busy, happy hands

Knock, knock

2010-03-29T06:36:00.000-05:00

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Ima.

Ima who?

Ima bad blogger who hasn't posted in, well, longer-than-expected and hasn't produced a lot either... at least not much that's easy to show. No exciting reason... heavy on work, light on energy.

Let's skip the stuff that's not as "show-able"... practicing hand quilting, playing with expanding a design of a table runner* into a larger size. (* Sweet Escape pattern from the book "On the Run" by Heather of Anka's Treasures, pic here.)

Yesterday I gave in to this temptation.

Little 3" hand-pieced Klosjes (which translates to spools). Very cute.

Take a few hundred and .......... what, did I lose some of you? a few hundred sounds too daunting? .......... maybe you need to see how neat it looks. Check this out. Pretty, isn't it?

I liked a slightly larger middle square than you get with a 9 square layout, so I drafted my own pattern. I think I know how I can share it and will let you know in a couple days.

Sensible-me was asking impulsive-me to explain why we were taking on another project. Why? It's one of those take anywhere projects... very portable. Requires templates for only 2 shapes. It will improve my hand-piecing speed and skill, including y-seams.

Yes, but what about the time it will take? If you stop yourself because how long something might take, it's important to remember that time will move on anyhow... and rather than having something wonderful in 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or even 10 years, there will be nothing except the passing of years.

Plus, I get to play with lots of fabric. I switched my rotary blade, and wavy-cut the edges and washed and pressed some new additions.

A few weeks back, I made some other purchases.

I bought a honey bun of Patisserie and a pattern. The pattern is made up of three simple blocks: a rail fence, a 9-patch and setting squares. That'll be my next machine-stitched project.

I also gave in to another temptation. I'd seen such beautiful cross stitch on blogs, especially the Quaker samplers. I visited a wonderful shop, Stitchville USA, and ended up with the following pattern. It's not a Quaker sampler, but once I saw it I had to have it.

I'm enjoying my first time using linen and silk floss. The linen is 32 count... requiring great light and my cheaters.

Originally I only stitched guidelines on the outside edge and center lines. I knew better, but was anxious to start. I added the red guidelines after I discovered that the top row is off by one thread (which will be redone).

I've wanted to use variegated thread for a project, and chose some lovely floss. But some of the light shades are too similar to the color of the linen and aren't showing well. If I'm going to do that much stitching, it needs to be seen! I'll be making another trip to Stitchville soon. :-)

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day. It is the first ever March that there hasn't been snow. EVER! ... or at least in the 100 plus years they've been keeping records. These little guys are starting to poke up and it won't be long till they bloom.

Officially, there is no snow on the ground. My yard has always been a straggler and hangs on to snow longer. I resisted taking the shovel and tossing it all in the street, lol. (Yes, I've done it in previous years.)

My blog reading is soooo behind and I'm slowly working on making my visits and seeing what everyone else has been doing. I need to be strong and resist any more temptations. :-)

My first quilt - chapter 7

2010-02-20T20:49:00.001-06:00

We left off on the quest to replace the cheddar. Aww come on, you knew I'd be visiting my local quilt shops! Let's just say I did a fine job growing my stash. It came down to these last 6, and any one of them would have worked. (Yes, I really did pin the blocks to these candidates and lay it on my couch in this struggle to decide.) But in the end, there was one that spoke to me.

Ta da! Did you guess right?

There was more drama as I finished piecing the top. My faithful friend - my seam ripper - helped me out of a few "accidents", without judgement. My other faithful friend - Bella, our dog - caused a real accident. See?

Fortunately, neither the dog nor the machine were hurt. Bella is a Newfoundland. She caught the cord with her leg, and luckily the machine didn't fall on her. It emphasized the need to find a permanent spot to set up my sewing. The dining table won't work for what's clearly more than a passing interest (as in, I'm loving quilting!!).

The machine? It's built like a tank... all metal and nothing broke.

Here's a couple more shots. I worked on it last night.

It's been a good test of my sewing skills. There are a few points that got chopped off and it's about a 1/4" bigger than it's supposed to be. But none of that bothers this perfectionist.

Here's a full shot. The top is done!! I love to run my hands over it and feel all those seams.

Oh yeah, I'm hooked!

I've selected the next pattern and purchased fabric. It's 51" x 51", so I'm moving up in size, but it does seem a bit small for a lap quilt. I've been doing the math on increasing it to 51" x 59 1/2" or 59 1/2" x 68". (If you have advice on the best size, let me know.) I need to get more fabric if I increase the size, and because the fabric line was released nearly a year ago it's getting tougher locating it, but I think I found a source today.

(I also purchased a beautiful, cross stitch sampler, linen and silk thread. I'll share that soon.)

Of course the little top isn't a quilt until it's quilted. I'm going to give hand quilting a whirl. Wish me luck and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for everyone's encouragement and words of wisdom!!!! You're the best!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As promised, here's a couple neat winter shots.

The snow on the railing slid off, but it was solid enough that it stayed this way all day! Pretty wild!

Winter is quiet. The snow muffles and absorbs all noise.

Winter is clear. The air and sky are so clear this time of year.

Winter is white. That's obvious.

But winter is also blue. The whole world turns beautiful shades of blue at dawn and dusk. I took this shot early one morning. It really was that color.

Enjoy your weather wherever you live! And may your hands stay busy and happy.

Sign language

2010-02-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

See my hand waving to you? That's my first "sign language", letting you know I'm still here. I know I've been "gone" for awhile. Lately sewing, and blogging, has come in fits and spurts. I'd love it if it were more even and steady, bu reality is that my job can have demanding stretches, and combined with life's obligations, sometimes I'm left with little time - or energy - for those pleasures.

I have managed to make progress on my little quilt, but I've been trying to hold off showing it until it's together. I'm "this" close! See my hand with my finger and thumb nearly touching?

