Erica's Stitches

dpn holders

2012-02-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

I've been using the cardboard case some double pointed needles came in to carry them around. It's functional but not pretty.

So, I started designing some elaborate dpn holders in my head in various techniques. I was excited about the project but didn't know when I would be able to do it.

Finally I decided on something fast and simple. I found some pretty paper I'd been saving and glued it over the cardboard. In a matter of minutes I was done. I liked so much I made another. Then I ran out of cardboard holders. If I want more I'll have to buy more needles.

I wish every project could be finished as quickly.

Starting a Project

2012-02-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Note: There's a blizzard outside. There is no decent light for a picture. So, I went wild with Photoshop trying different brightness/contrast and hue settings. The colors are in no way accurate.

It is so much fun to start a new project. This one was my last spring project. I stitched a small sample (above) and then started the fabric prep for the real project. That involved withdrawing almost 400 threads from a large piece of small count linen. I finished the withdrawing the day before the Colorado class started. Both projects were going on the same stretcher bars so I put it aside and started Colorado. I never suspected Colorado would take so long to finish.

Yes, that means Colorado is done. I removed it from the stretcher bars a few days ago and put the Naversom linen on.

I savored the start of the project. One night I turned the raw edges in. The second night I put it on the bars. Last night I reviewed the text trying to remember how the stitching is done. Today I get to take my first stitch!

The design I am doing is by Phyllis Maurer at www.ethnicfiberart.com/. However, the website isn't working right now.

Cutting up Shirts

2012-01-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

I've tackled a growing stack of old T-shirts by turning them into yarn. I followed this tutorial.

I still have a stack of sleeves and the upper portions to turn into rags - but they take up less room.

I've also been looking for patterns for knit bags and have found a few possibilities.

I've got patterns and a bag of yarns. When I'm ready for my next knitting project I'll see how the yarn knits. I hope I have enough for a bag or two.

My next cleanup project is to tackle the pile of old jeans. When they are all cut up I'll have more than enough for a quilt.

Flowers Together

2012-01-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

The wildflower parts of last weekend are now stitched down.

They look more like flowers now.

The echo quilting makes them jump off the fabric.

Now they are ready for binding.

Flower Parts

2012-01-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

I've been cutting out flower pieces. Last August I appliqued some Harebells. I wanted to do a bunch of other wildflowers and somehow never got around to it. That's what new years are for - getting back on focus.

This time I'm working on Mexican Hats and Penstemons. Right now it looks like flowers have exploded in my quilt room. These flowers have a lot of smaller pieces so I'm not sure how they will quilt up. I do know that they will definitely need the stems to give them some shape. That's next.

Looking at the scattered remains of my morning session I'm getting ideas form more quilt blocks. Some of the shapes created by cutting out the flower shapes very are interesting.

Erica's Birds

2011-12-30T13:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas Ornament Round 3 is done and I'm done with ornaments until next season! I didn't get them all finished before Christmas but they were done a few days afterwards.

I found the kit at Goodwill last year and started it last year. But, I lost interest and working with the metallic threads annoyed me. This year I was determined to finish them.

It is a kit from 1979/1980 by Erica Wilson.

The birds are stitched on both sides and look so much better in real life than they did in the picture. It's amazing how simple felt can be elevated to stylish with the right trimmings.

I really liked the way these birds turned out. They are not being put away with the rest of the Christmas decorations. I'm going to enjoy looking at them all year long.

I'm also ready to do more felt embroidery. But, I think I'll use normal floss instead the metallic floss. The kit was generous and I still have about half the spool left. I also kept all of the felt scraps. It's really nice felt.

Thank You Erica Wilson (October 8, 1928 – December 13, 2011), for the great birds and for all that you have done for embroidery.

Finishing Up

2011-12-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

I have too many projects going on. So, I've taken some time off to get some of them done.

So far this week I've beaded.

And felted. Now, those two projects are done. I feel lighter. The supplies are put away and my work area is clear.

So now I'm beading some more.

And braiding ...

And stitching ...

I'll be alternating between these three until they are done. Then I'll finish some of the other things I've started.

My goal is to make it the end of the year or until I run out of projects to finish. There are other projects calling out to me but I'm going to ignore them for now.

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

One of the best Christmas smells is gingerbread cookies baking.

I used to make a full batch every year. Then a half batch. Now I make them every few years.

Definitely worth the wait!

To Bead or Not To Bead?

2011-12-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

I know, that's usually a easy question. The answer is to bead. But, in this case, I've been mulling it over since April or May when I started this project. Now it's time for the moment of truth.

I also realize you probably thought I gave up on this project because it hadn't been blogged in a while. I've been slowly plugging away at it. I'll admit that it has gone excruciatingly slowly.

As a reminder, the project is called "Colorado Collage" designed by Caela Conn Tyler. The border colors and lettering are mine but the rest of the magnificent design is hers.

Here it is with the beads laid out over the forested areas of the state.

I was afraid they would hide the intricate stitching. But, comparing the two, not really. The beads do add a nice sparkle. The unbeaded Colorado looks plainer.

I'm still undecided. I'm going to think about it over the week and decide next week.

Any thoughts?

Candy Canes and Snowflakes

2011-12-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's time for Christmas crafts.

This year I've been painting watercolor candy canes as card inserts.

I've also been stamping snowflakes on envelopes and cardstock.

X Ornaments

2011-11-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

I finished round 2 of Christmas Ornaments getting to use a lot of different threads.

They are simple squares - scraps of leftover linen - backed with felt.

I enjoy playing with different color combinations. Some are subtle.

And others are bolder. All with the same pattern.

Don't ask me which ones I like best.

Next, I'm going to give most of them away. And then start round 3. Finish up some ornaments that I didn't finish last year.

Like the pattern? It's for sale at patternsonline.com.

Last Minute Quilting

2011-11-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

It turns out to be a good thing that I had an unquilted quilt top laying around.

I decided it would make a good early Christmas gift to be delivered at Thanksgiving. Otherwise a quilt would have been impossible.

So, I put everything else aside and quilted like crazy and I've got it done with half of the weekend left.

Now, on to other projects.

ornaments - 3 small and 1 big

2011-11-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

I've finished the first batch of ornaments for the year. They are all from this year's Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. Usually I pick one or two to stitch. This year I went overboard and did four.

This one turned out too big to be an ornament. At 35 count it was an ornament. At 28 count it isn't. I wasn't paying attention to the instructions, just using materials I have on hand and it got bigger and bigger.

I was thinking of leaving the border off but then I looked in my frame collection and found the perfect frame. I actually increased the border size to make the stitching fit into the frame better. The border as designed isn't even so I figured no one would notice if I made it even less even.

One of the snowflakes is supposed to be asymmetrical but I didn't notice in time and I made it symmetrical. Oops.

Then I ran out of the brown floss. Double oops. I could have found a close DMC and finished the last two stitches but I left it as is. Another reason why no one else will have one exactly like mine.

So far, this is my favorite "ornament". Both the colors and design are unusual. But, I can display it all winter, not just at Christmas.

For the next batch I've designed some of my own ornaments. I'll get working on those next.

Trimmed

2011-10-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's done. The nine-patches have been squared up.

I have a huge pile of scraps and I'm getting ready to assemble the blocks.

Polka Dot Nine Patches

2011-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have 20 old nine patch blocks.

The dots are red blue and black.

The blocks are nearly see-through and they are not very square.

I purchased them at an antique store years ago. Instead of them living in a drawer I want them to be used. There is just the right number of blocks to make a lively border for my 30's quilt.

I'm going to have to some work to make the usable but I think the result will be pretty.

Fall

2011-10-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

I've been lucky enough to get out into the mountains some during the past few weeks just as the aspens reached the height of color.

I was able to walk along the Colorado River kicking up dead cottonwood leaves.

And hike in a rain of golden aspen leaves. Living in a pine forest I don't get to rake and play in the leaves like I did growing up. So, in a way, I was a kid again.

I've been enjoying it because it will not last long. Sure enough, I woke up this morning to snow. Sigh.

Antennae

2011-09-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

I started buttonhole stitching in July and lamented that it would take me months to finish. We'll it has. I always have a thread ready to go so I can pick it up and stitch at a moments notice. The moments just didn't come that frequently.

I've finished all the dresden plate fans and saved the butterflies till last. Two are now done.

The best part is the antennae - they allow a little creativity. All four will be different so I have two more styles to come up with.

