Stupwork revealed

Today is my mother's birthday, and since she was the intended recipient of my stumpwork rose, I can now show it to you all. You might remember some of my early posts on this project when I was just getting started, and how excited I was to be stitching another Inspirations project.

http://threadalongwithme.blogspot.com/2016/04/oh-boy.html

http://threadalongwithme.blogspot.com/2016/07/progress.html

I used the rose as my Colorado project, but needed to bring it back to Rhode Island to finish it up and get it in the mail. I have to admit, it is one of my favorite projects ever and I am eager to work on more stumpwork projects in the future. I think that as a result of this project and a few other recent insights, I've figured out where I want to go as an embroiderer. More on that in another post. Let me just show you how it all turned out.

First, here are all the pieces embroidered and cut off of their backing. The leaves, bud and calyxes are already partially assembled. The pattern called for a fluted beads at the bases of the calyxes, but I could't find any, so I used a fluted beads cap instead. They have nice wide holes, which makes wrapping them easy.

The stamens are made using two colors of wool and fabric stiffener. They turned out better than I had hoped!

Finally, as I wrapped multiple stems together, I included a pin back so that the rose can be used as a corsage. I think that the final product turned out great, especially since this was my first big stumpwork project, first time working with wool, and first larger long and short stitch project as well. A lot of firsts, but I am so pleased with the end product!

 

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U.S.S. Dracen

Today I have something special to show you. It is a project for our grandson's third birthday that my husband and I have been working on for a couple of months.

I found this tent pattern on IKEA's web site and thought it would be a great reading tent for the little guy. My husband agreed, although he wanted some improvements I wasn't sure I could pull off. Eventually, we compromised. I would do the fabric cover similarly to what the pattern showed and he would do the woodworking and make improvements to the frame.

In February we went to the fabric store together. Roger requested a space theme, so we looked for starry night fabric. But my sewing machine was in Denver, so for the next step I was on my own.

Back in Denver I drew up a rocket ship pattern, fused it to the tent fabric and machine embroidered it. After I sewed the tent tube together, I realized it was too big for a house. The size is fine for an IKEA store, but it needed to be cut down a little for home use. The final touch was to embroider "U.S.S. Dracen" on the rocket ship.

The U.S.S. Dracen before I cut all the loose thread.

 

Last month I brought the fabric portion of the tent home and we went to the hardware store looking for wood for the frame. Roger did a mock up using slats that he hand joined, but it was a little too small. It was also heavy. So, he came up with a much more innovative frame using dowels seated in slats with an with a bolt embedded into the top dowel and thread through the side dowels. It is much sturdier than the IKEA example, which was held together with tape.

 

Of course, by the time the frame was finished, I was back in Denver. Roger made me this great video to show me how it all goes together.

 

Yesterday, Roger delivered the final product to the birthday boy. I think he likes it!

 

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Easter portraits

When I posted my portrait of Winnie I mentioned that I hoped to do some additional portraits soon. The opportunity came this month, and I was able to finish two portraits as an Easter thank you for my sister-in-law and her daughter-in-law.

February was a tough month for our extended family, so I wanted to do something life-affirming with my embroidery. Since we were unexpectedly in Michigan, I was reminded again of how darling my sister-in-law's first great grand daughter is. She is a spunky little Disney princess and once we left, I was really looking forward to embroidering her.

This time, I played a lot with the photos and for the first time wasn't afraid to rip out stitches and re-stitch lines. I still have a long way to go to become a portrait artist, but I think that there is a noticeable improvement over my last attempt.

 

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Tea time

I made one final Christmas gift--a tea cozy for my neighbor who is starting a tea catering business out of her home. She's moving slowly with it, researching all the state food service regulations and practicing her menus. In the meantime, my husband and I are recipients of her experiments. It is great to have a neighbor who bakes!

The original name of her proposed business was Come Have Tea With Me, hence the saying on the cozy. She has already sent me some Pinterest ideas for more cosies. I am looking forward to working on them later this year!

 

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JOY

The hand-made Christmas presents weren't numerous this year, but I did make Christmas banners for over the fireplace--four in all. I made one for each step son, one for my parents, and one for my husband and me. I sent my husband a photo of the two I made for his sons and when he said he wanted one as well, I told him that there was no possible way I could make any more before I came home. Then I proceeded to do just that!

I had seen similar banners in a craft book that I borrowed from the library, but when I went back to look for the book, I couldn't find it, so I had the fun job of designing them myself. I printed the letters out on my computer along with a triangle template and was soon off and running.

