Box Finished

I participated in a Box Finishing class that was hosted by Meari of Meari's Musing.  It is a really fun blog where Meari shares her life and love of Cross Stitching with her readers.  She has a regular Marvelous Monday Update and there is always something going on.  On one of her recent posts she won a DMC contest and she shows what was sent to her as a prize. 

The class was a lot of fun and I am sure box tops will become one of my favorite finishes.  There's a lot to be said about a finish that doesn't require sewing! (Said from a tentative-at- best sewer).

We needed a box and a finished piece.  Most of my classmates used a cross stitch piece as Meari is a moderator from the Yahoo group, I Love Cross Stitch. It is a fairly large busy group where everyone can share their love of Cross Stitch and develop online friendships.

We had a little warning before the class began and even though I didn't have a finished piece, I did have a cross stitch that I have been wanting to do.  I also thought that a box top would be a very good finish. The design is titled Dogwood Fan. It was designed by Ursula Michael and the pattern was published in Stitcher's World March 2000 magazine. The design size is 5.78 x 5.78 inches.

Photo of Dogwood Fan in March 2000 Stitcher's World Magazine

My box was purchased from Joanne's. It is 7.25 x 7.25 inches and the bottom depth is 2 inches. The top is inset by .25 inch.

So I got busy stitching.  I made it just in time for the deadline of when a photo of the finished piece needed to be posted.  Here it is, still in the hoop.

Meari provided clear and easy directions to stain or paint the box.  I chose to paint mine white. I am going for a blue and white palette in my bedroom.  I also found some fabric to use in lining the box. It was easy to do just by following the instructions.  Here is a picture of my inside box with the lining and the trim done.

And here is a picture of the finished box.

I love the box.  It is placed on my night stand and it holds my diabetic supplies.  When the class was finished Meari had a little contest to see which three boxes would get the most votes for most liked box.  I had some pretty stiff competition but I placed in the top 3 and won!  I was as proud as a peacock.

Flat Fold Finish 2009

Previously, I had participated in 2 of her other classes.  The first was for a Flat Fold Finish.  





Mail Art Back 2010



Mail Art Front 2010



The second was a Mail Art Finish.

Both of these classes are available as tutorials on Meari's Musing.  I'm pretty sure the box finishing tutorial will make it's way there too.

Theresa E

March 2012 CQ

I know. I am getting to this post a little late and it has been a while since I published a new post.  Sometimes, I just don't know where time goes.

Here is a picture of my March 2012 CQ project block.



March 2012 CQ Project

 It looks a little bare in the picture above, but I am crocheting some small butterflies to add to all of the blocks.  I mean to use the butterflies as a unifying concept.  You'll see what I mean later.

For me the best part of this block is the basket of flowers.  You should have seem me on breaks at work cutting out all those little white flowers from a salvaged piece of lace.  I do think they work rather well with the organza spider web roses.

The fan in the upper right hand corner was crocheted from size 20 crochet thread.  Size 10 is more common but I wanted a daintier feel and also I didn't want the finished fan to be too large.  It is really funny that the older I get, the worse my vision, the smaller the thread I want to use. The fan is decorated with bullion roses.  Mary Corbett of Needle n Thread has a nice video tutorial for the bullion rose. The seam treatment is done by whipping two rows of chain stitch which was featured in her series Stitch Play.

What isn't working so well is the V-stich hearts and what is supposed to be the overcast stitch on the lace. The hearts do not make a statement and the overcast stitch looks like a poor example of crochet. The white valley and peaks created with french knots and the pink straight stitch are bold enough in the right hand corner but would have looked better if more care had been taken with getting the original line better defined.

I still struggle with marking my fabric.  I have been using a variety of techniques such as tissue paper, waste canvas, marking pen and patterns. Different needs work better with different methods.  I should also mention that I have created a prick and pounce kit  but I haven't yet made any patterns to use with it.  One thing that concerns me is that the pattern needs to have enough space around it that loose powders are prevented from spilling onto the fabric.  I do have a couple of pages ready to go to the printer for printing on vellum.  I'll let you know how well it works for me.

