Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Lavender and Lime (My Embroidered Bird Duvet Cover)

Before we left on our long road trip, I bought a yard of muslin, some lavender embroidery thread and printed off  some free bird templates available here from Martha Stewart.   By the time we had returned from our trip I was finishing up my last square.  Once home, I  bought some paper-backed fusible web and attached them onto a rose print fabric I found in a soft shade of lime. 


I stitched a length of ribbon along all four sides to permanently adhere them to the fabric. 



I just love how the distressed surface of this Terra cotta pot looks with the fabric. 



It holds a  lily of the valley that I will transplant outdoors after this year's last frost date here (around May 11!). 



I had such good luck with my seed started zinnias last year, that when I came across this unique color I just couldn't pass it up.  Perhaps a little dull compared to others, but I have in mind to cut some of these flowers to go in the room with my duvet cover. 



Before we left on our trip I filled 2 biodegradable egg cartons with some seed starter discs, planted a lavender seed in each, watered them well and sat them covered in the refrigerator where (finger's crossed) they will sprout in about 6-8 weeks time.  (Those are my basil sprouts in the foreground.)



Here's the finished duvet cover in our guest bedroom.  I used the same ribbon at the top to secure the comforter inside.



 Before leaving on our trip, I watched the video found here to learn the chain stitch that I used on all 9 of the embroidered squares. 



And the really exciting part for me was that 2 of our 7 grand kids now know how to do this too! This is our 10 year old grandson Michael working on a peace sign.  The other one that learned is our 8 year old granddaughter Grace.   I had so much fun spending time with them doing this. 


In between their trips going fishing with Grandpa that is. 


31 comments:

Privet and Holly said...

Hi Lily!
I am at the airport
loving the free wi-fi
and waiting for my
ride....Left Texas in
the 80's and returning
to 38 degrees! I just
love love your duvet
project. I am SO going
to resurrect my embroidery
skills this year. My son
learned some basics in
Home ec this year, and
like your grands, really
enjoyed it. The combo of
lavender and lime is subLIME!!
xx Suzanne

Kelly said...

Hi Lily, Beautiful embroidery. I love the chain stitch. I grew up sewing on pillow cases, trying to keep my stitches even. The duvet cover is lovely. Very nice work.

Samantha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Samantha said...

The lavender and lime is perfect. After seeing those wonderful birds, I think it's time I learn embroidery!

Kiwifruit-Shiree said...

WOW, your new duvet looks absolutley fabulous!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Wonderful wonderful. Your embroidery is grand! I love to put embroidery in my quilts whenever I can. Your duvet cover will look great with those flowers - what an amazing color!

And what fun to teach the grandkids to embroider.

Country Girl said...

Wow. You amaze me. I'm taking a road trip on Saturday and have nothing like this prepared! Hey, thanks for the links.

Heather Baird said...

Gorgeous embroidery! You have such an eye for lovely things.

I love the name of those zinnia - ENVY!

regan said...

Your duvet cover is lovely....those birds are very sweet! And the colors are perfect! What a beautiful guest room for some very lucky guests!

Low Tide High Style said...

Lili there is no end to your talents my friend! I love your beautiful new duvet and the mix of the hand embroidered lavender birds and the gorgeous green fabric! I think you could go into the bedding business, I would buy one!!

All of your sweet comments on my blog made me smile today, thank you for that, especially the proud comment!

Kat :)

julie - eab designs said...

I adore your duvet cover Lili! Your embroidery is so beautiful - my favorite is the quail. I also love the floral fabric and color combination. How wonderful that you were able to complete it on your road trip.

jennyfreckles said...

What a lovely colour combination in that lime and lavender. You never stop creating beauty - what a wonderful gift. It's good that you're able to pass on some of the skill to your grandchildren. Even if they don't remember how to do chain stitch they will always remember the time they learned it.

RSA Now said...

Wow I love those needlework bird patterns! The second one is my favorite

Anonymous said...

Greetings from Southern California

I am your newest follower.
I invite you to visit my blog and become a follower.

God Bless You and have a Nice Easter :-)

~Ron

Completely Coastal said...

Lili..., you are so talented!! I can totally picture how the kids loved to learn this from you too!!

Have a great Easter!

Vicki Boster said...

Gasp!! Oh my gosh Lili- this embroidered coverlet is spectacular. I love that you added the lime green trim around the sides- that makes this duvet cover gorgeous! Your embroider work is amazing- truly this is just fabulous!

Happy Easter Lili~~
(Easter lily- get it?)
Vicki

Sandy, Sisters of Season said...

Hi beautiful Lili, You are so full of talent. The duvet cover came out beautiful. That bed in your guest bedroom is gorgeous, truly an antique. You, Henri and Simon have a beautiful Easter, Sandy:O)

Unknown said...

Lili your duvet is fantastic! i love the ribbon detail and the birds go with the fabric perfectly! that is such a skill (i don't know how to embroider). what a wonderful project to take on the road. your guest room looks beautiful!! hugs, susan

Sharon Lovejoy said...

Lili dear,

Absolutely drop dead gorgeous...I love it.

Your grandson...this is wonderful to see.

All joys and a big hug,

Sharon (we can't WAIT for Maine!)

Madam Butterfly said...

What a lovely idea! I am thinking of ideas for a project to take with on my tranatlantic flight next week. Thank you for a link to templates. I don't think that the security will allow embroidery needles on board, so it will have to be a future project upon my arrival from my trip.
Thank goodness that knitting needles are ok, so I'll be knitting.
Have a great day!

Lidia

Lee Weber said...

OMG, so lovely!! I need a new comforter, and this idea is divine!

Anonymous said...

So jealous of women that actually take the time to create beautiful stitchings. Love the combination of colors... goes PERFECT with the flower pot. You really know how to put things together nicely, Lili.

I'm glad spring is making it's way to your door up north there. Our trees are almost completely fully covered in their soft green leaves already!

Di

Mickey (Michel) Johnson said...

very pretty! i love the colors and the birds are so pretty and remind me of spring! hope it is getting warmer your way...

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

This post came up again and I must comment again. I am so impressed that you used the chain stitch for all that embroidery - I gave it a try and found that I wasn't patient enough - you did such a grand job of it. I'll stick to the outline stitch I guess.

Sandy, Sisters of Season said...

Hi Lili, Just stopping by to say, I hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day! Blessings, Sandy:O)

Vicki Boster said...

Just checking in to see if I have missed any of your fabulous posts~~

Hugs,
Vicki

Polly said...

Wowza!! LOVE the color combination! You are amazingly talented! Sorry it has taken me so long to swing by here.....I have had so much going on lately that I haven't been in blogland at all. Missed you!!

Polly

Sharon Lovejoy said...

Miss you...are you okay?

Love,

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

Cynthia@ Beach Coast Style said...

love your blog just found it via Raised in Cotton will be back and you are going to make me pull out the needle and thread stash!

Tiffini said...

Oh my...this is just exquisite! I love birds...I know it must be a sign of age but still. They just fascinate me. I am visiting from Suzanne's guest post. Nice to meet you:)xo

Rebecca Lewis said...

Hi there Lili ~ it's been so long since I have stopped by. I love your duvet cover! The closest thing to embroidery that I have done is sewing a patch onto a shirt last week. I really must give it a try once again.
And your color choice for Zinnias is my favorite ~ I grew them two years ago and they were amazing! Hope all grows well :-)
Hugs