Ribbon

There are three places where I should never be left alone: the cheese section at Wegmans, Target without a list/purpose for being there, and Michaels. I've gotten better about the cheese given that I don't really host dinner parties or wine and craft days all that often, and I can say I've gotten very purposeful about my trips to Target since I don't really want to be around lots of people whose mask usage/vaccine status is questionable. That leaves Michaels, and I will never be responsible in a Michaels store. 

During my last Michaels trip, I ended up purchasing a new embroidery hoop stand that I have yet to finish putting together. It's currently sitting in my studio mocking me. I thought Ikea furniture instructions were bad, but this stand is giving Ikea instructions a run for their money...and there's actual text instructions. This stand should be easy to put together, but nothing is labeled and none of the holes lines up to attach anything. I'm giving myself until July 5 to figure it out, and then I'm taking it back. This is why I shouldn't go to Michaels alone. 

I also purchased some fabrics that I don't normally work with when I embroider. I like to use cottons, cotton blends (without stretch), and paper for my embroidery pieces. I've been wanting to try tulle forever. Designs look like they're floating on tulle. If you want to buy tulle at Michaels, go to the ribbon aisle or the "crafts to do with children" section, and you'll find what you need. As I was leaving the ribbon aisle, I spotted some craft ribbon that I thought would be fun to use for bookmarks. Today's piece is a test of the bookmark ribbon. 

It works pretty well. The fabric is similar to aida cloth, so it's not the easiest thing to draw on, but the Pilot Frixion pen worked quite nicely. It would definitely work for book marks (yes, I know I can buy pre-made fabric bookmarks, but I can also use this ribbon). I may use this in July for one of my water/ocean/sea themed pieces. We shall see. 

Details:
Stitches: back and satin stitches, French knots
Thread palette: DMC 3804, 973, 3609 (6 strands), 909 (3 strands)