Augmenting My Fabric Stash

During our Crafternoon chat yesterday Jen1 told us Kim had received a big shipment of hand-dyed stitching fabrics. Barb and I made appointments to go there today. I had a few other things I wanted to get.

Before I headed over there, Sharon called to tell me that she had just been to Kim's to pick up a piece she'd had framed and knew I'd be very impressed with the new fabrics and that it was a good thing I was going to get there before Barb. LOL.

I needed to get the fabric for my Wessex Hussif. I still really like the Ukrainian colours so picked out three spools of Sulky Petites and a pearl grey 28ct linen.

I also needed a skein of #8 thread for the Durene Jones scissor case project and picked a variegated pink Threadworx skein - colour 81099 - Sweet Innocence. 

It's a couple of shades of the pink for the Kloster blocks. As Kim didn't really have a #12 thread to match, I just picked a couple of DMC colours - 602 and 605 for the flowers, backstitching, and wrapping of the bars. I had previously done the cross-stitching with the called for colours but had to change the colours to match the Threadworx colour. 

I got this much done today between my Monday morning Zoom chat and this afternoon after getting back from the stitchery shop. Cross stitches and eyelets will get finished up before I tackle cutting the threads for the Hardanger.

I really like the orderliness of Hardanger - the counting and aligning of threads. I won't be pulling the eyelets as tightly and will instead use some HotFix 'jewels' in their place on some or all of them. I'll also need to find some fabric to go behind the openings of the Hardanger, hopefully from my fabric stash.

I may take a bit of a break on this project and save it for StitchNorth and start the Hussif. I still have to organize all my WIPs that I'll be taking. There are also a few somewhat completed projects that I can remove from project bags and file the threads where they should go.

I grabbed a couple of remnants at Kim's. 

I also came away with three of her new fabrics. 

A fat quarter of Picture This Plus 36ct Bramble.

a fat quarter of PTP 36ct Sand,

and an 18" x 12.5" piece of Fiber On A Whim Silver Fox.

Another Thing Off My List

I mounted the name tag on a piece of foam core.

Then I glued a neodymium (rare earth) magnet onto the back. 

It'll take a while for the glue to cure. All I'll need is a washer or slug to affix to the back of the magnet - through the shirt or sweater. I'll carry a couple of them in case I lose one. 

That's another thing off my list.

This week I'll go through my project bags and organize what I'll take to work on during the retreat. I need to buy some #12 and #8 perle cotton to use on this Durene Jones project. A variegated pink/lilac thread would work well as the called-for thread isn't available at my local stitchery shop.

The scissor case construction is the same as the dragonfly one. 

It will be fun to do the little bits of Hardanger. I only had to buy one colour of DMC floss for the cross stitching as the rest were in my stash. I even had the right fabric - 28ct light blue Zweigart 100% cotton evenweave. Maybe this will be a project that I'll start at StitchNorth.

4 more sleeps!

Doing All the Things

I knit a bit on the second Kroy sock but have spent most of the day planning and stitching my nametag for StitchNorth next weekend.

The lighting is bad but this is where I'm at. There will be green HotFix 'jewels' in the corners. I just need to figure out how I'll FFO this into a nametag. Will it go around my neck on a cord? Should I attach a pin to the back?

The flower is from the current Durene Jones stitchalong on Facebook. Initially, I cross stitched my name but it looked too heavy and make the nametag quite wide so I picked it all out and decided on this backstitched alphabet. 

I also remembered today that Daisy has her yellow dotty dress and a Ukrainian blue Shetland wool cardigan she can wear. She's a big hit on Facebook as she shows her support for the people of Ukraine.

Her name in Ukrainian is Romashka. Maybe we'll call her Romy. She's going to be coming to StitchNorth, too. A couple of my fellow stitchers want to meet her and look at all her clothes.

Only 5 more sleeps until StitchNorth! I have started making lists and will bring up a suitcase from the basement tomorrow and start tossing in stuff I want to take.

I went to my local fabric store today for their big sale but there was a huge lineup to check out and only one cashier. I'll go back tomorrow or Monday as my purchases can certainly wait 'til then. I was only going to buy some buttons and a couple of pairs of scissors if they indeed were on sale.

Singin' The Blues Sock #1

I finished the first sock I was working on.

Number 2 is underway. I only had to pull out a couple of yards from the ball to start at the same place as the first sock. I'm hoping for identical twins.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time today trying to decide what design I'd use to stitch a nametag for StitchNorth next week. I have my regular nametag I use at guild but I thought something new would be in order. I think I may have something and will have to buy some floss to start it.
 

Red Triangular Scissor Case is Done

Today I sewed on the lining and whip stitched the back seam on the red triangular scissor case.

