stitched gifts

I didn’t make a lot of handmade gifts this year (other than a LOT of caramels, cookies, truffles, and peppermint patties) but I did decide rather late in the game to stitch up these pieces for my sisters!

Mochi the Maltese from andiwabisabi on Etsy. I used blue Aida for this one because most of it is white! This one was really quick and simple. I cut some backing fabric and put it all in a round hoop – they didn’t have any small wooden hoops at Michael’s when I was buying supplies, so now I need a new one!

I’m pretty darn proud of this next one – it was rather a lot of stitching to start only a week before Christmas! The pattern is Bento Box Sushi by Tiny Modernist, a local stitcher. I saw her wares at the Creativ festival and was immediately smitten! I used evenweave for this piece, also from Michael’s – I would’ve used linen but I didn’t have time to go to the proper sewing shop.

I finished it Tuesday night before I was leaving for my parents’ house on Wednesday, so it was a little bit down to the wire! The piece didn’t fit into any of the frames I had bought, so I just mounted it onto a small piece of foamcore. I used straight pins around the edge, double-sided tape to hold down the edges of the fabric at the back, and some washi tape over the back edges as well. For a bit of a border, I pinned some black ribbon all the way around and added a hanging loop straight through the piece. Of course, I neglected to take a photo of the back as we were trying to get out the door!

Now I want sushi.

P.S. If you didn’t get one for the holidays, Gleener is still offering a promo code for blog readers! Get 10% off with code LAURACHAU10 at the checkout until January 2, 2015. Gotta keep those knits looking good!