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Dreaming in Color - Color Balancing

The past two months have been filled with the bright colors of summer even though it is winter in Sisters. This is the time of year that I work on quilts that will be donated to fundraisers for Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Our theme for our 45^th anniversary show this year is “My Kind of Town.” As always, I began my project by pulling as many fabrics as possible in the colors I choose to work with. Once that's done, I turn to balancing colors in my composition.

“Summertime” is my 22” x 34” quilt for the Storybook that Dan Rickards of the Clearwater Gallery creates for display during Quilter's Affair and Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. As I thought about this year's theme, what came to mind is our wonderful little town and looking out onto the landscape that surrounds us. As I looked at my fabric choices, I could see a strong contrast in temperature (warm vs cool colors). My challenge would be to balance this contrast out as I made my final fabric choices.

The top portion of the piece is mostly cool colors with a few bits of warm accents. I made a decision to use the deep magenta as an accent throughout. Since I was working mostly with solids, I looked for fabrics with visual texture that would add interest. You can see the textured blue in the sky and the two textures in the cottage.

The photo above is where I start transitioning into the lower field area, there you start to see more warm colors. You can see where greens and yellow ochre begin to play a bigger role. Notice that you still see the magenta, and a bit of really pale pink to mimic the pink in the sky above. Also in this area, French Knot embroidery adds a playful feeling and introduces the idea of a summer garden up close.

To carry through with the landscape feel, the sections of fabric became larger. It took me a bit of time to balance out the colors, always referring to what came above. Proportions of the shades of yellow ochre really came into play. I sketched a playful garden and planned to add over the top of this area. Originally, I was going to hand applique leaves and flowers there.

But, as I added the patterned fabric, it felt really busy and did not honor the colors and piecing above. So, I abandoned the idea and free motion sketched the lines and shapes, then filled in some subtle color with embroidery.

This just goes to prove the point that I tell the students in the classroom: When you get to the last one third of telling the story in the design process, the quilt will tell you what it needs. We just have to listen!

Another recent project related to the upcoming Quilt Show is fabric postcards. I created three 4” x 6” postcards for the WISH Upon A Card project, to be auctioned during Quilter's Affair (two are pictured above). The proceeds go toward an art scholarship for a deserving high school student in Sisters. If you are interested in making a card, go to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show website. You can contact them with your mailing address and request a material packet. During the week of Quilter's Affair, cards will be on display at the High School, and available for sale during the lunch hour. 

For those interested in experimenting with the color palette from my Summertime quilt, we've created a summertime fat quarter bundle with six of the fabrics I used. 

Messenger Bag - Embellishment Options

It's week three of our 12 Projects of Christmas newsletter series and this week we're making a messenger bag. Man or woman, boy or girl, everyone needs to carry things. A messenger bag is an ideal gift, especially for those hard to shop for men or teens. Fair warning though, once you make one, you'll want one for yourself too. 

Our pattern, written by Valori Wells, is the perfect size to hold all the essentials with pockets inside and out for extras. The bag is fully lined for a beautiful and durable finish. Experienced sewers can complete this bag in an afternoon, and all the straight line seams make the project achievable for confident beginners. 

Because the pattern will lead you through the construction of the bag, we are going to focus on ideas for customizing your bag. As you can see, the outside of our sample bag is embellished with a block printed pattern. You can carve your own or use a purchased stamp of your choice. In the video below Valori shows you how to properly ink a stamp and apply it to your bag.  

Try a simple pattern in one section of the bag like we did, or apply an all over pattern before you sew your sections together.

If you're an artist paint or draw your own design with fabric paint and/or pens. Pictured below is an example of our logo tote bag embellished with fabric paints by June Jaeger. We wrote a post about it and embroidering a tote last November. 

The front flap of the bag is a great spot to show off some applique, embroidery, or a combination of the two. Experiment with your own designs or choose a design from a book to spruce up your bag. We like Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique and Organic Embroidery. Or, try one of our wool applique kits to add some color and texture. 

Instead of using a solid fabric for the large exterior piece customize your bag with your favorite patchwork, or simply add a stripe or other shape with contrasting fabrics like the bag pictured below. 

Not interested in coming up with your own designs for embellishment? Pick a fun print (this is a great time to show off a large scale print) and add a bit of stitching to enhance it (or just let the print shine on it's own). In the pictures below we added a simple embroidery stitch to a floral print. 

More ideas to customize the messenger bag:

• For a new parent: Baby/diaper bag - add some piping, pick a children's theme print, personalize it with an alphabet embroidery kit on the front and/or add a coordinating changing pad.

• For a quilter/sewer: Sewing kit  - personalize it with a pieced front flap and customized pocket sizes for tools
• For an artist: Portable supply kit - personalize it with a painted or mixed media front and add a pencil roll. Customize pockets for sketch book, paint brushes, pens, etc. 

• For a teen: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with an iron-on patch, applique their initials, or a stamped Kraftex patch. 

• For a man: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with a photo transfer, turn a favorite old T-shirt into an iron on or paint/stamp a simple geometric pattern. Although, some men might like it plain and simple made with canvas or denim.

• For a bike commuter: add padding to the strap and some reflective tape.
• For a Knitter/Crocheter: add fusible fleece interfacing to keep needles from poking through and a coordinating yarn/project bag. Customize pockets to hold notions.

With a minimum of thought, possibilities for customizing this bag are nearly endless.

Quick Note: The pattern doesn't require any interfacing, but if you want a more structured bag you will need some. We recommend Soft & Stable for a padded and firm but flexible bag. Great for laptops! If you want a softer bag with some structure use Fusible Fleece. Lastly if you'd like any of the pocket to be stiff (like the large inside pocket) use TimTex. All the options listed are washable. 

Shop for Messenger Bag Supplies -  

Kits: Messenger Bag, Applique

Fabric: Quilting Cotton, Canvas, Denim, Flannel 

Interfacing: Soft & Stable, Fusible Fleece, TimTex

Pattern: Printed, PDF

Books: Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique, Organic Embroidery

 

 

 

 

Pincushions - Pretty Experiments

Every crafter needs a pincushion, or two, or three. Even more than that, crafters need a way to experiment. You can't grow or improve as a quilter without trying new techniques, patterns, and colorways. A small project, like a pincushion, can free you to experiment without the commitment and cost of a larger project. Smaller projects can also be a way to fit creating into our busy lives. Make a pincushion as an easy way to try that technique you've been wondering about, or to work with a new mix of colors. Jump in and play.

Besides feeding your creative self, pincushions make a wonderful gift. Making them for gifts also provides you with a very respectable reason to spend time sewing. "I'm sorry I can't do the laundry, I have to make a gift for the Secret Santa exchange!" Your spouse can't possibly complain about that. 

You can make pincushions from just about anything, including scraps, but we're going to take a look at two books. Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson and Bowl Me Over by Debbie Busby each offer many creative options and fun projects. We enjoyed both books so much, we used them as the project for one of our recent staff meetings. Everyone got a pattern and a set of fabric, and we went to town sewing and chatting. Most weren't quite finished during the staff meeting (too much talking), but all are relatively short projects and each book has as range of project difficulty and techniques to choose from. 

Pin Pals has 40 different patterns. These aren't your grandma's tomatoes, there is a little bit of everything in this book! Experiment with curves, applique, traditional blocks, strip piecing, triangles, precision piecing and hexies. We made the patterns: Solid Checkerboard, Random Strips, DNA, Ohio Star, Spokes, Beach Houses, Fresh-Cut Cube, and Bear Paw.

Bowl Me Over is a book of 37 "little pillows" and even more ideas. Projects are made from cotton and wool with embroidery stitches and wool applique. Fill a bowl with them, stack them on a shelf, or make them pincushions. If you've ever considered trying embroidery or applique this book is a wonderful way to get your feet wet. Debbie gives the reader thorough instructions for each project, but also offers general instructions and ideas to make your own variations. We made patterns: Welcome to Our Neck of the Woods, Be Strong, Nighttime Forest, and Little Cabin in the Woods.

Want more pincushion ideas? Check out our Pincushion Pinterest board. 

Now that you've made a pincushion, or ten, you need to fill it. In theory this is pretty simple, but in practice can be frustrating. 

First pick a filling. You can fill one with any number of things: rice, sand, sawdust or pellets. However, you will get the best results with a combination of poly-fil and crushed walnut shells. Use the poly-fill in corners, points and curves, then add the walnut shells for weight and firmness. 

Add your poly-fil first and using a tool like the Purple Thang push the stuffing firmly into all corners, other shapes, or edges you want to keep crisp. Then use a narrow neck funnel to add the crushed walnut shells until your pincushion is full and firm. Be sure to pause and give your cushion a shake to settle the shells, then continue adding more shells. You can also use the end of your funnel to push the shells into the corners and help them settle so you can fully fill your pincushion. Here's a quick video of us filling a pincushion.

 

You can find all the supplies you need for this project at Stitchin Post. 

Pin Pals Kit - Pin Pals Book - Bowl Me Over Book - Crushed Walnut Shells - Wool - Needles

Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to receive all the information about this project and all the other 12 Projects of Christmas. 

Stitchin' Post's The 12 Projects of Christmas is a newsletter event. Each week starting in October we've selected a fun and fast project, perfect for gifting or holiday decorating. Every project is designed and selected by our experts to make it easy for you to find and craft stylish useful items everyone will love.

Lucy & Logan - Freezer Paper Method for Machine Stitched Faces

Instead of 12 days of Christmas, we decided to do the holidays maker style with The 12 Projects of Christmas. We're starting a bit early, releasing a project a week, so there is plenty of time for crafting and for enjoying all the other seasonal events and celebrations during the holidays.

Let's kick off our crafting season with a great gift for kids. Lucy & Logan, adorable cat and dog stuffies, are sure to bring smiles Christmas morning or anytime. Enjoy making a few or gift a Lucy & Logan kit. Then you can spend time together teaching them how to make one for themselves.

Each animal can each be made in two sizes with a variety of suitable fabrics. Make a pair in flannel (like we did) for a special little one. Try one in school colors for older kids. You can even make a few for your favorite furry friends from canvas or denim. Although, Teyla likes the flannel ones just fine. 

The kitty below is one of the original Lucys, made from corduroy. Quilting cotton, light denim, linen, fleece, or even old clothing could all be used. 

No matter what options you choose, the key to any adorable plushy is the face. Luckily, sewing a cute face is easier than you think, and we're going to show you how to get great results with your sewing machine, even if you can't draw.

The pattern includs a face illustration to trace, and suggests you trace the face onto your fabric with a fabric pen or chalk marker. Then you sew your face with your machine or hand stitch. That method is a fine option, but can be difficult on darker fabrics. Tracing or drawing your face on freezer paper is foolproof, no matter your fabric color or type. Let's look at how to do it...

First, place your freezer paper over the pattern and trace the face as is or use the pattern face as a guideline for feature location and draw in your own face. The nice thing about this method is that you can keep tracing, or drawing, faces until you have exactly the face you want. In the pictures, Lucy's (the small cat) face was traced from the pattern and for Logan's (the bigger dog) face the pattern was used as a guideline. His nose is rounder and his eyes were changed slightly. Use a pen that is the same, or close to, the color of thread you plan to use to stitch the face (unless you're stitching in white) to draw the pattern. Color in the nose and irises. Be sure to draw on the matte (top side) of the freezer paper. 

Once drawn, cut around your face so it will fit on your cut fabric body. Place your freezer paper face on the right side of your body piece, with shiny side down, centered on the head.

Press the freezer paper to the fabric, holding the iron for a few seconds. Your interfacing should already be on the wrong side of your head (see above). Don't use double sided fusible web, or you will end up fusing your animal to your ironing board!

You're ready to sew. Use a free motion, or walking foot (pictured), and follow the lines drawn filling in the nose and irises with a back and forth (walking foot) or circular (free motion foot) stitch. Be sure you stitch over each drawn line twice so the face will be clear. Back-tack at the start and end of any stitching. 

All that's left is to tear away the freezer paper. Use your seam ripper to get any small pieces of paper remaining. Don't worry about removing the paper from the nose or irises. That's why we colored it in. The paper helps those areas look more solid and you don't have to spend an hour picking out little white scraps. Win-win! 

Keep following the pattern from here and in no time you'll have a new cuddly cutie. 

Find all the supplies you need for this project at Stitchin' Post. 

Lucy & Logan Kits  -  Lucy & Logan Pattern  -  Farmhouse Flannel  -  All Fabric

Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to receive all the information about this project and all the other 12 Projects of Christmas. 

Stitchin' Post's The 12 Projects of Christmas is a newsletter event. Each week starting in October we've selected a fun and fast project, perfect for gifting or holiday decorating. Every project is designed and selected by our experts to make it easy for you to find and craft stylish useful items everyone will love. 

Dreaming in Color - Trusting Your Intuition with Jean Wells

I feel like I am “Dreaming in Color” with summer finally here, and my garden and pots all planted. I just love this time of year. Last February, on a ten day trip to Maui, John and I ended up with six days of torrential rain. It was warm and beautiful, but really wet. Thank goodness I put together a bag of linen squares, scrap fabric, and cotton pearl floss. So I was a happy camper cutting out simple stone shapes with my small embroidery scissors and stitching to my heart's content.