I've joined tonight's Friday Night Sew In again. Fingers-crossed that the top gets finished tonight. I think it's doable.

Here's some visual shots of the word accumulate. My thumb is pointing down. I don't hate winter, but at this point I'm looking forward to it going away.

All the lovely evergreens that were in the pot are buried.

That's a 48" metal ruler shoved into the snow pile near the door.

Looking out the front to the left down the street.

Looking up the street. The sun came out!

You can almost make out the steps leading up the back yard from the house.

These icicles are a big thumbs down. When I was little, I thought they were so cool looking. Now I know that the damage they can cause to a house. (Ice forms along the roof edge, called ice dams, and when the snow melts, the ice can block the water from running off the roof. With no where to go, the water can leak into the roof. The ice was removed shortly after these pics.)

(I've got a couple other shots to share next time, showing a couple neat things about winter and snow.)

For those of you who stopped by, a high five to you for paying me a visit. I will try my best to post more regularly, and I hope you'll be understanding if I fall off course from time to time.

These fingers are ready to sew, click and type. TGIF!

My first quilt - chapter 6

2010-02-04T05:38:00.000-06:00

Chapter 6

The plot thickens.

(This is the point of tension in the story, where something happens to throw everything off balance.)

As the pieces were laid out, there was a problem.

The cheddar-y blocks just weren't working for me. It looked promising when it was a pile of uncut fat quarters, but now... not so much.

I can't explain it. There may be some of you who don't see a problem. I don't mean to offend anyone. But it's got to feel right. And it didn't.

There's also the pressure of the being the "first quilt". (Picture those words in blinking lights, recited by a deep, reverberating voice... firrrssstt quillllttt.... lol.)

Rise to the challenge! I can overcome.

I think I can... fix it with a different color for the blocks.

I think I can... try a different layout.

No, no, no, stick to the original design, missy!

I think I can.... keep pulling out the stash.

That's only some of the things I tried. Through the process I took the pics for my benefit, as a way to step back. Of course there's also the squint-your-eyes technique. Do the beginning quilting classes teach that one? :-)

I have one more idea I'm picturing in my head. If I'm lucky, it's waiting for me on the shelf of my local quilt shop.

If not, I'm going to go with one of the above and call it good enough. (If I told you which one, that would be cheating, now wouldn't it?!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for sashaying with me down the square dance memory lane yesterday. Wow, what fun memories that brings back.

Writing this little story reminded me of other things I learned long ago, like plot and climax and resolution. Remember protagonist and antagonist? (Oooo, found those words in a dusty back corner of my brain!)

Of course, I'm the protagonist.

My son has taken an interest in this quilt, which is surprising and sweet. He's 17, that age when male communication is often scattered words and gutteral sounds that require an interpreter. (He's used to me teasing him about it.) Anyhow... he looked at some of the ideas and asked questions. So, what did he think? When he found out this was only going to be a little quilt, he said I should keep going and make it into a big quilt. You know what that makes him?

The antagonist. (LOL.)

(No siding with him! I'm tryng to get this done!)

Meanwhile, I saw this quilt on the cover and had to buy the magazine.

Makes my heart beat faster. Me and complicated quilts... moth to a light, like moth to a light.

My first quilt - chapter 5

2010-02-03T07:35:00.002-06:00

Chapter 5

370 became 144. (On their way to become one.)

In every moment of free time, I'd stitch some more. I was on a roll. Took about 3 days. Excitement was building. No seam ripper. Yay!

(This is the happy part of the story where you get to know the characters and things are going along so well.)

I kept thinking about doing square dance back in grade school while doing these guys.

Grab your partner................ and bow to the ladies.............. and promenade right....

Okay, maybe it's just me. lol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next chapter, rising tension and crisis. :-)

My first quilt - a story in progress

2010-01-24T21:16:00.006-06:00

The story of my first quilt... in reverse order.

Chapter 4

The day ended with 36 little four patches,

and 16 little triangle segments.

Chapter 3

How many times do you think I managed to match the right side to the wrong side?

Answer: 4.

(I mean, really, how could I forget one of the first rules of sewing... right sides together... right sides together... say it with me, right sides together! LOL.)

(The picture has unplanned irony... notice the word on the iron? Precision.)

Chapter 2

The old lady managed to do better than I expected.

Hey now... I'm talking about the sewing machine... not me!

(Did you notice that the thread isn't going through that little loop? Give yourself bonus points for observation. I didn't notice it till I took the pic. I could swear it was there before!)

Chapter 1

Not new, but it works.

It took MANY tries to get the tension adjusted. After a point, I called it good enough... and it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.... story to be continued........................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a pretty pic I took a couple days ago.

The tulips are now gone.

The snow is not.

I need more tulips.

Sew what?

2010-01-16T23:49:00.000-06:00

Show and tell time. I signed up for the Friday night sew-in. One minor problem... I didn't sew.

I cut. (You need pieces cut before you can sew. If you know another way, tell me. Grin.)

I'm slow, since I haven't done much rotary cutting before. This is still a fairly new process for me. And I love it.

When the fabric is cut it takes on a different look. I was trying to think how to describe it. Well... it's like a photo that's been cropped.

The change surprised me. And delighted me. I didn't expect it. I've never heard anyone mention it before.

I probably only cut about a quarter of the strips that I needed yesterday and continued today. I had a light fabric picked out, but I'm not settled on it yet. I need to decide soon because I want to get to the sewing part.

It's really neat seeing all these little pieces lining up. Waiting for the party to begin.

I've also been making progress on prepping my applique pieces for the next two CWBQ blocks.

