I put the finishing touches on my Phoebe Anna piece, increasing the rows of couching on the large leaf to intensify the colours (other than the underlying brown)and outlining the berries, branches and leaf.
I spent some time considering what to do with the piece before settling on a bag that I can use for projects. I had some dark denim that I thought would work well, so made that into a bag and inserted the embroidery before discovering that the dye in the denim transferred to my hands while stitching. I unpicked the embroidered insert, washed the denim and rinsed it thoroughly in vinegar to set the die.
The finished product, lined in pale blue chambray, is attractive and useful - both important to me. It will also be examined and appreciated by stitching friends as I use it for current projects - beginning, I hope, with the Rose and Thistle crewel work - the second project from the Scottish Highlands Tour that I now intend to move on to!
5 comments:
this has made the bag look so lovely, denim can be a pain, I remember back in the 60`s girls used to get in the bath with their new jeans on to shrink them to fit tightly and would then be blue from the dye!! I was not one of them having only ever had on pair of jeans.
Thanks Margaret. I should have remembered about denim dye! The bag worked well today.
The bag looks wonderful, and the finished embroidery is so lovely. I'm sure it will give you pleasure every time you use the bag, and I hope it hangs decoratibvely on the doorhandle when not in use....it looks great there in the photo!
What a wonderful way to use your beautifully stitched piece. You will see it often and it will definitely be admired by others. A lovely, lovely finish.
Gorgeous work, Jillian! That last photo really shows the sheen of the stitching. I bet it looks really rich in real life. It's so nice to be able to use it in your daily life, and remember your wonderful trip too. Great idea!
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