Bold geometric iphone case

January 14, 2015 | ehpyle

If you know me in real life, you’ve probably seen me carrying around my phone case clipped to my keys with a carabiner. Its a strategy to keep from losing either phone or keys. Yet, this strategy failed one day in December when my needlepoint iPhone case fell off the clip (thankfully without my phone inside).

When I discovered my loss, I re-traced my steps, searching, but came home empty-handed, and quite sad to lose something so personal and that I had made myself. So, I decided to make a replacement right away, hoping that a quick replacement would help me move on.

In the interest of speed, and inspired by Diane at Crafty pod, I used plastic canvas, cotton yarn and a geometric pattern from one of my favorite vintage needlepoint books.

I’m mostly happy with the way it turned out and I do like how the striped sides have a kind of 70’s or 80’s vibe.

piecing the strips of plastic together

side view of the flap after I sewed it together and added a liner

side view of retro stripes

I love working with plastic canvas because its so geometric and speedy. Plus, no hand sewing with thread – I used a glue gun to secure the flanel lining. One of the benefits of using inexpensive materials is feeling no compunction whatsoever for using a glue gun.

Yet, with the finished product hanging from my key clip, I didn’t love it. It was either too plastic, or too brightly colored, too boldly geometric, or just not an adequate replacement for my lost needlepoint case.

So, I was ecstatic when I received a voicemail from a stranger, a local real estate agent, who had found my lost case and tracked down my home phone from a scrap of personalized stationery inside. Never mind that he referred to it as “macrame” (Macrame?! that’s for old ladies!) I am so grateful he took the time to find me and return it, because as it turns out, a soft ombré suits my personal style better than the bold geometric, however much I admire it.

Botanical embroidery project

September 24, 2014 | ehpyle

Last week, I wrote about the beautiful needlework of Gerda Bengtsson. This week, I’m sharing my own copy of one of her designs – embroidery of a bedstraw, or Galium plant.

Most Galium are wild, frothy, unassuming plants. Their beauty lies in delicate arching branches, leaves that cluster around the stem in whorls, and dainty white or green flowers. Some species can be quite weedy and others, like sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) are both ornamental and medicinal.

bedstraw embroidery danish stitchery book

This embroidery by Gerda Bengtsson captures the beauty of Galium saxatile growing in a flat form. (It comes from Gerda Bengtsson’s book of Danish Stitchery, published in 1972.) The black and white photos probably don’t do justice to her work, but this project still seemed timeless and appealing to me.

To embroider my own version, I scanned the image from the book, printed it, and then traced the original shape. Since I enlarged the design a bit, I modified in some spots and had made most of the branches shorter.

I then used a hot iron, transfer pen and tracing paper to transfer the design on to some white linen. Since the design was larger than the 8.5″ by 11” transfer paper, I had to improvise with stapling sheets together and my transfer was a bit light in some places. (Note to self: pin the transfer paper down carefully before ironing.)

I stitched away, filling the leaves in with satin stitch and tracing the stems with stem stitch.

It was a big project and took a few months. Over time, my transfer ink began to fade, eventually becoming non-existent. By the end of the project, I’d done enough of these stems and leaves that I was fine just making up where to stitch.

I tried to vary the shades of green, with the tips of the growing branches and leaves stitched in lighter shades. Overall, I’m pretty delighted with the outcome, though I have no idea what I’ll make out of it. Cushion? Wall hanging? If you have any ideas, I’m all ears!

The godmother of botanical needlework

September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 | ehpyle

Gerda Bentgesson from Danish stitchery book — Wall hanging by Gerda Bengtsson, from Gerda Bengtsson’s Book of Danish Stitchery

As some of you know, I studied botany as a graduate student. I spent hours pouring over plant specimens, flipping through dichotomous keys, and learning terms like “stipules.” There were nights when my dreams were filled with swirling leaf shapes, fragile rootlets, and constellations of flowers.

Now, I dream of others things, but I have retained a love of plant forms. These shapes sometimes inspire my creative projects, but for true, breathtaking, botanically inspired work, I consult the books of Gerda Bengtsson. Published in the 1970’s and 1980’s her books are mostly out of print, but still, easy to find.

