The Sort of Thing that Keeps me Busy...

Sometimes I seem to spend a lot of time keeping busy with no results. This is one of those examples. I volunteered to make the nametags for the teachers at Seminar 2015 in Calgary. The photo above shows what I was given as a guideline.

This is my first attempt. First of all let me say that it was a very rough prototype! I can explain the gingham ruffle as well. The theme of this year's Seminar is Stampeding Stitches and everything is very Western! So, the rope stitch around the edge and the ruffle was my attempt to "think Western". It was a no go - the waste canvas I used didn't give me very nice lettering, the ruffle was "too much" and the rope stitch should be replaced with an actual piece of twine.

This is my second attempt - didn't bother finishing it into an actual pin this time until I got the go ahead on it. Counted thread instead of surface embroidery this time to try to get better lettering. The designing, charting and stitching ate up about half of a day - surprising for such a small thing but there you have it. I'm slow! Anyway, it didn't go either - the lettering was "too hard to read" and the wording wasn't what they decided they wanted - didn't want CGNFA or EAC Seminar 2015 anymore. Refer to the first photo - was starting to feel frustrated.
Thankfully, my friend Jennie sent me a photo of one she designed and asked what I thought of it. I loved it! And so did the committee! So, off the hook and happy as a clam to get back to stitching something else. But this is where my hours seem to trickle away to...

Comments

Giveaway Day! (CLOSED)

I am very happy to be joining in the Giveaway Day through Sew, Momma, Sew . I have chosen to share one of my finds from a shopping trip, or treasure hunts as I think of them. This is an antique sewing box - I could not resist it when I saw it for sale! Were you able to guess the item from the sneak peek earlier in the week? The box itself is fairly small, 8 inchs X 6 inchs and 4 inches high (20 cm X 15 cm and 10 cm high). From my research it is of Asian origin. Inside the sewing box is lined with hand-painted silk. The inside of the lid features a neat little needlebook. In the bottom of the sewing box there are more beautiful hand-painted blossoms and an attached pincushion. I hope you are as charmed by this little box as I was when I found it and that you will enter my giveaway. I will be pleased to mail internationally so everyone is invited to enter. To enter, visit my Etsy shop and then come back and leave me a comment telling me which item you like best. Feel fr

Save the Stitches Finished!

I finally finished my "Covid Project"! I worked on Elizabeth Almond's beautiful blackwork sampler design, "Save the Stitches" for much longer than I would like to admit... I have to say though that it was very satisfying every step of the way. I have not been able to concentrate on stitching in any significant way for some time now due to chronic pain and the dullness that the pain meds cause but having finished this piece gives me hope for my stitching future. I also love the framing which was lovingly done by MJ of "Art Effects" in High River, Alberta.

BAS - Week 79 - Feather Stitch Variations

I have about the next twenty BAS stitches scheduled and by happy coincidence this week's BAS is a series of Feather Stitch variations which coincide with this week's TAST stitch if you are following. So, we can hit two birds with one stone! These hardly look like feather stitch but they are. They are created by making the "v"'s of the feather stitch vertical on the inside. Very simple to do but a different look to an old stitch. The second variation is created by doing two feather stitches at a time on each side, again making sure the inside of your "v"s are vertical and line up as much as possible. Same thing again in this one except they are in series of three. To me these have the look of stitching on old crazy quilts so they are nice to add to your stable of stitch variations. Hope you enjoy them and have fun!

kerrykatiecakes

Search This Blog