I finished sewing up the hexagon flowers - took most of the day.

Flower Star Table Topper - Step 6

And here's Step 6 - another 6 flowers.

Forever Friends Bow Picture

This must be one of my oldest UFOs! It's well over 10 years old. I've been tidying up recently and came across it in a basket. All I needed to do was to sew the bow onto the top of the embroidery hoop (= the frame), and to trim the fabric on the back and stick the edges down to secure. I think this was the first thing I ever cross stitched, and was done in Anchor threads, from a project in a magazine - Woman or Woman's Own?

Oh, and the flowery fabric is the one I used for the background in the Flower Star table topper!

Flower Star Table Topper - Step 5

Step 5 done. This one took a little bit longer because I've been busy with other things in the run up to Xmas.

Flower Star Table Topper - Step 4

And here's Step 4. These are the 90 hexagons for the background. This is my third fabric choice ...

Flower Star Table Topper - Step 3

And that's Step 3 done. I think I'm going to buy a new fabric to use for the background.

Flower Star Table Topper - Step 2

Step 2.

That's another 96 hexagons, ready for the next step! I'm getting impatient, and I wish we didn't have to wait a week between steps ...

Flower Star Table Topper

My six flowers are ready, and now I have to wait for Step 2 ...

Flower Star Table Topper

Oh dear, I've started yet another project! I've signed on for the Flower Star Table Topper workshop at QuiltCampus. I've chosen very muted colours for the flowers, and a coffee and cream for the background. I'll start making my flowers up tomorrow, and hopefully will have them ready for Step 2, which is scheduled for 28th November.

Xmas Bag

The first of the Gum Tree Designers' freebies. This little drawstring bag was designed by Judith Tetley. I started it on the day it came out, but I left it to one side to go on with other projects, and only got round to finishing it this morning!

Gum Tree Designers Xmas Doorstop

I wanted to make the Gum Tree Designers' free Xmas projects as they came out - ie complete them week by week. So far this is the only one I've completed. It's a doorstop designed by Vicki Tucek. I filled it with aquarium gravel, which makes it nice and heavy.

Embroidered Sewing Bag

The label and pocket for my Stitching Cow sewing bag. I'm hoping to finish this soon.

Merry Christmas Stitchery

I finally finished my Merry Christmas wallhanging!

Butterfly On My Heart

And here is No 4 - Butterfly On My Heart. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the four blocks yet, so watch this space.

Bee On My Heart

This is the third of my On My Heart BOM blocks. I'm now working on the fourth - Butterfly On My Heart, and I'll post a photo of that soon.

Pink Bag (plus rose deco ...)

I thought the bag needed some decoration, so I made a rose from the Tilda book. I think it looks so much better now.

In the top photo you can see just how small the bag is!

Pink Bag

Oh dear, I've spent two days hand sewing this bag (from one of the Tilda books), but I cut the bottom corners in the wrong direction, so the bag won't stand up on its own! Never mind, I can still put things in it.

Here Kitty Scissors Cases

I finally finished these two. Instead of using herringbone stitch round the edges, I chickened out and used blanket stitch instead. One is for me, and one for Ang. The pattern was a free pattern from Lynette Anderson's blog.

Scissors Dolly

Finished the Scissors Dolly, which is from the same Stitching Cow pattern as the Cottage Pincushion. I tried curly doll hair ... didn't like it ... Then I tried the mohair I use to wig miniature dolls ... too "perfect" ... Then I tried this braid (Bunka?), which when unravelled looked OK. There is a pocket on the back of the dolly, to hold a pair of embroidery scissors.

Cottage Pincushion

Publish Post

I haven't been idle over the past few weeks, only I've kept jumping from one project to another and haven't got round to actually finishing anything ... So this Long Weekend I had to make sure I finished at least one thing, and here it is. This is from a Stitching Cow pattern, called Sewing Machine Friends. This is the cottage pincushion from that pattern. The second part of the pattern is a Scissors Dolly. I will post a photo of that when it's finish - hopefully over the next few days. (By the way - the stitched lines are supposed to be crooked!)

