A Little Makeover

Little Miss L's nursery has moved house and all the kids have been given a new little bag for all their spare clothes...only thing is, it's quite dull and they all look the same!

So, as Little Miss can't read just yet, I thought I'd better add something to help her recognise her bag and stop other people taking her stuff home (does anyone else have this problem??? It's sooo annoying especially when you take the time to write her name in everything.  Grrrr..)

I thought this would be a good chance to have a go at freehand machine embroidery but after my second flower going a bit haywire, I gave up.  This technique really puzzles me...I did the first flower- stitches all fine, a bit wobbly but thought by the last one, I'd have it down.  Move onto my second flower, same fabric, thread, etc. and it just goes crazy.  I can't work it out!  I've decided I must be a bit of a neat freak (...although the state of my home doesn't really support this) or it's something to do with the feeling of being a bit out of control - I've decided it's not for me.

I stitched the last flower and the butterfly using a normal small straight stitch and pivoting my felt every now and then.  It took a bit longer, but I much preferred the end result.  The darker flower is the freehand one - not sure you can see a huge difference but I felt much calmer doing it! 

I then just stitched them straight onto the jute bag with embroidery thread - not particularly neatly either but that's what happens when you're side tracked by Don Draper and Mad Men re-runs!

Oops, just noticed I've sewn the butterfly wings on back to front and it looks a bit like a moth.  Oh well, at least it will stop her stuff going home in the wrong bag.