Goodbye February

Usually winter moves very slowly for me, but this time it seems to be buzzing along.  All the projects I had planned to do never materialized and now I'm upset with myself for procrastinating once again.  I wasn't like this years ago but am now shoulders deep and totally stuck in that mud.  First year of husband's retirement and he is not one to change things for the sake of change.  Repairs are different.  But I hesitate to get involved with remodeling when the first word would be "why? ... What's wrong with the way it is?  It looks nice!".  When he was at work I could rip off drywall and there would be no choice but to proceed. 

 

Thanks for the suggestions on the gloves.  I don't remember ever seeing mom wear them but I am saving a few pair out of the batch.  The others will sit in my sewing room until I decide to work on them and who knows when that will be.
 

Another project....hmmm.  Here I go again.  What's stuck in my head is a lion from an antique wallet (John Storrs) that Ann brought to my attention.  I may just try the over one tent stitch in an effort to replicate him.

 

I wonder how that will go.  I don't think it would be as nice if done in cross stitch. 

 

The Nostalgic Needle's bags are on my mind too but I'm not ready yet.

 

After searching for a stitcher's journal and finding none, I decided to make my own.  Once the supplies come, I will lay out a print for the pages and see how it works. There are lots of beautiful blank journals available, but I want printed pages and dividers, not a bound notebook with no options.

 

Hope your week starts good and gets even better.

 

Sale starts today on boxes if anyone is interested.

 

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Mom's gloves

What do you do with the old white cotton gloves that our moms and grandmothers wore?  Personally, I love the look of that old style but can't get my swollen joints into them.  All are very substantial yet soft cotton.  I've already used her fancy hankies for sachets and envelopes, these items have limited fabric. So what can I do with them?  I think a heart shape would work out nicely for some of the glove designs.  Filling would be minimal since the hearts will be very small, maybe just a lining of cotton fleece layers.  Or maybe cut the backs into squares and sew into a pieced pouch or little pillow.  More likely, I'll put them back into the bag with her doilies and they will be hidden as they have been.  I'm all talk and no action.

 

The March box offer is Virginie Cochepin, sale starts March 1, photos on Sampler Box page.

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Envelope revisited

Ciao!  Spring's 'a coming. 
How you doing?  Want to be bored again?  I showed this envelope method a few years ago, doing it again for the few emails from those that missed it. 
(note to no-reply Lisa B. - the sampler is ABCD 1817 from Scarlet Letter)
When cutting the backing fabric I add about 3"extra to the length.  Cut that piece in half and fold over/press a hem either sewing or fusing to finish.  Overlap these hems to create an envelope. This time, I machine basted the flap closed before sewing the backing to the front.  Better!  Removing the stitches is very easy and it holds the fabric in position, no moving or slipping, creating a perfect close.  I overlapped the flaps a little too much, it's not necessary.  Instead of hemming the edges I use the fusible hemming tape, but don't have it in the very edge of the fold in case I want to use a decorative stitch on it.  The tape makes it harder for the needle to glide.  For some reason, my corners are always bigger.  Looking at the piece, the sewing line is perfectly square, I use the machine's guide, but they still stick out further than the edges.  Very easy to turn inside out and run a few more stitches to pull them in which I did.  After pressing the seams open, I turned the tucked side (bottom side) out to stuff, then turned the top side and finished filling.  Steamed the filling to densify (yes it's a word), and I can sew a button, decorative stitch, add trim, or safety pin the back flap.  The trick to a crisp finish is to make sure the flap is not allowed to open, even slightly.  Pull it to where the fabric would be as originally basted, so it is perfectly straight across.  Easy peasy.  Here's the boring photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Steamed and ready to secure the flap so it doesn't gap.

 

I have a hemostat or forceps that come in handy for filling corners.  You can grab a bit of stuffing and then clamp shut to hold it, push into corner, then unlock the clamp and pull out.  The nose end isn't sharp and can be used to pack the corners too.  Easy way to add a little to those pesky corners on small projects.

 

Too many photos! 

Just wanted to share my easy way to do smalls without the hassle of blind stitching or gluing them shut.  Easy to reopen too, when you forget to add the hanger as I did. 

