Sorry about the lack of posts yesterday – I had about half an hour yesterday to deal with email… and that was it!
Here’s photos of the four finished cards – like all my work posted here, these are copyrighted & cannot be copied for sale or donation without my express written permission.

I used watercolor paper to make the cards, but you can also use commercially available blank card sets too.  I think my favorite is the blue & brown card with the ribbon
Don’t backstitch to finish off the ends, just pull the threads through to the wrong side …read more

I’ve had a set of silk swatches sitting (boy, say that fast 3 times!) on my studio desk for awhile now:
I decided that they would be perfect to use as my background for the embroidered cards. I ironed on a heavy-weight fusible interfacing (not necessary, but it’s sooo much easier this way!) and trimmed them down into little rectagles using my pinking shears:

I’m using brown, green & blue for my wedding colors
I decided to play around and used a few different ways of machine stitching to make the monograms. I started off with doing free-motion embroidery, …read more

This tutorial has moved – you can find the whole how-to part one and part two here

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This tutorial has moved – you can find the whole how-to part one and part two here

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This tutorial has moved – you can find the whole how-to part one and part two here

image: © C Findlay-Harder

I’ve recently started working with felt squares & fabric.  I love the no-fray & easy-to-handle nature of it – of course, the fact that it also comes in pink polka-dots & sparkles is a bonus too!
This is a series of cards I’ve been working on, using felt, embroidery floss & buttons:

I wanted to play with a quilted look so I used long running stitches to embroidery two of the cards.  I liked the look of the pinked edges (even though felt doesn’t fray – pinking is still a great decorative elements)  For the middle card I decided to get a …read more

I do not know if this is a thing that is global, or just something that certain countries have a habit of doing. However, for everyone who is living in a place where people put their old/used/unwanted stuff on the drive/lawn/garage and then sell it for dirt cheap, the pleasant weather months mean Treasure Hunting.

In past years it did not occur to me to look through people’s junk for needlework Stuff (patterns, floss, kits, tools..) Yesterday, in a fun “garage sale-ing” expedition, I made a point of looking for additions to my Stash. I didn’t really have …read more

Yesterday I spent hours re-organizing our shelves of books, and in the process unearthed a few needlework gems I’d forgotten about. One of these is the March 2006 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine (formerly Stitcher’s World).

This issue has several smallish motifs to stitch, as well as some Springy pieces. There are Faberge-style eggs, some bunnies, etc. In addition, there is a set of kitchen cloths with Southwest themes (chili peppers, clay pots..) and a set of Christmas ornaments done in pastel pinks and greens. ah, and the issue includes a larger piece – ’spring quilts’, …read more

I have always been fascinated by the gorgeous needlework of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods. It is not a subject field in which I am an expert, nor have I devoted the time to becoming one. Many other people have, however, and their works are invaluable for a stitcher who wants to make a replica of an authentic Elizabethan gown, or just to create a lush “old world” feel on a piece of stitching.

One book in my library is What Life Was Like In the Realm of Elizabeth, a Time Life publication. It has a lot …read more

This Iris applique quilt project is not one of creation, but one of repair. My mother hand stitched this quilt for me when I was little, completing it in 1980. It has been well-loved through the years, as one can see by examing the damaged areas. I began repairs on this about a year ago, with some assistance by my mom when she was in town visiting. My enthusiasm lasted about a week before I folded up the quilt and put it away.

My plan is to re-stitch all the appliques onto their blocks, whether they have …read more