exciting stuff !?

What a complete bloody drama to get pictures posted to my blog. I have been trying for days. Blogger has instigated another new picture uploading to and it DOES NOT WORK FOR ME!!
Luckily, if i edit a post from my blog, I still get the old version, which doesn't allow me to place pics, but does at least allow me to upload without crashing my browser.

So this is what I have been working on. These are Pohutukawa flowers. We call it the New Zealand Christmas tree as the trees flower these gorgeous red blooms in Dec and January. I had a custom order for two pouches for a friend to send to overseas relatives. These would also look fantastic on stockings or postcards. Real Kiwiana.



The necklace above I won in a blog giveaway. How cool is that!! I don't actually read the blog, but a link on another blog sent me off to donate $10 for breast cancer research via paypal, and for that I apparently got two entries into the draw. I did look up the blog later, and what a fantastically , well organised, fundraising event this was. There was a ton of prizes donated by other various bloggers. This was one of the Monica Magness Pink causes.
I am very happy with my Laura Krasinski necklace.

I have a had a couple of sales today - thank goodness - it has been so slow.
If you have been eyeing something up as a christmas gift in my ETSY shop, please don't dilly-dally, as I would like to avoid any delays for you, and mail as soon as possible .
How about I offer a deal. Free shipping as long as you enter my blog name in the "message to seller" box. I will refund the shipping to you. It may not seem like a lot, but it sure adds up at christmas time! (this will run thru to Dec 10)

Felt Snowflake Ornies - partie deux

Part II of this tutorial for you. Part I can be found here.

These have been so much fun to design and stitch. Have knocked out the 13 family ornies this week, and will start working on friends. So, here is how to complete your snowflake ornaments.

You will need some kind of fusible, double-sided  interfacing (adhesive medium). Use your original template to cut out as many as you need. I cut mine well inside the line (2mm), so they are slightly smaller than your stitched front. I like HeatnBond. I use it for my postcards to. When it cools it is really sturdy and stiff, great for this kind of thing. I have no experience of anything else, so can't do comparisons. From my knowledge of vlsioflex (sp) that is a far more softer finish for adding applique to quilts, so I am sure it would still work, but your ornie may curl or bend with time. With the Heatnbond I would expect an ornie that will sit and hang nicely for years to come.

Iron your fusible on. I ironed mine to the front. I have beads and sequins on the front and didn't want to give them to much "iron time + it will be easier to line up the names I stitched on the backs later (totally optional, so may not be an issue for you)

Here are all my fronts ready to go. I also used baking paper when ironing this on, just to protect the iron.

Peel off the backing....

I added in a hanging loop at this point (actually, the pic shows it added in under the first layer of fusiable webbing. Either way is fine.) This is where lining up the back was important to me. I wanted to make sure the loop was at the top of the name. How the front sits does not really matter as they are all symmetrical.
So put your hanging loop in -  I had hoped for something a little fancier, but this worked. I did try knotting the cord, but it didn't sit right, and this did. Place your back on, the right way up if necessary. Put your pressing cloth/baking paper down over everything, including the loop cording (you never know how it will react to heat), and press until the webbing has taken.

And Wa la! Finished. I had quite a little production line going.

 

You may find that the front is a little smaller due to the stitching (like the top ornie in the pic below). or your template is not 100% symmetrical, and the lining up is a little off. The beauty of felt is that you just trim it up all neat and tidy.

 

Have fun. And do let me know if you make any ornies. I would love to see them.

I bought some great metallic thread on the weekend, so I am doing the next lot with those. I could of finished these ones with it, but seeing as they are all for family, there would of been raised eyebrows about why they got sparkles and I didn't....

Journal Cover completed

....not mine though. This is Belinda's. She has been stitching away all week and wanted to do the finishing today ( I have the sewing machine).

I think she did a great job. This is for her mum. The buttons are from her grandmothers button jar.

I am inspired to work more on mine. Soon.....next post will be hoe to complete the snowflake ornies. That's what I did today.

More Ornies

just a quick pic of  how I have used my templates to draw out my snowflake designs. Love these little templates. Useful for EVERYTHING.

I have done 13 fronts so far. Will start on the back soon.

I also completed a custom order today. A pouch and an ACEO (postcard size)

2009 Xmas Ornies - part I

Every year I make a hand made ornament for my family members. This year I am getting organised early, as I am usually still working on these come Christmas Eve. I am determined not to do that again (but I am sure I will be...it's the thought that counts, surely..)

So here is what I am doing this year. Snowflakes.

First I decided on a shape, and cut a sturdy template. I am doing these on black felt. I cut out a whole heap of templates on tracing (baking) paper, and drew my designs on to that, then pinned that to my felt. I stitch directly through the paper , on to the felt.

Once I have finished my stitching , I gently pull the paper away. You do need to be reasonably gentle, but i don't get to much pulling that can't be tightened, and in the next step (future post)  a fusible medium will hold it in place.

