Tutorial: How to Make a Needlebook
August 28, 2010
Needlebooks come in quite handy for keeping track of your pins and needles (and make a charming addition to any sewing basket).
I’ve created several of these lovely and portable cases to use while working on large sewing projects, associating each unique design with pleasant memories. Making needlebooks is a wonderful way to practice embroidery . . . and they make lovely gifts, too!
Here is how you can make your own {primrose style} needlebook . . .
The Supplies
- Felt (wool or cotton)
- Embroidery Floss
- Needle
- Scissors
- Circle pattern from card stock (three inches in diameter)
The Directions (click the pictures to enlarge)
1. Following your pattern, cut out four pieces of felt (two for the outside cover and two for the inside).
2. On the back of the front cover piece, make a knot in the felt.
3. Bring the needle to the front and by Back Stitching, sew a circle in the middle of the cover. This will be the center of the Primrose.
4. Fill the center of the flower with Double French Knots (as shown in directions 4-6). Pull your thread through the font and wrap the thread around the needle twice.
5. Hold tightly onto the thread about an inch from the stitch.
6. Insert needle into the felt, making sure that it is right next to the original stitch. If it goes back into the same hole that it came up from, the stitch will pull through to the back and need to be redone. Pull thread all the way through until a little knot appears.
7. Back Stitch the outline of the flower petals.
8. With the straight stitch, add three little lines at the base of each petal to give it depth.
9. The Seed Stitches are small straight stitches randomly sewn every which way. Sew these around the outside of the flower close together and gradually farther apart as you stitch away from the petals.
10. Blanket Stitch around the edge of the front and inside two pieces, leaving about one and a half inches of the circumference un-stitched.
11. Place the other two pieces on the back side of the first two with the second inside piece facing the already sewn inside and the back outside piece facing outwards.
Continue the blanket stitch on all four pieces for the un-sewn inch and a half. Then finish sewing the blanket stitch around the edge of the back side two pieces.
12. Run the thread through the felt where it cannot be seen from the inside or outside. Bring the thread to the surface of the outside and double knot.
One of the beauties of needlebooks, is that you can take this idea and create a wide assortment of your own variations, whether they be for personal use, decoration, or gifts!
There are endless possibilities to the extra beauty you can create using different styles, sizes, shapes, embroidered decorations, etc!
This tutorial was originally created for the beautiful magazine “The Girlhood Home Companion,” a magazine for daughters, mothers, and grandmothers published by Remembrance Press.
I feel quite spoiled.
August 21, 2010
I am blessed.
I’m surrounded by my wonderfully loving family. I’m surrounded by beautiful artwork by my dear sister (as above). I’m surrounded by projects that have a purpose. I’m surrounded by things that bring back memories. I’m surrounded by things I don’t deserve.
I’m surrounded by the love of my Savior.
Design: Your Sacred Calling
August 19, 2010
The latest design I created was for the dear Mrs. Stacy McDonald of Your Sacred Calling.
In both the header and menu is the scan from a blank page in one of my old books. (There are so many uses for scans of old books!) Two lovely fonts make up for the header text as well as the sidebar titles, and the creamy background pulls all the warm colors together in one smooth and gentle stroke.
Inscribed in the sidebar is this beautiful quote:
“What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in Heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well pleasing to God, not on account of the position or work, but on account of the Word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow.” —Martin Luther
You might want to head on over to Your Sacred Calling and look through some of the wonderful articles written there and maybe even leave Mrs. McDonald a note!
P.S. At this time I am not taking on any new clients for blog design (Mrs. McDonald has been on the schedule for quite a while), but if/when I do start offering design services again, I will be sure to post about it here on my blog. (You can subscribe here.)
Many places to visit . . .
August 14, 2010
. . . and many things to learn that can be found between the covers of books.
There is something very refreshing and satisfying about sitting down with a good book to read and study. With a long list of books to read, as well as a good deal of research to do, we will be enjoying many books over the next few weeks.
A book that I have been reading is “Beloved Bride” by Bill Potter. It is a collection of letters from General “Stonewall” Jackson to his wife, Mary Anna, with snippets about their life sprinkled throughout.
After the death of his first wife and their baby, General Jackson wrote the following in a letter to his sister, which is a wonderful example and depiction of his trust in the Lord:
“I have been called to pass through the deep waters of affliction, but all has been satisfied. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. It is his will that my Dearest wife and child should no longer abide with me, and as it is his holy will, I am perfectly reconciled to the sad bereavement, though I deeply mourn my loss.
“Oh! The consolations of religion! I can willingly submit to anything if God strengthens me. I have joy in knowing that God withholds no good things from them that love and keep his commandments. And he will overrule this Sad, Sad bereavement for good.“
What good books you have been reading lately?
Re-Purpose: A Home for the Books
July 26, 2010
There once was an old dollhouse looking for a new home. It was handmade with love, for a special little someone . . . but she grew up and no longer wanted it.
It went to the garage sale, hoping for a new family.
A treasure-seeker found it, and saw the love put into creating it. She bought it with plans to revamp it, re-furnish it, and refine it, so that one day it would could be a dollhouse again.
But, sadly, the treasure-seeker did not have the time or opportunity to bring about her plans. It was time, again, for the dollhouse to find a new home, where hopefully it could be cherished. And that is how I come into the story.
Although I do not play with dolls, or create miniature furniture . . . I do collect old books. And those books were in need of a happy place to reside – a place where they could be seen and enjoyed.
That dollhouse is where the stories in those old books now sit.
An old dollhouse, handmade with love, now filled with old books, being treasured anew.
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Summertime
July 19, 2010
Warm weather is not always my cup of tea, but there are plenty of summer-y things that make up for the temperatures. For example . . .
fireflies lighting up the surrounding fields at night,
sweet watermelons, {and fond memories of} juicy messes and sticky fingers,
a large patch of Black-Eyed Susans,
campfires at night, while roasting marshmallows and sharing stories,
buzzing bumble bees,
walking on sandy beaches and feeling the sand between my toes, and
stunning sunsets that fill me with awe of our Creator.
Those are just a few of the things that remind me of summer, and make me thankful for this warm season. What are your favorite things about summer?
Beautiful Places
July 3, 2010
There are some places that leave me in awe. Some places that reflect beauty in ways that I could not have imagined on my own. Some places that just make me smile at the creativity of our Creator. And some places that I’ll never forget.
If you were to replace “places” with “people” in the above sentences, it would all still be true.
We are continually surrounded by things that impact our lives: people, births, deaths, landscapes, walls, etc. And the things we do ourselves impact those around us: sowing, smiling, reaping, building, encouraging, weeping, creating, sharing, understanding, etc.
There is a ripple effect that we have on the people and the things surrounding us.
Just like the beautiful scene above had an impact on me, you have an impact on those around you – whether you realize it or not.
When we do something, it not only changes our lives, but it also shapes the lives of others, and sometimes it does so without us ever even realizing it. We are being watched by younger siblings, parents, peers, strangers, etc.
What do they see you doing that will have an impact on their lives?
A Price
May 31, 2010
There is a price for freedom.
The fight and battle for this very dear prize has taken the lives of many. But they gave their lives willingly, so that we could live free.
How thankful I am for all the men who have fought and died for our freedom!
While living the life my Lord has blessed me with, I am at home with my family enjoying being a daughter, homemaker and artist. My highest goal is to give glory to God and enjoy Him forever. It is He that has saved me with His amazing grace and is continually molding me; to Him I owe everything. Read more . . .
