Saturday, October 26, 2013

Who am I to complain?!!!

Woohoo....all the beads and sequins are sewn on the Christmas stocking! Don't you just love it when the end of your project is in sight? All I have to do is finish joining the front and the back of the stocking together. 


There are still some large quilters pins holding it together till the blanket stitching is completed. I'm also going to make a lining for the stocking and have bought some white snowflake patterned fabric for this. 

Here's a close up of one of the little snowmen...


....so cute!

Luckily for me, last years kits came with an excess of beads and sequins which I had, in true stitcher's stash hoarding instinct, kept in a little glass jar. This year, I was three sequins short....yes THREE sequins short! THREE!!!! 

As I was stitching this stocking I kept thinking that it wasn't as sparkly as the ones I did last year, but thought that it was probably my memory playing tricks on me....you know the old looking back with rose tinted spectacles and all that. Anyway, when I opened the jar with the old sequins....I was right, they were far more sparkly!The old ones had an iridescent sheen which sparkled  more. I guess it was the manufacturer cutting costs, but it makes a huge difference to the finished project. For the next two stockings on my list I think I'll just buy a packet of sequins rather than use the plain white ones supplied.

So my fingers survived the beads and sequins. I did buy a thimble but found it rather cumbersome and decided that I could work quicker without it. And the reason that I will never complain again about beading a simple Christmas stocking is this......



....can you imagine the hours of  work that this costume took?  ...and the weight of it all?!!! Hats of to the this stitcher (and to all those involved in the making of Downton Abbey!)


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Love birds!

Finally I can show you some stitching I did a while ago....



These little love birds were designed and stitched for Craftseller magazine, issue 27. I've had to keep them under wraps until the magazine was published. 

This is how I finished the stitching off...


...and with no back stitching, it's a relatively quick and simple project. Wouldn't this be a cute engagement or wedding gift with the happy couples names added? 

Mmmm...who do I know that's getting married....?!!

Until next time...happy stitching!
Rhona



Monday, October 14, 2013

Never say never!!


Foolish me....I said I'd NEVER to it again....but I did! Yup, I said I never wanted to see another sequin again, but here I am knee deep in sequins...again! When will I learn? Heehee.

Those of you who have been following my little blog for a while may remember my moaning about stitching sequins last year when I made some Christmas stockings for my daughter and her college room-mates. The pictures of the stockings can be found here if you want to see them. Anyway, with some new family members I decided to make some  stockings for my new niece and nephews. 

So there I am, standing in the store trying to decide which kits to buy and the little voice in my head is reminding me about how much agony I went though with those tiny beading needles piercing my finger every time I added sequins and beads....ah, if only I had listened. 

So with an already slightly raw and painful finger, here's where the first stocking is at...



...with plenty more sequins to attach! I can tell that I'll soon be on a hunt for a thimble! :)

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona



Sunday, October 6, 2013

TUSAL and WIP progress.

Oooh, my ort jar looks quite full this month, but I have to confess that it's because I forgot to photograph it last month and therefore didn't empty it! 


I have been adding to it this month by going back to working on my Simple Treasures design. This is where it was the last time I showed a picture of it...



.....and here's my progress...


Still lots to do,  but it's definitely getting there....and since I'm more than half way through the design, I find myself thinking about all the new designs I'd like to start working on (note that I used the plural of the word there....too many great designs out there just to be thinking of one project!) But first off, I really should get cracking with some Christmas stitching....anyone else late at starting their Christmas stitching?

Here's a picture of one of my little garden visitors who keeps me entertained with all his antics in trying to accumulate a stash of food for the winter months... 


....I don't think the birds are very fond of him though....


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona