Beginning Embroidery Class!

I will be hosting a beginner embroidery class in my home in Wichita, Kansas, January 31 and February 7 from 1-3 pm.   It is a two part class so we will have time to cover all the stitches. There will be a small supply list available after your enrollment in the class.  Price includes 3 spools of thread.  Class size limited to 4 students.

Hope some of you can take a class from me!

You may pay for the class at this link:

https://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/MKZLTCWVW4VKC

Or use this QR code:

The Beauty and Bounty of Fall 🍁🍁🍁🍁

This spring, I was asked if I would be interested in designing a sampler for the American Spirit magazine and to say I was thrilled is an understatement!  American Spirit magazine is published by the Daughter’s of the American Revolution which I have been a member of for around 6 years.  I have loved being a member of the DAR, and have enjoyed serving my community in many ways.  They have a beautiful building in Washington DC that I visit every summer to attend Continental Congress.  One of the highlights for me at Congress, is to visit the DAR museum to see what quilts and needlework samplers they have on display.  It never disappoints me as DAR has a very large collection, and one year I was so excited when they had a crazy quilt display!

Now, on to the sampler!  I enjoyed  every minute of designing this sampler and it uses 5 basic embroidery stitches and one silk ribbon embroidery stitch.  The pattern for this sampler can be found in the latest edition of American Spirit magazine.  If you would like to subscribe to the magazine, you can click on the link below:

https://www.dar.org/national-society/american-spirit-magazine/subscribe

Also, I have made some tutorial videos if you need any help with learning how to do the stitches in the sampler.  Those videos can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbFUAzh-qjxpROH0drlrNAA/featured

Happy Stitching!

Embroidered Basket Part 2

Hi There!

Time really flies when you are having fun!  My first post on this basket was back in November, so here I am to do part 2.

After you have basted your Golden Threads tracing paper to your fabric, it is time to start the fun part of embroidering.  I started by using a stem stitch to outline the ribs of the basket.

I decided to do French knots to decorate the areas in between the ribs of the basket.  I also did a straight stitch with 4mm silk ribbon to outline the handle of the basket.  French knots done with silk ribbon were added to the base of the basket.

I decided to leave the silk ribbon French knots just above the base of the basket and replace the bottom ones with back stitch done with the same silk ribbon.  I then started added flowers to the basket using 7mm silk ribbon and doing a ribbon stitch.  The stems of the greenery were started using a stem stitch.  Lazy daisy flowers were added to the stem stitch.  Notice that I am removing the tracing paper as I finish places on the basket.

I continued to add the flowers in the basket using 7mm silk ribbon and a ribbon stitch.  I then added colonial knots to the center of all of the flowers.  I decided to replace the lazy daisies leaves on the stems.  I had originally done them with thread, but I decided that the 2mm silk ribbon leaves would show up a little better.  I also added straight stitches around the top of the basket, just below the flowers.

All of the flowers and greenery are done and it is time to complete the handle and top of the basket.

I finished the top of the basket and the handle by winding the 7mm silk ribbon through the straight stitches that I previous did with the matching 4mm silk ribbon.

Wrapping the silk  ribbon around the straight stitches really help to emphasize the shape of the basket!

Basket all done, and I love how it turned out!

If you would like to order the kit for this basket, you can buy it through my etsy shop here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1115097254/silk-ribbon-embroidered-basket-of?click_key=1981c752f0dea460f21fd18309df49d59461987c%3A1115097254&click_sum=1edf4e14&ref=shop_home_active_1

Talk to you soon, 

Embroidered Basket Tutorial Part #1

I recently asked my Joyful Embellishment Facebook group if they would like to embroider a basket of flowers together and there was a lot of interest!  To start the project, simply right click on the image of the basket of flowers and save it to your computer.

I printed mine out to see what size it was and I decided to reduce the image by 75%.

Now you can decide between two different ways of transferring your image.  I usually transfer my image to Golden Threads quilting paper.  You can lay the paper on top of the image and trace it or….

You can cut a piece of freezer paper into an 81/2’’ x 11’’ size and iron the same size piece of Golden Threads paper to the shiny side.  You can then run it through your printer and make a copy of the basket on to the Golden Threads paper.  

Remove the printed pattern from the freezer paper and baste it to the fabric you using to embroider your basket of flowers!

See you on Wednesday with an update on my progress!

Happy Stitching,

 

Santa Fe Trail Adventures!

Good Afternoon!

