Summer Stitching Surprises

I've been back and forth with a few holidays this summer so far...and my new habit is to take some embroidery with me when I travel. It's much more portable than a sewing machine ;) I'm very much a beginner but I am having fun with it. This is the project I've been working on and recently finished.

It's a quote I liked from the book Write It Down, Make It Happen (which is a pretty good book if you like journal writing and goal setting - I reread it from time to time). So I freehanded this design and stitched the letters in a simple backstitch, and the donut in satin stitch. While it's a bit uneven and I think that perhaps I may have too much tension in the middle, I still love it. It was fun to do and now I just have to find a suitable frame.

And on the topic of embroidery, I also scored in the thrift store today; I've never really seen any embroidery materials there before but look what I found! Someone was much more organized than I am...and now I'm inspired to continue being tidy with my materials this way (it's all DMC thread in those boxes too)

I picked up a few sewing books too, while I've been gallivanting around the country. Some new and some used, plus my first ever BurdaStyle -- which you may notice is in French. I'll need to get my dictionary out!

And while I don't often buy clothes these days I could not resist this vintage housedress. It reminded me so very strongly of my grandmother (and in the first, unposed picture my husband snapped, which I am not sharing, I look exactly like her. Spooky!)

It's a fun housedress, but with a belt and my yellow wedge sandals it turns into a great out-of-the-house dress too. And look at the neat neckline detail -- pretty well made house wear :)

So there are a few of the bits of stitchery that have wound their way into my holidays. Hope you've all had a great sewing summer as well.