 

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Winner winner

Not only will one of you become a winner, I am too.  Because of all of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Ann saw that I was having another giveaway, she thought it would be nice to make me a recipient too.  Nice is putting it mildly.  I received this in the mail the morning after the big tax check was written.  I've wanted this book for a while but would never think about it at the right time to search Ebay.  So thrilled and hoping this book will create some enthusiasm for my slump.  The fabric is fabulous, love that shade of blue, used it on the back of the latest project.  But the chocolate.  Oh my.  I am such a pig, really.  It's gone.  Who can consume a 12 oz box of chocolate covered (heavily!) potato chips and a bag of covered pretzels in two days?   Me.  Thank you so much Ann for being a friend and making me feel so special. 

 

And now for the winner.  Including the emails I received, there were 123 entries. 
After scrambling the names, Kathy R's number was drawn.  Please contact me Kathy before Saturday evening and let me know where you would like your GC.

Thanks to everyone for participating in this anniversary giveaway.  And welcome to new followers, or maybe you always were until Google cut you off! 
Received a few emails about the envelope and will post photos of that finish tomorrow. 
Thanks again everyone.  You've encouraged my stitching, gave advice, included me in your projects, helped with my decisions, listened to my rants, and contributed much joy to these five years.

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A precise scientific method for the lazy

 

Want to know if your stitching is centered?  Fold it directly on the center line row, and see if the ends match.  Yep.  It looks off, I counted twice, but ended up using the more precise method for verification.  And it's perfect.

 See?  The two end motifs that are correctly placed are obviously the exact number of threads from the center flower which didn't look centered.  If they weren't I wasn't planning on moving the center flower anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the difference with my changes and the chart photo.  I used 3858 for the bottom flowers instead of the brown used throughout, subbed 370 for the very light, and used what I wanted for the ABCD.

 

 I will be finishing her today with a blue backing using the envelope method.  Or maybe a basic back if my mood and patience improve in the next few hours. 

 

And when you find out you owe a ton in taxes to the IRS and can't figure out why,

you fry yourself a few donuts.  Try not to bite one while frying, the melting glaze will burn your lips.

 

Be back tonight for the drawing.

 

Enjoy your day.

 

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Forcing myself to stitch

Greetings.  Making some progress on the little sampler, glad I decided to stitch over two.  This would be really nice over one, but I wouldn't be.  Am I enjoying it as expected?  No.  I am still not feeling the pleasure of the needle.  Maybe I should stick myself with it.  Sometimes a nasty jolt makes me see things differently, sort of like a reset button.

 

I haven't been looking for antiques at the mall too much since Patti died.  Not as much fun when there isn't anyone to share your finds.  I did a quick run through the other day and grabbed two tall thin jugs, one from Holland and the other is new with a bird.  I'm sorry I got the smaller one but I saw the shape and didn't look further.  The tall one is over 12" and I do like it.

Yesterday was another appointment for my sister.  Her dentist's parking lot is down a hill from the entrance and she can't walk it so I've been taking her.  It's a year this week she had the valve replaced but is still very limited.  We're getting her new bridgework.  She lives on very little so we don't have much choice and it's been like this for a long time with credit cards, repairs, maintenance.  Not easy with one income and now SS but we manage, mainly because I'm a cheapskate and live frugally.

 

When you mentioned about the blog being my stitching journal, it's true and could be.  But I prefer having a record at hand instead of looking up post after post of changes.  A tiny swatch of the linen would be a good reference too.  When I went back to see what I was stitching last year at this time and what I took to Cleveland, I came across the details of my Menocare card.  I got my Medicare card in the mail and will probably choose an Advantage plan (much cheaper), but this Menocard is still in effect.

 "This cardholder reserves the right to bitch regardless of situation.  There will be no debate, no rebuttal, no questions. To anyone finding female with this card in an emergency, take extreme caution with subject.  Do not offend, contradict, patronize, look at, or touch.  Stand at arm's length, if body contact is needed, guard your privates.  If emotions take over and subject starts to slump into a puddle, lift quickly, secure, and get the hell away.  For more information, take a hike to the library.  If there was more room on this card I would really tell you where to go."

I think I will print some of these and sell them.  I should open a Menoshop on Etsy.

 

Have a good one!

 

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