Skip to main content

Back to the Start

I learned how to embroider mainly from books, but also videos and just experimenting (which is how I've come up with some of the odd stitching I do.) No woman in my family ever did any kind of embroidery, which is why I had to teach myself. All the books I've read on the subject are quite advanced, however, so I was only able to learn the simpler stitches. I do want to expand my horizons, but my capabilities are probably not going to ever stretch to more difficult or intricate needlework. That's why when I saw Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray I thought, that's the book I need.

The 29 projects in this book are all simple, beginner-level items that don't require any complicated embroidery. The author shows you how to do about 17 different basic stitches (most of which I've already done and can manage easily) to use for embellishing clothing, home decor, linens, etc. The instructions are all written clearly, and most don't require a bunch of materials (needle, thread, a hoop and the item you're embroidering are all you need for some.)

There's even a cute little lap quilt I really want to make. The simplicity of this book appeals to me; I wish I'd found it when I started teaching myself to embroider. Anyway, I think I will start making one of these projects during my break times in between quilts, and see if I can learn a bit more.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.

Journal Find

This is a page from my 2010 poetry journal. My handwriting isn't the best, so I'll transcribe it: If my heart survives to tell all the secrets kept inside it will be an abalone shell in which the beauty did reside. But I think I will always be lost to the tides that rage in me . . . humbling and polishing . . . I don't write many self-portrait poems, but this one isn't too embarrassing. A bit overly dramatic, but the girl I was eleven years ago went through some tough times. I'm in a much more peaceful place today.

Watchable Farce

The k-drama Undercover High School is a series that brings a handsome spy to play a student at an elite private school where a legend about billions of gold hidden there persists. It's more silly slapstick comedy than anything, but has some surprising romantic and dramatic moments, too. Seo Kang-joon is one of my favorite Korean actors, and this is the first series he's made since finishing up his mandatory military service. He plays Jeong Hae-seong/ Jeong Si-hyun, an NIS agent who infiltrates a snobby elitist school to hunt down the gold. There are four urban legends connected to the treasure that he has to figure out, all under the too-watchful eye of his homeroom teacher, Oh Su-Ah (Jin Ki-joo) whom he eventually discovers was his elementary school love Oh Bong-ja (there's a lot of name changing in this series.) The hunt for the treasure is the highlight of this series, but the romance between the leads is cute, too (and not as taboo as you might think, given that...