Once the button stitching is complete I can move on to the next part of this 30's style quilt. The borders will use some more vintage blocks that are really wild.

I'll show them once I start working on them.

Red and Green Threads

2011-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again.

As night comes earlier and earlier and it gets colder and colder I start thinking about making Christmas ornaments.

I have no plans yet. But I've started collecting supplies. I've found a surprising amount of red and green threads.

Deciding what to stitch is part of the fun.

Going Slowly

2011-09-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back to stitching on Colorado. I'm filling in the edges. I finished Arizona and started Utah and New Mexico. It's going extremely slow. One length of thread doesn't seem to fill much canvas.

There are 7 states surrounding Colorado and they will each be a different color.

I still haven't come up with a good lettering to spell out "Colorful Colorado". But, at the rate I'm going it will take months to get that far.

Using up Charm Squares

2011-09-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

I have used up every charm square in the house on my latest quilt top! At least I hope there aren't any stragglers that I missed.

That includes 2 different charm packs and half a dozen leftovers including a flannel square (in one of the corners), a 30's style square and one square that just doesn't quite belong with the rest.

Both charm packs were traditional prints. One was in darker colors and a formal style. I never found the right project to use them in and never came up with any good ideas. The second was lighter pastels and a whimsical style. Every time I looked at it I was able to come up with a different plan that I wanted to start right away.

Instead I combined them both. I think the two styles go together in an uncoordinated way. Or at least they don't clash too badly.

My usual tactic is to come up with a design and use all the squares I can. Which always leaves a few orphans. This time I tried a new plan. A crib batting is about 45 x 60. So, I figured out how big I could go which in this case is 9 x 13 blocks or 40.5 x 58.5. As an added bonus I won't have to piece a backing.

I used the darker squares around the borders and the lighter squares in the center. I had to add about 20 or so background squares that came from my stash and not a charm pack. But, no leftovers after this quilt is done.

I like the result. The outside is filled with brown, burgundy and other dark colors and reminds me of fall. The center is light and bright with sherbet colors and reminds me of spring.

My sewing machine is now being serviced. While I'm waiting I'll get the quilt top basted and in a few months when it is cold and dark in the evenings I'll have a quilting project all ready to go.

More Bags

2011-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

You can never have too many bags, right? I hope so because my bag collection keeps getting bigger.

In my quest to use yarn up stash yarn, my felting wool is almost gone and I have a new yarn bag.

I'll use this to hold knitting projects and use the last of the felting yarn to make pot holders or coasters.

Meanwhile, I've been fusing plastic. It turns out my first experiments with this were a year ago. I'm surprised it took me this long to get back to it.

The bag at the top is my new lunch bag modelled after a brown paper bag. Hopefully it will last longer and be more durable.

This fused collection of bags from many stores is one side of a tote bag.

The other side is my attempt at weaving and fusing.

Ok, ok, enough bags for now. I'll get back to some serious stitching soon.

Harebells

2011-08-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

After a slow start, the harebells have been giving a spectacular show this year.

They have inspired me. I've been photographing and drawing them.

I've also been working on an appliqued harebell quilt.

So far I've stitched four small samplers playing with different fabrics and stitching styles.

So far I'm happy with the results. Even the backs are turning out nice.

Now I'm working on some other flowers to applique. And trying to decide how to put them all together.

Vote!

2011-08-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

Connecting Threads is having a fabric design contest so I decided to try designing fabric.

It's easy to come up with ideas but hard for me to get them into the computer.

The first design I used PCStitch, cross-stitch design software to come up with the jpeg. It has a tiled appearance because of that but it is an interesting effect. I can easily imagine a whole line of fabrics with this look. This design is on page one of the Geometric/Decorative category.

For my next design I experimented with Photoshop. It is on page 3 of the Flowers category.

It's been fun dreaming about being a fabric designer but there were so many beautiful designs submitted and they are all getting more votes then mine.

I have more ideas and wish I could submit again knowing more about what to expect and how to generate the designs. So, go out there and vote for your favorites so they will run the competition again.

The Colors of August

2011-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

chokecherry red

barn and grass green

harebell blue-violet

and sunflower yellow

Package for Cathy

2011-08-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have now completed my first Mug Rug swap through StitchMap. Luckily I was 95% done when I hurt my hand.

I waited till almost the last minute hoping for the best. No such luck. I taped my hand and finished the binding with no ill effects. Still, I'm going back to not stitching for a while longer.

Cathy seemed open to anything so I took the small stack of leftovers and one oops from my last quilt and started arranging. There were too many for one mug rug but if I left one out I had just the right amount.

I liked the S shape so that's the arrangement I chose. I was going to do more embellishing, but there wasn't room. I was expecting more margins. So, I kept it simple with rick rack.

The one left over flying goose did have margins, so for my mug rug (I couldn't mail it, it was too small to meet the swap requirements) I went crazy.

Yep, two sizes of rick-rack and ribbons. There will probably be more when it's done. But, the finishing can wait for another day now that the major deadline has been met.

Tending Garden

2011-07-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

My hand is better, but not good enough for stitching. So, there's been no thoughts of a quiet half hour of stitching to help me get through the day. Instead I've been spending more time tending the garden.

This dwarf papyrus is totally unsuitable to a dry climate but is happy in a container of annuals.

The grape vines are full of grapes. Last year we got 5 grapes, now have too many to count.

More annuals.

I'm trying mint again, in a contiainer. Despite it's reputation for taking over, I always end up killing it. So far it's doing a good job of taking over. But, as it turns out, there's competion.

Despite my best efforts, the wild rose is back. If they both survive the winter there will be an epic battle for contol of the barrel. I can't believe this is the same barrel I wrote about last spring. All the plants have grown like crazy. Even the chives are holding their own against the mint.

Another Reason

2011-07-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

A friend returned from a business trip to the UK and brought me back a knitting magazine. One of the articles is "5 reasons to sort your stash".

My knitting stash is small and well organized. The magazine came with 2 small skeins of yarn, knitting needles and a pattern for a tea cozy that were promptly put in the correct place in the stash (that's how those extra balls of yarn get there).

I didn't agree with all the reasons and have a few more of my own. Mainly, with an injured hand, it's something I can do. I have healed to the point were I have 1.5 hands instead of just one. Better because I can work the shift key, but I still can't do everything I want to.

Which brings be to the many cache's of beads around the house. Bead kits always contain too many beads so I had beads everywhere. I think I've found them all.

All the beading needles are together. And the beeswax and threads. Charms and findings are sorted together.

Beads are sorted by type. If there weren't many left they got thrown together into a bead soup.

Which brings me to my End-of-July resolution. To try to use some of these beads!

But first, I've got to heal.

package from eileene

2011-07-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

there was a small white package in the mailbox yesterday.

it's my mug rug from a stitchmap swap.

eileene is an "eager beaver" and mailed this days after the assignment and weeks before the deadline. this is the same eileene who ends emails with "hehehehe", i never know if that's a pleasant chuckle or something more sinister ...

luckily the mug rug inside was not at all sinister and very pretty ...

... with delicate pink and blue flowers ...

... a clever fabric holder ...

... and, finally, some really iridescent ribbon to play with.

thank you eileene!!!

perhaps you have noticed my lack of caps. i jammed a finger on my left hand yesterday afternoon and am typing with one hand (thank goodness for spell checkers). this is going to affect my productivity and my half of the swap may be delayed. i hope it heals quickly.

The Next Step

2011-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have stitched Colorado following the chart as close as possible. There are 62 counties plus Denver in gold and I'm 98 days into the project. It seems like I've been working on it forever but that's about .6 counties per day and some of those counties took a long time.

So far it's been a paint by number project. Not any more. Now I'm going to start thinking outside the box. I like the original design for the rest of the project, an all over pattern in ecru and "Colorado". It's a good design, but I want to make the finished project my own (in other ways than the mistakes I've made so far).

My plan: Outline the state in a dark brown or gray and add outlines for the surrounding states. I'll use the charted all over pattern, or a different one to color in the other states. Each state will be a slightly different muted color.

I wasn't going to add any words. Someone argued that others wouldn't know what it was without Colorado. I'm not worried about that. But, if I add words, it will never be hung upside down. I'm leaning towards "Colorful Colorado". I've googled the old sign and the font on it isn't remarkable. I'll have to figure out a good style of letters to use.

I have some more thinking to do before I pick up the needle again. But, it's going to get easier from here. The hard part is done.