Turtle the Pin Cushion

Those that follow me know that I belong to a group named Stitchmap. Our February challenge was to make a Turtle Pin Cushion.  The tutorial was provided by Kathy Shaw of Shawkl.com.  It was an adorable project and I had a lot of fun making it.

Turtle the Pin Cushion

I have been sewing quite a bit lately.  I did this Turtle, my Purple Travelling Bag with it's sewing accessories, some Ort Bags, Business Card Holders, pieced my 12 blocks for the CQJP2012 project. 

Somewhere in all of this, I have been making friends with my Sewing Machine. I have a simple Brother model.  I am not skilled enough to warrant any bells and whistles.

These days, I barely have to think to wind a bobbin or replace the bobbin.  I can change thread and rethread the needle easily.  I am getting the hang of curved seams. I can eyeball when it is the correct time to rotate the fabric for a direction change. I am confident when I change a straight stitch to a zig zag stitch and back again. 

The turtle presented a challenge in getting the seams correct on the small curving seams of the appendages.  Someone even told me that know one would know if I sewed those seams by hand.  I persevered but next time I might just give that a go.

The ort bags gave me a little trouble on the points of the triangle.  I needed to be able to push the fabric through the feeders at the place where there was not much fabric for the feeders to grab.  I know there is a tool for this.  I used my scissors because they were at hand.

There are two other issues.  First, I have not yet changed the needle.  I keep thinking that I should, but so far, there hasn't been any problems with the needle that is in it.  Second, I should have changed the presser foot for the top stitching on the ort bags but I wasn't sure which foot it was.  But the point is - I am using my machine and I am learning how to use it.

My New Ort Bags

I have been using my new Purple Travelling Bag of sewing accessories to take a project with me when I leave the house. I always have something that I can do with those random moments when I am waiting or between tasks. I was able to find a tool set to add to my kit that seemed to be just the right thing. The Donna Dewberry 12 in 1 tool even came in purple. It seemed that it was "meant" to be (or at least I could justify the purchase).

But taking this kit with me to work and waiting rooms, I knew I was still missing a vital component. What could I be missing, you ask? The answer is an ort bag. What is an ort, you ask?  Meriam-Webster defines ort as a noun that came into being around 1500 A.D. that means "scrap" but I personally like the definition that can be found at Needle Orts.com. 

Everywhere I go I am looking for a place to put the little left over pieces of thread. I haven't been keeping them but rather just throwing them in the trash. I have changed my mind, however, because in addition to the tidiness issue there have been several times when I needed a piece of thread for just a stitch or two. I've also heard suggestions that the thread pieces can be used to create new fabric, fill a clear ornament and be used in tassels.

What to do with these thread pieces is not a new problem.  Needleworkers have always faced this dilemna and there have been some creative solutions proposed. Mary Corbet at Needle'nThread has a cute blog entry about those pesky pieces that I enjoyed reading. I was able to find a popular style of ort bag from The Scarlet Thread, and Merriment Design. I also found some for sale at and Embroidery.com and at Nordic Needle available for around $20. 

Triangular Thread Catcher or Ort Bag

But it was the Triangular Thread Catcher at Needling Things that I knew I had to make.  I saw a picture of this on the Internet and it was my friends at StitchMap that located the tutorial.  I made two of them this afternoon.  The instructions were clear and easy to follow.  I think that this may have been one of the easier sewing projects I have done. It was also very appealing in that I could make one to match my new Purple Travelling Bag.

I have to laugh.  I am remembering a discussion on a newsgroup a few years ago where the name for these left over pieces of thread was a topic for debate.  We had our "Ort" camp but there were also some "Snippet" followers.  Humorously we agreed, that at least for a little while and among ourselves, they would be known as Snorts!

CQ2012 January's Block

I am so excited.  I feel like a kid who has just learned to ride a bicycle with no hands!  Can you hear me saying, "look at me"?  What is all the fuss about?  I finished my first block for the CQJP2012 project.  A thank you to StitchMAP for the CQ class that made it possible for me to think I could actually do Crazy Quilting.

