Saturday, January 30, 2021

The Right Dog

 I have made some progress on the Blackbird Needlecase.

I outlined the black dog in the right color this time.
I'm happy with how this is turnung out.  I changed the stitch for this hillock when my attempt at going around the curve of the hill doing herringbone didn't look good. I'm making this up as I go along. I am using the called for colors of Painter's Threads. Beautiful.


But now it's time to work on something else.  

I saw the latest Long Dog sampler and was very tempted.  But I have too much on my plate right now.  We'll see how long I can resist!

A


Friday, January 29, 2021

A

Today's post is brought to you by the letter A. I have a collection of A's on my wall.



 I was watching Jan Hicks Creates on YouTube. She is working on an interesting variety of stitching projects. I loved her section of the video where she says "Let's go shopping". She highlights some designers all over the world.  I liked one of her projects and visited the site. I found an interesting "A".


So I bought the pdf. Immediate gratification! This "A" uses a lot of floss colors.  I went looking through my stash for them I found all but eight of them. You would think with my stash I would have any color floss needed. Rats. Normally, I would run to Hobby Lobby and get the colors I didn't have,  But things are not normal.  I'm not normal. So I waited a few days and formed a list of things I wanted to order so that the shipping wouldn't cost more than what I was ordering. I am using some Soltema linen that I bought on a tour in Italy.  It is very nice linen. It is creamier (more yellow) than in the photo.

So I'm waiting for the floss.  I couldn't resist starting the A  anyway. Fun!

A

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Done

 I got the star (it is really a snowflake) all done!

I'll probably lace it around some comic board with batting on it.
Here are some needleminders that I bought from Stitching Buddy.  I saw them somewhere (Facebook?).
I thought they were very pretty. I don't usually use needleminders.
Then I got Hand Dyed Fibers monthly solid colors.

I've got a couple of things I want to start. Fun!

A

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Hump Day

 Did I get the star done yesterday? Nope. But I did make good progress and there isn't much left to do.


Next is military wire. I have no idea what that is as I haven't worked with it before. Then there are some crystals to sew on.  I've been thinking how to finish it and what to do with it.  I think it will be the star for on top of my Christmas tree.  My 45 year old Christmas tree topper that I bought at a dime store bit the dust a couple years ago. I didn't have a topper last Christmas. So I want to finish this into a star shape (or maybe just a circle?) for my tree.

  I learned some things in playing with the clay. 


I thought I could let the clay dry in the molds and since it will shrinks as it dries, I'll be able to get it out. Not a good idea. I broke several things trying to get them out of the molds. Still, several of them turned out really nicely. 

I got the terra cotta colored clay yesterday. I have to clean the molds before I can try using the colored paper clay.
Luckily the paper clay will dissolve in water. I really love that St. George and the dragon mold.
A


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Goal

 The goal for today is to finish this star.


I was a bit bothered by the circle looking a bit wonkie.


But by the time I put the spangles on it looked fine.

I think I can get this done today. 

I watched some YouTube videos on how to work with paper clay.  I got a few tips. I also found out that the Das paper clay comes in a terra cotta color. Perfect. I wanted to know how to color the clay but it would be much easier to just use a colored clay. So I ordered some and it should arrive today. 

A

Monday, January 25, 2021

Oops

 I decided I wanted to attempt the Blackbird Needlecase by Margaret Light. I found the kit. This is such a nice kit!  There are lots of fancy silk threads.  The kit has Gumnut Buds pearl #12. 

I haven't stitched with Gumnut Buds before. There are also Painters threads.  They are beautiful variegated threads on spools.


These threads are soft and a dream to stitch with.

The first thing listed to stitch in the directions is the dog, Phoebe. The thread used is an off white. What? the dog is black.  Oh well, I decided to follow the directions so I split stitched around the dog.  Then I read what comes after that.  It wasn't making sense to me.  This is when I realized that there are two dogs.  One is white and the other one is black.  I stitched the wrong dog in the wrong color! Duh.

So then I stitched the right dog in the right color. 

I worked on this all day yesterday, I just couldn't put it down.
This is going well!
A



Saturday, January 23, 2021

Emie's Etui

 I have made good progress on Emie's Etui after finally getting passed the over one row.




Now I am  down to the last row on this section.  


It is over one but done in half cross. When I finish this acorn row, I will be done with the front. I am happy with how this is turning out.

My medical appointments went fine this week. I'm glad to be done with doctors and hospitals and tests for a few weeks. Now to concentrate on stitching.  I ordered Amy Mitten's new tutorial, the Queen's Playing Cards Casket.  It won't ship until February 25. 

I went looking for the Blackbird Needlecase kit that is in the Fine Tradition book. I found it. So then I had to start it. I made a stupid mistake but I'll tell you about that next week.



A


Friday, January 22, 2021

Almost

 I am almost done with the design for a casket. I don't like it with the other designs on the caskets so far. I have a third casket that it may work for so I'll keep it in mind.

There is some empty space on either side of the design where I would like to put motifs.

