Eight Dotee babies...

...but, the last one left home the same day she was completed.  As a matter of fact..I had to work diligently to get her done.. she was a gift for somebody's birthday..
A friend who does origami with me.  I wish she had mentioned her special day a few sooner than she did... but, at least I got it done the following day.

She noticed the pink brocade when I was showing her my little collection of dollies... said she would like one made with that.  I wasn't really going to bother trying to make one with it initially.  It was just sitting there on top of the pile of possible fabrics I wanted to use.. ... you know how brocade is... erm...well, it is for me anyway...but, I remembered to leave plenty of seam allowance and it worked out okay.  I trimmed it closer later... leaving it a bit wider at the closure. Whew...

Click to see her closer and see the pretty beads and pearls ...

I put on some pearls and gave her one of the special silver beads we bought for some silvery papered origami ornaments.  We only found one small strand so we use them sparingly.



















She loves her; says she will carry her around for the better part of the day .. and is trying to decide on a name ...  so, for now... I call her Miko... we'll see if it sticks.

So, there were eight ..for about half an hour. .. but, now we are back to seven..  lucky number 7 again...

Here she is ...ready to leave home...

Little Miko... sorry, she is slightly out of focus... but I had already delivered her before I looked at the photo on the computer ...darn it... she looks so cute in her comfy papers......

Dotee Dolls .... ad infinitum.....

hahahhaha.... they're everywhere now!  the birds have tried to carry them off ..or at least carry them around.  Looks like storks delivering babies.  Yikes!  Please, no!!

                                                           


















The third is a little redhead.... with blues, reds and some lovely pale green beads ...

So, now ...we have triplets!

All looking so content and almost cosy and sleepy.... perfect.....

.... and, soon we'll have a quartet..... as a matter of fact, she's already in the works.  I hope she can sing because I sure as heck can't ....

Who was it that mentioned I was mad ..or that this could be come an addiction?  ...well, of course, all of you were correct..... I am and it has....... oh, well......it could be worse.

Hatching some eggs

I made up a second sheet of fabric in bright whites.  The piece with the flowers embroidered on it was sent to me in a fabric swap organized by the first group I took a class with.

If Lexxie visits my site... which I don't think she does ...she may remember this piece... look Lexxie!  I'm using it.  It is shiny and she loves shiny ... well, actually ...who doesn't? ..hahhaha... I think Magpie is the middle name of most women.

I did the same thing I did when I was making the pin cushions.  Seeing as I just can't visualize things finished without a frame to view it in....I viewed it with my newly made egg template.  Perfect.  Now, I can work away on it ...inside stitched lines...but, always with my viewer nearby.  Grab. Place. View.

Love it....

I decided to make several ...    in the same style as my cushions.

 Here is the first one so far.

I'm egg-cited....

I dreamed up something else to do with my special fabrics and trims.   Egg day is not far off.  So.. I thought... why do pincushions or hangings have to be rectangle or stocking shaped? ..  and drew myself an egg shape too.

Look how cute an egg will be when made from a piece of the fabric I made using narrow strips.  The sheet I got busy and made and then had nothing to do with it once it was done... hahah... except for using as test pieces and perhaps on a page or two of my stitching journal......but, now.... I want to get busy and make me some eggs!

I just want to do some stitching...

A page..

I cut up my fabric that I've been playing with ....and decided to make an opening on my page to display a portion of it.  It will serve to remind me of what I did with this particular piece... how I stitched it ... how I manipulated the bits of lace and silk... the actual stitches I used...

In this particular case..it will also serve as a reminder never to stitch a piece directly onto my page!!  Wow!  What a tricky thing to try.  Why didn't I just use double sided tape like everybody else?  Oh, no..not moi.... I figured it might be just as easy to stitch it onto the paper.  Wrong!   the down stitches were just fine, but the ones coming back up again?  from beneath paper and several layers of fabric? ... arrrgghhh!  I couldn't see the holes even when I held the page up to a bright light... and ended up having to poke a needle through each hole from the topside... guide my sewing needle to the exact spot and withdraw the top needle and carefully poke up with the stitching needle.  As you can guess ... the air was particularly blue at several points during my ordeal.  And, yes, it was a bit of an ordeal.  Next time...play with paper stitching and just enjoy it ... .. tack on fabric later...

Oh, and... I also did the unthinkable.  Stabbed my finger a good one and bled on the paper before I even realized it.  Luckily, I also licked the bloody area immediately...  and then had to lick again because it just smeared... ... and then, luckily ... I was able to blot it off easily with paper towel.  Whew.
Saved the page after I had worked so diligently with my stitching...

I was having some fun with FME also... onto a gauzy square with a few little embroidered flowers on it.  I'm not sure what it is ...perhaps a table protector of some sort... too big for a hanky ...  not really a doily... too small for a scarf...... Maggi found it for me...

I love how the FME looks on it...I'll try a bit more and try for better photos of it...  I cut a bit of it and added it to this smaller piece of the fabric...

less utility, more fun...

This piece of fabric strips is my latest little project... well, not a project really...just some fun. There are still a few utility stitches used to hold the strips in position... but, then... some machine free motion work will come into play and also some hand embroidery and some embellishment.

