Everyday Revelations

Adding Beads

2010-08-30T14:44:00.000-04:00

Added some seed beads to the Fargo flowers.

Beaded Dragonfly

2010-08-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

Different beads were used to create this cute dragonfly. It might be easiest to start with the body, but I sewed the wings on first. I may have to redo the wings because one of the wing beads is a different shade.

Beads on the Stocking

2010-08-27T08:42:00.000-04:00

I can't say with certainty that I'm done with fibers, but I've moved on to adding beads to the stocking.

Sparkles

2010-08-23T12:31:00.000-04:00

A bit of sparkly ribbon really stands out on this stocking. I'm not sure if it's too much. I'll wait until I've added beads and sparkly threads to the rest of the stocking and then decide.

Butterflies on the Stocking

2010-08-22T12:10:00.002-04:00

These were inspired by the waved chain butterflies. There are a few examples in the flickr group, but this is the one that I remember being inspired by. Mine are a bit different. I made the first chain stitch in the center, with the second to the top. Instead of continuing with the third chain, I tacked down the second. Then, I brought my needle up just inside the bottom of the first chain and made the third chain in the other direction, for the lower part of the wing. I used a bullion stitch and French knot for the body and head and added detached chains inside each section of the wings to fill them in a bit. The top two sections of each wing also got a straight stitch for extra filling and color variation.

Fargo Flowers on the Stocking

2010-08-21T12:04:00.002-04:00

I've added Fargo flowers to the wave chain. I must have done these before, but I really like them. I get quite a lot of interesting detail from a bit of silk ribbon and an easy stitch. This ribbon is one that I dyed myself. The Fargo flowers make great use of the color variations in the ribbon.

TAST II on the Stocking

2010-08-20T11:58:00.001-04:00

I'm making progress on the stocking. Having my supplies more organized and conveniently located makes it much easier to indulge the creative urges. It also helps that my little one is a bit older. She likes to look at all the pretty projects. Not too long ago, I couldn't keep her from touching everything. Now, she lets me show her and will color while I stitch. Maybe in another year or two she'll want to learn to stitch.

Here, I've added slipped detached chain stitch, from TAST II, week 21. It took me a minute to figure this one out. At first, I tried to do the chain part backwards. Once I looked over the directions again and realized I needed to start the stitch at the top, then it was much easier.

Work In Progress - Stocking

2010-08-11T11:43:00.001-04:00

I started the stocking project ten years ago. At the time, there were four of us, myself, nine year old son, seven year old daughter, and my fiance. My son was a happy, intelligent boy who liked dragons, magic, and games. My daughter was a smart, adorable girl who liked cats and frogs. My fiance was a wonderful young artist who loved me and my children. He was only twenty-four, then. Wow. So much has changed.

Their stockings reflect my perceptions of them at that time. I had every intention of finishing the stockings for Christmas that year, and each of the following years. I got stuck with mine. The top patch of each stocking has a name. Each stocking is filled with images and charms relating to the person it was made for, with a larger patch in the middle having a special symbolic something. My daughter's stocking has a cat patch that she picked out. My son's has an elaborate embroidered dragon. My husband's took a bit long to decide on. I was originally thinking of a design to represent his artist side, but eventually I embroidered and beaded a cross.

Each year, I'd pull out the stockings in the fall and add to them, all the while trying to think of something to represent myself. I also couldn't decide what name to use on mine. We call my son by his full name, Christopher, but it was shortened to "Chris" on the stocking, for the sake of space and design. Everyone else calls him Chris, so it wasn't too much of a stretch. My husband's has his name. It's what I call him, and what my children call him. On mine, do I put my full name? When I was a child I was always told I was Katharine, not Kathy, but when my uncle Jay and I were in the same preschool class, we were called Jay and Kay. In 1st grade, when I wrote slowly and never finished my class work, my family suggested I write Kay on my papers because it would take less time. I remember the teacher calling me to her desk and asking if I wanted to be called Kay. I told her no, because I was always told my name was Katharine. I've never gone by Kay since.

When you have a long name, everyone you meet wants to shorten it. I got through most of school as Katharine, but when you start telling your teenage peers this or that nickname is not acceptable, that's what they call you. They were my friends and it was a phase we went through. When I started work, I finally had enough. I'd been told my whole life that my name was not Kathy, but I was meeting more people and tired of having to correct them all. I started going by Kate. My first husband called me Keili (it sounds like Kaylee). That was my screen name back when the internet was new. We used comodore64, connected at the speed of a snail, and were limited to local bulletin boards. It sounded childish when he said it out loud, so his mother called me Katie. He had a five year old cousin that called me Cousin Katie. That was weird. I haven't heard those names in quite a while.

Then, there were my kids. They called me Mommy. I'm still Katharine to anyone that knew me as a child, Kate to everyone else, and Mom to my kids. Of course, now I have a third child. Her stocking is full of flowers and butterflies.

If the choice of names to use on my stocking was not confusing enough, there was the symbolic representation of self to decide on. Who was I? I have a better idea now, but any ideas for the stocking seemed pretentious. Even the rest of the stocking was more a jumble of appealing colors and stitch experiments than anything symbolic of me or my interests. Last year, I finally added a mirror. I'll add more stitching and charms around the mirror, but that's as close as I can get to a representation of self. I am a reflection of whoever I need to be at different times, in different circumstances.

I haven't done much stitching the last few years, except for my third child's stocking. I was busy with a newborn, two moves (one to another apartment, and then to our first house), starting my first vegetable garden, various home projects, and moving my craft space... multiple times. When we first moved into our new home, I was working to get organized and set up a craft space in the finished basement, with the family room. At some point, my son wanted to rent the basement, so we moved him downstairs and my craft supplies up to his old room. That would be the sunny, south side room under the eaves of a cape cod style house. It gets very hot in the summer. Before I got around to organizing again, my son moved out, my sister moved into the upstairs room, and my craft space was relocated to the basement, which now included my husband's hobby room instead of a family room. In the heat of summer, this is the coolest room in the house. I was making progress getting organized and set up to actually do some stitching. Then, my son needed to move back in. With my sister upstairs, that left my new craft space. So, my supplies moved to the dining room, which isn't used as a dining room, but an excess/hobby room. My son's things are still piled in the kitchen and dining room, he hasn't slept here most nights, and he's already making plans to move on. All this in only two and a half years. Now, I'm left with the question of continuing to get organized and set up in the dining room, which is somewhat convenient, but small and cluttered feeling, or move back to the basement and hope my son's new plan works out for him. I think I will leave that decision until he's moved into the new place and doing well. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy stitching while my supplies are easily accessible.

The stockings are close to finished. Only mine needs more stitching and embellishing. I have started again. Even while not stitching, I've been a regular follower of Pin Tangle, and TAST II. My newest stitches have come from this inspiration. Here are my versions of the buttonhole wheel cup:

and the wave chain:

Both are areas in progress and will be added to. The other new addition is a spider web:

The web turned out very shiny on a mostly muted and subdued piece. I don't know if it will stay or not, but spider webs are supposed to be symbols of good things... in stitching and for Christmas. I guess I'll just wait and see how it looks when I start adding beads and charms.

I leave myself with no expectations this year. The stockings are very nearly finished. I even have the backings chosen and some of them cut. It would be nice to have these done and hung on the wall for advent, but it will be strange not having them to work on. For now, it's just nice to be stitching again.

Current Project

2010-02-12T09:37:00.007-05:00

Over at Knitting on Impulse, Ruth is knitting an Olympic tribute sweater to wear during the winter games, which are hosted in her town this year. How exciting that must be. She isn't publishing a pattern, rather sharing her design process. I'm really excited by this. I have been needing a new sweater, or a few. I have two old favorites that get the most wear, and it shows. They are well worn and unraveling in places. I've had them for years. I still wear them around the house and garden because they are comfortable, warm but not too hot, and I haven't found anything to replace them with.

I've looked. I've tried on sweaters and come home with nothing. I have a few newer sweaters, but they'll never get the same wear. I'm picky. The last sweater I bought was very pretty and fluffy, but it makes me itch and isn't as flattering as I once thought. I am attracted to the pretty and feminine sweaters in the store, but I don't like wearing them. My favorite sweaters are roomy, cotton pullovers with good weight and drape.

My figure is not at all standard, so finding clothes to flatter and enhance is a challenge, especially bulky sweaters. Realistically, the size I need is large for the shoulders and waist, 2XL for the chest, and only medium for the hips. So, I need something soft in the shoulders, extra roomy around the bust, narrowing to the waist, and with a bit of flare at the hips. I think that would be the most flattering, maybe. I"m also short waisted, but prefer longer tops to avoid calling attention to this. They just have to be fitted in the right area. Oh, let's not forget I'm a fiber snob with allergies and prefer comfort over high fashion, but still want something flattering. I've never even found a pattern that looked worth the time and investment. I am a very slow knitter.

I've admired Ruth's hand-dyed yarn and her amazing knits for some time, now. I'm thrilled that she is blogging her design process for a project that I believe I can customize to look good on me. I bought the yarn and started knitting Sunday. If you look at the inspiration and then mine, you'll see that I've already made some adjustments. My neck is much shorter. I don't wear turtlenecks and am uncomfortable with anything tight around my neck. In addition to being shorter, I knit the neck ribbing on larger needles. Usually, ribbing is done with smaller needles, so my ribbing is extra loose. The tubular cast-on was new to me and turned out very nice. I'll be using that again.

My waves are also more random instead of evenly spaced. It's a bit wonky, but it suits me. Since my sweater isn't meant as an Olympic tribute, my thought is to continue the waves further down the sweater, possibly throughout. The horizontal braid might work further down the sweater for me, but I don't want to call extra attention to the bust area. For now, I have a few more rows I can continue with, but then I'll wait and see how the stitches are divided for the front, back, and sleeves. I'm considering short rows to add ease to the bust, sort of mimicking the side darts in some fitted tops. I'm familiar with the technique, in theory, but have never tried it. I'll have to see how the sweater shapes up and be prepared to frog if I don't like it.

Anyway, this is what I'm working on. When I was taking the photo, I found a few other things that I've made the last few months. I'll share photos as soon as they're ready. Mostly, I've been working on fun and functional knit items, but I did get a bit more done on my Christmas stockings. I've also begun blogging about my new passion and creative outlet at Evolution of a Gardener.

