Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Yesterday I whipped up the "love" hearts in this picture so I would have something appropriate to post today, and to add a few more hearts to my 365 sewn hearts total.  As I was making them, I realized I had a sewing tip I would like to share with you.

I used red thread to sew the felt letters onto the fabric hearts on the sewing machine (I wanted to hand-embroider around the edges but I ran out of time).  Normally when you sew on the machine, you backstitch at the beginning and end of your line of stitching to secure the thread.  I didn't want backstitches to detract from my red outline, so here's what I did:

I stitched all around the letter without backstitching, and I left a long tail of thread at both the beginning and the end.

Flipping the heart over, I pulled the loose threads from the front through to the back (with the help of a pin).

Then I just tied them in a knot to secure the threads.

There--a nice neat outline!

I happened to have some  red polymer clay beads that I made a while ago and never used--they were perfect to put between my hearts!  Then I used a long doll-making needle to string everything onto a length of embroidery floss.  This is the hutch in my dining room; I think the little "love" garland fits in very well.  (The strange glow in the lower right is the reflection of my computer screen from the other side of the room!)

Have a happy Valentine's Day, everyone!