Thursday, September 12, 2013

Check It Out

I recently dusted off my embroidery supplies to make a delightfully nerdy little birthday present for my favorite bibliophile, Morgan:



It was fairly easy to do.  I googled "library book card pocket" for some inspiration, and determined that--aside from the lettering--this project would simply involve a lot of straight lines using the trusty back stitch.

I sketched out the design on paper to get the spacing right, and then lightly drew the design on the fabric itself.  I ended up just winging it on the letters for the most part.  I'm not a huge fan of how the "C" turned out, and would probably try to make it less angular next time.

This was my first time making something meant to stay in the embroidery hoop to be hung on the wall.  I used some fabric glue to try to glue down the fabric in back, which sort of worked.  I think next time I'd cut a bigger piece of fabric so I had more to work with in folding it down.

Spending a morning watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and embroidering reminded me how much I enjoy this craft.  It's very satisfying to make something physically tangible, especially since I spend most of my time thinking, reading, and writing on the computer.  Now, I need to finish the somewhat ambitious squirrel cross stitch tote bag I've been working on for my mom forever!