Throwback Thursday - 2007 Part 06

The Wayback Machine takes us to April 2007 today when I worked in a variety of needlework genres.

Preemie Hats

Do you like my model? My sister Eleanore gave me this doll over 50 years ago. When I saw the hats, I thought they'd fit my doll just perfectly!

The charity group I was part of in 2007 expanded from doing only cross-stitch quilt squares and bookmarks. We also started knitting and crocheting hats for premature babies. The hats were donated to neo-natal wards in various hospitals around the country. This crochet pattern was shared among group members. The hats stitched up in less than two hours.

After seeing these hats, my then teenage daughter, Jodie, learned to crochet. She used her community service hours as crochet time. This allowed her to help others, and keeps her schedule extremely flexible. She is now a more skilled crocheter than I am, and often gives crocheted gifts to others.

Embroidered Bookmarks

After making the embroidery cards from the kit the previous month, I thought I'd turn my hand to making bookmarks using the embroidery on paper technique. I used the book New Ideas with Embroidery on Paper by Erica Fortgens. I stitched the bookmarks on parchment card stock using a purple fiber, DMC Light Effects E718. I find the contrast of the purple fiber on the blue card stock quite effective.

It took me a while to decide on how to finish the cards. The backs really did need to be covered. I considered attaching the card stock to felt, but I wasn't sure glue would keep the two pieced adhered to each other. I didn't want to take the extra time to stitch the card stock to the felt. Besides, then I'd still need to hide knots.

I finally decided to use some pretty purple watermarked scrapbooking cardstock. I used double-stick tape to adhere the two layers of card stock together, pressing them together well. Then I cut the purple card about 1/4 inch wider than the blue.

I donated the bookmarks to a charity literacy project.

My Dear Friend Kathy

This was another square for a flower-themed charity quilt. Most of this square is stitched in cotton floss. The blue which outlines the petals and stem is a sparkly metallic.

I love the bright colors and the painted texture of these flowers.

Preemie Cap and Chemo Hats

Here is another preemie cap and a couple other hats for kids facing chemo. I crocheted one for a small child, and one that will fit a teenager. These hats were also donated to various hospitals around the country.

It's heartening to note that at about this time, my photography skills began to noticeably improve. I received an updated digital camera and had given myself an assignment to take lots of photos each day, then post the best one on my blog. I bought some special filters and an extension tube that allowed me to begin learning macro photography. I also bought a light cube which allowed me to take photos with filtered light and solid backgrounds. 

As a side note, I'm a bit astounded to have evidence of the number of projects I created for charity and gifts in 2007. At the time, I was going through a major mental health crisis. I'm certain that this handwork and my creative photography project helped give me focus in those rough months.