Another Snow Seam

Another snow seam was added to the crazy quilted stocking I am making for my eldest son. 

Three snowflakes were created using silver metallic floss and straight stitches. 

A silver bead was added to the center of each.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

This is day 9 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. You may find more details and other participating blogs here.

Stocking Snow Seam

This snowflake seam was very simple to stitch.

Using straight stitches and size 12 white perle cotton, I stitched a "+" and then made an "x" over that.

There are 3 seams and 7 motif areas left to fill in this week on the stocking I am making for my eldest son.


Thank you so much for stopping by.
-Renee

Today is day 8 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by www.muppin.com. You may read the details and find other participating blogs here.

Dyed Fabric

I dyed two small pieces of fabric. The one on the right is a light blue and the one on the left is more of a blue-green. (Both need to be ironed.)

Some of you may remember when I took the Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course #102 from Kathy Shaw back in 2015. I used techniques from that class. 

I plan to embroider on each of these and hope to have one finished to share by the end of the month. 

Thank you for stopping by!
-Renee

This is day 7 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge. Learn more about it and find participating blogs here.

Almost a Finish!

Some of you may remember when I finished this piece in 2015.

(That blog post is here.)

While working on this "Santa and the Mouse Ornament", featuring artwork by Scott Gustafson, I learned that cross-stitch projects should be washed in mild soap (like the blue Dawn dish soap) to remove oils that naturally transfer from our hands and can cause the fabric to yellow over time.

When I first washed it, some of the colors bled (an issue I had never encountered with DMC floss in the past.) I was panic stricken. Thankfully, it was not as noticeable after rinsing with cold water. I let it air dry and it lightened up. 

Then, I realized I forgot to add my initials and the year. I had also made the mistake of leaving it in the hoop too long while I was working on it. The fabric outside of the hoop had yellowed and it clearly needed another wash before being framed. I was just too nervous to try that again. So, I put it in a safe place and the poor thing became a UFO (unfinished object.)

Last December, "Santa and the Mouse Ornament" became #9 on my 2017 UFO Challenge through All People Quilt.

#9 was the November project for the UFO Challenge. I planned to make a wall quilt with it, but my husband felt it should be framed.

Last night, I finally gathered up my courage and added the year and my initials to the cross-stitch. 

Then, I groaned. Every time I looked at this UFO, I reminded myself that I needed to add the year 2015 (the year it was completed.) Of course, I stitched 2017. 

Oh well... It was not a huge error, as I still plan to add a label to the back indicating it is a HAED chart with art by Scott Gustafson and my start and finish dates. 

Next was the scary part. I washed it again. The discoloration on the fabric from being in the hoop too long was barely noticeable after this second wash (and would not show at all once framed.) However, the reds bled into the beard and fur on Santa's coat again. Feeling rather ill, I rinsed it really, really well under cold water. Once it looked a bit better (which was still terrifyingly dark while it was wet), I turned it upside down on a fluffy white towel and carefully ironed the back.

Once it was dry, it looked soooo much better. Whew! (I should have taken a wet photo to share with the after photo pictured at the beginning of this post! You would not believe the difference.)

Today, I met with a framer. She also cross-stitches, so it was fun to chat as she helped me select a mat and frame. 

It should be ready to pick up by December 20th, so I will have one more finish this year!

Although this particular chart has been retired, there is a similar chart on the Heaven and Earth Designs website called "QS Santa and Mouse-Gustafson" you may find here. (QS = Quick Stitch) It is a snippet from "Santa and the Mouse" - an adorable scene by Gustafson that you may find charted here.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Renee

This is day 6 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge hosted by muppin.com. You may read more about the challenge and find participating blogs here.

TAST Stitch 49

Portuguese Border Stitch

I am still catching up with stitches from the last round of Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST). The Portuguese Border Stitch was #49 in that round of TAST. 

Threads used:

Foundation stitches: Size 8 DMC pink #605 perle cotton. 

Whipped stitches: Size 5 DMC variegated pink #48 perle cotton.

I added the stitch to the strap pieced for the crazy quilted messenger bag that I listed fourth on my APQ UFO Challenge. It is the December 2017 project.

You may read more about the APQ Challenge here. Details about the 2018 challenge will be shared on the Facebook group on December 12th.

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) is a challenge offered by Sharon B. of Pintangle.com to learn a new stitch each week.

The next round of TAST will begin in January with a regular round for beginners and a Beyond TAST Challenge for those that have completed it in the past.

Day 5 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge. More details and other participating blogs may be found here. 

Thanks for visiting!

-Renee