CQJP2012 January



Fan Close Up

 I really had fun with this project.  It started out slow.  I found the fan picture on Hoop Love Vintage Transfers. I used tissue paper to transfer the design.  It worked very well.  I used DMC regular 6 strand cotton embroidery floss.  What was so fun is that I experimented a little with Long and Short Stitch on the flowers.  Mary Corbet has a tutorial for the stitch which I had participated in last year.  Also, I have to admit, that I have purchased Trish Burr's book, "Needle Painting Embroidery"  It was such an excellent book that I had to also order  Colour Confidence in Embroidery.  I am still going through these books. I have no doubt they will be important resources for me.

Silk Ribbon Flowers Close Up



After the fan, I used Buttonhole Stitch to applique the lace rose. Because the 12 blocks in the project are destined to become a pair of pillow shams, I have imposed some limits.  I don't want a lot of beads or buttons because the piece will need to be washable.  Also, I'm pretty sure they would not be comfortable.  I originally thought the same about silk ribbon embroidery, but this corner kept calling out to me.  It wanted some silk ribbon flowers and I was hoping to duplicate the flowers in my center piece fabric.  My picture is a little blurry, but how do you think I did?  It is only my second time using ribbon.  These ribbons are actually organza ribbons that I purchased on e-Bay.  That's where I also purchased a laying tool made of bone.  It really does help to keep your ribbon unbunched and full.


The seam treatments were fun. The Buttonhole Wheels were transferred from a pattern by Kathy Shaw.  You can find more information about her book Embellishing Crazy Quilts which contains these templates on her blog, Shawkl. I used waste canvas on the Herringbone Stitch and the Fly Stitch seams.  Kerry Katie Cakes has a nice tutorial on using waste canvas on your crazy quilt block.  She uses it to apply an image.  I used it to build even seams. I first saw the idea on the blog, Kitty and Me Designs.  Pam Kellogg, blog owner, has put together two e-books on seam treatments that are on my wish list. I follow her on Pinterest because I love her work! 

Here is one last look at the block.




Another look at CQJP 2012 January

 

Business Card Holder



Business Card Holder Group Picture



I particpated in a fun project at StitchMAP.  If you are interested in learning more about needlework see the right side bar for a link.  The project was for a Business Card Holder.  It was meant as a case for my member business cards but is also perfect for credit cards or gift cards.  We had a due date but no other parameters.  We could be as creative as we wished.

I had recently found some linen at a thrift store.  Nice big pieces of both pale pink and cream.  I knew I wanted to use my pink linen.  My first thought was to do a cross stich motif, but after 3 or 4 mistakes I abandoned the idea.  I was having too much difficulty with spacing. 

 The light bulb went off when I thought that this might be a good opportunity to use the bullion stitch and make some roses.  I pulled out my reference book, "A-Z of Bullions".  I had been excited to win the bid on this book on an e-Bay auction.  I won for $23.95 and I had seen the book at Amazon for over $100.  It contained some nice motifs that I knew I could adapt.

I had to practice the stitch, but I succeeded in making recognizable bullion roses.


Card Holder 1


My goal for the first one I completed was to have a design that did not need an orientation as I wasn't sure what the front of the holder would be.  One of the mentoring tips I received was to baste a large X on the front of the piece to find the center. That worked very well but I should have measured and gridded for the other elements.  I added the rose buds at the end hoping that it would distract  from the uneven placement.  Also, there wasn't room for a button closure so I settled for a velcro closure.
 

Card Holder 2

 

 On the second one, I chose a spray pattern.  It was a good opportunity to add some bullion loop flowers to the roses.  I added some yellow french knots and some detached daisy chain leaves.  I think it looks very dainty.



The third has more elaborate foliage.  I wish that it were more symmetrical but I have learned not to scoff at preplanning.  I used more muted colors and I believe that it does make it look older, more vintage.  This card holder has a special meaning for me. One of my girlfriends has survived a divorce. I am so proud of the actions she has taken to improve her life including her health and her social life.  This cardholder will hold little personal cards that she gave give out if she meets someone she would like to know better.

Card Holder 3

Here are some articles about calling cards.

