Gifted gorgeousness Link up July 2021

 The months just fly over and here it is another 15th of the month and the format stays the same, anything connected to the word gift is allowed gifts to or from.

This month I have another bag to share, made from the top section of the curtains I bought for the neutral fabric for my chorley-crossed quilt but the top part certainly was not neutral.

What is was was shades of purple, so it just had to be for my purple loving BFF.

I could not share it till it had been gifted.

Now pop over to this themed link up hosts page and see what she and the other participants have under the gift theme.Click here for serendipitousstitching21/07/gifted-gorgeousness-july-link-up-post.html

BFF Sal 4 It's not you, its me

 a parting of the ways?

Happily not, it's actually both of us .

Let me explain, my BFF and I chose this pattern together, it was supposed to meet our desire for strong colour, no backstitch.  It was supposed to be fun.

This evening as I started with the green and about half an hour into the sewing I had to accept this pattern was not fun, worse than not fun it was becoming a chore. So I had to say to my friend I am not liking this at all, I hoped it would grow on me but the only thing that is growing is my dislike and reluctance to sew!

It was with some relief that she concurred and we realised we were of a like mind. We finished the thread we were on with and then stopped to discuss what to do.

There was a lot of work already done on each project and totally abandoning it felt wrong. However the prospect of finishing it did not appeal to either of us. 

I was trying to decide where I could crop the original pattern to an acceptable completable size.  Then  I fished out a washable marker and drew lines to mark out the edges of a cropped design. I have a curved top which reflects the shape of the original pattern.

This change has such an impact on the rest of the evening, it felt suddenly doable rather than stretching off into a sea of blue and green. The needle moved faster and the prospect of watching the design grow and how the cropped pieces would look and what we might do with them when finished was now interesting.

It was a weight lifted and had me feeling almost giddy and the rest of the sewing session was once more a pleasure and we happily discussed how we each had not been feeling good with this project yet kept going because it was joint project. All the frustrations we had been having and our joint relief that we had accepted than and had a plan, my friend did the numbers, I will leave that to her to tell you about. 

The funny thing is that the cropped size for my piece is slightly smaller the the folded back view my friend had of it last week when she was concerned my material was too small. Perhaps there was something prophetic in that.

So here is tonight's progress.

I allowed myself some of the pink in celebration and because I don't need to save it as relief from all the blue (that I won't now be doing).

And yes we are discussing what we will do when this is finished and whatever that is, its is going to be small!

CLICK HERE to visit my friends blog to see here progress for the evening.

And for anyone re visiting or visiting after Jan 2024 here is a link to a song that feels fitting. 

Blackwork more wallpaper

The top section this time, I have modified the pattern I used for the bottom of the wall (which was from The New Anchor Book of Blackwork) into something with a more vertical theme.

Now it is not finished as I have not quite decided on the height of the finished piece. I will settle that once I have the frame picked out.

The gap to the left is for the mirror over the fire place. There was a wall sconce with a candle to the left of the mirror, but both the scale and the design of it did not appeal to me so I have left that off.

Still not settled on the fill for the underskirt. I will mull it over some more then hopefully it will pop into my head what will be suitable.

I will note that soothing as blackwork is, during a football final may not be the best time to try stitching it. I had to take out sections three times whilst doing this. I would otherwise have finished it in the match time (even with out extra time or penalties) but as it was the last two panels and a bit to the right had to wait just that bit longer.

This is cropped roughly where the frame will go. The pattern has a stitched frame, I am not sure I want that I might just have the design go to the edge of the mount and let the mount frame the image.

BFF Sal 4 Start as

 you don't mean to go on and then do!

OK that needs a bit of unravelling.

I started on the blue with no intention of continuing on with it past the bit of thread in that shade which was already cut. The It was to be back onto the green.

Indeed after only a little bit on the blue I was past done with it as it was fighting my ability to see where I was, but I would finish the thread in the needle.

However, by the time that was done I was in a place I could "see" again so I kept going with the blue and I never did get to the green.

At the end of the evening it is traditional for us to hold up our projects for a tanah! moment, my friend held up hers and then I held up mine close to the camera . My friend commented my fireworks were exploding blue, I mentioned the blue stretched almost to a specific clear feature.

We then had a conversation in which my friend appeared concerned that the blue was further over  and I was saying it was ok and we were talking which bit was which for a little when she said.."I don't think that there is enough material left you are so far over."....ah light bulb...I was holding my project up with half of the material folded behind out of the way to make it easier to handle.  My friend did not realise that...the look on her face when I said oh you are worried my material is too small and unfolded it... was a picture and I was not able to stop laughing.

Mind given I have on occasion been rather close to the edge her concern is understandable and we were both a bit more tired than usual having started 15 mins late and overrun by the same so her sudden though of "didn't she have more material" and "oh no its too small how do I tell her!" was also understandable. It is still funny, we normally communicate so much better we oft don't need to finish sentences and other people think that we are talking in code, on this occasion we were in different books never mind a different page..

And the lovely thing to me (if not for my friend) was how very concerned she was that my fabric was messed up when hers was fine. She did see the funny side eventually, about the time I could catch my breath from laughing, then she got the giggles and around the merriment went.

Pop over (click her for link) and see her progress and take on the evening.

Now whilst we were sewing, well for the last hour I could hear the football in the background, and the cheers for the goals..it of course went to extra time and as I have typed this another goal for England and as I type this the match is over and England are in the final.

I only have one football themed cross stitch....LOL perhaps that should change?

BFF SAL 4 sometimes

 you feel like you are whizzing along quite nicely and other times slogging through mud  and mostly it is all in the mind and a reasonable amount of stitches has gone in either way.

Tonight felt like an odd mix of both whilst I was working on my bright lime green, getting it all filled in (for this reachable area at least) and then a new shade of blue it felt like I was doing quite nicely.

Once our two hour plus (we went over a bit as no Sewing Bee to rush off to see) was up and I stopped and took stock it did not look like much had been accomplished.

That's where progress photos come in handy, they help remind me that I have managed to do something in the given time.

I think it is filling into the corner and not reaching fingers out into the white that is doing it, making me feel it is slow progress at the moment.

My BFF is having her own deep contemplations and you can pop on over to her blog and see what they are (click here for link) also as she has zoomed out a bit for her progress picture perhaps you will get more of a hint of the project.

Oh and any followers by e-mail who have not changed how they follow tis is the last month that the digit thingy is going to work.

Blackwork

 a lighter shade of pale and the wallpaper starts to make an appearance.

Funny that I found a fill to use for the wallpaper and I am still contemplating what to use for the underskirt which was the fist of the "unfilled on the pattern" sections that I felt needed something more.

I chose a very pale shade of grey and at first, thought perhaps it was a bit too pale but all in it has the effect I wanted. It helps define the table and the chair but still sits back from the figure and managed not to become too busy.

I like it so much I think that the top half of the wall may get some fill as well, something a little more vertical. Not seen a fill as yet to use and might have to come up with something myself. (which nay well be something someone somewhere has already thought of but I've not found).

In the meantime there is still the underskirt to be contemplated and a dark grey still calls to me for that.

And my mother is waiting for her to "get some hair" and stop "looking like an alien" however I think the hair will be going on last. 

Additionally I think I need  to choose a frame just in case I need to extend the pattern to fit. The original only goes eight stitches above the sampler and that feels a bit squashed to me. So still lots of planning contemplating fun to be had with this.

BFF 4 weekly update.

 Filling in green, adding a bit of blue and wondering if we have bitten off a bit more than we wanted to chew.

Not sure why but measurements do not translate in my head to the size of something (note I managed not to measure the material even once tonight to check the pattern would fit) and as I stitch this I keep thinking it is big, bigger than it felt when we picked it and as full coverage it it the largest of out BFF projects so far. I know we will enjoy doing it but I foresee the occasional agreed divergence for something small and quick to keep this fresh.

Now if you click here you can pop on over to my BFF's blog and see how she is getting on with this piece. (well once she has updated her blog at least)

Square peg, round hole

 not every time but often enough to make it a tad annoying.

When I started this blog I did say there would be a patchwork of crafts as things got tried and not just those hobbies that I do on a regular basis.

Now this is a small kit that I bought for my Dad for Fathers day. I thought he would enjoy it, I had images of a brand new hobby for him and already had my eye on the amazing creations of Ugears as the next stage if he enjoyed this one.

145 pieces this 3d wooden model Airplane. came as laser cut pieces in cardboard sheets. It came with instructions very small print and a small bit of sandpaper!

It is supposed to slot together, note the active word there is supposed. 

he made a start on his own and the body of the plane with seat for the pilot was completed with minimal use of the sandpaper. But the machine guns proved tricky. Yes machine guns...there was the square peg square hole and a square peg round hole and perhaps too little use of the sandpaper and a bit much muscle and crack, time for glue and a change to a joint project. Dad would do the popping out from the sheet the various pieces and sandpapering my smaller hands would deal with the putting together and the persuading when the joints were a bit tight.

But sandpaper was too slow. I figured a Dremel would be too fast and too much ah but I have a battery powered nail file..perfect! 

There were still tricky bits and I popped glue into some of the joins just to be on the safe side

and finished.

The propeller moves...

and is it a newly discovered hobby for either my father or I or jointly, Oh I don't think so. I will just enjoy watching the videos of other people doing them!

Now, according to my Dad it needs varnishing...by me...it may have to wait a little while for that to happen.

BFF Sal 3 a finish

 doing it by the book?

As previously mentioned I had always intended to finish as a book. Which book and the method for covering it was in flux till the project was finished and it was one of the reasons that I left the beads called for in the pattern off my piece.

Another visit to my local material supplier (yeah my loft) for a bag of shirt bits (for a separate patchwork project which will make an appearance later) unearthed amongst many a shade of blue some grey green material that looked like a good match.

I have covered books with material before, slip covers for hard backed books . In this instance I had a soft slip covered note book to hand and decided to sew onto that soft cover.  

I used some brown paper to size things up, and figure out where the aperture needed to be to get the cross in the right place on the front cover. (well as right as a measurement and straight line challenged person can get it)

The plan was to use some wadding so in addition to the material I needed lining (plenty left from the curtains in my previous post) and the wadding, I had a bit just the right size, there also needed to be some lining behind the cross stitch to stop any of the wadding coming through the linen, or the eyelets in the corners of the cross.

I used the needle turn method to sew the linen into the aperture..

Once that was in then I started thinking about how I would quilt it, and added a few lines to the front and an outline of the cross (larger than the cross stitched one, the size it was on the pattern as it printed from the free site).

Added the wadding and pined.

I hand quilted round the edge of the aperture, the edge of the cross stitch  (outside and in) and inside the corner and centre circle.  I also added small cross stitches over the joins in the diamonds on the edge.

The straight lines on the front spine and back I did on the sewing machine using a walking foot. The wiggly bits with an embroidery foot free motion quilting style.

To secure it to the soft slip cover I folded down the lining and stitched it flat to the cover.  Then I folded the green material over the join of lining and book and hemmed it.

Not everything ended up straight where it had been intended to be straight. 

And perhaps it is a teeny bit tight, however once the material stretches a bit and the wadding gets compressed it will fit perfectly, forward planning I will call that.

However I am very happy with the result.

Oh I forgot to say the book is  A5 size and at this point I am not sure what I am going to use it for but I am enjoying the way it looks and feels.  There is another reason why the size matters,  it is once more same yet different with my BFF  click THE LINK and pop on over to her blog to see how she finished hers.

I did have a little video here but it had odd issues and was wanting one of those prove you are not a robot things coming up.

So I have moved it to you tube and am trying adding it as a link. Maybe later I can add it directly again

 

                                        Click here

Yes looking at it and opening it and closing it and wondering what to write in it.  Whilst the outside makes me think of The Book of Kells (its the size that stops it being the Lindisfarne Gospels) and making it made me feel a teensy bit Nerd Forge  I have a feeling that the contents of this book will be considerably more mundane than the outside.

Up cycling

 that is what they call making something out of something that had already had a life as something else. 

It is something that I have known my whole life, my Grandfather was a fixer, mender and repurpose before considering something new.  There was not always either the money for new or during the war years new to be had.  My Dad is similarly inclined and initially for the same reasons.  So I learned about it whilst it was still all for the practical and had not become the fashionable.

My mother made clothes for me and my dolls, things for the house and every item was considered to see if it would be of use as something else before it was disposed of.

If it is something from a charity shop I feel like it is a double win as the charity gets some money for their good work and I get something to work with.

So this is the first of hopefully two posts about up cycling from a pair of curtains.  It was the tree pattern that caught my eye in the charity shop. The curtains were lined and made to go on a curtain pole, so there were 20 metal hoops in the top of the curtain.

I cut the top off, the curtains a bags length below the rings. Curtain fabric and lining together, as the rings caught in both of course. There was enough to make five bags (four rings to a bag). I added gussets to the sides (with lining added) and then it was time to decide how to do the handles. 

I have done a bag with the curtain rings before a-curtain-bag and just used the material. I wanted something different this time. After thinking about it for a bit I recalled some white cord that had joined my collection of "stuff" and I knew what I wanted.

Two lengths of cord for each ring...looped through

 and then plaited (a four plait that I learned how to do when learning to make bobbin lace)

The pin stopped me pulling to hard and squeezing the material of the bag onto the ring.

If  you are wondering about the other end, or ends..well I did wonder myself if this was going to work out. I sewed the plaited cords together about an inch before the loose ends, then the loose ends together.

I laid the two loose ended on top of each other and sewed them together. That was both messy to look at and a tad rough on the hands for a bag.  I had a plan for that, there are always small bits of wadding left when I am making quilts. Some of those thin scraps wound round the middle of my now joined straps and then covered with the same material the bags were made of.

I did not have any recipients in mind when I was thinking about the construction of the bags and I had the main sections of the bag cut for some time but had not made a start.  Then I decided who they would be for and finishing became time bound.

I made five and four were to go to Missionary Sisters and the fifth to a member of my local church who has been of great help to my mother's Family History.

Just to be sure the bags would be recognisable I added a small personalisation (and a hand made tag) to each bag. The recipients had fun trying to find them and one sent me this picture with glee when she had found hers.

I considered putting their full initials on, but I did not have enough of the right letters for all of them so I just stuck to their surnames.

I hope that the next part of using the curtains, and what I bought them for in the first places will go as well.