After my Crafternoon chat, I affixed the sparkly 'jewels' with my HotFix tool.

It looks very spiffy.

I have the fabric prepped to do the scissor fob.

I have almost finished knitting the first blue striped Kroy sock from my stash of yarn. 

The colourway is called Sing N The Blues.

It's my generic pattern: CO 72 sts with 2.5mm needle, 3x1 ribbing on the leg, eye of partridge heel, decrease to 72 sts and 2.25mm needles for the stocking stitch foot.

Each ball had 52g of yarn so I knew there would be enough to do an 8" leg and still be able to complete the toe with this yarn. I still have the dark blue yarn in reserve if I do need to finish the toe with it.

I have someone in mind for these.

My sock yarn stash is vast so I have pledged (to myself) to always have some socks on the needles for when I watch TV at night. So far, this is the fourth pair I've knit since making this pledge early in the new year. 

I can't believe that we're almost 1/4 of the way through the year already.

And finally, I washed my Must Have Cardigan and tossed it in the final spin cycle to express as much of the moisture out as possible.

I knit this back in 2008. This was the old Patons Classic Merino Wool yarn which was so soft and squishy. I really miss that yarn. This is the first time I've washed this sweater as I only wear it a few times every year and since it's always over a long-sleeved shirt, it doesn't come in contact with bodily fluids. I have, however, spilled stuff on it and wiped it off but I figured after the chili hitting the sleeve the other day, it was time to give the whole sweater a good wash. 

It's drying on Scooter's bed. I didn't even pin it - just pushed the pieces into place the correct dimensions (back and sleeve lengths). It should be dry and ready to wear again tomorrow.

Wessex FFOd and a Cheat

 I consulted with Jeanette today at lunch about the extra fusible batting that was in my Wessex needlebook kit. We agreed with Sylvia (with whom I had consulted earlier) that it wouldn't be used - only the fusible interfacing to stabilize the stitching before sewing the little needlebook together.

I stitched the front and back together through one side of the four-sided stitching around the edge. I used a fabric glue stick to tack down the seam allowance to keep it out of my way.

I made the cording for the closure with several strands of the Sulky thread and actually remembered to embed it in the seam as I was sewing the pieces together.

I didn't bother putting my initials or the date inside.

Whip stitching the back and front together was not hard, it just takes time to make sure to go under the thread and not pierce it.

Then came the task of stitching the 'spine' of the needlebook. I tried the proscribed way by poking through the same spot on the front and back and found it to be WAY too tedious so I cheated. I just stitched the zig zags on the inside, then the outside, not worrying that I wasn't attaching the back to the front on the fold line.  When I go to finish the second Wessex needlebook, I'll do the diamonds before sewing the back and front together. I also attached a bead for the closure. It's good to do this once the 'pages' are in place so proper placement can be determined based on the ultimate thickness of the book.

I then sewed the wool felt pages in place with matching thread. I don't feel guilty at all about not doing the zigzags correctly, they're not even seen on the inside.

I like that by sheer coincidence the colours are very Ukrainian-esque.

It was a lot of work for an itty bitty needlebook but I really enjoyed all the stitching.

I have the second one to finish but am going to give it a rest for now. I have many, many WIPs to work on and another scissor case to finish.

Spring is finally here. Today was nice and sunny but snow is predicted for the day after tomorrow. No matter. It won't last long and it probably won't even need to be shovelled. Bright, sunny, warm days are ahead.

Green Set is Finished

The afternoon was spent sewing in the lining and stitching up the back of the green Wildflower Hearts scissor case. I used the white muslin fabric again.

I also added clear, sparkly HotFix jewels to the little squares around the centre.

Again, a pearl bead would look very nice as a button. 

I'm so glad I learned how to make cording as it makes finishing so much easier.

These scissors look great with this set but I won't be parting with them.

I used almost a whole spool of Sulky thread on this project. It was touch and go for a while there because I didn't think I'd have enough to make the scissor fob. I did make a few mistakes that I had to pick out, thus wasting some of the thread but when I stitched the scissor fob, I used quite a few of the longer discarded threads.

I did use an actual silver-lined clear bead (Mill Hill 02010 Ice) for the centre of each side of the scissor fob. It allowed me to put a dent in the centre of the hearts.

If I were to stitch this for the purpose of making a scissor case, I would not use Monaco again. I find it to be too thick for my liking.

The ideal side length is between 3.5" and 4" for a small pair of embroidery scissors.

I have started another set with some DMC 4210 thread - Colour Variations.

 

Somewhat Addicted

I finished the Wildflower Hearts with the variegated green Sulky thread.

