Felt Applique Wall Hanging

 

This is a felt applique project I made for my mother for Christmas last year. It took many hours to make. It's quite large - I forget how big but it was designed to be about the length of a king size bed. Most of it is from various patterns by Horse and Buggy Country, but I changed the colors to suit my mom's color esthetic. 

A chick was eliminated from this panel and the tulip colors were changed from red and white to pink. My dad hates red and I was careful to make sure there was only a token amount of it. (I was a bit sneaky about including orange as well.)  

The flowers I wasn't completely familiar with I looked up online so I'd have some idea of what they should look like. 

The bunny was changed a little bit to make it more anatomically correct and to look like our little bunny, Bridget. Any rabbits I do in future I will draw out myself so they are more accurate.

This panel was done first. I think it's pretty obvious. It looks sloppier than the rest. 

Since my mom likes black eyed susans some of those had to be included. I also made subtle design changes to most of the small blocks. I did them last and was getting the hang of it. 

It's all hanging on a dark blue background since my mom didn't want any black. She wanted it to be cheerful and colorful so I did my best to make it that way without making it look gaudy. The colors on my computer are not true to the actual project but I'm not a good photographer (you all have already figured that out).

Bread Cloth

This is something I made this year but it's okay to show because the person I gave it to already has it on display. The pattern is from Buttermilk Basin. I need a lot of practice on these normal kind of embroidery pieces. I'm getting better at French dots and stem stitch but other things leave something to be desired. I make a rough sketch on the cloth with a light board then fill in the details with my needle and thread. I find that works better for me than slavishly drawing every last detail on the fabric. 

Snow People

 Since I cannot reveal this years presents yet I will show you one from last year. I made this snowman family for my son for his birthday. It is nostalgic for him because I'd made a whole bunch of them when the kids were small. (I don't know if I was bored or stupid but the end results are as follows:)

Grandma and Grandpa snow people.

 Two gossiping girls and one minding it's own business.

 A newly wed couple.

 A family out shopping.

A snowball fight.

 A snooty family. 

For a little context - here is how they are displayed every year. They are up on a pot shelf dividing the living room from the family room. So they are seen from a distance and there is a front and a back. 

This was the original pattern and inspiration. 

Anyway, the more I made the better I got at it. There is a distinct difference between the first ones and the last ones. As you can see I went a little crazy with them. Ah, the silliness of youth!

Cross Stitch Stockings

When my kids were young I made cross stitch stockings for them. Now that they are adults and, one by one, getting married I am making stockings for their spouses. 

This first one I made years ago from a Dimensions kit. It was a lot of fun to make and not as time consuming as it looks because of all the half cross stitches. I tend to use only the Aida cloth and the floss provided because I like to give it my own touch as far as the fabric inside, on the back, the hanger and the trim. 

 This stocking I made for my daughter in law last year. It is also a kit - this one by Design Works Crafts. I only used the Aida cloth from the kit. I got it on Amazon and the reviews said over and over that it didn't come with enough floss. So I used DMC floss. It's a lot more complicated than it looks because the pattern itself was poorly designed with lots of symbols looking nearly alike. I solved this problem by coloring in the similar ones. 

There is a lot of embroidery and beads on top of the cross stitching that made it take a long time but I thought it was all worth it because the end result turned out so beautifully. Sometimes minor flaws are worth dealing with and this is an example of that.