Oh! I was so excited today because I received my first gift from blogging! Crispy offered to send me a few needles to try and I've been watching the mail for the last couple days. When I opened the package I was so surprised to see that she sent me a fat quarter of this gorgeous fabric too! Thank you Crispy!!! It's so pretty. And I can't wait to try the needles.

One last thing... I'll share something that made me laugh the other day. On the wrapper on a feminine hygiene product it had words. It said Never Give Up. Then I looked at another and it said Enjoy Life! (complete with the exclamation point). What marketing genius decided this product needed motivational phrases? Funny.

Put up or shut up

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

A while back I mentioned that the I'd finished the cross stitch that's in my header (actually, a few months ago).

It is one of the first things I decided to finish after my needlework "hiatus". Out of curiosity I looked for a date on the pattern. Wow... 1983. (Thankfully it wasn't dusty blue and pink ducks! lol) Here's the full shot.

I'm going to frame it myself, venturing into new territory. Thanks to the internet, I found lots of info on ways to tackle it. I think I'll document what I do and share it here. Call it a tutorial if you must. If nothing else, it'll be a good reference for me. It's on this weekend's to-do list.

Speaking of lists, I have my goals for 2010.

First quilt finish - #1 goal for the year
2 wall hangings - got the bare walls in place
1 lap quilt - a must when you live with snow 1/3 of the year
2 table runners - so my furniture doesn't feel left out
A few small, fun things - such as a pincushions & a bag
Wool penny rug - yeah, I'm on that bandwagon too
12 blocks of the Civil War Bride Quilt - towards a 2011 finish
30 Nearly Insane blocks - I'm afraid a higher goal would be crazy (get it? crazy?... never mind)
Hand quilt something - this will be a new skill
Something out of Kaffe - I love what I see & it pushes me out of my normal range
Finish the "this-is-not-my-burial-shroud" project - a secret, revealed in due time
Carve out a spot at my home for my sewing - versus borrowing the dining table
Stitchery time > (greater than) time spent blog reading & surfing the net - Last, but definitely not least... can you relate?

As for that first goal, I know, I know... I've said it before. Time to shut up and - to use a popular phrase - JUST DO IT!

Number one, I knew this would not be done by hand. I think my old machine and my old skills are up to the task.

Number two, needed to pick a design. I poured through my inspiration books.

Oh for goodness sakes, the pressure I gave this poor quilt. Because I kept thinking, this will always be known as my "FIRST Quilt". When people say, show me your first quilt, this will be "The ONE".

You should be rolling your eyes by now.

At least I found one rational brain cell in all of this... I shouldn't pick something too big or difficult... kind of interferes with the goal.

Remember the goal? A finished quilt.

Meanwhile, I was checking out my favorite blogs and spied something. I really liked the design.

Photo courtesy of Lori

Lori (of Humble Quilts) showed this vintage quilt and offered a quilt-along with the cute name of Cheddar and Crackers. The catch? The quilt-a-long is for a little quilt, 24" x 24".

Does a little quilt count as my first finished quilt? It felt like I was cheating. But I don't care. ;-)

I think it may be perfect for one of my other goals, hand quilt something. !

I've signed up for tomorrow's Friday Night Sew In. Time to put up or shut up. Just do it.

Show and tell on Saturday.

Return to reality

2010-01-04T08:11:00.000-06:00

How I spent my Christmas vacation.

Christmas was very nice. This is the quiet Christmas period of our lives. There's a different tempo between the kids-are-little phase and the grandkids phase. (DD is 19 and DS is 17.) It's softer and slower and sweet in its own way.

Christmas dinner turned out good. I learned a few things. They will make the first holiday in years "memorable".

Homes have an evil sense of humor... and timing.

(The bathroom sink plugged... and the kitchen sink too... DH plunge plunge plunge...more plunging, bringing up water that looks like black dirt... broken sewer pipe?... visions of tearing up the front yard and $$$... DH thinks sewer vent could be blocked with snow... he climbs up on snowy roof (yipes)... not blocked... plunge PLUNGE PLUNGE... may need to haul everything to inlaws... more PLUNGING... until it FINALLY released. Followed by MUCH cleaning. Eeeew. Dinner was not harmed in the incident. Later, my FIL said this happened every few years when they lived here... a kinked spot where the pipes meet which can create a slow build up... apparently timed to release at Christmas 2009. LOL)

A bare hand isn't a potholder.

(I was making gravy... needed the measuring cup... where did I put it?... counter? dishwasher?... shoot, the gravy is boiling, so hold pan off stove with one hand... now where is the cup?... needed to transfer pan to other hand, so I set it ONTO fingers of right hand. Oh yes I did. Shivery, make-me-nearly-cry pain. My hand spent the rest of Christmas in cold water and ice. And recovered amazingly well within a few days, I might add.)

I don't know turkey anatomy... and neither does my DH.

(Recipe says to check temp in breast... except I don't know where it is... ask DH to do it... oh oh it's too done... seems a little early, but thermometers don't lie... after it rested and DH was carving, it was clear that it needed more time... I will tell you that DH did raise chickens when we lived in the country... and he seeems to know everything... he will tell you that I had the bird upside down... recovery involved slices of nearly-done turkey being microwaved... and it turned out fine.)

Watching a friend disappear in front of you is heartbreaking.

(There is a dear couple that spends many holidays and birthdays with our family. She was lively and talkative and funny. Now, Alzheimers. She's only 62. She is mostly quiet now, and it is deafening.)

I had intended on doing lots of stitching between Christmas and New Years. But it felt like pressure, not fun. I listened to my heart and relaxed and unwound. Enjoyed taking things slow.

I did finish the September redwork snowman block, and transferred and began stitching the January block.

I looked at my inspiration books to see what quilt I want to make with machine piecing, and drafted a few possibilities. I bought fabric.

I went to the framers and they're making a frame for the cross stitch that's in my header.

I started prepping pieces for the next two blocks of my CWBQ.

