Stitching again...

This little pincushion has been sitting around (everywhere in the house really) for months to over a year ...well, it must be over a year now...

Totally lost any creative mojo during the main basement area reno.. then we had water damage go from upstairs into the basement and ruin all the renovations we had just completed... then, got that repaired and refurbished and then...the stupid stove went on the fritz causing yet another renovation.  WE discovered that "no built in ovens are to be placed within 12 inches of the cooktop or damage can occur to wiring inside the built in oven"..  ...   so had to opt for a complete range, as we call them in this country ...  which meant we then had to have the granite counter top re-cut to accept a total stove instead of just a cooktop...

The granite cutting was a disaster, and the opening is not the size we need, it is slightly larger and still not square, but you can't make a hole smaller once it is cut.  The guy who installed the range finally managed to make it sit as squarely in the opening as he could and it looks okay.  Not perfect, as it could have been if the granite guys had known their stuff ...but, okay.  Oh, and, the first range had Convection fans that were not working, so we had to order a second stove... which has now been installed and is working great.

This is the type of thing that goes on all the time around here.... or so it would seem.  Thirty plus years of renovations have taken their toll methinks.... if I never have to lift a finger to do or even to oversee anybody else "doing" things round here.... it won't be too soon for me.  I'm so done with renovating.

So, there you have it... and, now ...

Got the last embroidery stitches done on it finally ..or thought I had.. stitched it up around almost the whole thing leaving a small opening to turn it through..I am used to small turning openings from doing the little bears...and, got it turned with no difficulty.  However, I don't like how that corner doily bit opens up so deep under it after all...so now I need to do some little stitches to hold it down at almost halfway into it.  That will be a bit tricky as I need to begin and end and, also stitch, on the inside and outside the already turned pillow.  Darn it.  Oh, well, it must be done.

Here it is so far...  this is the part of the little corner of doily that I don't want to lift quite so deep into it if you know what I mean.  Part way will be enough for me.

Here it is next to a completed one from ages ago when I took Karen's class.

Egg-stra stitching..

.... oh, brother....I suppose I could go on forever with the eggy titles...but, I should quit...hahhaha.... but, why? .... it's kinda fun and ...funny to me..... good enough.

Doing some extra stitching on the scalloped edge of the lace on the top of this one.... Karen's little frilly dilly stitch...she calls it Frilly Picot.  I never know if I've got it quite right...but, it looks right to me and with the number 12 Perle cotton and if I pull each stitch pretty tight...I can get it tiny.  Click on the photo to "biggify" and you can see it so much better.  I love it.  And, I think it really enhances the flat lace.  Gives it more body or something... and makes it more interesting to look at.


See the four little tiny scalloped bits on the lace edge? ....  just above the umbrella looking machine stitched flower on the cotton fabric I used for the base fabric?  Those are my little frilly dilly thingies ..... with some French Knots above holding the lace in position.. until the whole egg gets a backing of white silk.




I'm debating what to use for trim on this other guy...and ... more or less leaning towards a bit of this lace on the top end of the egg......

Not much time to stitch today ....but, must do a few each day at the very least.........every little helps, as my Mum was fond of saying.... then she would add...... "said the little old lady who peed in the sea"....... must be an old English saying ..or ... maybe she just made it up .......

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...

had an idea...

...while stitching on the paper....
Why not FME some lace and silk onto my new 'master sheet' for my next pin pillow....

so, I did.. then added a few French Knots and some tiny Forget-Me-Knot flowers, which have become a trademark of sorts.... and, here is what it looks like in my little pin pillow view finder... yes...I like it... lots more to add yet ...but, so far I really like it.

And.... this is blooming.... isn't it beautiful?

Blog fodder/embarrassing moment..

It's hard to know the difference.

Sometimes I used to think it would be almost too embarrassing to show you some of my erroneous or downright stupid stitching moments...but, hey, it's definitely nothing like all of Rob Ford's regular life ..so what's the big deal?  I'll just blurt it out and carry on like nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

Here's the morning's effort...

Merrily stitching away on the machine...which is not my fortè anyway...but...onward... it must be used for FME.  Well, I suppose you could spend all day doing backstitch by hand over a rather large area....but, no... not that necessary to waste time doing that.  I need a new 'master sheet' of fabric from which to cut some new pin pillows/cushions.... and I do need to get on with it...I want at least one finished before Christmas.

This sheet is off white compared to the pristine whites I used for my first sheet  ....   and I've found some lovely bits of fabric including a piece of satiny one side stuff...it might be crepe of some kind...I'm not all that knowledgable about fabrics.

Anyway..back to my story...which by now is reaching novella length and I'm not even into it yet...hahhaha.... I'm going to say it.....I sound like Karen.... whittering on at length... ooooh, there; I've done it...I'll be on the "naughty step" in our class for sure now.....

oh, sorry....another detour...it's like driving around our city..you can't find your way on any of the streets just now due to construction, road repairs and so called flood mitigation antics ...

Pay attention to where the edges and corners of your fabric sheet are once you get whizzing along, doing great circles and chortling to yourself about how wonderful it is looking..... with the stitching creating lovely artistic swirls and satiny bumps that look like little pearls......sigh.............because sure as the dickens, something like this will happen while you are congratulating yourself.

Can you see it?

Yes, I did.  Stitched the front to the back with FME .... and it's even stitched it into the darn hoop.  What the ?? .... aarrgghhhhhh!!!@%&*

Great.  This could take a while..... where is my trusty little picker thing-a-ma-jig?...

Found it.  Picked it and ..yes, I did say some blue words......but, mostly under my breath, while trying not to ruin my pretty satiny fabric... cuz it will leave marks if I poke around willy nilly.

