Garden embroidery

Today I am finishing off a garden themed embroidery that I have been working on for a little while now.  She is to sit in a little rectangular frame I jazzed up (or jazzed down, as it was turquoise with a picture of FOUR TROUTS, (yes as in the fish,) and is now trusty old cream!)  Hopefully she will help to brighten the walls of my living room on this grey day...

 

I am missing all the sunshine already.  Standing on one leg, stretched out with tinfoil in my hands, trying desperately to reflect some light into these photos... Oh the glamour!

 

 

P.S. Don't tell anyone, but I've been watering my plants all summer with water from washing up bowls, not a posh watering can!  Happy Sunday all x 

 

Love is all you need...

Hello, apologies its been such a long time since my last post.  The reason behind this is my daughter and her naps... or lack or them.  The terrible twos have hit and now I am no longer getting my window of crafting time.  I swear there are not enough hours in the day! 

 

I finally got to do some sewing at the weekend and was feeling inspired by a "HOME" picture I had seen ages ago by Dottie Angel, with a doily for the O in HOME (sorry I can't seem to find the original photo anywhere, but it was very similar to this image.) So I donned a floaty skirt to get me in the vintage sewing zone and set to work...

 

 

I have had this old picture frame (which I saved from the dustbin/freebie) knocking around for ages, and all the fabrics were either thrifted or from my scraps box.  The letters were all machine sewn on and I hand stitched the doily on around all the twirly whirly hoops with contrasting pink thread.  (It took a very long time!)

 

 

I also hand sewed this little hanging heart, to sit alongside the picture frame.

 

 

I even gave cross stitch a go for the first time in about twenty years.  It really was quite therapeutic! 

 

 

Slowly our little housie is becoming more and more homely... 

 

 

Happy little housie, happy little me :o)

 

 

 

Doily designs

I've been struck with inspiration over the weekend.  Although not much actual sewing has gone on, I've been working on lots of ideas, laying out fabrics, deciding on colours, playing around with composition, etc.  Quite often the actual design process can be more difficult than the sewing and putting together of pieces!

 

I have been gathering quite a nice little collection of doilies of late.  Although I fear someone else is now buying up all the lace pieces, as there were none in my favourite charity shop on Friday.  Not even any of the odd ones I had discarded the previous week, thinking I shouldn't really buy so many in one go, oh dear!  Oh well, I'm sure if I bumped into this other doily enthusiast, we would probably get on rather well.  Spread the doily love!

 

 

Here's a little glimpse of what I've been working on:

 

 

I'm hoping to add a lovely large tear drop chandelier piece to this one, as I think it will work well with the shimmery voile and metallic threads.

 

 

Feeling inspired by all the wonderful sunny weather we had this week, I almost forgot myself as its now snowing.  I can't wait to get out in the garden and get planting!

 

 

A wee pink number.

 

 

Last but not least, my current favourite, as I love all the bright colours.  I am also rather fond of this little beige doily.

An afternoon of sewing

Today I have been busy as a bee, sewing myself into a cross-eyed stupor all of the afternoon. 

 

 

I have made two tiny owl brooches, which I am hoping to add to my new Folksy shop in the next few days. (Need to work out the packing and logistics of the shop before I start selling.)

 

 

The brooches are all made by hand, with lots of teeny tiny embroidery stitches including back stitch, satin stitch and blanket stitch in DMC embroidery silks.

 

 

 

I also spent a pretty few hours on this little squirrel, who is made with a combination of machine and hand embroidery, including back stitch, French knots, satin stitch and a complicated one called battlement filling stitch.  I was going to make the squirrel into a little brooch too, but I quite liked the peachy orange colour against the rose print cream fabric.  I might keep him in the hoop yet and add a little more to the picture. I was thinking...

 

 

 I may applique the speech bubble and hand embroider the text with couching stitch.  Still in the thought process at the moment.  I don't know if its a bit inappropriate now I have a child, but she can't read yet, so I figure I can get away with it!