Bluebird bag

This was a long project which was mostly done at home. It is the first time I used DMC Perle cotton for embroidery. I have embroidered a lot over the years, but I have always used the standard floss and wool. This pattern called for perle cotton.




The detail came out very tight. I used a very tiny stitch so that it would hold longer due to the amount of friction it would have to endure being a bag. The perle cotton held up really beautifully while stitching. Now I want to do more projects using it.


Bluebirds nested in a cherry tree. I may embroider this again for Karen when she chooses the fabrics she wants to have. Amazingly, I didn't use a hoop to do this. With the stitches being so small, the fabric just sat on my fingers really steady and that is all the tension I needed. A great project for traveling. It will be a great display for the embroidery department at the store.

Bird Display

This is a display that I really love. The fabrics are all reproduction fabrics from the 1930's. We have a book called "A Stitch In Time" which I have mentioned in a previous entry when I made the Molly doll. It is a really great book which is loaded with wonderful things to create.

The cage is mine, or really my sister's. There are two birds inside and there is dried moss on the bottom of the cage. Not something you would normally see in a bird cage. But it is visually eye catching. And our customers love it.

Here is Molly. She is stitched to a miniature ironing boards which I have covered and she sits in front of the bird cage being that is is made of the same collection of fabrics. She is constantly touched. Very loved.


And this is Karen Bryce who creates all the displays for everything that I create for the store. She is tremendously imaginative and resourceful. We really connect quite wonderfully and we have a marvelous relationship. Three more birds are attached to branches that grow out from the cage I have little hope that they will survive the display. I think they will be taken. But they are easy to make and I can whip up more if necessary. You can see a yellow and green star. That is a huge pin cushion, part of the display. We sold out of the books the first few days. Thing is, one by one, I am creating almost every item in the book, which is rare. Right now, I am home doing the embroidery work on making two buckets from the book. It is rare to find an art book that you just want to make everything. At least for me. Often times, I will browse a book, maybe be interested in one or two things, at most, but I won't buy. I'll take a couple of notes. Of the hundreds of books I look at it is rare I will want to own. This book, I not only own, I sell it to anyone remotely interested.

I think once the display is entirely finished, I am going to send pictures and a text to the author. If I was an author, I would want to know that such a big store is featuring my work in such a big way. Wouldn't you?

Store Displays

These are two items I made for display at the store. The pillows are Moda Homespun fabrics and the designs are all wool felts. The pattern is Indygo Junction of course. "Changing Seasons" featuring a pillow for each season. These are summer and fall. I couldn't make them on my time at work. I did this on my own time at home. I am not compensated for this but the work is peaceful and satisfying and so I don't mind. It keeps technique fresh and the fingers nimble. I love watching customers staring at the work admiring it and wondering if they can do it. I will often walk up and tell them how simple it is, and offer to guide them if they need help. A mini class if they need. Often, a customer will bring in a project needing encouragement. It makes my job interesting. Plus, when I am working on these things at home, it is better than sitting around watching "Dancing with the stars" eating popcorn and drinking beer.