Pillow Talk

  Looks like I'm a little behind schedule!  Isn't that some sort of merit badge for quilters?  I'll look into that later but for now, I owe this space a finished project for my progress report.

  I embroidered this set of pillowcases for a young couple who just married.  I have no idea if they'll love the black but I hope they don't hate it.

  These are wrinkle-free cotton sheets from Target.  If you're an embroiderer and interested, I used DMC floss...3 strands folded for the stem-stitched lettering and two strands folded for the lazy daisy petals/leaves and the french knots.

  The pattern is from a set of Superior Tranfer Design No. 149 "His and Her Motifs for Linens."  I picked it up at my favorite local thrift shop for 25 cents...looks like inflation to me!  I did have to employ some Clover Chacopy tracing paper and elbow grease in order to transfer the designs so I haven't tested yet to see if the transfers still work with an iron on lighter fabrics.



A little closeup:

  These were fun to stitch up.  Every time I embroider I think to myself, "Why don't I do this more often?"  It would certainly improve my stitching if I practiced with more frequency.  In any case, I watched football with the bearded guy and actually found it easier to follow the game when I had something other than the TV to look at.  I usually bore easily from the ubiquitous commercial breaks and timeouts and reviews of the calls...not to mention I never learned the rules of (American) football and still find it confusing.  You can give me crap about it but I'll offer this: I love to watch other sports,  I just never got into football -- probably because it slipped through the cracks of the otherwise ah-maze-ing gym class curriculum of my public school education.  (Golf, tennis, basketball, volleyball, badminton, swimming, archery, ping pong, land navigation, track, broomball, baseball, floor hockey, indoor and outdoor soccer, ropes, obstacle courses, Presidential Fitness Awards, dancing...don't get me started on how spoiled I now realize all that torture made me.)  Because of all that, I know how to play and how to score and am not afraid to join-in (or merely spectate) when, infrequently, I get the chance to attempt a sport or activity I never actually played for a team.  I did play soccer, baseball, ran track - 200/400/800 meters - and was fullback and wing for my high school women's rugby team...but I digress.

  The point is, embroidery facilitates marital cohesion.  Let's hope that it works equally well for the new couple.