Monogram Lace Hardanger Sachet
January started out with another small foray into the Hardanger technique. This cutwork technique was a challenge for me, and I never did quite get the hang of it or use it often. However I'd been given a gift of this small kit, so thought I'd give the ol' Kloster blocks a try again.
In Hardanger, after you stitch a series of satin stitches, you can then cut the fabric close to the stitching to create holes for a lacy look. The inside of each Kloster block is open. I lined the finished sachet with a pink fabric that shows through those holes. The top of the sachet has kind of a scalloped edge.
I still use this sachet in my sock drawer -- and it still smells good. The finished item is about six inches tall.
Valentine Heart
This pretty heart was stitched in February as a thank you gift for my EGA secret sister who had given me many lovely items throughout the previous year. I finished it as a pillow -- a first for me. The design was a freebie from Candamar designs. I think I may still have this chart in my stash. It's so cute that I may stitch it for myself, since I like hearts so much.
To make the pillow, I used some wonderful soft dark brown Ultrasuede to frame the stitchery, then added some piping around the edge that mimicked the pink in the stitching. (See the truly sad photo of the finished pillow below).
Victorian Heart
By April, I was ready to attempt Hardanger again. This may be the last piece I stitched with this technique. I love the combination of Hardanger lacy bits, silk ribbon embroidery, beading (small white beads in the intersections of the lacy bits), and metal heart charm. The design was from a kit by Lorri Birmingham. All the materials in the kit were lovely and very nice to work with. The fabric is an evenweave called Monaco.
Believe it or not, this beautiful heart lies in a box in my Studio, still waiting to be finished. I even have the backing fabric. I think I eventually want to frame it and display it in our guest room which we call The Love Nest. The room is decorated in all manner of heart decor.
I'm thinking that one of my 19 in 2019 Goals will be to do the finishing work on the many projects where the stitching is done, but the projects are not yet ready to display. That is an ambitious goal!
Cherished Teddies -- Bob
I won this adorable Sailor Bear kit as a door prize at a stitcher's gathering in May 1999. I stitched it for my brother-in-law. He and my sister collect bears. My brother-in-law was a Navy man. I thought this bear was fitting. I'd intended to use this piece as part of a three-panel bell pull and present it as a gift to my sister.
Alas, the other two sailor bears never did get stitched. Little Bob sits in the box with the Victorian Heart (above), abandoned. Now my sister is downsizing ... so I'm not sure such a gift would be welcome. I'll come up with some idea to give Bob a home.
God's Promises
This little pillow was from another kit I received as a gift. The finished piece is about 4 inches square. I made small alterations to the original design, such as the yellow bars on the sides and the sky made of half-cross stitches in a vertical zig-zag pattern. I thought that helped it look like rain.
I completed the piece in June and gave the finished pillow to a friend from church who was moving to the Seattle, WA area to begin a new job. I thought the message on the pillow and the fact that she was moving to rainy Seattle made this an apt gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment