2010--first finished project

Here is the crewel pincushion, all done. And photographed to show the bright colors. I almost had it done by new year's day but decided I wanted to steam the completed crewel and let it dry well before finishing it up. I really like it. The stitching is Appleton crewel wool on hand-dyed doctor flannel (backed with muslin for extra body). The edging cord is a silk fiber.

After I finished this, I began the strawberry scissors case, but I've gotten sidetracked, a bit. (more on that to come)This is a project I completed about a month ago but only showed it to one friend (I HAD to show someone or I'd burst!). It's a crewel chatelaine that I designed as a teaching project for my local EGA chapter (July 2010). All of the 2010 projects were revealed to chapter members last night.

I adapted the design from one in the A-Z of Crewel Work. I took a long design and split it into two and edited it to fit, and then came up with my own colors and stitches. It uses 18 colors of Appleton crewel wools. One side is a pincushion and the other a little pocket. I modeled that part of the design on the 1970s Erica Wilson chatelaine I stitched earlier this year. The neckband and trim are two different widths of cotton twill tape.I put loops of tape on the back of each strap so you can loop your wools for a project through and have them handy. I didn't count but I think it will hold about a dozen colors. The bows at the bottom are to hold tools, like scissors. With my name on it, it can also act as my name tag at meetings.