my best friends wedding . . . . .

As per usual i was totally disorganised and started on this the night before their wedding,
they had the nicest, low-key and laid back wedding EVER
they wanted no fuss - just their friends to come and enjoy their day
they were not in it for the presents. . . . . .

BUT
Lisa is my very best friend
we met twenty years ago
when we both worked here
http://www.bluegallery.co.uk/
she was there for me through good times and bad
she was like an extra parent to my daughter for her first five years
and if you can't make something to celebrate your BFF's wedding . . . .

^ LOOK LOOK LOOK ^
french knots
i can do them at last!
it's only taken me twenty odd years of trying
and now i know how there is no stopping me!

the photo's aren't great
but i gave it to them now so it's too late to take more

***CONGRATULATIONS***
Lisa and Sam
Mr & Mrs
wow does that mean you're grown ups now?

*******

to make this little sampler i used a vintage embroidered doily,
i drew on a heart with water erasable pen but it was really old so seemed to be fading as i worked!
i worked the hearts outline with chainstitch and filled it with french knots http://stitchschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/french-knot.html
i used the full 6strands of cotton so i got a very raised heart
then i added the date and names
i would've prefered to have marked them out too as there was no room
for correction as the floss marked the fabric if i unpicked a stitch
so i had to embrace freehand
i actually really like the more hand written effect
i finished the hoop using my tutorial
i used black cotton velvet and some sweet little heart buttons.
{the doily had a cotton lace edging which i was going
to leave showing but it was a bit too kitsch tbh}

pincushion trials and tribulations!

My mission for wednesday
was to make a pincushion
i had the idea in my head
i was in the mood for making
so off i went to my craft room to get to work

after a quick rummage through my
vintage embroidered linen cloths
i found this tray cloth
i used a large embroiderey hoop
to select the section i wanted
marked out a circle and cut it out

i then made a suffolk puff
but didn't pull the threads tight

then i made another the same size
with a plain linen napkin

i filled the plain puff with a LOT of polyester stuffing
next i pulled the threads tight - very tight

*POP*
oops that was too tight and the thread just wasn't up to it so it snapped under the pressure

feeling slightly annoyed i re-did the puff with stronger thread
and tied it up as tight as i could
whilst wishing i had an extra pair of hands to help

i popped the plain stuffed puff into the embroidered one so that the hole was on top under the embroidered linen and stitched a vintage dorset button on to the outer puff and a plastic button onto the plain puff pulling nice and tight to get a nice dimple in the middle

hmmm anyone else thinking this is all rather over complicated?

then i pulled in the threads
to finish the puff and tied them off

okay so it does looks quite pretty
but at the end of the day it's wasting the plain napkin 'cause no-one can see it.
So i left it on the side and cracked on with making another version which i'm not going to show
as it's for a swap ;op

********
After working on the secret pincushion and having learned from some of my previous mistakes, i came back to this one and decided NO i don't like it and dismantled it!
That plain area NEEDS something i thought
so i got out a hoop and sewed on this little phrase that's been going round and round my head
it seems very familiar {not the words themself as i know they are song lyrics} and i'm worried i may have lifted the idea from someone else
but i've no idea where the inspiration came from?

the pin marks the spot for a button
to give a nice middle dimple

dimpled!
i used the plain green stuffed puff for the inside again with them placed in opposite directions so the button sits nicely in the hole off the puff, i didn't bother with a button on the bottom as it's a real faff trying to get the needle through the holes of both buttons and it was nice to see the green showing through the puff-hole!

The lettering's a bit distorted where it got stretched
for the dimple but it's only for me so hey-ho!

For some reason i always seem to over-complicate what should really be a simple project, everytime i take part in a swap i make twice as many things as i need because i can't work out how to make something and have to make several prototypes!!!

Now i've got a couple of different pincushions under my belt, i think i may make a few for the shops
do you think they would sell?