A Hopeful New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Our New Year's Day here in Germany was pretty quiet, due to our current lockdown. So far the lockdown has given me (Kara) extra time to stitch—especially for our latest Stitch-Along, which will kick off in just a couple of weeks. 

Last year, we created our Hopeful Bluebird wall hanging as something to do during the first quarantine. Our Facebook group started out small but has grown quite a bit since then, so now it is time to introduce another little project. Whether you are in lockdown or not, this project is made up of simple wool appliqué blocks that are brought to life with some interesting, not your run-of-the-mill, stitches. We have created four blocks that will help you broaden your stitch repertoire and make your appliquéd flowers sing! Here is a sneak preview of what's in store!

 

 

The Hopeful Flowers Stitch-Along will go for 5 weeks, although those weeks will not all be consecutive. There will be a few weeks in between block 2 and 3 so that we can have a little time for catching up—and because those two weeks will be the block showcase weeks for the two mystery stitch-alongs we are doing: Potted Petals and Winter Wonderland. The fifth week will cover the finishing of the wallhanging. Each block will be free to download until April 15, 2021. After that, we will have the full pattern available to purchase on our website. There may even be a giveaway along the way!

We are really looking forward to our Hopeful Flowers Stitch-Along start date of January 21, and we think it is going to be a great time to learn some new stitches and look forward to spring as we are stitching. Follow the link below to join—and please tell all your friends about it so they can join in the fun!

Hopeful Bluebird Facebook Group

All the Stockings Were Hung...

Both Teri and I (Kara) have been working on all things stocking lately. Our Cardinals Christmas Stocking was released earlier in the week, and now we would like to introduce our Floral Christmas Stocking!

This flannel and wool stocking is simple in its color scheme but is full of little details that give it a unique charm. All the simple embroidery is done with Weeks DyeWorks crewel wool, giving the stocking a lot of texture. We have a limited number of kits available that include the flannel, wool, ribbon hanger, and a whole skein of the Weeks crewel wool. All you need to provide is the lining.

I did this stocking a little differently than our Cottage Christmas stocking. Instead of cutting out the stocking pieces first and then appliquéing, I lightly traced the stocking pattern outline on my flannel so I knew where to place my appliqués and then proceeded to stitch them down. This way I didn't have to worry about distortion from the appliqués or fraying on the cut edges.

...and traced.

Pattern is pinned...

All the embroidery stitches are pretty standard, with the exception of the Pekinese stitch. It is a simple stitch that we love to use since the effect it gives is so varied depending on the thread you use. You can watch a tutorial for the Pekinese stitch HERE. 

Back stitch

Pekinese

Seed stitch and French knots

Stem stitch, lazy daisies, and knots

Fly stitches

Blanket stitch

When you are finished appliquéing your stocking, line up your appliquéd piece and your backing fabric, wrong sides together, and cut it out using your traced line as a guide. Be sure to leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance all the way around when you cut both pieces out. Do the same with your lining fabric.

To see the method we used to assemble our stocking, please go to our Cottage Christmas Stocking post HERE. We have used this method for all our stockings and find that it works out well in putting the stocking together.

The stocking pattern is available for digital download on our website, and we will have printed patterns available for it in the near future. The full kit—with wool, flannel, ribbon hanger, and thread—is also available on the website, although we have just 20 kits available. It's possible we may be able to stock more, but not promised.

Our good friend, Linda Macklin, suggested that we have a stocking of the year (Thanks Linda!) Two years ago, we offered our Cottage Christmas Stocking and Teri had the Cardinals Christmas Stocking all cut out last year, so we will count that as our 2019 stocking. With this stocking, I'd say we are well our way with a yearly stocking tradition! 

We hope you enjoy stitching our Floral Christmas Stocking and that it brings a little joy to you during this crazy year.

Floral Christmas Stocking and other Christmas patterns