Calling Cards and the Etiquette of Paying Calls

Days of Elegance

Images of Victorian Calling Cards

Victorian Calling Card Etiquette

More Thrift Store Finds and More Butterflies

Some of my favorite memories are going to garage sales and thrift stores.  When my mother was still alive, we went out every Saturday morning.  We would end the day by going out for lunch.  We didn't need a lot of money.  Usually we would have about $20 each.  My mother always bought more than I did because she liked decorator items.  I was always looking for books or craft supplies.  I no longer have my mother to go with, but I know she would be happy to know that I still love to find a bargain.

Tuesday morning I had a doctor's appointment.  When I got there the receptionist told me I would need to reschedule because the doctor had an emergency.  Instead of wasting my time out, I stopped at a thrift store near the office.  I had a lot of fun.  Here is what I found.

Thrift Store finds 06/07/11

If you look close you will see that each bag is marked as $3.00.  Let me show you what was in each bag.

Tatting Threads




First I was able to find these tatting threads. 


I checked at Herrschners tatting threads and each one of these are going for $1.99.  I got 19 skeins for $3.00.





Floss on cards



 

This picture is of floss that has already been wound onto card bobbins.  There are approximately 40 cards. There was even an extra supply of bobbins.



Floss Skeins



And this picture is of the loose floss skeins.  I counted them at 71 skeins.  I was at Michael's the same day replenishing my red #321 and paid $.35 a skein.  At 71 skeins that is $24.85.  If you include the floss already wound there are 100 + skeins.  100 skeins would cost $35.00.  This floss cost me $6.00 for the two bags.

I also got 5 crochet hooks for $2.00 and 3 bobbins of lace for another $2.00   This was another great shopping experience.

Now for more butterflies....

I have been crocheting butterfly bookmarks.  They go together pretty fast and it seems like everyone who sees one wants one.  I didn't get pictures of all that I have made but here are two of the ones I have kept for myself.

Butterfly Bookmarks

This pattern looks really good in variegated thread.  I have made a dozen already and have plans for more.  In fact, at work each year there is an arts and crafts auction that is a United Way fundraiser.  I hope to have a dozen to include.  I need to have two more done by Saturday since my friend would like one for her  for birthda y!  Another friend wants one for her daughter's birthday.


This butterfly bookmark link will take you to the free pattern.


I found a nice tutorial on Bookmark Tassels on wikiHow.


Here are some more crocheted butterfly links:


Butterfly Handkerchiefs
Butterfly Shade Pulls
Dainty Butterfly
Fancy Crocheted Butterfly
Pineapple Butterfly
Small Crocheted Butterfly
Thread Butterfly


Progress on my Butterfly Pillowcases has slowed.  I have been spending my time finishing up an ornament for a summer swap.  I will have pictures of that next time after the recipient has received it.  I still plan to do this in chain stitch and it's variations.  I have been trying to achieve a consistent and uniform look to the chain stitch.  It does give the butterfly an interesting texture.  I am looking forward to having more of it done soon. Here is a current picture of the project .

Over on Stitchin Fingers, Pat Boggins is hosting a Post a Photo of Chain Stitch challenge.  You can see the photo's at the Chain Stitch Photo Link.

Theresa E.

My New Blog

I need a place to show my pictures.  Sometimes I have thoughts I want to share.  Sometimes I have blogs or links that I want to share. The answer is my own personal BLOG!


Currently, I am working on a crocheted dresser scarf and a cross stitch for my daughter with purses.  I just started a set of embroidered pillowcases.  I am going to call those my study of chain stitch.  I have plans of finishing the whole design in chain stitch,  I have a needlework sampler that is almost ready to have fabric added to it and I have plans to make some bookmarks.  I also have a started block for a crazy quilt crochet hook roll-up. I can hardly wait to share these projects with you.


Because it is late and I don't have current photos to publish, let me list a couple of beaded tutorials I have saved.


Beaded Cabachones

Beaded Frog


Beaded Initial


Beaded Open Cretan Stitch


Beaded Paisley


Beaded Spider


Bead Weaving


Beaded Dragonfly Charm


Easy Beaded Dragonfly


Faux Pearl Spider


Theresa E.