Vintage Stitching

Yesterday I'd planned on going to the first &Stitches Picnic in the Park, but it was sadly cancelled due to the bad weather (fingers crossed for sunshine next month!). Before it was cancelled though, I thought "what shall I take to sew?"

I wanted to take something fun, a not-too-complicated personal stitching project that I could sit and sew while switching off totally from work and chatting with other crafty folks. Luckily I had just the thing, as the day before I'd found a vintage embroidery pattern in my crafty stash...

... I'd totally forgotten I had it, so re-discovering it in a week when I wanted to start a new embroidery project was great timing!

The pattern was an iron-on transfer, so I got out the iron and ironing board and some plain fabric and transferred the designs.

This is the first time I've used an embroidery transfer - they're rather magical! None of that careful tracing of a design, just a quick iron and bam you're ready to stitch. Here's one of the patterns with the transferred version:

I love these three flower designs, they're so pretty and they'll be perfect for framing in embroidery hoops. I'll be using the larger 8 inch hoop while stitching and then probably framing the finished pieces in 7 inch hoops.

I haven't chosen all the colours yet but I'm thinking about using the same colour palette as I used for this flower pattern so they can be displayed together.

It's so interesting translating a one-colour embroidery pattern into a multi-coloured bit of stitching - trying to work out how the colours will work together and affect the overall look of the design, then gradually seeing the design come to life as you stitch it. 

Stitching an embroidery pattern is so darn relaxing, you just switch off your brain and let your hands follow the lines and stitch, stitch, stitch. I highly recommend it if you want a craft to help you unwind after a long or stressful day.

So, it's a shame this month's &Stitches picnic got rained off, but I'm very glad it inspired me to start this stitchy project!