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Glad you could join me. I'm stitching a life together bit by bit.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Wool Embroidery on a Sewing Kit

This past December, my art friends and I did a little Secret Santa gift exchange.  I made a wool & cotton sewing kit for my friend Lulu.  

I used Sue Spargo's Greta Needle Roll pattern as the basis for the kit and then modified it a bit from there.  For the front, I used Sue's flower design instead of the plant that is shown in the pattern.  I added an extra inner pocket, the inner flower, modified the name plate on the back of the kit and a few other things.  

I used one of the greeting cards that Lulu designed, featuring her own art work (the girl with cat on her head), and turned it into a hand bound book with 2 signatures.  It fits perfectly into one of the large pockets.

This was my first time putting in a zipper, and there are 2 zippered pouches  inside the kit.  These were also the first bees and ladybugs that I made with embroidery.

The stitches I used are detailed below.

Front of the needle roll.



Orange/Yellow Flower:
Turkey work with Shepherd's Silk
Coral stitch with beads and Spaghetti thread
Seed stitch with Valdani
Single cast on with Valdani
French knot with chenille
Crested chain and bullions with Valdani





Purple/Pink Flower:
Drizzle stitch with Valdani
Pistil stitch with Valdani
French knot with Chenille
Bullion with Silken Pearl
Fly stitch with hand dyed silk ribbon 
Palestrina knot with hand dyed Pearl Cotton #5 from Sue Spargo





A little blurry on the bees, but they only stay still for a second.





Back of the needle roll.  There is space here to write the owners name with a fabric pen or stitching.



The outside of the needle roll. 



Cat girl mini book I stitched together using Lulu's card featuring her own painting.



Inside of the needle roll, featuring pockets for scissors, pen, ruler and a notepad.  



Zippered pockets on the left and right hold more items.



Bird pin cushion and wool needle book keep things in place.



I added a second small pocket and a mini embroidered flower on the right side.



Bird Pin Cushion:
Bullions for the black eye.



Small pink inside flower:
French knot with Valdani
Single cast on with Valdani
French knot with chenille
Bullion with Valdani




Heart on the needle keeper:
French knots in chenille
Bullions in Silken Pearl
Pistil stitch in Valdani
Back stitch of blue Chenille




Three different types of Sue Spargo ribbon used 
in the needle book.




A very quick signature done just minutes before 
presenting my gift.



Lulu - delighted with her gift!


13 comments:

Unknown said...

Lovely lovely lovely sewing kit.
Lucky lucky Lulu.

Just incredible Janet . . that's all i can say.

sally.wilson said...

This was an AMAZING needle roll, amazing piece of art and Lulu was absolutely thrilled. A beautiful gift in so many ways.

jude said...

wow, you sure put a lot of work into this one. a wonderful gift.

Judy Wise said...

Oh Janet, what an incredible creation; you are patient, thorough and inventive! Beautiful job and as Reets said, lucky Lulu! Thank you so much for sharing this.

Janet said...

Thanks for all the lovely comments! I was thrilled to have finished it at 5pm for our gift exchange! I was stitching as everyone was packing up to go - lol! It was great to have done such a beautiful project for an equally beautiful person.

Val said...

Gorgeous! Beautiful work!

lulu moonwood murakami said...

Janet, I cannot thank you enough for this incredible gift!!! From the very first time I met you I have always LOVED your color sense and passion for design. Your workmanship in doing these elaborate embroidery stitches is beyond words. Yes, I am one very, very lucky girl!!!

Doris said...

So beautiful, Janet! All these strong and brilliant colors and wonderful stiching. I like it a lot.
Doris

Pack 320 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Janet said...

Oops - left a comment with my Scout account - had to take that off.

Thanks Ladies! Must say I LOVE color! I took it as far as I could here - including all my favorites! You can never have too much color, can you? The stitching was actually so much fun to do - I totally enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

Janet!

OMG - it's almost painfully beautiful - I want to sleep with it under my pillow and carry it all day long. I think you should start a business!

Lulu you lucky and well deserved lady! :)
-Kellye

Marianne Morris Art said...

Beautiful Janet. I hope you are still creating... i see you haven't posted in a while.

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