Long Time No Blog

2009-05-15T16:51:00.003-04:00

I didn't realize how long it's been since I blogged. Several things have kept me away. I haven't done a whole lot of crafty things worth blogging about. I had a case of the winter blahs. My focus has been on taking care of the family and getting more organized since the move last year. The basement craft room got a bit chilly. It was dark and dreary and the light just wasn't good for picture taking. My current obsession is gardening, which I'm thinking about starting a separate blog for.

Spring is well under way. The sun is shining. Things are looking up on the crafty front. My oldest moved into the basement, so his bright and sunny, yellow room with a south facing window is becoming my craft room. Well, mostly a craft room? I'll be sharing it with kirk. It will double as his hobby room and library. He has a design for shelves he wants to build that will look great around the window. I suggested that he add a window seat with storage under. We'll see what happens. I think he liked the idea, but needs to figure out the best way to incorporate it into his design.

The wreath is my newest project done at my weekly craft group. It's not my usual style, which is much more asymmetrical and bold. Kirk helped pick out the flowers. He's planning to paint the door red and I wanted to make something that would look good with the red also. Without keeping that in mind, I probably would have gone with fuschia and vivid orange, not the best colors to put against red. The design is a result of laziness. The flowers I used were from a garland, not the usual bunches or stems. I lay the garland around the wreath, then decided to wire it on as it was instead of removing all the flowers and leaves and gluing them. I'm not sure if a bow will help, or maybe a little welcome plaque across the center. More likely than not, it'll stay the way it is.

Pink Quilt

2009-01-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

I made this quilt for my niece a couple of years ago. In my haste, I forgot to get a picture before our visit. I visited for a weekend during the holidays and was finally able to get a picture. I know my stepmother emailed one, but it was lost to the cyber demons. I'm happy to have a picture for my journal. This was the second quilt that I've completed. I have several more in various stages of progress, but it's nice to see evidence of accomplishment.

The basic design is a rail fence pattern. I used five different pink fabrics and strip pieced them. When I had all the blocks of three strips done, I laid them all out in the rail fence configuration. Then I moved the blocks around until I was happy with the randomness of the where the different fabrics came together. The quilting is a simple zigzag through the outer strips in each block. If the closeup, the stitching shows up just a bit in the lighter patches. The binding is just a narrow strip. I used a bright pink, patterned flannel for the back.

Winter Wreath

2009-01-10T11:22:00.004-05:00

Making wreaths is a popular craft at the group I attend. This is my most recent one from just before Christmas. I've had the flowers in a box since my move and this was a good way to use them up and display them. I like it just the way it is, without a bow, but I could see a winter sprite hanging from the top.

Stocking Bit 12

2008-12-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

I really don't know how I like this button cluster. Many crazy quilters use button clusters, but this is my first attempt. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. I've used a stray button here or there, but not clumped together like this. If nothing else, it adds balance to the heel motif and central area with all the beads and charms.

Stocking Bit 11

2008-12-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

A simple thing, these seed beads. I searched through my stash many times and couldn't find a color that was right for this spot. I, finally, just went to the craft store and bought more beads. It's difficult to believe there was nothing suitable in my stash, but there wasn't.

I sewed the little heart charm on with thread that I hope will blend in when you look at it from a distance. If it works, you will only notice the heart.

The fine gold web is also new here. The 'thread' is more like a tinsel type fiber. It's small, but fits the spot just right. I haven't decided if I will add a spider or not. Maybe a tiny one with a dark purple sewing thread?

Stocking Bit 10

2008-12-15T08:45:00.000-05:00

Here's the second pink elephant and a sparkly pink butterfly.

Stocking Bit 9

2008-12-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

A variety of heart charms hang below the flowers on this seem. The lace heart felt a bit flat and I knew I wanted to add something, but didn't know what. I really don't know how the little angel ended up there. I had considered it, but thought the angel was headed for another patch. It seems, when I finally had her in hand with needle and thread, she had a will of her own.

Stocking Bit 8

2008-12-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

Embroidery with gold thread dresses up the beaded face. Working around the face, a fly stitch was tacked down with a detached chain. French knots add a bit of dimension within the fly stitches. Little glass butterflies finish the motif.

There is also a dragonfly tucked resting in the corner of two seems.

Stocking Bit 7

2008-12-12T08:43:00.001-05:00

These little flower beads were just the thing to finish off this seem.

Stocking Bit 6 - Pink Elephant Story

2008-12-11T10:45:00.004-05:00

I've added a few charms to the heel motif. The one in the upper left corner of the photo insists on lying upside down. It's a pink elephant. There are two of them peeking out of bits of trim like this. They may seem like just a pink girly thing, but they have a special story. I don't know why pink elephants are as easy to find as they are, but I'm happy about it.

When I was a young girl, my mother collected pink elephants as gifts for my Granddad. She considered it a special thing between the two of them. I should get the full story from her for the sake of posterity, but I think it had something to do with seeing Dumbo together when it was new. Pink elephants always remind me of my Granddad. He passed away several months after my older daughter was born. She's only a few short weeks from 16, just after the new year. Babies were a yearly event for a while there, between nieces & nephews, cousins, a brother, a sister, and my own two. My Haley was the last while Granddad was still with us. Miranda, who this stocking is for, never met him. She likes to look at her stocking and touch all the little bits. At only just two, she nods her head sagely and states, "This is my stockin'. It's a very special stockin'." She's a precocious child and wise beyond her years. Someday, I'll show her pictures of her Great Granddad and tell her about the pink elephants and why they are special.

As I'm about to post this, I see the date is my mother's birthday. It seems somehow appropriate.

Stocking Bit 5

2008-12-09T20:40:00.001-05:00

If memory servers, my mother in law and sister in law gave me a package of these bows when I started the stockings several years ago. There were red, green, and gold. Interestingly, at least one of those matches the color scheme of each stocking. There aren't many unifying features of the stockings as a group, so it's nice they all have this little bow in common. I've also added the bugle beads along the curved seam. They add weight and sparkle to the area.

I think when I worked on the stocking last year, I was undecided about whether to add gold. The early embellishments leaned more towards iridescent as the accent color. More and more, gold has found it's way into the project and I'm liking it.

Stocking Bit 4

2008-12-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

Added a few beads to a seam with up and down buttonhole.

Stocking Bit 3

2008-12-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Bead dangles - string 5 seed beads, one large bead, one seed bead, back through the large bead and 5 seed beads

Stocking Bit 2

2008-12-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

I made a couple of these polymer clay faces to audition as the main motif on my black stocking, but hadn't sewn them on yet. On a whim I tucked one into the blankie on Miranda's stocking. I didn't like it, or the blankie, and eventually removed them both. Miranda saw it, though, and loved the sleeping baby, as she called it. So, I sewed it back onto her stocking without the blankie and then surrounded it with two rows of beads.

I am behind schedule on these stockings. I really wanted them done by the 1st of December. However, they are very close to finished now. I am into crunch time and I do get more done that way. I have a few pictures of newer additions to the stockings and will add them to the blog with a short blurb as I get time. I thought I might be able to finish them this weekend, but Miranda and I are sick, so it's unlikely. Soon, though.

Nativity Rug

2008-12-02T13:57:00.005-05:00

The advent candles at church sometimes drip wax on the floor. It must be a nuisance to get out of the carpet. There was talk of buying a rug to go under the candelabra and protect the rug, but what type of rug? Before I knew it, I had volunteered to make one. I used painting canvas and dyed it as close to the color of the carpet as I could. We didn't want it to stand out. To give it a bit of interest, I asked Kirk to draw me some nativity figures and then painted them on as silhouettes. The stars add a bit of atmosphere so it's not just a rug with some figures painted on. I sewed it like a mini quilt with a thin batting and backing fabric dyed the same color. I wasn't paying enough attention and ended up slashing the top to turn it through instead of the bottom. Oops. I added the circle on top to cover the slash. It looks a bit funny in the picture, but it is covered by the base of the candelabra. I finished it off with two generous coats of a water based sealer, which I'm hoping will let us just pop off any wax that drips.

Knit socks?

2008-11-24T15:49:00.000-05:00

I'm learning to knit socks. Well, there's not much learning. It's just following a pattern. I have no idea why I'm knitting socks. I have the yarn. It takes up very little space. It can be done while the baby plays. Lots of my other hobbies require more space and have sparkly bits the baby likes to get into. This is easier.

Stocking Bit

2008-11-22T16:48:00.000-05:00

Free handed stem stitch sewn with DMC variegated perl cotton.

Halloween Crafts

2008-11-17T21:41:00.004-05:00

Front and back of the little bag I made for Miranda. She was delighted that I made it just for her. The front was colored with regular Crayola crayons. Then, it was ironed to set the colors and remove the wax.

I never did find a witch for my wreath. We painted little wooden signs at another group meeting. I tucked mine into the wreath. It'll do quite nicely until I find a witch.

Lost

2008-11-07T11:08:00.002-05:00

I am lost without my camera. The last time I used it was a couple of weeks ago. I photographed Miranda playing with her birthday present from her Nana and Papa. I remember setting the camera down with thoughts of downloading those pics. Kirk was using the computer, so I tucked the camera away where Miranda wouldn't get it. At least, I think I did. Either that or Miranda got it first. I'm not sure which would create more difficulty in finding it. So far my search has turned up:

several scrunchies and various other hair ornaments
stack of patterns, including the overalls and jacket patterns I planned to make for Miranda
lost cell phone that has since been replaced
missing screw driver
tin of pins
one of my winter gloves
the old planner that still has my only list of important telephone numbers

I have projects to share, too. Miranda's halloween bag turned out cute and she loves it. I never found a witch for my wreath, but I added a little sign that was cute. The shirt to go with Kirk's kilt turned out really nice. I've been working on my BJP pieces. I'm doing a series of ornaments. Speaking of ornaments, holiday crunch time is here. I have my stockings out and am channeling all the stitching mojo I can. They will be done and ready for hanging by December 1st - this year! I'm, actually, not far from that now.

Now, to find the camera (which may require copious amounts of cleaning and organizing) or stitch?

