Earth Week April 2024: Day Three

Apr24

Today is Day Three of celebrating Earth Day, which I will be doing for the entire week! I hope to provide ideas and useful tips showing you how to use items that would either have been thrown out, dumped off at the thrift-store, or are just perhaps forgotten.

Today, I want to talk about Dyeing, changing COLORS, Updating, and making something more useful. It is a great way to change out something, and it is pretty fun! These examples all use Colorhue Dyes, and they can be found at Dharma Trading Co. Many of the ideas below can be found in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New.

These gallery examples from my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New where I used Colorhue Dyes.
  1. Dyed Posies Brooch: This is an example of ribbonwork flowers made from hand-dyed silk satin ribbons.
  2. Morris Gardens: This is an example of a hand-dyed linen napkin that I used for the base of an embroidery design.
  3. Flowers in a Cuff: This is an example of a hand-dyed vintage lace cuff used for a basket filled with hand-dyed cotton grosgrain ribbonwork flowers and vintage buttons.
Pistachio Moss
Dyed Table Runner
Spattered Scattered Tatters
  1. Pistachio Moss: This is a gallery piece in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. The pieced background is worked around a center section of silk charmeuse and several pieces of vintage lace and appliqués that were hand-dyed using Colorhue dyes. For more details, see my post that shows you how I choose colors for a project.
  2. Dyed Table Runner: I took an old battenburg lace table runner, and dyed it with Rit Dye. I added in a host of ribbonwork flowers, using the directions from my books Ribbonwork Gardens, and Ribbonwork Flowers.
  3. Scattered Splattered Tatters: This is a gallery piece, from my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. Left-over pieces of muslin fabric were crazy-pieced together, then hand quilted with perle cotton #12. Crochet and mother-of-pearl buttons are nestled into the lengths of tatted and machine-made lace, scattered crochet, and tatted appliqués. The finished piece was hand-dyed using Colorhue dyes, using a formula I call “Rustic Aging”.

I also have several classes that explore creative ways to use the Colorhue Dyes:

Here are some other tips to live by:

  • Use products that are friendly to the environment, like Colorhue Dyes are.
  • Re-use twist ties and rubber bands from packing when space dyeing.
  • Recycle the paper and plastic products that you use when dyeing.

Happy Earth Week, be kind to her, she is the only one we have. ~Christen

Earth Week April 2024: Day Two

Apr23

Today is Day Two of celebrating Earth Day, which I will be doing for the entire week! I hope to provide ideas and useful tips showing you how to use items that would either have been thrown out, dumped off at the thrift-store, or are just perhaps forgotten.

Today is also Tips and Tea on Tuesdays. Tea today is a a sarsaparilla tea, which is new to me. It has a slightly soft, sweet taste that is reminiscent of the old soft drink. Sort of a snappy change, with a twist, that will certainly get me started on today’s post.

Sewing Notions and Button Boxes!

Let’s have a fun little poke through the that stash of discarded buttons, snaps, hooks, eyes, tape measures, and old clothing labels! Surely you will find something in there that you will want to play with.

Ugly Bug Ball!

Ugly Bug Ball! These are samples from my Creative Spark class. These are bugs you will actually love to have hanging around the house, they don’t eat anything, and they use up all of the buttons, beads, and notions, that you have hanging around. The class features six designs each of spiderwebs, spiders, and more of your favorite creepy crawling garden dwellers. Thanks to the digital format of this course, you’ll get up close detailed video instructions.

Vintage Sewing Notions: Is a gallery collection that can be seen in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New). The Needle Keep on the right is a Free Project that can be found on C&T Publishing website.

Create, Sew and, Stitch, and Play, Garland

Create, Sew and, Stitch, and Play, Garland: I created this gallery piece for my book, Creative Stitching, Mixing the Old with the New, by C&T Publishing. To see it in full, check out my post: National Sewing Month: Day 1.

