For today's guest post I'm thrilled to have my friend Cindy Treen share her beautiful work with the blog. One of the most talented people I know with a needle and thread, from large to small, her handcrafted work never fails to impress.

This gallery is of some the quilts she has made in the past two years. All sewn completely by hand, no detail is over looked.

Back Next

1 of 10

1 Garden Quilt

2 Garden detail - dragon fly

3 Garden detail - bee

4 Garden detail - cricket

5 Atlantic Quilt

6 Cindy laying out Atlantic Quilt

7 Atlantic Quilt label

8 Wonderland Quilt

9 Wonderland detail

10 Wonderland label

Cindy also does adorable small projects like these sweet guys available as kits.

And for today Cindy is sharing her newest pattern, this beautiful reindeer.

"As a crisp chill begins to blow in and the frost settles lightly on the remaining leaves in the garden, I begin to look forward to the holidays and festivities ahead. With all of the hustle and bustle outside some instant gratification in the studio is just the thing!

The inspiration for this project came while I was talking with my mother recently. I have been designing a line of hand-stitching kits so she thought I might want to see the first stuffed animal I made as a child, which, as it turned out she had saved. She is a very good saver!

So I decided to revisit that early reindeer and design a new pattern for today.

This little fellow’s harness was inspired by my visits to Hungarian Christmas markets. Bundled in layers of sweaters and coats, muffled and mittened with mulled wine in hand, visitors wander through the market and the decorated streets of Budapest. Through Vörösmarty Square and down Váci Utca you can see handmade crafts stitched in colorful wool felt, leather and furs as you enjoy the glow of the season.

The pattern for this reindeer is available on my Etsy site as a $2.00 download this weekend!"

Tools: scissors, pliers, and an embroidery needle
Felt:
Beige:  9” X 16”
White: 7” X 14”
Brown: 2.5” X 4”
Black: 1” X 7”
Red:  1.75” X 7”
Green:  3” X 6”
Embroidery thread: beige, green, black, light blue
Wire:
14 gage aluminum or copper wire: 2 pieces 9.5” long
Twist tie or 26 gage wire: 2 pieces 2” long

Back Next

1 of 8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Getting started:

Embroidery thread is made up of 6 strands plied together. Cut thread into 30 to 36-inch lengths (longer threads can easily tangle). These can be separated into individual threads or used in groups of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 to make a thinner or thicker stitch line. All of the stitching for this pattern uses 3 strand lengths of embroidery thread.

Baste: To sew loosely with large running stitches that will hold together fabric temporarily.

Running stitch: A running stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric (from front to back to front) in a straight line. The finished stitch looks like a dashed line.

Whip stitch: A whip stitch is worked by wrapping the thread of each individual stitch around the edge of the fabric.

(Get the full Reindeer directions.)

Thank you Cindy for sharing your project with us! And a big thank you to Karen Philippi for letting us use her beautiful photographs.

Tags: Celebrate, craft, embroidery, Holidays, ideas, Inspiration Board, sewing
Posted by Hosanna Houser on November 11th, 2011 in Make It, Photo Galleries