I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Did you know that you can stitch on ...........screen wire??

 It's true!
Throughout the years, the screen doors need to be changed and I always love the rust look of an old screen...........and I have always thought that they had the perfect cross stitch grid to them.

I carefully cut a piece of and old rusted screen, and picked a cross stitch design to fit it.
To keep the rust on the screen and from tainting your floss and hands...........
spray a clear sealer onto the screen and let it dry for 30 minutes. 

Trim away ......as much as you can of the wire strands that are sticking out and do be careful because the edges are still prickly and can poke you! Work your cross stitch design, being careful not to carry over a thread because the screen shows through unlike fabric.  
I also stitched my initials at the bottom.........


I wanted a primitive look to my wire, so I attached mesquite tree limbs to the top and bottom with light jewelry wire. No matter how much I tried to wrap the wire on the side edges, the screen still had places where it poked my fingers.

I cut strips of matching paper and glued them onto the sides.

Now it is a pretty stitched piece to hang either in the window......

or on a porch.  
What do you think?
What is an unusual thing you have stitched or painted on??
I would love to hear.


16 comments:

Wren said...

Amazing! That is so cool!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

WOW! That is really cool! Your piece turned out really lovely.

FlowerLady

Cgirl said...

Hi,
Will you include this pattern and instructions in your pattern book?
I think you are very creative and talented. It is a lovely project.

lil red hen said...

Oh you are so clever!! This is so pretty! I could learn a lot from you in my old age. :)

Cindy said...

Really cool idea! I would never have thought of it.

Bev C said...

Hello Kathleen,

I love it. Now I will be on the lookout for some flywire.

Happy days.
Bev.

Linda said...

It is so beautiful!!! You are very talented, thank you so much for sharing. You have a lovely blog, and I love your background. :)

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

OMGosh! This is so cool. And you found the perfect pattern and hung it in the perfect place. This is just so darned cool!! Oh, BTW, I'm looking forward to that pattern book!
xx, Carol

Preeti said...

That looks so pretty and innovative !:)

KathyB. said...

I never thought to stitch on screen, This opens up a whole new world of crafting possibilities, many of them PRACTICAL crafting possibilities. Now a hole in a screen is simply primitive art waiting to fill it... and boy do I have a few screens needing art !

Lovely, Kathleen.

A Colorful World said...

What a really fun idea! I love it! You are always coming up with such artistic ideas. I think this would be the perfect "Welcome" sign on the side of a house!

A Colorful World said...

I wanted to come back and thank you for your kind comments about my newest quilt! I know where every mistake is, and can't imagine putting it in the quilt show...maybe I'll be brave enough next year. :-) Glad you came over to look at it.

Marianne said...

Kathleen, it's been ages. I've missed so much on your blog. Oh, your pin cushions are divine! And the cross-stitching on the screen look wonderful! You really are so talented. I hope your shop is doing well. I'm trying to finish my second book.

Hugs,
Marianne

Debra said...

this is just wonderful! What a great idea.

letslearnembroidery said...

This is a great idea.Never thought of that!

janice15 said...

It's just beautiful.. I love it a great window.. with love Janice