Swatch Portraits

The first time I saw one of these Swatch Portraits was on The Cozy Little Whimsy Nook's blog. I didn't know what they were called, just thought of them as fabric framed in wood embroidery hoops. They are apparently called Swatch Portraits. Which is a really good name. I like it. Then the other night I saw some on Martha Stewart's studio set. She had hers on a board of some kind that looked like you could easily put thumb tacks or small nails into to hang the portraits. The board was leaning against what looked like a cooler with flowers in it. Anyway, it got me thinking that now I know what I can do with those wonderful fabrics that I love and hate to cut up, or maybe I have just a little of something left over from another project.

As with any project that I'm thinking about starting, I like to see some eye candy for inspiration, so I did a Google image and blog search on "Swatch Portraits" and found a great tutorial on Purl Bee's blog. These are really pretty and they are not hard to make at all. I could see me making some of these to hang all over the house. I think they look best when they are arranged on a wall with several of them in all different sizes. I went to Hobby Lobby earlier this week and bought several wood embroidery hoops. I can't wait to try this.

And I almost forgot the most important thing that really cheered me up yesterday. When I got home I had received my order from Marjorie of Marmee Craft. Her sweet owling pin cushions are just what I needed to make my day. I've already posted it above, but I'll do it again. Her blog is here.


And she also included one of her newest paintings in a postcard size. I just love it!