I learned to hand embroidery when I was in high school. I worked at Velma Harper's Fabric Shop in Hill City. I made a lot of the window display garments. One day Velma gave me a pattern for a western style shirt with embroidery work on the yolk panels. Sewing the shirt was no problem but I did not know how to embroidery. She gave me a book with instructions for embroidery stitches. I picked out the embroidery floss and began. I studied and stitched, ripped and stitched again until I felt good about the look. I quickly grew to love the handwork. After that I did more embroidery, some with floss and some with yarn. In college I worked on embroidered quilt blocks that Mom had started. When I finished the blocks I eventually made the quilt top and my Grandma & Grandpa Schwarz quilted it for me.
Later I did a lot of counted cross stitch and not so much regular hand embroidery. Now that I am getting older my eyes have been changing and it is so hard to follow the counted cross stitch patterns. I have begun to hand embroidery again. I have made a couple sets of blocks - one for a baby quilt and one for a quilted wall hanging. These are in my unfinished quilt project goals for this year.
This year, so far, I have been working on hand embroidered flowers for a new quilt project in my goals for 2014. I have finished two of the embroidered flowers. Here are pictures of them. The blocks are hot assembled but only the embroidery work laid on the fabric that will be used for the finished block.
I have a start on 2014 goals. Now to keep working towards completing them.
Rose
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