More Crafting Obsession: The Birds and the Blanket

So, yeah:)  You NEVER know what might turn up on this here lil blog.... :)  On my last post, I showed you some pictures of my latest crafting obsession, and I shared a link to a website that features free vintage embroidery.  Oh, you didn't see that post?  Well by all means, click HERE.  :)

In keeping with the theme of the hour, here are a few more pictures of my recent crafting obsessions: a little girl quilt with patches of embroidered birds. 

Disclaimer:  I am NOT a professional.  I usually DO NOT have any clue where I'm going or what I'm doing when I start a project.  This is NOT a tutorial.  (SQUIRREL!!!)

That being said, take a look.

 

Remember, I'm not a pro, and I had no idea what I was doing when I started.  I just liked the pictures of little birdies that I've been seeing on Pinterest and on the web....kinda like THESE from Birdie Brown and THIS from The Split Stitch.  (Those are links to FREE PRINTABLE PATTERNS.  Go ahead and see for yourself.)

 

I think I took the pictures of the birds before I washed the quilt, so ignore any signs of blue marker that you may see...

Aren't those the sweetest little birds?  If you were hoping for a how-to or a PDF so you can print your own patterns of the birds, well..... sorry:)  Truthfully, I'm too lazy to make a tutorial, and honestly, all I did was google images and then draw the images with washable marker on to my blockS of fabric.  I have no PDF files to share other than the links above. That's it:)

Oh!  Here are some more birds that I embroidered onto a very wrinkled dish towel.  I PROMISE I ironed and ironed it.... I think I need a new iron.....

 

 

If you're not so great at drawing or doodling, take heart and search Pinterest.  There are scads of free PDF files out there created by people who are not nearly as lazy as I:)  [Notice how I worked scads into yet another post?] :)

 

If you know of any good links, blogs, sites, or Pinterest boards, please pass them on!  Thanks!

Current Crafting Obsessions

Happy February, everyone!

Can you believe Spring is almost here?  Wasn't it just Christmas a few weeks ago?

Just thought I'd share with you a little bit of what I've been up to in the evenings and on weekends....

Last Fall, while we were waiting for her knee to heal and for her physical therapy to end, my mom taught me how to do embroidery by hand.  I learned how to cross stitch when I was but a wee child, but I never learned how to do anything that didn't require a grid--until now, that is.

Usually, when I learn something new, I go overboard.  (Those of you who received homemade gifts of jewelery from me in 2003-2004 may remember when I was obsessed with beads and sterling silver findings....)  Anywho, my current crafting obsessions are quilting (again) and embroidery.  Since the fall, I've made six quilts, two embroidered baby onesie & hat sets, four embroidered linen napkins, three embroidered dish towels, one embroidered apron, and scads of blocks of embroidered designs that I will turn in to something or another sometime soon.

[Yes, I just used the word scads.  Haven't thought of that word in years.]

So, here's what I made my mom for Christmas.  **If you are crafty or like vintage embroidery, you can find these holiday patterns (and many more) for FREE on this website that I found through Pinterest.

I started working on these fun little designs before I had an idea of what to do with them....By the time I had finished eight of them, I decided to put together a lap quilt for my mother who is a lover of all things Christmas and all things made by Marie. :) 

 

I only used the stem stitch and the outline/running stitch because, at the time, that's all I knew how to do.

 

I'm not showing you a close-up of the nutcracker block because frankly, he's scary.  The pattern is as cute as can be, but somehow my stitching made him more Halloween-like than "Christmas-y."

Don't y'all love my fancy photography?  :)

 

Besides this quilt for mom, I also made a quilt for my dad.  Phil LOVED dad's quilt so much because it's --as he put it-- a MAN'S blanket.  It's a perfect size and weight, and the soft, plaid flannel on the back is like icing on the (bottom of ) the cake.

(Poor Drew had a hard time holding this one up without swaying....)

 

 

Do any of you know of any other websites or Pinterest boards that feature free patterns for embroidery or quilting?  Please share if you do!