Halloween Wreath

2008-10-09T05:05:00.000-04:00

The group that I do crafts with made wreaths a couple of weeks ago. Both my daughters helped me choose the flowers. The teen liked the black flowers and the baby liked the purple. With Halloween right around the corner, and black and purple as a start, I added the orange flowers to make it a Halloween wreath. It's not quite finished, yet. I want to put a big bow at the top with a witch hanging down. I'm thinking I want the bow to be purple, but I want to make sure the color looks right with the witch. Trouble is I haven't found a suitable witch anywhere. I've looked at all the craft store and the big discount stores. There are a couple more places to look, but I'm shocked that no one has little witches this time of year.

A Start on the Curtains

2008-09-30T14:55:00.000-04:00

Lately, most of my sewing time has been taken up with making curtains. I've had the fabrics sitting around for months and finally found the motivation to just sit down and work on them. I started with the sheers because they were simpler. I needed the quick accomplishment to keep the momentum going. Nothing fancy there, only a casing with an extra line of stitching to make the top ruffle. The selvages provided a nice edge to the sides, so I left them. I still have to do the hem. That requires sitting on the floor with mass quantities of pins, definitely a step to be done while the baby is napping. I may have to go shopping and make a couple more panels for the sides. With the location of the hooks to hold up the extra long rod, the gathered sections aren't even. Kirk likes it, and I'll live with it for now, but it will eventually bother me.

Originally, I bought insulated panels for the living room. The first one I opened had a huge flaw in it. I didn't bother with the rest. I just returned them and decided to make my own. The purchased panels were the same color, chocolate brown, but they were a plain fabric. The fabric I'm using is an embroidered linen with an insulated lining fabric. Again, I still have the hems to do, and also the ties. I was planning on doing all four panels the same, tying them up at the top during the day with ribbons and loops on the back. Kirk wants to tie the panel on the side window and those on either side of the picture window to the side and only tie the center panel on the picture window up. We'll have to experiment with it. The important thing is that the dark panels are easy to open during the day. They block almost all of the sunlight. I need sunlight, especially during the shorter days of winter.

Harvest

2008-09-29T20:45:00.001-04:00

This photo is from the beginning of September, but it was still in the camera, another day of harvest.

Stocking Details

2008-08-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

The closer I get to being organized and settled, the more stitching mojo I find. It helps that my littlest angel has developed a bed time routine and is getting to sleep before I'm exhausted. I added another motif and some layering on a couple of seams. For the first bit, I added beads and sequins to the bovine princess seam. The sequins are not obvious unless you look very closely. They're only 2mm and a bead was used to sew each one on. Some of them are hiding behind the silk ribbon loops, but they help the ribbons stay flowing in the right direction.

For the other seam addition, I used metallic threads, burgundy and gold, doubled so that I was stitching with four threads. I added a running stitch along the center curve and detached chains with straight stitches in the dips along the sides. I wonder, though, if those look more like elongated fly stitches.

The motif is a trio of thread crocheted flowers. One was made with cotton pearl, most likely a number 8, but possibly 12. The other two were made with a fine silk/cashmere knitting yarn. All of the threads were dyed by me before the crocheting. I used the newer DMC linen floss to make the French knot centers. I really like the feel of the linen floss and enjoy stitching with it. It behaves very well.

Harvest & Inspiration

2008-08-14T12:09:00.000-04:00

The garden produced quite a bit today. This is the most I've harvested. Usually, I might get a cucumber or zucchini and a few green beans. Today was the first of the broccoli, eggplants, jalepeno, and acorn squash. Along with that, I've got zucchini, cucumber, a pickling cucumber, chili peppers, a couple of cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, and coriander. The cherry tomatoes are just starting to ripen, but the basket needed a bit of color. There are a few plants not represented here, but it seems that most of what I'm growing is green.

I don't know if I'll follow through on the inspiration, but I'll be taking more pictures of the various veggies I pick from my first garden. The theme for next year's Quilting Arts calendar contest is "Fresh Picked". I have ideas, but I'm better with creating ideas than creating finished projects. We'll see how it goes.

A finished project

2008-08-08T14:28:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it was a small project, but it's still a project completed. I intended this small doll blanket to be more scrappy to use up some small bits of yarn I had dyed. It took on a life of it's own and turned out quite nice. My littlest angel is enjoying it. The baby hiding under the blanket is becoming known as 'Frankenbaby' to the rest of the family. Hubby suggested the baby was in need of a good washing a while back. The body houses electronics and the clothes are sewn on. I thought I could just snip the threads at the back of the neck and slip the clothes off, but I was mistaken. I knew the legs were encased in the clothes and not attached to the body. I didn't know the clothes were not made and then attached to the body. The seams around the neckline and sleeves were sewn to the body as well. Taking it apart made a real mess of it. My little angel didn't seem to mind and was thrilled with her clean baby. The poor baby has since lost an arm, and my angel still loves her baby.

Her second birthday is fast approaching. Time just flies right by when they're little and growing so fast. Her birthday is in October, still a couple of months away, but I am notoriously slow . She needs a new baby. Maybe I just want her to have a new baby. Either way, she's getting a new baby for her birthday. A proper baby with clothes that can be changed and washed and sewn for her.

I spent months looking at any store I shopped at before buying the first baby. I wasn't too thrilled with that one, but it was love at first sight for my little angel. There really aren't many adorable dolls in the stores today. So, what's a Mom to do? I splurged and ordered a quality baby online. This little doll is one of the Bitty Twins. She hopped out of her box to model for this photo during nap time. I have patterns for her new wardrobe and plenty of supplies. Now I just need to finish my organizing. Then I'll have two months of naps to sew a wardrobe for her before the birthday.

My organizing is coming along slowly. I haven't put too much energy into refolding fabric, but it's still taking a fair amount of time. I have four more buckets full of fabric to go in the cabinets, plus a bit. It's actually nice being able to put the fabric in before the doors go on. This way, I can see everything all at once. As I suspected, the yarn and laces just won't fit in the cabinets. For now, they'll stay in the buckets stacked under the window. All in all, things are starting to fall into place.

Organizing

2008-07-29T13:37:00.001-04:00

My cabinet still needs the facings and doors, but it is ready to begin using. Now I just have to decide what to put where. This is proving to be a challenge after going so long with only using plastic buckets and baskets, and tucking things here and there. The cabinet is about six feet tall and seven feet wide. I do have another shelf for my stuff in an alcove at the bottom of the stairs. Hubby also wants to build U shaped shelves to better utilize that space, but that project didn't rank high on the priority list. Until the doors are on, I can only use the bottom shelves for anything I don't mind the baby getting into. So far, that is only a pile of jeans to be recycled for a project.

The doors will likely be on before I fill up the top shelves. I'm finding it very time consuming to refold the many pieces of fabric to stack nicely. I've started with the crazy quilt fabrics on one side, the quilting cottons on the other side, and the fabrics for making clothes in the middle. I haven't come across them yet, but there are is also the fabric for making fashion doll clothes that will need a home. Yarn may go on the bottom shelves if there is extra space. If not, it will probably stay in buckets that I can stack under the window next to the cabinet.

Eventually, I need to organize the alcove better and hang a curtain to conceal the chaos. The shoe box size containers are filled with a variety of things. Some contain crazy quilting embellishments, various motifs, bits of lace, and such. Some contain fabrics for doll clothes that have been cut out and are waiting to be sewn. Some contain supplies for things that don't require much space, like tatting or dying. Others contain supplies for an individual project, like the jean bag I started way back when. There is a stack of floss boxes filled with various buttons and beads and what not. One bucket is filled with patterns for doll clothes. Another has drawers full of beads and fibers and Christmas ornaments to paint. There are a couple of shelves of scrapbooking supplies. In front of it all, is a pile of random craft supplies and mishmash to keep the baby from getting to the shelf. When it is better organized, perhaps I'll stack the buckets of yarn here instead.

Craft and sewing supplies are also stashed in several places they don't belong, for the sole purpose of being out of the baby's reach. I didn't take pictures of everything, but you get the idea. I'm really looking forward to getting organized. Maybe then I'll actually be able to focus on more stitching.

The Garden Planted

2008-07-15T10:26:00.001-04:00

After two months of work, I was finally able to plant my garden. My wonderful husband built the raised beds and installed the fence for me. I planted about a week into June. The plants are not as big as they could be, but they're coming along nicely. There are still piles of gravel and rocks to be moved and used in other projects. Those projects just aren't as urgent as preparing the garden was. I have done a couple of minor outdoor projects, but the focus is now inside. There is still unpacking and organizing to do. I'm hoping having the cabinets to organize my stash will have a domino effect and enable more organizing elsewhere. This will be the first time my stash has a real home. It's always been just 'stashed' somewhere out of the way. Well, sometimes it wasn't so out of the way, but I'm a creative type. Chaos is sometimes unavoidable. I'm also hoping this will make using it much more efficient and therefore, pleasant and productive. I am finding more energy for creativity and stitching again. Mostly, this happens after my littlest angel goes to bed at night. It's really wonderful to curl up at night with my husband, me with my stitching and him with his drawing, and enjoy our own house that is feeling more like home all the time.

A little stitching...

2008-07-15T10:21:00.001-04:00

Finally, I have some stitching pictures to share. I haven't stitched much since I started digging the garden, but I did sew a couple of motifs onto the pink and purple stocking. The first is a Venice lace butterfly. Some time ago, I dyed it with inks meant for re-inking stamp pads. I did heat set it, but it still washed out quite a bit. It turned out to be a lovely pastel motif that is just right for the stocking. My little angel loves butterflies.

The next motif is a tatted dragonfly. I started it a few years ago and ran into a tangle near the end. It was still in the box of unfinished tatting when I stumbled across it. The colors go perfectly with the stocking, so I pulled it out and finished it. There was really only a bit of unpicking to do, and then finish off the head.

This last bit is only the start of a motif. It's a bit of knitting done with tiny little needles. It may have been a swatch when I was knitting doll sweaters or the start of a scarf that was abandoned. Either way, it was a scrap that looked like a miniature blankie. My little angel doesn't really have a blankie, but she does like her blankets. I had thought to add a bouquet of flowers coming out of the top of it. Now, I'm wondering if I can find a suitable cherub to tuck under the edge and hold the bouquet.

Here's a photo of the whole stocking as it is now.

