My late mother-in-law was an amazing tatter! This last week my husband and I spent a few days in the farm house that is still decorated with her needlework and it felt so good to be surrounded by her pieces. My father-in-law passed away last fall - as is common in more Northern climates, his service was postponed until this summer when everyone could gather to say good-bye.
I love this piece with motifs joined together with tatting ...
and the tatting edged embroidery.
I was surprised to see this crazy quilt!
Great details ....
I have warm memories of sitting together and talking, each with our own needlework!
Happy Creating! Deborah
Remember the sheep from January's silk painting? They're back! This time I'm using them in an embroidery pattern. I put them on a kitchen towel, however they would look cute on other things such as pillowcases or children's clothing.
Materials:
*kitchen towel or fabric - the diaper fabric I use to clean my glasses is working so well, I decided to try it out on dishes
*embroidery floss - I used a variegated brown, a variegated black/gray, dark green, light green, two colors of peach, and black
*transfer paper
*pattern found here
I used embroidery transfer paper to put the design onto the fabric and then went over it with a sharp pencil to help the lines show up better.
Sew all the lines with an outline stitch, the flower petals with a lazy daisy stitch, and the eyes of the sheep and centers of the flowers with french knots - all with two strands of floss. It was hard to keep french knots from coming through this fabric, so I tied a knot after each on the back of the fabric and that seemed to help.
Some of you have asked how I deal with tying off embroidery floss without knots. There are a few different ways to deal with this. I leave about 4 inches when I begin each strand ...
... and when I finish using the thread I weave it through floss on the back of the design a few times ...
... and then trim the threads close to the fabric. Then I go back to the four inches of floss I left at the beginning, thread it through the needle, and weave it in the same way.
Happy Creating! Deborah
Some color inspiration from one of my favorite places on Earth! I was lucky enough to spend two days in Yellowstone National Park this summer ...
Color palette generator is from Big Huge Labs.
Happy Creating! Deborah
Here's a quick project that ended up very cute! I had some lace left over from the denim crazy quilt, had a denim jacket for little c I've been meaning to embroider on ... I love denim and lace, so this was meant to be.
I laid the lace in several different positions and took photographs of the ones I liked the best. It's easier for me to decide between different designs if I can actually see them next to each other. The one on the far right won!
I sewed the lace on by hand - that doesn't sound quick, but it really was. Less than one evening of America's Got Talent! And no, that's not a sewing injury. It's my annual thumb gash while making apple butter - I bought a Kevlar glove for next year.
The finished front ...
... the finished back ...
... and little c modeling - while telling Grandpa how to pack the car for the beach!
Happy Creating! Deborah
