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, August 30, 2018

I fell in love with this 1930s garden scene linen

that someone had started embroidery work on. I purchased 
a junk box of old linens, and this was inside. 
It was heavily stained

and I set about soaking it...........two times, yet 
the stains were still very noticeable.  I thought about
soaking it once again for a long term, but noticed
that the embroidery transfer was also fading and I did '
not want to lose the embroidery lines. 

So I retraced over all of the transfer design with a very fine
tip micron  pen, after that,


I lightly tinted the whole design , covering much of the stains.
Some of the embroidery work was also very loose and 
worn

and some of the design I did not like the choice of embroidery stitch,
So, some of the embroidery stitching I let stay, because it really is pretty.
For the frayed stitching, I removed and will work other embroidery over it.
I will show you different sections as I work on this piece over the next few weeks......months?
Such as the photoed section  above. I decided to work on this upper corner first.
  The black lattice was very frayed and 
I dd not like the turquoise roses   

I decided to work red bullion roses with a green spray of leaves
and  the pine shrub in the back 

I chose to work in a darker green

Along with this work I am also working on this set
that I received as a present many,many years ago.
I never seemed to "get around" to start embroidery work
with it.  I want so to have this completed by Halloween
or Thanksgiving

The only hurdle........this is how the chart is........sigh
The company double printed it.
Have any of you ever had this problem with a chart? 

and it is a struggle to read.  I had once emailed the company to see
if they could replace the chart for me......but they said it was 
out of print. However, I have a great sewing light and good
sewing glasses

and the embroidery is coming along well. 

I am embroidering both ends of the table runner at 
the same time. The reason??........
If I have a large design such as this on both ends of a table 
runner, I tend to tire after I have finished the first end and 
take a long time getting to work on the other. This way , I 
will have both ends finished at the same time!
Do you ever do that??

Now I just have to keep working at it to get it all done.........
as long as I prevent myself from getting bit by a rattlesnake.
You can read about what almost happened to me yesterday morning
on my country blog at this link
How about you?  Are you working on something 
to decorate with for the holidays? 
I would love to hear!


Monday, August 6, 2018

The last mason jar on the back of my shirt has been finished


if you have not read about this in my other post, you 
can click onto this link  Mason Jar Shirt
 about the beginning 
of the work on this shirt


This jar had small flowers that remind me of wild roses, 
mixed with berries to go with the berry jam

and a couple stalks of wheat
The first jar has Queen Ann's Lace

The second jar has forget me nots and poppies


here are the jars when I first tinted the design

and here they are, all embroidered 

I now need to embroider the upper back, the sleeves, and the front..
I have many hours of stitching ahead.
Still not sure if I will wear this when I go to town or 
if I will just enjoy wearing it at home in my gardens.
So tell me
what are you busy creating?
I would love to hear!