Archive for December, 2008|Monthly archive page
Busy December
Comments (9)I seem to have entered my brown-and-yellow phase because I just finished this:
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Patterns: Pins and Tulips Pincushion; Sarah Tobias
(both from book Thank You, Sarah Tobias)
(Stitched on some unidentified piece of 32-count linen using motifs from these two patterns and the colors for the Pins and Tulips Pincushion)
. . . quickly followed by this:
Designer: Goode Huswife
Pattern: Primitive Bird
(Stitched on 40-count Lakeside Linens Vintage Magnolia linen—my new favorite!!—using recommended floss colors)
I kitted up some additional projects today, and I’m not going to lie to you. At least two have still more brown and yellow, . . . but maybe I’ll start one that doesn’t.
I know the Me, Myself, and I Neighborhood builders will be kicking off the building season on Dec. 31. Word on my street, though, is that my wayward builder is still on vacation and won’t be back in my neighborhood till next week. Optimistically speaking, perhaps that means the builder will be rested, relaxed, and ready to start building again. Hope springs eternal!
Stay tuned . . .
Last-minute finishing
The elves were up into the wee hours of the night and managed to squeak out one more finish:
Designer: Prairie Schooler (Who else?)
Pattern: Book 115, Pins and Needles
(Stitched on 32-count white linen using recommended DMC floss)
Sorry about the bad photography. At 2:30 a.m., the lighting just isn’t good. My choices were to take either a flash photo with a reflection that obscured the needlework or a non-flash photo that was yellowish and had lots of shadows. Lucky you, I chose the latter.
Here’s a side view:
And finally, the inside:
This was a box that I found at a secondhand store. (Remind me someday to photograph my extensive collection of boxes/tins/frames that I’ve purchased because they would be “perfect” for a needlework finish of some sort. It’s a rather excessive collection for someone who barely finish-finishes anything.)
I made this project for another one of my husband’s aunts who happens to be an avid needleworker. I was going to do a different finish—a pinkeep, a mattress pincushion, something!—but I dreaded the thought of spending any more time with my not-so-friendly sewing machine. Then I remembered the aforementioned extensive collection. I pulled out this box, which I purchased secondhand, and thought it worked perfectly. I used glazier’s points and acid-free mat board to secure the needlework into the lid. Then I glued a piece of wool felt (all I had) to the back side of the mat board to hide the glazier’s points.
I had another stitched piece that was supposed to go with this, but hey, the elves were out of energy, so it will have to be a last-minute finish for some other holiday.
Wishing you all the very best of this holiday season.
Hot off the sewing machine
I’m in the home stretch for Christmas gifts. First finish of the night:
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Pattern: 2004 Santa
(Stitched on Fireside afghan material with the recommended DMC floss, though I may have changed the green . . . )
You might remember this wallhanging that I did a while back:
I made the pillow for the same person, my husband’s aunt, who happens to collect Santas. (I blogged about the wallhanging here.)
Hope she likes this companion piece. I made it with the same materials and, though it’s not terribly fancy, I’m pleased that it even resembles a pillow, given my severe shortage of sewing skills and the fact that my sewing machine senses fear and acts up whenever I get near it.
Better scoot. I still have miles to go before I sleep . . .
