Monday, January 9, 2012

More uses of the fly stitch

I was browsing the photos on the Flickr TAST group and saw this beautiful use of the fly stitch. Fascinating how such a simple, easy embroidery stitch can be used so many different ways - so simple, and so elegant!

Here's what I'm doing with one of the photos for the first cq block. I'm using the fly stitch to couch some ribbon around one of the photos:


I stitched that crocheted edging by machine and I'm adding ribbon to cover the raw seam and the stitching. I couldn't get the needle through the photo and the two layers of fabric in the cq block.  I have a sore thumb resulting from very dry skin which splits right at the corner of my thumb nail - on my right hand of course! This happens every  so often in spite of using hand cream liberally every time I wash my hands. I handle library books all day and they are very dusty. It just saps all the moisture from my hands, plus I feel I need to wash my hands all the time because handling library books is kind of like handling money. So I wind up with very painful dry skin. It's really difficult to push a needle through several layers of fabric because of this. This is only slightly easier but I like framing the photos this way. Those scalloped edges of the crochet also have lots of possibilities. 



6 comments:

  1. Nicely done!
    When I have super dry hands, I'll apply special cream, then light plastic gloves (like saran wrap) and then put on a pair of cotton gloves. I wear them to bed at night. This has really helped me. Have you tried it?

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  2. Good idea, I will have to try that. It really is painful. I have put cream on it & wrapped it in gauze at night, but the gloves are a better idea.

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  3. When I was in HS, I wore gloves to bed every night. I had the softest hands ever!

    This is my favorite way to add more embellishments and stitching to photos. Great!

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  4. I use a sea salt and oil scrub on my hands and feet that helps get rid of dry skin and moisturize.

    Love the way your blocks are developing, Deborah!

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  5. Thanks for all your comments. I'm going to try the gloves & moisturizer trick. I love that crocheted trim but it is HARD to get that needle through all the layers.
    Jen: I'm beginning to love this. I think the fabric really ties in with the theme and the embroideries. I found more this weekend cleaning out a back closet. Those ladies loved to sew!

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  6. I love the way you've used the fly stitch here!

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