Like many of you, I have goals for 2010. I'll list them this week.

It's time to return to reality. I'm ready. It was a good vacation.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T07:58:00.001-06:00

Christmas dinner is at my house this year. It's a first in many, many, many years. I'm feeling rusty, but I know it will work out just fine. There'll be 9 of us. I have my list and won't stress (too much) about it. Today I'm making the Cranberry Sherbet, doing more cleaning and washing the wine glasses.

I won't be dreaming about a white Christmas... because we'll have one.

A winter storm is heading our way. Between tonight and Saturday, they say we'll get a foot or more of snow... which will add to the 4 inches already on the ground.

The shovels are ready. It's a good workout.

We don't always have snow on the ground at Christmas. Around here they call that a brown Christmas. I love snow at Christmas.

It's going to feel like living in a snow globe.

I saw the poem below on Paula's blog and she said I could share it with you. (I'm still amazed at the countries that are represented on the blogs; Paula's from Luxembourg. Pretty cool.)

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.

I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?

Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that's when I heard him, "Hi Santa," I said.

"You know....good little girls should be in their beds ."

"I know I should Santa, and now I've got caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought."

"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work."

He shook his head quickly and left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

"You've got enough stuff, I'll see you next year!"

author unknown

Santa's clearly not a quilter. LOL.

Loosen up and enjoy the stitching

2009-12-20T10:04:00.003-06:00

To hoop or not to hoop?

Jenny doesn't use a hoop. Do you know Jenny? She's a talented designer from Australia and has this blog, Jenny of Elefantz. She gives some good reasons why not... and her proof is in the beauty of her embroidery.

With generous permission of Jenny, here's what she said about hoops:

"No, I never use a hoop. When I was rushing through my embroideries I had to use a hoop because when you rush you pull, then you pucker the fabric...but I have not used a hoop for the last year. Since I took care with the stitching and slowed down to enjoy the process and rhythm of the needle and thread working together with the fabric I have had no need of a hoop. The stitches are gently woven into the fabric and I can see that I have no need to pull or tighten. As I relaxed, the stitches relaxed with me."

I encourage you to read more in her original post on the subject (and check out her lovely work!). Here are more tips from Jenny, and she has this about doing the satin stitch. Good stuff.

I haven't yet given up the hoop. It feels like an extra hand to help hold my work, but I've "loosened up" and slowed down, trying not to rush the stitches.

But I'm still experimenting. I plan to pull out my practice piece to try working without a hoop.

My practice piece? It's not pretty, but it's oh-so-useful. See?

Where I've tried stem stitch and backstitch...

and practiced applique techniques...

and applique stem techniques...

and which has some of my first applique attempts...

Here are a few more tips, especially if you're new to embroidery:

Use a length of thread slightly longer than the length from the tip of your fingers to your elbow.
During stitching, your thread will twist. Every so often, let go of the needle and let it dangle towards the ground and let the thread untwist.
Sometimes my thread gets ~~naughty~~ knotty. It seems to happen when I've forgotten to untwist, or tried to use too long a thread, or am pulling the thread too quickly. I carefully use the eye end of my needle to undo the knot so I don't fray the thread. If it happens again with the same thread, I usually find that the troublemaker can't be rehabilitated, so I'm better off ending the offender and starting a new thread.
Your needle will wear out and will need to be changed. I can tell when it's time because it seems like the needle doesn't slide through as easily. When I look at the old needle versus a new one, I can see the difference... the finish looks worn down and dull.
You should remove your work from the hoop when you finish a stitching session, however "do as I say, not as I do." (Grin.)

I can't say it any better than Jenny did, "Enjoy the process, love what you do, and be at peace as you sew."

Commenting on Blogs

2009-12-19T09:58:00.001-06:00

The calendar might say it's still fall, but winter - and snow - is here to stay for the next few months. It's the serene season. The front planter is filled with greens, red twig dogwood and dried hydrangeas.

Do you comment on blogs? For a long time I didn't. Why? Because I didn't understand how it works and it seemed complicated.  It also seemed like you needed to have a blog to comment.  (You don't.) Skip down a couple paragraphs below if you're interested.

I still don't comment on every post or blog I enjoy. It takes time and I've found myself overwhelmed with the things I've added to my regular to-do list in the last couple months: writing my blog, stitching more, and commenting, in addition to work and normal life stuff. I'm slowly adding to the list and trying to find a balance.  I am very grateful for the comments I receive because I know you've taken the time for me.

When you leave a comment, do you get a reply from the blogger back to your email? You should... maybe not to every comment, but if you've NEVER received an email reply, you may be a "Noreply".  (Theresa W, I thought about this because you came up as a Noreply.) It adds another dimension to this friendly blog-land... kind of like pen pals. Did you have a pen pal when you were growing up? I had a girl from England and looked forward to writing to her and receiving letters from her. But I'm geting off track....

Fix your Noreply

If you use Blogger, it's simple to fix the no reply. Sign in to Blogger, click Edit Profile (from your Dashboard), put a check on 'Show my email address', enter your email address in the 'Email address' spot, then click Save Profile. That's it!

Want to comment without having a blog?

Okay, now to those of you who don't have a blog and never comment, but want to. Here's what I'd suggest (although like everything, this isn't the only way).

Before you go to the first step, now's the time to set up a separate email account if you want the blog correspondence to be separate from your other email. (For example, I set up a free Gmail account.)