 

Here are the 3 I have stitched so far. After pulling the paper off, I added beads and sequins for shine. Very subtle, but just enough for a wee bit of zazz.

And here is the inspiration for these...a gift bag

The back of the ornies will have the recipients name and the year embroidered on them, and a hanging loop will be added when both sides are fused together. Stayed tuned for part two, hopefully before xmas eve!!

I can also see other great ornies coming from this bag. Those baubles are just screaming to be stitched.

Fabric Paper Journal Covers

My online pal Ati, has been making the most fantastic postcards. I bought one a while ago, and begged her for the instructions (which were apparently already in the public domain) , but i begged anyway!
 Well today was a crappy day. The BFF and I had plans to scale a small mountain, but the rain dictated otherwise, so we crafted. Belinda wanted to make a journal cover for her sister for xmas, which lead onto me saying, "hey, I have all this cool stuff to make fabric paper". So off we set. The dining room was transformed into a workstation (yes, I do have a studio, but it is small, and full of stuff, strictly room for one only). We had a blast.

the "stuff" we used, most of it generously supplied by Ati

Belinda, hard at work on her end of the table. (Pam, can you see your card in the background?) . Speaking of Ati, one of her blocks inspired the colour choice for my lounge walls too...

 

This is Belinda's first piece in progress.  The following three are mine finished.

 

 

I am a little unsure about the strength of the purple in the second one, however these will be further stitched and embellished, and I can live with it.

By the final one I was deciding what else I could pillage for text . The newspaper wasn't very inspiring, so I grabbed a dictionary. The possibilities are endless.

 

I particularly like this one. The text is a perpetual calender. The words are the definition of time, and Belinda thought the moon fitted the time theme well. We are both impatiently waiting for these to dry. We can only hope they hold together as well as Ati's postcard, which sat in full view to serve as inspiration. We are off to a 24 hr second hand book sale on Saturday night (I know, if there's a party, we are there...not) , to look for vintage recipes books, dress patterns and medical text ( I LOVE medical texts!)

Ati does have the tutorial for this posted on her blog, so I will send you there for instructions. Needless to say, it was a great day, and a fun, fun thing to do. I have so many ideas.

Look, I do have something to show you!

I did quite a bit of stitching while I was away on holiday, and I found a couple of bag fronts that I completed that I had forgotten about.

 

 

 

I have used the same handpainted silk in both of these, but played off the different colours. One is more the purples, and the other is the blues and teals.

I also have a couple of custom orders. Here is the first one, half done. Just need to add the stem and leaves, and assemble

Well, I said I have something to show you, but I have very little to say....bye for now

Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger

I am starting to feel like one of those people who randomly update their blog every few months ( I know its not that bad -yet) but thats how I feel. Next I'll be posting links to others blogs just keep it interesting here.....

I really haven't been doing anything blog worthy.
I haven't done much sewing. A couple of custom orders -which is fantastic- but they are not far enough along to show.

I have barely stitched for about 7 days!! That is big for me. I am taking on a new challenge next year, and I am starting to fall into that role now, and it is keeping me busy. ( I can't talk about it really as it is an elected position, and I have not been officially "elected" yet). My calender is filling up already with lots of national meetings next year.

so thats it. Boring boring. Bad blogger...

Back and blogging

I have been so busy the last couple of weeks, I apologise for the neglect, although not a lot crafting wise has been going on.
It is a busy time of year for Playcentre with centre AGMs, and I had a national meeting weekend just gone. I did get some stitching done.

The CQI  group is working on another breast cancer fund raising quilt. The theme this year, cream/white piecing, jewel tone embellishments, butterflies and dragonflies. I had to be very picky about what I took with me, and the colours etc, as I had limited time, and space (which was more the issue!- apparently we are expected to work as well...). No beads to be included on this years quilt as it makes assembling difficult. (so I used a honking great ceramic face. Sorry Debbie)
So here we are so far. There is still some work to do, and I have several small butterflies to randomly  stitch around the block

all the seams have been done in various shades of sassalynne greens, and the rest is obviously ribbon work. I wanted it to look like a vibrant garden. I dyed the butterfly myself. It is the first time I have had any real success at trying to get a decent variety of shades on a motif, and it doesn't look like a dogs breakfast.

I also managed to finish several more pouches last week, the ones I stitched during the holidays . My "Christmas" rush hasn't started yet over at my etsy shop, but I do live in hope.....come do your Christmas shopping people. I will mail directly to the recipient, all gift wrapped, with a card....

Anyway, I digress, here are the pouches.

there was also a lovely "shabby chic" green, with pink roses here, but it sold. I got brave and took EVERYTHING to my conference with me and displayed them, and I got a few sales.

this is my current fave. I just love those faces!

Well that's about it really. I left for my conference on Friday, and Rob bought a new car on Saturday... it really is not a good idea to leave the menfolk unattended with the cheque book.

Christmas RR

I have been stitching on Debbie Qs blocks, which is my final block in this RR.
This was fun, doing a whole block. Took a while to get back into the embellishing swing of things, but once the sequins came out, I went to town.

The silky I attached with heat'n'bond, and I hooked the lace under there to before ironing. This worked really well to keep everything in place. The heat'n'bond did darken the image a little , but I quite like the line the gold fabric produces. Looks like the moon shining thru.

Not sure if I have showed the following picture. This was the motif I did on Leslie's block. A bullion xmas tree, with swarovski crystal decorations. They really catch the light and look just gorgeous.

edited to add: seeing as the gorgeous Diane has featured this tree on Craft Gossip, I thought I would give you a bit more info.

Bullions are done with the beautiful hand dyed thread from Sassalynne. This thread is what Myfanwy calls 'fine;' and is equivalent to perle 8 cotton. I love it , it is my favourite thread. The thread is not a specific colour, just a variegated green.

It is school holidays here, so I will be gone for a week or so.

Ciao!

The Stix, in all their glory

Here are all the "Stix" created so far.
"Awesomely Tacky"  was the high praise received from my cyber buddy, Dakotah. And I think awesomely tacky is just the look I was going for for some of them. The others I hope are witty, or just plain fun.
I have so many more ideas for these ...

they are all, of course, available for you to purchase.

are you getting bored with these yet!!

sorry. Its all I've got! You could tell me your ideas though...

More Stix...

 

What about these colours? Boy and girl, or just stick with the black?

new idea

 You know some times, you just get inspired. Ideas come form literally nowhere, and you run with them, and they seems to work. Well, this is what I have been doing overnight.
Had my teen here - miss 14, and she thought the were great.
So, feedback from you, and any teens you have in your house would be great.
I have pages of ideas for these, and quite a few guy ones too. I am calling them "the Stix".

 

These will be up on Etsy soon, not yet, but soon, like tomorrow. I have run out of black fabric , Arghhhh!! I was thinking that they might look good on a denim look chambray, but I also think they are incredibly effective on black. Am I tooting my own horn to much, or is there potential in these?

The Neglectful Blogger

I might have to change the name of my blog, I have been so useless lately, and I have done heaps to blog about, so on with the show.

Firstly, I have secured my Fleetwood Mac Tickets, they are in my hot little hands. I am so excited, and I only have to wait 3 months! Argh. They are playing in quite small venue, that is a 6 hour drive away, but I am so there. I have two tickets. Does that mean twice the experience?

Last week saw two trips to the Hamilton Quilt and Craft Fair. This is an offshoot of the  Melbourne (Australia) Quilt and Craft fair. Two trips meant quite a bit of financial mis-management on my part, but come on, when a girl needs beads, she needs beads, and there were a LOT of beads....
Thursday saw Belinda and I shoot down after dropping the kids at school (an hour drive). We browsed, bought and tried plenty.

Here we are trying Bobbin lace. What a process. It was actually quite relaxing once you got into the rhythm of it, but the chairs we had to sit in hurt my back, so there was no way I could sit there to finish it. The lady demonstrating had a wonderfully intricate piece she had been working on for 3 years. She estimated 4 more years until it was finished. Belinda is below working on the same piece.

 

Below is our piece...

and the piece the lady next door was doing, which was lovely. She was naturally talented at this obviously.

That wrapped up Thursday. Saturday, the craft show posse turned up at 8am, and off went again, more browsing, more bead buying (seriously, you can never have enough beads) and a couple more classes I booked into on Thursday. The craft show was actually really well organised I thought. They offer lots of what they called craft circles - which were the classes you paid for, and got a wee kit to work with. The workshops were the free 'talks' basically from various stall holders plying their wares. I went to a couple of those, and will try for more next year. Helen Dafter , who is an Aussie SRE expert gave a few talks throughout the day. She was an excellent presenter, humorous, lots of samples she passed around and tips and tricks. I didn't stay for her whole workshop as I had a craft circle to run off to, which is a shame. She is on my 'to do' list for next year. To finish up this mini review of the show, I was impressed by the fact that  there was  some good deals to be had. Prices were not overinflated, especially on beads....

So here is what I did

This is a paverpol sculpture. I have long been (about 20 years) enamored with these fabric sculptures, and this was a must do one for me. You are basically using a strong PVA glue to harden the fabric. Some of their sculptures can be put outside, but i would guess there is a special ingredient to make them weather proof. I just loved the hands on messiness of this.

 

Next was this beaded pendant. Not really my cup of tea, but i wanted to learn the technique, and it served its purpose there . Apparently I was the only person to finished the entire thing . Brooke, loved this so I will give it to her .

To finish off this mega catch up post. A few more things for the shop.

First these stockings, which are custom order, so don't y'all go rushing off to buy them...though there is a similar one there in blues

 

 

So there you go. As you can see I have completed 3 out of 5 pouches to meet my weekly target, so I have some stitching to do tonight and tomorrow.