A Stitch in Time

Or in my case adds about a hundred. I am not a sewer at all, but I've always liked the stitched collages that I've seen around. Linda from A Swap for All Seasons hosted a Mini Fabric Collage swap, and I thought this would be the perfect excuse to actually make one.

I was paired up with the lovely Hope, and she made such a stunning sampler for me. She did so much handstitching and embroidery, I am totally impressed. Plus all of the little elements that are so perfectly "me".

Some of the enchanting details like a glittered felt rose, crocheted "frame", mother-of-pearl buckle (swoon), sweet embroidered blue pearl flowers, and Hope's signature frozen Charlotte.

Hope told me that she liked creams and vintage sheet music and paper. At one of the local antique malls, a vendor had these old lace sample boards that I had been admiring for quite a while. I knew they would be perfect for this collage project, so I was glad to see that they were still there when I went back. I printed the sheet music and photo onto paper-backed fabric, which I ran through the laser printer. I stitched the sheet music fabric onto some burlap using my mother's old sewing machine. Poor thing never gets used, and now is stuck in sewing only in reverse. I really need to see if I can get it serviced if it won't cost an arm and a leg. Pearls from an old necklace surround the photo, and I added other bits as well. We didn't need to provide a hanger for the collage, but this old pearl sweater chain just worked so perfectly I had to include it. Since it just clips on, Hope can always do something else for a hanger if she chooses.

I didn't do as much sewing and embroidery as I had hoped, but it still was a lot of fun and I wouldn't mind doing some more stitching in time.