Monday 5 September 2016

Spring Coasters

This year, like never before I have been waiting for the Spring to come and finally it's here. The sun is shining, the new leaves on trees are popping out here and there, spring flowers are blooming and you can just feel the warmth in the air. To celebrate the arrival of the Spring I decided to make a set of coasters with spring flowers based on Kazuko Aoki's book "The Embroidered Garden" that I bought recently. I have been a huge fan of Kazuko's work since the first time I saw one of her embroideries. Her work is exquisite, delicate and very detailed. If you like any kind of hand embroidery, I am sure you would enjoy Kazuko Aoki's books.


For any gardener the year starts in Spring, so I thought it would be a good idea to begin my embroidery based on Kazuko's book in Spring as well. I chose four spring flowers for my coasters: Mimosa, Buttercups, Scilla and my favourite, Lily of the Valley.


The embroidery patterns are very simple and literally take only a few minutes to complete. I was going to embroider the flowers in the right bottom corner and maybe add a bit of writing and running stitching, but flicking through the book, the card making part caught my attention - a combination of embroidery patches and stamps.


It did not take long to put all the bits and pieces together. I used a light weight linen for the embroidery and the heavier one for the body of the coasters. The fabric stamps, based on Amy's of NanaCompany tutorial, came in handy. I especially like the one with three trees and of course the one with Boo Bunny. A mail stamp in brown ink added that final finishing touch to these little "cards".


So simple, so easy to make, but honestly a lot of satisfaction with the final result. It's a wonderful project for anyone who is looking for something quick to make, for someone who is not that confident yet with more complicated embroidery patterns or someone who just wants to use up some of the fabric scraps. Wishing you all a wonderful week! Larisa xox

10 comments:

  1. Ahh, sweet :)
    I heard of Kazuko Aoki...and probably saw too.
    I love little embroidered fragments, and am working (slowly) on my first coasters myself! Patchwork ones. With cupcakes! :)
    Not sure they are practical...cos I wouldn't bear to have them stained

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    1. Little stamps is another thing to try,waiting on my to-do list!

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    2. Thank you, Lily! I am sure you have seen Kazuko's work, her style is amazing. I love making coasters for multiple reasons - they make great small gifts for any occasion, they are fun to try new techniques and a wonderful way to use small scraps or embroidery, applique pieces.
      Patchwork with cupcakes is going to be really nice.
      I know what you mean, I don't use many mug rugs and coasters for the same reason. :-)

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    3. Stamps are really great! I am sure you will enjoy making them. Using felt as well for the base gives a nice texture to the stamps. Have fun creating! xox

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    4. Thanks :)
      coasters are finished! Ha
      I like small projects too,as they are likelier to get done...and take less space,which is important
      Also, quite curious to hear about you enjoying spring,when half of us enter into autumn... guess you're in a southern hemisphere :}

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    5. Well done, Lily! Absolutely! I don't have a large sewing area or storage, large projects are hard to store, especially now with the Little One around.

      I live in Australia and the Spring has just began. It is quite strange to talk, write and make things related to Spring when everyone (it seems like it) around me talks about Autumn. Hehe...

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  2. Beautiful ... just love those combinations of the different linens and embroidery, and the stamp is the perfect finish! x

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Ali and for your complement! Linen is always so nice to work with and it goes beautifully with anything. It's really lovely to see you here. :-)

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  3. Another lovely project, Larisa. Your attention to detail is amazing.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dina for your complement! I only have enough patience and attention for small projects. With large ones I get too bored. :-) So glad you still keep visiting my blog! xox

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