Embroidery - My entry

So I finished it.  My entry for the Prudent Baby "Use Your Words" contest. 

Yes, I am happy I actually completed a project.  It seems like these days I haven't been too productive in the crafting area.  Still very unmotivated due to my craft room mess (it's now been over a month...disaster).  It's one thing or another, organize a little, or sew a little.  I'm determined to get my space organized, so I choose to organize a little.

So this embroidery project I guess was a good creative outlet away from my usual crafting space.  Since I was able to sit in bed, in my car at lunch, and on the couch while watching T.V.

When I started to think about this project, like most, I had something kinda in mind.  This project was inspired by this quote, "A perfectly kept house is a sign of a misspent life".  A few months back I saw this on a local bloggers blog, Bounty Huntress.  Since her post, this quote has stuck with me, and I've known I wanted this up on my wall, but I wasn't sure what to do with it...until now.

I LOVE this quote! 

I went out to Michael's and bought some embroidery thread with one vision in mind (the quote and dandelions, the flyaway type), so that meant I bought colored thread to what I envisioned. However, that quickly changed once I got home and stood and stared at my neatly folded stacks of vintage sheets.  It was then that I realized I needed to use one of those for the fabric. So my original idea took a small detour.  The quote and dandelions, the flyaway type with poppies and daisies.

Next there was another project I've been wanting to try but haven't had an actual purpose, yet, which could be incorporated into the embroidery project.  Print directly onto fabric, using your regular printer.  I've seen this done on several web sites (sorry I'm not referencing any particular site because I didn't refer back to any for this project, otherwise I would reference it).  Basically you use freezer paper as a stabilizer for the fabric.  Cut the fabric and freezer paper the size of a sheet a paper.  Iron the freezer paper onto the fabric and run it through the printer.

Freezer paper on the backside of the fabric.

Since I wanted the print on a particular portion of the fabric design I had to do some measurements first to make sure the print would land where I wanted it.  I did a test run on a regular piece of paper and held it up against the light with the fabric/freezer paper to see if everything was ok.  Made some slight adjustments, and onto printing on to the fabric.

This process to me seemed a little iffy, and I'll admit my first time did not work.  The fabric got slightly tugged when fed through, which then led the printing to be all wonky.  I tried to wash the fabric but all the ink didn't come out.

Got a new cut of fabric, made some more adjustments to the measurements, since the cut of fabric is now different than the last cut, and this time it worked.  Yay!!  Happy dance.

I placed the fabric in the embroidery loop and was ready to embroider.


Yuck!!!  My start started off rough, as I previously mentioned.  I wasn't following any particular style (that I know of), and it showed.  I decided to open up my thrifted Home and Garden Embroidery book.  Looked as some stitches and decided on the back stitch for my "words".

Happy sigh.....ahhhhh.  That looks much better.  What a different a stitch makes. Once I got the whole quote done, I went back and corrected the first couple of letters.

So much prettier.

The quote alone didn't seem like it was gonna be enough for the entry.  So I went on and embroidered two of the flowers.  At first they seemed a little rough, also, but that's only because I kept to the actual pattern.  Once it was done they actually blend right in with the other flowers.  I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

Oh along with the words that were back stitched I have two other types of stitches here, a French knot and a silk stitch.

Now I don't know if this entry is award winning worthy, keep in mind this is my first attempt at embroidery, but you can't expect to win anything if you don't try or enter, right?  I have no doubt there will be some amazing entries, and a gorgeous one probably done by machine will win, and that's ok.  I know I tried...by hand, and I hate sewing by hand.  
 
Whew!

Next on my list a laptop sleeve for my daughters new laptop.