A Year of Pretty - January 26, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this sample of really detailed ribbon and bead / button embroidery from pintangle. Pintangle is a website with amazing examples and tutorials for Surface Embroidery.

As a gal who loves texture and design details, this is right up my alley. If only I had more time.

I used to embroider all the time. And by all the time I mean every evening, or on long car rides, or on the bus. I think I was probably the only teenage girl working with needle and thread. More than once I caught the eye of an elder woman and we shared a small smile. Embroidery takes time, it takes commitment and it takes patience. And she was letting me know she knew this.

So I can just imagine the time and effort that went into making this sample shown above. Then imagine this as part of a larger quilt. Months, years even of selecting just the right button and stitching it on in place.

To this day, there are several large embroidery projects around my parents' house. Some are pillows, some are wall hangings. But each is treasured because they were made by hand over many, many hours.

Traditionally, women would get together and work on their projects, exchange the recent gossip (who's cow had gotten out of the pasture and trampled the prize winning begonias, who was seen walking together after church last Sunday). And they would learn skills and techniques from each other. This doesn't seem (nice pun) to happen anymore; at least not here in Vancouver, BC. Which is why websites like pintangle are so essential for sharing these ideas and methods.

In our fast paced world of mass production, give me a piece of material, some thread and some beads or buttons; a comfy corner with good lighting and a cup of hot tea. And then leave me for hours at a time and I will be perfectly happy.

Spring is in the Bag (almost)

Warm weather, blooming flowers, birds chirping and Easter only a few days away . . . .

 

Here are a trio of lovely spring tote bags to brighten you day. These bags all feature roomy interiors with six pockets; some smaller for your cell phone, others larger to secure your water bottle or pocketbook.

 

These bags can be put to use for a variety of tasks. Use one as a book bag, another as a diaper bag to hold just the things you need for your little one while visiting a friend for coffee. Load one up with flip-flops, a good book & a blanket and head to the beach (just remember the sun screen). I have one for craft projects that holds everything I need (crochet hooks, scissors, balls of yarn, buttons) which I can toss in the car at a moment’s notice if I am heading out to my nephew's cello lesson or to Oma’s house for coffee.

All the totes are handmade and feature many vintage or upcycled fabrics from . . .oh. let's see . . .a grad dress, a full length skirt that I shortened, Italian dupioni silk swatch samples, cushion covers that I tried to make that ended up being too small. Each has its' own character and no two bags are the same. The unique buttons are from either my mom's or my Oma's collections. . . pssst! Mom, see what happens when you innocently ask "Can you use these fabrics or buttons for anything?"

totes by silverbluedesigns.