Go to the Blogger start page.
Click Create a Blog. Trust me... you won't create a blog.
Fill in the fields on the Create a Google Account form, then click Continue.
(If you already have a Google Acount, click 'sign in first' at the top of the page and log in.)
Here's where you take the fork off the blog road. On the 'Name your Blog' page, click at the bottom where it says 'Skip this and create a blog later'.
Are you at the Dashboard page? Good. Click on 'Edit Profile'. The minimum you need to check or enter are the first three items below:

Check 'Show my email address'
Enter your 'Email address'
Enter your 'Display Name'
I hope you add a picture. Just be sure it is no larger than 50k.
If you want people to be able to see an "About Me" page about you, check 'Share my profile' and fill in some info about yourself in the other boxes, especially the 'About Me' spot in the Extended section, and whatever else you want to share.
Click Save and you're done!

If you prefer to enjoy reading blogs quietly, enjoy! I don't mind and I certainly understand.

More redwork tidbits

2009-12-18T09:27:00.000-06:00

A few more quick tidbits from yesterday's post.

If you're interested in the pattern for the redwork snowmen, you can purchase it from Wellington House Designs. I purchased my pattern through Quilt Cove in Eagan, one of my favorite local quilt shops, if you're in the area. The designer also sells a pattern for finishing it as a wall hanging, here. I haven't decided how I'll set the blocks, although I have some great fabric picked out.

I did not use the stitches that were recommended on the pattern.

For my redwork, I use a hoop. I keep the fabric just slightly loose in the hoop for stitching, just enough so I can make the stitches. If I set the hoop on a table and push down in the middle of the hoop the fabric will just barely touch the table.

When I washed the first block, I realized I had a little too much tension in the stitches. I'm still working on that. Thank goodness for irons!

There's always something to improve on, isn't there?

My redwork journey

2009-12-17T11:09:00.000-06:00

These cheerful guys greet you when you enter my house.

I have a weakness for snowmen. You might already know that.

When I fell in love with a redwork BOM featuring snowmen, it had been a long time since I did embroidery, so I set out on a web search to learn.

I'll share what I'm doing, in the hopes it might be helpful to someone out there.

I'm using plain muslin, the kind with the little brown nubs. I love how the Olfa rotary pinking blade tames the edges of my embroidery and applique projects. (By the way, the background is a purchased placemat... not by me.)

I use a light box and Sakura Pigma Micron 01 pen in brown to transfer the pattern.  Since it's permanent, I was nervous. One tip I found helpful was to look ahead when you're drawing the pattern. Imagine your pen is a car and look a little down the road to help keep everything lined up. It helped me make better lines.

When I stitch with a single strand I use the same needles that I use for applique, John James Applique #10's. The needle threader is a time saver. I can get frustrated when stitching with the DMC floss, so I use the Thread Heaven... but not always... I'm not certain if it helps or not. (Someday I plan to try another thread, like Cosmo.) I use a different needle when I'm stitching with two strands, but I have no clue what it is... sorry. The eye is elongated, so I can't use the cute needle threader... or so the instructions warn me.

Although the backstitch is very popular, I went with the stem stitch. It looked stronger from a distance, even compared to multiple strands in backstitch. I also wanted to use a more traditional stitch, something my grandmothers would have used.  I use single strand for the small and detailed stuff (leaves, apples, basket) and two strands for major stuff (snowman, tree).

I chose not to use backing, so the back of my stitches needed to stay clean.

I was tickled to "discover" the waste knot technique. It's a little slow, but the results are very nice. I learned about it here from Mary Corbett's Needle'nThread blog.

With a knotted thread I go in at A and back up at B. Yes, the knot is on the front.

The first few stitches will cross over the back thread to secure it. Since I can't do it without looking, when I go back down (stitch C) I turn the work over to make sure I come up on one side of the thread on the back. When I come back up to the top, I make sure I've crossed over the back thread.

You can see below that I wait to pull the top thread all the way through so I can find the line to poke the needle.

How close is D to B? If I want the start of the line to look as thick as the rest of the line, then D is very close to B, within a couple of threads. If I want the line to have a finer end, then it's not as close.

I don't always secure the thread right away. For the leaf, I did the vein, worked around the leaf, and THEN secured the back thread. I'm extra careful with the last step. Pull the knot up away from the top and very carefully clip it off. I've never cut the fabric or my working thread yet... knock wood.

Starting a thread on a tight curve required a different technique, which I also learned from Mary Corbett. I'll let Mary show you that... it's described under the first pic in the this post.

There are oodles of instructions and diagrams on making a stem stitch and they don't all agree. After trying it out on my scrap, practice piece, I settled on the following: work left to right, keep the loop of the thread toward me, and the tip of the needle comes out exactly where the last stitch ended. The back of the work looks just like the backstitch.

(Some instructions show the stitch at an angle to the line, like this. You can also bring up the needle to the right of the last stitch, rather than all the way to the last stitch. I tried a variety to see what worked for me. I highly recommend checking out Anne Sutton's great instructions, see here and here.)

Does it make a difference if vertical lines are stitched top to bottom or bottom to top? Or if curves are stitched clockwise or counter-clockwise? Nope. As long as I turned my work so I'm working left to right and keep the loop towards me, it turns out the same.

Points were a challenge, then I found the "trick" (thanks again to Mary, in the last four pics on this post).

I'll show you. My needle goes down at the point...

... comes up down the line...

... back down at the point, wait to pull the loop all the way until I take the next stitch...

... and finally back up half way between the two. See how I've turned the work? Left to right, loop towards me. Pull the thread and off I go with more stem stitches.

Ending the thread is pretty straightforward. Wind 'er around a few stitches on the back. I also use this method to secure a new thread if the next stitches are next to existing ones, rather than the waste knot technique.

So there you have it. There aren't absolute rights or wrongs. This is simply what worked to handle the things that eluded me when I started.

May your hands stay busy and happy!

It's been too long!

2009-12-13T18:09:00.001-06:00

My goodness, it's been a busy month. Work has been intense and I've been away on a couple of business trips. I haven't been able to get in much stitching and my poor blog and blog reading have fallen WAY behind. : (

I'll catch you up and show a couple of fun things.

