stitch&send progress and some sublime floss

Are you preparing to stitch&send? If you haven't heard, Abbie is working to prepare at least 200 tote bags and embroidered patches for a community Thanksgiving gathering in Richmond, VA. We'd love it if you could do a bit of stitching too, so be sure to read all about it!



I finally got to some stitching this week, and decided to start with a vintage pattern that I found on Flickr. The goal was to find something that could be enjoyed by just about anyone (a tall order!), and I think this hot air balloon will work.

If you look closely at the photo, you'll see the floss that I used for this. Can you read it? Do you see? This is big.



Sublime Stitching has their own line of embroidery floss! What? Wow! Jenny Hart sent me a package with this surprise in it, and I was eager to try it out. But first, I had to take in all of the yummy colors:






The color palettes (they are sold only in these packs right now) are some of the nicest colors you'll find. And that last photo is a floss unique to Sublime Stitching. "Mingles" are pre-blended colors, where you have two shades side by side. Fun! Oh, and each skein has a cheeky saying on it...cute!

After stitching with these, here's what I found: Although thinner that many 6-strand embroidery flosses and designed so they can be easily stitched with all six strands, I still found it easier to work with just three strands. Also, Sublime Floss has a sheen when it's stitched, it's not smooth as DMC. (That's not bad, it's just different from what I'm used to!)



So...go get yourself some new embroidery floss, and then stitch&send something for someone who needs a bit of handmade!

PS: For the rest of the month of October, if you buy a set of patterns from my shop and mention The Giving Heart, I'll give you an extra set of patterns free!

stitch&send

Last spring, I set up what I thought would be a fun little project, which I called Stitch Swap. Well, it was fun, but it wasn't so little. Over 300 people signed up, stitched pretty things, and sent them off to a new home. Over 300! And there were still folks who didn't get the chance to participate.

So I thought we might need to do something like the Stitch Swap again, but this time, it'll be a little different. This fall, we're doing what I'm calling stitch&send. It's not a swap, because when you stitch this time, you won't get a hoop in return.

What? Is that right? I know there were a few mailing glitches in the spring, with some folks waiting a while. (Dorothee, I've still got you covered!) You won't get a hoop from another stitcher this time, because stitch&send pieces are all going to one place:



The Giving Heart is an organization in Richmond, VA that distributes items to those in need. Several times a year, they hand out Giving Bags, which contain soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant, plus sometimes a few other items. Their next event is tied to a Thanksgiving meal they are preparing for more than 3000 people in the Richmond community. 3000!

Here's where we come in. This project was brought to me by Abbie, who felt called to do something special. She is making and collecting reusable tote bags to donate. And she called on me to invite you to help make the bags extra special!

Here's what you can do:

Stitch a design in a 4-inch hoop. (It can be free-embroidery, machine embroidery, cross-stitch, any kind of stitching!) Iron it, and trim it to be a patch about four inches (with at least 1/4 inch of fabric around the stitching). Mail what you've made to Abbie.

Abbie is coordinating sewing patches onto bags, but you can help even more!

Here's what else you can do:

Make a reusable tote bag, or buy one and embroider your "patch" directly onto the bag. Better yet, consider making multiples of the patches and/or bags! Above all...spread the word!

Abbie has a goal of 200 bags, but let's do better than that. Let's do WAY better than that and really surprise both her and The Giving Heart! I'll be doing some stitching here, and I'll be sharing some patterns you can use (come back next Friday, or just start stitching something a recipient might like!).

For more information, including where to mail these, visit Abbie's blog.

The deadline for mailing is the first week of November. We've got a little bit of time, but not a lot! So let's do something big as we stitch&send!