Like many of us, Barbara Schleter has more than one passion.  Here she has combined her long time love of Shetland Sheepdogs with her more recent passion for embroidery.   Barbara has done a great job of sharing her thoughts on creating personalized gifts for those who are special to her.  Heartfelt expressions such as this are sure to be cherished by those who recieve the gifts.

Barbara's Description
I am very new to machine embroidery ... in fact I have only been doing it a couple of months.  However, I made the attached wallhanging for a very dear lady who has helped me enormously with my other passion ... Shetland Sheepdogs.
 
It is approximately 20 inches wide by 30 inches long. Please click here to view a larger image of the wallhanging.

Step-by-step 
First I printed out photos of three of her Shelties onto TShirt transfer paper on my ink jet printer. I then ironed them onto cream homespun,  The photos are about 5 inches wide and 6 inches deep.

I cut these out and sewed glittery material 'frames' about 1-1/2 inches wide around them.  I then used my sewing machine and sewed hearts around to make it stable ... any pattern would do or even just plain straight stitching.
 
Then I embroidered three blocks that I chose at random onto a cream with a white printed background.  About 6 inches.
 
Then I embroidered the lady's kennel name on a piece of the same fabric about 4 inches by 6 inches (this was to enable it to be cut to fit)... but the person's name would do just as well ... or a well chosen word.
 
I then ran up four pinwheel blocks with a finished size of  4 inches ... but any patchwork block would be fine ... even a four patch.
 
To assemble I sewed the kennel name, an embroidered square and a photo together. (centre panel).
Then I sewed the left hand panel together ... the photo, then an embroidered square.
Then I sewed the right hand panel together ... again the photo, then an embroidered square.
 
It is difficult to give exact sizes because the photos vary.
 
Then I sewed a strip of bright floral material along the bottom -- 2 inches wide
 
Then I joined the four pinwheels and put a piece of material that I had used in the pinwheels at either end to make it the correct length and sewed it to the bottom strip.
 
Using another 2 inch wide strip of the bright floral material I sewed it to the bottom edge of the pinwheels.
 
Then I cut a strip of a different floral fabric 2 inches wide and sewed around the entire wall hanging.
 
All through the process I measured and ensured everything was square.
 
Then I got a piece of cream homespun measuring 20 inches by 30 inches and laid it on a table.  I then cut a piece of wadding the same size and lay it on the backing.  Lastly I put my wallhanging top on it and pinned it all together.
 
Then I ditch stitched it.
 
Then I cut a binding 3 inches wide, folded it in half and sewed around the edge.  
 
Then I cut a piece of homespun 16 inches long and 4 inches wide and doubled it over.  I then sewed this (raw edges) into the top of the wall hanging.
 
Then I sewed the folded over binding around the wallhanging, mitreing the corners.
 
Then I hand sewed the binding onto the back of the wallhanging.
 
Then using a darkcolour in my bobbin I machine stitched the other side of the rodpocket to the wallhanging.
 
I cut a piece of dowel to fit and some cord and attached the cord with drawing pins.

What Makes This Project Special
The idea was to make something that would bring a lot of pleasure to the recipient.

Skill Level
Beginner

Products
Bobbins
Colorfast Printer Fabric
Rotary cutter and ruler
Ultimate Quilt Binding Combo (incl. Stitch in the Ditch)
Embroidery Designs

Time Investment 
I made it over a couple of days ... in fact I made two ... one for another friend .... but would estimate about 4 hours if one sat and did nothing else.

Why I Love This Project
I wanted to make a personalised wallhanging for a dear friend and I think I accomplished that.

Send Us Your Creations
Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation.

What Would You Do?
Barbara combined techniques of photo printing and embroidery to create a unique quilted wallhanging.  Share a time when you have combined another craft or technique to make your embroidery project unique. Click on the Comments link to share your story.