For other ideas check these past Friday’s Favorites posts:

Here are some other tips to live by:

  • Recycle the cardboard packaging left over from the notions and buttons you use.
  • Cover ugly old chipped buttons with fabric, to recycle and create a new look.
  • Place old unusable buttons, charms, and notions in an empty jam jar with a lid, to create a visual collage.

Happy Earth Week, be kind to her, she is the only one we have. ~Christen

Earth Week April 2024: Day One

Apr22

This year I wanted to celebrate Earth Day for an entire week! I hope to provide ideas and useful tips showing you how to use items that would either have been thrown out, dumped off at the thrift-store, or are just perhaps forgotten.

Many of the ideas can be found in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, where I show you how to put all of your stashed, hoarded, and handed-down bits and pieces to creative use! Through techniques and projects I walk you through innovative uses for all kinds of embellishments — like lace, vintage linens and hankies, trims and ribbons, buttons of all sorts, and vintage notions. I provide tips for taking care of your treasures; from cleaning vintage finds to fiber identification. 

ATTIC, GARAGE, AND JUNK DRAWER FINDS
Rummage through your stash of stuff hidden in the sewing room, the kitchen, or the garage, and look for unused and forgotten items like the ones below.

Cookie Cutter Wreath
Jell-O Mold Pincushion
Hoop Frame
  1. Cookie Cutter Wreath: I wrapped different sizes of heart-shaped cookie molds with twill tape, burlap and grosgrain ribbons. I attached them together with a glue gun, and added in zipper roses, lace roses, and burlap roses, (directions for the flowers can be found in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New).
  2. Jell-O Mold Pincushion: This is a simple, fun, Stash Project in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. It uses an aluminum aspic mold, a bit of fabric, and in about an hour you have a fun, funky pincushion.
  3. Hoop Frame: This is a Stash Project in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, that uses either a metal or wooden embroidery hoop. It is a simple and pretty way to frame a piece of embroidery.
Scrap Pins
Mushroom Garden
Wooden Spool Vase
  1. Scrap Pin: This is a simple, fun, Stash Project in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New, that uses a large laundry safety pins, or knitting counters to hang a small scrap-pieced project.
  2. Mushroom Garden: Utilizes an old metal frog that I found at the thrift-store, I use it to display my collection of felt mushrooms that I made for a gallery piece in my book Hand Embroidery Dictionary.
  3. Wooden Spool Vase: This is a simple, fun, Stash Project in my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. Make a few rosettes, put them on a stem, wrap a spool with a bit of zipper tape, and in about an hour you have made this fun little adornment.
Scraps and Leftovers
Into the Garden
  1. Scraps and Leftovers, is a gallery piece that I made for my book The Embroidery Book. I used a wooden knitting needle that had belonged to my husband’s grandmother for the hanger.
  2. Into the Garden is a gallery piece that I made for my book Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. The old wooden hanger is a perfect way to hang a project, as well as a place to add more color.

For other ideas check these past Tips and Tea on Tuesdays Posts:

Here are some other tips to live by:

  • Take a walk, instead of driving a short distance.
  • Use your decorative grocery bags, every time, even when shopping at the quilt or craft store!
  • Go paperless, send receipts to your email address, you know that you are only going to throw it away when you get home.

Happy Earth Week, be kind to her, she is the only one we have. ~Christen

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Apr16

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is a hibiscus tea, a beautiful ruby red color, made from Nigerian hibiscus blossoms. Good job hibiscus! This is a lovely, juicy, herbal blend with hints of berry and citrus flavors. And look at those strawberries! Yummy, and again, good job, and shout-out to Mother Nature!

Tuesday is also my “Junking Day”, which I of course love to do. We have several stores in town, that I visit monthly. Usually I don’t have a purpose other than to peruse, and see what treasures I can find. I think that this leaves the options open to all sorts of possibilities.

Here are some of last week’s finds, a cache of saltshakers that caught my eye. So, what can you do with saltshakers?

