Sewing Club Easter Bunting Gallery

In my previous post I featured bunting that I had made and now I am happy to share the truly brilliant results from some of sewing club members this half term. I hope they are all hanging in pride of place and everyone who came to our clubs should be very proud of their amazing work - Well done everyone and Happy Easter!

Oaklands Junior School

St Jude's Junior School

 Dorney Junior School

Hang Out The Bunting - Easter's Here!

Bunting has been a theme here at Hope & Gloria HQ over the past few weeks. Easter Bunting to be precise.

I am a big fan of bunting - it's a very simple form of decoration but just seems to shout out celebration. We've not had a bunting project in our sewing clubs for a couple of years now but Easter seemed like the perfect timing to design a range of motifs that could be used on felt bunting and I had tonnes of fun playing around with the designs - here are just a few....

Designing the bunting for the children in our clubs gave me the perfect opportunity for two of my favourite things - applique and embroidery. The embroidery bug took hold yet again and I have made some Easter themed embroidery to decorate our home this Easter.

What else do you need to sum up Easter other than bunnies, hens and eggs? These are the main designs that feature in my bunting.

When embroidering I love to use air soluble pens to draw my design. You need to be quick as the ink fades within 24hours but they are a great way to ensure your lines are straight and your design will take shape as you wish it to. I began with a basic abstract bunny shape:

I stitched over this outline using backstitch and added a French knot for an eye:

Then had lots of fun adding grass and flowers using lazy daisy stitch, star stitch and French knots to build up the meadow around my Easter bunny.

I was really pleased with the way he turned out and love the way the colours work together. I then moved on to embroider a colourful Easter Egg and a jolly Easter Hen.

So once I had my three embroidered designs it was time to make patterned flags to alternate with the embroidered ones. I opted for polka dots in spring green and Easter yellow and this was the finished result:

Here it is all complete and hanging across our fireplace - Happy Easter Everyone!

Happy St David's Day!

In my opinion there is no better sign that Spring is on its way than the riot of colour created by daffodils in the garden at this time of year. They may not be the most elegant of flowers but they are certainly one of the most cheerful.

I spent some time yesterday evening knitting this rather pretty daffodil in honour of St David's Day today. This morning some of my time has been spent adding the image to my social media and wishing everyone a Happy St David's Day, and then it occurred to me that I know nothing at all about the Saint, and why we associate these colourful blooms with Wales and it's patron saint.

A quick trawl of the internet revealed that David was born in Wales in 500AD on top of a cliff during a storm. He led a simple and devout Christian life in a monastery. He rose to become a bishop making a pilgrimage to Rome. One miracle associated with David is said to have taken place when he was preaching to a large crowd at Llandewi Brefi. When the crowd couldn't hear him the earth rose in to a mound to lift him above the crowd enabling his voice to reach everyone. He died in 589.

There doesn't seem to be a definitive reason as to why the daffodil is associated with Wales and St David's Day. It may be because this fabulous flower is always in bloom at this time of the year welcoming the Spring or it may be because the Welsh words for leek and daffodil are similar. Leeks are the more traditional symbol of Wales but the Daffodil rose in popularity in the 18th century and has been adopted as a national symbol ever since.

In flower folklore it is associated with energy, rebirth and is considered to be uplifting. I couldn't agree more to me it's a cheerful reminder that Spring is just around the corner. They also make a fun knitting project - Happy St David's Day everyone!