The dark strips are from a piece of what I think is metallic and silk..it is actually open weave and see through, but, it is a bit darker than I'd like... however, it does go nicely with some of my off whites.  Some day I'll organize a swap or something and get me some of the real thing... in a lovely nude colour or perhaps some silvery... we'll see.

Who knows what will become of this piece of fabric...   some of it could even end up as a pin cushion I guess ..... we'll see as it progresses.


I have to say, the bears and other assorted animals that live at my house are not always totally helpful... take the other night for example... I was going to sit under some bright lights in the office so that I could see well enough to do some tiny stitching... because my hobby room is still in disarray and I have no clue where my Ott light is... but, I wasn't quite sure how to take this.....maybe I should just be thrilled that they think my bum is only that big.....

If you didn't know better, you might think kids live here......

Thinking about it.....

Karen stopped in to see if any stitching was happening in between snow shovelling...and, well, ...it wasn't, of course.

It's already been almost two weeks since somebunny decided we had to tear the drywall ceiling down in the finished tv room and replace it with a suspended ceiling.  Mostly because of some wiring ..  ... and, well, .. you know how it goes....   it does take time, effort, and lots of work, to get things back together again.  Now that he is back at work after the Christmas break... he only has such a few hours each day to work on it...

So, the room still looks like this...plastic protecting the other half of the room... drop cloths covering the carpet, tools all over the place and lots happening overhead..

Moving some pot lights and re-arranging wiring, etc...

However, my stitching buddy came for tea on Monday ...  and, although we didn't actually do any crafting or stitching...we did discuss what we are going to make in 2014 and that got me thinking 'bout stitching..and that lead to looking at stitching stuff later in the day, and that ... you get the drift............................

I've decided to make a pouch with the completed blocks from the first stitching class I took with Karen. It was going to be a wrapping cloth...but, since doing the little pin cushions and loving them...I decided to turn these into a smaller project that I know I can and will finish.   I do like the joy and satisfaction of completing a little project and being able to look at it and say..." I made that".  Maybe it sounds almost arrogant, but to me it's more just a bit of slightly smug satisfaction in knowing that I worked diligently and carefully on something; actually finished it off, and am happy with my project.  I like that feeling.

Here is the placement of my blocks...it could be a smallish wrapping cloth, I suppose ... or I could make a few more blocks and make it somewhat larger....but, no...I've decided a decent sized pouch that I can use for bits of lace, or pieces of fabric, or something like that, will be better.  Useful and still pretty ... just what we were striving for actually, if we were going back in time in our minds and hearts while stitching away on our treasured little bits of fabric and trim........

For some reason, even though I didn't measure any block....they all turned out to be exactly the same size across.  How strange is that?  They are not  the same length.  I may add a bit of lace or some trim here and there to change the centre as it might look like a seam down it.  That may look just fine.  I won't really know 'til I have it stitched down.  But, if it looks strange, or I don't like it  ...I can fix that .... we have ways.   I'll decide later.  Probably much later.......

If you come to the blog sort of regularly, you may remember seeing some of the embroidery and embellishment, but if not..here are few shots of the areas. I tried to incorporate most of the techniques that Karen was showing us in the class.

Today I'm still trying to get somebody to buy my sofa and loveseat... because, Monday some new ones are arriving ... who wants a really nice sofa or a  loveseat, traditional style...exceptional shape...for next to nothing? ... Anybody in Calgary reading my blog? .....

Beginnings...

... of my next pincushion... my fourth now... wow!.... not that I'm speeding along or anything.
A few little French knot flowers.  Look like Forget-Me-Nots..

It's so much easier and pretty quick too when I already have the 'master sheet' of fabric ready to go whenever the spirit moves me.  Remember the master sheet of pretty fabrics?  So much easier than putting each one together separately.                                                                     















Pick a nice area, figure out exactly the size and shape the cushion will be and begin embroidering..

Decide on some trims... embroider a bit more and soon, it begins to take shape... I love putting them together.  They are so tiny and dainty and I love working with tiny things.

What the?..

How did I forget to show you my second completed pin pillow?

You know me...all up in your face when I have little successes.... I can't believe I didn't blow my own horn the second I finished it.  Hmmm... must be getting old or forgetful or... something...

I know I showed portions of it...but, here it is now...all finished.

I gave it to my sister when I went to see her last week.  Her reaction was similar to mine when I held Karen's pin pillow in my own hand.    She said ... "I can't believe how tiny all the work and stitches are!" "It looks so much larger in photos" which is exactly what I said.  Even when we say the size..it just makes no impact 'til you see it up close and personal.  This little guy is 3 x 4...

Here are a few more views... this tiny edge on the lower corner (which I think may be tatting) is a tiny piece of a special hanky my Mom gave me when I was a kid...

As Karen says, for all of the projects we are making... why leave our treasures hidden in drawers where nobody sees them ... ever.  Even though we are cutting them ..  we are recycling and repurposing some lovely things...and lots of folks will now be recipients of the new items and be able to perhaps display them or use them.  It's a way to give new life to what was hidden treasure.