Butterfly Parts

2011-07-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I've been making wings and bodies for butterflies.

I don't do much applique. I prefer piecing. But sometimes a quilt just needs some applique. I kept telling myself throughout the whole process ... "It's only four", "It's only four" ...

The butterflies are to go with the Dresden Plates which are now Dresden Fans. I didn't want to cut them, but now they lay flat.

I arranged the fans every which way and I liked this configuration the best. I had four empty squares to fill. I looked through quilt pattern books and books of 30's quilts to find something suitable. Nothing pieced looked right. When I saw a quilt with appliqued butterflies I knew I had the solution.

I created the appliques using the starch and press method and machine sewed them down with a straight stitch. I'm going to hand buttonhole over the top of that in black. That's why I bought a whole spool of perle cotton a few weekends ago.

I have a feeling this part of the project will take months. But, it's going to look so good when it's done. I hate it when the project tells me what to do. Especially when it's something I don't really want to do. But, when it's right, I can't argue.

Small Splurges

2011-07-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been a hectic week. The most exciting thing I can find to write about this weekend is last weekend's shop hop.

I had a list of supplies for future projects and mostly stuck to the boring list:

- 2.5 yards of white fabric

- black pearl cotton

- sewing machine needles

I also found some supplies I could use:

- really nice wool felt

- a zipper

And, finally a few small splurges:

- a kit to make a flower pin (see picture above)

- 2 fat quarters (see picture below)

In my free time this week I got the pin mostly assembled. I still need to finish the back and attach the pin. I refuse to use hot glue like the instructions insist. I really like this pattern and will probably make more of these flowers in the future. They'll make cute gifts.

And here are my fat quarters. No, I don't really need animal prints but the called to me. I'll fit them into a fun small quilt or a bag sometime. But, currently I have no plans for them.

Good news is that a longer weekend is here. Hopefully I'll get to work on my projects and have something more exciting to report next week.

Clouds

2011-06-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

The clouds yesterday afternoon/evening were beautiful.

I was out for a walk and had to go back for my camera.

I love seeing something beautiful and being able to go crazy taking pictures. My first camera used film with 12 pictures to the roll. On vacations I would get about a roll a week so I was limited to a picture or two a day. Many times the photos would not get developed for months. What a disappointment to learn that a picture didn't turn out after all that time had passed. I had to manually set the exposure and focus the picture (bright sun? F16, really bright sun? F22). Ah, the good old days. I wasn't always right.

Now I just snap away and delete what doesn't turn out. 36 sky pictures yielded maybe 15 good pictures. I don't know if I'll even print any of them.

But I enjoy the whole accelerated process: photographing, downloading, reviewing and sharing.

All those spectacular clouds and still no rain!

Shopping Bags

2011-06-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I go Quilt Shop Hopping! To get ready I've made myself some shopping bags.

The first its a rather large tote bag with a pocket on the inside for maps and lots of room for anything I might find while shopping.

The flowers are silk flowers that have been fused down to fabric and embellished. A technique I first saw years ago and it took me this long to try it.

I went a little wild with beads and they really catch the light. The bag is fully reversible, but with the beading on the outside, I don't think it will get reversed too often.

This is the 3rd or 4th pattern that I 've tried from Lexie Barnes "Sew What! Bags" and like all the others it went together quickly and easily.

Next I made a little bag from the book "Little Birds".

As I went through the book I found a lot of patterns that I'd like to do someday. This was a pattern that I wanted to do NOW. I don't do that very often, but I put everything aside and made the bag using scraps I had. I even had the 7 inch zipper in a drawer (and that was the only size zipper I had).

I definitely want to make more bags like this. My first one is a little lopsided and I think I'll be able to make the next one look more professional. The designer is Monika Wintermantel.

This pattern is great and I have so many ideas for embellishing other bags. I can't wait to make more. But first, I have to go shopping!

If I could do it again ...

2011-06-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

The colors of the Blossoms Sewing Kit were accidental.

If I were going to stitch it again I would not use the white ground fabric. I would use a darker antique linen that was almost brown. That way both the white stitching and the pink would show up better. The two blossom bands would also be the same (not be the reverse of each other).

But, it's really, really pink. Way too pink for my tastes so I would probably use other colors. I don't have the time to stitch it over, but I have the next best thing ... software.

My first alternative color scheme is the colors of the sunflower. A dark bright yellow and oranges and browns for the center.

The next color scheme is a forget-me-not. Blue petals with a yellow and white center.

And finally, a darker red with the same yellow and white center that resemble no flower that I can think of.

Once I got started changing colors I wanted to keep going - there are so many possibilities. But my favorite is the the first so I'll stop here.

If I have time I'd make a Sunflower Sewing Kit.

Blossom Sewing Kit

2011-06-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wild roses are blooming! Just in time for the reveal of my latest design inspired by the wild roses.

It's a Blossom sewing kit.

This design started out as experimentation. I was thinking of a pink and white bracelet made of seed beads using the square stitch. Don't ask why - that's an even longer story. My eyes are not as agreeable to beading so I tried it as a cross stitch design, reversing the colors to see which I liked better.

One day I was looking at the scrap and decided it would fit on a tin. All the sudden it became an official project. I made up a leaf pattern that fit between the rows of flowers and repeated the two main motifs to become a scissors fob and a mini pincushion.

I did bring the seed beads along. It's much easier to stitch them to cloth then to stitch them together. A little twisted cord and a lot of glue and I have a travel sewing kit.

Everything fits perfectly in the tin with some extra room for a needle threader and floss. I lined the inside with pink felt and glued a magnetic business card (advertising side down) on top. I never throw away those magnetic cards when they are stuck on new phone books or on the newspaper. They are really handy.

This pattern is avail for sale at patternsonline.com.

A Morning at the Park

2011-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

It was a quiet Saturday at the park. The sun was shining. Crocheted daffodils were blooming?

I was there with a bunch of other ladies sewing yarn to trees. Look at the light blue cables under the word "yarn". Look familiar? I was working on that a few weeks ago.

There's my name.

And there's a sleeve I'm attempting to sew onto a branch. It's difficult sewing something above you. It takes extra upper arm strength. There were about 7 of us around this tree each doing the same thing and trying to avoid needling each other in the eyes. Or step on photographers.

The results are surprisingly beautiful and worth the effort, I think.

Dresden Plates

2011-06-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

I'm between quilting projects - tidying up the quilt room, doing some smaller projects and getting ready for the next big one.

I found these blocks years ago at an antique store in, I think, Wyoming. I think they deserve to be made into something nice and will be going into my next project. I've been mentally putting it together for years.

This is a style of blocks I would never make myself. I'm more into straight lines. The blocks seem to be huge. There are 17 sections in each block. That doesn't make any sense. Why divide a circle into 17 sections? But it may explain why the blocks don't lay flat. I have a plan for dealing with that.

Look at these great fabrics! I'm sure they lived long useful lives until scraps were cut up for a quilt. Can you imagine the stories they could tell?

Hopefully there will be at least one more story to tell.

Cables!

2011-06-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

I tried something different this week - knitting cables.

What fun! I wonder what it was like the first time somebody figured out how to make cables.

I can imagine a group of woman sitting around a long time ago oohing and ahhing about the latest development and getting excited about all the possibilities just like I am.

Into the Mountains

2011-05-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

My map of Colorado is finally turning green as I head into the mountains.

I'm not done with the yellow yet. There are two more big and complicated yellow counties. It will be easier to stitch around them and then fill them in.

With each county that gets filled in the map gets more interesting. It's almost like looking out the window of a plane at the plains below.

I'm enjoying working with the greens. I've even gotten to stitch a wee bit of purple.

My goal is one county a day. I managed that for over a week. Then I got a headache and broke the cycle. So, I've started over again today. How many days will I make it this time?

Crochet is Everywhere

2011-05-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

Since I've started to learn to crochet, I've started seeing it everywhere I look.

Crocheted edgings on blouses, crochet books on the "new books" shelf at the library, posts on other blogs and at the antique store.

At the antique store I was drawn to a pile of doilies that I usually would not have paid attention to. This one caught my eye. At first it was the delicate outer "leaves" with the picots.

It reminds me of paper snowflakes. I don't usually associate crochet with such airy designs.

That contrasted strangely with the chunky rectangles in the middle. It was only $1 so I had to bring it home with me. What a bargain! I don't know if I'll every be able to crochet anything like this.