I've had such fun following Amy Mitten's posts showing little peeks of her next design, the Queen's Playing cards casket. It will be challenging to stitch as it appears to include some over one stitching.  I like a challenge!

I have been watching Bridgerton on Netflix. I'm enjoying it a lot.  I watched The Queen's Gambit, it was good. My guilty pleasure is Ozark but don't tell anybody!
A



Thursday, January 21, 2021

A Fine Book

 DH went to the Post Office to pick up my package. Yes! It was the book my friends in Australia sent me, A Fine Tradition by Margaret Light. 



The front design is called Tree of Life.  I've ordered the kit from Inspirations.  What a fabulous project! I just love that striped tulip. 
The book has wonderful photos of the projects.  I have to admit I already have the kit for Blackbird Needle book. 


 I've been afraid to start it.  It has the most adorable dog in it (even thought I am not fond of dogs, they bark and poop). Now with the great photos, I think I can stitch it. 
In the back of the book are the patterns and instructions.

There are so many projects in this book that I want to do, like nine of them.  My friends in Australia had Margaret Light sign it for me! I am a bit jealous of my friends as they take classes with her. The Crewel Gobelin is listing three classes with her this year - and they are projects that aren't even in the book! 

A

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Getting Ready to Play

 I had an idea for my casket. I got the idea while standing at my kitchen counter eating some Lucky Charms. We did some alterations on the kitchen a few years ago. We put in a back splash. I loved this interesting looking decorative tile. 



I also collect molds. What if I used some paper clay in my molds to make a border for my caskets? I don't want it to be just white.  



I tried painting a paper clay mold that I made a while back to see how it looked. 



Not the effect I was looking for. What if I used watercolor pencils? I'll have to try that.  I gathered up a bunch of my mold and ordered two kinds of clay. Now I am ready to play.


A

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Finshed!

 I painted the box a nice brown and then gave it a coat of Mod Podge. I cut a piece of comic board and about five layers of quilt batting. I laced the stitching on it. I wanted the top to be able to be a pin cushion. 



I glued a button to the drawer and put a small pair of scissors inside. I glued a piece of felt on the back so the drawer wouldn't come out of the back. Mow it is done.  I should give the wood parts of box probably need a little sand paper to smooth it over.

I had this ornament stitched for a very long time but never finished.




  It happens to be a similar size to the stitching for the box so I finished it at the same time.
It feels good to have some finishes!
A






Monday, January 18, 2021

Chipping

I started to post this on Saturday and my device died so I had to charge it up.

 I've been chipping. That means I cut up some bright Purl. Using stuff I bought from Jenny Adin-Christie.

I started stitching the "chips" on to the felt padding in the middle of the design. 

That string on the right is the Bright Purl.
I'm not quite done. There are a few more chips to add. 


I've had some great news.  I qualify to get a very expensive medicine. I've been hoping to qualify since last November. I am scheduled to get the medicine starting on Friday. One more step toward getting back to normal.

My doorbell rang on Saturday. I didn't know it was the mailman with a package that I had to sign for. He left a slip in my mailbox to pick up the package at the Post Office.  I think the package is the book A Fine Tradition by Margaret Light. And today is a holiday so I have wait until tomorrow for DH to go pick it up! Rats! I am very excited to get the book and have ordered 3 kits for projects in the book. Thank you Anna and Maria!

A

Friday, January 15, 2021

DH comes Through

 DH just got back from the grocery store and he found some paint for me.



Three choices! This will be perfect for painting the box for the Blackbird project.  
Now I can finish this off. 

I was trying to find something to watch Saturday morning when I settled on Sewing with Nancy on PBS. She passed away several years ago. I happen to go to a quilt show in Madison WI where she was the featured speaker. But she had just discovered she was not well. Anyway, I enjoyed watching the episode on how to quilt a photo with Tammie Bowser.  I think I could actually do this. Bowser has a book about how to do it and I ordered it. How to Sew Art:

It is fascinating to see what a person can do.
I would love to try this sometime. There's not enough time to do all the things I want to do!!

A


Thursday, January 14, 2021

New Kit New Start

 This is a kit  from The French Needle that came in the mail the other day.



The kit was packaged very nicely and all the pieces are labeled.
There is a booklet of instructions.
I cut out the felt padding for the center and stitched it down.

Then I cut out the silvery leather stuff.  It is going to be a little hard to stitch through. I may have to get out my pliers. Fun!

A

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Limonera Pear

 I decided I didn't like the color of the fourth section of the pear.


I started another section using a different color.

I was curious to see if I could just sew the sections together using my sewing machine.  
I did it! Two and a half sections yet to stitch.
 I ordered some craft acrylic paint for the Blackbird project.  I wanted a brown color for the box. I got the paints yesterday - and no brown! Drat! I don't even know if I could mix a brown with the colors I have. So I looked into ordering from different places. One place said I had to order 3 bottles of the same color. It turns out that the grocery store DH goes to twice a week has the craft paint I want. I should have checked there first instead of being stuck with 12 bottles of the wrong colors!
A