A Little Alphabetty

Hello.  Ericka here.  It is my pleasure to be writing at the blog of my favorite local fabric shoppe.  Most regularly scheduled days I write at www.LowBeamStudios.com.  There I share my creative adventures; including sewing, photography, and crafting with kids.

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Awhile back, I spotted Anna Maria Horner's needleworks fabric in Sew to Speak.  I knew immediately I wanted to use that concept with other fabrics.  I thought of Lucie Summer's Summersville line that has been wildly popular among the online craft community.  I have friends and family with babies due in the near future and thought the combination of her fabric and embroidery could make a fantastic personalized gift for any baby.

I chose the Alphabetty print in seafoam and Anna Maria's new pearl cotton box sets by Anchor.  The box sets provide a lovely color palette to work with.  The blues in the Reflecting Pool colorway corresponded nicely with the color of the fabric.  I used a few of my favorite stitches, including french knot, chain stitch, and satin stitch, to fill in each letter.

 

A comfy baby quilt highlighting my hand stitching will be in the works soon.  I will probably bring in a few more Summersville prints and some great coordinating solids.  Oh the potential! As soon as I finished all 26 letters, I grabbed Tula Pink's Turtle Bay fabric in cream and set to stitching.  It is still a work in progress, but as it is a direct result of the above project, I thought I would share.

Sew to Speak carries a variety of fabrics that have potential for this application.  Stop in and see what strikes your fancy.  In the meantime, happy Sewing!

Home Again, Home Again

Back from Market, I'm still a bit tired, yet far more inspired! Tortured by all the wonderful things I saw and want to sew.
To add to the great torture, I came home to my sewing space (our unfinished second floor) entirely dissembled, in boxes, stacked and scattered between the dinning room, living room and basement. I had at least received cellphone pics of these goings on from my husband, to warn me of what I was coming home to.

 

Being that we've planned to do this major renovation for years, I am very excited! But man, I really wanna sew right now!!! Luckily I brought back some very fun hand sewing books and projects. We've also already received a book that includes lots of great hand sewing fun, Scandinavian Stitches.

 Also in the hand work realm, we finally met and ordered from the brilliant creator of Penguin & Fish, Alyssa. She designs the cutest embroidery patterns. We will be receiving some precious animal embroidery patterns from her in the near future, including that great hedgehog hanging on the wall (blown up to 400%).

I just can't wait until all the goodies arrive!

Nor can I wait for my sewing room to be reassembled so I can sew the great stuff that is already here! Holidays are just around the corner and my list is pretty long! EEkkk!

I'll share more from Market with you soon, 

April

Made Monday

Owl embroidered baby slippers by Janelle Meadows. Pattern from the book Zakka Sewing.