When I got it home I realized that if you don't look at the rectangles but in the negative space between them there is a star. Ingenious! That's one of the most clever design elements that I've seen in a long time.

Learning to Crochet

2011-05-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

I've been slowly plugging away at the scarf I started last November. It's complete except for an edging.

My plan was to knit an edging but the thought of picking up all those stitches along the edge was frightening. I also don't think I have the correct needles.

Then I saw a scarf with a crocheted edge and I had a solution. Except, I never learned to crochet. How hard can it be? I've seen a video of the worlds fastest crocheter. Couldn't be easier.

Actually, it is difficult. You have to hold the yarn, the needle, your work, keep the tension correct and pull the yarn through without catching. That's at least 5 things. At first I could only master on or two at a time. I was able to get help from a friend with lots of hints that aren't written down anywhere.

Now I'm up to only worrying about tension and catching the yarn. I can even do several inches at a time without a glitch. Slowly, I'm making my way around the scarf.

The last time I was knitting I tried to pay attention to all those thing my hands were doing without me even thinking about them. It's very similar to crochet but more complicated (at least I think so - there are more stitches on the needles at once). I know I learned to knit when I was young but I don't remember the details, I just do it. I guess you do learn these things more easily at a young age.

Meanwhile the crocheting slowly gets easier. And, I must admit, it makes a really nice edging.

Can't wait until the scarf is done. Just in time for summer!

Quilt Washing

2011-05-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Enough multitasking. I worked on the quilt binding until it was all done.

Next step is to toss the quilt into the washer. To me, a quilt is not a quilt until it has been washed - the fabric wrinkles around the quilting resulting in that "old quilt" texture that I love to touch.

No matter how many quilts I wash it is always a stressful occasion. I still expect it to come out in multiple pieces with the quilting undone and the colors all run together. However, that hasn't happened yet.

I stated out hand washing them in the bathtub. I did that once and it's too much work. The washing machine is much simpler. I use the gentle cycle and a very mild liquid detergent.

This is what happens if you try to take a picture without a flash.

Next it is moved to the dryer on low for about 20 minutes to get most of the moisture out. Then it goes onto the clothes line or over the ironing board in bad weather.

Here is the finished quilt. It is "Threads of Tradition" and is the cover quilt of "Vintage Gathering" by Kaye England. Besides changing fabric and colors the only thing I did differently from the original is to add the border all around instead of it being just on the sides.

I really like the book. Until now it was one of my fantasy books. One that I looked at and fantasized about making the quilts. Each time I look at the book a different quilt appeals to me. Then I had some fat quarters that I thought would go good in this quilt and I stared making it.

I really like this quilt. The piecing was not difficult and it went together rather quickly (for me). The finishing took longer. I'm tempted to make this again and again with different colors and fabric styles.

But I already have my next quilt planned and it's different. I'll be using 30's fabrics.

Wild Rose be Gone

2011-05-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote about wild roses and chives.

The wild rose in my container garden had turned into a weed, taking over the whole thing. This year I decided to tackle the problem before it got any bigger. The wild rose didn't go kicking and screaming but it did inflict wounds with its mini thorns. The roots went deep into the bottom of the barrel.

I added some new compost to the barrel, some of the old chives and new violas. That's all I dare plant now as frosts are still likely. Later I'll add some herbs or flower seeds and make the garden look more like a garden.

And I still have more chives to plant and give away. Alas, the rose did not survive the operation.

Distracted by Blossoms

2011-05-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Spring is here! In town the crab apples are blooming. I brough a camera along on my lunchtime walk and captured the pretty blossoms.

The evenings are warmer and lighter and I'm finding more to work on than stitching. Still, I'm alternating between too many projects making slow projects on each one.

The blossoms reminded me of another project that I've added back to the rotation.

I started this over the winter and put it aside to work on Christmas ornaments. They are meant to be wild roses but they look very similar to the apple blossoms. At the time I couldn't decide whether to stitch white flowers or pink flowers, so I tried it both ways.

After seeing the glorious apple blossoms this spring, I've decided that both colorways are correct and I'm more anxious to finish this and my quilt and my scarf and the State of Colorado. Eventually they will get done.

Very Yellow

2011-04-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

My latest project has a lot of yellow in it. I think this is the most yellow I've ever used in one project.

Don't worry, there will be plenty of other colors when it is finished.

The project is called Colorado Collage by Caela Conn Tyler. When finished it will be a map of Colorado. There is a complicated array of graphs, charts and instructions. And for once, I think I will be following them faithfully.

I haven't done canvas work in a while and had to find my helping hand. There it is up there holding down my canvas. As I get back into it, I'm having more and more fun.

Each county uses different flosses and stitches. It's almost like a Clue game. But instead of "Mrs. White did it in the Lounge with the Candlestick" you have counties, stitches and floss. I just finished Baca county (on the lower left). Next I will be working on Weld county (upper right of the area stitched so far). A quick look at the chart tells me it will be done in Staggered Mosaic stitch with 3822 and 307.

Next, I have to count out the shape and get it in the right place. I'm working on the plains right now and the counties are simple with the boundaries following arbitrary lines. When I get to the mountains they will be squiggly following rivers and mountain ranges. That will be a true counting and compensating challenge.

Each county is a new adventure and I like watching the stitches take shape. Each pass of the needle brings more texture and color.

Once I make it the mountains there will be greens and purples. And further west, in the four corners area there will be orange and browns and mixed in.

I'm really looking forward to using the rest of the colors. But, for now, more yellow ...

Binding

2011-04-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Quilted ... check

Binding attached ... check

Hand sew the binding to the back ... the first 2 feet ... check

OK, I've got a ways to go and this is were it starts to get tedious. From now on, when I feel like stitching I MUST sew down a threads length worth of binding before I work on any other project. After all, I'm only half way across one of the short sides.

Mostly I'm looking at the back of the quilt (and I really like the acorn print I found). But, every once in a while I catch a tantalizing glimpse of quilt underneath and that keeps me going.

Every once in a while I look out the window and it looks beautiful. I want to put the quilt aside and go outside. But, the temperature is about 20 degrees cooler than it looks and a crazy wind is howling through the trees making it rather unpleasant out.

So, maybe I'll sew another foot or so of binding down and hope for warmer weather tomorrow.

Slightly Crazy

2011-04-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

My 35th anniversary sampler is now competed and hanging on the wall.

I quilted it by hand using pearl cotton #12.

Each stitched square is quilted with a running stitch.

And each seam is quilted with a different stitch, crazy quilt style.

And there is stitching along the border.

I like this corner the best. The ochre and blue fabrics were both used in a quilt I made years ago. I enjoyed putting them together again.

Disclaimer: No supplies were purchased for this sampler. Everything was found in my closet.

So, the pearl cotton colors are not ideal. I would have liked something that stood out a little more. From a distance you can't see the stitching. But, the good news is you can't see any mistakes either.

Bookmark Update

2011-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

117 bookmarks were donated yesterday!

And here is my mini cross-stitch electric guitar (with french knot tuning pegs).

Bookmarks!

2011-04-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

It seems like I've been making bookmarks for months now.

I've blogged about the 1st four before. Now I've finished another 5. I was going to stop at 4, but ...

My EGA chapter is collecting the bookmarks for "Literacy for All Children" and is hoping to donate 100 bookmarks. Last count they had just over 80. So, I kept stitching.

At a sale I ended up with a length of one inch banding in a package of fabrics which is perfect for small bookmarks.

I kept these bookmarks small and simple using the requested themes. It was fun trying to come up with simple designs and I spent time looking at pictures of electric guitars on the Internet trying to figure out how to stitch one only 6 stitches wide. I think it turned out recognizable.

I'll be dropping off my bookmarks on Saturday. I'm hoping there will be over 100.

Now I can get back to some other projects.

Woven Fabric

2011-04-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been a member of Stitchmap for a while and I finally got to take my first class in Fabric Weaving. I've written classes and mentored, but this was my first chance to relax and take a class. And I also won my first challenge (which is detailed in their blog).

I went overboard and made 3 different woven fabrics and three journal covers. I didn't plan on it. It just happened. The directions say to use batiks so I started with batiks. But, there were some prints I liked too, so I decided to do one with a print too.

So I started thinking about why we were using batiks. Probably because they are more tightly woven and shouldn't fray as much and probably the designs on many prints would be lost after the weaving. Thinking about fraying fabrics reminded me of homespun plaids. After that, I just had to try one with plaids to see what would happen. In reality, they frayed as much as the batiks and it wasn't an issue (I did use extra starch).