Fabric flowers, zipper flowers, rickrack flowers and Penny circle flowers
A variety of ideas…
Ribbonwork Flowers

Tips: Repurposing Saltshakers

First thing to do is to give them a little clean up. I usually just pop them into the dishwasher, and voila, all clean. If you find a particularly “grungy” one, then let it soak in hot water and soap, rinse it when clean, and let it air-dry.

If the top of the shaker is rusted, or dented and not usable, then remove it, and fill the vessels with flowers on wire stems. Here are some suggestions:

If the top is usable, then the holes can be used to position the bouquet in an arrangement.

  • I filled one of the saltshakers with mushrooms on wire stems. First remove the top, add the stems, then screw the top back on, and arrange the bouquet.
  • Stick hat-pins or floral-pins into paper flowers, then insert into the holes in the top.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar26

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is my old stand by, Earl Grey, black tea, good for bringing a smile on a gloomy, cloudy, day. Another old stand by that provides some needed cheering up, is pulling out my collection of vintage handkerchiefs. These are so dear, and I enjoy pulling them out and just imaging a past life-time when I would place one of these in my pocket book, along with my lipstick, and other dainty-lady’s needs.

Hanky and Lace Collage
Tea Cozy
Bella Fleur Mouchoir

Here are some pieces where I used some of my hanky collection, for my book Creative Embroidery Mixing the Old with the New. Often, people ask how can you use hankies? Well the book also covers that too, with projects and gallery pieces! Hanky and Lace Collage, is one of the Projects by Design, the Tea Cozy, is a Stash Project, and Bella Fleur Mouchoir, is a gallery piece.

Tips: Working with Hankies

  • Stabilize the hanky with an iron-on sheer-weight or light-weight interfacing.
  • Cut a hanky that has an embroidered pattern on 1 or all 4 corners into 4 sections.
  • For a hanky that has an allover pattern, cut off each corner, leaving a square in the middle that can also be used in a collaged base.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar19

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is raspberry zinger, as you can see from the tea stain on my mug. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and all is right with the world. And, after you read today’s post, you will probably chuckle and agree.

Today I bring you a story of lost and found while foraging for this and that….

I am sure all of us have walked into a room, and paused, wondering just what the point of the journey was. Or another example is foraging in your fabric stash (mine is 40 boxes strong in the closet behind me), looking for that special scrap or section of fabric you knew, I mean really KNEW was in that box that you looked into the day before, or was it last week?

Today’s journey started with a song that Neil Diamond was singing, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore. With a smile, I looked at the bunch on the table that my hubby had brought home the day before, lovely sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and those funky green things. Then I was looking at the crazy-pieced block hanging on my mood board, and thought sunflowers, yes! that is what it needs. So, I found some porcelain sunflower, rose, and bee buttons that I thought would be just right. Then I was thinking about the embroidered sunflower and bee I had stitched, for my book, Hand Embroidery Dictionary. So I pulled out the samplers and there it was, the embroidered Alphabet Sampler that I had been looking for, last week, that was supposed to have been in a folder for a new class proposal.

Tip: Serendipity, enjoy it, celebrate it, and let inspiration come in the quiet moments of reflection.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar5

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is Darjeeling black tea, it has a nice citrus/fruity flavor, and tastes a little milder than some of my other black teas. I have been decorating for spring, and brought out my collection of vintage French beaded wire flowers. These are so lovely, and I treasure the few that I have.

Today I want to touch on a subject that I think many of us can relate to. Mainly the “voice of criticism in our head” that either stops us from creating, learning, or doing something different. Often criticism, no matter how gently delivered can live in our heads for a long time.

Photo credit: Diane Herbort

I was teaching a seminar on Embroidering Within the Lines, at the Houston Quilt Festival in the fall of 2023. The table was laden with samplers my from books and classes, and my friend Diane who was helping me, took this image of the table. It was a fun seminar to teach, and the audience seemed to learn quite a bit.

