Blisstree » Work Finished

have I been sewing?

Chloe Findlay-Harder — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:52:15 +0000

Karen asked me a question through a comment – have I actually had time to make any of the outfits I was planning with these fabrics?

Well… actually yes! I sewed a hoodie from the green faux silk knit – but I don’t have a good photograph of it yet, so that will have to wait

I am quite proud to get this done however:

My DH asked for a shirt with a front placket, buttons & a space for cuff links on the sleeves… and buckles instead of buttons. Now we won’t discuss how long that particular shirt has been sitting on my sewing table…. But it’s been awhile.

Have you ever had one of those projects that you just can’t seem to finish?

The project that makes you feel guilty because it’s been sitting around for so long?

Yeah, the shirt was one of those ones – I’m not quite sure why though… I can normally whip up a man’s dress shirt in an afternoon.

Oh well, it’s done now – and I think my DH looks good in it too

Post from: Blisstree

have I been sewing?

monogrammed stationary part 2

Chloe Findlay-Harder — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:36:20 +0000

Sorry about the lack of posts yesterday – I had about half an hour yesterday to deal with email… and that was it!

Here’s photos of the four finished cards – like all my work posted here, these are copyrighted & cannot be copied for sale or donation without my express written permission.

I used watercolor paper to make the cards, but you can also use commercially available blank card sets too. I think my favorite is the blue & brown card with the ribbon

Don’t backstitch to finish off the ends, just pull the threads through to the wrong side & tie them off. Remember to change your needle after this – think about what paper does to good scissors!

I eyeballed all the measurements for the silk & where I placed it on the card. I’d recommend using a gridded quilting ruler to get everything square., if you prefer.

Post from: Blisstree

monogrammed stationary part 2

Cross stitch finish! ah, Coffee…

admin — Mon, 22 May 2006 19:16:44 +0000

This piece has been a comedy of errors. All blame is mine, as I appear to suffer from an inability to count properly when tired. The hat is slightly off, a few stitches are done in the wrong colors, and when it came time to backstitch the coffee cup, I did it in dark blue instead of dark brown because I was too lazy to go find the brown. I did purposefully stitch the dashed line in gold braid because I thought it would be prettier than if done in brown floss. The border? The border is not part of the pattern. You’ll note the bottom edge– I mis-counted where I needed to start the piece, and the whole thing is a few squares too far south on the cloth. The border is to ensure the fabric doesn’t unravel before I figure out how I’m going to finish this. My husband commented that I really have a hard time letting go of a piece, and that is largely true. I was thinking this might need more sparkle, or perhaps some beads. I’m so irritated with all the minor mistakes however, that I find I’m able to let it go quite easily. And without further ado:

Post from: Blisstree

Cross stitch finish! ah, Coffee…

Bargain kits

admin — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:46:57 +0000

When I was looking for some needlework to do last summer, I decided that giving counted cross stitch another try would be fun. I had tried it a decade or so ago, and was not really that excited about All The Counting. Off I went to one of my local craft shops to look through their patterns. Counted Cross Stitch must not be as popular right now (at least in our area) as it has been in past times, because usually the main offerings for needleworking are in kit form. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put a large investment of time and money into it, so I looked through the clearance sale bin and found a kit for a Victorian Palm for under $5.

I marked the center lines and started stitching. The kit worked up nicely, certainly better than I’d expected from a small cheap kit. Eventually I will get around to framing it in a pleasing frame (rather than the plastic frame it came with. The tacky plastic frame). The picture included with the kit, and my start of the piece:

And the finished result:

If you are unsure whether you will like needlework, but want to try it, Janlynn Corporation offers free needlecraft kits. Two notes: there is a postage cost (appears to be approx $7) and the offer is limited to online USA customers. Which is good for those of us in the US, but not-so-exciting for those of us elsewhere. The selection varies, and supplies of each kit are limited, but there is almost always something I see that I think “hm, well maybe this time I’ll go ahead and order one!”

Free Patterns Online offers a LOT of free charts. There are some teeny tiny charts perfect for beginners or for those things you just want a little touch of stitching on.
Happy Stitching!

Post from: Blisstree

Bargain kits