The Great Build

2008-07-08T10:47:00.000-04:00

I have the best husband. His parents came to visit last week, to see their only grandchild and the new house. Hubby was on vacation. He and his dad spent the whole week building me a cabinet for my stash. Hubby is an artist and never did this stuff as a kid. Now that he has his own house, he's taken an interest in building stuff. He made plans for three projects and had the lumber delivered a couple weeks ago. His dad was only too happy to help him while they were here. I think they both had a great time building, sharing ideas, and doing the male bonding thing.
Hubby's mom helped, too. We must have spent a couple of hours at Lowe's getting hardware, tools, and extras. His mom picked up a few extra things she thought we could use. Turned out pretty well, the things she bought us came in handy. One of them was the long level. She had great fun using it to check on how the men were doing. She was also there to help any time they needed an extra pair of hands.
It was a great week. They were predicting thunder showers most of it, but the weather held out wonderfully. It only sprinkled a couple of times while they were building. Even then, it wasn't too much to make them stop. By the week's end, they had the framework done and the shelves cut and notched. At that point, it was getting pretty heavy. They were taking it out of the basement each morning to work on it and putting it away at night. Each night it was a bit heavier. After the frame was done, they decided it would be best to continue the cutting outside, but finish the building where the cabinet will be located. It's made to fit along part of a wall in the basement family room.
They weren't able to finish the cabinet before we took his parents to the airport Sunday. That morning, they cut all the paneling and doors. All that's left now is for my husband to cover the shelves with contact paper, sand a few rough spots, and install the paneling and doors. Actually, the trim for the doors may need to be cut still. It's slower going, now that he's back at work, but it's coming along. With any luck, it might even be finished this weekend. Oh wait, I still need to pick out handles for the doors. I didn't like anything they had at Lowe's and wanted to check another place, or maybe even pull out the polymer clay and make some. That could be fun.
I did get to help with the cabinet a couple of times, but mostly I was occupied with the baby or cooking. It was great having extra people to cook for. I think hubby and the kids enjoyed the extra variety in the meals. I may have to put more effort into menu planning for just us, too. We don't need the extra desserts and such on a regular basis, but some of the main dishes would be nice to have more often.
The baby and I had our own bit of fun while the men were building my cabinet. Hubby put together the table pieces we picked out and we painted it. It's not the neatest project to let a baby help with, but she had fun and knows that she helped make it. She dipped her brush and slopped the paint on. Then I spread it around and wiped off the excess. It's a nice pale pink. When the baby is sleeping, I may sponge on a bit of gold mixed with glaze, not to cover the pink, but just add a bit of shimmer. Then I want to paint butterflies and flowers around the edge for her, maybe a couple of fairies, too. I think she'll like that.

Garden Prep

2008-05-03T08:56:00.001-04:00

Preparing my veggie garden is an all consuming task these days. The rain this week hasn't helped. It's really been a slow week. I have to say, sifting wet dirt is really not as fun as sifting dry dirt. It's really messy. Luckily, I have an old pair of jeans that is now three sizes too large. I put them on every time I go out to the dirt and when I'm finished, they're going in the trash.

Early on, I had a brilliant idea. I thought, instead of just turning the grass into the dirt and then having to weed constantly, I'd move the grass. There was a bare patch in the backyard that needed grass, so this seemed perfect. Well, I was so focused on my garden plot that I didn't bother watering the relocated grass. If it had rained at all, that would probably have been okay. But it didn't rain for over a week. Some of the grass is perking up from all the rain this week, but some of it looks very dead. Oh well. My wonderful husband wants to add grass seed anyway. I'm leaving the lawn to him.

This is turning out to be a much bigger job than I anticipated. I was prepared for lots and lots of digging and adding fertilizer and such. As I was moving the grass, I noticed lots of rocks. Once the grass was gone, it was clear that there is a large amount of gravel and plastic in my veggie plot. At first, I was concerned that it might have something to do with the septic system. This is our first house. The only thing I know about septic systems is a vague memory of my grandparent's backyard being off limits when I was a kid because their system was failing. I made a few calls and there's no record of where the leaching fields are. Can't even make a best guess going by the regulations because the regulations were different when the system was built in the 1960's. So, I fretted over it and discussed my options with my husband. Finally, I just carefully dug up the edge of it to really see what I was dealing with. Hubby looked at it with me and we have decided it is not likely part of the septic system. That's the good news. It means I can grow my veggies without worry of contamination. The bad news is that my plot was most likely an extension of the driveway before it was paved... when it was a gravel driveway. Veggies don't like gravel. So, all the gravel has to come out before the veggies go in. The pile of gravel didn't make it into the photo, but it's a good size pile and growing steadily. I've been told there could easily be a ton of gravel in my garden plot. I've spent the better part of two weeks sifting it out. I'm hoping to be done in another two weeks. That'll give me a week to lay the boards for the raised beds and work in the compost and peat moss and any other additives I need. Then I'll be right on schedule for planting after the danger of frost.

As a bonus, I won't need to buy gravel to line the walkways between my raised beds. I've already got plenty.

A bit of stitching...

2008-04-30T14:18:00.000-04:00

After quite a while without stitching, I pulled out my project baskets last night. I'm sure I must have spent more time looking through them than actually stitching. Even when I chose a piece to work on, I seemed to look at it and think about it longer than I stitched. I did make a bit of progress, though. I have decided on the theme for the baby's stocking: hearts and flowers. I think I've always had that in the back of my mind, but I didn't know if I was just choosing something I wanted for her or that she liked. I guess it doesn't really matter. She's only one and a half, so it's not like I'm going to let her tear into it on Christmas morning or she can give me input into what her preferences are. Lately, though, I think these are her preferences. We've sat with the crayons and drawn various shapes and she always asks for hearts. We have a chalkboard in the kitchen. She is always asking to be lifted up so she can draw and she asks for hearts. As for the flowers, I thought maybe that was too generic a girly thing, but she loves flowers. She's been helping me tend the seedlings and prepare the garden. She loves wandering the yard and picking any flowers we find. I'm trying to teach her to only pick the yellow ones - dandelions. There are plenty more where those came from and maybe the planted flowers will survive the season. So, last night I sewed on the lace heart that I had dyed some time ago. My husband was working on sewing signatures together for a diary he's making. He asked about me working on a Christmas stocking. Now that we have our own house, I'd like to have them finished for our first Christmas as homeowners. If I don't put them away until the holidays, I should be able to accomplish this goal fairly easily. So, even though we're heading into summer, the blog will likely have more Christmas stitching than anything else. I do have my Take it Further projects to work on. And my creative tendencies are quite fickle, so anything could turn up. But I don't usually work with real goals and I plan to meet this one.

Postcard sent to Susan

2008-04-07T13:03:00.001-04:00

This is the postcard I have sent to Susan for the Cyber Fiber trade. It was cut from a larger crazy quilt piece I started a few years back. I had been experimenting with dying and overdying. There are some purchased threads used, but most of the fibers and fabrics are the result of my dying adventures.

Long time no blog...

2008-04-05T08:31:00.001-04:00

Not much stitching going on lately. The only thing I've done in the last month is the post card for Susan. I'll get a picture up soon. I had great plans for the Take it Further Challenge, but I've become obsessed with a new project. It's finally starting to sink in that for the first time in my life I have a home of my own. It's not my parents' home or my grandparents'. It's not one of the Navy's housing units I lived in as a kid. It's not one of the apartments we rented. It's a home for my family. It's mine and my husband's. It's amazing. I even have a yard to take care of, complete with leaves to rake and play in. What you see in the photo is the future home of my vegetable garden. I have never had a garden before. I am so excited. So, instead of stitching, my "me" time has been all about researching companion planting, composting, starting seeds, and drawing scale maps of where to put all my veggies and herbs.

Stitching will resume sooner or later.

Cyber Fyber Postcard

2008-03-03T12:22:00.001-05:00

I received this postcard from Susan Lenz . Interestingly, this was the first piece of mail I received after moving into the new house. You can find more of her work at Cyber Fyber. I'm working on my trade postcard, still have to put together the layers with the stiff middle. I'm finding these postcards lots of fun and am toying with the idea of making more and listing them for trade.

This and That, TIF January, New House

2008-02-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the recent comments. I haven't responded to anything in a while, but I have read them and appreciate them all.

Well, we're moved into our first house. Things are far from settled, but we're getting there. We took a weekend to paint the bedrooms. Another weekend with more painting and finishing floors. The third weekend we moved in. This weekend we're making a few trips from the apartment with odds and ends and then cleaning it. I've spent the last few days cleaning cabinets and drawers and lining shelves, trying to get organized. I finished painting the trim in my room, but still have to do the trim in the kids' rooms. It's a good thing we like the colors in the rest of the house and won't have to do those for a while. The kids are all thrilled with their own rooms. The baby not as much as the teenagers. She is likely to come into our room at night for a while. I put her to bed in her room, but she still wakes up at night and likes to cuddle. My darling husband has been busy installing curtain rods, coat hooks, new locks, baby safety latches, the washer and dryer, putting all the beds together, the internet. The internet isn't quite done yet. Now that everyone has their own room and the main computer (the one I use) is in the basement family room, they are not close enough to run cables. We have a wireless router, but had to get a new wireless card. It wouldn't work upstairs in my son's computer so we swapped it for mine. Still didn't work. Hubby played with it more and it works now, but the signal is erratic. So, for today I have kidnapped the router and modem from the teen and he is counting the minutes until I return them.

This is the current state of my January TIF color block. I still have a bit to do on it. I haven't added to the concept block since my last post, but it is on my short list. The red will go nicely in my bedroom. At this point, I think I will skip the February TIF and come back to it later. I have had a few thoughts, but I just have too much on the list to get to it right now.

This will be keeping me busy for quite a while. I looked at drapes at a few shops and didn't find a whole lot that appealed to me. I did get white lace panels for the baby's room and sheers for the teens' rooms. Joann's had a great presidents' day sale, half off all home decor fabric and a 10% off the total coupon. I went to town with that. There is a chocolate embroidered linen/rayon for the living room, taupe crinkle sheer for the living and dining rooms, and thermal lining for all the windows. The rest is all for the master bedroom. The stripe is a semi-sheer. There is an embroidered taffeta for drapes to go over the striped sheer. Same treatment for the closet. The roll on the bottom has three fabric cuts on it, same color, different textures. One is crinkly, one has diamond pin tucks, and the third is tufted. Those are for a comforter and decorative pillows. The bright red is silk and will be used for accents.