During one of the presentations, I had a member of the audience say, what does the back of the embroidered piece look like. I showed her the back, and she said, “OH”, (with disappointment), and went on to say “it is just as messy as mine, as my mom pointed out”. I was a little taken aback, but she went on to explain “that it doesn’t look like the front”.

front of blanket stitch sample
back of blanket stitch example

This is a common question, and misconception that I would like to address today. The front of the embroidery stitch, rarely will look like the back, due to the way the stitch is formed, as shown in the examples above. I can think of only two stitches that will look the same both front and back, the first is the satin stitch, which is a series of closely worked straight stitches. The other is a quilted or running stitch which is a series of straight stitches worked along a row.

Tip: This is a simple one, think about how the criticism was offered. Did you learn something? Do you work better because of the comments? Or, is it the opposite, and does that keep you from doing something that you may enjoy? The voice may have had a purpose then, but does it now? You decide.

If you would like to learn more about embroidery, and the specifics I have an on-line class that I teach on Creative Spark, called, Hand Embroidery Basics and Beyond.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Leap Year, 2024: To Many Frogs!

Feb29
too many frogs!
too many frogs!

To Many Frogs! is a story about a gift gone awry. One year for Valentines Day I gave my husband a stuffed frog holding a heart that said “I love you”, he keeps it on the dash board in his car to this day. My husband’s interests are playing tennis and watching sports, but other than that no hobbies or other quirks. He was so delighted with the frog that I decided to give him a hobby, “collecting frogs”. “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” is his favorite ride at Disneyland after all and besides I thought that it would be fun and would make gift giving less of a challenge for my daughter and I.

Well….. our family on a larger scale got in on the act (his mother and my mother to name a few culprits)! Now we have over 200 frogs and a few toads!!!! We have a table shaped as a frog , a frog ocarina, several leaping frogs, a couple of frog boxes, quite a few small frog beads (he-he cause I could use them for something), a counter full of stuffed frogs, a rattan letter holder shaped as a frog, and of course no collection would be complete without a “prince charming” or two.

We have frogs sitting sweetly on lily pads, swimming in leaf bowls, and leaping off the counters. We have lounging frogs, cooking frogs, serious frogs, and happy frogs. But I have to say that the most annoying frog we have is the frog that “ribbits and croaks” Jingle Bells on command when you clap your hands. I promptly removed the batteries and hid it in the closet until I could “gift” it to the thrift store!

The moral of the story is to choose hobbies wisely and don’t include your relatives in on the secret, or you too may receive a singing frog!

Enjoy, create, live, be happy…. ribbit. ~Christen

Mindful Hand Stitching, An Embellished Sampler

Feb11
Jean’s Kitchen Curtains and The Garden Beyond the Window

I am delighted to share that I was asked to write an article for the March 2024 issue of American Quilters Magazine.

If you know my work you know that I like to start with something special. For this project it was the fun vintage floral print fabric that were left-over scraps from a friend’s kitchen curtain project. She was an avid gardener, and took pleasure and pride in the blooms that you could see from her window.

Crazy-pieced Block
Strip-pieced Block

I paired the vintage print with a few newer prints and solids to create the crazy-pieced and strip-pieced blocks for this new project. I added in rickrack, rococo trim, grosgrain, and satin ribbons. The stitching was worked in Presencia perle cotton, by , provided by Colonial Needle Company, cotton floss, and silk embroidery ribbons. Embellishments include a few tatted flowers I made using crochet cotton, and a few rosettes I made from grosgrain, novelty, and satin ribbons. I also included vintage and new buttons, glass beads and metal charms.

I created the two new blocks to share with my students and audience. Please note and respect that these are for your personal use only, and should not be used for profit in any way.

So check your mail to see if your copy of the March 2024 issue of American Quilters Magazine came. If not click on the link to buy your copy today!

Happy Stitching to you all! ~Christen