Tag Archive | pearl cotton

Tide Pools Nature’s Treasures

Oct30
Tide Pools Natures Treasures

Tide Pools Nature’s Treasures

Being a native of Southern CA., a shell lover from early child hood, and an avid collector I am drawn to the ocean, the sand, the waves, the tide-pools and all of the treasures that you can find.

beach sand

I started my project with birch bark collected many years ago from our cabin outside of Toronto, Ontario Canada. This I used for the sand, and the inside of the bowls.

I then crumpled up pieces of cotton paper to create the waves, and rocks. I stitched these together with cotton and rayon threads on my sewing machine. I placed this on an old wooden tray, that had seen better days.

The next step was to create the actual tide pool rock formations that capture the sea life and shells.

I started with Timtex and more cotton paper. I cut round shapes in three different sizes. I layered cotton paper over these, and cut out round pieces of birch bark for the center of the bowls.

I stitched the layers together on the sewing machine. I then cut darts into the circles, and over lapped these to form the bowl shape. The last step was to cut the edges of each bowl and then machine stitch over these edges.

shells, sea life and kelp

shells, sea life and kelp

I had an abundance of real shells that I had collected over the many years of beach combing. I had a great time selecting which of these would be included into my beach scene.

I also had some old celluloid buttons that were somewhat grungy, but the colors matched and the patterning looked like sea urchins to me, these are interspersed amongst the bowls.

I thought that it would be cool to include shells and sea life that I had made from ribbons, crochet and embroidery. I started to play and this is what I came up with:

  • A crochet length of kelp with cord and pearl cotton, and grape shells at each leaf (these have a florist wire glued in the center to attach to the kelp)
  • Crochet and embroidered snail shells
  • Embroidered sea urchins, sea anemones and limpet shells
  • Embroidered and gathered ribbon coral
  • Ric-rac coral and star fish
  • Plumes of something made from rayon cord (I am not sure what these are but I liked them)
close-up view of three sizes of bowls

close-up view of three sizes of bowls

Happy beach combing and treasure hunting, enjoy- Christen!

Creative Thread Embroidery: class/tutorial

Dec5

Creative Thread Embroidery: 3 lessons/$40.00

embroideryExplore the possibilities and broaden your creative stitched techniques to add to your CQ and other embroidery projects. We will work with a variety of embroidery threads such as pearl cotton; buttonhole twist; rayon and cotton floss. Some stitches will blend thread to create new colors and textures. The dimensional embroidery stitches that will be covered are bullion knot, cast on buttonhole, drizzle, woven, whipped and tatted. Traditional stitches such as the buttonhole, chain stitch, feather stitch, feather stitch leaf, French knot, lazy daisy, pistol stitch and straight stitch will be also covered.

Skill Level Intermediate: sewing machine and embroidery knowledge needed

Lesson 1: First you will prepare the base of your needle case, or if you choose you can work on a pre-pieced fabric base. Next we will talk about the threads, learn how to blend colors and what needles to use. The stitches that will be covered in this class are: whipped stitch rose, bullion knot rose, buttonhole rose, buttonhole wheel and tatted flowers.

Lesson 2: This class will focus on filling in your base with feather stitch vines and leaves; lazy daisy flowers and leaves; and drizzle stitch flowers and centers.

Lesson 3: This class will focus on the tiny extras like the woven star, pistol stitch, straight stitch and French knots. Directions will also be given to finish your needle case.

Class Information

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.

Happy Stitching,

~Christen

Creations in Crochet

Aug6

My friend Gail made me this lovely scarf and I wanted to share it with you. She is an avid crocheter, and this is just a sampling of the flowers, leaves and floral extras that she creates.

 

She has taught me a few flowers, and these are examples of what I have made with here ideas.

My flower is much simpler than hers are, but I love the color of the novelty yarn and the fact that I had a vintage button to use as the center that matched!

This is a neck-piece that I made after experimenting with the techniques that she taught me. I used Pearl cotton #5 and #8.

This is the matching bracelet, with the flowers stitched down on a vintage Jacquard ribbon. Both the neck-piece and the bracelet have a vintage glass button for the closure.

Enjoy~ Christen

Andalusian Flower Fields- Crochet Jewelry Ensemble

Jun10

Andalusian Flower Fields- crochet neckpiece

Andalusian Flower Fields- crochet neckpiece

Well if you thought that I had fun making this ensemble you were right!

Crochet is not my first needle technique of choice, not even my second, third… you get the picture. I learned the theory in high school, but never could read a pattern, so my elegant chains never really were of any use.

A few years ago I took a class, I got a book, took a refresher class from a friend, and just started to play. I guess it is just like anything new, you have to work at it. So I did. The flowers and leaves are all made from patterns that I developed, because I still can’t read anybody else’s pattern, but I can read my own!

The neckpiece is assembled by stitching each flower to the other, the leaves are attached to the flowers. I used a vintage glass button for the closure, and I stitched a crochet flower for the loop. The bracelet base is a vintage jacquard ribbon with the flowers sewn down on the ribbon. I had a second glass flower button that I used for the closure of the bracelet, and stitched a buttonhole loop.

