I will take the time today to share two little embroidered boxes I have done. The little box [etui] in the above photograph was stitched some time ago. I had to cut the cardboard pieces myself, I did not have an etui kit. The instructions and pattern are included in a book I purchased, Hardanger - Fundamentals made Fancy, by Janice Love. I have used 22ct hardanger fabric, with #5 and #8 perlé thread, rather than the stated 30ct linen, which made her box measurements pie in the sky for my piece!!!
The design on the top of the box is so pretty. Indeed, many of the fillings I had not seen or tried before, and I had not given any thought to the use of pearls or beads with this type of work.
I hope some of these shots will give you a good look at the lovely way Janice has used these unusual fillings. Each of the bands were to have a different filling, but as usual, I picked the ones I like the best and went with them.
I particularly like the flower design that has been given the name of Edelweiss. It is just beautiful when it's done, and with concentration, not all that difficult to achieve a pleasing result.
I hope this shot shows you the box with the panels open. I thoroughly enjoyed the stitching process with this project, but I have to say, I am not, and never will be a fan of glue, card, or paper, so I doubt I will make another of these little sewing accessories.
I would also like to share this wooden box with it's blackwork knot garden lid. This blackwork pattern was designed by Mary Hickmont, and again, I did my own thing, using a variegated thread for working. The whole piece has been done on 18ct aida, using 1 strand of DMC cotton. The gold stitching is also one strand. For some reason I found it hard to get a good photograph of this - still learning with my new camera.
This is the box opened. I purchased it from Janie Hubble of The Cat's Whiskers in WA. It is a beautiful box, quite large really, with the top recessed area just perfect for the stitching I'd done. It is lined with black felt, and the bottom also has black felt attached to avoid scratch marks on one's furniture. I feel quite privileged to own such a lovely piece.
My friend Dian has some lovely examples of stitched knot gardens on her blog. You can see them here: http://dians-beachtextiles.blogspot.com/2011/02/stitched-gardens.html
