A Cross-Stitch Conundrum

Posted on August 15, 2018 by craftycreeky

One of my longer term projects at the moment is a stitch sampler, I started it about 15 months ago with the idea of learning lots of new stitches and having a record of them to remind me. I’ve made it a bit more of a journal by adding special days or place-names of where I’ve stitched pages, I’ve also used a different DMC variegated thread for each one and a selection of permin evenweave linens, which is where I think my problem has arisen…

I’m pretty sure they are all Permin as the first two I stitched look like the same colour I stitched the Lizzie Stitching Wallet in, which was called French Lace and the rest are definitely left from my Tall Square Etui box.. Each double page page is 90 stitches by 130 stitches, edged with back-stitch ready for me to whip-stitch them together.

Over the last month I’ve started stitching them together, my original idea was to add tiny beads as I go, luckily I abandoned this idea in favour of finishing the book! Fortunately I also started in the middle, the pages are in chronological order so I double checked the order of pages. I added some interfacing to the pages just to give them a bit of body and then whip-stitched along, the 5 and 10 stitch markers I added came in very useful in keeping the pages aligned. I stopped a few stitches from the centre to give a little movement, though I might stitch these a bit close later.DSC_0013

My problem came when I tried to stitch the first two pages on, which were stitched I think on the French Lace Permin. They were too big!!! My first thought was that I’d mis-counted. I double checked and they were definitely 90 by 130 stitches. I wondered if I had bought 28 count in error instead of 32 count, no it was 32 count. When I looked more closely (two double page spreads are the same fabric) the pages were the correct size across, it was only the vertical side that was too big. It’s quite a difference too, about 5-6mm.DSC_0016 (2)

The only logical reason I could think of is that the weft and the warp are slightly different counts. I’ve just measured a 32 thread square and over an inch there does appear to be one thread difference, which clearly adds up over 90 threads!

The concern I have now is whether this was just a dodgy length, or is this standard, after all, if I was just stitching one big picture I wouldn’t know any different. If it is standard then I need to check with any similar project that I’m always stitching in the same direction!

I’ve just checked the Tall Year Square Etui sides and they fit together!! Phew!

If anyone has any ideas or experience of this, I’d be interested. In the meantime I’ve stitched another back-stitch line (seen on photo above) and reduced the size of the top or bottom margins. I’ve one more page to finish, then just a front an back page and it’s finished, hopefully it will be happy dance time in the next month or so!DSC_0011

Posted in Serendipity | 14 Comments

Vintage Silk Sari Daisies

Posted on August 14, 2018 by craftycreeky

A couple of years ago I bought some vintage silk saris on ebay, they averaged about £12 each so six yards of beautiful silk for very little outlay. One of them was a gorgeous charcoal grey ombre with a dark grey check pattern and gold embroidered daisies. The daisies were along one edge as a border and also in each square for the first yard or so.

The main length of silk with a border on was made into a skirt in June 2016, however I have to admit I’ve hardly worn it, mainly because I didn’t have a top to go with it!

One of the classes in a local show is to make something from something else, in other words, sewing a recycled item. It also has to have been made in the previous twelve months, which would exclude the skirt. However if I made a top to go with it then the outfit would have been completed this year!

I had about a metre left of the gold daisy end, it had a pretty border along the edge as well. I decided to make the shell top from the Great British Sewing Bee book, mainly because it’s nice and simple so I could keep as much of the daisies intact as possible.DSC_0016

I wanted to use the border around the hem but there wasn’t quite enough to do the front and back, so I carefully positioned the front so the daisies were nice and central and the border was along the hem. For the back I used the main fabric border up the centre back, this had the  added advantage that the edge was already finished!DSC_0007 (1)

It was pretty straight forward to stitch, I had to remove a few beads from the centre of the daisies near the seams, I french seamed the sides and used a black lining to face the neck and armholes. I turned up the back hem so it was level with the front and just stitched a narrow seam.DSC_0006

It’s actually really nice to wear and doesn’t look as Bollywood as I thought it might, I’m not usually a glitzy person! It’s a bit big across the back so once the show is over I might do some alterations. I think it will look just as nice with a slim grey velvet skirt, so that’s another project added to my to do list!DSC_0011

Posted in Dressmaking, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Monday’s Meander Round the Garden

Posted on August 13, 2018 by craftycreeky

I had to dash out in between showers to take garden photos today, makes a nice change!

August is traditionally quite a quiet time in an English garden, the roses are on their way out, geraniums are pretty much over, I’ve usually managed a fair bit of colour in the Amber & Amethyst garden, though it’s a bit less this year as all the plants were either new or moved in the spring. There’s alot of daisy style flowers…DSC_0007 (2)These creamy white leucanthemums are just in front of the conservatory window, in fact it’s hard to see them from the actual garden as there’s a (non-flowering!!) hydrangea in front of them.DSC_0009 (2)

I love echinaceas (cone flowers) so I have a couple of purple flowering plants and a lovely rich buttery yellow one….DSC_0013

I think this one is a rudbekia, I was a bit unsure about it until today, it was one I planted this year. It’s pretty tall, like about 36-40″, the first few flowers were really small and insignificant, but today it’s started flowering properly, they’re not huge but I think there’s going to be a lot of them!DSC_0012 (2)

I always get heleniums and rudbekias confused, but I’ve just checked on google and these ones with the pretty frilly-edged petals are heleniums, I love the russet colour and the shape of the petals.DSC_0011 (2)

These heleniums are looking somewhat past their best, these are shorter ones, maybe 8″ tall, I like the different hues of orange and yellow all on one plant.DSC_0010 (2)

I’m keeping my eye on little flowers too such as perenial wall flowers and violas as I’ve entered some flower classes at the local show too for the first time, including a flower arrangement in a teacup. I’m hoping they’re not too picky as I’ve got a gorgeous little china coffee cup with violets on which I’m hoping to fill with violas…if they last another few days!

 

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Friday Photos

Posted on August 10, 2018 by craftycreeky

This is a last minute post for the Friday Photo Challenge as I only got back from the Festival of Quilts late this afternoon! I had a brilliant time, but I’ll tell you all about it another day…

In the meantime, it’s Friday, so it’s photo challenge time from Postcard from Gibraltar. The theme this week is steps …

These are some of the high level steps I had to walk along at Go Ape a couple of months ago with a group of work friends. I got alot of street cred form my (much younger) work colleagues but boy did I ache for several days!!!

This is Helen with our three dogs, enjoying the spring sunshine sitting on the steps in the garden. Lucy, the fluffy one on the right is our latest addition, she’s my mums dog who is now living with us. You can just see behind them the wooden steps out of the garden, I’m just a bit proud of those as I made them many years ago, just by hammering upright posts in and then standing the riser behind and filling up with gravel.

These are rice paddy fields in Bali, just behind the hotel we were staying in, they were stepped to make the most of the contours.

These gentle steps are in a beautiful  garden attached to Wentworth Woodhouse garden centre. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

There were lots of steps involved in the making of my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt! I’m now going through the even longer steps of quilting it!

These are the stepping stones at Boloton Abbey, crossing over the River Wharfe, luckily there is a bridge right next to it for those like me who take wobbly steps!

Most of our crafts involve making things one step at a time, or one stitch at a time …Craft by Rovaris

…and our walks are definitely one step at a time!

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When not follow the link to Postcard from Gibraltar to see the steps everyone else is sharing.

 

Posted in Photo Challenge, Serendipity | 7 Comments

A Spoonful of Sewing

Posted on August 10, 2018 by craftycreeky

In a couple of weeks time there’s a flower show in one of the nearby towns, they have a handicraft section and they’re always keen for people to enter. I decided to enter a few things again.

One of the classes is ‘A Decorated Wooden Spoon’, now these are not particularly something I would rush out to make, but in a mad moment I decided to enter! This afternoon it was a bit hot outside so I settled into my sewing room and started thinking about the spoon. Having found a large spare one in a kitchen drawer I decided to decorate it with sewing paraphernalia! DSC_0001 (2)

First I made a flower from a zip, there was a course on these a couple of years ago at Tea & Tents which I missed but the ones I saw intrigued me. I watched a video on Youtube and found a long, electric blue zip which I really couldn’t see me using. In fact I’ve no idea why I bought it in the first place, it’s quite a chunky one!