I'm thinking Mom would have loved to see these little creations and wouldn't mind at all that I've used my hanky to make them look beautiful.

Pin pillow

.... or pin cushion if you like....  WARNING:::: photo heavy ..... hahhahahhahahah....

I love it!!

Began it over a week ago as a break from the blocks of my wrapping cloth.  Well, and also, because all the others in the Simply Stitch group were making some... one girl made 6 already...whew...she must be 'da bomb' seamstress!  Me?  Well, I'm Slowpoke Rodrigues myself.... but, that's okay....

And, for me it began with a cutout window of cardboard.... I wanted to try to get an idea of how things might look when completed.  My window is 3" X 4".

Some decisions, ....     placing and piecing of fabrics ...  including a piece of Dupioni silk, some FME (Free Motion Embroidery) to hold all in position.  Then,  cross stitched some tiny hearts onto the silk ...they remind me of strawberries .. ..., some edging of the very plain flat lace on the right side with frilly picot stitches to make it more interesting, buttonhole edging of the top corner piece, placement of a cut off tab from a large stiff pretty collar piece from Maggi's cousin and lots of French knots here and there .....et voilà... my pin pillow begins to take shape.

After decorating it with more knots and stitching it went to the machine.  Which is where I usually stall out totally.... have to check to see I have it threaded right... put some matching thread on a bobbin... but, check page 13 of the manual to see if I have the thread in the proper place to do that... then, actually practice a bit on a scrap to see if I can more or less make a straight line..which by the way, is more harrowing than just haphazardly doing some FME... stitched 3 sides on the machine...turned it ..and oh, ... was I happy with the look!   Sometimes I do take a long time to make decisions it seems ...but, in the end ... am usually very happy with all of it... so, no time wasted really.

Stuffed and finished.

Dupioni silk for the backing.

Frilly picot stitch along the plain lace trim.

Little cross stitched hearts that look like strawberries to me.

Edged in buttonhole lace stitch.  Finishes it off perfectly.  And, there you have it....my first pin cushion.  Yay me!

You couldn't buy this...

That's right.  And, I've coined the term "Karen-ism".    Because, Karen always says it.  Indicating that we made something ourselves and therefore it just could not be bought in any shop, anywhere in the world.

I made this little square.  Not the fabric itself, mind you....because my buddy Maggi actually bought it for me in the U.S. ...
(and, thanks for that Maggi, I love it ! ) but, the actual square.

Not that it is totally square either, but as Karen also says ..that's the beauty of it.  It is a bit different and we shouldn't worry if the square police show up... they can't do a thing about it.  And if you notice...the little hem is turned up over onto the correct side of fabric...not turned under as we would normally expect.  But, see....that's the beauty and originality of it all. 

It's a cute little patch ... referencing utility in the world of hand stitching  ... and also it is pretty ..referencing the other thing we need in our lives... some 'pretty'.. which is what this 'class that isn't a class' is all about.  

See this area on my wrapping cloth?  Doesn't it just cry out for something?  A bit more titivating?  A bit more care and attention?  A bit more of me and my personal additions to this cloth?  Of course it does.  As a matter of fact, it looks practically naked to me....now that I am getting used to adding more and 

more of my new found knowledge of fun stuff.

.

That's where I decided to put my cute little square ... seam now held in place with stab stitching and running stitch... 

Then, because I could ...I even added a few French knots, some raised bullions and a couple of web stitches...it is not done yet....nope....more will be added ... but, not too much more..just a few more knots and webs...

I love my little square patch .... 

                                                             

An amazing thing...

Damp stretching.  Ever heard of it?  I hadn't before I started this EEC class with Karen. (embroidery, embellish, create)

She showed us how to accomplish it... mentioned that she does it often..even for a better photo of her demonstrations etc...but.. I didn't try it right away... sort of thinking more of doing it later I guess.

However, I got tired of looking at "Rumpelstiltskin"...  which was what I had begun to call my first block of work.  Not very complimentary I know... ...but, it was looking pretty bedraggled and it just sort of sprang to mind.

I couldn't find a cork bath mat, which was Karen's first choice for us to use.... so settled for a cork display board from an office supply store.  She had said to check if colour came off ...which, luckily I did...because it sure as heck does!  I sprayed the cork surface..wiped it with paper towels... it was almost orange-y ... and it only got slightly  better with several wipes and then even a good wash.  I thought about taking it back ...hahaha..yeh... "I washed it down and then decided I didn't want it" ...  can you see the look on the clerk's face?

I decided to lay a couple of pieces of Saran Wrap on the board and then pin my fabric to it... spray... wait....fingers crossed... and hope for the best.

I put the board on the bathtub...just above the heat vent...so it dried nicely in about four hours.... 

Perfect!  My fabric was pristine when I removed it .. and ..... big 'AND' here!! .... what a great job damp stretching does to fabric and embroidery stitches.  It looks freshly laundered and ironed.  Not that it was dirty..but, just being all rumpled makes it look somewhat less than clean if you know what I mean...

Look how lovely and smooth!