The challenge for me was to work with what I had and to design more randomly. I found myself referring to the color vocabulary words (February blog) during the process. I would ask myself “does this one need something darker, brighter, lighter, etc". The words came to me automatically. Sometimes we do not give ourselves enough credit in “trusting our intuition”. And all I had to work with was what was in the bag so I had to find solutions there.

I created small pieces of art from those vacation stones and had them framed, which brought on more color decisions when it comes to the fabric mat and frame. I will share images and comments with you below. They are all going into Valori’s and my gallery show at the store in July. (I always get nervous that nobody will want to purchase them.)

“Vacations Stones” is the name of the series.

Day I - blues and greys were easy, but the bit of magenta and gold added some spice. The deeper blue mat made the stones pop and the warmth of the reddish brown frame I felt it drew you back in.

Day II - This was the hardest group to put together as I had that one peach block so I pulled the green stone with a bit of orange for the other block. Once I felt the three blocks could work together then I choose thread for stitching to unit them. What to do about the mat color??? I finally settled on the deep violet as you can see in the bottom block.

Day III – These are my favorites to work with and very soothing. Texture became really important and fun. Adding all of the texture was fun. I auditioned several colored fabric for the mat and they just did not play well with the elegance of the blocks so I went with a cream colored linen and framed it in soft olive.

Day IV  - This is one of my favorite combinations with the indigo and teal. I was not sure about combining them but I like it. I had to put a bit of orange in as it is opposite on the color wheel from the blues. And I love the deep turquoise linen and indigo frame.

Day  V – This combination was another challenge for me and I was starting to run out of fabric. I had a tiny little scrap of a hand dye fabric that you see in the bottom right hand block and once I picked some friends to go with it then I was off and running. The gold block silk with the gold stitching was a left over piece from a quilt I made several years ago. I was so happy it found a home. For the mat I went with a warm avocado green and a green frame.

Day VI – I set aside the yellow green fabrics right when I started creating the stone and the little pile of fabric grew with the addition of the blacks and prints. This piece feels very playful to me. I searched through my linen pile of fabric and found this print design. It felt really good along with the black frame.

Stitchin' Post Logo Tote

Have you seen our canvas logo totes?

The totes are pretty darn cute as is, but we thought it would be fun to embellish a few as well.

Aren't they fantastic! The amazing June Jaeger painted the two bags above for us. I love them. I'm not an accomplished painter, but it makes me want to try. It also got me thinking that for those like me, using paints with stamps or stencils could also be very cool.  

 

I decided to embellish my bag with a bit of embroidery. I'm no expert at that either, but I had a lot of fun experimenting. I used a washable marker to draw in an outline for my mountains and then just started stitching. Fun! I plan to add to my bag, but I like how it's coming together. 

How would you embellish the tote? 

Besides being cute, and a fun creativity experiment, our logo tote is made from recycled cotton canvas and a great size for carrying all your necessities (16" W x 15.5" H x 5" gusset). Use your bag for groceries, your latest knitting project or toting home your next fabric purchase. Whatever you use your bag for, you'll be helping the planet, and doing it in style.

We want to help you, help the planet, so we are offering our totes for only $15 until the end of the year. Plus, if you visit the shop and bring in your bag we will take $ .25 off of your purchase. 

Cheers!

Samantha

 

Pillow Play with Jasmine Panel

 

I love changing up pillows on my couch with the seasons. I keep the same pillow forms and just change out the covers. I am very excited about using the running stitch as a decorative accent, and you can see where I pieced in some Essex linen in these Jasmine Panel pillows to stitch on. You see the stitching everywhere.

 

I found out it is called the Kantha Stitch and comes from West Africa. These days, you see it on textiles from India too. It is very easy to do with six strand embroidery floss or size 8 perle cotton thread. Last week end, my seven year old granddaughter was in Sisters and saw me stitching, and wanted to do her own. So now I am helping her with a blanket for her American Girl doll.

 

Happy Stitching!

Jean

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Winter & Spring Classes at the Stitchin' Post

Winter and Spring Classes are open and waiting to be filled!

We have a big line up for quilting, sewing and knitting classes for January through June. 

We had our Class Preview Party on January 9th, but we still have all the samples up in the classroom for you to see. 

 

Take a class or two from our resident Jelly Roll queen, Edie. Kiwi Conserve, Jelly Sandwich, Wistful, and Blueberry Hill. Each Classes uses Jelly rolls and  are a snap to sew together. 