I must say that I really like the woven cover with the plaids much better than the prints or batiks. I guess I'm a homespun kind of gal.

Stitching the woven fabric was interesting. Normally I just straight stitch but I needed to do to a zigzag satin stitch and could play with the fancy stitches. Let me tell you, I went through more bobbin thread in 2 days than I normally do in months. It seems like I had to wind a bobbin every 15 minutes. Even when I free-motion quilt the thread doesn't fly as fast it does finishing the woven fabric. I prefer going much slower.

After I finished the journals I have all sorts of interesting scraps left over. I see an eyeglasses case and a needle case being made of the bigger pieces. I may just cut up the smaller pieces into bookmarks or save them to embellish something.

Pasque 2011

2011-03-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

It is now officially spring. On March 26, 2011 I spotted the first pasque flower of the year.

It has been an incredibly dry winter and I don't expect to see as many flowers as last year. Usually the pasque flowers are sprouting everywhere and so far I've only spotted a few clumps.

If you look out the window it is bright and sunny and I'm tempted to put on shorts and a T-shirt. But, the sun holds no heat. With jeans, sweater and fleece jacket it was too cold to stay out for long.

But the flower is a sign. Warmer weather should be coming along any time in the next 3 months.

Old Floss

2011-03-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a started project I purchased at a White Elephant Sale. There's not much to look at right now.

But, the stitched area will be about 2 by 3 inches and contain a flower arrangement.

The instructions are not dated. The paper is yellowed. Nothing appears to have been computer generated. The newest book in the bibliography was published in 1976 so the pattern must be newer than that date.

The big clue to age comes from some of the floss in the kit.

The first and third skeins are from my collection the rest are from the kit. Notice the top and bottom edge of the labels - they are black not gold. The lettering is also bigger. But, the differences are subtle.

Not so much the bottom half - the new labels are much longer. Instead of just the basic information, there is now a bar code, web address and the universal care symbols. 100% cotton appears in many languages (at least I assume it translates to 100% cotton).

The big difference is that the labels changed from paper to plastic at some point. The first skein has a plastic label (note the reflections) while the third is still paper.

All my life plastic has slowly replacing paper for packaging. Each time that happens I am saddened.

Back to the kit. I am ready to start stitching flowers but I'm trying to wait until I get a few other pieces finished first. It's difficult, the flowers all calling ...

Tea-Dyed Shamrocks

2011-03-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

My Shamrock Sampler is complete. I used a beautiful green over dyed silk. For the red/brown color I used 2 different silks randomly to create the illusion of an over dye. The top is mostly the lighter color and the bottom is mostly the darker color.

To make the sampler look more faded and older, I wanted to tea dye it. Unfortunately, I didn't know what to expect from the silks. The green specifically stated that it might not be colorfast and I had no idea about the reds.

So, I staged a test. I wet a paper towel and rolled in some snippets of each thread. No bleeding of the color! Next, I poured on some tea and still no bleeding!

So, I dribbled tea all over the sampler, more on the bottom then the top and hoped. The silks still didn't bleed! I love the antique look. I wonder how it will fade over time.

At the same time I got the chart, years ago, a friend inherited a bag of tie scraps and I took some to make a backing for the sampler. Luckily they were still in the bag with sampler.

Since I had the nice backing I wanted to finish it extra nicely. Thus my first piped pillow. I was intimidated so I found this online tutorial and discovered that the piping is easier than I thought (and looks better!)

I think all my pillows will be piped from now on.

I'm sorry this sampler took so long to complete but I'm glad it's done. It was inspirational staring at "My Life be Grand to You" the whole time I was stitching it.

White Elephant Sale

2011-03-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again - the white elephant sale.

Besides the usual donations there were a lot of really big donations.

Bins and bins of patterns.

Boxes of books.

Yards of fabric, threads and yarns. Notions. This and that.

From one stash to another. Yes, I brought some home with me.

There must have been hundreds of charts. Each chart represents a potential - a project that someone wanted to do but never did. I like the ones that were started and abandoned. I get a sense of accomplishment from finishing, even if I didn't start.

Imagine all the hours of potential labor represented in those boxes? Even worse, imagine if every chart ever made were stitched. How much wall space would be necessary to display it all?

Hmm, wonder what I should work on next?

How Should I Quilt It?

2011-03-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't written about my latest quilt in a while.

The quilt has 17 big squares, 24 nine patches and 57 flying geese.

Since then I've add 2 square in a squares, assembled it, added borders and basted. Now I'm trying to decide how to quilt it. It's a smaller quilt so I'd like to do something more adventuresome than stippling.

I'm getting inspiration from the fabric. Here is one of the main background fabrics (rather busy, isn't it?).

The ribbons and flowery vine should be easy to machine quilt and make an interesting design.

I could either quilt it randomly or go put the ribbons in the ditch and the flowers over the blocks. So many decisions to make. That's OK, it will take a while for me to work up to the actual quilting.

Evolution of a Sampler

2011-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

My "band" sampler is getting closer to done. It's been a long and winding road.

The bands are supposed to be 2 by 6 inches. MIne are 2 inch squares. Part of the decision was to use up scrap linen. Another part was to make the stitching go faster. Finally, it was a challenge to shrink the designs.

Initially, I was going to sew the 6 squares together to make cubes. I thought a pair of stitched dice would be a good idea. I changed my mind. The ground fabrics turned out to be of different counts and it seemed like too much work.

Instead, I pondered the idea of sewing the squares into a quilt. I almost scrapped that because it also seemed like too much work but I didn't have any other ideas.

I was planning on more than 12 squares, but when I started arranging the squares some didn't fit in with the others (they'll go into something else). I replaced them with other squares that fit in better.

Next challenge was to pick fabric to go around each square and add the borders. Usually, I would head to the sewing machine, but I wanted the borders right next to the stitching so I hand sewed them all. It was a pain (I haven't hand sewed in ages) but it is so much more precise.

The finished squares were over sized and I needed to trim them down to size (4 1/2 inches) which was another challenge. I started with the 6 inch ruler trying to decide how to get the stitched area in the center. Afraid to cut, I decided that wasn't going well. Then I remembered a 5 inch ruler I have (Dear Jane). I found it and it was perfect.

I trimmed then down to 5 inches and then trimmed 1/4 inch from each side and ended up with the 4 1/2 squares and a pile of 1/4 inch slivers of fabric.

Next, I have to decide on borders, quilting and binding. I think I like it as is as won't be adding any additional borders.

So now I need to figure out how to quilt it. I don't think I can get away with machine quilting. After all, this is an EGA sampler. So far I'm thinking of using perle cotton and doing something like the feather stitch in the ditch.

Those plans will probably change a few times before I'm done. Or not.

Simple Stitching

2011-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

I stitched on my travel kit while waiting in the airport.

I worked on the border. It was simple enough that I could stitch without referring back to the pattern.

There are other sections that it would be more fun to work on, but they involve more counting and attention to detail.

Usually I like to stitch the border last. So, I was very relieved that after stitching all of the vine the border connected back to itself. I hate ripping.

I was even able to fill in some of the shamrocks. I have many more to go.

When I got this pattern, it was a free download, but the link now yields only a "sorry this page could not be displayed". But I did find a link to a picture of a finished sampler.

The design is "An Irish Shamrock Sampler" by Lucy Lyons Willis of La Chatelaine Designs.

Travel Kit

2011-02-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

I'm going on a short trip soon. I've been mentally packing for a while.

One thing I need to have is a small travel kit to work on while I'm stuck in the airport. I've been reviewing all the small patterns I've seen recently trying to decide which one I would like to do the most. It was going to be a hard decision.

But, look what I found! An old travel pack forgotten for a few years. I guess I should work on that one. It has shamrocks on it and St. Patrick's Day is next month so it is season appropriate and I have a chance to get it done before the holiday. It's already half way done.

My kit comes complete with dental floss - my travel cutter of choice. I know small embroidery scissors are allowed, but I'd rather not take the chance of them being taken away.

I've got some stitching, a magazine and some snacks. Lets go!

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Brooches

2011-02-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 brooches I've made from this book. It's full of crafts recycling different items. So, what did I recycle?

A plastic bread bag.

And a plastic shopping bag.

Other items that went in to the brooches are wire, thread, buttons, beads and sequins.

