I’ve been waiting to post about my latest embroidery because it was a gift for a fellow blogger and I didn’t want her to see it here first and ruin the surprise. But, she received it on Friday and I’ve forgotten to post the picture of it here!
Hannah of the artisan duck posted her goals for the year, commenting that she was going to have a resolution to ‘be brave and make it happen’. Her idea struck me as soon as I read it, and when she commented about taking ownership of it by writing it in purple I immediately wanted to make her an embroidered version.
Obviously I chose purple for the writing but mixed in a strand of gold to add some sparkle. I’m just annoyed at myself that I didn’t end the thread on the first row of words and start again on the second, as the thread shows up quite a bit behind the material. I slid a second piece of material behind it to try to disguise it a bit, but you can still see that… Though I hope it won’t be too obvious if it gets hung on a wall and head no light behind it. I definitely need to learn from this mistake and not do it again!
I debated for ages about how to decorate it and eventually decided on a bee and a flower. As I was sewing I found myself thinking about bees and how hard they have to work to make honey. But I realised that they also have a team of other bees to help them in their work. It also occurred to me that a bee’s work (collecting nectar from different flowers) has a positive side effect of pollinating plants, that the bee is presumably quite unaware of.
I wrote these thoughts in the card as I hope they will encourage hannah in her bid to be brave and make it happen this year, recognising that she is not on her own, that there’s a whole lot of people she can turn to for help if needed, and that she may find that she has an unexpected and maybe unnoticed positive effect on others in her journey.
What a lovely idea 😊 I enjoy seeing Hannah’s makes too, she’s very inspiring!
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Definitely. I bought a necklace from her for a friend and it’s just stunning
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Thank you Mrs Craft 🙂
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What a lovely gift!
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Thank you. It was fun making a surprise for someone I’d met through my blog
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Love it! 😀
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Thank you 😊
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Thats wonderful!
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Thank you so much 😊
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What a lovely gift. Oh, and thank you for the card!
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You’re welcome, and thank you!
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What a great idea, and so very delicate. 🙂 I love it.
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Thank you. I was worried it was too delicate and too pale to show up but the design stands out enough I think
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No, the design is perfect. I love the delicate stitches you used. 🙂
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Thank you so much.
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What a thoughtful gift! I didn’t notice the visible thread issue until you pointed it out, so good save.
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Oh cool! Thank you, that’s encouraging
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What a lovely gift, your too kind 🙂
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Thank you. I love the idea of gifts so it’s always fun to surprise someone with something unexpected
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You do such beautiful work and give lovely gifts. I just realised it was me who won one of your blogiversary gifts. I did not realise I was eligible and thought it was for someone with the same name. Thank you so much. Have just sent you an email.
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Thanks for the email… I’m glad you know it’s you now! It’ll be in the post soon. Thank you. I hope you’re as pleased with it when you see the real thing!
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Looking forward to it arriving! Thank you Julia.
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You’re very welcome 😊
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What a beautiful, thoughtful gift. 🌼
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Thank you
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How very thoughtful! It turned out so pretty!
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Thank you. I was really pleased with it
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Thank you Julia, I adore the embroidery and it was a lovely surprise. You are so kind and thoughtful. Don’t worry the threads don’t show through at all.
I have blogged about it today. It really was happy post indeed 🙂
Hannah x
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Oh that’s good to hear about the threads not showing through. Your post was lovely 😊
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Thank you 😃
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What a lovely and thoughtful gift! And if you are anything like me you only make the mistake of not backing your work once 😉
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Thank you. I just need to stop trying to save time and actually fasten off and start again! Does backing involve sewing another piece of material over the back of the hoop to stop the light coming through?
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When I back something I just pop a bit of calico or other plain back fabric in the hoop at the same time as the top fabric and then sew through both when embroidering. You have to keep both tight in the frame but I don’t have problems with that ☺️
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Oh wow… What a simple but great idea. I’ll try that next time
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Aw how lovely! What a fab surprise that must have been 🙂
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I get the feeling she really liked it!
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such a beautiful gift and encouraging message!
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Thank you. It was such a lovely thing to make. Personal gifts are awesome
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