I couldn't find anything I liked for the kids' rooms. Once I get this lot made up, I'll poke around online. I've bought fabric online for quilting and doll clothes, but I like being able to feel the fabrics. So, we'll see how that goes. My son is doing his room in yellow, looks like eggnog. Finding a masculine print in that color is a challenge. My daughter's room is two shades of bright cheerful green. The house is a cape cod style so their rooms have the slanted parts between the walls and the ceiling. The green room looks a bit like a leprechaun cave. Darling daughter wants drapes in a shade between the two greens, but will accept a medium purple. Purple means many things to different people. My idea of medium purple is probably not even close to hers. Pink prints are not terribly hard to find, but I didn't find one that was right for a baby's room. The shade of pink doesn't need to match the walls. Everyone that has seen the room thinks the color reminds them of pepto bismal. The trim and chair rail are all crisp white. I envision drapes and other textiles in a variety of pinks and white in little girl prints.

Art from Jo

2008-02-14T16:36:00.001-05:00

These little gems arrived during the last couple of months from Jo. She does wonderful stitching and I'm thrilled to have these. Stop by her blog, No Matter Where I Go…I Always Meet Myself There!, to see more of her work.

TIF Update - January Concept

2008-02-11T13:14:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to show more progress than this, but all of my energy is going into the new house. I did get more stitching done on the color piece for January, but when I went to get it out to photograph it was missing. I can't imagine where it could be with all the chaos and clutter around here. Ah well, I'm sure it will turn up.

This is the current state of my concept piece. Since the inspiration for this piece is admiration for my husband, it would be easy to get the wrong idea. So, let me quickly say this is the start of a tree. I was doodling ideas during a bible study and came up with a twist on the tree of life. I set out to do a landscape background. I intended to use more of the greens and browns from the palette I chose, but the piece took on a life of its own. As you can see the background landscape is all deep reds. The idea is to embroider words into the roots, specifically the seven spiritual gifts. It's kind of a play on roots being the foundation of a tree and the spiritual gifts being the foundation for the personality of the man I admire. I plan to 'hang' symbols from the branches of the tree that represent my husband's talents and special qualities.

Good News, Very Busy

2008-02-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

Great news, we closed on our house last Friday! Yay! We spent the entire weekend painting and still have lots to do. We're planning to do a little more each night after hubby gets home from work and the kids are fed. This weekend we want to refinish hardwood floors in six rooms, small rooms but six of them. We haven't decided on how to go about it yet. We could rent the sander and do the works: sand, stain, finish. They aren't in terrible shape, but look unfinished and scuffed. We could probably do a light sanding, touch up a couple nicks from moving, and refinish. They definitely need a finish coat as it doesn't look like there is one now. There is also a no sand refinishing kit I need to look into. Anyway, this will be a busy, busy month, but by the end of it we will be living in the first home of our own.

I did do some stitching on my TIF color piece and I pieced my TIF concept piece for January. It's been raining and dark so no pictures yet, but as soon as the sun comes out. February's colors are not my favorite. February's concept is interesting, but I'm too young to remember most major changes. I'll have to give it some thought.

Stocking Detail 38

2008-01-23T17:14:00.001-05:00

There isn't much stitching going on here. After a series of delays, we were hoping to close on our house today. We found out Wednesday that wasn't going to happen. I think we have finally straightened out all of the repairs, paperwork, coordinating everyone who was waiting on everyone else, etc. We may actually make it to closing next Friday. I did manage a couple of seams on my pink stocking. The strip of lace flowers is along the toe patch. I used a hand dyed cotton pearl #8 to make two little straight stitches on each petal. Beads and such to be added later.
The next area I worked on was this seam with the crested chain stitch done in a dark purple cotton pearl #5. When I stitched it, I wanted the contrast. Since then, it's been an eyesore. There isn't anything wrong with it. I just wasn't happy with it. I did the pistil stitches along the bottom of the seam. I tried a couple other things and ripped them out. I've added pairs of French knots in each chain loop area with a silk/cashmere yarn and a strand of rayon floss worked together. Then I added pairs of cast on stitches meandering across the seam with another cotton fiber. It's starting to bother me less.

TIF Update

2008-01-23T15:31:00.001-05:00

I've pieced a 6 inch square with the color scheme for January. I'm not overly fond of this size. The block doesn't appeal to me much. I'll work with it and see what happens.

TIF Update

2008-01-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

These are the fabrics I've pulled from my crazy quilt stash for January's Take It Further Challenge. The first group is for the concept challenge. As mentioned in previous posts, my husband is the person I admire. His colors are green and brown. His current style is very Indiana Jones, complete with replica hat and leather jacket. I've added the red to honor his passionate side. I'm happy with the rich masculine feel of this palette. I will try to maintain that throughout the project.

With the second group, I've tried to match the color scheme Sharon gave us. Some fabrics match better than others. I didn't find much in the lighter color to the right. I'm hoping to find embellishments and fibers that will add more of that last color. The colors are much prettier in fabric than in blocks on the monitor. The possibilities are a comfort doll, crazy quilt block, or a small evening bag. We'll see what the fabric tells me when I start sewing.

Random Chatter & a Quilt

2008-01-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

Blogging is likely to be sporadic for the next couple weeks. I have posted all the stocking details I have already sewn. I have more to do and plan to blog the finishing process also. Time is not really abundant right now. We thought we made it to the home stretch for buying our first home, and then we met with the lender this morning. There is a list of repairs, albeit minor, that need to be done before we close and the seller is unwilling to do anything more. We're going to take another look tonight and see what we can do. This is just another obstacle to overcome. When we actually own a home, I'm sure there will be many more situations to deal with. So this is just practice.

I'm still percolating thoughts for the Take it Further challenge. I've come to the realization that my ideas are more suitable for another slow cloth type project than something that can be accomplished in the time frame alotted. I'm toying with the idea of adding a personal challenge, say making smaller projects that can be completed each month. This may seem obvious, but ideas for smaller projects are more challenging for me. I'm considering sticking with the admiration concept and spending the rest of the month working on a quilt that I started for my husband, the object of my admiration. It's a traditional quilt that I designed with his help a few years ago. I have it well started, but not nearly close to completion. I created a Celtic knot pattern with four interwoven parts. Along all the edges I have begun sewing on the black bias strips - by HAND. I don't know what I was thinking. If I ever make another, I will probably use the sewing machine more. I have almost one panel done. The design is worked around a square. I need four panels, plus the corner bits added after mitering the background strips together. I don't want the center square competing with the knotwork for attention, so I have chosen a solid tan fabric. On the tan, I plan to use thread to match the brick red fabric and do another Celtic design with the quilting stitches. Same for the wide outer border.

My other idea is to use this month's color scheme and make something small. I thought of doing crazy quilt postcards, but don't know if I could actually mail them. I'm also toying with the thought of making a comfort doll. I've been wanting to join in making comfort dolls and just haven't done it yet. The project seems to be going very well.

On another note, I've now been nominated for the You Make My Day award by both Candi and Gerry. I am now supposed to nominate another ten bloggers. Many of the blogs I read regularly have already been tagged. Off the top of my head I can think of several: Sharon B, Elizabeth, Allie, Candi, Gerry, Jo, Carol-Anne, Melissa, Sue, LinMoon, Pam Kellogg, Robin, Ruth, Annie, Tenar, Debra, and the list could go on. There are many, many more in my reader. Take a look and they may inspire you as well.

Stocking Detail 37

2008-01-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

The left seam is a buttonhole stitch laced with silk ribbon. Each end of the buttonhole stitch has a silk ribbon French knot. The right seam is a chain stitch sewn with Caron wildflowers silk floss. I have this urge to lace it with something in the style of the Pekinese stitch.
The lace motif is hand dyed. I received it in a swap years ago and it fits this stocking nicely.

Stocking Detail 36

2008-01-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

The pink seam along the bottom is sewn with hand dyed silk/cashmere knitting yarn. First I did the Portuguese knotted stem stitch and then groups of three pistil stitches along the top.
The upper right seam is palestrina stitch with detached chains along both sides. It was sewn with Caron waterlilies silk floss.
The motif was made with peacock feathers whipped down with pink floss.

Slow couple days

2008-01-02T23:22:00.000-05:00

I have more stocking details to share, but don't have the posts ready yet.
I also plan to type up my current lists of in progress and planned projects to help me prioritize.
I have ideas for Sharon B's TIF challenge. She gave a color scheme and a concept to choose from. I'm going with the concept for now. It may develop into more than a month long project, so it may be better to do something simple with the color scheme, but we'll see how that goes. My original plan was to do a crazy quilt block each month for the challenge. This month's challenge concept is who do I look up to and admire and why? My first thoughts were more along the lines of an art quilt. I have since made some notes in a journal. I'm still taking notes here and there and trying to brainstorm ideas for symbols to use. I'm going with my husband as the person I admire. He's my hero, my knight in shining armor. I can't imagine anyone better.

Stocking Detail 35

2007-12-31T14:03:00.000-05:00

Today's detail is a feather stitch seam with pistil stitches along both sides. The other little seam at the top is palestrina stitch with knots along the sides.

Stocking Detail 34

2007-12-30T16:02:00.000-05:00

The top seam here is cretan stitch, whipped along the inner zigzag. Along the top are silk ribbon knots and loops.
The filler motif is lazy daisies sewn with Caron wildflowers silk floss.
Along the bottom seam is a ruched silk ribbon.

Stocking Detail 33

2007-12-29T13:01:00.000-05:00

The lower diagonal seam is herringbone sewn with silk/cashmere knitting yarn. Along one side is silk ribbon chain stitches.
The upper diagonal seam is palestrina stitch sewn with silk ribbon. Along the top are pistil stitches and straight stitches in silk ribbon.
The motif is a braid trim couched down in a spiral.

Stocking Detail 32

2007-12-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

This detail is simply two overlapping cross stitches that form stars or snowflakes. Along the seam is chevron stitch with French knots.

