Archive for the ‘Accessories’ Category
A first for me!
Filed under: Accessories, Blackbird Designs, Over one, Primitive Houses |
Comments (10) For months now, I’ve been inspired by the fabulous finishes displayed on so many needlework blogs. And when I started this blog, I decided that it was partly to give me, a non-finisher, some incentive to finish a project or two. So when I found myself with some unexpected free time this weekend, I decided to attempt my first needlebook finish.
Here are the results:
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Pattern for front (left): Sampler House
Pattern for back (center): Blackbird Sampler (freebie)
Stitched 1/1 on 32-count lambswool linen using DMC 3857
I finished the “Sampler House” pattern and posted it here, then I set it aside (as usual) to start a new project. It wasn’t until I was halfway through stitching the “Blackbird Sampler” for the FGBB May Freebie Challenge that I decided the two would make a great needlebook. After all, they were both from the same designer and stitched 1/1 on the same fabric using the same floss. Only trouble was, I didn’t want my initials to appear on both designs, so I decided to revamp the “Blackbird Sampler” a bit to make it work.
You can find what the original one looked like here (scroll down). I ended up changing the line that said “Blackbird” and inserting a row of numbers instead. For the last line, where my initials should have been, I simply converted it to a row of stars.
I’ll spare you the details of my needlebook construction. Let’s just say that the sewing machine and I are NOT friends, and I didn’t have any instructions to follow. So what should have taken a couple of hours ended up taking far more. And you can see that it’s still not even!
[sigh]
But while it’s a long way from the refined finishes that I’ve admired on so many other blogs, I’m glad I made it and I’m happy that it’s done. And, oddly enough, I’m already thinking about attempting a mattress-style pincushion. Now, can somebody direct me toward a good tutorial for one?
A long-neglected project
Filed under: Accessories, Blackbird Designs, Hillside Samplings, Over one |
Comments (6) You know that pattern that you see and fall in love with instantly? The one that you simply MUST buy immediately because it speaks to you? That you then take home, place in a drawer, and promptly forget about until much, MUCH later?
This is such a project. Oh, I know it doesn’t look like much so far, but considering how long I’ve neglected this one, it looks positively FABULOUS to me. Here it is:
Designer: Hillside Samplings
Kit: My Stitching Chair Necessaire
Stitched 2/2 on 30-count Parchment Legacy Linen from Access Commodities
using DMC floss (all supplied with kit).
If you’d like a sneak peek at what it will look like eventually (assuming I stitch it correctly), then click here.
This kit has made my To Do Next list several times, but somehow, it kept slipping back to the bottom of the stack. Now that it’s finally gravitated to the top, I’m enjoying it a great deal. And I figure it will be a great project to work on in between other finishes or during those times when a recent project falls—or should I say plunges?—out of favor.
Like now.
Which project is causing me such distress? Well, that would be this one:
Designer: Blackbird Designs
Pattern: Maggie’s Needlecase
This was supposed to be stitched on 30-count Mockingbird linen by R&R, but once again, the photo of the model didn’t match the actual color of the linen, so I chose to use a darker fabric, trying to match the photo. I considered changing the floss colors, but the specified overdyed flosses seemed to be OK, so I went with them. After spending a week or more stitching this over one (trying a new technique and not completely happy with that!), I started to notice that the green and gold were just disappearing on this linen color. Now, if I had been stitching 2/2, I think it would have been fine, but the light colors just didn’t have enough contrast to them 1/1. (Doesn’t the pink look great though?)
So I did what pretty much any stitcher who doesn’t like to frog would do: I abandoned the project! Oh, it’s still sitting next to my stitching chair, mocking me, but the truth of the matter is, While these colors looked positively great when I was holding them four inches from my nose to do the over-1 stitching, they don’t look so fabulous when viewed at arm’s length.
I’m considering tearing out the whole thing and starting again, but I’m currently avoiding that (I did mention that this is stitched over one, right?). So, in the meantime, I wanted an over-2 project sizable enough to come back to in between other projects.
The answer became very clear on Saturday evening. And suddenly, the necessaire made it to the top of my list at long last.
I’m enjoying the necessaire so much that it has taken over all of my stitching time, so I may try to finish it during the next month. A lofty but noble goal? Incredibly wishful thinking? You’ll just have to stay tuned to see for yourself.