My first block for the Civil War Bride Quilt is ~almost!~ done... just need to stitch the butterfly's antenna ... and give it a wash and press. I'm loving applique!

Last weekend I brought it with me to a local quilt shop to pick out fabric for the bottom of the block and was humbled and touched by the nice compliments.

This little stitchery is from a free pattern, First Snow, I found in this post from chez Elisa's blog. Her blog is in French... and no, I don't read French. I right clicked on the pattern and saved the JPG. Check out the gallery of pics... lovely.

Okay, I had intended on steering clear of the whole wool craft thing. You know how it goes... I've got plenty of projects lined up already... and then Paulette-the-temptress :-) went a showed a snowman penny rug pattern by Cath's Pennies and it was instant love. (I've told Paulette I need to keep my credit card far away when I read her blog, lol... she's always showing great projects.)

So here's another project on my to-do list, which I'm planning to get done before Christmas. Aren't those snowmen cute?

Since I'm mentioning projects on my to-do list, I'll show you a couple more. These next two are projects that I designed back when I decided to do quilting. Both are wall hangings. I drew up the patterns and purchased fabrics... and they've been locked away in plastic for a long time (don't ask)... waiting their turn.

This is the first one I did. I call it Basket and Stars. I want it to have applique in the middle strips.

I call this Winter Dusk. Here, with our snowy winters, dusk takes on these wonderful shades of blue that I've always loved. I wanted something that was reminiscent of those colors and had a wintery "feel".

Do you realize I've never made a whole quilt? I do. I think about it a lot. I'm feeling the need to get one finished. Up until now everything I've done on my quilting adventure has been done by hand, and the ambitious projects I started with (CWB quilt and Nearly Insane) will take a long time before they're done. I think it's time I dust off my sewing machine, but it might need to wait until after Christmas.

We decorated last weekend. Our Christmas tree makes me smile every time I look at it.

Google Reader has been giving me problems, which has made keeping up with blog reading more difficult. Slowly I'm working on catching up. I've been missing seeing everyone in blog-land. I wish everyone joy and many smiles. I'll try not to be gone so long.

Weekends are too short

2009-11-15T17:15:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to the annual lutefish dinner at a nearby church. For me it signals the start of the holiday season. It's that "thing" that makes it real that Christmas is around the corner.

The folks that serve wear Scandinavian-like costumes. We hear silly Norwegian jokes about Ole, Sven, and Lena. Lefse can be purchased at the bake sale. We sit at long tables as containers of potatoes, Swedish meatballs, corn, coleslaw, and other goodies are passed down, family style. There is plenty of lutefisk. Yeah, I do eat it.

We had finished the main dinner and they were about to start passing the desserts - cold, fruit soup and cookies - when my 16 year old DS mentioned he was still hungry. He wanted more lutefisk. We flagged one of the ladies, who came back with a big dish of it. It made me think of a Norwegian Oliver Twist, "Please sir, may I have more lutefisk?" Makes me smile.

Next year I'll try to remember to bring my camera.

Do you have something that signals the beginning of your holidays?

I was optimistic that I'd be done with block 5 of CWBQ by the end of the weekend, but I couldn't ignore the whining of the errands, laundry and cleaning that required attention. I suppose clean underwear and groceries are important. ;-)

I'm beginning to think ahead to the next blocks. The fabric choices need time to percolate before they're final.

This is what I'm thinking for block 20.

I'm leaning towards bluebird-like colors for the bird (the fabrics on the left).

Bluebirds were fairly common about 40 years ago, but then declined drastically. There have been efforts to recover the population by setting up special bluebird nest boxes, which have helped. Someday I hope to see one in the wild.

These are the auditions for block 2.

I heard from some of you that don't mind doing stems. Maybe I was too quick to judge. Since there are more in my future, I'll give them another chance.

Time to go, the laundry is calling. Weekends really are too short.

Progress, sure and steady

2009-11-13T06:56:00.000-06:00

I'm plugging away.

I like watching the picture emerge with every piece. It reminds me of a Poloroid. Remember those? You would snap the picture and at first there was nothing. Slowly the magic would happen and you'd start to see images come into view. (True, it didn't take 2-3 weeks... don't burst my analogy.)

Ah stems. Boring stems. Does anyone enjoy stitching stems? Because I tried. I did make peace with the stems... ... but "enjoy" is too optimistic.

Endless stems. Do you know how many leaves equal one stem?........ I found myself with those thoughts as I was nearing the stem finish line.

Necessary (?) stems. Do you think the rest of the blocks would look okay without stems? ;-)

As the stems droned on, I must have dozed for awhile because next thing you know I found myself with two stem ends that were supposed to go UNDER another stem that - you guessed it - was already stitched!

Crud.

Spent some quality time with that little red tool. (It's pointing to the scene of the crime.)

I'm ~~glad~~ GLAD to be past the stems.

Most of the action has been on the Civil War Bride block.

Here's a peak at progress on my redword snowmen BOM. He's September. With 10 more blocks after this one, it won't be done for this season. I can live with that.

And some final thoughts to share with you. About giveaways. I love giveaways, but I rarely enter them.

I am amazed at the community that we - YOU - have created. Having a blog and being the recipient of that love, I fully understand the desire to give a gift as a way to say thank you. I know I'll do the same.

Feeling lucky? You've got great odds to win with giveaways. So many giveaways have only 15, 30, or 50 entries. Even the "bigger" ones - like Kellie's (5 in 224), Cathi's (1 in 126), even Kim's (1 in 1227) - give you a great shot. (Calm down, those are all closed.)

For many of us mail has been nearly reduced to junk. Even bills are going electronic. But to go to the mail and find a package? For moi? Definitely a WOO HOO moment. It never gets old. And to receive something from someone that you've felt a a kinship - a friendship... well, ain't that grand?!

The giveaway gifts are just great! But when I enter, it needs to be something I'll use in the near future. Because there are a lot of gals out there who can crank it out faster than me, and would put it to good use.

Eventually I will get faster at stitching, then ya'll better watch out 'cuz I'll be competing for the winnings with you. LOL

Auditions and Rejects

2009-11-06T07:54:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite shows is "So You Think You Can Dance". It's real dancers (okay, if you ignore the few delusional folks in the beginning) with extraordinary talent. Sometimes everything in a dance works together so perfectly it touches my emotions.

Someone said that picking fabrics is auditioning them.

I was auditioning the "petally" flowers. "Step right up to the stage..."

You're pretty, but you seem to blend in too much with the background.

Looked at other hopefuls. These next ones did make the first cut... enough for me to go to the trouble of cutting them out. But they were told they weren't what we were looking for.

Go red? No, got enough red already... the apples and other flower is red. Medium pink seems to work. I liked the variety of prints in the first choice, but my stash wasn't cooperating with that thought. Buy more? That'd be fun, but nah... it's good enough.

Next up, stems. (Didn't realize we were auditioning stems in the pic above, did you?)

Lighter, or darker? (I'm so glad we live in a digital age.)
Darker it is.

I still wonder about the butterfly. I am not a butterfly person. I wanted something pretty, but a little subtle. Love the fabric. Might be too subtle. I'll stitch more of the block while I mull it over.

I needed thread. The kind I like is 40 minutes across town. Took care of that the other day... along with a few more fabrics - small cuts for $1 each and a few fat quarters.

Marked the background. That wasn't an easy decision as I've read others' cautions about this technique. I did test it carefully first. I like the freedom from the vinyl overlay.

I'm stitching the stems, but that looks to boring to show you. I'll share my progress sometime this weekend.

Another applique project? Yes, most definitely, yes!

2009-11-01T23:39:00.000-06:00

I like having multiple projects going at the same time. So far, I've shared three of my projects... the redword snowman BOM, my summer basket applique, and the Nearly Insane blocks.

Here's a picture of the pattern of my latest project. It's based on an applique quilt made in the mid-1800's. The name of the pattern is Civil War Bride Quilt by Corliss Searcey (available from Threadbear - in Australia, no less!).

It's an ambitious project for me, but I couldn't resist. I'll also be making a number of changes to the pattern as I go along... probably no elephant in mine, for instance.

There's a group of ladies who are making this quilt and they have a group blog, the Civil War Bride Quilt blog blog, which I joined. That was also a big reason for deciding to tackle this project now. It's been neat to see everyone's blocks, get advice, and develop friendships.

I started with block 5... the one that's in the upper right corner. I drew a different "urn" to something more my style. The apples are also bigger than the ones from the pattern. (When you live in a place named Apple Valley, you gotta have good-sized apples!) You can see others' versions of block 5 here and here.

I finished prepping the pieces this weekend. Here you see the pieces laying loose on the background fabric. (It doesn't show all the stems.) It took me a few tries until I was satisfied with the fabrics for the pieces... and I reserve the right to change it before it's stitched!

Let the stitching begin! (You know, I'm finding that I like applique!)

So that's enough projects, right? Well, uh, yeah... I *might* have placed an order for a little project today. Maybe once I show you, you'll understand. ;-)

I'm Dating...

2009-10-23T05:08:00.000-05:00

I've been a dabbler.

I've tried lots of different needlecrafts. In no particular order:
Cross stitch...
Punch needle...
    Knitting...
      Crochet...
        Tatting...
          Needlepoint...
            Sewing...
              And other crafts too.

I have the stuff to do lots of that. I have yarn and thread and fabric and tools and beads and a variety of goodies. It was all... well... fun, but just okay.

I was asked, "what's your passion?" As in, that thing you love to do above all else. Something that lifts your soul. Well... uh... hmm... none of them felt like my passion (!). Well shoot. I wanted a passion. I just hadn't found it.

(Oh, and the person who asked? Yep, had a passion. Of course. *grin*)

I think finding your passion is like finding your true love. Some people know their true love the instant they meet. The rest of us date. We find someone we like. And we date.

I picked quilting. (As in the broad term "quilting", from patchwork to applique, from hand to machine.)

So yes, we're dating. We're going to try this for awhile. We're going to get together often and see if we like each other. To see if we find each other interesting.

And so far? I think he might be the one.

Okay you overachievers, settle down... some people DO have multiple passions. (I better be careful about this parallel theme because that'd make them a polygamist. LOL.) For now, I'll start with finding one.

Have you found your passion?

And since I'm supposed to show pictures, here goes. My first quilting project is Nearly Insane, by hand. (I'm not a hand-stitching purist and have every intention of piecing with a sewing machine on other projects.) For those unfamiliar, the pattern is made up of 98 unique 6" blocks.

I'm doing it in greens and blues. Here's block #21:

Block #6

Block #50:

Block #66:

The first one I made was #6. (Sorry it's a little blurry. Not trying to hide anything, just wasn't steady enough on the shot.)

My favorite is the last one.

May your hands stay busy and happy.

ADDED AFTER ORIGINAL POST: I just checked my post and when I click my pictures they blow up HUGE. I didn't intend on shoving my blocks in your face, so to speak. What I want is so that you can click the picture and it fits in the screen, but you have that little thingy in the bottom corner that you can click to blow it up (go ahead, inspect away, if it makes you happy). If anyone can help me out with that, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Creating a Summer Basket

2009-10-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

You see, I wanted a basket of flowers. Something easy going. Not fancy. When I looked in this book...

I knew that this was it.

I worried a little before I started.

About things like 1/8" stems. And pointy points. And handling such a large piece of fabric.

You know, important things that matter in life.

