Night of the Living Thread (A Threadville Mystery) Read online

  True to her word, Vicki was among the congregation sitting in chairs facing the flower-covered archway. She looked fine, and why wouldn’t she, with Toby Gartener at her side? With a jaunty grin, she gave the thumbs-up sign and beckoned me closer.

  I bent toward her.

  She whispered, “They found enough to charge Juliette with Isis’s murder.”

  Gartener put a protective arm around her. I smiled at them both. I was getting teary again.

  Clay ushered me to the front. I slipped into my seat beside Mrs. Battersby, and Clay joined the other groomsmen facing the congregation.

  I half expected Gord to hum the “Wedding March,” but a string quartet played it instead. I turned to watch the bridal procession.

  Her cheeks flushed with excitement, Haylee came down the aisle first. Looking every bit as happy, Naomi and Opal followed her in their elegant sea foam silk gowns.

  Behind them, Edna marched by herself with suitable drama and a huge bouquet. The dress she had beaded was stunning, and she had wound bling-embellished white velvet ribbons through her glittering silver hair.

  Beaming, Gord stepped forward to join her.

  Edna’s dress was as pretty in the back as it was in the front. No one would be able to detect the teensy lights she’d embedded between beads. She planned to turn them on at the reception.

  Mrs. Battersby leaned toward me and said, “Her dress isn’t that bad, Willow. At least it doesn’t look like it was dredged out of a mummy’s tomb.” She probably hadn’t expected the music to end the second she began speaking.

  Opal frowned. Naomi looked pained. Haylee smiled.

  Standing in front with Ben and the other groomsmen, Clay smiled at me.

  I forgot all about Edna, Gord, the sparkling lake, and the blue, blue sky.

  Willow’s Embroidered Wedding Card

  When friends or family have special occasions that call for cards, how about making your own? And how about making them really special with your own embroidery designs?

  Materials:

  1.Fabric:

  Your embroidered designs and message will show up best on plain colors. Use matching or contrasting fabrics, whichever you prefer. I used the sea foam silk from Edna’s bridesmaid’s dresses for the outside of my card, and the white silk that Edna used for her dress (before she stitched on about a million beads!) for the inside.

  Each of the two pieces of fabric must be larger than the machine embroidery hoop you plan to use, and be sure to leave room for a seam allowance all around the size the card will be when opened flat. I made a rectangular card, but you can be creative.

  2.Stabilizer:

  Use the appropriate weight for the fabric you’ve chosen. It doesn’t need to be water-soluble or tear-away.

  3.Thread:

  Use as many colors of embroidery thread as you’ll need for your design—this could be a fun time to experiment with metallic or glow-in-the-dark threads.

  You’ll also need thread that is strong enough for sewing the card together. Choose a color that blends with your fabric(s).

  4.Interfacing:

  Use a heavy interfacing, sturdy enough to make your finished card crisp.

  Construction:

  1. Hoop the fabric for the outside of the card with the part of the fabric that will be the front of the card (the half of the rectangle that is to your right) centered in the hoop.

  2. Stitch the design you’ve chosen. I stitched “Best Wishes” surrounded by tiny hearts. Knowing Edna’s love of everything that sparkles, I used glittery silver thread.

  3. Unhoop that fabric and set aside.

  4. Hoop the fabric for the inside of the card with the part of the fabric that will be the inner message (again, it will be the half of the rectangle that is to your right) centered in the hoop.

  5. Stitch your message—and your signature, if you’d like.

  I used the same glittery thread that I’d used for the outside. On the inside, I stitched Edna’s and Gord’s names, the location of the wedding (okay, I said it was Threadville instead of stitching the proper name of the village . . .), and the wedding date.

  6. Unhoop that fabric.

  7. Cut both pieces of the fabric and the interfacing to the size of the finished card plus sufficient seam allowance (5⁄8" is the norm).

  8. Baste interfacing to the wrong side of one of the pieces of fabric.

  9. Making certain that both of your designs will be right side up when the card is turned right side out, pin the two pieces of fabric right sides together.

  10. Stitch around the rectangle, leaving the seam allowance you’ve chosen and a gap in the stitching large enough to turn the card through the gap—a longer gap for heavier fabrics and bigger cards, a shorter gap for lighter fabrics and smaller cards.

  11. Trim interfacing close to the stitching and trim the two pieces of fabric in layers (hint: leaving the fabric next to the gap untrimmed will make it easier for you to tuck that fabric in—see next step). Trim corners.

  12. Turn card right side out and press, folding the fabric in neatly at the gap.

  13. Stitch close to sewn edge all around (hint: for precise edge stitching, use a presser foot especially designed for it).

  14. Fold card in half and press fold.

  Please send photos of your finished projects to [email protected] and let me know what the recipient said about the card!

  Happy celebrations!

  Willow’s Tips

  1. Before stitching pieces that you can join as a 3-D freestanding machine embroidery lace figure or structure, note the finished size and draw a copy (template) of each element on a piece of lightweight cardboard.

  2. When creating 3-D freestanding machine embroidery lace, don’t rinse out all of the water-soluble stabilizer you used. Some of the residue will serve as starch.

  3. Press your lace pieces while still damp and pin to fit your template (see tip #1 above) to dry completely. This will help you fit the pieces together after they’re dry.

  4. Use a pressing cloth to keep the starch off your iron’s sole plate. What, you don’t own a pressing cloth? Use pinking shears to cut a square, about a foot on each side, from unbleached muslin. Wash and dry the muslin to remove the sizing (starch) from it before using it as a pressing cloth.

  5. Always use a pressing cloth when pressing your embroidery and use a low setting on your iron—you don’t want to melt your design.

  • • •

  Have fun! That’s what it’s all about, right?