Back to a childhood favorite.

I know you’re all shaking your head and probably even laughing a bit after receiving an email notification that I did a blog post, but rest assure, I truly did not mislead you from my last post, I’m just slowing down a bit from being online so much.

We all need balance and I’m still working on finding that balance in my life, so with a bit of perseverance, patience and support, I will find it.  I have also realized that I need to find balance with my knitting.   Now don’t get me wrong I still love my knitting, but sometimes you just need something new to get your creative mind flowing again.  One of my biggest issues over the last few years is that I  have been so focused on knitting, and anything knitting related,  that I’ve forgotten the other crafts that I truly treasure and enjoy.

On such craft that I love is embroidery and I haven’t really done much since I was very young.  So this past weekend I decide I need a project that would jump-start me back into the craft of traditional needlework, or at least something close.

I found a designer on Craftsy.com that creates designs that are rather vintage yet quite charming and even quite simple.  I have to say I’m tempted to purchase most of her designs but when I saw the Black Scottie Dog with Roses, I knew that I must make it for my dearest friend Sara Beth, who owns an adorable Scottie named Mike, or maybe Mike owns her, isn’t that the way it works with our pets?  I haven’t quite finished it yet as I need to frame it before sending it off.

First I rummaged through my closet to see if I had fabric for this project and found a piece of 100% cotton muslin, perfect for the project at hand.  Before starting, I wash and dried the fabric, did a zig-zag stitch around the edge and then followed up with an application of Fray Block.  By doing this simple step you avoid your fabric from fraying as you work.  Next I traced the design onto the fabric using a Mark Be Gone pen, which I do recommend for these types of projects.  Even though I traced the heart design onto the fabric, I decided not to embroider them but to add a few additional lazy daisies.  When the piece was completely finished, I placed it gently into a sink of water and watched the blue lines magically disappear.

Facts:  This project took me a day to complete and is perfect for a beginner.  The stitches that you need to know before starting is the stem stitch, back stitch, lazy daisy and French knots.  If you do not know how to make these stitches, you can purchase a handy stitch guide at your local Joann Fabrics and Michaels (shown below) or visit Stitch online to learn different embroidery stitches.

Materials:   I used a piece of cotton fabric I had in my fabric stash, a Mark Be Gone pen to trace the design, an 8″ embroidery hoop and embroidery floss from my box of floss.

Pattern:   Black Scottie Dog Roses Hand Embroidery PDF pattern by Country Garden.

I plan to start writing a bit more about other needlework crafts but don’t worry my dearest friends and followers, I still will discuss knitting.  Also if you haven’t noticed already, I’ve also added a new page entitled Needlework Links where I’ve listed links to online suppliers, educational resources and more.

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!