I finished

My computer is being stupid (or maybe I'm the stupid one) and it won't rotate my picture! Anyway, here's the completed pattern for the Darn, Darn, Darn wallet. The sample on the leaflet has a plaid fabric for the lining, which I like.. but my plaid has pink in it and there isn't any pink in the pattern. Do you think it might work? Or should I stick with the green? The little needlebook will go on the top inside flap of the wallet. I don't really like the back, the part with my name, but nobody will see that anyway, I guess!:) Those darning stitches were a pain!

Good Golly! If you click on the picture you can really see it HUGE! Wow!

Fixing my Oops!

Remember this? Well here's a picture with all the red that I frogged! (I have rotated this picture ten times in Photobucket and everytime I post it here it's on it's side again! ARG!)

Here it is after all the red is gone for good! Well, until I put it in again! The fabric held up really well! I love this fabric! I need to take another updated picture. I haven't worked on it very much, as you can tell from my blog I've been distracted lately!:) But I'll get back to it one of these days! Maybe I'll work on it at Sue Hillis' Memorial Day weekend.


Apparently I stitched more than I thought I did! It's been so long since I looked at it! Looks like I added the baby! :)

My Grandma's Quilt

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I am fortunate enough to have my grandmother's quilt. When she passed away a few years ago, my dad got it for me when they were going through all her belongings! (Trust me there were a LOT of belongings) She had two daughters, so I am fortunate to have the quilt! I usually end up taking my pictures of stitched things on the quilt, and quite a few people have commented on it! Since nobody in my real life gets the value of the quilt... I thought I'd take some closeup pictures and show people who "get it"! The whole thing is hand stitched. I think even the border strips are handsewn on, though I'm not 100% on that one! The poor quilt is super thin, I'm not sure if it was always that thin, or just becuase of it's age. The edges are fraying... and I just LOVE it! It survived 50+ years at my gradparents, with nothing happening to it! Somehow after being in my house less than a year, my boys got a little black marker on it! ARG! Oh well.. I'm just happy I have the quilt! I've since had it probably another five years or so, and I'm happy to say it's surviving!

This pink is on the underneath side of the quilt. I thought you could maybe see all the hand stitching a little better on the pink.

Tuesday

How is it possible to read the directions carefully, at least three times, and still stitch it wrong?! Ugh! Well, it's stitched right, it's just with the colors reversed!

Fair and Square with KarenD

Karen was so generous with her gifts to me! I was so surprised when I opened the package! She sent me some WDW thread: and on the back of it, it says Fuquay-Varina, NC! That's where I live! Is WDW made in my little bitty town? I'm going to have to do some research on that one! I went and looked at an older WDW and it said Garner, which isn't that far away! Hmm...

She sent me some really lovely things, a great LHN chart called Moon and Stars, and a really neat plastic card to hold floss for a project. I had seen them before and almost ordered one.. now I'm glad I didn't! And she sent a great blue Silweavers dyed fabric! Can't wait to find something to use that one on!

Thanks Karen!

Started Something New

Well, I did it! I started something new! This is a pattern from the Hillside Samplings Leaflet: Darn, Darn, Darn. This is just 1/3 of the pattern. It will be a wallet when it's finished. So I still have two sections left to stitch. Plus I have to frog "toss it away" it is one itty bitty stitch too high! I apparently can't count to six, only to five! But it was late last night and I didn't want to frog it! I'll do it today some time!

I still have an awful lot of projects in my project bag! It's awful really! :) I keep telling myself to finish something before I start something new! But I just love the colors on this one and had to start it! I did finish my Fair and Square squares, and I finished my bee biscornu, and the frog one too! So that's my justification! :)

Novice Sewing Mistake!

Oops!

Somebody explain this one to me!:)

We are taking 75 youth to Honduras this summer to do Bible clubs with the children there. I need to make 18+ beanbags. No problem I think to myself! I have this little rotary cutter, my good buddy gave me tons of denim fabric.. cut them in squares, sew them up, right?

Okay, so I search for something to cut the fabric ON.. I think to myself, AH the ironing board! So I think again to myself..hmm.. it might cut through the fabric onto the ironing board! So I go get some brown paper bags, a few thick and put them between the fabric and the board.

I proceed to cut the fabric. Now let me explain, that my little rottary cutter is barely cutting through the fabric. It leaves parts uncut that I have to use my scissors on. So I cut 5 squares.

Hmm, I notice the paper is cut.. hmm.. I pick up the paper.. YIKES!

Not only did I cut my fabric, I cut through two layers of brown paper bags, through my fabric ironing board, through the padding on the ironing board, all the way to the metal frame!

Now here's the "explain to me part" How in the jeebers, if I couldn't get the denim to cut all the way through, did it get all the way to the metal ironing board?!

Dh does all his ironing.. think he'll notice all the slashes in the fabric?! haha

Guess I need to find something better to cut my fabric on AND now I've dulled my rotary so much it won't even cut the fabric!

So the easy 18 beanbags, sit at 3 beanbags done! :)

I'm such a rookie!

Yum Yum

I finished all the stitching today!:) Course I didn't do much of anything else around the house! I did help at school, and go to the gym, and wash one load of clothes! At least the pie is done! :)

Cherry Pie

here's my cherry pie!:) I have a few cherries left to backstitch and then all the little dough strips need to be backstitched too! Then I'll be on the hunt for the right size pie pan! It will be a little pin cushion! Thanks Michelle for sharing your pattern with me!

Mike and Me

It is "Mike and Me", right?! :) Not "Mike and I" haha My oldest son took this picture of us while we were at a camp over the weekend. Mike was the speaker for a spring retreat for middle schoolers and high schoolers. We had a great time!

Wednesday

I've stitched a few biscournu's! These are both freebies online somewhere! The pink one I stitched on that pink shiny fabric, I forget the name of it! But it sure held up well! I stuffed it pretty firm just with plain old batting.

I stitched the bee one on a 32 ct. Silkweavers dyed fabric, that my good friend NCLindaP gave to me. This one is filled with those little plastic beads. It's really heavy, I think I like it that way! It's also tiny. Only about 3 inches!

These are such easy, quick stitches! The bee one I started and finished all in one day, course it's only stitched on one side. The pink one, was my car ride project, so it took a few trips to finish that one up!

Back to the cherry pie!

I can not seem to get a good clear picture of my stitching. What setting on your camera's do you guys use?

No time to stitch

Don't you hate when life gets in the way of stitching?! :) I've been so busy this week, actually doing work, that I've had little time or energy to stitch!

I did finish my square for my first Fair and Square exchange. I made a little fob to add to the package, and I really, really like it! I'm gonna have to make myself one I think. I've got it on my list today to iron and package up the squares. I don't think she reads my blog, but I'm not going to post a picture just in case. I'll post it once she gets them.

I decided today I need to figure out what I want to stitch! I keep getting sidetracked by other projects! I need to kit up some easy stitching projects for the road. Over the next few weeks we have a lot of driving we'll be doing. I tried stitching over one on 36 ct. one time and it was the only time I've ever gotten carsick! Yuck! So now I try to stitch to an easy pattern!

Hope you find time to stitch today!

I got sidetracked again!

Yup, that's the bad thing about stitching! I started another new project. I joined up for my first Fair and Square exchange.. and I am a pure procrastinator (or however you spell it!) It's supposed to be mailed on April 25th, so figured I'd better get on it! I started it yesterday and I'm almost done. I just have a little bit of a border left, and then I have to stitch another square that has my name and location on it! I really like the pattern, it's an Elizabeth's Design. I like all her little specialty stitches.

So the poor little pie is sitting by my stitching chair, anxiously waiting for me to finish my Fair and Square. Seeing as it's only mid April, I'm way ahead of myself!:)

I have this great community of stitchers at 123Stitch! Hard to believe, but I've been there since around 2000, I think! I joined a group of stitchers in my area, we all "met" each other at 123Stitch. The first time we met, there were less than 10 of us at the restaurant, and now seven (?) years later, if we all came at the same time we'd have 40 or so! We're a great group!

