Stitched Headphone Bag

My latest little project has been making a small headphone bag for travelling.  Because it's going to be tucked into luggage and overnight carrier bags it's main criteria was for it to be padded for protection of the headphones but small enough to be compact and not take up any unnecessary space.  My client (daughter) just asked for a 'quick and simple' bag that "uses up some scraps Mum" / "don't go to any trouble Mum / "leave it up to you Mum".  She knows me far too well now that when faced with a stitching or sewing challenge it's a great opportunity to use my creativity.  And this time was no different.  

I had in mind the shape and style and a little bit of 'googling' helped with the design and how to go about assembling the bag particularly since it was going to include a simple padded and quilted lining. 

The fun part was searching for appropriate and complimentary fabrics and notions from my stash and a lovely design to embroider on the front and back of the bag. I opted for a simple backstitch in an 8 ply DMC ecru Cotton Perle and used bright pink sequins attached with french knots. 

A strip of heavy cotton lace was attached to the upper front mid-section and secured with sequins and french knot centres.  Identically sized pieces were cut of the lining fabric and wadding and then simply quilted.  The two front sections were sewn to the pink zip with a slight extension to the end of the zip allowed for the side seams.  Because I didn't want an exposed seam inside the bag, the next bit was a little fiddly.  It involved sewing the quilted lining (right sides together) around the perimeter and then inverting through the zip opening. The outer fabric was then sewn (right sides together) with an opening left to invert which was then neatly slip-stitched.  Because the headphones have a width to them, I also squared off the both bottom corners of the lining and outer fabric before inverting to accommodate this width.  

As the headphone set also included a small adapter I sewed a small elasticised pocket on the lower inside lining for its safe keeping and easy accessability.

As it's the first time I've made something like this, I'm quite proud of my efforts and have learnt a couple of new skills.  Also learnt from some mistakes too....  I hope it does the trick.

Ros

'Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential'. - Sir Winston Churchill

Teaching Debut with Cats

Recently I was privileged and honoured to be accepted as a tutor with the Queensland Embroiderers' Guild to assist with the 2 day children's holiday classes during the final week of their school holidays.  The necessary paperwork was completed and all tutors handed the kit with explanations for the project that was going to be taught so we could stitch it up ourselves first.  It was an appliqued cat and mouse design using blanket stitch for the applique and fly stitch, stem stitch, chain stitch and french knots for facial and detail features.  The front, backing and wadding were to be then machine sewed around the edges, turned out, slip stitched and a running stitch around the border to finish off.

As you can see I worked my blanket stitch to match the stripes and also did a very, very small blanket stitch around the cat's eyes to hold them firmly in place - actually, they looked like pretty eyelashes.

So...the first day of the classes arrived and I was given two sweet and polite 11 year old girls (who were school friends) to help and found out that one of the girls had already taken a couple of QEG holiday classes previously, but for the other girl it was the first time she had picked up a needle and thread.   I helped them select their choice of background fabric, cat fabric and the threads to either match or complement their cat colour choice and I think they really enjoyed that part of the process.  I could see them using their visual skills to imagine the finished look.  We then set to work ironing the design on to the fabric and after showing them how to pull 2 threads from a 6 skein length of thread easily without it becoming knotted and a total mess (they thought that was really cool), set about threading up and learning their first stitch - blanket stitch.  

Now as can be expected - particularly with the first timer - the stitches were a little loopy and uneven to begin with and there was a bit of intervention on my part to help with tension and maneouvring corners and points, but I was really surprised at how quickly they picked up their skills.  By the end of the first day (about 4-5 hours work), one girl had completely finished all the appliqueing of her cat and head, bow and mouse and the other only needed to finish appliqueing the cat's head.  

On Day 2, I enlisted the help of another tutor as I was finding that both the girls were needing one-on-one help with the more finer facial details.  I must admit too that I felt this was quite intricate work for learners so it was important to help them as much as possible. By lunchtime their work was at the stage of machine stitching the layers together around the edge (done only by one of the ladies who had been delegated this job) which just left the turning out, slip stitching and running stitch around the edge to be completed before the end of the class.

I asked the girls' permission to photograph their work and because they were just so proud of themselves happily agreed.   

This first piece was done by the young girl who had taken classes previously.  I think she has created a very friendly looking cat with a rather lopsided smirk and kind eyes.

This piece is the embroidery done by the girl who was a beginner and never threaded a needle in her life before.  Her cat might have a slightly 'detached' head, but yet again a friendly and engaging face and smile.

What was so enjoyable for me was seeing the pleasure and satisfaction that both gained from these classes.  And what I also found interesting was that the beginner admitted she enjoyed Day 2 the best because she learnt different stitches and felt she'd achieved so much.  I could tell they were so, so proud of their efforts and have decided to use their embroidery pieces on their bedside tables as showpieces.  

Both girls want to attend the next holiday classes because they had so much fun and I can honestly admit that I found it a most enjoyable experience also.  It is indeed heartening to see young talent with an enthusiasm towards embroidery.  In this modern age these skills could be considered a lost art because of the younger generation's desire for instant gratification.