Although the main body of the brooch is made of plastic bag it didn't use that much more of the bag. I'm going to have to make alot more brooches or find another way to reuse the rest of the plastic.

More Painting Aida

2011-02-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, working on another stitched and painted bookmark. This is a different brand of bookmark blank - here is the entire front label.

Crafter's Pride

MAKE IT YOUR WAY

Be Original & Creative

Perfect For:

Painting - Stencilling - Rubber Stamps

Needlework - Machine Embroidery

This label is what gave me the idea to paint. But, unlike the other bookmark, it didn't paint well.

There's some sort of coating on the Aida cloth that tended to repel the paint instead of letting it soak into the fibers. I had to use much more than I planned in and paint much closer to the stitching. Also, the paint tended to glop instead of spreading out. In the pictures you can see white space under the stitches. I was afraid to add to much paint. You can tell as I worked from top to bottom I got better at handling the paint. I guess you are supposed to do a test area first, but it's impossible on something so small.

All in all, I liked the finished bookmark. There is no pattern - I made it up the stitching as I went along. It's liberating not to have to be constantly referring to a pattern and counting.

Eyelet Heart

2011-01-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

This is the same pattern as the Smyrna Cross only using eyelets instead.

I stitched and finished using pastels to remind me that spring is coming soon.

Same pattern + different colors and stitches = totally different look

Smyrna Heart

2011-01-28T06:20:00.000-08:00

I was taking pictures outside because the light is better. I stopped and came back and was struck at how absurd the card lay propped up next to some dead plants.

Up close, it looks better.

Here it is even closer.

The big stitch is a Smyrna Cross (or Double Cross) and it's my new favorite stitch. It is a cross stitch with and upright cross stitch on top of it.

It's done here with DMC Color Variations thread and I love the subtle color changes. I also love the texture that the stitch brings to the finished piece.

I am imagining a landscape done mostly in Cross Stitch with the Smyrna Cross, and possibly other stitches, used to give it more dimension. I wonder if I'll ever get around to it.

The Smyrna Heart pattern is for sale at Patterns Online.

Painting Aida

2011-01-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

I'm making bookmarks. I could fill the bookmark form with stitches but I decided to try something different. I stitched the heart outlines coloring book style and filled in with paint.

I'm using acrylic craft paint and watering it down.

The paint acts like watercolors and runs outside the lines but I like the effect I'm getting.

Here's the finished bookmark.

I let all the colors run together. It's bright and colorful.

Now I'm thinking of painting landscapes and then adding stitches. Maybe someday ...

57 Flying Geese

2011-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

I have finished another milestone on my next quilt. 57 Flying Geese! Actually, I have a few extra since I create them in batches of 4.

I started these during my Christmas break and got most of them done. I was relaxed and refreshed and determined to keep up the momentum during the new year. It didn't happen. The last of the flying geese took about two weeks to get made.

Luckily I only have 2 more blocks to sew before I start assembling the top. Maybe this weekend, maybe next. Maybe the weekend after.

The Square of Seasons

2011-01-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'm continuing work on a mystery band sampler. To make things more interesting, I'm stitching 2 x 2 squares instead of 2 x 6 bands. Most have been geometrical and easy to scale down.

This one was a challenge as it included motifs for all four seasons and used up every bit of the 6 inches. I had to be selective about which parts of the designs I used. I think I captured enough of each season to make my square work.

The season band was designed by my friend Pat who is starting the year with a creative endeavour with her daughter. They are posting patterns all year long using various needlework techniques. The first one is an embroidered Valentine's Day princess and is available here.

I can't wait to see what else they come up with as the year progresses.

Twenty Four Nine Patches

2010-12-31T09:30:00.000-08:00

23 nine patches with dark corners and 1 with light corners.

Usually when I'm working on something and estimate when I'll be finished, I'm wrong. It always, always takes longer.

Guess what! This time it went faster than I imagined. The nine patches came together quickly and I've had more time this holiday season to quilt than I thought I would.

The next step involves more blocks but they are smaller and can be mass produced. This time, I'm not even going to guess how long they will take.

The stockings were hung ...

2010-12-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Isn't this cute? I found the free pattern last year and planned on stitching it sometime this year. I finished just in time.

You can find the pattern here. You have to scroll down a bit. I couldn't figure out how to link directly. The site is in Russian.

When it was time to finish, I withdrew threads so that the border would be even. I liked the look and wove red threads into the withdrawn area. Now it looks even better and the red lines made it easier to center. I'll have to remember that finishing technique.

It is finished with a simple felt back and a ribbon scrap.

Merry Christmas!

Vintage Erica

2010-12-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

It seems like I can't stop making ornaments this season.

This is a crewel kit from Erica Wilson I purchased at Goodwill. At first, I hesitated to call it a vintage kit, but then, I looked up vintage. There is general agreement that something is vintage when it's at least 30 years old.

The date stamp on the fabric clinches it - the kit is vintage. It's kind of scary when something from when you were growing up is now vintage.

I also wonder about what the kit has been doing all these years. Did it have one owner or dozens? Was it a spur of the moment purchase which was forgotten in a drawer? Was it a well meaning gift to the wrong person? Was it going to be started "next week"?

I'll never know - but I'll try my best to get it finished. The result will be 3 felt birds covered with metallic stitches and sequins - how fun!

17 fabric squares

2010-12-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

I've started my next quilt - this time it's a lap quilt.

The first step was to cut 17 background squares. I used 2 quite busy fabrics. I have a feeling this quilt will be quite lively.

I've sorted and arranged different fabric scraps and I think I've narrowed it down to the final colors. This quilt is from a book and I want to keep the same feel as the original quilt - an antique reproduction. I wanted the quilt to be mostly red, but most of my red fabrics were rejected as being too modern looking.

A new project is always exciting and I feel energized and ready to go. Although I want to start piecing immediately I'm going to be taking it slow. I'll probably get a few more blocks done every weekend.

The next quilt post will after I hit another milestone in the construction.

Christmas Squares & Turning the Corner

2010-12-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest design.

It seems like I've been working on this all year long. I've been planning having it done every weekend since Thanksgiving but things kept getting in the way.

The main design is four squares. Each one has a slightly different border and a slightly different center.

I decided I needed an outer border around the squares. Typically, I'll figure out how long the border needs to be and break it up into sections. For example, a border of 70 stitches will have 10 repeats of a 7 stitch design or 7 repeats of a 10 stitch design.

In this case, I wasn't in a math mood. So, I played around with a design on graph paper until I had a repeat that I liked. I centered it over the design and repeated it past the edges on two sides. Where the designs met I simply erased stitches and added others until I came up with something I liked. This time, the plan worked out well. I like how the chain turns the corner.

This is the bottom left square and is my favorite. In the inner border, there is one green stitch in all the outer squares. It is the same green, but depending on how much white is next to it the green look different.

I stitched the design on a piece of Hopscotch Aida Cloth that I picked up at a white elephant sale. I like the way the blue border frames the red and green of the main design. The package the Hopscotch came in looked dated, but it is still available on line. However, I saw a rainbow of colors, but not the same blue I have.

This pattern is available for sale at patternsonline.

Pretty Paper

2010-12-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

I love pretty papers and have a hard time throwing them away.

My favorite papers include calendars and Christmas cards.

Instead of saving whole Christmas cards I've taken to cutting out interesting circles and saving them instead.

I've turned a whole box of them into garlands and gift labels.

There are so many styles that I can always find one to suit the recipient.

A new batch of cards has started arriving in the mail! More pretty papers for my collection! I wonder what I'll turn them into next year.

Mini Twisted Cords

2010-12-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Twisted Cording is a great way to finish stitched items. But sometimes the cord can be too much.

The center cord is made from about 6 lengths of floss. The rest are made of individual strands of floss.

The reddish ones one the left are 3 strands of red floss, 2 strands of green, 1 strand of pink and one strand of blending filament. The skinny green one was probably made of only 3 strands.

I like the delicate look of the mini twisted cords. And I like the subtle color when using different colors of floss.

And it makes a great finishing touch for an ornament.

Whimsical Christmas Cards

2010-11-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here are this years Christmas Cards.

They are similar in technique to the cards I made last year but I was a little more random this year.

I used mostly a watercolor scribble drawing cut up into pieces. There are also bits of other colored papers.

This year they are all different. Some are trees and others are random patterns. They all have random scribbling.

Playing with Fabric

2010-11-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here is the striped fabric I used for my potholders (taken indoors with a flash). It looks very different cut up and sewn back together.

