Well, Bronwyn of Red Brolly Designs didn't disappoint with her latest embroidery design for Block Six of 'Le Jardin Quilt'. The pattern was posted on her blog at the end of last week and as I may have mentioned, I was really excited to get started!!
I had plenty of time for stitching this weekend so I was able to get the block embroidered and then pieced. It is a fabulous little design and I loved working on it. Don't you just love those little snails?!!
It was fun to try out the new stitch that Bronwyn included in this block, ribbed spiders web stitch. It was used for the morning glory flowers and I embroidered mine using a varigated silk thread in purple.
I am very excited how this quilt is taking shape. Here is a glimpse of how my quilt top is looking to date. (Sorry the photography isn't brilliant!)
Looking forward to next month!!!
I was very excited to discover earlier today that Bronwyn Hayes of Red Brolly Designs had posted the pattern for the next block of 'Le Jardin' Quilt. It is another fabulous design (thank you Bronwyn!) So, I immediately printed off the instructions and sorted out some background fabric ready to get started.
In this month's post Bronwyn has included a tutorial for a lovely new stitch called the 'ribbed spiders web' stitch. This is a stitch I haven't heard of before, so I am keen to try it out. Also in the post is a diagram of the final layout for the quilt which indicates the blocks that have been completed so far. If you are interested in making this quilt yourself, I have posted pictures of all the blocks I have stitched so far, together with links to the original patterns on the Red Brolly website at the top of the page under the heading 'GOSC: 2013'.
Now I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening watching the TV with my embroidery in hand!
Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!
Would you like to know what I have done with all the little embroideries I have recently finished? Well, I made them into mug rugs (chicken and sheep embroideries) and several small wall hangings (all the rest!). Here they all are:
Chicken
Sheep
Cow
Pig
Wheelbarrow
Kokeshi
And Purple Hearts.
This is a small wall quilt that I actually made some while ago and it includes some fusible web appliqué (centre heart) as well as embroidery.
Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed making them!!
Hello, I'm just back from a trip to the UK. I had several reasons for going. Firstly, to get my youngest daughter safely settled into her university accommodation. Secondly, to get my eldest daughter moved into a new flat before she starts her further education and, last but not least, to visit my family.
The day before the girls and I left to travel to England my son also returned to his studies at university, so there have been many 'au revoirs' over the last 10 days!! *sniff* It was fun getting the girls settled and sharing their excitement for their new adventures. It was also a good excuse to go shopping to find some fun, decorative items for their rooms and I really enjoyed spending some time with my family.
It is always nice to find a few 'crafty' items to bring home with me too and I am looking forward to reading these two magazines that I found.
The first is a lovely crochet magazine called 'Love Crochet' published by 'Immediate Media'. It has some cute patterns in that I know I shall enjoy making. (I have already had requests from both daughters, my mum and my sister for the owl on the front cover!)
The second is 'Craft and Click' magazine published by 'Future' which combines information about craft and internet applications which I am hoping will help me to get a bit more up-to-date with technology!!
I also managed to buy a lovely charm pack of 'Wildflower Wood' fabric and some coordinating ribbon both designed by Lynette Anderson. The colours of the fabrics are really beautiful and I will put them to good use making something from Lynette's lovely book 'Stitch it For Spring' which I bought earlier in the year.
Coming home, it was very strange as the house now seems VERY empty after a busy Summer with everyone here. *sniff* Luckily I do have these two bundles of mischief to keep me company!!
making cute little embroideries! I have really and truly caught the stitchery bug!! As soon as I have finished one little stitchery I want to start another!! I think it is because they require so little effort to prepare and very few raw materials. Just choose a design; cut a square of background fabric; press it well (I use spray starch); trace the design onto the fabric (I tape the design to a window and then tape the background fabric over that); press some fusible interfacing to the back (this prevents any threads at the back showing through); place in an embroidery hoop and off you go! Perfect for stitching in the garden while enjoying some sunshine!!
Here are my latest finished embroideries, trimmed and ready to make into something pretty!!
Hope you like them!
I think I may have mentioned previously that I love books. Especially quilt or craft related books. Well I have just acquired two new very scrumptious books!
The first is a book called '101 Ways to Stitch, Craft, Create for all Occasions'. As the title implies, this book is full of wonderful crafty ideas for various different occasions. It is a compilation of patterns written by numerous different designers and published by D&C (David & Charles). The materials and templates for each of the projects can be found at the website of the same name www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk. I am going to enjoy planning some new projects with all the different ideas this book contains!
The second book is called 'Hoop-La!' and is written by Kirsty Neale. This book contains some really fabulous ideas how to use an embroidery hoop decoratively. My head is already buzzing with possible forthcoming projects!!
Happy reading!
I am so excited to show you my completed beehive block. I stayed up late getting it finished but, I am thrilled with the results and I really think it is my favourite block so far of the 'Le Jardin' Quilt I am making. The designer, Bronwyn Hayes of Red Brolly, has created some stunning blocks for this first project for her 'Girls Own Stitching Club'.
This is the finished embroidery all trimmed and ready to be made into the fifth block (there are nine in total).
And, here it is as a finished block ready to be used in the final quilt. The fabrics I am using for my quilt are all 'Tilda' fabrics. My other finished blocks are all pictured under the 'GOSC 2013' tab you can see at the top of the page. I can't wait to see what Bronwyn has in store for the next block!
You may remember a couple of weeks ago me writing a post about niggly ideas and how it is best not to ignore them. Well, at the end of that post I mentioned that I still felt the need to try and make a crocheted handbag mirror cover. I had several plans in mind but, in the end, this is what I made.
I used a crocheted African flower tutorial from Sandra of Cherry Heart. Sandra uses the African Flower to make a pincushion but I used it to make the handbag mirror cover. I simply crocheted two of the flowers and then matching up the sides carefully, I crocheted them together leaving an opening at the top for the mirror to slide into. I did continue the crocheting around the opening so that it was even with the sides and, this enabled me to add a loop at the top for fastening.
Where I changed thread colours I was very careful to finish off the ends tidily and wove them back through the stitches so that the inside looks neat. This meant that I didn't need to line the cover after all. This is the inside and I don't think it looks too untidy!
Here are the two covers (so far!) side by side. I don't think I have finished yet though, as I still have some other ideas buzzing about!!
However, they may have to wait as I am currently crocheting an owl as a gift for a friend.
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