My Hanoverian Horse Felt Hat

Posted on 19 March 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Once, when I was the Visiting Artisan at The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, I got a special request to embroider a Hanoverian symbol on one of my felt hats.

I was unfamiliar with Hanoverians, but found the symbol online and did my best.

Freehand embroidered Hanoverian Horse symbol on felt hat #10 of 2008.

I can get nervous attempting a new design, especially one conceived by someone else.

Embroidering other people’s ideas can feel more like homework, instead of play, which is how needlework usually feels for me.

Play = fun. Homework = work. Who doesn’t prefer play?

I worked this Hanoverian Horse symbol freehand, as I do all my felt hat embroideries.

In the end, I was quite pleased with the results. Especially because I didn’t have to rip it out (much). It just came together, despite my initial misgivings.

And the customer was delighted! It was win-win, for sure. Nothing to fret about.

What about you? What are your emotions as you work on new projects or designs?

My 2nd Dragonfly Embroidery

Posted on 18 March 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

If you missed the recent green overhaul of my “Styles” page, then you wouldn’t have seen my newest dragonfly felt hat:

Felt Hat #8 of 2012 features my 2nd ever dragonfly embroidery.

I loved the complementary colors of the 1st dragonfly embroidery I made for Katie – blue-green embroidery on red felt – but didn’t want to copy it exactly. That’s Katie’s hat.

So I tried the inverse color scheme – red embroidery on green felt. I’m delighted with it!

My latest dragonfly embroidery features red ribbon wings & sunstone & agate beads.

The amazing thing about dragonflies (which I learned while gathering inspiration for the initial project), is that they come in such a wide range of colors.

I anticipate a variety of colorful dragonfly embroideries coming soon… Stay tuned!