Embroidery

I’m interrupting this mighty-fine weekend to show you the wonderful package I received in the mail today.  A few weeks ago Nancy of Nancy’s Sting Og Ting had a blog anniversary.  She gathered her comments, randomly selected one, and yelled “Thimbleanna, Come On Down!”  Today, the fabulous prize package arrived!

Just look — an adorable bag, a Norwegian moose magnet, a thimble and a note to me on a very pretty card.

I was so excited to see the pretty thimble — isn’t it cute?  It’s from the town where Nancy lives.

And look at Nancy’s exquisite hand embroidery.  I LOVE embroidery and hand embroidery is the frosting on the cake.  Look at those perfect little stitches.  And I love the way Nancy colored a little shading inside of the embroidery lines.

Every little detail about this bag is fantastic, from the label inside of the bag, to the drawstring cording with it’s own little pouch on the end to protect the cords from fraying.  Nancy’s workmanship is awesome.   I’ve been carrying the little bag around with me all day.  I feel like Nancy came over here and gave me a big hug.  Thank you so very much Nancy for making me feel so special!

And while we’re on the subject of embroidery, I’ve done a little embroidery this week too.  Natalie at Cinderberry Stitches offered this adorable free pattern a few weeks ago.  It came along just at the right time  for a little project I’d started.  I was amazed at how small the little birds are — I’ve put a nickel in the picture to provide some scale.

Thank you so much for your gift too Natalie!  I’ve really enjoyed this little embroidery and have learned a few things.  I grew up embroidering on dishtowels and I always forget to put an extra layer behind my embroidery.  I didn’t notice until I took this picture how much that extra layer is needed.  I also love this new way of doing straight stitching.  I’ve always used a traditional running stitch, but this method seems so much cleaner.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled, busy weekend.  I hope it’s a fun one with great weather where you are!

XOXO,
Anna