American Brocade - Blog

How to Identify Basic Embroidery Stitches

6/13/2019

If you are an aficionado of fiber art, a fundamental knowledge of the techniques will help you to begin or enhance your collection. You will be able to converse intelligently with artists and other collectors at art fairs, galleries, and museums. Techniques are as diverse as quilting, applique, crocheting, knitting, needlepoint, and embroidery. Each of these techniques has variations that offer artists the ability to experiment with fabrics, threads, padding, stitches, textures, colors, dimensions, and designs. Numerous books have been written about each of them.

In this brief blog post, let’s focus on embroidery due to its versatility. Embroiderers create both functional and nonfunctional art. The former includes clothing and home décor. The latter includes wall hangings and framed art. Such works encompass a wide scope of fiber artworks; they may incorporate as broad a range of materials. Their embroidery stitches, though, will likely include some basic ones. Let’s talk about running stitch, stem stitch, and chain stitch. Like the major needlework techniques, each of these stitches has variations. This post will discuss just the foundational ones.

When choosing a stitch, an important criterion is whether an outline or a filling of a shape is needed. Running, stem, and chain stitches are especially suited to outlining a form. Running stitch is sometimes covered with satin stitch, but it is a decorative stitch. It looks like the stitch a sewing machine performs to secure a seam. The stitches must be small and even to be appealing to the eye. Thread can be woven into running stitches to add texture and additional color to the design. Stem stitch affords no opportunities for weaving, but its outlines have more depth and complexity. Each stitch begins from the center of the prior one. The stitches overlap one another. Lastly, chain stitch, as you might imagine, looks like a chain. It is a linked sequence of loops of thread. These stitches are larger than running and stem stitch, so they make for a wider border. For this reason, they are not suited for outlining small shapes. Chain stitches are sometimes used individually or in groups of a few stitches to create flower petals, raindrops, or the like.

Now that you can identify running, stem, and chain stitches, you might see if you can identify them in the photos of the hand embroidered fiber art to the right of this post. You are welcome to ask questions; just post them in the comments section of this post. Your next visit to an art fair, gallery, or museum will be more engaging and fun for you and your friends. It will be easier for you to make choose fiber art pieces that are not only aesthetically appealing to you but have artistic integrity.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

How to Choose Embellished Denim Clothing

6/6/2019

Denim has become a favored fabric for clothing and accessories of all kinds. Once solely the province of laborers due to its durability and ease of maintenance, today, people of nearly all occupations routinely wear denim in some form. Consider that denim pants, that is, blue jeans and overalls are still worn daily by carpenters, house painters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and farmers. They are also favored by fine artists, college students, and – let’s not forget “dad jeans” – parents. Still, professional adults can dress fashionably as well as comfortably in designer jeans. They are available in a variety of styles, colors, and fits. If jeans don’t suit your taste, there are denim jackets, denim vests, denim shirts, denim skirts, and denim dresses. Then, there are accessories such as denim tote bags, denim shoes, and denim belts.

Of course, fashionable denim clothing and accessories aren’t just plain vanilla. After you have established your preferences for skinny, straight leg, boot cut, or wide leg jeans, there are more choices. What are your preferred styles and placements of pockets? How should the waist of the jeans fit, that is, do you prefer high-waisted jeans or low-rise jeans? Styles of shirts, dresses, skirts, and jackets are even more varied. Just thinking of length, there are tunics and crop tops, maxi, midi, and mini dresses, and bomber and lumber jackets.

Access to this abundance of choices is no longer limited by geography. No one has to drive long distances to a mega-mall or major city to shop for clothing. It isn’t even necessary to fly to Paris or Milan to buy designer fashions. Thanks to the web, they are available for purchase to whomever has the interest and the means. So, how to choose? Fortunately, there are search engines on the web that can narrow your selection of merchants and brands. It does help to set a budget; boutiques and department stores do try to appeal to customers in given price ranges.

Once you have selected your favorite designers or brands and stores, it's time to choose your items of clothing. Even though the fabric is denim, first consider the purpose and place for which you are dressing. If denim is permitted at the office, you will still want a denim outfit with more style than plain blue jeans. Consider a denim skirt, dress, or jumper. Save the jeans, denim shirt, or denim jacket for a movie, grocery shopping, or gardening. That denim tote bag will fit in nicely at the beach, a picnic, or a sports event. As for style, choose the cut of jeans and the length of a skirt, dress, or top that best suits your figure. Choice of tote bags is better determined by the volume of articles you need to carry with you. Just be sure your chosen tote bag is constructed of heavyweight denim, has zippered interior pockets, a bottom that has been set in, and a sturdy strap. Probably, you already have a preference for the color of your denim.

