embroidery: learning

the hubs is off today after his 10 day shift..

he is working (and honestly, swearing) his way through a mastery course for work.

(not much of a day off if you ask me..)

and i'm teaching myself this:

after doing a little research online i picked up a transfer pen & some tracing paper yesterday @ joanns.

(where, i must say, everyone was totally charmed by the babe who was angelic & smiley.)

i already had a hoop i bought last week at michaels...

(where, i might also mention, the lady employees stated how the babe is ALWAYS smiling when he is there... shop at michaels much you say? lol...i was shocked that they recognized us)

and i have a plastic organizer thing full of embroidery thread my granny gave me for my birthday one year when i was a teenager & making friendship bracelets was all the rage..

(remember those days?)



(at the top is some failed lazy daisy stitches & french knots.. those definitely need work!
below is some things i drew as well as some handwriting by yours truly)

so anyways..

i got it all together last night & then fell asleep watching the old version of king kong.

so this morning after the dude was off to school..

and the babe was fed & down for his morning nap..

i pulled out the pen & doodled on some scrap white fabric.

i'm enjoying it..

it's bringing back memories of all those things i made in middle school home ec.

(where i wasn't taught to sew on a machine, but by hand & i must say i totally enjoyed it)

& i'm wondering why i haven't continued hand-stitched projects since then...

but i do have some questions for you master embroiderers out there..

1. do you knot before starting? i remember my mom cross-stitching & just tucking in the ends..

2. how many strands do you use of floss? do you vary it by project & expected end result?

3. what is your favorite material to work with? have you used regular old cotton?

4. do you have a favorite online source for patterns?

off to do some more doodling & stitching..

xo-k