Embroidery

I have always enjoyed doing hand embroidery even as a kid.

 Just before my family's summer vacations at a lake up northern Michigan,

 I would go to the Five and Dime store in my little town and

 buy a couple of new prestamped dishtowels.

Along with a new coloring book and crayons,

that would keep me busy while I was gone.

I'm not an expert embroiderer

and I don't use a multitude of different stitches.

Most of my project just warrant constancy and

trying not to have dangling french knots.

Getting the project for May prepped

 "Baby Days" 

reminded me of some techniques that make my

time more efficient and eliminate headaches.

1. A Good Backside Can Be A Great Cover Up

It's nice to baste a piece of muslin or light weight

batting to the back side of your piece.

If you travel with the floss from one spot to another

it doesn't shadow through.  

This doesn't work for towels, but I sure

I wish I had done this on many quilt tops.

2. Don't Rush

I'm always in a hurry when it comes to marking

a pattern.

My fabric must have slipped while it was on my

light table.  

Now I have double dots for french knots.

 They're not going to get covered up very well,

but it was a lesson learned.

Would this be the time for a dangling french knot?

3. Lazy Daisies

I have also learned that if I draw the loop for

a lazy daisy stitch, my markings never match.

Instead I just place a dot for the location

of the stitch.

It works much better for me.

4. The More Needles the Better

When I get a whole package of needles I use them.

Thread those babies up.

5. Keep It Thin

A pigma pen 01 or 001 is the

best marking tool.  

The line is so thin that a single strand of floss will 

cover it up.

Pick a color that will blend in with most of the

floss colors, just in case.

These pens are perfect for redwork.

6. Do What You Like Best

This pattern suggests that 3 strands of floss be used

for the stitching.

But in this case the details are so fine and small,

3 strands would just make a blob in some places.

Directions can be looked at as a suggestion.

Do what you like best.

 For me, I'm using 2 strands.

Until Next Time-