Now that our living room has been re-painted a delightful shade of yellow I've been attempting to decorate it and make it cozy. I had big plans to finish spraying my old picture frames gold this weekend but Mother Nature decided to put a hitch in that plan and sent us rain and wind all weekend. Unwilling to have gold spray paint blown back in my face, I abandoned that project for another weekend and set my sights on a new craft.
EMBROIDERY. Sounds a bit scary, especially to a girl that's never sewn more than a button. I'm not kidding when I say this though, it was so easy! Not to mention fun and satisfying. Seriously, the only skills you need the ability to trace a pattern and thread a needle. I made 4 lovely little pieces this weekend and even learned a new stitch, the split stitch.
Originally, I had planned to learn to cross stitch but I just couldn't commit to learning so many stitches, rules and what not. There are absolutely no rules or right ways to embroider and that is much more appealing to a free spirit. I lucked out and found two fantastic and helpful stitching/craft blogs, Wild Olive and Feeling Stitchy. They gave great tips about needles, thread, types of stitches etc. They both even offer free patterns which I took advantage of. Bad Birds also offers some super cute free patterns.
I used my computer screen as a make shift light box for tracing and taped the fabric right to the screen. I read about using transfer pencils and tracing paper then ironing it onto the fabric but I simply couldn't get that to work. All in all I was extremely satisfied with my results. Especially when I learned the split stitch. It made my projects look like I'd been sewing for ages. I may have finally found my talent and I'm so happy! I can't sing, I don't play an instrument, I'm not artistically gifted at drawing/painting but by golly I can trace and stitch!
Funny Story: My sweet but elderly boss (whose altar ego is Hitler) inquired about my weekend and I told her about learning to embroider. Her only response, "You've become so domesticated." Ugh thanks? I hate to tell her, but I wasn't stitching my sampler like a good colonial girl (although, Felicity Merriman was my favorite American Girl doll, so I might make one in her honor!) I was stitching gnomes and bunnies and a Pegasus. Maybe one day she'll get me.
Here's so poor quality pics of what I made. Not to shabby for first attempts if you ask me but I could be biased.
Very first one!
Attempt at letters, before I learned the split stitch.
Not quite finished but you get the idea
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