While these choices are foundational or important, what will truly establish your signature style will be the extras. I have at last arrived at the embellishments. They are the reason that denim is so fashionably versatile. Those skinny jeans become presentable for the barn or community center dance if trimmed with buttons, bows, or embroidery. Wear your denim vest with the appliqued stars, flowers, or butterflies to an art fair or harvest festival. Jeans with colorful, embroidered geometric trim are suitable for a barbeque or casual restaurant dinner. They truly will reflect your taste if they are designed and created by hand. Machine embroidery looks and is mass produced. Even buttons can be handmade or, at least, vintage. Although not one of a kind, they are likely few in number. Of course, such designs and trims are not sold in department stores or even boutiques. Consider purchasing your denim articles for hand finishing by a fiber artist. Meet them at a local art fair or use your favorite search engine to find them on the web. That will be time and money well-spent in nourishing your own creativity, self-expression, and self-esteem.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

How to Choose a Wearable Fiber Art Collection

6/3/2019

An appreciation for fashion embodies more than knowledge and investment in the latest trends. Creating your own style that expresses your personality puts the fun in fashion. Try a focus on originality rather than popularity. Read about the latest fashions in glossy magazines for ideas. Learn about the colors and lines that flatter your skin, hair, and body shape. Choose among them for the ones that appeal to you. Consider what they tell the world about you. Bright colors suggest vivaciousness or, at least, cheerfulness. Neutral grays, beiges, shades of white, and black project elegance. Pretty pastel pinks, subdued pale greens, and cool, soft blues reflect quiet confidence. The fit of your clothes also tells viewers who you are. In general, form-fitting clothing tends to be sporty; over-sized clothing is usually casual. Elegance and style exude from wearers of attire that accents their best features. Such clothing is cut to follow the lines of their bodies not stretch to accommodate their forms.

You, too, can present yourself in all the splendor of your body and persona. Remember, that you are an original. Prepare your wardrobe accordingly. An advantage of clothing as fiber art is that such pieces are often one of a kind. The fiber artist may not be a well-known designer, but his or her pieces will have his or her own unique label. They will also be original designs. That distinctiveness may be due solely to the drape and fit of the item. It may also be due to the choice of fabric. Some fiber artists may specialize in creating exclusive embellishments for their clothing lines.

Look for hand embroidered trim at the hemlines, collars, and sleeve edges of blouses. Dresses and skirts offer a greater expanse for hand embroidery or beading. The latter is usually more appropriate for evening wear. If the beads are colorful, diminutive, and uniform in size rather than shiny, out sized, and variable in shape, they will be a suitable adornment for casual clothing. Hand crocheting can add a lacy touch to colors, sleeves, and hems as well. Consider appliqued and quilted designs for casual wear. Quilting can also stand alone as trim for sleeves and hemlines. Quilted patchwork can add a colorful edge to sleeves or hemlines. It also adds charm to pockets. For items like jackets, quilting throughout adds warmth and comfort as well as style.

Other stylish trimming involves the cut of the garment. Scalloped edges for hemlines or sleeves are an understated way to trim a dress. Asymmetrical collars, sleeves, and hemlines are an elegant way to add style to a dress or blouse. Cut-outs are more ostentatious and daring depending on their location on the garment. Whatever you decide reflects your personal style, wherever you shop, and no matter what you spend on your wardrobe, be sure that it gives you pleasure. Rather than an endless competition or an onerous chore, dressing well can be a relaxing, rewarding, and refreshing endeavor.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

How to Assess the Quality of Fiber Art Materials for Collectors

5/28/2019

If you read my last blog post, you now have a basic knowledge of how to assess the quality of fiber art techniques. Let’s move on to a quality of fiber art that is just as important as the techniques used to create the fiber art. The materials including the fabric, thread, and tools contribute to the aesthetic and monetary value of the finished work. Although some modern works may use artificial or synthetic materials like foils, plastics, or synthetic fibers, look for totally natural fibers in vintage works. Their colors are likely to be truer and more vibrant. The textures of their weave are more likely to be visually and tactilely complex.

