Thursday, September 10, 2009

Jenn's Shower Gift from Me

My sister Jenn is 10 years younger than I am. We are all very excited that she has found a great guy to spend the rest of her life with. Jenn's been working for almost twenty years and has had her own house for years. There's not a lot she needs as she already has a full kitchen. I thought that it would be appropriate if I made her a gift for her shower. I turned to my book "Colorful Stitchery" to see what might inspire me. I decided to do a variation on these handmade pillowcases.


Jenn is marrying a guy named Patrick who goes by Pat. I wanted to include both their names on their pillowcases. Lucky for me I could shorten Patrick to Pat and Jenn is short - only 7 letters to stitch. I found some lovely lightweight linen fabric at my favorite fabric store in Brattleboro, Delectable Mountain. Pillowcases are very easy to make - just a giant rectangle with a few seams. Linen pillowcases are hard to find but they are so easy to make.

For the embroidery pattern, I wrote out both their names and then drew a little heart on a piece of paper. Using the directions in my book, I transferred the script and the hearts to the fabric using fabric transfer paper. Then I traced over the design with a blue water soluble marker. I used 3 strands of cotton embroidery floss in an aqua shade for the letters and worked them in a tiny chain stitch.

For the heart, I used 3 strands of embroidery floss in zinnia pink, chartreuse and salmon. I used a tiny chain stitch for the heart lines and filled the inner heart with French knots.


Then I decided to stitch a line of salmon running stitch at the machine stitch hem for a little more decoration.


This whole project was pretty easy to do and made a very thoughtful handmade shower gift. The amount of time spent on it wasn't overwhelming -- I worked on it at a couple farmer's markets and one evening. You can find directions for the top project in my book Colorful Stitchery which is for sale in my shop.

15 comments:

Elizabeth D said...

The perfect solution! Everyone I know already has all the "stuff" anyone'll ever need, now that we're so old :), but you still want to mark the occasion with a gift. They will treasure these.

--Elizabeth D

Turtle said...

i think it is the perfect gift! handmade of love and personable! I will have to check out this on your book. A few months back i was lucky to fins 6 sets of old linen pillowcases unopened in their original packaging at a booth in our antique mall. I paid 1.25 per package (each package held a pair of cases) I was so excited, of course hubby just laughed at me but my mom understood my excitement... i mailed her 3 pairs.

Anonymous said...

Lucky Jenn and Pat! Hand made gifts bestow so much love, they're the best! Congrats to both of them.

--elizaduckie

Harpa Jónsdóttir said...

How beautiful! Sweet - but not too sweet - bright and happy.

Kristi said...

At the risk of sounding middle aged...it is so wonderful to see this idea used in this day and age.
Back in the 70's I can remember my mom making these lovely wedding presents for friends kids who were getting married. Thanks for reminding me what a great gift it makes!

Whosyergurl said...

Kristen!
Jenn (& Pat) will treasure your gift for years to come! How lovely!
I was an embroidery girl back in the late 70's- embroidered everyone's jeans, denim shorts, shirts and jackets. Also a lot of fun to see my artwork and original designs (and stitches) walking about on my friends.
hugs,
Cheryl in IN
WHOSYERGURL

Monika said...

Wow! Those are so beautiful! I can't think of a nicer gift for anyone other than something so personal and so lovingly stitched.

Jody said...

Your pillowcases are truly lovely - what an incredible gift!

mathea said...

That's a lovely present - something they will treasure always. I remember that my grandma had linen pillowcases, but it has never occured to me to make my own. Hmmmm, now there's a thought...

Queen of the Tea Cosies said...

A very beautiful gift, imbued with such love and joy and attention.

Lucky lucky Jenn and Pat.

Catherine said...

This a beautiful, heartfelt gift that is sure to be treasured for many years!

Abbie said...

For my wedding shower, my mother gave me pillowcases that had been embroidered by her mother. I had to choke back tears in front of everyone, because my grandma had died of lung cancer when I was in the seventh grade. It was such a lovely way to be reminded that my grandma could still be a part of the wedding joy.

oklyous said...

That is good, and personal gift. I would definitely make me happy:) and you can never get too many pillowcases.

Gigi said...

Oh, love those -- treasured keepsakes that can be used every day.
Blessings,
G

Alison said...

Those are so precious! I should make some keepsakes for my girls! So much to stitch & knit, so little time...

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