With My Needle Finish Finish! Lots of Photos.

I showed you the finished stitching on my blog post of  April 10, 2020.

I finish finished the box and the smalls for the inside!

Top photo is the fronts of the smalls followed by the backsides. The blue bird was supposed to be one side of a scissor fob, but I felt it was a tad big, so I turned it into a pin cushion. I used a nickel on the inside of the scissor fob to give it some weight.

This is shows the inside of the needle book

Here is the inside bottom and the top mounted on comic book board waiting to be placed on or in the box. 

This is the top mounted on the box, followed by photos of the smalls and the inside of the box.

I decided the top needed a cover too so here it is.

With the current situation I had to use paint from my stash. I originally painted the box red, but it was not right with the red in the fabric or the stitching - Dang.  So I used a crackle medium on the red and painted over it with a sand color to give it an aged look. 

I think that covers it for now!! 

Take care all and keep on stitching!!

Another Finish and New (Old) Project

This is also a sampler project from Sampler Guild of the Rockies. I think I told you a little about it on March 21st.  *****I have a correction to that post. Threads used were Weeks Dye Works Lancaster Red and The Gentle Arts Sampler Threads Dried Thyme and Deep Sea.*****

I finished the stitching for the box top (top part of the fabric), the needle book (middle section) and the scissor fob (bottom section). Now to actually make them into their indented items!! Stand, or sit, by for that.

I have moved on to this (UFO) -17th Century Cross Stitch by Nan Tyson Euler:

It is from the EGA National Seminar in Hilton Head, SC (2002). My first EGA seminar. I loved the sampler, but did not like the marking cross used, so set it aside. I picked it up at some point and did regular cross stitch on the top band, did about half and set it down again.

I picked it up last week and finished the cross stitch section. I then decided I should to the thin green dividing band in marking cross to see why I did not like it and maybe after over 17 years and more experience I would like the stitch.   I DO NOT. But I thought it best if the dividing lines between the top bands matched so I carried on and finished the next green dividing line.

The marking cross is worked totally opposite of how I do regular cross stitch. It is worked from the top and the leg of the X on top is not the same as when I do cross stitch. So I was not easy for me to pick it up and develop a good feel stitching it. I think if I could have worked it starting at the bottom going bottom left to top right, I could have gotten a good stitching motion. But I did not, and I did not want to switch since then my marking crosses would not be the same and that is a big no no.

Marking Cross is not the only stitch used and so I have been working each band using the suggested stitch, except I use regular cross stitch in place of Marking Cross. So it is not exactly as designed, but I was not going to have it sit in the cupboard because of one stitch!

It is on 32 count Edinburgh cream linen. The finished sampler is 5" x 9". Threads are all silk, mostly Au ver a soie 100/3 and some Pearsall's silk. I am not a big fan of either silk, but glad I got to experience using them and know for future reference!

That is all for now!

Sampler Finished!

Well I finished the 1837 Crown Sampler by Plum Street Samplers! The design is approximately 16"x 13". I used DMC floss throughout and it is on 32 count linen. It was the 2014 Sampler Guild of the Rockies Year Long Project.

It is a reproduction sampler, so it includes mistakes made by the original stitcher and a few of my own. You get to figure out which are which!!

It is always a question when doing these is if you should use the original stitchers initials or name and date? I decided to do it as charted and added my initials and date below the original border. I especially wanted to do this since I finished it the same month as the original.

Happy Stitching!

Beading and Working Outside

I have a multitude of crafty things I like to do, so retirement suits me fine! I am doing ok with this Corona virus as far as having stuff to do goes, but I miss my Club socialization!

I primary dabble in  paper crafting*, beading, embroidery/stitching and quilting. With embroidery being my first love. I live in the desert and it gets a bit dusty, so in order to stitch outside I need to clean the surfaces or take out a big towel to cover stuff. Depending on what I am working on that works fine. But it does get a bit windy sometimes and that adds to the challenge.

The easiest thing to work on outside is beading. On nice sunny days I can sit at the table on our patio and work on a project. My mother in law visited from Iowa in February and she liked to sit outside and read. I joined her with my beading and got this bracelet done:

I liked this idea so much I picked up a beading Work in Progress (WIP) and now am working on this necklace.

*I have a blog for my paper craft stuff: www.PlaysWithStampsandInk.com

Hang in there folks and wash your hands often!

New (Old) Project

I seem to be on a roll regarding working on my Sampler Guild of the Rockies (SGR) Works in Progress (WIPs)/UnFinished Obects (UFOs)!!

I am attempting to make 2020 the year of WIPs and UFOs. The only exception being ANG National Seminar which will be in Tucson, so I MUST go, and sale items for our community Expo. I may post later with my WIP and UFO number - could be scary, but will keep me busy for sure!! I also thought I should do these because many are on 36 count linen, which I can still do, but not sure for how long.

I am almost done with the 1837 Crown Sampler, but I want to finish it in April, so I have set it aside for now.

I have picked up a SGR project from 2012/2013 called With My Needle, a complimentary design by Plum Street Samplers. When finished it will go on top of a wooden box. The project also includes a needle book and scissor fob that can go into the box, all based off the chart.

Actually I had been working on it before I started the Crown Sampler UFO, but ran out of thread, so changed projects. I am using Weeks Dye Works (Lancaster Red, Deep Sea and Dried Thyme). It is on 36 Count PTP Doubloon (got that off the label which I happened to tape to the chart).That is all the information I have on the fabric.

Here is where I was when started it back up. I got as far as the top line and part of the second line when I ran out of thread. The chart had all the same symbol, so I think some of the green should be red, but I like it as is and am not taking it out!

This is how much I have done up to now - I finished line two and onto line three.















You will just have to stay in suspense until I get further along!!

Happy Stitching Everyone!!!

Back to Stitching!

I have picked up my needle to work on a Sampler Guild of the Rockies year long project....from 2014!!

It is the 1837 Crown Sampler. An antique needlework reproduction by Plum Street Samplers.

Since it is a reproduction of the original, the mistakes made my the original stitcher have been charted and reproduced. I will leave it up to you to decide which are the original stitcher's errors and which are mine!! If you can see them that is.

I still have not decided how I will "sign" it, but I have time yet. I am thinking I will try to finish it this April and put April 2020 with my initials.

I have been working on it most every night for a while now, but do not have any photos until the top one taken Feb. 12 and the bottom one taken Feb. 23.

I am now working on page 5 of 6, so I may get it done in April!!

Happy Stitching!!

A Halloween Finish!

I last told you about Boo! Club on a post here as part of my Taming the Stash Monster Course.

Well, last night I finished it and now I guess it is a FUPPY! Which is a Finished Unfinished Project. Ways to reduce these are also discussed in the course and I hope to finish finish this into a wall hanging before Halloween 2019.  Stay tuned!!

Boo! Club by LizzieKate (C) 2009

It consists of six double flips stitched as one piece. Instructions on how to make it into a banner  with a specific border was provided on LizzieKate's web site and you can click on it here to get the instructions.

It uses Double Flip #'s F82 -F87 and each flip it came with a pair of tiny white and black buttons for each section of the Double Flips. It uses overdyes and a small bit of a DMC floss. It is on 32 Count Belfast linen. Individual Double Flips were done on 30 ct, but that would probably make the banner very long. On 32 count the design area is 5" x 21"

That is about all for now!!   Happy Stitching.