My Nature Finds Gentlework keeper

 

I shared some of the lovely Gentlework treasures in this previous post. 

I opted to do a Nature finds keeper, one of the larger makes because I am often out in nature or our local woods.

 I always come home with some bits I have picked up.

These are in my conservatory at the moment. The leaves & twigs often end up in the garden later on, the stones often in the top of pot plants where they are seen. 

My late Mother was a great letter writer & her letters often had something inside so I had to open them very carefully.

Sometimes it was a newspaper cutting she thought I would enjoy, sometimes a special card, often on printed paper - To a special daughter - & quite often there was a guinea fowl feather inside because she knew how much I loved them. My love of picking up things came from my parents. 

These precious letters are kept upstairs in my little desk, along with the fabric letter keepers I made separately for my parents letters. 

This was Christine’s beautiful one, her distinct style so recognisable. 

I love the natural colours & precise stitching but I'm sure it took her hours & hours to do it. 

I am a bit impatient & wanted to have something done in my allotted time. 

Lettering is slow for me, not always neat but it is something I have been working on. 

However, I often find that the letters are not clear so I made mine larger - with hindsight I think they would have been better smaller but .... 

I folded a piece of linen in half, used a heat erasable Frixion pen to write FINDS then used 2 threads of variegated thread to stitch the lettering. 

It was not as clear as I wanted so I whipped the stitches with the same thread. I have been working on my letter stitching but it is not there yet. 

I love seed stitching, the randomness of it appeals to me so that was added to the top.

I like pockets so there is a double front pocket & 3 vintage buttons & added stems & leaves to.

Place for several pockets in the double inside - 2 on the left for little treasures & a larger one on the right, with vintage buttons I added at home from Olive's button tin. 

The back was initially plain which I did not like so I made a double pocket at home with fabrics I had & stitched them on carefully because the holder was already blanket stitched around the edges. However, the thin blanket lining between the front & back layers meant that I could ease my needle between them to add this additional pocket on. 

I like it much better now - there was a moment when  I thought it was ok, not my best effort but once the additional stitching was done, it was better. I added a feather from letters from my mother, then some leaves that were on the conservatory table. 

Much better & a sweet little holder that will change regularly.  The iridescent honesty pods are perfectly at home in the little pockets. 

I remind myself that Christine's exquisite examples are just a suggestion,  & mine is my own effort. It is easy to judge your own against those examples ... 

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated

Dee 📍🪡🧵🖼️🍂🍁