Stocking Detail 31

2007-12-27T14:59:00.000-05:00

The main seam in this detail is covered with a piece of tatting I made with a single strand of Caron wildflowers silk floss. The upper seam was done with loose silk ribbon stitches. Straight stitches and lazy daisies were added along one side. The left patch has a filler motif started, a chain stitch vine sewn with silk floss. It needs further embellishing.

Stocking Detail 30

2007-12-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

This motif was an early attempt at silk ribbon embroidery. I don't recall the name of the rose stitch, but it is made with straight ribbon stitches in a circular petal formation.
The pink seam is a zigzag chain stitch sewn with a hand dyed silk blend fiber. Along the side are detached chains tied down with pistil stitches.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

The next few days are big events here. We have Christmas with two teens and a baby. It's the first that the baby can tear paper and get into things herself. The day after is my birthday, and the day after that is my anniversary. I don't know if I'll be online at all, but I hope everyone has a joyous Christmas.

Snowy Cookies - Gluten Free

2007-12-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

Mexican wedding cookies are one of my favorites. I remember them as a traditional Christmas cookie while growing up. There are many variations on the recipe as well as the name. I've also seen them called Russian tea cakes or snowballs.
It's been almost a year since we discovered the baby is allergic to wheat. Since she is nursing, I have given up everything made with wheat - bread, pasta, crackers, pizza, Chinese take-out, almost anything processed or packaged, and cookies. There are several good cookbooks for making these things gluten free. We probably don't need to go totally gluten free, but it's easier to find gluten free recipes. If it's gluten free then it's also wheat free. I've tried making bread, but not been successful. I tried making pizza. It wasn't great, but it was okay. I haven't been motivated to make pies, but I do make a good apple crisp. Macaroni and cheese with rice noodles is good enough. I've made chocolate chip cookies twice and they were good. Thanksgiving and Christmas are full of traditional baked treats that I was just planning to pass on. But there are a few good gluten free blogs that I enjoy reading: Gluten Free [Cooking School], Gluten Free Mommy, and Karina's Kitchen. They make it sound easy enough to experiment with adapting a favorite wheat filled recipe to one that is gluten free. So, I decided to give it a try. If it didn't work out, there are other uses for the less than desirable cookies. They could be used to make graham cracker pie crusts or in the crumb topping for the apple crisp. Well, these cookies are as good as the original. They do leave a bit of an aftertaste, but that's easily cured with a good milk chaser, or something more interesting if you're not nursing a baby. :)
There are probably other flour substitutions that would work just as well, but here's the recipe that I used:

1 pound butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but I like it)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
2/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup soy flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
8 ounces walnuts (or almonds or pecans), ground fine in a food processor
Extra powdered sugar for rolling cookies in (1-2 cups)

In a large bowl, cream butter and extracts. In another bowl, mix powdered sugar, flours, and xanthan gum. Gradually mix into creamed mixture. I use a hand mixer and it was easier to mix by hand after a while. Stir in the nuts. Cover and refrigerate until workable with your hands. Roll into balls about 3/4 inch. These cookies are plenty crumbly when made with wheat, so err on the small side. Arrange on cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake on top oven rack for 11 minutes. Let cool 3-5 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and roll in powdered sugar while still warm. I didn't count, but it probably made 8-10 dozen cookies.

I have zero will power when it comes to cookies, so I store them in the freezer and warm up a couple when I want them. That keeps me from eating one every time I go in the kitchen.

Stocking Detail 29

2007-12-23T14:52:00.000-05:00

The details on the black stocking were very challenging to photograph. I took the pictures on a nice sunny day without the flash and I still got quite a bit of glare. I have tried to adjust the brightness the best I could. This detail is the toe area. There are silk ribbon flowers started.
The large seam is a meandering feather stitch variation. It is sewn with a few different fibers added in layers. A seed bead was added to the end of each stitch.
There are tiny peach colored roses on the next patch sewn with rayon floss. They were an early attempt at bullion stitches.

Stocking Four

2007-12-21T14:46:00.000-05:00

This is my stocking. There is still much stitching to be done. I got stuck on the focal motif. I couldn't think of a motif that I wanted to represent myself. So, this was as far as I got. Notice, there isn't really a theme for this stocking like there was for the others. It has a color scheme of sorts, but even that has not been strictly adhered to. Many of the threads and ribbons I dyed myself. There is a piece of tiny delicate trim that I tatted. Still, this stocking has more of the feeling of being a sampler of sorts.
When I pulled these out two years ago, I eventually decided on an angel motif. This is not to say I think of myself as an angel. My husband could certainly tell a few stories that would squash that thought, but he won't. I chose an angel more for lack of anything better. Angels are good Christmas symbols. They are helpful and kind and sometimes mischievous. They are God's messengers, but not always welcomed. I have since crafted a couple of polymer clay faces to try out. I have some ideas percolating for creating my angel. She may make it onto the stocking before too long.

Stocking Detail 28

2007-12-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

The right seam along this cuff is a bit different. The base is not an embroidery stitch. I started this seam by sewing on a line of chip beads. I don't remember what kind they are, possibly some type of jasper. They're sewn on with a gold rayon sewing thread. Along the upper edge of the seam, I added French knots with metallic floss and detached chains with rayon floss.
For my husband's name, I couched on decorative fibers, a green knobbly fiber that looks a bit like silk and a fuzzy gold fiber.
The left seam was detailed in yesterday's post.

Yoyo Garland on Heather's blog

2007-12-19T15:04:00.000-05:00

I just discovered Heather's blog. I was poking around a bit and found this great idea for garland. Figures, I finally got my tree up yesterday and did most of the decorating this morning. Maybe next year.

Stocking Detail 27

2007-12-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

The focal motif on my husband's stocking took some time to decide on. He means so many things to me. Eventually, I decided on a cross. Our church was very important to us when I chose this. Neither of us grew up in church going families. We began attending church together several years ago. For the last three years and the next three, my husband has been a deacon. It also adds to the Christmas theme. I created the base of the cross with herringbone stitch sewn with three strands of gold metallic thread and then added seed beads. Detached chains and straight stitches sewn with a single strand of the metallic thread add a bit of radiance.

A new blog I've found reminds us of the reason for the season. They're having a birthday party for Jesus. Check it out.

Stocking Detail 26

2007-12-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

This filler motif was made with a glass flower bead with bugle beads around it. I added a gold swirl design around it with chain stitches and a metallic thread that resembles tinsel.
The lower right seam is also chain stitch in a wavy line with a combination of threads.
The upper seam is closed buttonhole with French knots and detached chains along the side.

Stocking Detail 25

2007-12-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

A couple of simple motifs for today. The key and heart charms on my husband's stocking are because he holds the key to my heart. The glass leaf beads paired with gold metal beads aren't exactly like holly leaves, but give a similar feel. I used a metallic gold thread to fill the background with similar leaf and berry shapes, knots and detached chains.
The seam across the middle is chevron stitch in gold. It's accented with rayon floss detached chains and clusters of French knots.

Stocking Detail 24

2007-12-16T14:41:00.000-05:00

I used buttonhole stitch with metallic gold floss for the seam here. Metallic gold French knots and rayon floss detached chains create the tiny flowers. The reindeer charm adds a touch of Christmas, with gold running stitches showing his flight path.

Stocking Detail 23

2007-12-15T09:07:00.001-05:00

Progress on the pink stocking is slow going, but I am enjoying it. I have found that when I am tired it takes longer to decide on a fiber and stitch for a particular spot. I was adding a piece of trim across the toe area last night. I tried three different fibers , all with different stitches, before I found something I was happy with. This is very unlike me as I usually avoid the frog stitch. I'm also whipping and lacing stitches more than usual. When I was taking this picture, I noticed how linear all the stitching is. I've since started adding the extra bits and straying off the seams. There is much still to be done, but it is coming along. At this point, I am thinking these will be done for next year. There are a few charms and such that I want to use on this stocking that I don't have in my stash, and a motif or two to create that will take more time than I have before Christmas. When I started the first four stockings, I started early in the year and planned to finish them that season. That was several years ago. I've since enjoyed pulling them out each autumn and adding to them throughout the season. My current goal is to keep working on them when the season is over and finish them before next advent. If all goes well, next year will be our first in a house of our own. The home inspection was this morning. I was really looking forward to it, but I had to miss it. My little angel has had a fever for the last three days and may have an ear infection. So, I stayed home and my husband went alone. He took notes for me, but I am more obsessive about details. It would have been easier to ask the inspector questions directly. There aren't many major concerns, but there are some things to address. Hopefully, they can be resolved.

Anyway, on to the photos. First is the full shot for a snapshot of current progress.

Here is my 'princess of the cows' seam. I wanted dimension and fluff to balance out the other seam along the cuff. These silk ribbon loops filled that requirement nicely. I dyed these myself. The ribbon came from RibbonSmyth. It has a wonderful feel to it and is very nice to work with. Several of the other fibers used on this stocking, including the thread in the seam here, I also dyed at the same time. I was experimenting with starter packs of Setacolor and Dye-na-Flow fabric paints. It was lots of fun and produced some nicely colored fibers to play with.
Zigzag chain over herringbone:
Knotted cable chain with added lacing:
I'm not sure if I like this yet. I had something darker in mind for the lacing, but this fiber jumped out at me.
Pekinese stitch, lacing done with feather boa yarn:
Crested chain stitch, with last week's TAST, pistil stitches added:
Pistil stitches are one of my favorites for accenting a seam or motif. They have all sorts of uses. Many sources for inspiration can be found among the blogs of my fellow TAST participants. I particularly liked the way Elizabeth and Maureen used this stitch.
This is the 'feathered' up and down buttonhole, which is now hidden under the added stitches. I've done this week's TAST stitch, berry stitch, in the little V spaces, with a different thread for each of the detached chains. I've also laced the seam with a knitting yarn, a ladder type. The lacing goes up the seam and back the other way to fill it out.

Stocking Detail 22

2007-12-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

A beaded spider lives on the heel of this stocking. His web is straight stitches with metallic gold thread. The seam on the left is a curving buttonhole stitch sewn with two colors of rayon floss. Metallic gold floss was used for detached chains and pistil stitches along the seam.

