Though I told myself I wasn't going to take part in another
Craftster.org swap for a while, I couldn't resist when I saw the
Embroider Me to Sleep Pillowcase Swap. I've never taken part in a straight-up stitchin' swap, and I'd never tried embroidering on pillowcases. So, naturally I had to do it!
It was designed to be a mellow, low-pressure swap. Just a pair of pillowcases, maybe an add-on, if you felt like it. Just some relaxing stitching.
Uh huh. This is
me we're talking about. I can complicate anything. And I mean
anything. Including what was supposed to be a mellow crafting swap.
My lovely swap partner, Melyssa_Marie, had a good list of things she loved, and would be fun to stitch. What stood out to me was her adoration of Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls. Since I'd been sitting on
Sublime Stitching's "Dia de los Muertos" pattern set for nearly a year, I jumped at the chance to stitch up some festive calavera-themed pillowcases:
Six skulls and four flowers. A pair of eco-friendly bamboo pillowcases. Nine different colors of floss. 64 hand-sewn sequins. And 12 cheesy-ass episodes of
Xena: The Warrior Princess. That's what went into this project.
Easy!
I was actually sad to send these away, I was so proud of them. But, the thing I forget in the heat of creating for a swap is that I get something in return...and I was not disappointed when I tore into my package from Melyssa_Marie:
She stitched me a pair of lovely custom-designed pillowcases inspired by -- wait for it -- the tissue paper flowers used to decorate Dia de los Muertos altars. What's that people say about great minds thinking alike?
I truly love the color composition and the clean simplicity of the lines. So unlike my own stitching style. They're made all the more awesome by Mel having designed them herself. I am very happy indeed.
So, now I return to my swapping hiatus. I have a big project that's been put on the backburner for the swap that I want to make some headway on, and a new cross stitch quote my fingers have been itchin' to stitch. I'm hoping for a creative, stress-free summer, and hopefully this'll be the ticket.
