embroider something

I am a bit nervous person and can get angry easy, so my mom was very surprised when I started embroidering . But I really liked it :) It doesn’t make me feel nervous at all, it rather make me relax

for my son. I started before he was born. I got a soft blue blanky for him and embroidered his full name and some hearts in the corner. It looked beautiful and he loved it. He was wrapped in it when we took him home from the hospital after he was born. Now he wraps his stuffed animals in it when they get cold.

for now. To concentrate my creative activities on things that have to do with my spaces.

.... since ive embroidered something.
wanna pickup the needle and make something beautiful again.
wall at home have my work…would love to something on my hostel wall also.

I penciled a design on graph paper for the back of the shirt. Next step: start stitching.

As an (almost) librarian, I am quite capable of compiling a bibliography of the very best embroidery books and a webliography of the best internet sites. But that’s not what I did.

I went to my small local branch library and checked out the two books on the topic that they had on the shelves—one in the adult section and one in the children’s section. It looks like they will serve me well, so here are the citations:

The encyclopedia of embroidery techniques / Pauline Brown.
New York : Sterling Pub. Co., c2003.

Embroidery / written by Judy Ann Sadler ; illustrated by June Bradford.
Toronto : Kids Can Press, c2004.

There are two stories behind this embroidery project.

The first is from junior high. The only art project I remember being satisfied with was the one where we embroidered chambray shirts (was that a fad for both boys and girls for a short while in the mid-70s?). I wasn’t very confident of my art abilities, but I could be patient and precise with needlework. Given enough time, I could produce quite beautiful things. My art teacher helped a bit with the design (drawn on with pencil) and I did the embroidery over several weeks both at home and at school. The result was something that truly expressed my young teen self—one of the more delightful things that art and craft can do.

The second story has to do with this shirt:

Obviously, I have worn it nearly to rags. It is physically comfortable and, emotionally, a comfort. My brother, who works for Edward Jones, gave my dad this shirt. My mother gave me the shirt shortly after my dad died. Wearing it is like getting a hug from my whole family.

I’ve been wondering how I can replace the shirt and how I can do it in a way that corresponds with the recent professionalization of my wardrobe. I decided that it would work if I embroidered a chambray shirt with a book or library theme. It won’t be my most professional look, but I will be able to hang the shirt on the back of my office chair for days when the library is chilly or for times when I need to cover up nicer clothes while doing a dusty job in the stacks.

Now, I just need a design and to re-learn a few stitches.