Getting Back on Track

AKA You Set Me Free

Recently, with the new year, I've taken the time (along with my devoted husband and mother), to reorganize our apartment. Notably, it's still in progress, but my new craft station is all the rage. I've already began several things, and have even already finished one! Isn't that exciting? Well, tonight I wanted to share with you my first project of the new year. It's from a blog I feel I will be visiting often, called Flamingo Toes, run by a refreshingly creative woman who has inspired me to pick up my creationally challenged blog once again. The project I finished was this wonderful little needlepoint/stitch art creation she titled You Set Me Free - Hoop Art.
I made a few changes, mainly I decided I'd simply take my finished project and mount it to a canvas and plan on putting it in a shadow box. This project came at a perfect time, when I was feeling especially grateful for my husband after a really hard night with my anxiety. It seemed as if it was sent from some kind of fateful place, and I knew I had to have it. My sister has recently dumped off most of her craft stuff on me, which I'm not complaining, as she's due to have her first child soon(ish), so she's looking to clean up and purge. I gladly volunteered, so I made this project out of scraps that she left with me. The background fabric was even from an old sheet I believe.
The project took me I believe about eight hours in total, I finished it in a day. It was mainly the learning of stitching without a presser foot on my sewing machine, as well as the complicated cutting out of the birdcage, of which I had no transfer iron paper, so I had to make due with a bit of a stretch fabric because it was the prettiest and I wanted it. Let me tell you, go for the iron on backing, so much easier I'd imagine, and far less hard to keep in place, as pins, predictably, aren't that useful in small details such as this. Also, I freehanded the 'pattern', as it wasn't too difficult to mimic, and I sadly, am without a printer. So that ate up some time too.
But in the end, I'm quite proud of it, as well as really emotionally attached to it already, and am happy with how it turned out. I am also halfway through the romantic ruffle bracelet on her site, and intend on finishing it just as soon as I have a hand needle in my grasp. (I know, shame on me, have all this delightful set up, and am missing basic tools).
I would highly suggest trying this project, or something with a similar process and perhaps a different pattern, for someone looking for a beautiful homey touch without the aching fingers of needlepoint. It's creative and fantastic, and I'm quite sure that I'll be visiting this website quite often!

Newly Renewed!