Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Handstitched Heidi Boyd Fox Whimsy Stitches Kit

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Soooo.....back on August 2, I was checking out at the City Quilter in NYC before sprinting to get the bus home, and saw this kit, all stitched up, on the wall.

As I was already forking over my credit card, I decided I would buy the kit online. I was disappointed to find that CQ didn't sell it online, and couldn't remember the name of the company. I did a google image search for fox embroidery kit to find it is by Heidi Boyd. There was free shipping that day on her etsy site, and when it arrived it was wrapped like a present, with a turquoise bow, felt flower and little fox pin, and even a handwritten note with a little fox drawn on the note. Sooooo cute.
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I stitched this up one afternoon during my week-long vacation waaaay back in early September, the day after I stitched up the Mollie Makes foxes.  Remember these cuties???
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Unlike the MM kit, this kit came with a high quality needle, yay!

It was awesome to be in my sewing room on a weekday afternoon, just stitching in a sunbeam.

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I had never done anything like this before, but it has some parallels to garment sewing:

  • Iron your fabric (the embroidery cloth)!  
  • Cut out your pattern pieces!  
  • Cut your fabric pieces (the felt)!

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Pop the fabric into the hoop, and start arranging the pieces.   Pin some of them on. bI was dying to use Wonder Tape, but I restrained myself.
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Start hand stitching.
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And stitching
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And then, a few (was it 4?) hours later, it's done!  I didn't give my fox whiskers; somehow I didn't like how they looked.  I added my initials and the year.
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I really liked the clever way to finish off the cloth.  The directions say to cut the fabric about an inch away from the hoop.  I went the extra mile and serged that part off (if you do that, take extra care around the metal part of the hoop, as far as its "interaction" with your metal presser foot!)
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Then I made a running stitch by hand to pull it together, as per the instructions.  How neat and tidy is that??  I cross stitched as a teenager and had no idea that's how you're supposed to finish the back!
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YAY!  I bought this kit again as I'd like to have a fox with me at work and a fox at home too.  Why not???  I may have bought a few other kits as well, uhmmmmm.....

Overall I enjoyed the slow, meditative stitching and the lack of fitting.  I did rip out here and there and started again, but that is par for the course for me.  And since I didn't know what I was doing, I really appreciated the clear instructions.    It is very straightforward.    Foxy!

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Here's a lineup of 5 of the 9 pumpkinettes I grew this year.  The printer ran out of ink....(silly joke I borrowed from the internet....you know, where they line up kittens...)

Be well!!!  (After having norovirus this weekend, I feel that takes on special significance!  Tonight was the first time I really felt like eating again, hurrah!)


10 comments:

  1. Oh how adorable. I love it and all of the little foxes you have created. So cute. Glad you are feeling better!

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    1. Thanks Tomasa! Wait til you see the next fox kit; definitely squeal worthy!

      I'm glad I'm feeling better too. A sign of how sick I was: I did not turn the computer on all day on Saturday. Just stayed on the couch doing nothing.

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  2. Love your foray into foxy stitching.
    Look at this blog post to see a real fox: http://aphotosworth.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-new-sighting.html
    I have never seen a fox in real life - are they even in Oregon? However, if you want to know about the cougars...

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    1. Oh, that poor fox. I saw one in a friend's front yard when I was a teenager. But I don't think I've seen any (that weren't in zoos) since then.

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  3. You might enjoy these kits (from Oregon's) Posie Gets Cozy (Alicia Paulson):
    http://aliciapaulson.com/collections/ornament-kits

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    1. oh my goodness! I love that red coat ornament!!!! Also the deer! I had never seen that before! Thanks for sharing the link!

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  4. Foxey is SOOO cute. I can see why you need one of him at work and one of him at home.

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  5. So super cute. I was looking for a set I could do for the future kid's room, but then decided that there were other things I should be getting done. I'm tempted again!!

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  6. Love it! Did you see that Heidi Boyd is featured in the latest Sew News magazine? I am also eyeing some of her whimsical kits!

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