Today I noticed...every attempt is a learning experience.

My daughter has been encouraging as I am learning to use my new sewing and embroidery machine. She knows that I want to create items that are simple, basic, and purposeful. I added embroidered names to my bonus daughter-in-law's gift of beach towels, for example. Simple. Basic. Purposeful. So, my daughter, Bridgette, sent me a couple of examples of wreath sashes and I gave that a try. Simple. Basic. Purposeful (if you count home decor as purposeful). 

Decor at our back doors

I love the concept of custom stitched wreath sashes. Just perform a search using wreath sash as the key term and thousands will pop up. Bridgette sent me a suggestion similar to the example pictured below. (I included the source in case you want to order one.) There are so many beautiful ideas out there. I hardly have an original thought in my head but I can copy somebody else's good idea and put my own spin on it. That is just what I did.

Source

When I was searching for sash ideas, I stumbled across several patriotic examples since we are in the patriotic season of July 4th and this is a big year for celebrating. So, I decided to give that a try. Bridgette had suggested that I look to etsy for reasonably priced designs and that was another good suggestion. I took the ideas that I saw for wreath sashes that were offered for sale and combined that with a couple of patriotic designs that I purchased and made myself some patriotic wreath decor.

Let me also add that the letter O - the letter that begins our last name - is not really a pretty letter. Making an O with a flourish, yet, still making it legible is difficult. So, when I see a pretty O, I am very likely to purchase that design. Otherwise, the O will simply be a plain, ordinary, boring circle. One option that I found on etsy did have a swirly, flourished, pretty O. So, I pounced on that alphabet quickly! Thank you Rivermill Embroidery.

Since we have French doors at our back entrance, I needed two wreaths. I like to have something that is similar but just a bit different whenever I can. So, I thought the HOME and LOVE designs which featured an American flag, heart-shaped design were just perfect for there. That let me use two of my new etsy purchases effectively. I had left-over striped fabric from creating the pillowcases for the basement bedroom that worked perfectly.

After making the first wreath sash, I realized that crafting one that is reversible is a wise move. So, I dug around in my fabric stash and found another scrap that would back the cranberry striped perfectly. For that side of the sash, I just stitched the same design.

I decided that the bandana print fabric was busy enough that I needed something simple. So, I chose a heart-shaped frame that came with my sewing machine designs. I used some of the control buttons that I had noticed and moved one heart up and toward the left a quarter of an inch and stitched it in white. Then, I used the same frame design and moved it down and to the right before stitching it in black. Then, on the other side of the sash, I used a Fishtail Font for the long and thin white O and a more ornate and rounder O that came with a different font package called Maxwell & Merit. for stitching with black thread. 

I love the flexibility of mixing and matching designs within a project and combining similar but different products. I also like having an item that can be used for different patriotic holidays as well as for an everyday look. Plus, I learned how to use different font packages and combine and center designs together as well as how to manipulate the designs that came with my machine.

I really liked the crossed flag design that was in the example Bridgette sent. So, I searched till I found one that I liked. Again, I wanted it simple but also versatile. TinyTreasures804 had a beautiful option that offered several different sizes as well. I had seen this example and knew that I had a scrap of yellow gingham that might work for a sash. I really liked the pop of red on the yellow fabric. So, I decided to give that a try.

In my search, I stumbled across another concept that I thought was versatile but truly beautiful. The sewists had used a bold floral print fabric and added a simple single initial. A couple of examples are shown in the photo below. So, I dug into my scraps of fabric and found a yellow floral to back the gingham patriotic option.

my inspiration

I was talking to my daughter-in-law and sent her a quick photo asking her for a suggested color combo. So, I was getting her opinion in a sneaky way for a gift I was creating for her.

My finished product

I will definitely be making myself one with another scrap of that bold floral fabric. It is just beautiful to me. I used a Two Color Fishtail Monogram for the B. As luck would have it, one of the cranberry red peonies or roses or whatever flower that is wound up right on the tail end of the other side. I could not have planned that better!

The reverse patriotic side is beautiful as well. I did learn, however, that with a thin, light colored fabric like the yellow gingham, it would have been better to add a lining so that the reverse design doesn't show through. Every attempt is a learning experience!

Another plus to these wreath sashes is that I can just use fabric scraps that I already have. So far my only expense has been for stabilizer and thread. I have a couple more wreath sashes on the drawing board. I cannot wait to get back to my sewing machine each day.