If you're looking for an Art Quilt class or two, we have a few to choose from.

Leotie Richards' Fearless Portraiture  creates a portrait within a context of graphic imagery that tells a story.

Julia Jeans' Fabric and Paper Beads adds a bit of 'pop' or of dimension to your fashion, art quilts, jeweler and more with fabric and/or paper beads.

Bobi Herring, a new teacher to the store, will be teaching her Magpie Menagerie. Experience "eccentric styling" with raw-edge hand appliqué, couching, embroidery and some nubby twist edges.

Sharon Carvalho is mixing the digital world with quilting in her Digital Surface Design. Maniplulate, recreate, build, blend, and incorporate images in ways not yet imagined.  

Learning new techniques and how to use a new to you tool can be difficult, but with these three teachers, they make it a breeze. 

Join Laura Simmons as she shows you how to make a new classic, Metro Rings using the Quick Curved ruler and block construction as well as quilting ideas when you finish. 

Paper Piecing can be intimidating, but with Joyce Boyd it can be fun. Learn the basic concepts of Paper Piecing buy making sample blocks from different projects.

Kathy Shaker is here to teach a monder approach with the simple-to-assemble quilt in Crazy Dresden. Combining machine and hand stitching along the seams of the blocks is refreshingly quick and fun!

Knitters and all alike, we have some great, fantastic classes for you to take! Our three teachers, Paula, Pat and Gin are ready to teach a variety of techniques and projects. 

Pat Drake is back to teach three knitting classes for us and they are beautiful projects. Stitch-Sampler Handwarmers & Ribbed Scarf is all about the endless possibilities for combining knit and purl stitches. Diagonal Lace Wrap & Scarf is an easy-to-knit yet elegant pattern.The Simple Sideways Scarf is easy to wear in many yarns, with the shallow triangle shape has a long tails to wrap or tie. 

 

For our friends out there who would like to learn how to Crochet, do not fret! Paula Johnson will e teaching Beginning Crochet 101 where you will learn the basics, as well as Beginning Crochet 102 where you will focus on going beyond the basics with new stitches and projects. Paula is also teaching Needle Felting. It is a way to use fiber in a new and exciting way. It's easy and fun.

Paula is just a busy bee when it comes to teaching classes. Offering two Crocheted projects and and three Knitting. Crocheted Hat will teach you how to crochet in the round and the Crocheted Shawl/Scarf is a beauty you can do. Learn to make the Lace Knitted Socks on with whichever meatod of knitting in the round you prefer. Then make some Lace Back Fingerless Mitts. This is your chance to pick from three different lace patterns. With all that left over bits of yarn you have from past projects, Paula will show you how to use them to make shawl in Crazy Ball Shawl.

 

 If you have ever wanted to take a class from Janet Storton, the you are in luck! Janet will be teaching both The Grass benith their feet Quilt where you will discuse pattern and fabric layout and some fabric traiding. In the Historic Story Quilt" class  Three different appliqué techniques and stitchery will be taught to make each quilt a "museum quality" work of art.

Toney Phillips is at it again with three classes. A favorite of ours and everybody else, Tonye is bringing back her Fabric Postcards. Being surrounded by wonderfully textured and shaped cones here in Central Oregon. What better idea for a small wall-hanging quilt than Pine Cones! Let's keep the shapes simple and practice a bit of hand applique together in Cascade Cones. Tonye will share her simplified techniques with a no-pressure approach in Silly Bird. 

 Four classes, art, traditional, fishy and styleish, Jean Wells will be more than happy to share her work and techniques with you. Join Jean for Mixology, Trip Around the Wolrd, Metolius, and the Briefcase Tote. 

 

Join Peggy Lindsay in her Chunky Monkey class. Just like swinging from trees, this quilt or table runner is fast and fun! Taken from the book Skinny Quilts, Chunky Monkey fits into your narrow spaces. Let's stack, shuffle, slice, and insert to keep things interesting in Hibachi.

Remember those colorful granny-square crochet blocks designed to use up scraps of yarn? Now you can create a colorful Great Granny Square quilt with 2 ½" fabric scraps from your stash! Joind Tamra Dumolt in Great Granny Squares. 

Candy Woods as she shows you how to make Suburbs, by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew, a beginner-friendly quilt made with Layer Cakes or Fat Quarters.

Gather your favorite Marcia Derse fabrics and join Annette as she guide you in the techniques of improv cutting and keeping the curve of your rows manageable in this ½ day class in Sticks.

