Red Lace Needlecase

Today was the last meeting of the year for the Bay Area Sampler Guild. I always enjoy this meeting. It’s a wrap up for the current year and a kick off for the next. They already have the agenda for 2010 all mapped out and we have some great events and workshops coming up. Another reason I really enjoy the November meeting is most of the members bring in their show-and-tell and the pieces they brought yesterday were just amazing. It’s really motivating. Another part of the meeting is spent doing gift exchanges. One exchange members just buy little gifts, but the other exchange, the members stitch their gifts (they drew names back in January). I knew I’d have too much going on this year, so I opted out of the exchanged. But a couple of my friends gladly jumped in.

front

back

inside

One of them stitched ”Red Lace Needlecase” by Drawn Thread as her gift.  I did the finishing for her a couple weeks back and now that the exchange is over I can post about it.

If any of you are stitching this piece, you might want to consider make a couple changes to the finishing that I did.  The instructions for this piece specified using just batting, but that seemed too soft for something that would hold scissors.  If it was just a needle case, I think that would have been fine.  I added one piece of skirtex under the batting to make it firmer.  So I used the batting on the two outside pieces and skirtex on the two inside pieces .  The other change I made is to change the placement of the hinge .  The instructions on the chart had it placed at the top of the case. But I decided it would be better to place it on the left, so the scissors wouldn’t fall out of the case if it was placed on it’s side.

We had a good laugh yesterday because the person my friend stitched this for, also stitched this same piece for another member for the exchange.  Though, she had used a different color of linen and thread (purples).  She had it finished just as the instructions had stated, with the exception of beads added all around the edge of the seams (a lovely addition).  When the recipient lifted it from the wrapping, just as I had expected would happen, the scissors fell out.

 

A Couple WIPs and a Couple Finish

Although I have been absent from my blog for the past few months, I haven’t been absent from stitching.  I’ve been making some good progress on a couple of my larger pieces recently.  First, “Queen Sofia”.  My last, and only, post about this project was from back in January. I had forgotten about this piece for a while until at our last EGA meeting I found out November was the deadline to get a golden needle for it, *if* it was completely stitched.  So last weekend, I pulled it out and stitched on it for the entire weekend.  Here’s how far I got:

I don’t think I’ll get it all stitched by Novebmer’s meeting in a few weeks.  As I mentioned in the first post, I’ve been swapping colors in and out and I ran short of the dark purple thread that I used in the borders of all the pieces.  I sent the last little bit I had to a local shop this week to see if she can find me a match.  Keeping fingers and toes crossed that she does.

The other piece I’ve made good progress on is my “Blackstone Fantasy Garden”.   I’m continuing with my plan from March to stitch the knotwork first and then go back and fill in with the blackwork.

There’s more work to this piece than I initially thought.  Do any of you have that issue….under-estimating the amount of time it will take to stitch something?  I’d think after stitching for over 15 years, that I’d be better at it

Now onto a couple of recent finishes. The first piece, “Flame & Queen Etui” by Thistle Threads:

The model was originally done in more pastel colors, but I decided to try something much more vibrant. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. I also omitted the cording because I thought it looked cleaner and more classy without it. Did you notice all of the queen stitches on the one panel? That side took much longer to stitch than the bargello side, but the results were worth it.

I used 32 count black linen and used NPI silks in the following colors:

Creamy Yellow Range: 132, 133, 135

Violet Range: 451, 455, 456

Azure Range: 482, 486, 489

Hot Pink Range: 682, 683, 685

Holly Green Range: 428

Black Range: 993

And lastly, this is a scissor fob I finished for my friend Maggie.  She accidentally stitched the design over one.  It was suppose to be an ornament and when she realized it was only going to stitch up to 1″ square, she started over, stitching over two of course.  She didn’t think anything could be done with the teeny version and not wanting her efforts to go to waste, I took it from her and made this fob.  She didn’t have anything stitched for the back, so I stitched the ‘M’  to personalize it.

 

Pillowcases

Pillowcases are a quick and fun gift to make for someone.   And with so many choices in novelty prints, there something out there for everyone.

For those of you interested in making some, I found instructions and pictures on Jen Buettner’s blog Cre8tive Quilter.  The instructions are for sewing a completely finished pillowcase. Here’s what the inside seams look like:

As you can see, there are no raw edge seems.

A few months back, a friend of mine asked if I could make some pillow cases for her two boys…one who like comics/action heros and the other was attending UCLA.  She picked out the fabric and I whipped them together:

Now I’ll warn you, if you are going to use a directional fabric, such as these, make sure you pay attention to which side you’re sewing the cuff onto.  You probably want the two cases to mirror each other.  I didn’t pay attention and ended up having to seam rip ALL of the seams to start over again…doh!

After I made these two sets for my friend, I decided I wanted a pair for myself.  So I scrounged around my fabric stash and came up with this set:

I LOVE the way mine turned out and can’t wait to put them out in December.  I had planned to do a set for halloween with the following fabrics:

..but I just didn’t get around to it.  I’ll just have to make them for next year.

