Vintage Crewel Embroidery Kit repurposed

 

I posted about this farm scene crewel embroidery kit a couple of posts back

A Slow Stitched Farm Scene

and I am thrilled to say that I am now finished with it.

As I had previously posted, I chose not to embroider with the included yarn.

Instead of used embroidery floss and added flowers and my own touches to 

make this farm scene come to life.  I also tinted the design with paint before stitching.

 The frame was also included with the kit, and I have decided that I do like

the look of it and will now frame the piece with this frame.

Now.........tell me........

what have your creative hands been busy with?

SCRAPS, SCRAPS........What Will I Do??

(photo borrowed from Internet)

I hope this finds all of you enjoying these hot summer days. If you find it too 

hot to enjoy outdoors, I am sure you all have a great stash of things to start creating with.

Which brings the topic of "stash".......scraps.

I have a good amount of scraps....from fabric scraps, to pieces of yarn and embroidery floss.

I can't seem to want to throw them in the trash, because sometimes, I only need a small piece of fabric, yarn, or embroidery floss when I am working on a project. 

My dear Aunt Faye loved to spend her free time sitting out on the front porch of her home making  squares from small fabric pieces to later make quilts with.  She didn't go to fabric stores to purchase great quantities of fabric, instead she often asked family members for left over pieces of fabric that were no longer needed after they had made clothing for their children. I have given her pieces from my 

own sewing projects.  

She never used patterns, but quite smartly and creatively,  took those small bits of leftover fabric and

made them all work together to make a fabric square. She did all of this by hand, sitting out on pretty days on the front porch.

Many years ago, when she passed away, she left this quilt to be given to me.  I cherish it. 

Stitched, by her, all by hand.........one stitch at a time.

She even quilted it all by hand.

If a quilt expert were to look at it, they would see that none

of those squares come together at the corners and there is no matching

of any of the strips........it was just a simple quilt pieced all together from

snippets and scraps of fabric and then made into a wonderful warm quilt that could

be used on cold winter nights. 

I have come across this very good tutorial on what to do with all of the scraps of fabric one might accumulate.  It's not about storage, it's about sewing these bits and pieces to make something pretty and functional.

If you are interested, you can click onto this link

SCRAP FABRIC - HOW TO USE EVERY SMALL SCRAP & CRUMB

I haven't much to show you by my own needle. I am still busy stitching away, .........just not finished with anything .  

I did decide to work on tin cans that I have been saving up.  I saw this idea on Pinterest.

I first painted the cans

I then painted them with different designs.  After painting was done, 

my sweet husband drilled holes in the top of the cans and on the painted lids for me.

I used old costume jewelry beads (another stash) and made

dangling strands.  I now have these hanging in the trees of our outside sitting 

area and on the porches.  

They are fun to make.

I hope this finds you are enjoying these summer days and that your hands 

are busy , happily creating what you love to create.

Now is it as if Spring had never been,

And Winter but a memory and dream,

Here where the Summer stands, her lap of green

Heaped high with bloom and beam...

~Madison Julius Cawein (1865–1914), "Heat"

 

A Slow Stitched Farm Scene

 

Hello everyone, I hope this finds you are enjoying pleasant spring weather.

I once again have started another stitching project.  This is a crewel kit with yarn for the stitching. It is from 1981 and I found it a while back in a "junk box" at one of my favorite junk stores. I paid only a dollar for it because it had terrible water stains on the fabric piece. 

I first was able to remove some staining with washing, and then decided to watercolor paint the background to help the stain look less noticeable.

Instead of using the yarn, ........I do not like yarn for stitching..........

I chose embroidery floss and plan to use different embroidery techniques 

to embroider and add to the farm scene

The latest stitching I have done is to add daisies along side of the bran. 

I consider this piece as another slow stitch piece, deciding on what to add to it

as I move along.  

So tell me, what have you been keeping your hand busy doing?

I would love to hear!

Slow Stitching With Vintage Dresser Runner (continued)

 

It has been a year since I posted about this vintage dresser runner that 

I decided to create a slow stitching piece from.  

You can find that post here

Slow Stitch Project

I must say, I placed it away in my work basket, getting lost with other 

embroidery and crochet projects, and just now started back to work on it.

