The Stitch Up

Mom Day Crafting

Every year I try to get my mom flowers - usually a corsage for Mothers Day.  This year I decided that I'd like to make a corsage that wouldn't wilt - a fabric corsage.  I found several really cute tutorials around the web, but the one that I thought would work best for me was at Cool Mummy.  Of course, I couldn't do any project without some embroidery, so I used the basic idea of Cool Mummy's flower and added some stitching with a couple of free hand patterns.

I started off with 4 inch circles.  I transferred the patterns I drew using transfer paper.  The pattern is only drawn on the top half of the circle as each circle is basically a front and back of each petal.

I actually did a few with just the top half of the circle as my plan was to use a different fabric for the backing.  

As this corsage is for my mom, I stitched the pattern onto some light lavender fabric which is my mom's favorite color.  I found some coordinating fabric for the backing and drew a few 4" circles on that as well.

I cut these circles in half and cut out the half circles I'd embroidered.

This left me with 5 half circles to be stitched together. 

 I put the right sides together, stitched them and then flipped them right side out.

I then used a running stitch on the bottom of each "petal" to close the bottom and string all of the petals together.

When all the petals are pulled together it looks like this:

A simple slip stitch brings the two sides together.  This is a great time to take out your button collection to put a little "bling" in the middle of the flower.

I picked a sparkly lavender button for my Mom's corsage:

Cool Mummy does a very nicely finished backing on her corsage and I would recommend going and checking out her tutorial because it looks great.  I was in a little bit of a rush to get this in the mail so I just stitched the safety pin on the back.

And that's my first tutorial!  If you'd like to try this yourself, feel free to use the patterns to make something all your own!

I've started another corsage using some fun print fabric and another of the patterns.  

I love the colors and I'll post the finished corsage when I'm done!   Hope you've like this project.  It's been fun to share it and I will do more in the future.

Spring is Blossoming

It's Cherry Blossom time again in DC.  The trees are beautiful and it makes the walk to the office feel like a special event.

The metro stalls even get into the act this time of year.

And I've pilfered some blossoms from the neighborhood trees to enjoy at home.

There are a host of other trees around town, blossoming with color but I have no idea what kind of trees they are.

All of this blossoming put me in the mood for Spring planting so I ran out and bought some seeds this weekend.  

I'm going to start my seedlings soon and hopefully be able to put together a whole salad from my backyard by June!

Some stitching is getting done despite all the wandering around outdoors enjoying the trees.  I transferred my Velasquez girl pattern and started some outlining.

I'm going to try some embroidery techniques to mimic the fabrics in the painting.  We'll see how it comes out.  I hope everyone is enjoying the lovely Spring and getting out doors.  More stitching and planting is on it's way!

February Projects

I've made my list of projects for the month along with my goal date to complete them and I've entered it all into my trusty Weave App.  I thought I'd list them out here so I can track my progress over the next few weeks and I can also use the motivation to get these projects done!

First up, Quilted Canister Sleeves.  This project by Handmade Mommy is so great if you've got jars or canisters on display in your kitchen.  My kitchen seems big to me compared to the kitchens in the condo and town houses we've lived in over the past few years.  But there is no dedicated pantry and I'm having to improvise space for things like flours and sugars.  Right now I have a collection of glass jars ready to be filled, sitting on top of my cabinets.

Since they are going to be out for everyone to see I've been looking for cute labels or something but these quilted labels are going to be perfect.  I sorted through my fabric and found these three fabrics that I think will look good and match my kitchen:

I haven't decided if I'll just use the fabric labels as the pattern suggests or embroider the labels, but I'm anxious to see this complete.

Second up is a variety of projects for my sewing room.  I need a sewing machine cover and I also want to make up a few matching storage and organizing items.  Stitch Magazine has a great idea for a sewing machine cover - it combines a cover with an organizer:

It is really cute!  After I choose fabrics for this project I'm going to decide on fabrics for some embroidery hoop wall organizers that are also from Stitch magazine:

and also patterns for a pencil holder and some baskets from 1 2 3 Sew, a great book with some easy home decorating patterns.

The last project I'd like to get done this month is a set of throw pillows for our basement.  We have a sort of outdoors theme downstairs and my plan is to make denim pillows and embroider a few wildlife patterns onto them.  A couple of the patterns I"m thinking of useing are:

and

We'll see how these turn out.  I don't really have a pattern for the pillows, I'll just be winging it more or less.

In addition to my February projects I have some ongoing items that don't have a deadline. I like to have something to work on in front of the tv at night after work so I'm going to still be poking along on my tea towel,

And I barely started this Soft As Lamb scarf, but even though it's supposed to be easy, I'm thinking to switch to a cowl I saw on Lion Brand which looks like it might be a little simpler.  Either way I haven't made much progress as SOMEONE thinks any yarn movement is an invitation for attack:

The last thing I'll be working on is another Spanish Quilt Square.  This one will be the Infanta by Velazquez:

I'm hoping to have that started by the end of the month.

I've got a lot to keep me busy this month and I"m hoping it will all get done before my Weave app starts sending me notifications that I'm behind!

Organize

I expected to move into January and start 2012 with tons of energy and start kicking things off my "to do" list left and right.  It's not quite working out that way.  I did finish my 2012 calendar tea towel.

I was determined to get this done by the end of January and I had to avoid some distractions in order to wrap it up.

Honestly.  

I have a couple of projects in mind, but I wanted something to stitch tonight while watching tv so I started on a tea towel I'd prepared a couple of months ago.  I had enlarged a J.F. Ingalls pattern and transferred it - I'm hoping it will be a cheery kitchen addition.  

I've been thinking about what I want my word for the year to be.  Last year it was Focus.  This year I've picked the word Organize.  I'm thinking in terms of more than clearing out files and drawers, although I have started some of that.  But also, organizing my thoughts, organizing my priorities, organizing my time.  

Part of organization for me is using diaries, calendars and some cool printables I've found on The Project Girl.  The menu planner is already helping me organize some healthier meals for the Hubby and myself.

The other part is sitting down, making some lists, and figuring out how to organize my life to achieve some long term goals.  I'm hoping that devoting this time to planning and plotting out my course for the year will result in some positive changes across a lot of areas of my life.   I also hope that those changes will be reflected in this blog with some fun posts for 2012.  I'm excited about this year and hope everyone else out there is too!

On to Christmas!

I refuse to think about Christmas before I've celebrated Thanksgiving.  Well, technically I guess that's not true.  I try to start some of my Christmas crafts before Thanksgiving.  But, Christmas songs, Christmas decorations, early run-ins with Santa Claus?  I don't want any part ot those things until after I've stuffed myself with turkey and stuffing.

The Christmas crafts I started are going to be hostess gifts.  I decided to make some coasters with cute Christmas fabric on one side and a little embroidery on the other side.  So far, the unfinished process looks like this:

I'm using embroidery patterns from The Floss Box, Martha Stewart, and the book A Rainbow of Stitches. 

I've got a ton of cute Christmas fabric.  Not all of it will be made up for coasters.  To be honest, I'm not sure how I'll use it.  I went a little crazy in the fabric stores but I guarantee I'll figure something out.

I fell in love with this Alexander Henry fabric.  I'm thinking it might look cute as a Christmas apron.

At the very least I could put a frame around this and enjoy it that way!  

Now that I'm ready for Christmas it's full steam ahead.  I hope there will be plenty of time to finish these Christmas crafts and others.  Merry Christmas all!

Spanish Quilt Block 3

Unlike the previous two squares in this project, I did not make this pattern myself from a picture.  I had a few photos of flamenco dancers, but they did not make for good patterns.

It's difficult to catch the flamenco dancer's movements in a photo and not being an artist, I really could not sketch out a great representation.  I DID find a great vintage pattern on the Hoop Love site however and I think she is a beautiful representation of the graceful flamenco dancers I saw in Spain.

So square number three is under way. 

 

I have a red and green color scheme planned for her dress which I hope doesn't end up looking christmasy.

In addition to the ongoing Spanish Quilt project, I wrapped up the scarf I was making for the Husband.  It matches the gloves he bought in Latvia pretty well.     

This is actually a fairly timely project - finished before the cold weather hits.  Usually I'm wrapping up knitting and crocheting projects in the height of Summer.  There may be time to finish a couple more cold weather projects before it's even officially Winter!  

After this square is finished the Spanish Quilt project will be on the back burner again as I get a few things done ahead of time for Christmas.  In past years I get the bug to do a TON of Christmas crafts sometime after Thanksgiving - and that's just not enough time to get anything done in time for the holiday.  This year, I'm all about the planning.  We'll see how it goes!

Summer Daze

We have been having a pretty fun summer so far.  Even the "Heat Dome" is not keeping us down.  

We've done some grilling.

Lots of relaxing in the back yard and enjoying the warm evenings.

Some free concerts at the park - the best so far was Sierra Hull.  In the trees, under the stars - it was a great way to see a show.

Long drives out in Virginia horse country.  This old barn looked so pretty during a summer storm.

A little shopping in some of the cute little antique stores.

There has been time for some sewing despite all the outdoor activity.  I finished this pair of pillowcases.  We have this duvet cover in red from Pottery barn and I thought they'd go nicely together:

It's a stamped pattern and intended to be done in beige but I like how the red came out.

I also finished my "travel project":

The long flight to Germany this summer gave me plenty of time to work on it. 

I used a split stitch to fill in the pheasant and I like the texture.  

I'm doing a bit more crafting although we are trying to enjoy as much of the summer weather as possible before Fall comes.  Even with the Heat Dome, Summer goes by too fast!

Latvian Needlework

I always have to check out the local crafts when we travel.  Especially embroidery if I can.  Latvia had lots of crafts - beautiful knitting, intricate weaving, and some spectacular embroidery.

There were a lot of vendors set up around town who had very pretty hand made things.  However most were modern designs and I was looking for traditional Latvian work.  I found a boat load at SENĀ KLĒTS.

The shop was just down the street from our hotel.  It was clearly destiny!  They had exhibits of traditional folk costumes from different eras and regions of Latvia and also sold handmade goods that were created with traditional designs.

I wish I had a bit to share about each of these displays and the region they represented but I think the study of Latvian needlework would take some time - although it would clearly be worth the effort.  

The costumes were a mix of weaving, knitting and embroidery.  The embroidery was amazing, intricate and colorful:

This site has quite a few Latvian embroidery patterns and examples of costumes from each region.  I'm not quite sure how to utilize these.  When I have a little time I think I'll compare some of my pictures with the patterns and explore a little more about technique and see if I can post a usable embroidery pattern.

The site Latvian Stuff has information on the symbols used in Latvian folk art.  Many of them represent the pagan Gods that were worshipped in that region.  It's really interesting.  I definitely see the Dievs or God's sign, which is a sort of triangle, as seen here:

There is also the Thunder Cross, a symbol for Pērkons, the God of war.  It is essentially a swastika although used in Latvia, as in many cultures, long before the Nazis got a hold of it.

These designs were so beautiful I was truly inspired.

We of course picked up a couple of souvenirs here.  I bought a belt weaved with a traditional design -

The husband bought a beautiful pair of knitted mittens -

The number of patterns for Latvian mittens was innumerable.  At this store and on many stands along the street we saw mittens of every color and patterns, no two the same.

I found the above photo on Riga Summit showing thousands of Latvian mittens knitted for that event - as you can see the patterns and colors are so varied.

I did a little searching around online and it looks like Latvian knitting patterns are very popular.  The site Knit Like A Latvian has a bunch of pictures of her mitten projects and there are also patterns on Ravelry and other sites.

I'm not quite at that level so I'm just working at making a scarf for the husband to match his mittens.

This is my first time changing yarn color.  I really am a knitting novice, but I'm hoping it will look nice enough when I'm finished.

Latvian needlework is something I will absolutely continue to study.  I really want to attempt some of that embroidery design.  I love the opportunity to be inspired by the traditions and designs of other countries and Latvia was an especially great experience.

 

Progress

I've actually managed to complete a couple of projects recently.  First, a fairly decent outcome on my first attempt to knit a scarf.

The yarn is beautiful and made even the simple pattern I used look good.

Second, I finally finished the Mountmellick embroidery project that I started over a year ago on our trip to Ireland.  

I was able to try out the stitches I learned.  The Mountmellick stitch:

I like it for stems as it looks a little thorny!  Also the cable plait stitch:

I'd like to try this stitch on something a bit larger, but I like the way it came out.

I have - as usual - started two or three other projects within minutes of finishing these two.  I"m a glutton for punishment!  I've got a mix of embroidery, knitting and quilting happening.  In the spirit of focusing this year I'm trying to finish them one at time.  We'll see how it goes!

 

Focus

I've been reading around a few blogs that are choosing to pick a word to inspire them for 2011 rather than making a list of resolutions.  I thought this might work better for me as well.  I'm realizing that I've been a little scattered and my plan is to try and focus on one thing at a time and hopefully accomplish more.  Hence my inspirational word for 2011: Focus.  

Case in point: my craft projects.  I've got 4 or 5 going on at once:

 

The Mountmellick project I started about a year ago.  I figure that if I went all the way to Ireland to learn the technique, I should actually follow through and finish.

Technically, this is my travel project.  Something simple I can shove in my purse or Carry-On when the Hubby and I are off on another adventure.  But this has been my travel project for quite a while and I think with all the time I've spent on airplanes over the last year I should have made a little more progress.

Yeah, this is a recent project as you can see.  But this time of year I feel compelled to knit or crochet something.  This will be a scarf and it should be a quick and easy project.

I did take stock of my 2010 resolutions.  My first resolution was to finish a quilt and enter a competition.  It's possible that I bit off more than I can handle within a 12 month span.  I finished one square and just finished the second...today.  Yes, my first attempt at focus was completing embroidery on the second square for my Spanish Quilt...a year after I started the first square.  Ahem.

This is a big project and I think that in addition to focusing on one thing at a time I need to set realistic goals.  It's ok if the entire quilt takes longer to finish than I'd originally planned.  I will however focus on completing each square once I start it without distracting myself with three or four other projects at the same time.  Keep a look out for Spanish Quilt Block #3!

My other 2010 resolutions to improve my Spanish and to run more, did get some attention in 2010.  I made progress on both, although I also slacked on both at the end of the year.  I'll be continuing to focus on both of these in 2011 as well, but I'll be keeping my goals realistic: to improve, but not necessarily have to be speaking Spanish like a native or running a marathon by 2012 in order to feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Focus is difficult for me in that I have about 10 ideas running through my head at any one time for new projects.  So step one in my quest for focus is writing each of these ideas down so that I can come back to them when the crafting above is all done.  I'll keep you posted!