Since the letters are machine appliquéd and really have to look nice, I was terrified, but I didn't have to redo any of them. They aren't perfect, but I am satisfied with how they turned out.

 

Four sets turned out to be the perfect number for the fabric I had bought too. I had no waste!

A banner hanging over my parent's hearth.

 

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Winnie

I promised to show you all some of the Chistmas presents that I made this year. Now that they are all distributed, it is safe to post them. One of my favorites was Winnie, my daughter-in-law's French Bulldog. I wanted to repeat the outline technique that I first tried last year. The difficult part of this technique is deciding what details to keep in and what to leave out. I wish I were a natural artist, but I see improvement each time I trace a new photo, and I think it worked very well this time. At least my daughter-in-law recognized Winnie right away! I have a few more of these projects that I want to try, so you may see more soon.

 

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Dracen's new pillow

It has been a long time since I picked up a needle, but I am back in Denver for three weeks and realized that if I want any home sewn Christmas gifts, I will need to make them before I return to New England. My first project was a new pillow for our two and a half year old grandson.

Last month he stayed over night at our house, but his usual soft pillow was in the laundry. We gave him a small pillow, but it was quite firm. As a result, he didn't sleep well. The next morning I vowed to make him a new pillow to leave at our house.

I decided to try to make this pillow using only my stash. I didn't quite make it. I was out of fusible webbing, and while I was at the fabric store I decided that rickrack would be a good addition. Other than that, I had everything on hand. The fabric for the pillow actually comes from an old pair of fleece pajamas that never fit right, but is nice and cozy.

The little dragon appliqué is inspired by Dracen's name. It is an English name that means dragon. I looked online for pictures of sleeping dragons and free-handed a cartoon dragon that appealed to me. My version is simpler than the online dragon, but perfect for machine embroidery.

I am not a great machine embroider, but this actually worked pretty well without a lot of heartache. I'm pleased at how it turned out. A few hand embroidered details and, in about an hour, I had the first home made Christmas gift of the year!

 

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Happy Birthday Dracen

Today is our grandson's second birthday! I'm a lucky grandma--falling into the role a few years after I married my husband. I've got all the fun of being a grandparent and none of the pain of raising my own children. Unfortunately, May is my Colorado month, so I wasn't home for his party yesterday. He did not go without a homemade gift, however. I was thinking ahead this Spring. I made his present in March and brought it home in my suitcase in April.

I hope that this car caddy is useful. Dracen's car seat will be turning around to face front soon and I have my fingers crossed that he will be able to reach books and bottles in the caddy. The bad thing about never having been a mother is that I am really not sure about the abilities and usefulness of this type of thing for kids and mothers. I made a caddy for my nephew when he was little, but I don't know how it faired--my sister never told me and she lives in yet a third state, so I don't see him often. It may not be the most exciting present, but I think that two year olds have short attention spans, so maybe useful is as good as fun. Besides, he has two other grandmas who are all about fun! This little boy is very blessed to have so many people loving him.

 

 

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A failed project?

What do you think? I made this trupunto pumpkin for a friend and I loved it until I stuffed it. The stuffing strained the stitches and made the pumpkin misshapen. I cut the backing and pulled out stuffing, slicing some of the decorative stitching at the same time. Then I redid the stitching and mounted it, but I am very unhappy with how it turned out. I think I will start again and not stuff it this time. What do you think?

 

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Late Christmas

Sunday I wrote about Christmas presents that weren't. Today, I'll write about Christmas presents that were late, although the truth is, we did GREAT on Christmas shopping this year. We were actually done early, and last year's resolution to start my presents in January worked really well. Almost everyone got a handmade Christmas or birthday present this year. But a few things just didn't happen on time.

First, due to no fault of his own, my husband's present for me came in the mail a few days after Christmas. Had we been in the UK they likely would have arrived on time, but I don't really care. I am just thrilled to own this beautiful, handcrafted pair of bent scissors from Ernest Wright & Son Ltd., complete with a certificate from the Lord Mayor of Sheffield. I am a Anglophile and the certificate was really a bit of icing for me.

These scissors are gorgeous! They were featured on Mary Corbet's blog Needle 'N Thread on September 12, along with an amazing video featuring the craftsmen who make the scissors. Of course, anything featured on Needle 'N Thread immediately has a huge surge in popularity, so they were running a bit behind filling orders. Even so after I shared the video with my husband he remembered and ordered me a pair. What a wonderful man!

