Earlier this summer, I went on a road trip.

I almost called it a vacation, but if you understood how we do road trips, you would not want me to cast aspersions on the word Vacation.

Vacation conjures up lingering, enjoying, relaxing.

Our family road trips are None of the Above. They are go, go, go – get there – do what you have to do – leave – drive, drive, drive, drive, drive. Get to the next place – do what you have to do – drive, drive, drive, drive, drive – get to the next place. Stop and sleep. Get up early. Go, go, go, go. Drive, drive, drive, drive. Repeat anywhere from five to ten times. Arrive home.

So, vacation is the wrong word – road trip suffices.

Before venturing out on this particular road trip, I called for photo contributions from readers, so that I could highlight some of your work in articles this summer.

Many of you responded – many more than I expected, actually! And so I’ve been trickling them out on the website ever since, in the hopes that they provide fellow stitchers with embroidery ideas and inspiration.

Jane Hauger sent in photos of her stitching pursuits, and I just love what she does! I would have never thought of this – and I’ve never seen anyone do it before – but I think it’s a really good, fun idea.

Jane embroiders old sacking – feed sacks, sugar sacks, etc. Vintage sacks. And she does it for fun. She said it’s primitive, but she really enjoys it, and I can see why.

I’ve come across old sacks (feed sacks, especially) out here in Kansas that are pretty neat – I could see turning them (or pieces of them) into embroidered wall hangings in rustic kitchens, barn studios, or the like. Fun!

Jane uses the embroidery stitch tutorials here on Needle ‘n Thread to help her translate the sacks into embroidery.

Wonderfat! What a name!

You can see how the printed sacking offers a whole range of embroidery opportunities. Find the right sack, and you could have a really unique and fun sampler in the works!

Little roosters and chickens figure in the decor on this particular sack, perfect for embellishing with needle and thread.

I love this plump chicken! It’s so cute! It’s a combination of chain stitch, woven filling, stem stitch, straight stitches, and bullion knots.

Thanks to Jane for sending in the photos, and for the great idea on making use of vintage sacking as a ground for some fun explorations in embroidery!

This is a continuation of series of articles highlighting embroidery from the Needle ‘n Thread community, especially needlework influenced by information, tutorials, patterns, and so forth from Needle ‘n Thread. You can find a call for contributions and an explanation of the series here, and you can see previous examples of embroidery-related reader contributions here.