I needed to learn techniques. I have a few books and looked through them. I looked online (and found some great tutorials, thank you very much). I purchased two DVDs that helped a lot, Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins Teach You to Applique the Piece O' Cake Way and Hand and Machine Applique by Karen Kay Buckley. Loved the DVDs.

Most of what I do is similar to what I learned from Karen's DVD. I was happier with the results. (Someday I hope to improve my needleturn applique, but I didn't have the patience.)

Here's a few of the tools I use. A sanding board (take 1 cute clipboard, 1 sheet sandpaper cut to size, spray the back with adhesive spray, and ta-da). Good (enough) scissors (Clover serrated edge is the blue handle, Ginger 5" in silver, and a Fiskars to cut paper). Spray sizing (that's the lid) and a small stencil brush. Pins and thread (Mettler 60) and Thread Heaven. I found that pencil holders are a perfect size for holding a collection of the small items that need to be organized. And a lint brush... always handy. Because I have a dog that sheds... and she's ~~big~~ huge. (A Newf.)

I use a vinyl overlay. I think I like it. It seems to be working okay, but I do think about other ways, such as blue marking pens. Maybe it's the size that I'm working with that has me on the fence.

Here's the pieces that I've prepped, some face up, some face down.

What I do... Trace the pattern on freezer paper, iron it to another FP sheet to make it stronger, cut each piece out, iron to back of fabric, cut out each fabric piece with a seam allowance, "paint" light sizing on the seam allowance and use a little craft iron to iron the seam allowance over the edge of the freezer paper. (I remove the freezer paper before I stitch it down.)

It's tedious and detailed and (for me) takes time. But I learned you should try to find joy in each step in the journey if you can. (Kind of funny that I have patience for this and not for needleturn. Analyze that!)

There's been very little stitching this past week. Too much going on. This weekend should be a quiet one. Hopefully filled with lots of time to stitch.

Summer in Fall

2009-10-18T22:49:00.000-05:00

I took on an applique project. It's my first. Normally, beginners start with a beginner pattern, with easy curves and easy points. But I didn't want easy. My nature is to dive in.

After looking at a variety of patterns, I found one in the book American Stenciled Quilts by Vicki Garnas. You heard that right... stenciled. No "A" word in the book.

The pattern is supposed to be enlarged 250%. But I liked a smaller end size. I enlarged 200%. (Without a border, it's about 30" x 18".)

Got that? I picked a non-beginner pattern, that's wasn't designed for applique, and made it smaller.

Cuz that's what I do.

And I couldn't be happier.

Here's a picture of the traced pattern, reduced to a single sheet of paper. (I hope the pics are okay. I'm still learning.) I wanted a pattern and fabrics that said summer.

I've sewn the stems, blue petals, one bud and some leaves to the background. The red flowers and some leaves are prepped, but not sewn in the pic below. The basket will be out of a navy blue with white print. The tulips will be an orange print.

I tried a few applique techniques before I started this project. I chose to go with freezer paper on the back of the pieces, painting the fabric edges with light sizing and and ironing the edges over the FP. Most of the pieces have been prepped. That took a LONG time.

I am delighted with every piece that I stitch, watching the picture be revealed in fabric.

I love how the sun lit the leaves on this tree in my backyard today. There was a slight chill in the air.

Outside it's fall. And inside I'm sewing summer.

Note to Self

2009-10-12T16:53:00.000-05:00

Note to self: in the future, do NOT post pictures of snowmen in October.

Because mother nature has a sense of humor.

And likes to join in the fun.

Note to reader: do NOT think this means I'm one of those every day posters. Lower your expectations. LOL. Reality will strike soon and my wooziness will calm down. I've stepped into such a great world of friendliness.

Plus it won't snow every day.

At least not for awhile.

Please.

(For you who wonder... a big warm up is predicted for the weekend and the only memory of this will be these pictures.)

In the next post, I'll share something I'm working on. Thanks for allowing this interruption.

Happiness is a Snowman

2009-10-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a snowman BOM. August is stitched. The first of 12. He wanted to look nice before I share, so he took a bath.

A little dry and a little press and here he is. Happy guy.

Try not to melt while you wait for your buddies to be stitched.

There were so many decisions and learning before I took the first stitch on this. Backstitch? Stem stitch? How do you do those? How many strands? What needle? What size stitches? To back? Or not to back? Knots? Starting? Ending? Search, search, search. Practice stitches on a muslin scrap. Decide.

Phew... glad that part is over.

Eleven to go.

Today is the Day

2009-10-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

Hello.

My name is Beth and today is the day. Today I become a card carrying member of the blog world. Yes, it's just Beth, and Karese is my middle name. Why did I wait to blog till now? Pressure.

Because now I need to take pictures, and write, and respond to commenters. And most importantly to create.

I have Got from so many blogs this year. I feel like it's time for me to Give.

I need to pick up my creating pace. Truth about my first header? Abe (Lincoln) would say it was started it 1 score and 6 years ago. (Yeah, 1983!) You bloggers motivated me to finish it. Yes you did. And YES it's done! (Pics for another post.) Thank you.

Pressure can be good. I'll never live long enough to do every pattern that I love. I expect - and want - the pressure of this blog to keep my fingers moving. Because this will be pretty lame if I never create anything. I will make a tiny dent in my wish list.

Today is also the day before. The day before my O day. Indulge me a moment because it's been big on my mind. Tomorrow is one of those O birthdays. Two O birthdays start with an F. This is my second one. The first time, I was fine. I found this one is harder to take. But time rolls along and you gotta roll with it. If you're older than me, laugh at my silliness. If you're younger, nm. If you're my age, Hawaii and Alaska became states the year we were born. We're in good company. People enjoy their trips to those states. If you find your way back here again, I'll try to make your trip pleasant. Thanks for dropping by.