Similar cautions apply to threads and yarns. Whether the thread is for sewing seams, quilting layers of fabric, or decorative embroidering, its integrity is important to the beauty and durability of the work. Threads that are loosely spun are more likely to fray or separate. Such damage can cause an artwork to unravel. Attention to the quality of the color is important, too. For instance, the colors of synthetic yarns tend to poorly approximate nature. The colors of superior embroidery threads have not only depth but sheen.

Lastly, the quality and maintenance of the various needles and scissors needed for fiber art matter. Modern sewing machines offer a greater variety of stitches than vintage machines. Even so, it is still the size, sharpness, and linearity of the needle that are of more importance. Sewing by machine or by hand with a bent or dull needle can damage fabric by pulling threads from the weave. The poor condition or wrong size of a needle can poke holes which are too large for the thread and weave of the fabric. The resulting seams may be weak. Decorative stitching may have uneven tension that compromises the design of a piece. Scissors must be frequently sharpened to ensure the accurate cutting of fabric pieces for clothing. Even dull clippers or trimming scissors for snipping off the ends of thread must be kept sharp. Otherwise, they may pull rows or even sections of decorative stitching out of line. You probably won’t often be able to visit an artist’s studio. When that’s possible, you likely won’t be able to inspect his or her tools. You can still inspect his or her artwork for signs of the neglect of fiber art tools.

Prepared with this knowledge, you can more successfully choose fiber art that has been carefully created. You are less likely to pay more for an artwork than it is worth. Your informed judgement will enable you to collect works by artists who become known for their talent and expertise. Given proper care, such works will appreciate in value. You may even become a well-known collector due to your taste, style, and knowledge of fine art.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

Fiber Art Techniques for Collectors

5/18/2019

The techniques used to create fiber art distinguish it from collectibles such as photography, watercolor paintings, and sculpture. In appearance, both can be representational or abstract. Fiber art, though, can offer the two-dimensionality of photographs or the three-dimensionality of a sculpture. Although you may prefer to display your fiber art works under glass, they also offer a tactile sensory experience. This characteristic of fiber art benefits both the artist and the patron. The artist is able to communicate through more than one sense. Different textures of fabric and thread or amounts of padding enable the viewer to enter the picture. That is an experience unavailable to aficionados of photography or watercolor paintings.

To maximize your enjoyment, consider the variety and complexity of the techniques you may find in your search for fiber art. Whether you are just planning a visit to a show or gallery or preparing to make a purchase of fiber art, read on to enhance your knowledge of this art form. Again, unlike photography or watercolor paintings, fiber art can serve a function. Beading, embroidery, quilting, and crochet have long been used to embellish both clothing and home décor. For the former, think items as diverse as evening gowns, handkerchiefs, and baby baptismal dresses. For the latter, imagine tablecloths, pillows, and blankets. Certainly, you can choose to display rather than wear or use such works.

Both functional and nonfunctional fiber art include the same techniques. Although the intricacy of some techniques can determine the scale of a work, it is possible to find embroidery on a linen collar and a wall hanging. Quilting, especially lends itself to optical – or if you prefer op – art. Many quilts, though, depict and even memorialize people and events. When evaluating a quilted work of fiber art, be more concerned about hand quilting than whether it is a functional item. Patchwork quilts demonstrate more creativity if the pattern is an original one, too. The hand quilting on a quilt may be accompanied by hand embroidery. Inspect such needlework for the evenness and uniformity of the stitches. In general, embroidery techniques are more sophisticated when more thread is used. Satin stitch, for example, covers an entire expanse of fabric. Knotted stitches provide texture and dimensionality.

