easy breezy days of summer?

summer is always such a busy time here in the shuswap 

and this year has been no exception

and the busiest time of all for me is always the first two weeks of july when the cherry trees in our yard are ready for picking

at first i'm excited but as the heat and the work wear on I get pretty tired of it

and I get pretty tired of missing my stitching...

my newest love is really an old love that has now found a purpose

you all know how much I love little bits of fabric, especially when they're stitched in place with little bits of thread

and a fancy stitch or two

a couple of weeks ago, whilst casting about for ideas for something small, original and varied to make and sell at my spinner's and weaver's guild annual sale, I hit upon this idea...

coasters

the one on the left was my first and though I loved it, it was a bit softer in feel than I wanted - coasters should have some sturdiness to them

the one on the right is the result of a little tweaking with the filling materials and has a lovely solid feel to it, without being stiff - perfection

I lay out the main base pieces first, secure them with over-stitching and then add interest with patches and decorative embroidery

the cloth dictates the style

they're kind of a cross between kantha and boro

a hybrid I suppose, but with a twist

layers of cloth, layers of stitch

i love the scope for variety - each one unique

my plan is to sell them in sets of two...

they are the perfect vehicle for playing with various combinations of colour, pattern, different embroidery stitches, different threads

 working up fairly quickly

{unless i get carried away, which happened here with these cross-stitches - i just kept adding more and more}

perfect summer stitching - easy to pick up and put down, never losing your place, just stitching one section at a time

easy breezy summer fun