My Gentlework letter holder is finished ...

Spring has sprung & the weather has turned ... wintery. Perfect for settling down inside by the fire & doing some stitching at night.

I mentioned my recent discovery of the gentle art of Gentlework - the creative use of fabrics & stitches all done by hand to make panels, brooches & anything else that inspires you.

On my sewing day, I had hoped to make a letter holder for precious letters from my late Mom but that was a little too ambitious for a first project so I was content with a fabric panel instead. However it was still in my mind to complete the letter holder / store so that was always going to be my next project.

Rustic & White had some gorgeous Tilda fabric pieces & I bought some bright colours - mainly pinks & a pretty green - that I liked.  These were my first choice for inspiration.

This is how I started one evening - cutting out bits of fabric, pinning, moving & finding the beads, buttons & bits I wanted to embellish with ...

As you can see - it did not stay like my original plan as I changed it about. That is why I like to pin & move things about ... Are you a planner & pinner?

I had one of my grandmothers vintage lace cloths that my Mom used to use that was the perfect size so that was to be the background fabric. I backed it with soft blanket-like inter lining for curtains, machine stitched it to the cloth edges then was ready to start hand sewing.

I decided on some pretty crochet bits for the bottom & a tree shaped one that framed the image perfectly.

I would love to say I had a pattern in my head, but in all honesty, I just added bits, cut, trimmed & stitched until it took shape & balance.

A flower shape didn't quite work once it was stitched but then I decided to add bold pink buttons to it & am pleased with the texture of it.

A small round doily (one of my grandmothers) was used over a bright pink patterned fabric then beads added for some 'bling' ...

Ellie who did the Gentlework day with me, dropped off some fabric she had & I found a piece with the pretty hearts - perfect for the fold over cover piece - thanks Ellie! The main fabric was one that had been used by both my grandmother & my mother so it is a link to them.  Both of them also loved sewing & crocheting so all the elements honoured that too - a special piece.

The piece hovered between stages for a couple of days as the centre needed something but nothing seemed right till I popped into Jo at Rustic & White & found the perfect pink & green Tilda flower fabric ...

Lots of hand stitching, beading, buttons & bling & it is complete after a weeks worth of stitching work. Looking up closely, I know I still have to get my stitches more even & precise but that will come in time (or so I tell myself)

So my letter holder is finished - in cheerful colours & it will be used to store my precious letters from my Mom ...

Thank heavens for letters - emails are just not the same & can't really be stored to be reread & enjoyed.  Do you keep letters too? How do you store them?

Thanks for stopping by, always enjoy reading your comments & clicking on your links to return the visits

Dee ~♥~