Beading, similarly, when done by hand, necessitates the careful choice of the appropriate color and shape of bead – one by one. Handmade lace requires dexterity with fine cotton threads and knowledge of complex patterns. Like embroidery, you want to examine such lace for evenness of stitching and borders. It is due to variability in the tension of the thread; that is a problem associated with an inexperienced needle worker. Skipped or dropped stitches result in holes in the work. Often, such holes will unravel further compromising the integrity of a piece. Look for beading and crocheted lace in vintage clothing and in modern nonfunctional works of fiber art.
Now that you know more about the techniques of fine fiber art, you can visit vintage clothing stores, galleries, museums, and art fairs with more aplomb and enjoyment. Should you choose to purchase a work, you’ll know more about its quality and worth. You’ll able to display for the better appreciation of viewers whether they are you and your family, guests, or your fellow workers or employees at the office.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

Handmade Fashions in a Digital Age

5/13/2019

The vintage Star Trek television series anticipated the current popularity of leggings and other form fitting clothing such as crop tops and pullover shirts. The durability and closeness of their fit necessitates their construction from artificial fibers. Their clean lines and solid colors add an elegance to casual clothing. Machine embroidered logos acknowledge a now distant past of linen handkerchiefs hand embroidered with the initials of their owner. Vintage clothing stores may still offer cotton blouses with hand crocheted lace collars, dresses with scalloped hems, and evening gowns beaded by hand.

Their ornate appeal can’t be denied even for those of us who prefer denim jeans or knit leggings. Those jeans and leggings, though, are hardly delicates. They are easily laundered in a washing machine and dryer. No ironing - and certainly not steam ironing or starch - is required. If you can’t resist vintage or modern handmade clothing, but don’t want to wear or launder such tender treasures, you can still enjoy their unique beauty. Consider framing choice portions of embroidery or lace for display under glass on a wall. If you don’t possess the eye or the skill for this project, hire a fiber artist to accomplish it for you.

You might also wear your vintage clothing in a less ostentatious and labor intensive way. Formal wear embellished by hand remains stylish at formal events such as weddings, anniversary parties, and charitable balls. You might also personalize your jeans or tops with snippets of lace or embroidery from your vintage clothing finds. If you use Velcro or snaps to attach them, you will be able to remove them, so you won’t have to handwash your clothing. Try swapping out modern buttons for the handcrafted ones from your antique clothing finds. An additional plus accruing to such modifications is that you don’t have to buy a well-preserved item of clothing. You will be able to cut around stains and tears or discard yellowed fabric; you only need the decorative portions of the article of clothing. In addition, you are more likely to find pieces that are inexpensive or on sale if they are damaged.

With a limited investment, then, you can build a fiber art collection at home. You might have some fun reading about stitches, techniques, patterns, and styles associated with eras and events in history, regions of the United States, or your own family traditions. With your upcycled or embellished clothing, you might become known for your signature style. Dressing for the day will be not only be easy but fun.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

Why Decorate Naturally in Style

5/3/2019

Artificial materials such as plastics, polyester, Formica, linoleum, and Scotchgard often save us time and effort because they repel dirt and stains and are easy to clean. They also contribute to our health by enabling us to clean them regularly. It is more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to clean glass, natural fibers, precious metals and jewels, wood, and stone. The lack of stain repellent treatments may limit our enjoyment of such items as linen table cloths, woolen handwoven rugs, and cotton drapes. Wear due to heavy use may cause us to regret choosing hardwood floors. Breakage of vintage or expensive lampshades, dishes, or candlestick holders may be heart-wrenching if they were family heirlooms or long sought purchases from antique stores.

Even so, decorating with natural materials has many rewards. The disadvantages of their maintenance can be managed. One might consider, too, that, signs of age usually add to the value and appearance of an antique. Let’s defer those reservations about the maintenance of natural décor in an initial consideration of their beauty. You only need peruse home decorating magazines to view the soft glow of wooden floors, burnished bronze or shiny brass picture frames or lamps, and the rich textures and colors of slip covers, pillows, and throws created from natural fibers. Although it isn’t practical to stage the appearance of your living room each day such that it looks like a magazine photo, you can enjoy the visual and tactile appeal of natural décor.

Imagine sinking into the soft and fragrant comfort of a chair upholstered in a natural fiber. The stiffness, squeaks, crackles, and static that often accompany plastic and polyester-covered seating are absent. The euphemism of that “new car smell” is unnecessary because the understated scents wafting through your living room are from your scented candles and potted plants. Likely you won’t have to ask your family and friends to remove their shoes more than once. The comfort of smooth, warm wood and soft, warm carpet under foot is relaxing and refreshing. Visually, the fresh greens if not the colorful blooms of your potted plants are relaxing and refreshing. They offer the comforts of an outdoor walk without the exertion and endurance of adverse weather conditions.