Last week, my oldest son started a website as a school project. He sent an email to my family and asked them to sign the guestbook. Well, five minutes later he was quite disappointed that nobody had signed his guest book. So I went over to 123Stitch and asked them to go visit my son's webpage. Well, within 10 minutes he had 20 signatures and by the end of the next day he had over 80! He was so excited! He came stumbling down the stairs and said, "Mom! You told your cross stitch friends, didn't you?!"

So thanks to my cross stitch friends for helping me out so many times over the past eight years! I've made great friends: a momma, sisters and girlfriends! There's always somebody out there to talk stitching or to talk about life! Thanks girls!

Thursday

My Father-in-law has been staying with us this week, and our computer is in our guest room! :) So I've been forced into silence for a few days!:)

My stitching friend Michelle loaned me this pattern of a pin cushion... it's a cherry pie (which my grandma used to always make) and you stitch the top part and put it inside a real little tart pan (if I can find one!) Anyway.. she said she's had the pattern in her "to do" pile for 15 years! Isn't that shameful?! So I started it right away! Mainly cause she dared me! But it has TONS of different colors and shading! It's an itty bitty chart, but the dough part alone has 5 colors.. I'm already on my 3rd color of what I've already stitched!


This is my July Box. Most of the stitching is over one. I think I'm using a fabric darker than it called for, cause the windows are supposed to have two different colors and I think they are like ecru and 746 and you can't even see it on my fabric. So I've got to figure out what other color I can use! I need to add my initial in that big empty space and then finish the windows and the section with the star! Then I need to put the scary thing together! YIKES!



The apple tart pincushion is messing up my schedule.. but it's so cute I want to stitch it up!:)

My Two Boys

Hard to believe they are 5th and 2nd grades already! :) Here's the school pictures we just got home today! Aren't they cuties?

My oldest, Andrew...just started designing his own webpage as an assignment for school! He's so excited about it!

Where are my scissors?

Why is it, that when I finally sit down to stitch I can't find my little scissors? Last night I was using these HUGE sewing scissors! I'm lucky I didn't cut the tiny 36 ct fabric I was using!

I'm working on my July Box. I want to get some of these over one projects finished up! Then I need to get back to my L&L! I finished the main part of the needlecase on yellow fabric. Course since I decided I'd do the whole project instead of just the needlebook, I didn't have enough fabric or thread! So two wonderful Tarheel stitchers are finding it in the hearts to send me some! Thankfully we all go to enough of the same places, that we end up with the same stuff! :)

Can't wait to get that one finished up!

One more craft for the day

My poor little chicken still needs a real eyeball.. it looks like he has one, but really it's just part of the fabric. He's a pincushion!:) He's my second try, my first one was way TOO big and I had the beak and hair thingy all messed up. Beside it sits a crayon case all rolled up, I'm going to send it to one of my nieces. Here it is opened. I was supposed to use rickrack around the edges, but all I had was lace.. and I know the ribbon is cream and the rest is white, but I was just using what I had in my craft box. I have five nieces total, so I'm thinking four more crayon rolls are in my future. My oldest niece is too big for crayons, so I think if I just make it a little bigger, it will work well for colored pencils too!


I have a pounding headache.. I wonder if it's from all my sewing attempts this weekend! It's amazing the free stuff you'll find on the internet!

I finished them!

You can't tell it on the picture, but the buttons dont' really stick up that high.. they have a cute little white pinstripe around the edge of them. My plan was to make one, but to have the different fabric go on both sides. So I very carefully made matching circles, thinking I'd sew them together! But did you know if you take two exact same pieces and put the wrong sides together, they don't match up?! DUH! I should have remembered that from the heart needle case! DUH! Oh well, so I made two...one for me and one for my friend. I used DMC Perle, one is pink and one is green, but I think next time I might make a skinny trim to use for it, I'm not sure the perle is thick enough.

Here's one of the back, I was supposed to use a heavy weighted felt, but I was just using up scraps, so I used a plan fabric. The part I left open, to turn the thing.. that was kind of hard to stitch it to a nice little circle shape, I'll have to practice that one!

I took the pictures on the center part of my grandma's quilt...all of those triangles are handsewn!

Yeah Me!!

I'm in the process of making these! I've got them stuffed, but need to sew the opening and do the threads seems and add the button!



