I made time to craft this weekend. It was much needed. I've been thinking that I want something to do later in the evening that won't take so much brain power but serves as a creative outlet just the same. I have always wanted to work on my embroidery skills; I began at www.colonialpatterns.com to see what was available online. I've seen the Aunt Martha's patterns ALL over, so I thought I'd just go to their home site.
{* As a side note here - they are an American family owned business. Support them! They sent me two messages letting me know how much they appreciate my support for their business. They are incredible. I had my order in two days and they also threw in a free transfer pattern: Rock'n & Roll'n. :) They went the extra mile, so I thought I'd share and go my mile.}
For my project. I started on a dish towel using a design from Kitch'n Stitch'n. {I love the toast and the teapots -argh, so fun!}
I cut out the design I wanted from the sheet {I think it was 18" x 24"}. I heated my fabric up before I placed the transfer on it. I pressed it for about 5 seconds. Each transfer can be used several times.
A color chart comes inside the "Stitchers Revolution" line of transfers. I LOVED IT! If you look at the bottom of the chart, there are blocks of color names that they suggest. How easy is that? Yeah, I don't have to think. Love It!!
I picked the colors from my floss box that matched most closely to the color chart that came in the package.
OH! You'll need needles. I picked these up at Millie P's quilt shop in downtown Anoka, MN. {I want to visit the Mary Arden website.} I used one of these. I didn't see how they were any more special then the Dritz needles I've used previously. I guess I just wanted to try something new.
I also purchased a plastic hoop. Hoopity, hoop! I like the wooden ones better. This one became heavy on for my thumb to hold up. I eventually switched to a smaller wooden one. :)
Look at what my mom got me for Easter - BUNNY EMBROIDERY SCISSORS! CUTE adorable, FUN and CUTE! ...did I mention how cute they are? {I sort of have a thing for scissors. I love to look at all the pretty colors and creative designs. I know I'll have a million pair when I die.}
Okay, here's me starting to stitch. I started from the right and worked left, for no reason. I just wanted to.
Fiona wanted to sit on my left, for no reason. Just kidding, she wanted to lay on the heating pad that I had on my lap under my needle work, which she eventually shoved her way onto. LOL
Here's the finished wordage for the dish towel.
And here's the completed project. I worked on this on and off all day yesterday. Today I ran out and got some fabric to make a Kitchenaid cover. I downloaded and printed off the patter for that yesterday too. Ooo, that reminds me now, I need to get that in the dryer after posting this.
That's it for the embroidery project. Here's the last bit of my cutsie tote. I hand stitched the velcro band down. I'm so glad I chose to do it that way. You just can't get such a nice look if you use a machine. I guess "each to their own". I have come to learn that I really like hand sewing.
This next photo? I couldn't remember if I shared my idea on what to do with extra fabric on this blog. I drew up my own teddy bear pattern about a year ago and when I have extra fabric, I make these cute little bears! Today I had the great idea to draw up an owl pattern. They are really trendy right now and I've been bitten by the love-owls-bug. I can't seem to get enough of them. I run google searches just to look at them - tons of them! I'll show ya what I make when the times comes.
Thanks for reading today. I hope I encouraged someone to pick up an easy no-brainer embroidery project. If you get going strong and finish, please take a photo and show me! ---especially if it's of OWLS! :D
Until next week - have a good one!
3 comments:
I like the idea of a project I can do just about anywhere - not confined to my sewing machine or only where there's room to lay out a pattern, etc. So, does the ink from the transfer wash out? Did you buy the dishtowels, or did you make them? What type of fabric did you use? (Assuming some sort of cotton.) Are the embroidery needles different than run-of-the-mill sewing needles? I might have come across some in my hand-me-down stash that didn't have sharp points and I might have recalled those being for embroidery. Does the pattern company also recommend the types of stitches to use? Sorry for all the questions. My only embroidery project in my recollection - perhaps 10 years ago? - was a freebie cross-stitch wreath ornament - the small embroidery hoop also served as the frame for the ornament. Maybe that's where I recall the un-pointy needle, since everything came with the little project kit. Sorry for all the questions, but I might just decide to do an easy no-brainer embroidery project. I'm thinking maybe a pillow case w/ and embroidered hem? Thanks for sharing!
Not being confined to a machine is a good thing too! I I haven't washed my project yet, but I am assuming it will wash out. These patterns have been around for years and I haven't seen other's work with printing still on it.
I bought my dish towels in a pack of 6 from Fleet Farm. I think they were around $2.50 for the bunch of them and they are 100% cotton. But a person could totally make their own. :)
It doesn't matter what needles you use (sharps, quilting betweens, embroidery), it just has to be sharp at the tip. Counted cross stitch calls for a blunt needle (tapestry) so you don't split the threads of the weave.
The "Stitcher's Revolution" package comes with the color chart and it shows how to make the stitch. I have a little book by J & P Coats called "100 Embroidery Stitches" that I use for fancier stitches, such as the Bullioin Knot, Lazy Daisy, etc.
Embroidery takes time, but I've already started my second towel. I want to get some practice in before I stitch up my kitchenaid cover. :) I have plans for a couple pillow shams too and possibly some bedroom curtains. :D
Lovely embroidery project!
Just recently I received an order from
Colonial Patterns and this pattern was one
of the few I got ;-).
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