Heart Felt Wishes to you all! I love hearts, I love the shape, I love to decorate the house at Valentine’s Day, and I have a lot of hearts… so I decided to post A Heart a Day for the entire month of February.
It takes more than lace and ribbons,
And lovely verses too,
To make a Valentine that is nice enough for you.
It takes a world of special thoughts,
Tucked into every line,
And that’s exactly what you’ll find inside this Valentine.
Happiest of heartfelt wishes for a wondrous day! ~Christen
I have always loved old doors. The more worn the better, because this signified that they had been used, traveled through, experienced. And then of course, I love the accessories that a door needs, such as door knobs and keys.
This is picture, was drawn by a friend. He drew it as a wedding gift for my husband and I. I framed it with this old music sheet, that I found on The Graphics Fairy.
The romantic in me thinks of castles, and knights and damsels in distress. So I to created an image of an old castle door that had been weathered, with a big door knocker, a brass knob and big hinges. I found this old, large key on eBay, and used it for the hanger. I also found a few old skeleton keys to add in here and there, and grouped them with my newer keys and heart shaped locks. The base is machine pieced and machine quilted. The charms, keys, and buttons are attached with embroidery floss.
This is a digital image that I created, using many images that I had found on Pinterest. If you like to look at photographs of old doors, windows and Greece may I suggest the artist Tolis’s Flickr photostream with this door as my favorite.
I gathered this group of batik fabrics that varied from rust to brown, and thought, well this would make a cool door! I found these wonderful blue buffed celluloid buttons, which I paired with brass buttons, buckles, and both vintage and new keys. The rust and vintage blue ribbons just keep the colors flowing. The base is machine pieced and quilted, and the hand embroidery is worked in perle cotton.
If you like fairies, old doors, and wonderfully illustrated books may I suggest “A Knock at the Door” by Angi Sullins and Silas Toball.
All Friday’s Favorites posts.
Enjoy your day, go on an adventure through a door that you have never been through! Imagine, dream, knock and enter! ~Christen
Day 7
Question: Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity? For this piece, I did a bit of planning, so that the metal frame could take a prominent place amongst the pieced fabrics.
Midnight in Paris by Christen Brown
I crazy pieced solid and printed cotton fabrics with satin ribbons and vintage laces that I dyed. The embroidery was worked in silk embroidery ribbons (4mm and 7mm), silk perle, perle cotton, and cotton floss. I combined these with vintage and new beads and charms, and vintage buttons, including metal, glass and shell. A ribbon border with beaded details was used to frame the piece.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Day 29
Do you plan out every detail, or do you approach your work with serendipity? For this piece, I did a bit of planning, so that the metal frame could take a prominent place amongst the pieced fabrics.
Midnight in Paris by Christen Brown
This wallhanging is crazy pieced with cotton solid and printed fabrics and vintage laces. The embroidery was worked in silk embroidery ribbons (4mm and 7mm), silk perle, perle cotton, and cotton floss. Vintage buttons, beads, an antique metal frame, and charms were used for embellishments. A ribbon border with beaded details showcase the piecing and the frame.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Day 28
What form of piecing do you prefer? I really love crazy-piecing, simply because you can use the pieces and scraps that you have on hand, and the pieced lines provide a variety of opportunities to embroider and embellish.
Victoriana 1 and Victoriana 2 by Christen Brown
These two pieces were stitched using the same fabrics, and are almost identically pieced together. I was going to make a purse, but decided that two small wall hangings were more desirable. The embroidery stitches were worked in silk embroidery ribbon, perle cotton and cotton floss. Beads, charms and buttons were used for the embellishments.
You can find these two pieces in The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.
The Crazy Lady Victoriana by Christen Brown
This piece was made using the same fabrics as the above two pieces, with the addition of several vintage silk ties and their lining fabrics. I created this piece while I was teaching a class titled the Crazy Corner. I enjoyed adding in all of the embellishments such as a birds nest, fabric yo-yos, and ribbonwork flowers.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
This is a close-up view of a needle case that I made for a class that I teach. The base is crazy-pieced with cotton fabrics and embellished with ribbonwok flowers, silk ribbon embroidered flowers, traditional and silk ribbon embroidery stitches, buttons, charms, vintage tatted trim and appliques. Many of the stitches can be found in my book The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.
Happy Stitching, enjoy~ Christen!
Crazy piecing is definitely an accurate description for piecing disparate and awkward bits of this and that together. It can be confusing and confounding when you first start, in fact that is the first question people usually ask, how do I start? Questions that usually follow are what do I put where, what fabric do I use, what color should go next to what, and how on earth do I get myself out of that boxed in mess I created?
The class will cover three different basic CQ (Crazy Quilt) piecing techniques that I use to stitch a base for a garment, quilt, pillow or wall hanging. I will share with you my experience and my solutions to all of the above questions and more. I will give you ideas on how to choose your fabric, color scheme and how to stitch your base depending on the size of the scraps, strips, and bits of fabric that you have. I will also give you several ideas that I have used to get myself out of those boxed in messes!
Skill Level Beginning: sewing machine knowledge needed
Lesson CP/101: First I will discuss fabric choices: color, size and fabric content. We will also discuss additional items such as ribbon, lace, handkerchiefs, doilies, and sheer fabrics that can be used to create interest to the fabrics that you have chosen. This class will cover the Triangle and Strip crazy piecing technique. Fabric extras that will also be included are Prairie Points and Yo-yos.
Lesson CP/102: This class will cover the 4-square and Opposite Side crazy piecing technique. Technique extras will be foundation piecing for small pieces using a strip or fan shape.
Lesson CP/103: This class will cover the 5-corner cube and Walk around the Block crazy piecing technique. Technique extras will be the Boxed In Triangle, Half Dome and Wedge fold and stitch techniques.
These classes can be purchased at any time, there is no set schedule.The class can be ordered by contacting Christen: thestoreonthecorner@gmail.com. She will send you an invoice through PayPal.
Once the class is paid for, the supply list will be sent out. The lessons will begin one week after the purchase of the class, unless otherwise stated. You will receive an email with the lesson attached. The following lesson/s will arrive one week after the previous lesson.
A high speed internet connection is recommended, and you must have basic computer and internet skills. You will need to be able know how to download and save a document to your computer’s hard drive, open it and print out a copy.
You can contact Christen with any questions pertaining to the class/class information throughout the length of the class.
Class fees will not be refunded.
Tied in Knots/needle case with tatting and embroidery
Tied in knots — that’s the definition of tatting! At least it is until you get really good at it, which I have to say I still have a long way to go!!!
Tatting is a form of lace that is comprised of a series of knots made onto a loop of thread that is wound around your hand. The stitches are simple: basic knot which is a square knot, a loop (referred to as picot) and chains (single knots) are added for design interest.
My mom taught me how to tat using a red plastic shuttle that I still use. I also have used the long needle designed for tatting, and have used a basic milliner’s needle such as the designs used in the Tandledons.
This crazy pieced shuttle holder is adorned with traditional embroidery, tatted bits and pieces and silk ribbon stitches. I have started collecting shuttles to put in the holder, along with a few thread winders. I have a few shuttles made from celluloid; one from metal; one from Mother of Pearl; and one from abalone shell. But I have to say my favorite is the red plastic one that my mom gave me so many years ago.
Happy Stitching! Christen
Christen's Creations 