Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Beginning Stitchery Basics...


I have been following a wonderful blog named elefantz written and shared by the very talented Jenny. Jenny has begun 2015 as "A Year of Gentle Domesticity" and this really spoke to me.  In my quest of enjoying every day to the fullest I am joining Jenny in her monthly stitchery subscription and swap. Well...hesitantly I must say as my embroidery skills are very rusty and I left them back in the 70's with flowers and peace signs and the "hippy" movement.  Back then I stitched on everything...shirts, jeans, blouses, hankies...nothing was spared.


I found my light box and got busy.  Did I have the "right" pen...no but that didn't stop me.  I traced one of Jenny's patterns I received in my monthly Stitchery program subscription.  What a treat!


Here I have completed my tracing and I do believe it looks rather like the pattern.  Good news.


Then I ironed on the stabilizer in preparation for stitching with needle and thread.  What?  Really? How could I do that?  "Did I do that?"  (I can hear Urkel saying it to this day!)


Drat!  I immediately tried to pull off the warm stabilizer.  No such luck.  I had ironed it onto the front side of my pattern instead of the backside.  How did I do that?  No saving this piece.  Seems I need to pay much better attention to what I am doing.


Okay here I am tracing the pattern once again.  This time I now have a much smarter pen to use.  It has a finer line.


Here it is all ready to iron on the stabilizer to the BACKside.


Success!  I finally have needle and thread bringing this to life.  I will share the finished project at a later time.  Do you embroider?  Do you have any hints or tips for me?  I am definitely ready for any updates since the 1970's Flower Power stitching days.
We are having glorious weather.  Sunshine and mid 50's F during the days and nights with lots of damp moisture.  We still desperately need rain.  Now the ski resorts are having to close for lack of snow.  This is really sad news for not only economic purposes but truly for our watertables.
I spent Sunday at my local Chamber hostessing the Visitor Center.  When I signed up many weeks ago I didn't realize this past weekend was our annual Film Festival.  Boy was I busy with visitors.  I had families from as far away as New York and Hungary.  Amazing how our little historic town draws people.  I have added the link if you want to check it out and make plans to visit in 2016.
I am hoping you are enjoying your Creative Bliss...I am doing just that.  Being creative makes me so happy.  My sewing machine is humming along.  My paper and punches and glue and ribbons are happily creating Valentines.  What are you creating?  I'll be sharing some things soon.  Blessings and safety to all in icy conditions...

19 comments:

  1. You certainly put your <3 into it, Sherry! It's precious!

    Hugs,
    Kelley~

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  2. I tried crewel work in the 70s. My dad loved the two pieces I made for him, but I was very dissatisfied with my stitches and never returned to embroidery. Maybe when I retire...

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  3. I too embroidered things all over my shirts and jeans in the '70's when I was in my teens and early 20's. I still love to embroider by hand too. I like sweet embroidery you are working on. Enjoy stitching Sherry.

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  4. Awkk... a mis-fire for the start of this with the stabilizer. But all will be well, and I love the design. I love embroidery, too. Very relaxing and portable. One tip is what you are already doing and that is to use a double layer of fabric or layer of stabilizer to avoid the thread shadowing through and to prevent drawing up and distortion from stitching. The other is to use good quality floss that is "color-fast", esp. for reds. You do NOT want this to run if it every gets damp or is part of something that might be washed. Maybe even color test your floss by wetting and placing on a paper towel to see if the color holds if you have floss without a label. Thread Heaven is a nice product, too, to prevent tangling and help with smooth stitching.

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  5. Oh my! I could have done that too , dear Sherry, how tirering to be then doing it all over again. But the embroidery looks so sweet, and lovely, , I love the blue you are using, and the motife is wonderful. Have fun my friend.
    Hugs, Dorthe

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  6. This looks beautiful now, I can't wait to see the finished piece!! I have never tried embroidering...I'm not very good with a needle and thread. And I feel for you ironing on the wrong side...I do stuff like that all the time. Just the other day, I finished the front of a card, went to add a sentiment to the inside and stamped on the wrong side!! Gah!! So it happens to us all :) I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  7. You seem to be creating on all fronts, Sherry! I am not much of an embroiderer but I do seem to like it especially as I am starting a crazy quilt. Please pass on the tips! :)

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  8. What a beautiful piece! Sorry that you had to do it over because of the stabilizer on the wrong side :( I never was good at embroidery but in the 70's I used to do a lot of counted cross-stitch.

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  9. I love any type of embroidery...your work is coming along wonderfully! BUT....oh my...been there...done that my friend!

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  10. wow super cute my dear..
    big hugs x

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  11. I used to do such a lot of embroidery, but haven't done any for years. Now you have inspired me to get out my threads and needles again. Can't wait to see your finished project.

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  12. Ooh, it's looking lovely so far Sherry, can't wait to see the finished article! The only embroidery I've ever done (apart from sewing a basic felt teddy bear at school), is cross stitch which I enjoyed very much at the time although these days my eyesight is not as good and I prefer quicker results xx

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  13. I'm laughing with you, not at you...been there, done that! Such a cute pattern so I'm glad you're off and stitching with it on the right side. Hopefully, you'll get some rain soon!

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  14. That's a cute pattern, Sherry, and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with your needle and thread. I find embroidery to be so peaceful and relaxing. Hope you do, too!

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  15. So cute! I love the pattern, and good for you for giving this a whirl, regardless of your mishap... It's such a wonderful thing. I have no tips for you... I do embroider but I can see from the quality of your work shown here you need no help at all!
    I'm sorry to hear of the lack of snowfall - I do hope your drought eases soon.
    Enjoy your stitchery Sherry!

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  16. Like you I am always ironing or working on the wrong side of the fabric or whatever I am working on!!! I haven't embroidered in years either, but found it relaxing way back when I did. Can't wait to see your finished project. Oh I hate to hear that you are once again in need of water....Time to do the rain dance

    Carol

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  17. Oh dear, lol, this is so recognizable. But I'm glad to hear you enjoy doing embroidery again! It's such a joyful thing to do, gives me so much peace. Wishing you lots of joy with this beautiful piece-in-the-making. Big hugs and lots of water wishes coming your way

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  18. I've never heard of stabilizer before. Will have to look that up. I might need to know what it is if I ever decide to embroider. Very cute pattern. Best wishes, Tammy

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  19. What a cute design! Jenny has gorgeous patterns. Your stitching looks great to me!

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