So, if you’re starting to think about things to give for Christmas this year, these pillow cases might be the thing you’re looking for.

 

Hot Flashes

I had a day off this past Friday and spent it quilting with some friends.  I completed the top of this old UFO called “Hot Flashes” (by Sandy Brawner).  This was a BOM that “Quiltin’ Cousins” in Pismo Beach did four or five years ago.  I had finished the last of the blocks a couple months ago.  Friday was spent cutting out all the sashing, borders and making the corner blocks, then getting the top all assembled.  It still needs to be quilted, but I thought I’d post a picture on my blog, because who knows when I’ll get it quilted.  My husband loves this quilt, so I will be his, once it’s completely done.

 

Folk Art Wall Quilt

I recently finished this small quilt wall hanging. It was from a kit a good friend of mine purchased for me from the Paducah quilt show a few years back.  The pattern is “Wythe County Antique Rubbing” by Judy Flanagan of Quilter’s Coop.  I modified it a bit…there were two leaves on the vase in the original pattern that I omitted because I loved the blue reproduction fabric and didn’t want to cover it up.  I also completely changed the border.  This was mainly because I cut the background fabric the wrong way (I wasn’t paying attention to the direction of the print) and ended up with a square quilt instead of a rectangle, like the pattern.  Ah well, sometimes things come out better when you need to make adjustments and I am much happier with my border.

 

March Already?

It seems like Christmas was just a few weeks ago, but it’s more like a few months!  Where did January and February go?!   Before you know it, it’ll be summer.

I haven’t been getting as much stitching time in the past week as I’d like.  Work has been keeping me extra busy and most nights last week, I just vegged.  I expect this week to be just as busy.

I decided to start something new last month as my portable purse project.  I had to.  I’ve finished almost all of the small projects from my UFO pile and most of what’s left are too big to fit in my purse pocket.  Also, it’s nice to start a new project amid all the old projects.  So I dug through my small patterns and decided to start the Lizzie*Kate flip-it blocks.  They’re quick to stitch up and I already have the frames for each of them, so finishing them would also be quick.  I started with March and did manage to get all the stitching done before the end of February, but I just got around to stretching, lacing and putting it in the frame today:

"Flip-it Blocks - March" by Lizzie*Kate

Better late the never and I can still display it for another 3 weeks.  On the original design, there was a white blob behind the two blue birds (sample to the right).  I thought it might be a cloud, however, the background was green, not blue and that sort of bothered me.  So I began to ask my friends what they thought it was.  Most thought it was a cloud too, but a few thought it might be tree blossoms.  So, I went with that idea and tweaked the white to look more like little blossoms.

I haven’t started April yet.  I decided I needed to try and catch up on my Merry Cox class piece.  I’m still on lesson 2 (the group is at 4 now).  So, it has become my purse project and I’ve been making slow progress:

"Americana Sewing Case" by Merry Cox - progress as of March 8th

The pattern was charted with the words “Christmas in Williamsburg” along the top of the middle section, but Merry encouraged us to change it. My plan is to change it to “Sweet Land of Liberty”. 

Also this past week, I pulled out on old UFO, “Blackstone Fantasy Garden” by Ink Circles and made a little headway on it:

Progress on "Blackstone Fantasy Garden" by Ink Circles

I really love this piece and don’t know why I put it away so long.  I love Celtic knotwork and I just love how the areas in between on this design are filled with blackwork in different colors.

I think I’m going to work all of the cross-stitched knotwork and then go back afterwards to fill in all the blackwork.  The cross stitch doesn’t require as much concentration and can easily be done while I’m watching TV.  The blackwork will require me to look at the pattern more.  So that’s the plan now, but I could always change my mind if I get really board with the knotwork.

 

Special Friends Award

My friend Milly honored me on Friday with the “Special Friends Award”. Thank you Milly for selecting my blog!

The description for this award reads, “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give attention to these kind writers. When you pass this away along please include these guidelines, I am to choose eight friends to share this with.”

I think this is a great way to learn about other blogs and also an opportunity to start new friendships by getting to know others who share similar interests. I think many of the blogs I follow regularly have already been awarded this honor, or similar honors, so I’ll let them choose whether to pass on the award again or not. So, without further ado, eight blogs I frequent are (in no particular order):

1. Stitching Obsession II (back at you Milly )
2. Willow Tree Stitcher
3. Just String
4. The Craft Room
5. Creative Thread
6. Mary Kathryn – eHandcrafts
7. Kiwi Stitching
8. Tazzie Quilts

 

Four More Finishes

This week, I’ve finished four more stitching projects, three PS ornaments and a pincushion. I’ve managed now to finished 10 things this year, but they are the lowest hanging fruit on my long list of UFOs. Pretty soon, the only things left will be the larger projects. But it does feel good to know I’ve finished 10.

