8.31.2010

etsy favorites in red

DIY Embroidery Card Kit by Curious Doodles

Cherry Bomb Headband with Wool Felt by Lou and Lee

Coral Ampersand by OhHi

8.26.2010

embroidery project: vintage birds


So in addition to the doily that I made during an embroidery class at the Stitch Lab earlier this year, I also worked on this piece, which I finally got around to framing last week. After falling in love with this vintage bird embroidery I found on Flickr, I decided to use it with a new-to-me image transfer technique: printable fabric. 


I printed the image out onto printable silk, removed the paper backing, and ironed it to a navy blue cotton. I then stitched over the image's lines using a lovely greenish gold floss, passing the needle through both the silk and the cotton.


I love the final image and had a lot of fun experimenting with stitches. If I were to do it again though, I would try another transfer technique. I would have loved to have seen the floss directly against the navy background; I think the color would have really popped. The printable silk is better suited for full-color images, like photographs, which could be beautifully embellished with different stitches. Have you ever tried stitching on printable fabric? What did you think?

8.24.2010

anna maria horner scarf

During a day trip to Burlington, Vermont, back in July, my mom and I stopped by Nido, a lovely fabric shop with a carefully curated selection of beautiful fabrics. I picked up two pieces of fabric from Cloud9's My Happy Garden line (which I used for this project), as well as a scarf kit which included two strips of voile from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks line.


I completely fell in love with the voiles, which are soft and silky and so easy to work with.  The scarf came together very quickly and is the perfect weight for cool fall days.

8.19.2010

salty oat logo

Remember this sneak peek? Well here's the finished piece, all stitched up and ready to go on the wall of my new studio:


And here's a pic of the back:


P.S. I've been updating the shop and have added a few new buttons!

8.17.2010

more thrifting finds

As promised, here are pictures of some of my other thrifting finds from around Silver Spring:

Juice glasses ($2 for a set of four)

Vintage floral napkins ($3 for a set of six)

Bedside table ($10)

 Vintage sheets ($13 for two, almost complete, twin sets)

8.12.2010

quilting project: stitch dc quilt along

Our stuff finally arrived on Friday (though sadly, our beloved couch couldn't fit through our oddly shaped entryway, so we had to find another, smaller one to take its place) and I've begun to unpack my studio and slowly get back into the swing of crafting. I have a few things in my to-do pile that I started before all of the craziness of the move, and a few new things I've been waiting to start, including my quilt blocks for the Stitch DC Mystery Quilt Along.


I cut and sewed my blocks together this week, after a lot of time going back and forth on color choices. In the end, I wound up using a cornflower blue solid with two organic Cloud9 prints that I picked up at Nido in Burlington, Vermont, and two green prints (from Amy Butler's Daisy Chain collection and Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection) from City Craft in Dallas, Texas. My question to you is, do you think this color palette works? I've been going back and forth on the greens. In some lights I totally think they work together, and in others, I'm less sure. Any thoughts or feedback--and alternate fabric suggestions--would be much appreciated!

8.05.2010

latest thrifting find: floral laundry hamper


While waiting for our things to arrive (the movers are scheduled to come tomorrow--woo-hoo!), I've been busy exploring our new surroundings and scoping out the thrift stores in the area. Though I have yet to find one with a selection of craft supplies to rival Austin's Thrift House, I have managed to find a few places that stock some great vintage items at very reasonable prices.


Yesterday, I picked up this vintage floral laundry hamper for $6 from The Pennyworth Shop in downtown Silver Spring. I plan on using it in my studio to store all of my quilt batting and fiberfill.

Once the sun comes back out again (it's currently storming here), I'll take pictures of my finds from today--including a bedside table, juice glasses, and a heap of matching vintage floral sheets.

8.03.2010

we made it!

 This is what Elton did for most of our 1500+ mile journey. 

We're still waiting for our furniture--and my crafty supplies--to arrive, but I promise there will be posts filled with cross-stitch furniture (!) and recent projects coming soon!