I knew I was going to be making potholders but I'd like to make more quilts using this method.

I couldn't resist playing with the blocks before sewing them into potholders. Here is one of my favorite layouts (taken outside in the shade)

I tried about 5 or 6 layouts. Most were variations of the traditional log cabin layouts. Here's another favorite:

Luckily I have enough fabric to make more squares. I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to find another striped fabric this fun. I did buy all they had (2.5 yards) and I have looked for more without any luck. I do have more stripes so I'll probably end up making do with what I have.

Quilted Domino Potholders

2010-11-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's correct. Quilted, not knitted domino potholders.

They are made of one randomly striped fabric sewn into half-square triangles. When the fabric is lined up carefully, the resulting squares have the same look as the knitted domino squares. The best part is opening up the individual blocks to see what pattern emerges.

I've got the binding finished on 7 of the 9 squares and then all that is left is to sew on the loops.

After that they will be sent out as Christmas gifts. Except for one or two for me.

Stashbuster Scarf

2010-11-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hopefully I'm going to be using all these mini-balls of yarn.

I've been practicing knitting domino potholders all year and I'm now ready to knit a domino scarf.

I haven't knitted much yet but it has been fun and addictive. I'll plan an evening of cross-stitching and the next thing I know I'm knitting. Luckily, each square goes quickly and then I can move on to my other projects.

It's calling my name now. Must resist!

Wool Ornaments

2010-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

I've been finishing these wool ornaments.

I started them back in July and then put them aside. They are overdue to be finished All that is left is to add a hanger, a backing and perhaps an edge trim.

Let me back up a little so you can see all of the ornaments.

It is fun to not have a pattern. I just mix up stitches and colors however I feel at the moment. Then I add beads.

I was experimenting with a burlap like fabric for the backing. It worked very well except that it kept slipping out of the Q-snap frame I was using. A wooden frame may have worked better.

For the final finishing it was very nice. I was able to fold it back easily, unlike canvas, and have no trace of it showing at the edge.

A little more work and these will be ready to hang.

Knitting Bunnies

2010-11-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting bunnies!

The free pattern can be found here.

They are fun to knit and will make some great stocking stuffers.

It was hard getting them to cooperate for the pictures. First, it was too cold and they refused to go outside. So, I set them up next to a sunny window. Well, it wasn't sunny enough and the flash went off and blinded them. Bad Move.

After a few seconds blinking they scurried off and hid. I had to round them up again and they were even more uncooperative.

They closed their eyes, made faces and then one tried to moon me!

They are cute so I have to put up with all their tricks.

Knitting Stripes

2010-11-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the potholders I've been working on for the last few months.

They are from the book "Domino Knitting". This batch is all stripey. For the first two I changed colors by changing the yarn. For the last one (on the left) I used some self-striping yarn. The effect was not quite what I was expecting. I really like the border and I'm going to used it in other projects, I'm sure.

But, this washcloth is the way to used self-striping yarn. It makes the simple design look fancier than it really is. And, no ends to weave in!

The Quilt is Finished!

2010-10-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

The binding went on faster than I imaged and the quilt is done.

The clothesline wasn't high enough to get the quilt off the ground.

And on the bed it reaches almost to the ground.

There are 90 blocks set 9 x 10 and the center squares were made from 45 charm squares.

Empty Spools

2010-10-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

The empty spools are piling up. That can only mean one thing.

The quilt is almost done!

I've lost track of the number of bobbins I've wound.

I'll need over 400 inches of binding. It's prepared and ready to sew on and, if I measured correctly, the quilt will be done!

I've been working on it for almost 1 year and 3 months. I have my next few quilting projects mapped out and they will be much smaller. It may be years before I tackle another big quilt.

Finished with Rick Rack

2010-10-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Time to finish off the ornaments I've been working on. I was in a rick rack mood so I dug out my collection. Most of it came from grab bags from Goodwill. I love some of the older packaging. It is so much classier than what you find today. Isn't the Silhouette lady grand?

Unfortunately I don't have any red or green rick rack and had to use more boring colors.

For the reindeer I sewed the rick rack between the front and back to leave a scalloped edge.

Some mini brown rick rack, lace and seed beads finished off a silky Santa.

I think I've finished my quota of ornaments for this year ... maybe.

Spider Web

2010-10-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

A stitched spider web for Lyn.

Band Sampler - One Square at at Time

2010-10-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a mystery band sampler for the 35th Anniversary of my EGA Chapter.

It started last January and I'm only slightly behind instead of really behind. That's because I'm stitching 2 inch squares instead of rows.

When the band of the month is a repeating pattern, I can simply stitch one of the repeats, but for bigger designs like Pikes Peak or the EGA Logo I need to crop the pattern to make it fit in the square.

I've been using scraps of leftover linen and basting the 2 inch squares. Recently I basted 6 more squares so when I have a spare moment I can fill in the squares.

I'm probably going to end up with more than 12 squares. Some bands will become multiple squares. I've also come across some patterns I'd like to include just for fun.

Originally I was going to sew the squares together into cubes but now I think I'll add small fabric borders to each square and make a wall hanging.

I'm hoping that this idea works out. I've gotten many strange looks from people when I describe my plans.

I'm being watched, again!

2010-10-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

Last time I was being watched, it was random items appearing as faces.

Now, I'm being watched by my stitching. This is the Candy Cane Reindeer by Serendipity Designs from the 2010 JCS Christmas Ornament Issue.

Usually when I stitch a face I like to do the outline first and add the features last.

But, I also start stitching in the middle of a design and that's where the eyes are in this design. So, I started at the eyes and then the nose and then the outlined. As I work, I'm being continually watched.

The eyes always add soul to a design. In this case, it's big buggy eyes and it's hard to think serious thoughts while looking at these eyes. I'm enjoying some not so serious stitching.

It's been fun watching the design grow around the two eyes. With each stitch the face becomes more complete and real. It's getting to the point were it's talking to me. It wants to be finished. Soon.

Christmas Quarter Fleur de Boo Ornaments

2010-10-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is a halloween ornament from September/October 2010 Just Cross Stitch.

The ornament in the magazine is done in black and orange and consists of four squares in different color configurations. I changed the colors to red and green and turned it into a Christmas ornament.

I only stitched one of the four squares for my ornament. After the first one I simplified it further by leaving off the border.

I'm continually tring different finishing techniques. For this ornament I sewed the ornament onto felt. The backing is simply fabric fused to heavyweight interfacing. I whipstitched the two layers together. By using a coordinating floss, I didn't have to worry about making the stitches perfect.

To stitch the ornament, I used DMC Variagated Floss. The color changes slower than it does in Sampler Threads. So, after the first ornament I used only the light parts for one ornament and the dark parts for another.

All three ornaments were stitched with the same two thread colors yet each appears different. I like playing with different color combinations and this simple design is perfect for experimenting.

The only thing left to do is sign and date the back. And then make some more ornaments.

Origami Bats

2010-10-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm getting into the holiday spirit with strings of origami bats. They will look great hanging in my cubicle at work.

They are from the book 10-Fold Origami by Peter Engel.

They are quick and easy to fold. Before I knew it I was out of black paper.

Signing Samplers

2010-10-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm much better at signing my samplers than I am my quilts, still they are not all signed.

The easiest way is to add initials and/or the date into the sampler.

I prefer to use all 3 initials, but sometimes, for design reasons or to fill the available space I'll only use 2 initials. No matter how I stitch it, M always takes up space.

Sometimes I even have to go over one or backstitch.

I have finished many samplers by adding a quilted border. Then they will have the details magic markered on the back. These won't be washed so I don't need to worry about the marks disappearing.

Signed my Quilt

2010-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm bad. Adding quilt labels isn't always my highest priority. I've discovered that it's easier to quilt my initials and the year into the quilt. But, I don't always remember.

So, for this quilt, I made sure to put my initials into the first corner I quilted.

I wasn't always like that. For my first big quilt I made a nice label with all the relevant information written with a fabric marker and appliqued it on to the back .

After a few washings you can barely read my name and the date (1999-2000). A few more washings and the details will be gone.

I suppose the ink jet labels I see might be a bit more durable but so far I haven't gone to the trouble.

I went through many of my quilts this morning. I enjoyed seeing them again and seeing how they have been wearing. Most don't have any information but about 1/3 of them have quilted initials and the date.