The daily respite of living with such comfort and beauty is ample compensation for the daily chores associated with natural décor. Preparing a written schedule of upkeep tasks which distributes them over the course of each week and month will make them manageable. It will both minimize their intrusion upon your day and ensure their timely completion. You will need to water, fertilize, and groom your potted plants. Dusting and polishing glass and metal items will require less frequency. Mopping floors and vacuuming rugs are more frequent and onerous tasks. However, they don’t require any more time or attention than you would devote to manufactured wall to wall carpet or linoleum. All in all, more tenderness in your ministrations will be needed but not more time. Due to the high quality of natural materials, you and your family will be able enjoy the enduring comfort and beauty of your home for generations to come.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

The Luxury of Handmade Fiber Art

4/27/2019

Mass produced artworks have their own charm and place. Glossy posters are not just portraits of celebrities. They often celebrate concerts, museum exhibits, and art forms such as pop art and art deco. Their individual creators, even when unidentified, may be fine artists or graphic artists. The presentation of posters can be formal or informal, that is, you can frame a poster or simply pin it to your wall with thumbtacks or tape. The economies of scale permitted by mass production enable their distributors to offer posters at low cost, too. Although not mass-produced, prints of photographs and drawings cost less than original works. The artist has not had to reproduce the ideas or the techniques needed to create the original work. Prints require much less time to produce than original works. The limited number of prints means that the artist has numbered and signed them, too.

Posters and prints enable the enjoyment and appreciation of art by those of us who can't afford original works by established artists. Still, there are affordable original works created by artists who are less well-known. Works using less popular or prestigious techniques and substances for their creation may be less expensive as well. Fiber art often fits into both categories. Due to its composition from fabrics, thread, and sometimes, found objects or notions such as buttons, fiber art is not as durable as a sculpture or oil painting. Even more, unlike the fine arts, needlework has primarily been a functional art traditionally and commonly practiced by women. The tasteful householder often decorated seat cushions with needlepoint, beds with patchwork quilts, and handkerchiefs with embroidery. No matter how much skill required to create them, such works seldom gave credit to their creators. Women did not sign the quilts, sweaters, or clothing they created.

Today, fiber artists not only sign their works, but they are also often displayed at art shows and museums. The developing appreciation for fiber arts such as quilting, embroidery, and crochet has increased their potential value to their creators and collectors. “Handmade” now often translates into “one of a kind” and “original”. Finding emerging fiber artists in order to invest in their art requires only a little effort. They routinely display and sell their works at public art fairs and even on online websites. Often, they offer works in a range of prices to encourage art patrons of all incomes to enjoy the emotional and financial benefits of owning art for display in their own homes.

Rather than buying another mass-produced poster – even a framed one - consider investing in a hand sewn quilt or handwoven rug. Instead of snuggling under the former and walking on the latter, display their vibrant colors and complex geometric patterns on the walls of your home. If your budget lacks the flexibility to support the purchase of large pieces, buy newly created, modern, embroidery samplers. Even vintage embroidery on items such as handkerchiefs and tea towels has financial as well as aesthetic value. They are embroidered by hand with silk or cotton thread on fine linen. Consider framing them for display as you would a watercolor painting. They are just one form of fiber art that brings the luxury of owning original art to you and your home.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

How to Become an Art Collector

2/28/2019

Art collectors aren't just wealthy people with an appreciation for Picasso or Rembrandt. You needn't be a regular museum visitor or have a degree in art history to collect art, either. Do you enjoy perusing landscape photographs on Instagram? Perhaps, you admire the elegant lines of the latest automobiles in television advertisements. Maybe, you are the person who friends and family ask to help them shop for stylish clothes. If you see yourself in any of these examples, you have potential as an art collector.

Certainly, an enjoyment of beautiful, stylish, calming, or meaningful surroundings and attire is a sufficient reason to become an art collector. There's a very practical reason as well. Art is a great investment. Often, the monetary worth of a piece of art will increase over time. A work purchased inexpensively from an unknown artist can greatly increase in value as that artist's career develops. Unlike money in the bank, art is a investment with which you can decorate your home, your office, or yourself.

There is wearable and functional art, so you needn't confine your collection to oil paintings, sculptures, or ink drawings. A handmade, elegant piece of jewelry such as a bracelet or cuff created from precious metals and stones is an example of wearable art. Less durable forms of art such as designer clothing are collectibles, too. Fiber art can include or be derived from pieces that were intended to be functional. Quilts and embroidered handkerchiefs are examples.