It was actually fairly quick and simple to make the flower, especially when I found my hot glue gun to stick the top and the outer petals together.DSC_0002 (1)

So my flower would be the centre of my spoon decoration, I then started rummaging through my haberdashery drawers for buttons, ribbon, cotton reels, hooks and eyes, a tape measure that had been sellotaped back together at least once, metal spools my machine doesn’t like… I wired all the little bits onto some gold wire I found in my bead box and then started trying to arrange them.DSC_0003 (1)

This proved to be the tricky part. First I tried having all the bits below the flower, that didn’t look right, I tried a diagonal arrangement, that didn’t work either.It was also very fiddly trying to hold the various wires together. In the end I decided to try a small arrangement above with more bits below. I made a small ‘pick’ for the top, glued it in place with the glue gun before trimming the wires. I could then glue the tape measure and make a second pick for below the flower. Having glued these onto the spoon I could simply plonk the flower in the centre, covering all the wires.DSC_0006

One decorated spoon! It’s not perfectly arranged, but for a bit of fun to hang in my sewing room, I rather like it!DSC_0005 (2)

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Eighteen for 18

Posted on August 8, 2018 by craftycreeky

We’re a week into August already! A little late, but here’s my report on how I’m doing with my challenge, Eighteen for 18…

 

  • 1 Etsy store opened; Still no further, I think I really need to take the plunge and just put a few things on, test the water a bit!
  • 2 Tutorials; Nothing written but I have got two ideas!
  • 3 Sessions a week in the garden; I’ve not done as much as I would have liked in the garden this month, mainly because it was just so hot and dry, but if you include my times spent watering then I probably have managed my three sessions a week!DSC_0012
  • 4 Quilts;I made a wall quilt of a peacock in July, it was a practise piece for the FMQ class I’d watched on Craftsy, so my total is now three. I’m planning to buy fabric to make my niece a quilt on Friday at the Festival of Quilts, so hopefully soon there will be another one!DSC_0003 (2)
  • 5 Craftsy Classes; I’m still at 1.5 classes, as I’ve not managed to watch any this month, not helped by the internet problems we were having, now hopefully resolved; my internet speed has apparently gone from 2 to 35!!
  • 6 New Patterns; I have stitched a new pattern called Clementine, a denim skirt by Merchant & Mills, but as it was one Minerva Crafts gave me to try I can’t share it with you until they publish it. So I’ll leave it at four until I’ve posted about it.
  • 7 Kits stitched; I finally finished Bertie the Blackbird, a kit by Nicola Jarvis which I started at a stitching retreat in May. I’ve just collected it from the framers, he does look handsome! I also stitched a moon gazing hare in Kantha stitch.So I’ve now stitched six kits and I’m just starting a mini one.DSC_0010 (2)

     8 Pages in my stitch sampler book; I’ve almost finished a page on outline stitches and I’ve also started one on filler stitches, so my tally is still at six, with two on their way. I made the decision not to add beads to the edges of the pages last month, this was a good decision, I’ve quite a few pages stitched together now, I’ll give you an update soon.

  • 9 Pounds Lost!!! No change, which I suppose is better than gaining!33399216_2195752867196301_4326968586221387776_n
  • 10 Mini Embroideries; I’ve stitch one this month, a phoenix in flight for the Travelling Sketchbooks so with my total at seven so far I’m ahead of schedule. I’ve two to create this month for another project with Embroiderers Guild, I’ve to do a poppy and Pudsey Bear.DSC_0007 (2)
  • 11 Letters to friends; I’ve been really bad at this, it remains at two!
  • 12 Boxes or Drawers sorted in sewing room; I’ve done bits and bats of sorting, but not one area I can say I’ve finished, so my tally is remains at ten, I’m ahead of schedule on this one, shame my sewing room doesn’t look tidier for it!
  • 13 New Recipes; Nothing new this month so still just five.
  • 14 Less Lengths in my stash! Mmm…I think I may as well forget about this one, I went to Sew Dewsbury last weekend with the intention of being restrained! Well…I could have bought a lot more!
  • 15 Posts a month; I’ve just done a quick tally and I counted 26 posts, must be a record for me!
  • 16 cross-stitch smalls; I finished one cross-stitch, but I haven’t made it up yet, so I’ll leave my tally is fourteen, well ahead on this one!
  • 17 items of clothing made. I made my Liberty dress earlier in the month and I’ve also made the denim skirt which I can’t count yet! So my tally so far is six (plus one!)  so not bad, but quite a bit of catching up to do.DSC_0027
  • 18 Walks; We’re training in earnest now. I walked part of the Ribble Way with friends and also two parts of the Welcome Way. WI had a short walk too, so my total is now eight walks so far and lots of dates in the diary for more practice.DSC_0041
Posted in Crafts, Dressmaking, Eighteen for 18, Garden, Quilting, Serendipity, The Travelling Sketchbook | Tagged | 10 Comments

August Photo Challenge

Posted on August 7, 2018 by craftycreeky

The them for August from Wild Daffodil is a tricky one, it’s flake. I’m tempted to include a photo of a rather nice chocolate bar, but that would end up with me eating it!

This is the bark of a beautiful tree at Kew Gardens.

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I’ve had these three guineafowl chicks for probably 10 years now, the coating on them is getting decidedly flaky, but I still love them, they have so much character!

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The seat on my rose arbour is in need of a new coat of paint as it’s coming off in large flakes, I don’t think it helped when the chickens perched on it during their last winter with us! Rosie doesn’t care if it’s a bit flaky, it’s a cool spot!

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I took lots of photos of eucalyptus during our holiday in Australia, I love looking at their bark, this one isn’t too flaky, but some have huge areas peeling.

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Monday’s Meander Round the Garden

Posted on August 6, 2018 by craftycreeky

We’ve finally had a reasonable amount of rain over the last couple of weeks, enough so I could manage to dig a hole or three today to plant some perennials that I’ve been trying to keep alive for the last six weeks or so! Of course the rain also means the weeds have gone mad!DSC_0006 (2)

I weeded around the Amber & Amethyst garden, I’m pleased how this has turned out, considering most of the plants went in April / May, it’s filled up nicely. It’s also worked well as a sitting area, most days we sit up here with a cup of tea or a glass of wine. I originally planned the gravel area because I realised this corner got the evening sun, so it’s lovely that we are using it, OK it helps that we have had a long, hot summer! One of the plants looking good at the moment in the AA garden is this purple sedum, it makes a change from the usual (and pretty) Autumn Joy one. It looks a bit pale in this photo, but it’s actually quite a rich colour.DSC_0009

Next to the pond is a large clump of Crocosmia Lucifer, it really needs digging up and dividing but in the meantime it has flopped a bit so I have a circle of red flowers like a ring of fire!DSC_0011

It always intrigues me how one hosta is favoured by slugs over another. I was a bit concerned after our chickens were rehomed that my hostas would never be the same but it’s obviously more the frogs, toads and newts in the pond that keep our slugs down, this beautiful creamy one is almost perfect.DSC_0010

This plant with the little blue flowers is actually a clematis, there’s a shrubby group as well as the climbers and this is one of them. It’s not very tall, about 24″ ish, it’s not very showy either, but I like it, the flowers are a lovely intense blue.DSC_0008

A couple of months ago I planted a fatsia japonica in a large pot for a very shady spot, it’s got the fence on one side, raised bed wall on another, the arbour and then a large sambuscus shrub over the top…as I said, it’s a very shady spot! Well it looks very happy there, as does the hosta in a pot next to it.DSC_0017

At the other end of the scale is this little pot of violas, don’t they look pretty ! DSC_0016

 

Posted in Garden, Serendipity | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Hand Quilting Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on August 5, 2018 by craftycreeky

It’s three weeks since I showed you my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt, I had just started quilting it, trying to stitch petals on the Dresden circle, I’d just started stitching round the flowers in the next border too…DSC_0009

I haven’t done a huge amount, partly because it’s just been too hot to bury oneself under a king-size quilt! I’ve concentrated on the flower circles this week, mainly because I can’t find the cotton that I was using for the centre!!