It turns out that I like seeing the date more than my initials. So, I'll try harder to remember to quilt that information. When it's part of the quilt the information won't get lost unless the quilt is destroyed (horrors!).

The Big Quilt

2010-09-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

No more excuses! I finally started quilting "The Big Quilt".

A long arm machine would be really nice right about now. But I wouldn't use it enough to justify the cost. So, I'm making do with my regular machine.

I have to wrestle with the quilt, bunch it up, push, pull and drag it along all while attempting to put in a stipple pattern. I try to do a mini session whenever I can fit in some time. Slowly it will get done.

Every time a safety pin lands in the pin container I feel a sense of accomplishment. The quilt also gets one pin lighter and there's one pin less to snag.

Meanwhile I dream of other quilted projects I can finish up as soon as the last of the binding is sewn down.

Snowflake Ornaments

2010-09-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Bonus ornaments!

I found these 2 small stitched snowflakes. I did them a few years ago while I was testing various color combinations for snowflakes. In the shuffle of other projects they were set aside.

I definitely like the one with the dark blue touches. But the white was is nice too.

I charted the top ornament and the pattern is for sale on patternsonline.

Stitching on Plastic

2010-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm creating bags out of the sheets of fused plasitc bags I made earlier.

But first, I had to try stitching on the plastic.

Yes, I can with a really sharp needle. The plastic fabric is not like I expected. It is surprisingly strong and doesn't tear. It is supple, yet not as pliable as normal fabric. That makes it harder to stitch on in the center of a big sheet. But along the edge its easier.

Also, once you stick the needle in there is a hole, whether you wanted it there or not. So, I had to be very careful. I ended up using the running stitch exclusively and used simple designs. But, sometimes the stitched lines are not as straight as I would have liked.

I added some sequins and spangles.

The straps of the bags are the seams of some old black jeans.

For one of the uglier pieces I simply added as zipper and sewed up the seams to make a bag. Actually, it was my first zipper so I shouldn't say "simply".

I did this one first and it was very plain. That's how I got the idea for stitching. I think this would have looked much better with swirls of running stitch.

I'm keeping this bag to hold small stitching projects (there's a partially completed ornament in it now).

The top two bags will be going into a fund-raising auction.

Mystery Solved

2010-09-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

It's a box!

In June 2009 I started working on a mystery sampler from the Rocky Mountain Region of EGA. It was a lead-up to their 2010 regional seminar and published on the web. The link works now, but I don't know how long it will work.

I stitched on the sampler every month until June 2010 and then the finishing lagged a little. I didn't attend the seminar so I had to wait for finishing instructions (which I modified a lot).

This was the best mystery sampler I've done to date.

This isn't all of it but it is most of it. The section with the motifs was the hardest. We were given a page of motifs and instructions to do what we wanted. I don't want to admit how much time I spent re-arranging my most favorite ones trying to get them all to fit. I also experimented with adding an alphabet which I'm really glad I didn't do since the sampler got turned on it's side.

The finishing suggestion was a box. I used the best of the instructions received and combined them with some other finishing instructions to make a box.

I get tired of framing everything so it was nice to try something different.

The finishing lagged because I was avoiding the work and afraid it wouldn't turn out. But I made myself finish it and it did turn out. The front of the box is the floral tiles band which was my favorite part of the design. It is fully lined with a green leaf print fabric and has a batik lid and bottom. The hinges are simple stitches and I made a tassel for a handle.

I won't be making everything into a box like this, but I'll probably use this technique every once in a while.

What I Was Doing

2010-09-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

In the spring of 2001 I started stitching Nova by Genny Morrow.

I got through it by stitching one or two blocks every morning before going to work. After I finished a block I noted the date on the chart before moving onto the next.

On that morning the news was on in the background and I was working on block J-15 and had just started block J-16. When I overheard the news my hands were shaking so badly I had to put down my work. I always finished a block before putting the stitching aside. Not this one. I had to finish it later on that evening.

That's the block in the center right. The green one with some pick and rust.

I don't always take notes as I stitch or keep I diary. I'm glad I did in this case.

I stitched the final block on January 14, 2002 and had it framed shortly thereafter.

Challenge Doll

2010-09-11T05:21:00.000-07:00

Last June I received this doll shape with a challenge to have it embellished and finished by September.

The doll, now known as the Green-Eyed Monster, is made of a bright batik fabric and is about 4.5 inches tall.

It was quite the challenge because it wasn't the shape or the fabric I would have picked.

I covered it with outlines and swirls of a simple running stitch in really bright colors. It still needed something more so I added some shell beads.

I love shell beads. They vary from pink to white to grays and they catch the light at different angles. All but the eye's are attached with petite seed beads and the eyes are attached with regular sized green seed beads (hence the name).

The doll has a pin back so I can use it to dress up sweaters and my jeans jacket.

I'm off to the meeting. I can't wait to see how others embellished their dolls.

M's Quilt

2010-09-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's only 22 x 29 inches but its done!

Nothing like hanging a quilt on the clothesline to cause the wind to start gusting. Luckily it calmed down and I got a better picture.

Small quilts are for experimenting. The squares are flannel and came from a charm pack that's been sitting around for a while. I lost the label so I don't know who made them. The rest of the fabric is quilters cotton. I've never tried mixing the two before.

The rectangles are all Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda and came pre-cut to 2 1/2 by 5 inches. I have one flannel square left over and I used all of the Bliss. There are 2 small pink squares I had to add. I also had to find a binding fabric that looked good with the rest of the fabric.

I had no problems blending flannel and cotton in one quilt. The flannel feels luxuriously soft compared to the other fabrics. I also like the combination of the darker flannels and the pastel prints.

The other experimenting I did was on the quilting. I've heard of using a printed backing fabric as a quilt guide so that's what I did. It worked, but it was weird. I had to baste it upside down and put the main thread in the bobbin. I'm not sure I like quilting that way. But I like the results from the back.

The pattern wasn't even so I had to add stippling and there wasn't much room to stipple - I kept getting caught in dead ends. I also had to be really careful because if I got a thread tangle on the back, it's really the front and had to be carefully pulled out.

The thread I picked for the front didn't show up to well, especially in the flannel. It just sunk into the thread. But the quilting does show in a few places. Here's one:

I would have never have come up with a quilting pattern like that if it wasn't printed on the back. I have one more little quilt to quilt. I think that one will be all stippling. After that I have a BIG one to quilt

I hope M will like this quilt.

Finished as a Pillow

2010-09-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

One of my goals for this year is to get things finished.

This mini sampler has been hanging out in a drawer for years. I don't know how many and I don't know who designed it. I couldn't find the chart.

I do admire the design - it's very simple, yet there's alot going on.

At one point it was going to be a pincushion. Then it was going to be framed. Neither happened.

Yesterday, I saw it and decided to be done with it. The homespun plaid was from a fat quarter pack and for some reason I had never used that piece of it. It's scary how close in color it is to the sampler.

I made it into a pillow because that's the easiest thing I could think of. Normally, I get a pillow form (because my pillows always end up lumpy). In this case I decided that since the design was rustic a lumpy pillow would be OK.

Now it's sitting finished on my shelf and I'm happy. Even with the lumps.

Cross Stitch Pumpkin Maze

2010-09-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been stitching on for so long. It is finally done! And the pattern is for sale on patternsonline.

I like stitching pumpkins and have wanted to do a bigger design with them for a long time.

It was inspired by all the rows of pumpkins that I've carved over the years.

These are Ohio pumpkins so have to be at least 20 years old.

And these are Colorado pumpkins and are probably only 10 years old. I can still see the resemblance.

Instead of filling the pumpkins in with lots of stitching that would take more time than I have I decided to turn the design into a maze. There's no specific starting or ending place but you can wander across the design through stitched paths. But beware, there are also lots of dead ends.

That's it! I'm done with fall now and ready to go back to summer. Except I need to get back to Christmas ornaments.

Autumn Gold

2010-08-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

The fall colors are starting to show even though it's still August. The goldenrod are blooming.

The wild sunflowers are blooming.

Unidentified yellow-gold flowers are everywhere.

Even leaves are beginning to turn.

Of all the colors, yellow reminds me the most of the fall. To me this golden color signals fall more than red, orange or brown.

Normally I don't think about yellow much. When I'm chosing colors yellow always seems to be on the bottom of the list. My yellow crayon was always lasted the longest.

Maybe sometime I'll think of the fall flowers and build a color scheme around them.