Blue Bird On My Heart

This is the other bird from the On My Heart BOM. This one's called Blue Bird On My Heart. The fabric I chose for the bird looked more pink than blue, but it "blued" up once I'd added the blanket stitch!

I'll probably make the bee and butterly ones too, and combine them to make a quilted wallhanging. The other two BOMs are an angel - but I'm not too fond of angels so I don't think I'm going to make that block ... and a sewing-themed one, which would look nice on a bag.

Tweet Tweet On My Heart Block

This is a design by Vicki Tucek, which used to be available as a free download from her website (tozzscorner.blogspot.com). Another quick project (3 days ...). Very easy to stitch. There's some applique, and only three stitches used to complete it - backstitch, blanket stitch and one French knot! Not sure what I'm going to use it for - a mini wallhanging maybe?

Merry Christmas Stitchery

A fairly quick project; it's taken me 3 days to stitch this. I'm going to make this into a mini wallhanging, and I've already ordered a 7½" star wire hanger. The pattern is free from gailpandesigns.typepad.com. It uses only four simple stitches - backstitch, running stitch, French knots and Lazy Daisy stitch, and is stitched in variegated red embroidery cotton (DMC 115).

Needle Case

Another of the free magazine kits. Started it yesterday, finished it today. Not perfect, but who cares!

Jacobean Pincushion

Another free magazine kit. Stitched it this morning. Another pincushion, but very useful because I've got so many sewing and other projects on the go at the moment! This design was very straightforward to stitch, and took me about 2 and a bit hours.

Finished Something Else

I'm on a mission to finish as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) as possible! This cross stitch kit is one I last worked on in July 1998!! There was only some backstitch left to do and I did that this morning. OK, it was backstitch, plus couching, but I decided to leave the couching out, otherwise I would never finish it!

It now needs a good wash and ironing ... and of course a frame.

This is the framed design. I've had this frame for years. Not sure where I'm going to hang the picture, but it'll probably go in the hobby room.

This is another free magazine kit. I stitched this one today. The kit included a card frame, but I thought I'd put it in a nice wooden frame instead.

Strawberries Bookmark

I finished another bookmark this morning. Well, when I say finish, I simply mounted the cross stitched design into the card bookmark. The actual stitching was done in December 1996!!

Finished the Patchwork Bag

Another finished project!  I sewed the bag onto the plastic handles this morning, and now it's ready to use.

It's only taken me 8 years to finish this design ...  I'm only going to finish those kits which I think I may find a place for round the flat.  This one can go in the hobby room. Because I have limited wall space, I decided to stitch this design on 18 count Aida, rather than the original 14 count which was included in the kit.  

This little pig fridge magnet is a free magazine kit which I made for Mum.  

I've recently got rid of most of my cross stitch magazines, only keeping charts and articles that are of interest.  Some of the magazines still had the free gifts stuck on the covers, and here are a few of the ones I chose to stitch recently.  There's a cottage card (which I think I'll frame instead, two bookmarks and a needle case.

I've made some progress on the patchwork bag.  I couldn't get the seams neat enough on the patchwork, so I used the English paper piecing method I used on the Grandmother's Flower Garden throw.  That works a lot better for me!

Finished the Patchwork Doorstop

I finished the patchwork doorstop.  I need another couple of packets of beans to fill it completely.  I've already used two packets, but that was only enough to fill it halfway.

I've spent much of the past week stitching hexagons together, and have now finished the Grandmother's Flower Garden throw top.  I bought some wadding on Friday, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I attempt to add a border and backing.

Maggie the Messmaker

Saturday 16 May 2009

Cody was sleeping on my cross stitch, and when he got up I took it, to put away, but instead I decided I'd stitch a little.

Spent most of the day stitching, but there's not much to show for it.  I then went to Ang's to watch the Eurovision, and when I came back a little while ago, I looked at it again and now I can see a difference.  I've now stitched most of the curtains, and finished the top Shaker box, plus some bits round the reels of cotton.  

Slowly but surely ... but very slowly, surely ... I will get it finished! 

Patched Yo-Yo Pincushion

Made this pincushion today. I enlarged the templates in the book ("Quilting in No Time" by Emma Hardy), as directed in the instructions, but when I tried to rotary cut the fabrics last night, my hand slipped and I over-cut! So I just re-copied the templates in the book, which were at 80%, and re-cut the same fabrics. Then I lost one of the wedges, and had to choose another fabric ...

It's a wonder I managed to finish this pincushion at all!

I've now attached the lining on the patchwork bag, and all that's left to do now is to sew the bag onto the handles.  See if I can get that done tomorrow.

Have now run out of hexagons!  

Been busy sewing on some more of the background hexagons today, but I'll soon run out of them.  Cody's stolen my leather thimble, and the needle kept digging into my finger - ouch!

Spent the whole day sewing hexagons ...

I've started piecing the flowers for my Grandmother's Flower Garden throw, but won't be able to make more than two and two third flowers ... until I receive the extra fabric.  I can then start joining some of the background green hexagons, so that when I make the rest of the flowers I'll have less to do.

I didn't order enough fabric for the Grandmother's Flower Garden throw!  I spent most of the day cutting out those fabrics I had, and covering the paper hexagons.  I have a pain in the neck and shoulders and a headache, but I've also got lots of fabric covered paper hexagons!

I want to start sewing the hexagons together tomorrow.  

Ooh, I've now got my order from Strawberry Fayre.  I ordered some fabrics to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden throw.  The flower fabric, which is for the petals is a substitute, but it's just as nice as the one I ordered.  Can't wait to get started, but I need to wash and iron the fabrics first.

Went on with patched doorstop today, but have I need to sew on a zip and will probably get the sewing machine out to do that, and that will have to wait until the weekend.  I sewed on some pink/white buttons to the patched front of the doorstop.  I made the handle in a different way than suggested on the pattern.  Instead of folding the two pieces and sewing them together on the sewing machine, I sewed the two pieces of fabric together and turned the tube inside out.  I need to iron it flat, but it seems OK.

Have started yet another project - a patchwork doorstop!  Because I tend to stitch everything  by hand it takes a long time.  When I have my craft room re-organised I hope to have the sewing machine permanently set up on its own table, so I can use it whenever I need.  Now, because I have to take the machine off the shelf in the wardrobe AND find a surface to use it on, I always chicken out and do it by hand instead.  Also if I'm going to take projects to do in my lunch hour at work, I need to stick to hand sewing.

This is the nine patch on the front of the doorstop.  The rest is made from a navy blue corduroy I've had for years.  I think the fabric is from a skirt I started and never finished!

So, another weekend where I had planned to do so many things ... and in the end did next to nothing! 

I got out an old cross stitch kit yesterday - Maggie the Messmaker.  I spent the whole day stitching, but didn't actually do a lot!  I wasn't in the mood to stitch today.  I will probably take it to work and do a little bit here and there, in my lunch hour, and it will get finished - eventually!  

Finished!

I finished the pincushion/thread catcher this morning! I ironed the top edge of the bag at home this morning, although I don't think the interfacing is stuck on all the way round, but it doesn't really matter because I sewed the edges down, so it should be secure. 

I took the project to work with me, since all I had to do was sew on the Velcro circles. I'd already sewn on a couple of circles on the bag straps, so I decided to add two more, instead of removing the first two circles and sew on lengths of strip Velcro! What a pain! Literally! I've got a numb thumb and forefinger from pushing and pulling the needle through the plastic Velcro circles!

I'm very happy with the end result. Here's a pic.