A New Beginning

A friend from Arkansas asked if I'd cover the top of a beautiful cobalt blue box for her. Of course, I was honored that she would ask. And after discussing a little of the style that might be fitting a blue box; we settled on an underwater scene.

We searched the internet for an image of a mermaid. We selected a fairy mermaid with lovely shades of green and purple. She will be surrounded (eventually) by various plant life and underwater sea creatures. Here is what I have completed today. The brown and beige "lumps" will be rocks or boulders. The green and blue "things" will be plant life. The netting style trim will also be plant life.

And, I thought you might enjoy seeing the very beginning of the fabric placements. Here is the silkie placed on top of some green cotton broadcloth for stability. The broadcloth is about 3 inches larger on each side of the finished project size, to allow me to put it in a hoop to work on. I usually always work from my Q-snap hoops when the finished project will completely fit in the center. No hoop marks! No removing until I am done!

This entire project also has a thin piece of batting on the back of the 8 x 11 size rectangle (size of the top of the box). This extra stability is critical (IMHO) because the finished project will have so much beading it will become very heavy as all of it is stitched layer on top of layer.

 The "sand" floor center was added first, then I started layering the middle blues of the water. Next I added more blues upwards and browns towards the bottom.

 All of the pieces are hand stitched down. Then I machine stitched around the entire rectangle to keep all those edges down.

Most fabric pieces are triangle shaped scraps. I use the long side which is on the bias, as the edge I usually stitch down. The other sides are covered with the next pieces to be placed down most of the time.

The progress of this piece will be blogged as I work through the various plants, animals, and other objects.

If you have not tried an underwater project, I encourage you to do so. They are very liberating! No real seams or motifs are needed. Just embroidery work to create the underwater world you can imagine. Let yourself go and just create!

Quick Gifts

Cyber friends are such treasures to me. And, this week I was reminded more than once of how much more fun my stitching has been since going "on-line". It was also the week to complete a few things for friends, so I thought I'd share those with you all. Hope you get some inspiration to stitch!

Here is a flannel blanket and some bibs for Miss Mikol, who (after 3 girls) is having a boy! Woot! Woot! I think that is just great. So, when I saw this super fast pattern for baby bibs I immediately thought of her. It took only about 3 hours to whip up nine bibs...from selecting the fabric to sealing the box I mailed them in! Now, that is a great project to work on!

If you would like to stitch some of your own the Nested Bib Pattern is free! It's found under Things to Make and is their Basic Bib Pattern. I changed the assembly instructions to suit me. The original instructions had velcro as the closure...and that is good; but I don't like sewing velcro. So, I used little covered elastic pony tail holders as the "loops" and big buttons (extra securely stitched) for the closures. The original pattern also had a little pocket across the bottom, but I did not see the need of that, and just made reversable bibs instead.

To accompany the bibs, I stitched up a baby blanket super quick! A square piece of fleece with "slits" cut in the edge (about 1/2 inch from the outside edge) creates a great "soft as a cloud" blanket. The edging is a hand crochet shell stitch and single crochet (alternating) all the way around. The stitching is done with all-cotton yarn so it is really soft as well. It takes about 30 minutes to cut the blanket out of the fleece and make the holes. And, another 45 minutes to crochet the edging. If you want to do your own blankets, the rotary cutter blades used to make the holes can be found at Skipstitch, and the yarn I got at Walmart.

This eyeglass case was great fun to do for a friend to present to her Secret Friend. It has a simple embroidery center and has a closure (similiar to the bibs) to keep the glasses from slipping out. The embroidery is straight stitch, french knots, and lazy daisy stitches...and ya'll know by now that I can do those in my sleep! If you don't believe me, just check out the Two Dozen in Twelve Months (TDITM) posts!

And, for you TDITM fans...no I have not given up! I will be posting more soon!

Lastly, the next little giftee is a Mug Rug for Jill. It has embroidery on it as well. And a little pieced block on the opposite side.

The pumpkins and the center eyeglass case embroidery patterns come from a Flickr site I belong to that posts hundreds, if not thousands, of free embroidery patterns for sharing. So check them out sometime at Hooplove. I know that I've recommended them before...but it never gets old to support good sites!

More Embroidery

As is my glorious habit, I've been stitching! Not so much crazy quilting lately as I am getting giftees ready to mail.

One of the lovely ladies (Bea) on HGTV Message Boards has a wonderful Christmas swap that takes a whole year to prepare for! We gather up items for our "Polly" in a variety of categories. Some are for the home, like "Mrs. Clauses Kitchen or Holiday Home" and some are specifically related to stitching, like "Buttons, Beads or Cotton". There are twenty categories in total...and the swap is intended to be really good gifts, so it is not inexpensive...which is why we spread it out over a year to accumulate our "treasures".

It is almost time to mail, and my three boxes are sealed and ready to be shipped! We are required to include some hand made items in the mix...and here are three embroidery designs that will be included...along with some other hand made things that I have already blogged about.

I get a lot of designs and inspiration from a flickr group that I belong to. If you like to do embroidery work, check out the group Hoop Love Vintage Transfers on Flickr.

Basically Beaded-Diane

Last week, I received a block from Diane to bead. We are in a round robin on Crazy Quilter's International Yahoo Group titled Basically Beaded.

Usually, I try to work on things in order...the "hottest" gets my attention first! But, I just could not wait! The block was pretty...and calling to me!

So I went right to work and was done in two days! Now, it will hang in my sewing room until closer to time to mail out next month. Geez, I hope I don't forget it!

And, since we all love seeing details...here are close up photos of each seam.

 The grapes were done with various size (2mm-4mm) glass beads. The vine is seed beads in purple/blue, and the leaves are glass.

The green drop garland is mostly Swarvoski crystal...rounds, bicones, and drops. Accented with glass stars and seed beads.

This is the first seam I stitched...seed beads, bugle beads, glass flowers, and Swarvoski crystal bicones and slides to accent.

Chandelier findings showcase seed beads and glass flowers of varied types.

I could stitch the entire block! And, really had to make myself stop! The colors of the block are especially suited to lot's of color...and I think it will be stunning once everyone in our group has beaded their part. I just can't wait to see what the next block in the Robin looks like!!

Bling everywhere!

It has been a really busy week for me. I have had the granddaughter early every day, and all day on Saturday. She takes a lot of my time (which I love) but it does put me behind in my computer duties...which are many! My Daughter goes to first shift, temporarily, for the next couple of weeks...which means that I get to pick Aidan up from school each day...so I'm gonna get further behind in computer if I don't get moving! (Sorry Shari)

I manage to stitch and bead with DGD in the house...in-between teaching her to make things, supervising her "artistic creations", and judging imaginary dress-up contests and such. A grandmother's job is tiring...but more rewarding than any other I have ever had or wanted for that matter!

The easiest thing for me to accomplish with the "Diva" in attendance seems to be beading and CQ work. So, that's what got done this week. For some, I'm right on time...while others are early! I'll save the CQ work for later because I don't have photos of that yet.

First up, some beaded cabochons for a friend. This one will be a brooch once I glue on the tie tac stem.

The next is a drop for a necklace. She has a gold chain from which this will hang. Hope you like them Eileen!

Then, I have a whole batch of dog collars finished. Woot! woot! Some are in colors of the local universities...University of Alabama (Ranked #1 College Team right now) and the local Jacksonville State University are both RED/WHITE...

Auburn University, the other great campus in out state...is ORANGE/BLUE.

Then, some everyday collars...for the stylish pet!

And, lastly...some extra small collars for cats and teacup variety pets.

A special thanks to my friend, Talia, for getting me interested in Swarvoski crystals! I'm having a blast with these Talia...wish you were hear to help me wire these up!

A little bit country and a little bit rock n' roll!

Remember that tune? Well, that's what I thought of as I took photos of my latest stitching. It's a real hodge-podge of things.

First off...the country segment!! A cross-stitch Christmas ornament of a snow lady. I received a kit from a dear friend, and decided to stitch it up as a hang tag to go on a Christmas package for a friend.

Now, for a little of the Rock 'n' Roll. First up is a new cabochon. I'm calling this one Crystal Blue Waters because of the aquablue seed beads and crystals around the ABstyle crystal cabochon. I like it, and it is about the size of a nickle...so good for lot's of things.

And, lastly...another R&R tune! I just recently signed up to participate in a crazy quilt round robin on the Crazy Quilters International Yahoo Group titled Basically Beaded. My block will be passed around to others in the same Round Robin team to stitch on. And, I'll get their blocks to work on as well. I decided to do a basic white/cream block as the base for all the beading...and let the beads be the "color". I stitched a portion of the block this morning (okay, spend most of the day on it)...and am just forcing myself to stop stitching so the other ladies can work on it too! I'm so excited about this Robin...it will be so much fun!
Here's the beginning of my block.