GB.rosamoyesii — Rosa Moyesii by Gerda Bengtsson. From Roses and Flowering Plants in counted cross-stitch.

Like 18th and 19th century botanical prints, Bengtsson’s designs show specific knowledge of plants and convey appreciation for the varieties of plant form. Yet, they are pretty and decorative.

GB.couluteaarborescens — Senna by Gerda Bengtsson. From Roses and Flowering branches in counted cross-stitch

Flowers and plants are often generic and stylized in needlework, however beautiful. In contrast, Bengtsson’s designs are botanically correct, but also balanced and artistic.

Mountain Ash by Gerda Bentgsson. From Dye PLants nad Fruits in Cross -stitch — Mountain Ash by Gerda Bengtsson. From Dye Plants and Fruits in Cross -stitch

Bengtsson worked mostly in cross-stitch, but much of her published work consists of charted designs that could also be used for needlepoint, and other mediums.

In my mind, Gerda Bengtsson is the godmother of all botanical needlework. When I tried to do a little online research, I didn’t find much. From her books I know she trained as a painter and later switched to textiles. She was also part of the Danish Handcraft guild. My research did turn up a great pinterest board and many of her designs are available in cross stitch kits here.

Since I’m not much for cross-stitch, I mostly just pour over her books and swoon, but I did recently complete a Bentgesson-inspired embroidery piece. I’ll tell you about that in my next post.

DIY project: Ombré iphone case

August 15, 2013June 18, 2015 | ehpyle

I’ve been carrying around this needlepoint project all summer – to children’s birthday parties, tennis lessons, even to the beach. Since nothing says “I’m the cool mom” like a little needlepoint, I often try to deflect questions when I’m out and about with my needlepoint. When someone says, “what is that?” my answer is usually something along the lines of “oh, just a little project I’m working on” and try to keep on chatting about youth soccer, the merits of organic produce, or when exactly is the right time to get a child his first mobile phone. Because those topics are so much more scintillating than needlepoint.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can say all the humiliation was totally worth it, since I finally have my very own ombré needlepoint iphone case. I really love it. It’s super soft and pretty. Plus, I added an interior pocket for my headphones and a loop for clipping my keyring. It has its flaws (I hate the snap closure, colors on the flap don’t line up right, etc.) but overall, it still thrills me. Now, I’m wondering: is the dowdiness of needlepoint couterbalanced by the trendiness of ombré?

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UPDATE 2015: Since this post, I’ve made a lot of iphone cases, and I’ve become a better blogger. If you’re here because you’re interested in learning how to make a needlepoint iphone case, I’ve posted a tutorial here: Needlepoint Phone Case tutorial

Needlepoint coaster project

June 25, 2013June 26, 2013 | ehpyle

This past winter, I took up needlepoint again after about a 10 year hiatus. I decided to start with coasters, since (1) they didn’t feel like too much of a commitment and (2) I found this great tutorial at the Purl Bee on how to make coasters. (My previous foray into needlepoint coasters ended with me finishing them in an improvisational, ad-hoc way that left my coasters thicker at the edges and not great for seting under tippy wine glasses.) This time, my coasters are flat and I’ve backed them with wool felt.

I am so happy to have discovered the Purl Bee’s method for preparing the canvas to make coasters. I am also happy to have used the vintage needlepoint books given to me by my mother in law. Leafing through her books form the ’60’s and 70’s, I was inspired to try new, geometric fancy stitches, rather than my usual basketweave stitch.

For the first two coasters, I used a stitch called Scottish Stitch from Carolyn Ambuter’s Complete Book of Needlepoint, where puffy diagonal “scottish stitches” are framed with regular basket weave/tent stitch.

For the second two coasters, I used a flat stitch diamond to make puffy diamonds of color and then outlined with V-stitches, from A Pageant of Pattern for Needlepoint by Shirlee Lantz and Maggie Lane (pg. 202).

I used the same colors for all 4 coasters to create a unified set, but varied the placement of colors to keep things interesting. In the end, they seem like a bit of a scruffy bunch, but I’ll be thrilled to use them now that they’re done.

Bottle Branch

Botanical photography and papergoods

vintage needlepoint books