A Bluebird Needle Book

Needle books are a handy thing to have when you use a lot of needles, and our bluebird needle book is no exception. This little book has plenty of space for lots of needles, and the bluebird is even carrying one! The stitching on this goes together quickly, and we have put together the instructions to help speed you on your way.

Hopeful Bluebird Needle Book

As we said, our simple needle book can be made in a short amount of time and would be perfect for that stitcher who is a fan of all things bluebird. We stitched our bluebird mostly out of bright blue ultra-suede (included in our kit), but of course wool would work just fine. When you buy a kit, we will include a package of ultra-suede needles for free! Regular needles will work well, but the chiseled tip of the ultra-suede needles are designed to more easily pierce the fabric.

The breast is stitched first, followed by the top wing, and then the body.

We used staples with the ultra-suede, and although the staple initially leaves an indentation, 

that can be rubbed out without a problem. 

All stitched down

Once the bluebird is appliquéd, it is time to add the embroidery. The bluebird's eye is one French knot with #8 pearl, and the beak is made with straight stitches in the same thread. The instructions include the needle and thread design, and the buds are made with a French knot and two lazy daisy stitches at the base of the knot.

You can play around with the stem stitch for the thread. Here we just 

used one color, but on the final we added a pop of purple with a whipped stem stitch.

Once all the embroidery is finished, all you need to do is add your lining, stitch and flip, and then sew the opening closed—add the needle page and your needle book is all finished!

Do you know anyone whose day would be brightened with this little gift—or better yet an entire needlework set? Head over to the website to pick up our Hopeful Bluebird pattern along with our sewing smalls kit, and you will be set for making not just the sewing smalls but the wall hanging as well.

If you already have the pattern, then all you need to do is download the instructions found at the bottom of this post, and you will be ready to create these fun little sewing treats. Also don't forget to join our Facebook group, where you can post your bluebird stitching—and even be entered in our giveaway! All you need to do to enter is post a picture of your progress on any one of the Hopeful Bluebird projects. It can be a picture of your chosen materials to a completed project and anything in between.

Our giveaway includes a pair of Famoré embroidery scissors, chenille needles

for the pearl threads, milliners needles for perfect French knots, 

and an assortment of lovely threads for stitching!

The Giveaway is now closed, but you can now purchase the Hopeful Bluebird Sewing Smalls Printed Pattern along with the wool kits using the link below.

Hopeful Bluebird Pattern and Kit

Hopeful Bluebird Facebook Group

Hopeful Bluebird Stitching Smalls

Back in April, we introduced our Hopeful Bluebird Stitch-Along during those uncertain times at the beginning of the pandemic—it certainly helped to keep us occupied as we all stayed at home. Our Hopeful Bluebird Facebook group was created and we really enjoyed seeing everyone's version of the wallhanging. Because it was so fun, we wanted to keep that fun going by creating more options to use our pattern so we created some sewing smalls that used our Hopeful Bluebird motifs. And to make it even easier to create, we have put together a kit for all four sewing smalls! 

The limited edition kits are available on our website starting today and will include all the wool needed. The Hopeful Bluebird pattern is available in our store in either digital or printed form if you don't have it already.

Each week, for the next 3 weeks, we will give you the instructions to create the showcased small for that week. This week we are creating our pansy scissor keeper which will be a pretty complement for those special scissors—pair that with our scissor fob that we showed you a couple of weeks ago (HERE) and your scissors will be set.

Hopeful Bluebird Scissor Keeper

Cut your wool out using your templates
and staple or fuse and then appliqué.

Stitch the vine onto your scissor keeper 
top. We used #12 pearl cotton.

Blanket stitch the top of your keeper front
with #12 pearl cotton, starting and stopping
an eighth of an inch from the ends.

Assemble your scissor keeper by placing
the keeper top on the top of the back piece, 
then place your front on top of that
aligning the edges.

Pin or staple all your pieces together to keep them in place and then 
blanket stitch around the entire scissor keeper.
Sometimes I lightly draw a line around the edge of the piece I am
working on to help keep my blanket stitches even.

(The first scissor keeper we made had a purple pansy, but we changed that out later to make it purple and orange as those colors looked better with the rest of the projects.)

The leaves are stitched down with an angled blanket stitch.

To add a little pop of color, you can make a
few straight stitches in a contrasting color
on the bottom three petals.

The finished vine.

If you choose to purchase the kit (and we hope you do!) your kit will include all the wool needed to make all the smalls including the scissor fob. The cream background for all of them is a 12" square and we have included a picture here of how we laid our templates out to make sure all your pieces will fit.

These little sewing treats would make lovely gifts for a fellow stitcher or for yourself and let's face it—we can always use some new stitching items! If you don't have the pattern, you can head to the website to purchase it in either digital or printed form. While you are at the website, feel free to pick up a kit while you are there.  Just click on the Hopeful Bluebird link in our shop.

The next step will be to download the instructions for the scissor keeper. You can do that below or better yet, join our Hopeful Bluebird Facebook Group. All the links to the instructions will be there as well and you can share your progress, and maybe make a few new friends. We also have an ongoing giveaway that is running. All you have to do to enter is post a picture in the Facebook Group of any Hopeful Bluebird project you have done or are doing. The giveaway will close on November 23rd and the winner will be revealed on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th.

Update!

The Giveaway is now closed, but you can now purchase the Hopeful Bluebird Sewing Smalls Printed Pattern along with the wool kits using the link below.

Hopeful Bluebird Pattern and Kit

Hopeful Bluebird Facebook Group

If you are already a member, please share our group with a friend. The more the merrier and the more inspiration and encouragement we will receive from one another. We can't wait to see everyone's stitching treasures!

Happy Stitching