Starting to stitch....

When I was a young girl (many years ago) we girls were taught embroidery at school. We used iron-on transfers, all stitches had to be perfect and precise so I spent more time unpicking than anything else! We made things like tea tray cloths and pretty embroidered hankies to give Granny for Christmas. Nothing very exciting and I didn't continue to embroider once I'd left school.

Now, through my wanderings on the internet, I've found that it doesn't seem to be called embroidery these days... it's stitchery. Wow, are there some clever designers out there! A whole new world of lovely things I want to make for my home. I mean, who uses hand embroidered hankies these days anyway?

So I dusted off my rusty skills, practiced a few stitches on a scrap of fabric, bought a pattern or two and had a go. This was my first stitchery project - Quilt Shoppe Pillow by Lynette Anderson... although mine didn't end up as a pillow, I made it into a wall hanging for my craft room.  The pattern came with an iron-on transfer so I was familiar with that part, then came the stitching and the appliqué... I loved it and a new addiction was born! I learned a few new things along the way too, like the benefits of using a stabiliser under the fabric... I wouldn't stitch without it now! I also learned that it does NOT have to be perfect. The things I stitch are for me and my family, I love making them and a little bit of love goes into every stitch. Far more important to me than perfection :)

Once I'd finished the wall hanging I couldn't wait to start stitching something else. I chose the Sewing Angel Tool Store by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. Apart from the fact that it would be very useful for keeping all my sewing bits together whether I was upstairs or downstairs, I love the combination of stitchery, appliqué and sewing. Enough there to keep me interested for sure. I  made it a little bigger than the pattern and adjusted the inside to suit my needs.

The tool store closed. All neat and tidy, so easy to carry round the house.

With the front cover open. Even though my scalloped edge went a bit wonky, I loved working the panel for the flap.

And here it is fully opened, everything I need for a stitching session is in there. Pattern and threads, needles and pins, scissors, stitch unpicker, fabric glue and marker. I use it every day!


I really love this stitchery lark :)