HAH!! Salvaged it.  And, it looks fine if I say so myself.  Okay then.... now, I can brush my teeth and get on with the rest of my day.....

Tip of the Day:::  pay attention to what I am doing.    Think before pressing the pedal.

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.

Cabbage butterflies...

... they are pretty little things... they like to visit my colourful flowers in the pots.

                                                                         




Wow!!  the middle of August already!  Where has the summer gone?  We had a pretty wet one and now?...really hot.  Yesterday we golfed in +29C .... and today it is supposed to be the same.... not golfing today that's for sure.  Not that I usually golf two days in a row anyway...how do the old farts do it?  Oh, yeh...I am an old fart, I should should know this one.... but, I don't.  Some of them must have a lot more oomph than I have, that's all I can say.

Still doing a bit of stitching here and there .... but, not regularly, and have taken a bit of a break from the wrapping cloth pieces.  I have decided to try my hand at making a little pin cushion...not showing til it is finished though....

However, here is a bit of the stitching I was doing on the wrapping cloth piece.... utility stitches...patching .. and just making things pretty ... we were making little squares but, this time folding the edges over on the working side..  I stitched one onto the hanky corner... added some knots and then thought about tucking one just under the corner ...

Then, I got to thinking it might look cute added on to the first little square on top of the hanky corner instead of underneath it... still deciding....

The lacy edged hanky is one my Mom gave me many years ago... it has been hiding in a drawer ...  as so many beautiful pieces usually do.  Karen's suggestion is...why not use it in our project.  Give it new life and enjoy it .... even if we have to cut it to incorporate it into our creation.  I'm betting my Mom would love the way it fits in with all the other pretty pieces I have gathered and used in my little project.  She was always our biggest cheerleader and supporter no matter what we attempted in our lives....I'm sure she would be thrilled to know I kept my hanky (well, not just this one either, ... ...but, all of them that she gave me over the years) and am now getting to use them like this.  She wouldn't be totally surprised at my keeping them in pristine condition ...that was always my way..... I had dolls and things I never played with...just kept and looked at and enjoyed in their new condition... I was a strange kid....

After I added French knots and a few other stitches to the square ...I turned it over and thought.... gee if I am going to leave it loose... you will see the messy under side... maybe I'll just cover the stitching with a piece of silk to make it look nicely finished ...

and.....so I did.  There now.... nice and tidy underneath as well.  Love and devotion, as Karen would say..... care and attention to detail.... always me anyway....... and, just like Karen, I'm kind of proud of that in me.  Sure, some folks find it strange... but, there you have it.  It's good to like your own quirks and foibles don'tcha think?

Hiya

Just wanted to show you a nice photo of some scenery along the Trans Canada highway.  Taken a few years ago actually.... click to bigify..you'll enjoy it more.... it's pretty out there ....



 .... because.....    all I have to show other than that ...is .... embroidery!!!!!!!!!!  hahahha...yeh....I know ... sorry, it is all I am doing lately other than playing golf...and I say 'playing' because that is all I am really doing....not golfing...just playing at it.  I'm a lousy golfer... but, I love going out there ...

anyway....today I am working on some thread wrapping and some French knots along one of the seams of my cloth...

There ya have it.... that's all for today.... not much I know....

new header

Check out little Tanner... remember him?

He went to live in the UK with a blog buddy.  She took this great picture of him ...  he was very busy 'helping'... they did a search for some white fabrics to add to my embroidered cloth that I am making.

She put it in the post last week ....so now...this week I will be looking out the door every 10 minutes.... to check the mail.... even though I know full well nothing has moved all weekend what with it being a holiday and everything....sigh..... maybe by Friday..........................................

Meantime.....what fun I'm having with every part of this Karen Ruane class.  She calls hers "wrapping cloths" ...but, ....I think I've decided to call this first one my "Friendship Garden Cloth" ...  because it is going to be a collection of bits and pieces that friends are helping me gather to make it.  My sister has found a pretty doily to send me too now... and a lady up the block has said she will go through her quilting pieces .... I've been thinking I may also be able to trade something, including two silk hankies (that are too colourful and not my choice for colours really.... to others in our class for some trims or hankies of other colours) ...  .. we'll see........

I added what was going to be a little silk pocket.  I was just fastening it with the two shell buttons and the thread wrapped loops when something happened....   my hand caught it kind of funny... it tipped up on the back end... the button fell off before I poked the needle through the hole,  ...  ... and ... all of a sudden, all these little white and gold stars and gold knots spilled out all over the place !! ....

WOYWW

Almost missed it!  It's after 11 at night.....

But... if I want to play...I must try to be regular...so here I am.  Better late than not at all I guess.

A friend came on Saturday to get some pointers on making a bear of her own.  I found some old pattern pieces I had cut over a year ago... and managed to put a head together while she did some stitching.  It's not a bear...... but, actually from the look of it ....well, hey...it could be anything at this point, right?

We yakked and laughed and had some fun.  Oh, and some biscotti too...

more pieces .... just hanging out ....waiting for some stitching......

If you look closely..you will see that I traced my pieces with a ballpoint pen.  Don't do that. Especially on white fabric.  It might show through the fabric at a later date.  And, if it gets wet... there could even be some dye leaching into the fabric from the ink.  I do some dumb things sometimes...and now...I am stitching in from the edge further than I usually do...so that I can just trim off the lines.  More work.  But, that's me for ya some days.  Duh......

I won't do it again.... .. honest.... ...


If you would like to play along with us on WOYWW ...why not head over to Julia's Stamping Ground and see what it's all about? ..