Stitching Love, Mushrooms and Strippers!

I thought I would share my recent-ish embroidery projects with you today. I really love embroidery, I find it the perfect way to relax.  I have taken the true love heart and the fan dancer from Embroidered Effects by Jenn Hart, if you are new to embroidery this book is amazing, not only does it teach you lots of the basic stitches but it also has loads of iron on transfers to play with. The little mushroom is based on a drawing from a graphics book I borrowed from the library. I copied the design onto my fabric using some grease proof paper and my Sulky iron on transfer pen.  

My next embroidery project involves stitching some place mats, I bought 6 for £1 from this little antique shop I stumbled upon the other week. I need to decide on a theme, at the moment I am thinking pin ups and vegetables. Who wouldn't want to eat their dinner off a placemat with those two things on?!

Hope you are having a great week <3

xkx

Sneak a Peek into my Sewing Box?

I thought I would give you a little peek into my sewing box today, this is where I keep all my basic bits and bobs that usually get waylaid and lost down the back of the sofa. Ed bought me this box filled with Lush products for our anniversary and I was so happy to be able to turn it into my sewing box so I could keep all my sewing things along side the happy memories of that day... cheesy huh. 

1. My gorgeous, much loved pin cushion that my mum made me! It is based on one        that I saw in a Cath Kidston shop... but i like mine better. 

2. Just a little embroidered frame I have been working on to maybe put on Etsy.

3. All purpose craft glue, what creative lady can live without it?

4. Cath Kidston measuring tape, Ed bought it me as a treat ages ago.

5. Hello Kitty paper clips, I love these so much they make me happy every time I use them.

6. Candy pink cotton, always useful especially to tease Ed that I will mend his clothes with it.

7. Random coloured embroidery thread, mostly the colours I was using on my small hoop.

8. Small embroidery hoops that I found at the local market for quite a good price.

9. My trusty embroidery scissors. If you are into embroidery or want to start doing some, invest in some good scissors! These cost me about £8, I religiously only snip thread with them, I look after them and they look after me.

10. Easy thread needles seemed a good idea at the time, but they are pretty useless when I am using 6 strand embroidery thread, 2-3 strand works okay though so they are not a total waste.

11. The Sulky Iron-on Transfer Pen is possibly the best £5 I have ever spent! It is amazing because it means you can turn any line drawing into an embroidery transfer, it is awesome! I will do a tutorial on how I use this soon. 

12. Thread Heaven Conditioner and Protectant is a wicked product, just drag your embroidery thread through it and it will make your thread all smooth and conformist. Lovely product. Some people say you need two, one for dark thread and one for light but I haven't had a problem using just one block yet. 

I hope you have enjoyed looking through the treasures in my sewing box. What lovely things do you have in yours?

xkx