A second late gift was all my fault. I just wasn't prepared to get home to Denver and have a gift ready for my roommate. BAD! But I wasn't too much of a slacker. I have always wanted to embroider a tiny landscape, and when I saw one featured in Inspirations, I decided to embroider it over the Christmas holidays. What I failed to do, was to frame it. So, when I got back to Denver, I found a frame, had a mat cut, and finished it up for the weekend after my return. The full quote from Isaiah is "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." I thought it was appropriate given that the picture is of grass and field flowers.

I LOVED working on this little project. You can bet you will see similar pieces as I try to find my own landscapes to interpret.

The final late gift I actually gave to my husband half done. I hadn't quite finished the handwork before I left Denver and once I had finished it, I didn't have a sewing machine to do the finishing work. As a result, I finished this calendar when I returned to Denver and mailed it back to my husband. I will likely make a new one each year. The panel came from SeptemberHouse, an Etsy shop. The 2015 panels are still available. 2016 panels will come out sometime between March and June.

Finally, an FYI. I am currently on my second annual stitching staycation. Next week I'll let you know how it went and what my goals are for the new stitching year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Christmas present that wasn't

The weekend before Thanksgiving I was sewing away like crazy trying to finish a few last minute gifts. One of these gifts was an iPad case for my husband. I got the pattern off of Craftsy and was excited to be able to sew the case without calculating my own measurements. Roger previously had a case--one of those super duper full enclosure cases that keep your electronics safe from spills and drops. Recently though, the case he had began turning the sound up and down by itself and preventing him from using the touch screen. So the case came off, and my anxiety went up. He likes to carry it on road trips and stuffing it in the car caddy without a cover sounded like a recipe for disaster to me.

I bought some nice soft suiting and went to work. Despite working from a pattern, the pieces didn't fit perfectly and the lining wrinkled. Plus I didn't trim the seams nearly enough, so when I got back to Rhode Island and fit the iPad into the case for the first time, I was dismayed to see that the flap didn't close all the way. I decided it wasn't Christmas gift worthy after all and would need to treat this one as a mock up.

Sine we were leaving for western New York for the Thanksgiving holiday the next day, I left the iPad in the case and put it out for him to find as we packed. I didn't want it to get all scratched up during the road trip after all.

But, it turned out that my husband LOVED it and was disappointed I hadn't waited until Christmas to give it to him. Plus, after some use, the lining is sitting better and the fabric has stretched and molds better around the iPad. I'm still not pleased with it, but it does its job and I am grateful for that. At least I know the iPad is safe until I make another case. Roger has already told me what improvements he would like to see in the new case, so I'll be working on that this month!

 

 

 

 

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The accidental vacation

Hello! I accidentally took over a month off from blogging. It wasn't due to lack of things to discuss, but between travel and family commitments I had no time to compose a thought, let alone a blog post.

I got back to Denver yesterday afternoon and am feeling lonely already, so I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis. I want to show you one thing. The photo below was taken just before we left for the airport yesterday. See the beautiful scarf my husband is wearing? My mom knit it for him for Christmas. I got two balls of yarn and some knitting needles. But, as you can see, I have a new scarf now too. Good thing because it is cold and snowy here in Denver!

Happy New Year! May it be a good stitching year.

 

 

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A few finished projects

While I've been in Denver, I've taken advantage of being near my sewing machine to finish up a few projects.

 

First, I did as I promised and turned my crazy quilt patch into a purse. It is more of a prototype than a professional project. I didn't think it through from beginning to end, so there are quite a few things I would do differently. Most importantly, the narrow sides should have been made of one piece. If I had had my edging book with me, I could have looked up how to make a neat fit around the corners, but the book is back in Rhode Island. Instead, I struggled with piecing each side and it isn't all that neat. I also should have made a facing with a snap closure and made my interior pocket smaller. But live and learn. It isn't something I would give as a gift, but I am enjoying using it.

 

Two weeks ago, I also mentioned bringing home some fabric for a skirt. Here is the almost finished product. I may need to take out a little fullness and adjust the elastic to get a better fit.

 

Finally, remember the embroidered North Woods panels I did last winter? One of them disappeared when I moved some of my things home in May. I expect I will find it sometime. But the other one in sewn up and will be my brother-in-law's Christmas present this year. Unlike my purse, this turned out exactly as I planned. It will look great in their Adirondack cabin!

 

 

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Wedding wreath in pink

Last week I showed you EdMar's Wedding Wreath done in their suggested color scheme, today I am showing you the same pattern in pinks and creams to match my cousin's wedding colors. This one took me 6 days, and approximately 16 hours to stitch.

