Finishing a Couple of Things

While workers have been here doing work on my kitchen renovation, I’ve had to stay home and out of their way. 

I started going through some of my FOs and remembered I had the Autumn Cat stitched and ready to turn into a Fully Finished Object (FFO). It took me a few minutes to find the backing fabric I planned to use. It’s an old blouse that had an autumnal theme. Then I had to locate the black iron-on interfacing.  Next was to draw the outline on the back of the stitching as a guide for sewing it together. Then I cleverly (not!) ironed the interfacing onto the back of the stitching - covering up the outline I just drew. I ripped the interfacing off and pinned the stitching to the backing fabric then sewed around. Then ironed on the interfacing again. I didn’t want the white batting to show through the black fabric.  The ears had too much bulk so inside out again, I trimmed the seams around the ears. Right side out again I pressed it and set it aside. 

I left the bottom open for stuffing and inserting an oval piece so it will stand up. Its eyes will be green HotFix jewels and maybe a sparkly one on the heart. 

The back:

While I had the black interfacing out, I decided to also finish the Teresa Kogut ‘Jingle Bells’ star ornament. Back up to my fabric stash to find something appropriate for the back. More points to trim and turn. This time, I had the interfacing ironed on before I realized I hadn’t sewn all the way around so again, had to rip the interfacing back to above where I had stopped stitching.

Ta da!

I’ll put a decorative bead on the top through the corded hanger. 

They both need to be stuffed and the opening sewn up. That raggedy bottom star point has been repaired with FrayCheck.

Now I remember why I don’t FFO a lot of my projects. So. Many. Fiddly. Steps!

The other night I completed another Sashiko design inspired by evagustems on Instagram. Here is the link to the video. I used some of the fabric I had purchased at Quilt Canada last week. The white, water-soluble pencil didn't hold up well so I'm in the market for a heat-erasable white gel pen if such a thing exists.

First, the guide lines are drawn on the fabric. (this is Eva's photo)

Then the running stitches. I even managed to screw this up and had to pull out the stitches a couple of times. You can see how faded the white pencil markings are.

Then comes the weaving. This part was really fun and I didn't screw this up at all. My lines are a bit  wonky - not the precision of the Japanese embroiderers. But I like it. 

Not sure what I'll do with the little squares of stitching. For now, it's just fun.

Kitchen renovation update:

The countertop and sink are in. The backsplash arrived last Friday. After the sink and faucet got hooked up the hot water didn’t work due to a faulty seal until yesterday when it got repaired and the necessary floor tile patching got done. Today the final pieces got installed - lighting valances and end piece beside the fridge and on the end of the peninsula.

All that is left to do is the grout around the new tiles*** and installation of the range hood which will involve cutting into the bottom of the new cabinet above the stove. The range hood is on back order until probably mid-July so I can finish putting everything away. It is nice to not have to do dishes in the laundry room washtub. 

***I already had the grout which had been left over from our bathroom renovation many years ago. It only comes in large quantities so the workers back then suggested I store it and sure enough, we are able to use it for this job. So my minor hoarding affliction tendency to not throw things out finally paid off.