Embroidery on felt

I have done some embroidery on felt, and made some bracelets earlier, and recently three key-holders. I am trying to sell them in my webshop. I thought perhaps you would like to see them. I am planning to do some more, for example mobile phone holders, more jewellery, beads, combining felt with cross stitch, etc. Perhaps one day I will be able to make my own felt, too. I am always looking for new ideas. Suggestions are welcome. :)

This is a keyholder in which you can pull in the key.

This is it with the key hanging out.



With the key inside:



And the back:



I made two more in other colurs:






And finally, a bracelet:

Another needlebook/book cover pattern

I made another pattern that can be used for a needlebook or a book cover. This is also based on Hungarian folk motifs and you can make a set with the latest biscornu pattern.
Happy stitching :D

Crazy quilting again

I have been late finishing my April block for the CQJP, I know, I know, shame on me. I started it too late, had an idea and as I started working on it, I didn't really like how it turned out, so now I am a bit stuck...

On the other hand, I finished the next one. It is a bit of cheating, really, because this was made for another purpose, but I think I will send it in anyway.

In the school where I teach, we have a very small class of year 9 students who are graduating. We are a new school and of course, not many kids would change school for their final year. So we have only 11 students - but they are a very special bunch. We love them all. That's why I was asked if we can make some textile project that they can leave behind, something to remind us of our first year-9 class.
I suggested a quilt and the kids liked the idea. I gave them each a piece of fabric and told them to do something with it - embroider, applique, whatever they want and they turned out great. However, as there is only 11 of them, I promised to make one myself, so we can put it together 3 x 4.

So this is my block for the 9Q class-quilt. I wanted to keep it simple, so as not to overpower their own work. But also wanted it to be beautiful. They like it. :)

And some details. I love the stick-figures. Didn't really plan them, just improvised as I was going.

Geometric quilt cross stitch pattern

I have made another quilt-style cross stitch pattern.

The smaller squares, I think, are perfect for a biscornu or ornament and the bigger is just the right size to stitch for a needlebook, if you fold it in the middle.

You can also stitch it vertically, for a book cover. This is what I plan to do with it when I have time.


The colours are:

326 rose vy dp
3778 terra cotta lt

and the white squares are left empty, assissi-style, but of course, you can stitch them or substitute your favourite colours.

I hope someone out there will find pleasure in stitching these. :)

Free biscornu pattern

This biscornu pattern has been inspired by Hungarial folk art.
It doesn't have a sharp corner, so it is going to have softer lines than the usual biscornu. There is a photo of another one I made in this post.

To whipstitch it together, just match the middle stitch of the cut-off corner with the middle stitch of one side of the other square and go around as usual.

I think it would also look lovely sewn together as a simple square.

Hope you like it. :)

An extra free bookmark :)

This bookmark comes on the 8th day of the free bookmark week - it is special because the person who asked for it is special ;)

So here is a bookmark with wood anemone or vitsippa in Swedish. This part of Sweden is literally covered in them right now. I hope you like it. And I think I will have to stitch it for that certain special person :D :D



Here is a photo I took last weekend, although it was taken in Åland, an island that is part of Finland, but the ones covering the fields next to my house are just the same.

Free bookmarks week - 7. Sayings

Katya suggested the idea of bookmarks with sayings. I couldn't choose, so I made a few. Enjoy them. :)




This is a Chinese proverb.


This is my idea :P



And finally an assissi bookmark - also good as a gift for a teacher. It is two-sided. The colours are old gold light and dark, DMC 676 and 680 and Christmas red 321. They don't look the same in the picture as my threads.



The week is over, but tomorrow there will be another, extra bookmark. I have also done some biscornu and ornament patterns, so come back soon for more freebies. Happy stitching.

Mothers' day (or thank you) patterns

If I am not mistaken, Mothers' day is next Sunday in the USA and lots of other countries, and it is the last Sunday of May in Sweden.
So, in between the bookmarks, I have drawn two small patterns for Mothers' day, that you can stitch in a week and use for a card, gift bag or pincushion etc.

If you have already celebrated Mothers' day, you can still use them as Thank you-cards, I made two versions.
I hope someone will like them and stitch them. Enjoy.

Free bookmarks week - 6. blackwork

As promised, today I am posting a blackwork bookmark. I think it should be stitched with black (DMC 310) and gold metallic.

Happy stitching.

Tomorrow I will post bookmarks with sayings about books and reading.

Starry Nights Studio has a lovely giveaway

Look at this blog, Alissa is giving away some lovely charts. 

Starry Nights Studio: May Giveaway!

Free bookmarks week - 5. Mayflowers

One of my dear readers suggested the mayflowers. Only after that did I learn that in Sweden they sell mayflower pins for charity as an old tradition all May.

So I made my mayflower chart a bit simplified, more stylised because I wanted them to resemble the pins.

I imagined this on a nice coloured background, maybe some peachy-pinkish-purplish hand died fabric? But I drew another version with a more subtle background. Pick up what you have in your stash - anything that would let the white flowers stand out.

I also think that this would look really good with a bunch of French knots in the middle, in yellow (the first version). However, I know that lots of us are not particularly keen on French knots, so the other version has simple straight stitches instead. They don't need to be symmetrical, make them a bit "disheveled" :D

I hope you like it.

Tomorrow I will have a blackwork bookmark.

Plarn crochet projects

Not long ago I saw this site and I said I have to make it for my balcony. Then I thought that yarn is probably not very durable and also, I don't have any that I would willingly use for this, nor do I have money to spend on it. On the other hand, in school me and the kids have been trying out making and using plarn, that is plastic bags cut into stripes and used as yarn. So I put the two ideas together and this is what happened. I tried knitting, but then realised that crocheting is easier with plarn. I also remembered that in my childhood my grandma and my mom crocheted doormats from plactic bags milk was sold in.

So this is from the inside of the balcony:

...and this from the outside:

It was really simple, I made a long rectangle, about 20 cm by 80, folded back the two ends and crocheted the edges, leaqving about 10 cm in the middle to put over the rail. Then tied them together under the rail. It is actually lined with another plastic bag, with a few small holes in the bottom, so that the soil is not washed out.

The pansies have a wonderful scent!

Then I decided I would like to have a plarn pot too. I have just finished it so it is still empty but will buy some geraniums tomorrow.

I think it looks lovely with my other recycled "pot", the old washbasin with a hole that we found thrown out in the forest and I rescued it. :D

Free bookmarks week - 4. Geometric pattern

Those who follow my blog know that I really enjoy playing with geometric forms, creating colourful little patterns. This bookmark is also the result of such playing.

I made it in two different colour schemes. You can see how the whole character of the piece is changed depending on which of the colours you pick for the frame around the triangles. So feel free to use your favourite colours and experiment with them. Have fun :)

Tomorrow I am coming back with some more flowers.

Free bookmarks week - 3. Swedish flowers

The third bookmark in May shows the famous Linné-flowers of Sweden. They are so beautiful in real life, I saw them last summer, very tiny and very sweet.

If you would like to know more: here is Wikipedia's article about them.

Hope you like it.

Tomorrow will bring a geometric pattern.

Free bookmarks week - 2. Celtic bookmark

This design was inspired by Celtic knots. I love the dark green and gold together, with a hint of red and black.

Hope you will enjoy stitching it.

Tomorrow I am coming back with some Swedish flowers. :)

Free bookmarks week - 1. Hungarian folk art pattern

Hi, everyone,

May! Finally. :D

To start the celebrations, the first bookmark is, of course, based on a Hungarian folk art motif.

Enjoy! Happy stitching. Show me the finished products, please.

Come back tomorrow. There will be another bookmark!