In a previous post (here) I showed you some of my handwork preparations for a road trip.  Then as it turned out, the road trip didn't happen, but it's always good to have some hand work ready to go.

I showed you the applique pattern I was using and preparing for.

The pattern for placement of the stem, petals, and leaf. 

Here is a portion of one of the blocks, edges turned under and pinned in place, all ready to go, except for the green circle in the flower center.

And this is where I stored those fabric squares!  An unused pizza box, courtesy of TwoFish Baking Company, a local bakery and pizza shop (on Friday nights).  You've heard me talk about TwoFish Bakery before, because I periodically sew aprons for them to wear.

I didn't want the fabric squares to shift around inside the box, so I took some small batting pieces and used long stitches to attach the batting to the bottom of the pizza box.  

Here are all the squares lying nicely inside the pizza box, staying put with no shifting about!

I also needed a way to transport my sewing implements, so I used this little metal box.  I honestly can't remember what came inside this box, and the label is not helpful!  It could have been tea, or it could have been cookies, I'm just not sure.

This is an inside view of the implement box, with threads, pins and needles, thread snipper, and needle threader.  I've chosen nice, fine threads for the applique.  Some (like the yellow and red spools) are Masterpiece and Bottom Line (from Superior threads), and some (like the skinnier spools) are ultra-fine Invisifil threads.  I really like sewing with very fine threads, especially for applique work.  I'm really not quite sure why that wine cork is in the box--who knows!

Here is a close-up of a sewn flower, still waiting for its green center!

Here is a finished block.  This batik fabric has a few different prints, all of the same colors.  The other half of the pieced blocks are various yellow fabrics that I had in my stash.

Applique Handwork For a Road Trip (Part 1)

For our road trip to southern California, I prepared a few pieces of hand sewing that I could work on in the car.  As long as it's a straight highway, like Highway 5, I can sew in the car.

I found this image on Pinterest.  I really liked the design of the blocks, and thought this would be a fun way to use up some purple-ish fabric that I have.  

There was no pattern or diagram, so I had to make my own.  This is my first attempt at drawing the design.  I decided on 12 1/2" blocks, and below is the left-hand side of the block.  It took a little experimenting to get the right size for the petals and leaf.

Here I refined the drawing  so that I could make templates.  

I made templates from double layers of freezer paper.  I made a cutting template and a separate actual-size template.

Below is where I am using spray starch and a make-up sponge brush to press down the edges of the leaves.  I didn't have a proper brush when I started, so I was using a Q-tip for an applicator.  Of course, that became fuzzy after a bit and was unusable.  But they're cheap, and they do have two tips on one handle!  Then I decided to try a makeup-applicator.  It seemed to work well, but then it, too broke down after not too long.  I guess it's not intended for this purpose!

Spray starch in the can's lid.

Here are several finished pressed petals.  They look a little like small canoes, don't you think?!?

Or maybe pea pods!?!

Here is my test square.  I have lots of this purple batik fabric:  different "dye patterns" but the same colors.  I sewed the purple to a few different yellow fabrics that I had in my stash to make the background for the flowers.  

I glued down the stem and petals for the appliqué  and that worked fairly well.  But there was a definite presence of glue!  Maybe I was a little heavy-handed.

This close-up shows the purple fabric showing through the paler yellow fabric of the flower petals.  I took care of that by using a scissors to trim out the back purple fabric.  That went pretty well, until I snipped a hole in one of the yellow petals!  AAARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!  I think excess glue on the petals made it too hard to separate the petal fabric from the purple background fabric, which aided in my snipping the petal fabric.

I can fix this by removing that damaged petal and sewing on a replacement.  So the whole block is not wasted.

 Now I have about 16 blocks all ready to take with me in the car.  I have used pins instead of glue.  On this test block, I hadn't yet added the green leaf to the stem, or the light green circle to the center of the flower.

Sewing Difficulty: Improving

Before

After

My broken arm is healing as well as can be expected.  And I am so, so very happy/thankful to be sewing again.  I can't do everything, but I can do enough to keep me from going bonkers!

Hand sewing is a little harder than machine sewing, from having to hold my left hand under the sewing item.  It helps if I wear my splint. 

Crocheting goes fairly well, unless I try to go too fast! 

My hand and fingers are getting stronger and stronger, which is gratifying.  However, my arm is not strong enough to hold down a ruler and use a rotary cutter with my right hand.  It is, though, strong enough to hold down the ruler so that I can draw a line on the fabric with my right hand.  Then I can use a scissors to cut the fabric along the line.  Not as nice as using a rotary cutter, but it works.  I feel  like I'm doing things the "old fashioned" way!  I have discovered something not very surprising:  cutting fabric this way is not nearly as accurate as using a rotary cutter.

Most of my typing of emails, etc, has been done without capital letters, as my left little finger is very weak, and still some numbness/tingling with it, due to nerve damage during my fall.  For some reason, my right little finger just doesn't know how to use the shift key!

Embroidery

I want to tell you about my embroidery teacher.  Her name is Jenny and she lives, literally, half-way around the world.  Yes, in Australia.  Jenny of Elefantz is her blog name, and she creates beautiful embroidery and appliqué designs, many of which she shares for free, while some are for sale in her shop.  You should go there to check out some of her wonderful work.

I've never met Jenny (although I'd sure like to some day!), but she has taught me about embroidery by sharing some of her secrets and methods with me and all her readers.  I've zoomed way in on Jenny's photos, and have learned that she gets such beautiful stitching results by taking very small, short stitches.  

Now I'll show you some of my stitchery.

Disclaimer:  the pen marks will disappear after I iron the pieces!

Another essential bit of information is that each back stitch gets taken in the same stitch hole as the previous stitch.  That sounds rather obvious, but sometimes it's harder than it seems!

Right now I'm working on some of Jenny's patterns, and I'll show you a few photos.  Not every piece is my best work, but I'm getting better.  One thing that I especially admire about Jenny's work is how  smooth, even, and regular are her embroidery curves.  Graceful, even!

A big thank you, Jenny!