Here are the Prairie Schooler ornaments:

2002 - 1994 - 1996 Prairie Santa Ornaments

They are the yearly Santas that PS puts out. From left to right, the years are 2002, 1994 and 1996. They’re stitched over one on 25ct New Khaki Lugana. I actually had them stitched in 2007, but never dated them back then. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do that, being that they are so small and I didn’t want to detract from the design. I had also been thinking about how I wanted to back the ornaments. After some thought, I decided to stitch the back and as the label. I used design elements from the front of each to customize the backs a bit.

Back of Prairie Santa Ornaments

Yesterday, some of my stitching friends and I spent the day together. Our guild had an outing to tour a couple historic houses in San Francisco, the Haas-Lilienthal and Octagon houses. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun. On the way home, we stopped at the Status Thimble in Burlingame to do a little stashing. I found the perfect item, a shaker pincushion, for my “Red Bird” design.

"Red Bird" by A Mon Ami Pierre

And it was a quick finish. I just had to bast around the edges of the evenweave with a heavy thread, cinch in up around the pincushion insert, then add the cording. Voila, it was done in less than an hour.

 

More Finishes

Our part of the state has been getting doused with rain over the past week, so I’ve been spending most of my time indoors.  I’m not complaining though.  We really need all the rain we can get.  The past few winters have fallen short of the total rain/snow fall we need and if we don’t get several more days of heavy rain and snow before this summer, most of California will be in a severe draught and water restrictions will be imposed on everyone.  My husband and I already cut back our water usage last year when water conservation was “recommended” but not mandatory.  By just taking shorter showers and flushing the toilet less (yes, the old “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” saying applies in our household these days), saves us about 100 gallons a day!   Well, enough about that.

With all my indoor time, I’ve been making further progress on my UFO list.   First up is a piece I finished over the weekend:

It’s called “Parfait” and it was designed and taught by my friend Kei Blesch.  She taught it last year at our local EGA.  We were suppose to pick our own color-way,  but Kei had pulled together these luscious colors to make another model for herself and she put together the threads for me (and Kate) too.  I wish photos could capture how sparkly it is with all the metallic threads, but this picture will have to do.   I haven’t done much canvas work (though my piece is stitched on linen), so stitching this piece was a learning experience.  Can you see the areas where there are stitches layered over stitches?   You definitely have to pay attention to the directions and make sure you don’t stitch parts out of order.  I was also really happy to discover that the size of the stitched piece was the exact size I needed to mount onto this little box.  I had bought the box a while back, but not with a particular design in mind for it.  So I was thrilled it fit so nicely.  I’m trying to get away from framing everything I stitch.  In fact, the next piece I finished was initially going to be framed, but I changed my mind and finished it into a pincushion:

The design is “Hearts & Flowers” by The Sweetheart Tree.  I had thought about finishing this piece as a biscornu, but I couldn’t find an exact match in my stash to the linen that was in this kit.  So I settled on this simple pillow style pincushion.  I decided to try beads around the edge instead of my usual cording and I’m pleased with how it looks.  Definitely something I’ll do again.

The next two items were stitched by my friend Kate and the finishing was done by me.

 

The design is “Be Mine Valentine” by Lizzie Kate.  I did the finishing of the door knocker last year, when I was showing some of my stitching friends how to do the finishing.  And I just finished the fob this week.  I was going to put an edging on the fob, but decided to keep it simple.

 

A Few Good Finishes

I’m making decent headway on getting old UFOs done.  First finish, my very first pin-keep.

"Moose Be X-mas" pinkeep

I’m happy with how it turned out.  The design is a freebie from Barbara Ana called “Moose Be X-mas”….isn’t he adorable?!  It might be hard to see, but I actually used two ribbons around the edge, one red and then a narrow green ribbon over it.  I was originally just going to wrap it in a green ribbon and put red pins in it, but in trying to use what I already had, I improvised.  I only had red ribbon wide enough, and then I didn’t want to have red pins on red ribbon for this piece, so I switched to yellow.  And you know, sometimes when you stray away from your original plans, you’re surprised and it ends up better than you expected.  The heads of the gold pin remind me of little jingle bells.  Although this is technically a pin-keep, I will hang it on my tree as an ornament.

Next up is something I did for my friend Linda, who you may recall gave me that beautiful reproduction quilt, no strings attached.  I felt after receiving something so nice, I should do something in return.  She isn’t a cross stitcher, but she had bought a few small kits while on vacation several years ago that she hadn’t gotten around to stitching.  So I and another mutual friend (Kate) offered to stitch up two of the kits that were companion pieces.  Kate stitched the scissor fob, and I stitched the needle case.  This weekend I finished both pieces.

"Victorian Lavender Needle Case & Scissor Fob"

The kits were called “Victorian Lavender” by Textile Heritage Collection.

Last item up is a quick new piece I started last month and finished this past week. 

"Red Bird" by A Mon Ami Pierre

It’s called “Red Bird” and it was a freebie I received in an order from A Mon Ami Pierre.  I’m considering different ways to finish this, but I’m likely going to settle on a round ornament and edge it with twisted silk ribbon and beads.  But we’ll see.

So that’s what I’ve been up to this past week.  I’m hoping to “finish” a couple more pieces over the next week and further cut down my long list of UFOs.