And check out my tray!! :)


See what all can be done w/o children in the house! Of course my youngest just called from Mamaw's, 1 1/2 hrs away, and wants to come home! So off I go.. think of all the stuff I could have done! But when a child bekons, a mommy's got to go!

Those little rings on the tray are supposed to hold thread from the project you are working on. I had to hold the needle case closed, it's too thick to stay by itself, so I'm gonna have to add a button or something!

I'm such a NON sewer! I'm so proud of myself! :)

Kids are gone!

It's spring break for us, and the kids decided they needed to stay at Mamaw's. (she's about 1 1/2 hrs from us) So they've been there since Monday night. That has left me all day Tues, Wed, Thurs for stuff like stitching! I did squeeze in a trip to the gym today! Got a call from my youngest today that he wanted to come home... we were getting ready to go get him and he changed his mind! So my last day of goofing off is tomorrow!

I finished stitching an over-one needlebook! It's on yellow fabric, with The Dye is Cast dark blue thread called Night Sky! I love it! But it took way more thread than I thought! There are a few other parts to it, but if I can't get more thread I'll have to skip that part! I think I have a little more of the fabric.. I need to check my stash pile tomorrow.

Back in Sept. I ordered a French pattern and it all fits on a tray. Well I have done all the sewing, everything needed backing... and so tomorrow I'm going to put it all together. I need to add a fabric border and attach all the little pieces to the background stitched piece. I can't wait to show you, it's gonna be cute! :)

A few more

Now why are they blurry? If you click on them, they open up and are fine, but on my blog they look blurry! Here's a few more! This is a scissors case, made specifically for a pair of scissors, which of course I don't have! I won this pattern in a Bingo game! It came with the fabric and the two Dinky Dye threads.. loved them!


These pictures were taken on my grandmother's quilt! Check out all the detail in that hand sewing! The entire thing is like that.. it's awesome!

This one actually turned out okay, I think the main problem was I used too thick of a fabric. My little strawberry thing really messed up, but don't tell anybody!


Now for the UGLY!:) I really did follow the directions! Apparently I just can't cut four hearts out of cardboard the same size! And if you put that fray check stuff on it, it will make your hand dyed pinks bleed! It said to cut the cardboard bigger than the stitched piece, but next time I'm gonna cut it smaller, cause I'd rather the cording cover a bit of the stitching, then leave those ugly gaps between the outer row and the cording. This is the one where I had to use thicker cording!





The cording was supposed to be opposite on the front and back, so you could easily tie it together.. which I did.. but then when you put them front to back, the cording ended up being on the same side! And I so carefully did it opposite! DUH! :) Lesson learned.. hopefully!

I still have a few more I want to try my hand at finishing! I did finally (I think) figure out my cording drill! Love that little booger! :) Thank goodness for all that .10 DMC! :) Thanks for looking!

Well, here they are!

Okay, no laughing!:) I'll post my best ones first! :) This is by Cherished Stitches, I think I have a link on the side bar. It was supposd to be browns and tans, but I had this great purple fabric! And I love purple, pink, greens! So I changed it all up! It's a little wallet, I still need to add a little button to keep it closed right.

FRONT INSIDE

BACK

What I Learned Today!

I am NOT a finisher! Holy smokes... I am a fairly quick stitcher, at least that's what my stitching friends say, and I had a little pile of stuff I wanted to finish. I've been on a "smalls" kick lately, and they all had great directions. BUT I apparently can NOT cut cardboard equal sizes! Putting a stitched piece over a cardboard piece that has padding on it and trying to connect it to another cardboard piece is not as easy as the directions make it look!

Thankfully cording covers a multitude of sins! My cording is much thicker than on the pictures, because my mistakes are much bigger!:) I have a great pattern that I've stitched, and want to finish, but I'm scared now that I'm not going to be able to do it! It involves FOUR cardboard pieces! Oh dear! I'm afraid I'm gonna ruin it!

I did get two things finished and if you don't look too closely they should be fine. I have another that the glue is drying under my wedding album! (That thing is heavy!) I was afraid I had ruined that piece, but it might just be salvagable afterall!

Hopefully I can post some pictures tomorrow.