I haven't added a lot, but I have embroidered the butterfly

and I have embroidered a few more decorative stitching to the edges of 

fabric pieces I have added.

I decided that a row of pink bullion roses would be 

perfect to tie in with the original embroidered scroll.  I 

hope to have more to show you in my next post as I am

hoping to discipline myself to continue stitching on this piece

at least once a week, if not more. 

I came across this sweet design on the internet and wanted to 

embroider it for someone who is very special to me.........my niece , who has two little girls. 

I was concerned about embroidering the hair to make it look like hair.

I did not want to stitch the hair and then braid long lengths for the pony tail

braids. As this is going to be on a cotton towel and in time those braids 

will fray and look bad.

So I took a lot of time embroidering the hair in place. I also tinted the clothing and added 

the embroidered flowers and dots.

I embroidered the quote because we all know how quick

our children do not stay "little" for very long. 

This year is moving along as fast as last year and now

Easter is upon us. I wish you all a blessed and happy 

Easter day! 

My heart sings with the robins in the rain.

For I remember it is Easter morn,

And life and love and peace are all new born,

And joy has triumphed over loss and pain.

Alice Freeman Palmer (1855–1902), "On a Gloomy Easter"

"Give me away, aside, from the noise of the world................"

 I have kept many cross stitch magazines that I purchased in the late 80s and 90s......marking the pages of the patterns that I hoped to cross stitch at some point.  As you all know.........life, with it's twists and turns, can make hoped for projects to be forgotten and to take a back seat.  

However, I do drag out the large box that holds these magazines once in a while and spend a few hours going through them.                                                                        

This serene pattern came from a 1994 issue of Cross Stitch & Country Crafts.

I love scenes with country houses and sheep.

I cross stitched this on Zweigart Belfast Antique White 32 count linen

I used a vintage painted metal embroidery hoop to frame it

and using brown paper to seal, I also wrote a quote by Walt Whitman on the back.

"Give me,away, aside from the noise of the world, a rural domestic life...."

And now with this done.........I'm off to find my needle to start something new.

Tell me, do you have magazines or books from the past with projects waiting for you to begin?

I would love to hear.

Happy Valentines Day

 

I had rather be loved than to be called a king in earth, or a lord in Heaven.

                                         Emily Dickinson 1956

A New Year.......A New Idea

Here it is a new year.  And like most of you creative dears out there, I have several things started for both embroidery and crochet.  Unfortunately, I have nothing "note worthy" to show you here and these projects will take me some time to accomplish.  With that being said, I thought I would share with you some inspiration for an embroidery/patchwork project on this post by sharing with you a small YouTube video..........where would we be with YouTube.........have I said that too much here??  I find sometimes when I am in one of my creative "stall" moments and I just don't feel motivated to move on.......YouTube gives me that inspiration push to work on at least something. So here is  this little piece of inspiration:

Tell me now, have you started a new project for embroidery, quilting, crocheting, or something else?

I would love to hear 

Wishing you a very happy New Year!

 

The Christ-Mouse || A Christmas Short Film ....Wishing You A Merry Christmas!

Wishing You A Blessed Thanksgiving

 

Gingham Embroidery

There is just something so soothing about gingham embroidery for me

I love counted cross stitch

but the gingham squares are a lot bigger and there is not so much worry

about keeping count as I do  with the linen and aida.

On late afternoons, when I am particularly tired, but still 

want to stitch something pretty, I have turned my needle's 

attention to this. 

I'm feeling a little low.......yesterday I had to take my sweet Taboo to the vet and put him down.

He was a little over 10 years old and started getting ill. My heart is really missing him.

So tell me........what do you like to stitch......or create....

that is relaxing ?  I would love to hear.

 

from my needle

 

There is a far sweet song in autumn

That catches at my throat,

I hear it in each falling leaf

And in each wild bird's note...

George Elliston, "Mine Own," Bright World, 1927

 

Plaid Shirt Cross Stitch

 Hello everyone, I hope this finds you enjoying pleasant late summer days.  I think I have mentioned somewhere in the past that I like men's shirts.  They are made with very good fabric , they are not tailored......I don't do well with tailored clothing, and for some reason, some men's shirts come in the most lovely shade of  pink.  I don't want to wear a man's shirt that looks like a man's shirt, I always embroider on them or add lace trim.