Given all of these choices, you can begin your collection by exploring thrift and vintage stores. Collectibles you find will likely need cleaning, repair, and/or refurbishing. They will most likely be a bargain, though. With a little larger budget, plan to attend local art fairs. Admission is usually free. In warm weather, many of them are held outdoors. Often, restaurateurs and musicians are invited as well as artists. You can enjoy a nice lunch in a pleasant setting while listening to live music. The artists are usually both emerging and established artists, so works are for sale at a variety of prices. Some fairs highlight fine arts such as oil and water color painting, photography, and sculpture. Others primarily host works by fiber artists, potters, and jewelers. Many art fairs include both types of artists. If you visit the event web site prior to the event, you will usually find a listing of the invited artists accompanied by pictures of their works.

You can make advance plans for your shopping and your recreation. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Socializing with artists and art aficionados while enjoying fresh air, sunshine, a delicious meal, and live music. Investing in your financial future while beautifying yourself and your home. You'll also be supporting the arts and small businesses. By visiting local and in person events, you will be helping to create and maintain a sense of community, too.

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

Technology and Style: A Mismatch?

2/21/2019

At first consideration, it would seem that “vintage” and/or “hand made” and “technology” don't belong in the same sentence. Many people, though, regularly peruse Instagram on the web to virtually see and discuss vintage and hand made fashions and home décor. Many vintage and hand made items are bought and sold on web platforms such as Etsy and eBay, too. Lest you begin to feel hypocritical, dear reader, even the most vintage of vintage items, that is, the oldest, were created using technology.

In this age of information, much of the technology in daily use is so complex that the contributions of earlier forms of technology are dismissed. Compare, for example, the motherboard of a computer with a sewing needle. It is true that a computer enables all kinds of essential tasks from writing to talking to, well, computing. The simple needle, though, provides us with modesty, style, comfort, and health. Even needlework novices can usually sew on a missing button to close the front of a shirt. More sophisticated sewers decorate with hand embroidery or quilting. A hand made quilt comforts and warms even with the thermostat lowered for the night. Blankets and clothing, of course, are necessary for life itself. No one would survive a winter without a coat and hat.

Needles making these important contributions include knitting and crochet as well as sewing needles. Use of sewing needles is accompanied by scissors and rulers. Technology is not just integral to the creation of vintage and hand made fashions and décor, it is an essential part of individual items. Not only buttons but also zippers and snaps enable better fitting and styled items as diverse as dresses, jackets, tote bags, and pillows. Style often includes nonfunctional sequins, beads, crystals, and chains, too. Must each one be created by hand from natural materials? Imagine the time required to apply hand made beads to a gown.

If mass produced sequins constitute an acceptable exception, is there a place for Velcro in newly hand made clothing and décor? Are machine stitched quilts hand made? Should a sweater created on a knitting machine be deemed mass produced? Directors of art fairs have already answered these questions in favor of all of these items. These decisions are minor, though, compared to the technological embellishments of the near future. If a backlit wristwatch featuring an alarm and a timer is jewelry, it's only a matter of time before smartphones are bejeweled and hand painted. Will you prefer a smartphone incorporated into a decorative headband, bracelet, or eyeglasses over the handheld variety? Are you ready for the future of fashion?

Copyright, American Brocade, 2019

Buttons are technology. Mix a bronze button with hand embroidery on a calico cuff. Click to shop.

Click to shop small, hand embroidered, denim belt purses.

Click to shop large, hand embroidered, denim belt purses.

Choose your flower charm in your favorite color.

Click to shop small hand embroidered belt purses.

Click to shop small hand embroidered belt purses.

Click to shop small hand embroidered belt purses.

Click to see more small hand embroidered belt purses.

Click for more of Summer Day, a hand made quilted wall hanging.

Click to see more of Future Roses, a quilted wall hanging.

Hand embroidered, framed miniature. Click to shop.

Hand embroidered framed miniature. Click to see more.

Hand embroidered, framed miniature. Click to shop.

Hand embroidered shoulder bag. Click to shop.

Hand embroidered belt bag. Click to see more..

Hand embroidered belt bag. Click to see more.