Embroidered Pillowcases

Year's ago I was given a big box of Work Basket Magazines. I didn't really want to keep all of them, but before disposing of them, I did go through them first and removed all the embroidery transfers that were in them. When I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to embroider some pillowcases, I went through the transfers and found one that I liked and used them to put the design on the pillowcases. The nice thing about using these transfers is you don't have any concept of what colors to use or what stitches to use. You get to be as creative as you want. I pulled out my copy of The Embroiderer's Handbook which I have found to be the BEST embroidery stitch guide I have ever seen and started sewing. I used several stitches that I had never used before and also some variegated threads, especially for the birds. For the bird I used the Fishbone Stitch found on page 73 of the book. For the green leaves I used Lattice Couching found on page 99 (I do need a bit more practice with that stitch), I also used a long stitch with a French Knot on the end for the pistils of the flowers. I enjoyed my time sitting and stitching. I also found when stitching I tend to not much which has it's own benefits!