While browsing through a thrift store, I came across a man's shirt with a very tiny plaid design........the only reason I purchased it..........well also because it was oversized and would be perfect to wear. When I saw the tiny black and white grid, I instantly thought.........cross stitch!

I purchased this shirt many years ago and just now decided to start cross stitching a design onto it. .

I also have had this rose design in an old cross stitch booklet that I have always wanted to stitch.  It was perfect for this shirt.

Now I am trying to decide whether I want to cross stitch more rose work on this shirt for a more elegant look, or do I want to cross stitch different motifs for a cooky laid back shirt.  What do you think?  There is a lot of shirt and space to still cross stitch.

If you read my last post, I was in the beginning stages of crocheting a flower.  

I finished it and hope to start crocheting more at a later date.

Thank you all for praying for our state of Texas and for those impacted with the horrific flooding. It did not happen in our area, but we are all saddened with all that has unfolded. 

So tell me what you are doing with your creative hands during these last days of summer. I always love to hear about what you are doing and creating.

 

PLEASE KEEP TEXAS IN PRAYER

 

Hello Summer!

Summer has arrived so quickly, bringing with it , the lovely blossoms in all colors. 

All of this has inspired me to make some flowers from the fabric scraps I have in my stash.

There are a lot of wonderful YouTube videos with great tutorials on how to make these. 

A wonderful book I ordered just came the other day and I have been busy crocheting on the the flowers from the patterns.  The book is titled Blossoms In Yarn  A Comprehensive Guide To Crocheting Flowers and can be found on Amazon.

The book refers to this as a daisy, but I think it is looking more like a zinnia.  Do you think so?  Tell me what your hands are busy with during these hot summer days?

I would love to hear!

 

You can do this......I know you can!

 For me, it all begins with ....

Then, I search and I get

and the enjoyment of selecting

Then I spend the first hour

The days, the weeks, maybe into months

I get the enjoyment of taking my time and

and then I am excited and delighted with

I even feel a sense of accomplishment!

It wasn't so long ago that I would look at a pattern like this and be intimidated....telling myself that it is too complicated for me to understand.........but with the help of two good friends, one who showed me how to begin crochet with a simple chain stitch, and another friend who I could always call and she would explain a certain stitch to me..(this is before we had internet).....I managed to learn to make these types of doilies, bit by bit, over a long period of time and patience.  One important thing I did learn  and that really got me to understand how to crochet the things I wanted, was through the help of two lovely ladies who had a tiny little yarn shop in my town and showed me how to read the steps slowly.  

Now, especially in the days of "you tube" tutorials there is no reason that anyone can not do this same crocheted piece. I promise!  If you want to crochet a pretty piece, any piece, be ready to take your time........this is important.

On reading the steps, it was explained to me that just as we all learned in English grammar, periods mean to stop reading and pause. So read your first sentence in a step....or row and do that one thing before reading and going farther.  Once you have done that, read the second sentence in the step and so on. 

Which brings me back to the internet and "you tube".  If you do not understand a term or you are struggling .......simply find a crochet video on you tube, type the sentence from your pattern onto the screen, and a video with the steps ,while also showing you how to work the stitch, will come up.  The greatest thing about this is that  you can pause the video, work your thread, and go back to understand it again and again. 

You do not need to buy a lot of thread.....in fact I would advice to buy only what your pattern will tell you that you need.  I was very lucky to find the box of crochet thread in the above photo at an estate sale .......the whole box was only two dollars. That would be a great place to look, but do make sure you will have enough thread to finish your piece.  

You can find crochet patterns online, crochet books and booklets online and at craft stores as well as the hooks and thread.

The doily pattern for this doily came out of this booklet.

 So....come on.......you can do it!...........go grab up some crochet hooks, some pattern booklets.......and some very pretty crochet thread for doilies, not yarn...and enjoy being creative!

  I hope to hear about what you have chosen, what your struggles are, and hopefully get to see your finished piece!