I did quite a bit of picking out and re-stitching. First I stitched hearts in the centre of each side like on the red version below. Then did the backstitching all around. That was going to make a huge scissor case so I cut out the hearts. They were easy to remove. and re-stitched the backstitching 6 threads from the outer satin stitch border. Then I picked out all the backstitching that was beyond that by 1/2" all around. It wasn't difficult because I used a seam ripper on the back side every 5 sts or so to cut the threads and tweezers to grab the little bits.

My task tomorrow will be to select a lining and assemble the scissor case.

I also added hearts to the DMC 115 Wildflowers set and still need to do the backstitching. I still have to think on whether I'll keep the outer hearts. This will depend on what the size will be when I fold it up to stitch.

My eyes were really tired after basically two days of stitching so I finished Skip's bed socks.

They're not identical twins because the yarn pattern was more random than usual. 

These were the socks where I ran out of striped yarn in the same place on both and finished the toes with coordinating blue yarn. He's going to try them out tonight (he wears socks to bed).

I have started another pair with some other striped Kroy sock yarn. The hope is to keep socks on the needles for knitting while I watch TV. This new pair will be the same construction as the ones above: 72sts on 2.5mm needle. 3 x 1 ribbing for the leg. Eye of Partridge heel and plain foot.

That's enough crafting for one day.

Encore

I have a lovely spool of variegated Sulky thread that I'm using to stitch another Wildflower Hearts piece.

All of this was done this afternoon during our Crafternoon chat and afterwards.

I will make this one into a scissor case - maybe even for our guild's smalls exchange. The centre part would be a great biscornu and the four hearts in the centre with the double fagot stitch are a nice size for a scissor fob.

We are now hearing that Canada will no longer require a negative COVID test for entry. This will bring our future trips to the US even closer.

A Marathon Stitching Session

At our monthly embroidery guild meeting tomorrow, the Rhodes stitch will be introduced. There's a nifty project using three kinds of Rhodes stitches plus the rice stitch, satin stitch, reverse faggot stitch, and only 4 cross-stitches. It's a free pattern from the Caron Collection called Wildflower Hearts. 

I will be showing it at tomorrow's meeting so I thought I'd stitch it up today. I spent ALL DAY stitching it with 28ct linen from my stash and my favourite variegated DMC floss #115. I still need to do the double running stitches or backstitches around the periphery, 6 threads away from the satin stitches. Those stitches will be very important when I go to create a triangular scissor case. The backstitches are used to whip stitch the centre seam together like I did with the hummingbird scissor case.

They will also serve as a guide when sewing the lining onto the stitching.

I found a spool of Sulky thread that Jen1 gave me a couple of years ago that I'm going to use to make another one. 

Basically any square piece of stitching can be used to make a scissor case like this. I'll be having another look at my FOs to see if I have any other appropriate stitched pieces for the job.

After having a look at it, I bet it would look very nifty with some HotFix 'bling'. Perhaps some jewels in the centres of the stitched diamonds? I'll have to check and see if my red 'jewels' would look OK with DMC 115.

All of this stitching helps me cope with what is going on in the world today. I listened to President Zelenskyy address our House of Parliament. His pleas are heartbreaking but at this point, closing Ukrainian airspace could very well lead to scary consequences for all of us.

Always Take a Picture

 Last night I was having a good look at my scissor case and was horrified to notice I hadn't completed the green stitching on the wing of the hummingbird!

It's a bit of a pain to add stitches to a fully finished piece but it didn't take me long. The lining is not attached anywhere except the edges so it wasn't that difficult to feel around with the needle to find the right holes.

It's not perfect but it is complete now.

It's always good to take a photo of your finished item and have a good look at it before fully finishing it.

Auditions

I finished the triangular scissor pocket! I used this tutorial.

I did quite a bit of thinking about how I would attach the lining. I ended up stitching the lining and linen right sides together along the same line as the pink backstitching. When I turned things right side out, it worked out perfectly.

Then I agonized over how I would attach the closure. I should have embedded it into the seam but, of course, I rushed ahead and closed the seam before doing that. I ended up making a little bit of cording, wrapping the end of it, stitching through the wrapping, then sewing it through the tip. I wrapped some more, then anchored the knot. Voilà.

I had the perfect beads for the closure but have been hunting them for the past few days to no avail. Looking through my button jar I came up with these options. Auditioning:

Pearl bead.

Pink shank button.

A little gold bell.

A shiny gold shank button.

A plain mother of pearl button.

I may purchase a pack of pink beads at the big box store as I also need a couple of beads for the biscornu.

Later that day...

I decided on the pearl bead.

Glad to have it all done! I'm ready for the StitchNorth smalls exchange.