Stocking Detail 21

2007-12-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

The feather stitch on the left seam is sewn with a single strand of gold metallic floss. Two different greens in rayon floss were combined to make the French knots along the seam.
The bottom seam is cretan stitch sewn with two strands of the gold metallic floss. Changing the number of threads used in the needle creates the illusion of more variety where I had a limited number of threads that fit the color scheme. A variety of beads were used to embellish the seam.
A flock of butterflies adorns the patch. They are made with three black seed beads for the body. The wings are detached chains sewn with two strands of a darker gold metallic thread.

Stocking Detail 20

2007-12-12T11:50:00.000-05:00

A simple detail today, around the patch is herringbone stitch sewn with three strands of metallic floss, one gold, one green, and one black. On the patch is a black ribbon tacked down with gold seed beads.

Stocking Detail 19

2007-12-11T12:48:00.000-05:00

This is the area near the toe. The toe itself is still empty. The lace is 1 1/2 inches wide and already had the gold braid as part of it. I added gold seed beads and green bugle beads in little V shapes to accentuate the zigzag and spice it up a bit.
The seam across the top is palestrina stitch sewn with rayon floss in two colors of green and a gold rayon thread. Hanging down from that are vines done in tiny feather stitches, randomly spaced and sewn with a single strand of rayon floss. Each tip has a gold seed bead.

Stocking Number Three

2007-12-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

This is my husband's stocking. Green is his favorite color. I wanted it to be Christmasy, but not too much, and elegant. The embellishments are primarily green and gold with some black. In one patch, there is a Christmas reindeer charm with a gold running stitch flight path. In another patch, there is a painters palette charm because my husband is an artist. And in another patch, there are charms of a heart and a key, because he holds the key to my heart.
Since I was working with a very limited palette, the variety of threads I had to use was also very limited. As we go through the details, you may notice that I combined threads in the needle to create more variety than what I had to start with. I did this on all of the stockings, but it was more necessary on this one.

I hope you are enjoying this series as I am getting a lot out of examining past projects. It is providing a greatly needed boost to my creativity while I am highly stressed buying my first house and heaped with fiber projects I can't seem to focus on.

Stocking Detail 18

2007-12-09T12:49:00.000-05:00

Progress on the pink stocking...

Auditioning laces and trims:
The lace angel would have to be dyed, probably lavender gown, pink face and hands, and gold for the wings and halo. That would fit the color scheme. First layer of seam stitches almost done:
This seam is made with alternating composite stitches, Head of the Bull and Crown stitch. It's kind of a family thing. My angel has quite a collection of cows for only being a year old. So this seam is symbolic for our little princess and our obsession with cows. She isn't quite 14 months yet, but she can "moo" while pointing to a cow picture.
A few seams with new stitches learned from Sharon's Take a stitch Tuesday challenge:

Knotted Cretan
Knotted Cable Chain
This is my first attempt at this stitch. It adds a wonderful texture, but it's beauty is somewhat lost here. I'm hoping to highlight it a bit more with accent stitches or beads to be added later.
Up and Down Buttonhole
I attempted the feathered variation, but the angle isn't quite right. I think it looks more like a cretan variation.

Stocking Detail 17

2007-12-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the recent comments. It's nice to know my readers are enjoying this series as much as I am.

This is the cuff area of my son's stocking. His name is a hand dyed silk tweed yarn, couched on. It was odd using the nickname here as I only call him by his full name, although recently I've started referring to him as "the brother".
The diagonal seam to the right is the palestrina stitch sewn with silk/cashmere yarn with a strand of rayon floss. For a time, palestrina was a favorite stitch and appeared on all of my projects. Along the spokes are French knots in two strands of waterlilies silk floss. Along the cuff side are oyster stitch flowers in #5 cotton pearl. Red metallic pistil stitches form the centers. The leaves are detached chains done first with black silk/cashmere yarn and then with blue rayon floss over the black. There are three little gold metallic straight stitches in between each flower.
The left diagonal seam is cretan stitch done in Caron watercolors pearl thread over Portuguese knotted stem stitch in three strands of metallic black thread. There are detached chains and French knots in red rayon floss and detached chains in gold metallic floss. There are more French knots in rayon floss, blue and olive combined. In between the knot clusters are Ermine stitches in rayon floss, a darker blue that somewhat blends into the background but adds a hint of something to make you look closer.
The chained vine to the left is more silk/cashmere yarn dyed with the same colors as the yarn for the name. It's interesting to dye different fibers together and see how different they take the colors.
A dragon charm makes his home in the middle of everything.

Stocking Detail 16

2007-12-07T15:06:00.000-05:00

This little guy is the main focal point on my son's stocking. I don't keep track of the time I spend on each project, but I do know I spent many hours on this. His body is beaded with a variety of beads. I've heard the term "thread painting" in various places. I've never tried it following any instructions, but I think my natural style is fairly similar on motifs like this. This could be "bead painted". I tried to create a sense of direction and depth with the placement of the beads, as well as create texture that imitates dragon scales. The tail turned out to be padded satin stitched. I started the tail by couching down a thick blue metallic fiber for the vein of each section. Along each side of the veins, I did a narrow satin stitch with red metallic floss. After doing quite a bit of the red, I decided I didn't like it. It was too harsh a contrast with the background and flow as nicely from the body as I envisioned. I only rarely rip anything out, preferring to plod along and make the best of "happy little accidents", as a painting teacher used to say. So I combined a gold metallic thread with an olive green rayon floss and satin stitched over the red, letting the red peek through. I'm quite pleased with the result.

An update on the pink stocking, I've auditioned laces and trims and threads and fibers and decided on a color scheme: pink and purple with gold accents.

Stocking Detail 15

2007-12-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

I don't remember where this little dragon came from, maybe a scan from one of my son's books. He was printed onto a plain cotton fabric and appliqued onto the stocking. I used a fine gold thread to couch a boucle fiber around the edge in a blue to match the background.

Stocking Detail 14

2007-12-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

This patch is very irregular. I cut the fabric, a loose sueded rayon, extra long and gathered it to fit the space. I started embellishing this patch with the shorter lines of stitching. I wanted to break up the long patch, but it created too much of a split and just looked funny. Eventually, I started adding more lines of embellishment, longer and curvy to mimic the flow of the dragon tales.
The seam running down the length of the patch is feather stitch sewn with a strand of fuzzy wool knitting yarn and a strand of gold rayon thread. Tiny red rayon floss French knots are tucked into the spaces along the center. Along the outer spokes are matte finish seed beads sewn on with the gold rayon thread that gives them a little hint of shine.
Starting at the top and going clockwise, the lines inside the patch are:
Split ribbon stitch sewn with overdyed 7mm silk ribbon.
Snail trail sewn with two strands of wildflowers silk floss.
Beaded stem stitch with a larger center bead in each stitch.
Squared palestrina knot sewn with silk/cashmere knitting yarn and a strand of rayon floss.
Braid made with seed beads.
Chain stitch sewn with silk/cashmere knitting yarn underneath and 4mm silk ribbon on top.
Clicking on the top photo will give you a closeup. The bottom photo shows how the patch fits into the whole stocking. There are also a couple of gold lazy daisies. I am likely to add more of them.

Advent Calendar Link

2007-12-03T16:15:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across this pattern for an advent calendar on Allsorts blog. I don't expect to have time this Christmas for another project, but maybe for next year. If things work out, next year will be our first Christmas decorating our own home. The little envelopes could even be crazy quilted. :)

Stocking Detail 13

2007-12-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

The heel section of this stocking is still pretty bare. I may need to add a bit more to it. The only thing on here now are these three little cross stitch flowers with detached chains added to fill them out.
The seam across the heel is wavy. The fabric for the adjacent patch was cut extra long and then gathered. The wavy edge was then folded under and sewn down. I've used variegated silk floss to sew a chain stitch along the wavy edge to highlight the curves. Along the gathered side I added detached chains with red metallic floss. Fly stitches were then added in between the chains. Lazy daisy flowers in metallic gold floss peek out along the heel side of the seam.

Stocking Detail 12

2007-11-30T14:55:00.000-05:00

The upper left seam is scroll stitch worked with a silk knitting yarn, a strand of rayon floss, and a metallic thread. Along one side, two strands of rayon thread were used for detached chains in a series of fans. Seed beads accent the fans. The upper right seam has a piece of tatting made with a single strand of variegated silk floss.

The motifs were done with E beads in a matte finish and transparent seed beads. The large motif started with silk ribbon twisted ribbon stitches and has an E bead at the end of each seed bead leg. The smaller motifs have seed bead legs coming out of the E bead in the center. The effect is very dimensional.

Stocking Detail 11

2007-11-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

The top seam is buttonhole stitch in Caron watercolors with detached chains and French knots in watercolors and wildflowers. The bottom seam started with chevron stitch in a thicker fiber. Rayon floss in several colors and red metallic thread were used for the accent stitches which include pistil, French knot, detached chain, and straight stitches.
The motif was created with eyelash knitting yarn, a metal shank button, and shell beads. Looks a bit like a dragon's nest, doesn't it?

Stocking Detail 10

2007-11-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

The base for the toe seam is buttonhole stitch sewn with one strand of gold metallic floss. I laced this with two strands of red metallic floss. I don't really follow any instructions for lacing. I just weave the needle here and there until I find a design I like at the time. Caron watercolors is a nice variegated thread that I used for the pistil stitches in groups of three.
I used a shisha mirror, the craft store version,
on the toe patch. I secured the mirror with a detached buttonhole net in gold cotton pearl. Around the mirror, I added two rows of seed beads.

New Stocking, TIF

2007-11-27T14:13:00.001-05:00

Today, we have a bonus photo. I pieced the new stocking over the weekend. This one is for my youngest daughter, only 13 months. She doesn't really have favorites yet, so I chose the pink for her. My vision for this stocking was cotton candy pink, all baby girly. When I laid out all the pink fabrics, the deep pinks and fuschia won out. This probably fits in better with the others. None of them have pastels. The lighter patch at the bottom stands out, and doesn't really fit. However, it is a funny shape and overlapped by two curved patches. I don't know if I want to take it out. I may cover it with a motif in the brighter pink or use it to show off some stitching in the darker pinks.