Andalusian Flower Fields- crochet bracelet

Andalusian Flower Fields- crochet bracelet

The ensemble was made to be worn with a vintage blue shawl the same color as the light blue of the flowers. It is from China and is embroidered with the medium pinks, yellow and peach colors that I used in the flowers and the darker green color that I used for the leaves.

I found a vintage embroidered purse that was made in Mexico to match the shawl. It is embroidered on black velvet with flowers in the dark blue, pink and deep peach colors with the lighter green color of the leaves.

Happy stitching, creating, and searching for those great vintage finds! Christen

Strawberry Fields- crochet purse

May30
Strawberry Fields- crochet purse

Strawberry Fields- crochet purse

This crochet purse was so much fun to make. It is stitched in rows of double crochet using bits of this color and that, added in when one color ran out. I stitched a row of treble crochet close to the top for the cord to run through, and ruffled the top edge.

I am a fairly neat person but when it comes to skeins of pearl cotton, I tell myself I must wrap it in to a ball before I start stitching, but I rarely do. So the odd bits and messy balls end up in an old glass candy jar, at least they look pretty while stuffed in there.

So this was a project meant to untangle my bird’s nest full of pearl cotton #5 skeins. They were hopelessly tangled and mangled and seemingly knotted beyond recognition.

I spent a few nights in front of the TV, and a few long car trips (I was a passenger, not the pilot) and untangled and sorted the mess that I had created. I think that the untangling process took longer than the crochet stitches.

Hope that you too can create something from your tangles and mangles! Happy Stitching, enjoy- Christen

Celtic Flowers Pillow- traditional embroidery stitches

May19

Celtic Flowers Pillow

Celtic Flowers Pillow

I have two book shelves on either side of my sewing table, and I placed an old pantry door on top to create a shelf. I placed many of my dolls in groups on top of this shelf, and the smaller pillows such as this one reside there

The fabric is a silk shantung, embroidered with pearl cotton thread. The stitches I used are:

  • woven rose
  • whipped spider web rose
  • cast-on buttonhole stitch pansy
  • lazy daisy
  • straight stitch
  • detached chain stitch leaf
  • chain stitch
  • Chinese knot

After the pillow was sewn and stuffed, I added a rayon cord to the edges to finish off the piece.

5-1/2″ wide x 6 ” tall

Happy stitching, enjoy your creative adventures! Christen

Shabby’n Stitched- recycled cotton vest

May17
Shabby 'n Stitched Vest

Shabby ‘n Stitched Vest

This was a wonderful project to work on, just me, 12 colors of pearl cotton, a needle, a thimble, a pair of scissors, and about 75 hours of stitching.

I wish that I had had the for site to photograph this vest when it came in the mail. I bought it on ebay and the listing said that it was a shabby chic vest.

So I imagined that it was a little rough around the edges. The pictures were not clear, so I took a chance. When I opened the package I thought to myself, “Must ask for better pictures next time!”, as it was more than just a little rough.

The red cotton of the vest had either ripped or had been torn by more than a few rough washings, most of the satin stitch embroidery had unraveled, and many of the mirrors were broken. I had my work cut out for me, to save my $4.99 investment.

I picked through my embroidery thread stash, and found some colors that I thought would liven up the vest. I started to embroider, and really just had a great time enhancing someone else’s creative stitching.

I stitched right through the lining, not worrying about burying the stitches or knots. I plan to add additional lining to the front pieces (to hide my stitches on the wrong side), and add seam binding around the collar and center edges (as the raw edges are showing).

With a little bit of imagination, you can recycle creatively, and have fun while you are doing it.

Enjoy, and see you at the thrift store! ~Christen

La Vie En Rose- embroidered handbag

Apr23
La Vie En Rose by Christen Brown

La Vie En Rose by Christen Brown

The November/December 2007 issue of PieceWork Magazine, included an article on my collection of vintage handbags: The Glamour of it All Collecting Vintage Handbags and La Vie En Rose the purse shown here to embroider. The version in the article shows the back of the purse, and the instructions are for a smaller embroidered floral vignette.

During my research for the article I collected quite a bit of additional information and I have written two other articles that may be of interest if you collect vintage purses.

This purse is made from black silk shantung fabric. I embroidered the stitches in #5 pearl cotton thread, using six colors for the flowers and three for the leaves. I used a variety of traditional embroidery stitches including: bouillon knots, woven rose and spokes, cast-on, lazy daisy, feathered leaf, French Knots, and Peking knot.

Happy Stitching! Christen

Rose Garden Pillow

Feb22
Rose Garden by Christen Brown

Rose Garden by Christen Brown

The design for this pillow is very similar to the La Vie en Rose, the purse that I created for the November/December issue of PieceWork Magazine.

This actually was the first design, but I did not use an embroidery hoop, and the fabric puckered TERRIBLY! So I turned the shape into one that would look like a pillow and stuffed it to a maximum density, and voila: no more puckers!

For the embroidery design I used pearl cotton in 6 shades of pink, and 3 shades of green. The stitches I used were: bouillon, woven, cast-on, lazy daisy, feathered leaf, French Knots, and Peking knot.

8-1/2″ W x 7-1/2″ H

May you have many hours of Happy Stitching! Christen