Small Embroidery Projects

Amid all of the quilting I've been doing  (Drea's quilt is finished and is currently in the wash!), I've managed to squeeze in a few embroidery projects. Embroidery is so much more relaxing and less involved than quilting that it offers a good break from the big projects. Here are a few things I finished.

I made this for my mom for Mother's Day. The pattern is from Polka & Bloom, and I embroidered it on white patterned fabric I got in a fat quarter sale at JoAnn. For the floss, I picked out bright colors I knew she would like, and I think it actually ended up matching the apron I embroidered for her for Christmas!

Close-ups:

My college friends Rachel & EJ welcomed their second child, Ethan, in July. Since their son Eddy is just a few years older, they already had all of the baby things they needed. So, we threw them a "Baby Sprinkle" a few weeks before Rachel's due date to help them restock on necessities. I wanted to make Ethan a little something special, though, so I embroidered this pattern from Aimee Ray on a bib I ordered from Sublime Stitching. It was a big hit at the "Baby Sprinkle!"

Another set of college friends were having a different kind of big event. My friends Michelle and Steve got hitched in August after dating for 13 years! I bought them something off their registry that also had meaning for Michelle & I, but of course I had to make them something, too. (Michelle is the culinary mind behind Taste As You Go and has brought me as her plus one for many a free meal, so I owe her!)

I knew I didn't want it to be too wedding specific, since I'm sure they received enough presents with their names and wedding date on them. So, I decided on love birds stitched in several shades of purple, their wedding color. I went back and forth between a few patterns, even purchasing a different one before I settled on this one, which I already owned but had never used. It's from one of Jenny Hart's books, and I was very happy with the way it turned out! The frame is from IKEA, and I like how the shadowbox style gives it some depth and doesn't smoosh the fabric. (Yes, smoosh is the technical term...) I was happy to hear that it has already found a place in their home!

Finally, another baby embroidery -- this time for the offspring of my childhood friend Shauna and her husband Brian. At the time of the shower, no one knew the sex of the baby, but they picked out an adorable forest animal pattern for the baby's room that featured owls! (My favorite!) So, I stitched up this pattern (also from Jenny Hart) in colors that would work for a boy or a girl, and added it to the gift bag. 

Baby Adam was born on August 20th, which also happens to be Shauna's birthday (best birthday present ever?), and I've been told the embroidery is hanging in Adam's room, playing with all of the other woodland creatures in there.

I have one other embroidery in progress for another awesome baby that has already been born, but apart from that, I'm all caught up on my embroidery adventures. I also have one non-quilting sewing project in progress that I plan on finishing up this weekend. And my brother will be pleased to know that I'll finally be starting on his LSU quilt this week. (He's been bugging me about it to no end. You'd never think a guy would be so excited about a quilt...) As to whether it gets finished before his birthday in a month... we'll have to see...