Still the fiancé kerchiefs...

Olá! This week I'll be brief... Only to show you two more images of fiancé kerchiefs inspirations...

The first one is a framed fiancé kerchief. It is monochromatic what is not so usual... The same embroiderer from last week.  It is very common that these kerchiefs have some embroidered messages. A long time ago they were embroidered by girls that often did not know how to read or write...  But they were in love and still they wanted their beloved to know that... So it is very usual, and now a tradition, these kerchiefs being full of misspelled words (in Portuguese: erros ortográficos)... Sweetly naif... That's what happens with this kerchief... Nowadays being able to write with this naif mistakes is almost an art and this one is a very sweet example.

Embroidered by Maria Alice

In correct Portuguese it should be: Há-de a nossa amizade acabar quando esta pomba voar. Instead we read: Hade a nossa amizade acabar cando esta pomba boar...
In a very, very free translation and adaptation... "Will our friendship end when this dove fly" With some misspelled words... "Wil our friendship end wen this dove flie"... I confess I don't know the most "popular" English misspellings... I believe all languages have them :)

Work in Progress...

This other photo shows the work I have in hands... I've finished the patterns inspired by Portuguese Fiancé Kerchiefs that I was working on and they will be available soon... I'm happy with them. I had the help from a very talented friend!!! I used the motifs to decorate a child blouse. As soon as it is ready I'll show it again. I'll keep my promise!!

Cross stitch kit celebrating love

Olá! Today I bring you a very simple idea to touch the heart of someone you love in a very special day... Sometime ago I was invited to the wedding of one of my goddaughters. I wanted to give her something special, so I decided to make the favors that she offered her guests.

I confess I loved the final result and they were a success... These were the favors received by the ladies, I prepared something different to the gentlemen... But they were also asked to craft :)

At some point, during the reception, men and women were crafting and that was very funny!!

Cross stitch kit, my photo

Portuguese poem, my photo

Cross stitch kit celebrating love, my photo

Ladies and Gentlemen's favors, my photo

The decoration at the reception, my photo

Embroidered hearts during the reception, my photo

At the end of the reception there were some hearts already stitched!!!

Do you know which is the popular expression, in Portuguese, for "Wedding reception"? It's copo de água... And the literal translation would be "glass of water"...
 

You are...

Stitching by Dawn Regan

More beauty in unfinished stitching for you today, courtesy of Dawn Regan's Flickr stream. I'm in love with the colors Dawn chose for her piece, and the loveliness of the pattern, by Pam Garrison. Beautiful work, Dawn!

Love...

Stitched by peregrine blue

I'm loving this colorful progress shot in Constanza's Flickr stream - the delicious rainbow colors she's used to handstich little bits of letters are just gorgeous - beautiful work!

AMOR - My best wishes for 2013

Olá! I'm passing by only to wish a great 2013 and to offer you a late Christmas gift...

After reviewing the book "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal" I begun adapting and recovering some vintage patterns that came in the design sheets. To end 2012 I decided to share with you one of my favorite patterns, already embroidered in my cork fabric book cover...

This pattern belongs to Azores embroidery (that I will review soon), called the Long and Short stitches embroidery, usually embroidered with two shades of blue.

Embroidery pattern adapted from "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal".

Design sheet from "Traditional Embroidery of Portugal"

Book: Traditional Embroidery of Portugal

I believe that in 2013 "all we need is love"... And as the Portuguese word for LOVE is AMOR, this is my way of wishing you all the love in the world!

See you next year!

February Stitchalong - All You Need Is Love

Hi! I'm Camilla from the DIY home decorating blog, Family Chic and I am so thrilled to be writing this guest post for Feeling Stitchy! I've had a soft spot in my heart for embroidery ever since the age of 5 when my mom sat me down with a square of burlap and some yarn and taught me the basics. I was hooked at that very moment!

One thing I love to do is experiment with my stitches; I get a kick out of adding embroidered details to almost anything. For this project I tried something different and combined sculptural wire with a simple couching stitch to make a Valentine for my kids. I hope you enjoy it!



For this project you will need:
- Embroidery floss
- An embroidery needle
- Sculptural wire (I use Twisteez Brand - available at Blick for about $6.00 a bag)
- A piece of rough linen and a piece of cardboard; both of the same size
- A glue gun
- A metal clip



Step 1: Cut out a piece of fabric and a piece of cardboard - both of the same size.




Step 2: Grab a bag of Twisteez Brand Wire and select your color.




Step 3: Shape your sentence by bending the wire.




Step 4: Using embroidery floss in the same color as your wire, tack down your sentence with small stitches spaced about 1-inch apart.




It is especially important to tack down all the loops so your sentence stays flat against the fabric.




Step 5: Using red embroidery floss, dot the "i" with a french knot.




Step 6: Fill in the heart with a satin stitch in red.




Step 7: Using a hot glue gun, attach the linen to the cardboard. I like easy and unusual ways to hang art so, I hung my work from a metal clip.




This is so easy - you can get it done in less than 30-minutes. Happy Valentine's Day - Enjoy!

I have over 200 easy-to-make projects on my blog, Family Chic. Be sure to stop by and take a look at my sewing and embroidery section!

Thanks Feeling Stitchy!

****

Thank you, Camilla, for this wonderful guest post, and for kicking off our February Stitchalong. I love how well this ties in with last month's stitchalong - this is basically couching, but with wire - feel free to use yarn, pipe cleaners, or anything bendy to complete your project!

To join in, add your projects to the pool and tag them "Feb2012Stitchalong". I'll be checking in later this month with your progress, so have fun with it!

February is going to be extra-special here on Feeling Stitchy. I've decided to celebrate "love" this February - love for this community, blogs we love, artists we love, books we love, businesses we love - in short, there's gonna be a whole lotta love this month. And, giveaways! I've worked extra-hard to shower you with love this month, so think of us as your Valentine!


love, floresita :)

Hearts

Stitched by good canary

Isn't this an amazing idea? So gorgeous!

Love will make you beautiful

Stitched by MD Studio

Yes, I think so. Beautiful stitching, too!

Flood of freebies!

free pattern from Polka Dot Bunny




free pattern from Wild Olive



free pattern from Pimp Stitch

The pool is full of love this week! These would all be something sweet and simple to stitch up for ma or grandma. If you stitch these, be sure to add your picture to the pool!