As a Change of pace, Sheila Snyder and Candy will be here to show you how to make the Turban Footstool. Sheila has put together all the ingredients to make this footstool come together quickly and easily. 

Join award-winning garment artist Deb Wilkinson to get a good foundation started in color, design and finishing of your own personal art statement in Wearable Art Vest.  

 Pam Raby is back with three new classes that are fenominal. Speed DAting Improve: Round Robin, Double Trouble Stash Buster, and Pin Cushion Selvedge Stash. 

 Sue McMahn is teaching two Tula Pink quilts! Freckles, is both quirky and elegant in a way that only Tula can achieve! The "freckle circle" is easy. Relax and enjoy an adventure with a bright and breezy result. Then take Misdirection, with a fabulous sense of color position, this quilt provides a playful romp among fabric. Misdirection can be accomplished so easily with the Quilt In A Day 4"x8" Flying Geese ruler. With very little fabric waste and easily followed directions, four geese units will be created at a time, using just four lines of stitching!

 Kristin Sheilds is offering two classes as well. Join Kristin for a fun day of hand stitching as Folk Art Creatures come to life with simple embroidery. Create animal designs with inspiration of your own choosing or from the templates provided. In Improv Feathers, come learn liberated and improvisational techniques as they relate to feathers. Kristin will also introduce gentle curves.

 Our very own Lawry Thorn is offering two classics, Absolute Begining Quilting and Begining Machine quilting, and a new purr-fectly fun class Kitty Kitty, from Elizabeth Hartman's Pattern, Kittens. 

 Its always a pleasure to have June as an instructior, so join her in her fun Doodle Quilting where you will experience a variety of doodle-quilting designs. Once again June is teaching her Picture Design, utilizing June's "paint-by-number" technique, you too can create a fabric picture from any photo

 All of these classes and more are open for signup. So check them out and more at www.StitchinPost.com

And as alwyas, Happy Quilting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little embroidery.... with Valori Wells

Hello Friends....

I love embroidery. Over the years I have embroidered bits and pieces of my fabric designs. Adding stitching to quilts, bags, and pillows whatever I can think of that will add a little more texture and color to a project. My flora design in Mystic is perfect for embroidery.

I like to make something for my mom at Christmas and this year at the last minute I decided to embroidery on the grey canvas Flora to make into a pillow for her. It is perfect colors for her house. This is the modern canvas from Robert Kaufman so it is light weight compared to traditional canvas. It is perfect for pillows and bags...

I added some gold piping which worked really well at accenting the gold in the embroidery. The great thing about taking a printed fabric and adding embroidery is that you don't have to embroider the entire pillow. Just add to the design of the fabric. My mom loved it...

She has now started one for a friend of hers.... it is in progress so I thought I would show you how easy it is to embroider a little fabric and make something...

Here we go in progress. I use three strands of the Aurifil embroidery floss. Tie a knot in one end and use the design printed on the fabric as your guide.

It is that simple.... I like to use a couple of colors in the flower. But it is up to you... maybe an variegated thread. There are so many great fabrics out there that would be perfect for this technique.

I have to share a few photos of Morocco that inspired this new design Flora, from Mystic. It is not a specific flower but the essence of the flora in Morocco...created into a stencil like design....something simple but dramatic.

The roses at Peacock Pavilions were amazing...

The stenciled door in our house at Peacock Pavilions....

And a little henna to round it out.....

The winner of the Gypsum blog bundle giveaway is..... Robin (you have been emailed).

I have more fabric to give away... and with this bundle I am going to include some of the canvas.. just leave a comment to be entered to win. Winner announced on the next blog post this Friday....

Have a great day!!!

xoxox

Valori

Just in case you would like to come to Morocco and do a little creating and exploring... YA SALAM

 Amy Butler’s Ya Salam Exotic Getaway! Marrakesh Morocco
November 5 - 12 2016

Join Amy and David Butler and creative guru Val Wells for an exciting inspiration expedition exploring Marrakesh and all of it’s exotic inspirations!
Our week together will be filled with creative workshops mixed with day trips that take us to fascinating, colorful locals! We’ll scour the souks, visit
historic sites in Marrakesh and have a full day in the Atlas Mountains taking in the natural beauty and tour the rural Berber villages. Our home base
is the gorgeous Peacock Pavilions.  Many of our meals and events will take place at the Pavilions including our creative
workshop sessions. You are in for a treat!