A return to cross stitch and the discovery of project bags

 I first started cross stitching about 40 years ago.  This was back in the day when  we were severly limited in the fabric available for cross stitch, and most patterns were "cutesy country" motifs.  I did several small projects, things for my mom or for my room.  Eventually there were more patterns available and I branched out to some samplers and Christmas items  Unfortunately, or fortunately I  have no idea what happened to most of these pieces. I moved on to other types of stitchery  and gave away the few cross stitch  supplies that I had. 

During the pandemic I rediscovered cross stitch.  I was amazed at all of the types of fabric available and the huge variety of patterns.  One of the first projects I did was the piece for this project bag. It isn't perfect but I was pleased with it.  As you can see I stitched it in 2022, but it wasn't until last year that I  finished it into a project bag.  I think  the cute project bags were one of the reasons I picked up cross stitch again.  I love having a cute bag for each project, because I always have more than one started.  Here are some of the bags I have made.

Cross stitch nation bag.

Project bags with vinyl fronts 

This one is made from a vintage flour sack.  

Vintage embroidery repurposed on front of bag.

More vinyl front bags.

Halloween and Valentine bags.

 

 Do you ever look around your craft/sewing room and think, " I will never live long enough to use all of this fabric/yarn/cross-fabric/floss."  I came to that conclusion last summer.  I think it was prompted by the fact that I had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was found early, but it did make me look at my  life a little differently.  Since then I  have been working on cleaning out my sewing room.  I have sold several quilt kits, that I knew I would never get around to making. I have also sold a machine, a Singer 301 that I had never used. 

One of my resoultions this year is to finish some projects that were started years ago, or to pass them on to someone else.  I also want to use some of my stash of scraps. I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of "Stash Buster" projects that are on Facebook, and Instagram.

I was excited to find "The Tiny Nine-patch Challenge"  on Instagram by reproquiltlover.  The challenge is to make 5 tiny nine patch blocks each week.  There are three size options, 3 inches, 2 1/4 ,or 1 1/2 inches.  Yes these are the finished sizes.  This definitely won't use a lot of fabric, but it is fun.  If interested head over to Instagram and check it out.

Here are my first five blocks

 Welcome to Flying Pig Studio Blog.  My name is Brenda, a retired media specialst living in Atlanta.  I enjoy most types of crafting; specifically quilting, knitting, cross stitch, wool applique.  When not working on a craft project you can probably find me buried in a book, I am an avid reader.  This blog will give me an opportunity to share my crafts and my thoughts on different books that I  have read.