I've included my color pallet below:

• Leaves and branches: Iris 167
• Fine growth: Glory 167
• Maria's Rose: Lola 018
• Bullion Rose: Lola 229
• Peach Blossom: Nova 000 & Lola 135
• Cast-on Rose: Lola 169
• Japanese Violet: Lola 135
• Geron Daisy: Lola 233 & Lola 229

I used Lola for the French knot centers of the peach blossoms and daisy and added pearls to the Japanese Violets. In addition I used 4 colors of size 11 seed beads--pink, silver, white and clear to add a little sparkle to the pattern. I think my cousin will love it.

Which do you like better? The classic white, or the color version?

 

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A New England Wedding

Last weekend was my husband's youngest son's wedding. We had a glorious New England Indian summer day, with temperatures in the high 70s. Perfect for a wedding on the lawn overlooking the salt marsh. Kyle and Kristen were married by Roger's eldest son, Ben, and I kept from crying at the sweetness of his words only by reminding myself that my mascara wasn't waterproof.

The reception was in an old stone barn on the Crane Estate--low key, yet quite beautiful, with good food, family, and lots of dancing. You couldn't ask for a better function.

My husband with his brothers and nephew.

 

And although my wedding gift to them wasn't quite done, it was at the framer's with a promise to expedite the process. And here it is all framed up and ready to present to them--a Brazilian wedding sampler all in neutrals.

The pattern is called "Wedding Wreath" from EdMar and is deceptively simple. In fact, it would be a wonderful beginner piece because it uses only eight basic stitches. This one is completed following the recommended thread colors, but I have seen it done in purples. I am almost done stitching another for my cousin in pinks to match her wedding colors. I'll show you next week.

In the meantime, I hope Kyle and Kristen enjoy their wedding sampler and have many happy decades ahead of them.

 

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Strong, smart, bold

It was August 2000. I was in between full time jobs and trying to cobble together employment before the new graduate school year started, when I heard about an opportunity to pilot a two-week program in archaeology called Girls Dig It! with Girls Inc. in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was a fantastic experience. The girls were interested and willing to learn. We played games and put together pottery, had lessons in mapping, math and artifact identification. In between, the social workers who supported the class kept the girls alert and engaged. They knew when a break was needed and how to get the girls to talk. I had a great time. But I couldn't forget where these girls were coming from. Lynn is a rough city. One day I overheard two of the girls talking. On their way home from the program the day before, they had turned a corner and run into a man pulling a gun on another man. No shots were fired, but the girls were scared. Even the next day they were still terrified. They had an experience unlike anything I had ever imagined and I felt grateful for the work Girls Inc. and their fantastic social workers were doing to keep these teens safe and supported in a difficult world.

 

That experience lead me to become a Big Sister with the Big Sister Association of Boston a few years later. I met my "Little" when she was 11 years old. Vivian is now 2 years out of college and looking at graduate school. She is a fantastic, motivated young woman and I am glad to be part of her life.

 

When I moved to Denver five years ago, I inquired at Big Sisters for volunteer opportunities, but my back and forth schedule made it impossible to commit to regular volunteering.

 

So, I was excited when I looked on the Girls Inc. of Denver website last month and saw "bean bags" on their wish list. I contacted them and was told that the social workers use the bags for a number of different games and activities. They usually use about six bags at a time and the bags are six-inches square. They needed a dozen. I volunteered.

 

I wanted to make the bags special, so I thought about embroidering the Girls Inc. logo on them, but 12 logos seemed daunting.

Then I remembered their motto: "Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold." Here's what I ended up making: six patterned bags and two bags each embroidered with "smart", "strong", or "bold". I expect that the social workers will be able to do some interesting things with them. For example, the girls could stand in a circle and toss the bags. Whoever winds up with an embroidered bag could then state why they are strong, smart or bold. Or if the girls know each other, they could say why the person they are tossing the bag to is strong, smart, or bold. I hope it works well for them.

To make the bags easy to keep track of, I also made two carrying cases. The tutorial for these cases came from Truly Myrtle. It is a fantastic tutorial, because it provides instructions on figuring out dimensions to make whatever size boxy bag you may need. I followed the instructions and, as you can see, the bean bags fit perfectly.

I'm so glad I looked on their website. I'll have to keep checking in with my favorite charities to see how I can contribute in the future. In the meantime, may all girls get the support that they need to be strong, smart, and bold.

 

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