 There is a little bit of everything in my beading cabinet on this I think! Pearls, jewelry links, crystal butterflies, porcelain flowers, charms, rondelle spacers, seed beads, rocailles, montees', tons of Swarvoski crystals, and one of my Magic Mirror cabochons! It is opulent and I love it!

English Garden Pin Cushion

I've had a pattern for a strawberry pincushion for a while, and thought I try my hand at making one for a friend. Now I'm hooked! Love the results...so much so, that I'm going to make a few up for the Studio as well.

I have several really pretty fabrics with cabbage style roses, so each will have an English Garden type of feel.

If you want to make your own...the pattern is from Crabapple Hill, and is titled #811 Vintage Strawberry Pincushion. The little strawberry is filled with emery, and is a little cumbersome to work up...but the larger one is more manageable in size.

I'm going to do a Princess version as well, with white satin fabric and dangling beads/crystals! What about that! It will be a little more costly because of the bling factor...and I probably won't do a many of it...but every princess needs a special pin cushion!! (Ha, I should do a DIVA one in honor of Aidan!!)

Hope ya'll are having a great day! The weather here is lovely today...and I have all of the windows open!

Fairy Tea Party Block

We just finished a teacup challenge block contest over on the HGTV board. So, I can now post photos of my block. Over 30 ladies entered their blocks, and they were stunning! Check them out here: TEACUPS

The hostess sent us three small pieces of fabric, 2 scraps of white, and a cream background teacup. To this she added a snippet of lace trim, a pewter teapot charm, and a brass basket charm. Eclectic mix to be sure!

I pieced my block of creams and white with lot's of lace to make it girly! Next I found a photo of some Mary Engelbret stickers and enlarged them, printed on silk, and added fusible to the back for adhering to the block. I treated several seams as "shelves" and set my ME teapots and cups there. The white/cream backgrounds in the patches bothered me...so I stitched some "wallpaper" on them.

An applique teapot and an embroidered teapot were added to the mix; along with several of my pewter fairies.

The fairies and the pewter teapot charm were painted with nail polish. The basket charm was also painted to blend with all the other elements.

Lot's of beads, silk ribbon, buttons, and stitches...

and voila a Fairy Tea Party Block! I like the "wallpaper" and will do that again...but hand stitching all those back-stitches and wrapped back-stitches took some time!!

Here's the close up of the teacup fabric square...filed with flowers and a dancing fairy.

Pewter Charm Painting!

Just spent a lovely couple of hours with my granddaughter...playing with fingernail polish! And we didn't make too bad of a mess!

 We polished up some pewter charms, like this birds. Not hard to do, and if you let the polish dry completely (before picking them up) you don't get it all over your fingers either.

Of course, that's not an easy concept to get across to a six year old!

I was painting some fairies for a customer...

And while looking for some charms for Aidan to paint on I found these cute little strawberries...so, of course, I had to paint them up too!

I think there is a fat quarter of strawberry fabric around here somewhere...if I can locate it, a pincushion might be in the works this week!

And...these photos were taken with my new phone. I upgraded my service (another 2 year contract with Verizon) but that's okay since I like their service. Anyway, the phone cost me a whole $12 in shipping...and it has a 5.1 mega pixel camera (the real reason for me deciding to upgrade). My actual camera is a 3.2 MP and is starting to make strange sounds...so the phone is my backup plan if the camera goes out completely.

So, if ya'll have pewter charms and want to add some color to them...just pull out your fingernail polish and go to town! I buy up the "odd" colors when they go on sale...and have about 30-40 shades now. If you don't have any charms...and want some...just check out what the Studio has (link above). I'd be happy to polish them for you at no charge if you like. But, I encourage you to give this a try...it's loads of fun!

Lot's of fun for kid's projects too! And if you don't like the results...just a cotton ball with fingernail polish remover clears all of your mistakes away!

Hussif for my Polly

I am in the HGTV "All I Want For Christmas" swap...and have been gathering and making things for my secret "polly" to receive for her Christmas.

When I saw this hussif pattern, I just had to try my hand at red-work embroidery...and it's my first project in red-work, so don't be too critical!  The pdf pattern is by Kaaren Johnston who has wonderful things to share on her blog!

I changed the design up a little by adding a pocket for bead containers, and adjusting the layout to fit the size I wanted.