidering Bullion Knot Stitch Daisies

After prepping the draft for the previous post, I took a break from blogging and got back to embroidering the Teddy Bear’s dress pocket. The pocket pattern for the front is for several daisy clusters and a few scattered flowers and buds.

Here is my rough interpretation of the pattern given and my transfer of the ‘dots’ to the fabric for the front pocket. I poked holes in the paper pattern and simply used a pencil to mark the dots where the center of the daisies, bees, flowers and buds go. That was my quick and easy way to transfer the pattern to the fabric.

The embroidered daisies are bullion knot stitches. I’ve made them with a milliner’s needle (9). Here are some still photos of my bullion knots. I come up in the fabric, take a stitch, wrap the thread at the exit end of that stitch, pull thru, pull taut, and secure the stitch. Hopefully, the pictures will help you to see the bullion stitch and the beginning form of the daisies on the dress.

Here is the start of the daisy clusters.

The stems are sewn with a between (12). All the stems are done in stem stitch (novel idea eh?) and the leaves are done in detached chain stitches. This is what the daisies look like at this point.

They aren’t done yet. I am done for the night tonight and will take more photos when I get back to stitching it again tomorrow.

I hope you are having fun. Life needs more fun. Go ahead, have some fun!

Embroidery Project -Little Teddy Bear Chatelaine-Embroidery from Inspirations Magazine

This is the bear that forced me BUY the Inspirations Magazine that started this whole embroidery mess.

I didn’t get any pictures of the bear in the building process, mostly because I hadn’t thought of starting a blog…and I was too excited creating the bear…to really stop to take pictures. (Bad…Bad…shame on the archivist). As you see my little bear is similar to the guru’s bear. She isn’t symmetrical I suppose, but, hey, we are all a little ‘off’ right?

She’s made from felt and DMC embroidery floss. I’ve already been through an amigurumi, bear, doll, and stuffed animal phase, so I have lots of cool doll/bear eyes, and she has a set of brown pearl bear eyes. I think I used a larger mm than called for, simply because I am an amigurumi fan and love the animated larger eye effect. She’s naked now…like all good bears are.

I have the materials for the dress and accessories and have managed to cut out the little dress. It’s almost ready to embroidered. Here is the material and the little dress cut out. It’s a greenish upholstery like fabric. The pocket is the hourglass shape part each has a fusible pellon on the reverse side. The other pieces are the dress bodice. I have the basic embroidery design penned out on that little sheet of paper there. Now, all I have to do is transfer the design spots with an HB pencil…then VOILA! off to embroider the pocket!

I will have to grab a few photos of it as I actually get to embroidering it. Which could be NOW!

Go ahead, try it, make a bear! Have some fun.

In the Beginning-A Few More Embroidered Quilt Squares

Even if you are an absolute new, fresh, never done embroidery, beginner, I encourage you to just jump in and give ANY project a try. Even if the results don’t come out picture perfect to your ‘ideal’, you will have a lot of fun giving it a go! Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun!

After completing my very first embroidery project ever, a quilt square found in Inspirations Magazine, I went ahead, in between stitching the yellow faery/fairy and the bougainvillea, and embroidered a few more squares from the quilt pattern. These are all embroidered on calico with a light stabilizer ironed on the back before stitching. Each pattern was traced to vellum then transferred via light-box and HB pencil. They are really fun to stitch and I really like the results.

I am using these squares as small curtains to hang as closures for the new bedside table we designed for my mom. I think the soft curtain closures will make items within the cabinet more accessible since she will not have to open a full door to get to the goodies stashes in her beside table.