Category Archives: Embroidery

French Knot Golf Course

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French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

French Knot Golf Course

Men can be so hard to buy gifts for, and my Dad is no exception.  For his birthday recently, I made him a mini “golf course” of simple french knots in an embroidery hoop.  I used four graduated colors of green, with smaller knots (two strands of DMC thread, looped three times around the needle) for the two inner sections, where the “grass” would be short and smooth.  Then I moved into the wilder sections with darker colors, using three strands/loops and then four strands/three loops for the very outer edge.  (These went much faster, and I loved them for it.)  I also used just a little blue in a satin stitch to represent a water hazard.  This is an easy project and it’s nicely portable, but it does take a lot of time.

To me, it gave the feeling that I was flying over a tiny landscape in an even tinier plane, and it gave me a feeling of calm.  I might want to recreate a map someday using a similar style.

sarahsigres

 

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

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Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

Upcycled Tablecloth Clutch Purses

I found a vintage linen tablecloth at a local antique shop and used it to make clutch purses in blue for my sister in law, pink for her Mom and her soon-to-be Mother in law.  I’m not sure when the tablecloth was made, but from researching the embroidery style, it may be from the 1950s.  It felt cruel to cut up something beautiful that some unknown person spent time making, but I decided they wanted their work to be loved and used, above all else.  The bride loves them, and they’ll be quite loved on her big day!  Maybe they’ll even be passed on to a few future brides down the road.

sarahsigres

Embroidery Hoops

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Wolfie Stitching

Recently I’ve been doing a little embroidery between quilting projects.  My plan is to add these to a (very) slowly building mini-quilt wall, as just an extra pop of interest.  I found these geometric animal patterns on Etsy in the Three Silver Trees shop.  These are printable PDF patterns with instructions, but they do kind of assume you’re familiar with the technique.

Wolf and Stag Embroidery

In addition to the wolf and stag, she also has a bear and fox.  (And while I like bears and foxes, I wanted the Stark and Baratheon feel of just using these two.)

Stag EmbroideryWhat started this whole hand stitching kick was this awesome state map I found from Lovely Messes.  She’ll make up any state or country for you with a lovely, complete little kit that is packaged like a gift!

Embroidered West Virginia Map

I chose colors that reminded me of West Virginia in the fall, but she has other colorways and enjoys putting together personal palettes, too, such as school colors. She includes all instructions and even includes practice fabric and threads so a beginner can feel confident before stitching the actual design.

sarahsigres