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.
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” – Dr. Seuss, Author
Happiest of heartfelt wishes for a wondrous day! ~Christen
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
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.
For the love of embroidery, and threads, and beads, and silk ribbon, and buttons, and trims, and for all of the things that make you happy, and inspire you to be creative.
Happiest of heartfelt wishes for a wondrous day! ~Christen
Batik Galaxy by Christen Brown
This piece started with the a group of batik fabrics in dark mustard, teal, and cranberry/rust. The cranberry/rust fabric reminded me of the red ring around Mars, so I created a galaxy in the center of the piece, using a wholecloth reverse applique technique. The copper and antiqued brass finishes of the celestial-themed charms added an extra color element. This piece can be found in my book, The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.
Umbria by Christen Brown
This piece started with four printed fabrics in rich browns, rust, and cranberry colors. I found a variegated perle cotton that picked up all of those colors. I then chose the remainder of the embroidery and embellishments to match the thread. Embellishments include vintage shell buttons, copper charms, and glass buttons that are sprinkled around the fiber and metal leaf trims. This piece can be found in my book, The Embroidery Book by C&T Publishing.
Autumn Ribbons by Christen Brown
The base of this piece started with a linen napkin, and added bits of vintage lace that I hand-dyed with Colorhue dyes. I then added in loads of rust, orange, and brown flowers and leaves that I hand-stitched from Hanah silk bias ribbons. I used techniques that can be found in my book Ribbonwork Flowers by C&T Publishing. The embroidery was worked with perle cotton, Wildflower threads, and silk embroidery ribbon, using many of the stitches that can be found in my book Embroidered and Embellished by C&T Publishing.
Harvest Quilt by Christen Brown
The base of this quilt was strip-pieced using Hoffman cotton batiks, in rich autumn colors of rust, umber, cranberry, maple, and olive. The embroidery stitches are worked in perle cotton #5 and #8, Wildflower threads, and cotton floss. This piece was featured in the gallery section of my book Embroidered and Embellished by C&T Publishing.
Enjoy! Happy Stitching! ~Christen
This pretty little brooch is the perfect size, to be given as a gift or to keep for yourself. Four basic embroidery stitches will be covered: woven rose, chain stitch, lazy daisy, French knot.
Skill Level Beginning: hand-sewing and embroidery skills a must
Class Information
This class 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 and handout/s will be sent out.
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
If I could pass on one important thought, it would be that practice just makes sense. Perfection is not something that I strive for, but I myself feel more confident when I understand the stitches that I am working on.
My book Embroidered and Embellished, by C&T Publishing is divided into four chapters, each chapter includes 20 stitches and 2 projects. I grouped the stitches according to the type of stitches and the materials that were used in each of these chapters.
At the beginning of each chapter I have included a sampler which utilizes all of the stitches included in the chapter. I used the above embroidery template (page 89) as a guide, and embroidered the design around the guide.
The Embroidery Journal Project above, is from my book, The Embroidery Book, by C&T embellishing. There are instructions in the book for making this little journal on page 43. Each page is 10″ x 6″, with the embroidered sections worked on each 5″ x 6″ half. You can refer to the samplers in the Visual Guide for the stitches to use, or use the samplers at the beginning of each chapter.
In my class The Embroidery Corner, I taught a 17 week course on embroidery. Each week, working with one stitch family, the student practiced their stitching on a 6″ piece of fabric. Here are some of my examples:
For a book that includes over 500+ stitches, see my book Hand Embroidery Dictionary, by C&T Publishing. If you would like to make a sampler of your own, you can download the free PDF lesson, Sampler Roll of Stitches.
I am confident that you will agree that by allowing yourself the time to learn and experiment with a new technique will never be a waste of time. You are worth the time that it takes to prepare for your journey into embroidery. May that be a long enjoyable journey, and may your needles fly!
Happy Stitching, enjoy~Christen
Day 25
Question: When you are working with a group of fabrics, how do you decide what colors to use for the embroidery stitches? Here are a few ideas.
Victoriana by Christen Brown
This crazy-pieced square started with a rayon print, and 6 different silk fabrics that matched the colors of the print. I chose silk embroidery ribbon, perle cotton, buttonhole silk, cotton floss, and seed beads in those same colors. I used 7mm silk embroidery ribbon and silk bias ribbons for the ribbonwork flowers. Each section of fabric is worked with a combination of the colors and components.
Melted Crayons by Christen Brown
Tiny bits of precious silk fabrics were crazy-pieced onto four foundation squares and strip-pieced onto four border strips. These blocks and strips were bordered with black silk fabric, satin ribbon, and rayon cord. I chose to work each of the border rows with black buttonhole twist, then the decorative and detail stitches with a variegated Valdani perle cotton. Vintage and new button details were stitched down with perle cotton and rayon floss. This piece can be seen in The Embroidery Book, by C&T Publishing.
Happy Stitching, ~Christen
Day 8
Question: Do you like to make and sew your own jewelry and adornments? I have a few suggestions including cuffs, bracelets and brooches, all use bits of this and that including fabric, lace, ribbons, and buttons.
Chantilly Lady’s Lace Cuff by Christen Brown
These are examples of what I call the wistful days gone by, reminiscent of tranquil days lounging on an overstuffed satin pouf, or demurely sashaying along a tree-lined avenue, parasol in hand. There are two styles to choose from that will be embellished with needle-tatted and crochet components, ribbonwork flowers, a few silk ribbon embroidery stitches, beads and buttons. The lace base and other components are dyed with Colorhue dyes.
Tandleton Rose Bracelets by Christen Brown
You have two styles to choose from, both using a Tandleton base (pillow). The “Ring of Roses” is made up entirely of embroidered ribbon pillows, strung with beads and has a glass button for the closure. The “Band of Roses” is made from a ribbon base, layered with vintage lace and a few of the embroidered pillows; a dainty embroidered button and hand-stitched button loop are used for the closure.
Scrumptious Hearts by Christen Brown
The base is created with bits of cherished lace and with silk fabric to form a beautiful heart shaped base for your floral design. Chose from a few different heart shapes and ribbon worked floral vignettes or create your own. This is an excellent way to use up small amounts of this and that to form an heirloom brooch to be treasured. The lace base and other components are dyed with Colorhue dyes.
Happy Stitching, ~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 5
Question: Do you like to recycle old clothing, or use something in an unexpected way?
Country Hearts 1, 2
The base for each of these small wall hangings started with a pair of old jeans. The heart shape is cut from an old birdcage cover, that my mom made for our parakeet Tweetie. There is a hand-dyed piece of lace shaped as a vine on each, and all of the flowers are made from Hannah Silk bias ribbons. Additional embroidery was worked with silk embroidery ribbon.
Blue Jean Pockets
These two pockets came from that same pair of jeans. I embellished both with crochet appliques that my mom had made. The first has a rococo trim, ribbonwork flowers, buttons and additional tatted flowers. The second has ribbonwork flowers and leaves, and vintage glass buttons.
For information on making your own ribbonwork components, see my books Ribbonwork Gardens, and Ribbonwork Flowers, by C&T Publishing.
Happy Stitching~Christen
Christen's Creations 