For many years now, I have been a proud member of the DAR, Daughter’s of the American Revolution.  To become a member of DAR you must be able to trace your lineage back to a patriot who fought in the Revolutionary war.  For some, the process is easy and for other’s it can be a little more challenging to find the documents you need to join.  My application was fairly simple because I had a great aunt who was a member.

When you join DAR, you suddenly have a lot of sisters which is so awesome!  I have made so many friends through this organization and it has been a huge blessing in my life.

Several of my DAR sisters have a passion for the Santa Fe Trail and because this is the 200th anniversary of the trail, a group of us decided to go on a road trip to found Santa Fe trail markers.  In 1906, the DAR placed 96 trail markers across Kansas that follow the trail.  Can you image trying to find out exactly where the trail went in 1906 without GPS?  It must have been a full time job/passion to get these markers placed across Kansas!

One bright, beautiful day in April, 4 of us loaded up in a pick up truck and made our way to Kingsley, Kansas.  We picked that town because we knew they were several in the area and we wouldn’t have to drive as far to find them.

The first stop was actually in the town of Kingsley outside of the Edwards County Historical Museum.  In this picture are two of my DAR sisters, Deb Miller and Deniese Fawcett.  Not pictured is our wonderful National Chair for the Santa Fe trail, Dee Saddler.  

This marker was a little harder to find!  I should have known it would be when the driving instructions included longitude and latitude with it.  With some patience we found it in the middle of Peace Lutheran Cemetery.  We didn’t stay there very long as there were a lot of snake holes!

Next stop was Fort Larned and the Santa Fe Trail museum.  We toured the museum and I couldn’t resist taking pictures of these beautiful quilts!

I thought this baby buggy was just darling with the crazy quilt!

Next stop was Pawnee Rock which was know as the half way point between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Originally the rock was about 150 feet tall and you could look out over the prairie and see the Arkansas river.  A lot of it was cut down when they built the railroad, so it is now 50 to 60 feet tall.

Another marker is found!

All in all, it was a beautiful, fun day spent with my dear DAR sisters!  I can also tell you that is was very addictive to rise to the challenge of looking for the trail markers and I am ready to go again!

Talk to you soon,

Val

It’s Been Awhile!

Hi there!

It’s been quite awhile since I checked in here.  I have been busy with a project or two that has kept me busy!  All my deadlines have been met and I have some time to spend doing other things.  I love to take short drives places and see the sights in our great state of Kansas.  You may think, what is there to do in Kansas?  Well, there is more to see than you think!

This weekend, I wanted to go somewhere and take a hike, so I decided we should go to Osawatomie, Kansas.  I had checked it out and decided to give it a try.  It was a short 2 1/2 hour drive for us and the weather was beautiful!  

Osawatomie is home to the John Brown Museum which houses the 

Adair cabin.  Florella Adair was a half sister to John Brown, and for a brief period of time, he made his home in the Adair cabin.  Of course we all know that John Brown was a staunch abolitionist and participated in a period of time called Bleeding Kansas.  Kansas was a scary place to live during that time as both sides of the slavery issue were fighting to claim Kansas.

Here’s a peek inside the cabin.

Florella’s husband, Samuel Adair was a minister and the church that he started is still standing.  I just love old buildings like this!

We then headed to the Flint Hills trail.

The Flint Hills trail runs 117 miles across Kansas and mile zero is in Osawatomie.  We thought it would be more of a hiking trail, but it really seems more like a biking trial.  The weather was lovely and we hiked it for about 3 miles.

Such a beautiful day!

All in all we had a great day!

Talk to you soon,

Val

Two Old Navy Tops

The other day I had to take my son to Old Navy for some sweat pants and I decided to take a look around to see what I could find for spring.  I found the cutest top that has little flutter sleeves and smocking on the top.  I really love the floral print too!

Here is the top by itself.  It looks so cute with jeans and my grey Converse tennis shoes!
I also love these Nickle and Suede earrings that I bought last month!  You can find the top here.

I kept the whole outfit the same and just added a dark denim jean jacket for cooler days and I loved the look!  The earrings can be purchased here and I am wearing the medium size.

I tried changing the jacket out for a light denim jacket and it was cute also, just gives it a different look.  The Converse I am wearing can be found here.

 Because there is olive green leaves in the top, I tried it with a military style jacket and it looked good also.  I just love it when I find a top that I can wear more than one way!

I also found the polka dot tunic length top and it is so cute and would also look great with a pair of white jeans.

I have a fun project that I am working on right now, but it has deadlines, so that is why today's post is short.  Have a great day and I'll be back next week!