Embroidery Catch-up

The second half of 2016 wasn't super productive for me, craft-wise. Work was very busy, and I found myself using my weekends to squeeze in social time and sleep. I was also making a quilt for a friend's wedding gift (the wedding was in June... eek!), which took up what little time I allotted to creative efforts. The quilt is (finally) finished, but I just shipped it off to the recipients, so I'm waiting for them to see it before I post anything about it!

However, I did make a few embroideries! My good friends Randy and Marie welcomed twins (!) in June. I made a quilt for their big brother Anthony when he was born, but I knew I wouldn't have the time to make two quilts before the babies arrived. Instead, I made Lidia and Vincent their own embroideries!

Vincent's lion comes from a pattern by Kimberly Ouimet, and Lidia's bird comes from one of Jenny Hart's books. The twins couldn't be more different! Vincent is a little ham and a total people-person, while Lidia is more serious and knows what she wants. Both babies are adorable and ooze personality, just like their big brother!

One of my school friends, Kim, recently got married to an excellent guy. Sadly, I could not attend their Florida wedding, but I wanted to send them some crafty goodness, so I came up with this:

They are both Disney-obsessed, and while I thought about going full-on Cinderella's castle with the embroidery, I opted for a simpler Disneyesque message. I also did some reconnaissance to find out what their wedding colors would be so I could incorporate them!

The main flowers came from a Polka & Bloom pattern, but I ended up adapting them a bit. I used a raised satin stitch for those, and a daisy stitch for the little flowers on the side (which also remind me a bit of snowflakes).

In case you're wondering (and I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat!), all of the text just comes from Word fonts. I've downloaded a few fancier fonts, but after one font ended up crashing my computer, I've since given up on that! In general, I think the simpler the font, the better. I also like freehanding the text when I can. I have pretty nice penmanship, if I do say so myself!

Finally, I finished my Book Girl embroidery at long last! It's from September House and I knew I had to have it the first time I stumbled across it. (It sort of looks like a skinnier version of me, and I, too, am book-obsessed!) I must have purchased it 2 or 3 years ago, started it about a year and a half ago, and finally finished it in the fall. It wasn't that it was difficult; I just sort of lost momentum. I also decided to fill in all of the outlines, which took a while, so I only chipped away at it here and there. 

In the end, I'm so, so happy with it. I used jewel tones (my favorite color palette at the moment) and unintentionally gave the girl an outfit I actually own.

I have another embroidery in progress, but I haven't picked it up in quite a while. Maybe this post will give me some motivation!