It's been at least a couple of years since I pieced a crazy patch project. I don't remember it being so challenging. Perhaps it was because this will be part of a set that I pieced several years ago. Perhaps it was because my style has progressed and this is the first new piece in so long. Perhaps I'm just a bit rusty. Until I started looking closely at the other stockings, I had just assumed I'd be machine piecing this stocking. It could also be that I'm just too sleep deprived to do well with puzzles. Hand piecing is very much like doing a puzzle. The challenge is that the pieces are not sized to fit. I get to decide what size and shape I want each piece as I go along. Any way I look at it, I want to brush up on my technique.

Sharon B is planning a new challenge for 2008. Details can be found on her site. It's called the Take It Further challenge. The challenge involves doing a monthly project. I plan to use this challenge to improve my skills and piece a new crazy project each month. Talk has already started and this is looking like a fun challenge.

Stocking Detail 9

2007-11-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

This motif started with buttonhole wheels of various sizes, all done with rayon floss. Around each wheel are detached chains, also done with rayon floss. All other added stitching was done with two strands of Caron waterlilies silk floss.
The wheel on the far left was whipped in a loose spiral shape with the threads going under the spokes. There are French knots in the center.
Reversed buttonhole bar was done on the next wheel. Sharon gave this stitch for her Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge a few weeks back. Instead of adding a single round of stitches to the outer part of the wheel, I started in the center and continued going around until the wheel was full.
The middle wheel has French knots in the center.
The next wheel has detached chains between each spoke.
The last wheel was whipped with the threads going over the bars.

Stocking Number Two

2007-11-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

The next stocking is for my son. I chose a monotone background. Actually, they were all supposed to be monotone, each different. My daughter just wanted contrasting pieces on the toe, heel, and cuff for hers. This one is dark blues. The embellishment colors are primarily blue and red, with some gold and touches of peach. My son's theme is dragons. Most hobbies don't last very long with him. He went through a magic phase, and a Dungeons and Dragons phase. He enjoyed the first Harry Potter book when it was read in school. His current hobby is modeling Warhammer miniatures.

Stocking Detail 8

2007-11-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

The last detail of this stocking is the top section. There are two frog charms and a cat bead. The cat matches the one in the focal patch from yesterday. One of the frogs is a prince in disguise. He's wearing a little crown on his head. Someday, I hope my daughter finds her prince.
The right seam was done with one strand of gold metallic floss and one strand of red rayon floss. It started with a base of cretan stitch. Then straight stitches and knots were added. The left seam was made with rayon knitting ribbon. Each stitch has a knot on the end. A variety of red and green beads are sewn along the seam. With the same beads, I added a little dangly bit where the seams intersect.
To finish it off, my daughter's name is sewn in bright red beads.

Stocking Detail 7

2007-11-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

The cat is the focal motif on this stocking. I don't usually care for premade patches in my crazy quilting, but my daughter picked this out and it fits. I wouldn't have thought of it myself. The same patch was used on a round robin block I had sent out. I did several round robins when I was new to crazy quilting. It was a great way to learn new techniques and see other stitchers' work up close.
The seam to the right of the cat is feather stitch done with two strands of gold metallic floss. The accent stitches are French knot and pistil stitches done with two strands of green metallic floss and one strand of green rayon floss.
The spider web is a thinner metallic thread done with straight stitches. To the right of that is another seam done with two strands of gold metallic floss. I can't seem to find the name for that stitch. I must have seen it somewhere, but it doesn't show up on any of my other crazy quilt pieces. It may be a variation of the feather stitch or the fly stitch. It looks like fly stitches with the anchoring stitches angled to form the zigzag.
The little black cat is a bead I got while vacationing in Washington.

Stocking Detail 6

2007-11-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

Nearer to the top of the stocking, is this beaded motif. I don't know if there is a name for this type of bead, but they look like teardrops. A gold bead in the center of each group of teardrops makes this look like foliage. I added sparkling vines with gold metallic thread.
The lower right seam is cretan stitch and French knots, all sewn with rayon floss.
The upper seam is also rayon floss in two shades of green, this time a simple chevron stitch.

Stocking Detail 5

2007-11-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

This is the area near the heel of the stocking. I patched this stocking by hand like a puzzle. The patches in this area were rather small. There is an article about hand patching by J. Marsha Michler in the current issue of CQMagOnline.com. It's worth reading whether you are new to crazy quilting or are an old pro who has yet to try out hand patching.

While I wanted all the seams embellished, I didn't want these tiny patches to stick out too much. With this in mind, I used a single strand of metallic floss in red to blend in. I did a double feather stitch seam all around the edge of froggie's patch that wasn't covered by the black trim. I accented this seam with pairs of gold seed beads surrounded by a detached chain which was anchored with a pistil stitch.
There are two bows tacked on, one a green ribbon.The other bow is another cheap plastic glittery one, this time gold. Between the bows is a simple closed feather stitch seam done in a green pearl thread, repeated from the toe area. A simple chevron stitch seam, done in red to blend in, finishes of the curve of the heel.

Stocking Detail 4

2007-11-19T15:33:00.000-05:00

There is way too much blue in this photo. The colors really do fit the red and green theme for this stocking. Herringbone stitch, done with a strand of red rayon floss and a strand of green metallic thread, started off the horizontal seam. Two strands of green rayon floss were used for the accent stitches. Along the outer v's of the herringbone are three detached chains. Along the inner v's are three tiny straight stitches.
I used up the thread in my needle with only about a half inch of the herringbone left to do. Instead of rethreading the needle for that short space, I decided to do a wandering branch motif trailing down both patches. It starts at the lower point of yesterday's patch. I used a strand of metallic black and a strand of gold to make the branch in chain stitch. Most of the metallic threads I've used are made with a metallic fiber wrapped around a core thread. The gold I used here is a single fiber, similar to a very fine tinsel. It breaks very easily. The best tip I ever got for using metallic fibers is to use them in shorter lengths than other threads and flosses. It helps tremendously. I only wish I had learned it before doing this project. Iridescent seed beads accent the branch.
The vertical seam is cretan stitch done with one strand of green rayon floss. A combination of French knots and detached chains are worked along each side of the seam in gold metallic thread.

Stocking Detail 3

2007-11-18T20:26:00.000-05:00

I liked the fabric in this patch and didn't want to hide it, so I simply tacked a bow on it. The bow is cheap plastic covered in sparking glitter paint. Not the fanciest embellishment, but it works here. Four strands of gold metallic thread were used to make zig zag chain border around most of the patch. Two strands of rayon floss, each of different shade of green, were used to make the feather stitches on the lower seam.

Stocking Detail 2

2007-11-18T01:24:00.000-05:00

Three seams make up the toe area. On the far left, I used a strand of red rayon thread with a strand of gold metallic thread to do buttonhole stitches with alternating bar lengths. With only the red thread, I added French knots to the shorter buttonhole stitches. To the longer buttonhole stitches, I added a pistil stitch flanked by detached chains.
The seam on the right is a variation of feather stitch done in black. I received the thread in a swap, so I'm not sure what it is. It's not really metallic, but not soft like floss. It feels a bit like nylon, but it frays. Along the feathers are French knots done with two strands of rayon thread, each a different shade of green.
The horizontal seam is closed feather stitch done with a pearl thread. Gold seed beads accent the seam.

And since he doesn't make for much of a detail on his own, here is a close up of the little cat charm above the last seam.

Stocking Detail 1

2007-11-16T13:25:00.000-05:00

I started this motif by sewing on the frog charm. I wanted to give him a bit of substance, so I added stitching around him. I used a metallic thread and stem stitch to create a lily pad under the frog. The flower was made with 4mm silk ribbon and a chip bead.

Crazy Quilt Stockings

2007-11-15T12:24:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again. The time when I dig out all the unfinished Christmas projects and promise myself this will be the year they are finished. I skipped it last year because I had a new baby in the house. This year, I make no promises. I'll get done what I can, and there's always next year.

Several years ago, I started a set of crazy quilted Christmas stockings for my family. There isn't really much left to do with the embellishments. Once that's done, they'll just need to be assembled. The biggest task to get these finished this year is making another one. When I started them, I only needed four. Now, there are five of us. Each one is different with a separate theme for the person it was created for. That will make creating a new one easier. I don't have to worry about matching the style and fabrics, only shape.

In the spirit of giving and to help keep me focused, I've decided to do a series of blog posts about this project. My goal is to post a detail photo with a description of the stitches and embellishments used. Daily would be ideal, but my husband and I are spending our weekends house hunting. So, Monday through Friday is more likely.

I'll start things off with a full shot of my daughter's stocking. Hers is the most Christmasy. She chose red and green for her colors. Her theme is cats and frogs, her favorite animals. Clicking on the photo will bring up a larger view.

Welcome Fall

2007-11-14T13:56:00.001-05:00

Okay, so fall is working its way into winter, but here it is anyway. I made this wreath with a craft group I'm a part of. When I moved a couple of months ago, I didn't keep any of the previous wreaths I made. So, when my group decided to make wreaths, I splurged a little and had fun with it. Even still, the supplies only ran around $15.

Pink & Green Crazy Quilt Block

2007-11-08T17:04:00.001-05:00

I've returned to the pink and green CQ block that I began embellishing during Sharon's encrusted crazy quilting class earlier this year. It's always interesting to see a block develop. I can nudge it in one direction or another, but each one seems to take on a life of its own.This one has strong angular lines. I may be able to soften them up a bit with further seam embellishment. We'll see what happens.

Here are a couple of details still in progress:

The first shows last week's TAST stitch, Zig Zag Spanish Knotted stitch. It took a while to get into the rhythm of this stitch. I later realized that I left out a step, but it isn't terribly obvious. I'll get it right next time. I used Caron Wildflowers thread for this stitch and couched down some fluffy knitting fibers with it. Along one side, I've added cast on stitches. I've used cast on stitches before and never managed to make them neat. The light bulb finally went off as I was doing the last stitch. By passing the thread through the fabric on the other side of the starting point, the stitch is anchored all neat and tidy. I probably won't rip these out and redo them, but now I know the trick for next time.

This week's TAST includes variants of the Pekinese stitch. Here, I've done two rows of double Pekinese stitch with different lengths of back stitch. I plan to lace the rows also, but haven't chosen a thread yet. Look for that in the next update. I'm not sure I like how much space the bottom row takes out of the brocade patch. I'll be keeping an eye on that space more as this block develops. I'm starting to see fine golden spider webs around the edges of this patch, open in the center.