Ros

'A person can succeed at anything for which there is enthusiasm' - Charles M Schwab

  

Quilted Case Rules

On a whim a couple of weeks ago I decided to sew a quilted case for my quilting rulers to protect the corners from damage and the possibility of them being accidentally broken or cracked.  It occurred to me that it would be a great way to use up left-over fabric scraps in my stash (of which I have plenty) and a resourceful way to de-clutter.  Cleaning out the pillow-case of scraps brought back wonderful memories of garments that had been made for my daughter when she was very young and even some of my own clothes along with crafts from more recent years so this project really became a collection of memories.  

Firstly I measured a layout of the size and shape that would be needed onto brown paper and then set about blending and sewing the fabrics so the plain and floral colours would be evenly distributed. This was painstakingly done row by row and also in accordance with how much fabric was available for each colour.  The length of each strip in each row was staggered for a brick-like effect.  

But, of course, once the strips were sewn together, the embroiderer in me realised that it could do with a 'bit' of texture and interest here and there which, of course then led to perhaps a 'bit of bling' here and there which then led to filling each plain coloured fabric strip with some form of embroidery and/or beading or sequins.  I'll admit it, I confess ... I was obsessed ... but you see once I had started and could see how beautiful it was looking with just simple embroidery stitches ... alas, I could not stop.

By incorporating simple embroidery stitches of chain, stem, lazy daisy, star, straight, feather, blanket and french knots together with brightly coloured sequins, bugle, seed and pearl beads, it created an incredibly interesting work of art.  Because there was so much bright colour in the fabrics, I decided to only use white stranded cotton and thicker crochet cotton for contrast.  You can see by the above photograph that the edges of the strips were all of a slightly different length but would be neatly cut to the measured size as seen in the photograph below after it had been quilted with contrast fabric and wadding.  I decided to just quilt along the seam of the long strips and not the shorter seams of each strip as I felt this gave enough of an effect without becoming too tedious.

Once this stage had been reached, the blue binding was sewn and slip-stitched into place across the longer top edge before then folding the entire case into shape.

Once this was done blue binding was then sewn and slip stitched into place from the lower folded section through all thickness of front and back, around the overflap and back down the other side.

 A couple of press studs were then hand stitched on the flap and front of the case to ensure the rulers don't move and/or slip out.

This is the back closed view...

and this is the back open view.  After completion, I decided to carefully add a few more sequins on the red section and another backstitched star with seed bead on the black strip as they were on the front flap and 'front and centre' of the project.

I absolutely loved working on this project.  Who would have thought that left-over scraps of fabric, a little imagination and simple embroidery could create something so useful.

Ros

'The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph' - Marvin Phillips

A Bed of Roses

Today I would like to share with you an embroidery project I recently completed - one which gave me much pleasure to work as it incorporated basic stitching techniques, beautifully coloured variegated thread and a flower design.  Anyone who knows me by now will understand my undisputed love of flowers - any flowers - and this rose floral design was something I just couldn't overlook because it was discovered at a time when I had just bought a new doona cover and pillowcases for our updated bedroom and you guessed it .... the bed linen set consisted of roses - antique roses to be precise.  My creative imagination immediately knew it would make a perfect addition to the bed as a rectangle cushion.  And so the fun began.

The pattern is one of Aunt Martha's hot iron transfers where the design is cut and placed on fabric to your own specification.  My choice of hand dyed Australian threads from Cottage Garden Threads were Wattle Blossom (309) - gold, Ash (201) - green, Grand Ridge (411) - purple/brown and Dahlia (909) - pink. These were worked entirely in double strand over the whole design and as you can see by the following close-up photos, the variegated thread helped create an interesting and natural colour blend.

I chose to stitch the roses (Dahlia) and bird (Wattle Blossom) in stem stitch and the rose leaves (Ash) outlined in a small blanket stitch with vein detail in backstitch. The daisies (Grand Ridge) were worked in a very fine chain stitch with satin stitch centres and straight stitch for the detail and the daisy leaves (Ash) in satin stitch.  The rose stems (Ash) were also stitched in stem stitch.  

All was stitched on a natural cream homespun fabric and as I had found a perfectly matching length of rose design fabric, decided to use that as the backing for the cushion and used a couple of pretty buttons from my stash to secure the flap after placement of the insert.  

I guess it only seems appropriate to highlight a project depicting roses so close to Valentines Day, but this beautiful cushion adorns our bed each and every day of the year and is a constant reminder of the many hours of relaxation that went into its creation.

Ros

'Earth laughs in flowers' - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Poppies Birthday Card

Welcome to my blog.

I would like to use this page to showcase not only my own cross stitch designs, but to share with you many of my own personal projects which I've stitched over the years and discuss embroidery and stitching in general.  From time to time, I'd also like to touch on the subject of Australian flora and fauna and how it forms the inspiration for my designs.

First, though, I thought I'd show a birthday card recently stitched for a very special friend.  Sometimes I stitch other's designs and this is such an example because as soon as I saw the bright and cheery poppies, I knew it would be perfect for my friend because it matched her personality so well.  It was in Issue 67 of the Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine.

Incidentally she loved the card and not just because of the beautiful colours but for the time and effort taken to stitch it and the love put into it.