I’m quilting immediately round each flower, then on some I’m making a second outer circle before echo quilting round them all. I was getting a little despondent thinking this is going to take forever, then I realised I only had about three circles to do and a few echoes and I’d quilted a quarter of the border. It doesn’t take much, it was enough to encourage me on. So I have now quilted a quarter of the flower border!DSC_0003

I’m looking forward to the next narrow border when I can do a simple design all in the same direction, like a scallop or a wiggle! One problem I’m having is that I keep needing to turn the quilt to stitch a circle, it’s a big thing to heave around! This is definitely something to consider when working out future quilting designs!

I think my stitching is improving a bit, I’m managing to ‘rock’ my needle to do about 3 stitches at once and I’ve finally mastered the thimble! Hopefully next time I’ll have a bit more to show you.DSC_0001

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  Please follow the links to see what everyone else is hand quilting. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Lori, Margaret, Kerry, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Connie, Susan,  Nanette, Sassy , Edith, and Sharon

I’m also linking up with Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitch Sunday, a link party for all things hand-stitched.

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Posted in Down The Rabbit Hole, Quilt-a-long, Quilting, Serendipity | Tagged , | 32 Comments

Splendid Sampler II

Posted on August 4, 2018 by craftycreeky

Yesterday I managed to finish two of the Splendid Sampler II blocks, all sashed and quilted. As the next one was released yesterday afternoon I carried straight on and made it! I’ve quilted it this afternoon.

The Splendid Sampler 2 is a weekly stitch-a-long by Pat Sloan, there’s over 80 designers involved who have all contributed a block, so there’s lots of different styles and techniques. There’ll be 100 blocks altogether, I’m planning to make two quilts with probably 49 in each, so two might get made into cushions, or if this week is anything to go by they might just get rejected!

The first one I stitched was by Lori Kennedy, it’s called Rose and Dot, after the two ladies who inspired her to sew, her mother Dorothy and her grandmother Rose. I was quite pleased how this one went initially, I did needle-turn applique and it looked pretty good! Then I quilted it!DSC_0011 (2)

I decided to go round and round in circles, centering on the flower, only they weren’t very good circles! I think where I went wrong was that initially I tried to turn the fabric, rather than just moving it in the right direction. It also means the leaves somewhat disappear! It’s all good practice!!

The second block is by Sharon Burgess, it’s called For the Love and it’s inspired by the tulips which bloom in the parks of her home town. It’s English Paper Piecing…I really don’t think it’s going to be my thing! It was so fiddly stitching the shapes around the paper templates, not helped by having to reject the early ones as I’d cut out my pieces just a tad too small.  Then I had to stitch them together, remove the backing paper and then stitch it on to the backing fabric…faffy!

By this time I really wasn’t that keen on the block, it was nearly in the reject pile already!! I persevered and sashed and quilted it with a simple triangular design…and I like it now! It’s amazing the difference quilting can make- it can make or break a block!!DSC_0010 (2)

Yesterdays block is called My Flock, by Brenda Ratliff, it’s all about sewing and quilting with friends, her flock. It’s a nice simple block of flying geese, so I decided to do a blue background for the sky and quilt it just by extending the lines off the wings, a bit like a slip-stream. I like this one.DSC_0009 (2)

I initially cut a 1.5″ sashing so once all the seams were stitched each block would be 8″ square. After I’d stitched the first three I decided to cut the sashing to 2″ so I had plenty of spare if one comes out smaller than another due to quilting styles. The backing is in the same fabric as the sashing, so the back of the quilts will be varying squares of blue, grey and ivory.

I’ve stitched eight blocks now (92 to go!!)

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Posted in Quilt-a-long, Quilting, Serendipity, Splendid Sampler Quilt | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments