A slightly different finish

 inspired by a little book I came across as the colour went with the smock on this little cover kit.

I recalled the small purple flower ribbon and thought perfect, however it was too short to go all around. I was re thinking it and having a hunt for something else when I came across the big flowers and bingo!

I am pleased with how the four combined, book,cross stitch, little and big flowers.

They look like they were always meant to be together.

I am rather enjoying embellishing books with stitching as a finishing method.

"update" The book has become a farewell gift to a senior Missionary Sister in June 2024. She oft commented on our garden and given the work she did here I thought it appropriate to add a little verse inside the front cover alongside a teeny line drawing of our Church.

The poem goes:

Kind hearts are the Gardens

Kind thoughts the Roots

Kind words are the Flowers

Kind deeds the Fruits

She was very happy with the book, she did not undo the ribbon and look inside so she did not read/ see the added poem or the inscription. I wonder when she will. 

A post added Forestella link just because it feels fitting 

A passing thought

 that might have stayed that way but for a spurt of sorting.

The thought that had been in my head relates to the a-little-finish-bff-4 and what else might find its way onto the window sill.

Little books, I like books so that was a pleasing thought.  I had been checking out the toy sections in the charity shops and the bric-a-brak  in the hopes of spotting something of the right size to buy but as usual once you are looking for something in particular there is nothing there.

I did consider making a little pile of books from DAS but I was not convinced that the result would look right.

Then I was doing a bit of sorting and came across my 2018 mini diary (LOL no its not that mini that it could be used) and I decided to pull it apart so the paper components could go into the recycling bin.

As I did the cover peeled away in one piece and set me thinking.

It was quite soft, flexible and already had a fold for the spine. And the colour would pick up the pinks in the cross stitch. Hmmm. Mulled a bit and then thought might be able to make two. 

Initially I was thinking closed books, well a bit of cardboard wrapped with the diary cover that would look like books to put on my little window sill. 

However, whilst I was contemplating that I got to Deborahizing (as my BFF calls making things more complicated or embellished or time consuming than you have to) and wondering could I make proper little books with pages. Nah! well maybe ? Ok lets give it a go!

First step cut out the covers so I know what size I am going to be working to.

I could have made more than two from the stuff available but settled on the two.  And whilst my intention was to have then the same size as usual my measuring is not a strength and they turned out slightly unique!

Next step see if the edges would turn down and would double sided sticky tape be strong enough to hold them down?

 Yes and yes..looking promising. Even managed to get mitered corners, with the help of some nail clippers.

So the pages, I have some very thin paper. Copy paper in fact. The kind you used in a typewriter with a sheet of carbon paper so you could produce a copy of your letter as you typed it. So it is quite old.

So cutting rectangles, I have a sliding blade paper cutter so I used that (although trimming later was done with scissors) 

Rectangles cut, and then folded. Put together in sets sewn together and then sew the sets. 

More double sided sticky tape and in go the pages.

and I have two little books.

to pop on my windowsill . Of course as with their much bigger cousin BFF SAL 3 the problem now becomes what do I write in them!

And of course my BFF has many an idea for other windowsill items and so far she is out Deborahizing even me with those suggestions.

click here to see how my BFF framed her version of this piece.

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.

June Gifted gorgeousness link up

 Wow the 15th came around again fast and I have an item to share under the theme as set by Jo at serendipitousstitching of something sewing or craft related either received as a gift  or made as a gift.

You have seen part of this before,  actually longer ago that I realised now that I come to think of it Back in February and I was killing two birds with one stone as the piece I picked for the Secret Sweetheart looked perfect for my BFF's coming birthday and her new crafting space.  I sent it off to Jo just as the cross stitch and finished it to a book later.  Amusingly my BFF(randomly selected by Jo) had this as her Secret Sweetheart stitch.  

When it came to finishing it I had a very pale purple notebook and the size was a match . Just to give it a bit of  something as it was not getting a "frame" I drew threads around the edges so a little of the book colour would show through.  It is just glued on with a strong craft glue.  It was intended for her 2021 birthday and we did manage to get together and exchange gifts a few months on from birthdays.

Now if you are getting deja vu from another participant in the link up well yes you may well have seen this before as I am posting this as a gift I made and my BFF is posting it as a gift received.  

We should both be posting again in a day or two with our progress on our BFF Stitchalong.