Thursday, September 1, 2011

Embroidery Projects for Donna

by Kelly

Donna recently cleaned out her cedar chest and found a couple of embroidery projects that she wanted finished. Unfortunately, she doesn't embroidery, so she passed them along to me. The first is a pretty pink rose cross stitch pattern.


Unfortunately, since the hoop and needle were left on the fabric before the project was put away, there are quite a few rust stains. I tried some stain remover (Zout) with no luck, but now I'm trying a more organic method - lemon juice and sunshine. Supposedly, this will bleach the rust stains away in a few days. If that fails, I will have to search out spot remover containing oxalic acid. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

The second project looks even more fun - embroidered violets and lace.


I get to play with my limited supply of stitch knowledge for this one. I'm going to try twisted chain stitch for the first time. I'll be learning from this video on Needle 'n Thread. Mary's videos are always really easy to follow, so I'm hoping my learning curve will be short - I'm impatient to see what it looks like on this project!

Update - for the finished projects click here.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Quilting Links

by Kelly

Dawn recently posted about the double wedding ring quilting project she and Donna are considering. I am always willing to throw myself headlong into a new project, but I have never quilted before, so I don't know how much I'll be able to contribute. So I have been scurrying around the interwebs, doing some research, and found some sites worth visiting.

 TLC has added a quilting section to their site.

Some other attractions at TLC include : knitting patterns, how to's, and a knitting quiz (part of their GetSmart Challenge), and of course their tips and videos for extreme couponing. Not that I know anyone who clips coupons...

Then there's a tutorial for a pretty lattice work pillow on Sew Sweetness



But since I'm really lazy, I think I would use wide bias tape to form the lattice, rather than piecing it out. And wouldn't this design look cute with a white lattice over rose printed fabric? And then put that pillow on a porch swing??? Now if only I had fabric with roses...or a porch swing...

But for tons of crazy quilting goodness, the best site to visit is one of my favorites, Pin Tangle.  I visit for the lovely embroidery, but quilting is really what Pin Tangle is all about.


Sharon's blog offers embroidery stitch tutorials, free patterns, and a 100 block crazy quilt that she has slowly been sharing, one square at a time. Each block is an individual work of art, and well worth a look. She's only on block fifty, so there are plenty of surprises yet to come.




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