Look What I Won

Before I get to my winnings let me tell you about the stitch swap that I joined  over at Mollie’s Wild Olive.  My swap partner wanted an owl.  I wanted to do something with a lot of texture (so what else is new?) and couched down some threads, fibres and ribbons and did some stem, chain and feather stitches amongst them. 

My intention was to have the thread ends extend beyond the hoop when it was finished but my embroidery is a little too big for the swap guidelines!  Oops.  I decided to finish it on a disk of foam core rather than include it in a hoop.  That way I can make it exactly the size I want.

Here it is, finished, with the owl and rest of the branches. I’ll tell you more about the little mark by the tree trunk next time.

Now, look what I won!  Laura at Bugs and Fishes by Lupin had a giveaway of some felt and yarn and I won a wonderful selection of felts from Heart Handmade UK . They finally arrived and I am thrilled.  There are 24 smaller pieces and one large brown piece.  Some are wool blend and some synthetic.  I’ll have to plan some uses for them.  So much of the felt I use in my embroidery is covered over and I don’t want to waste the wool felt.  I’ve been wanting to make a case for my sewing tools so that I can have most of them at my fingertips.  I’ll make a needlecase out of some of that felt.  Laura also included a postcard and a business card.

I love the feel of the wool-blend felt.  I hadn’t had any before and it is so much nicer than the synthetic.  It also drapes so nicely.  Aren’t the colours lovely?