TUSAL: February 2011

Greetings. Here we are Groundhog's Day as well as another new moon, which means it's time for another picture for the TUSAL hosted by It'sDaffycat. There is a lot more to show this time than last.



During the last month, I made nine scissor fobs, took a needle work class in Florida and worked on several smalls for a project that's still in the works. In addition to orts from stitching, there's also the label and empty spool from a ball of #12 black perle cotton, an empty spool of Krienik #4 very fine braid, scraps of handmade cording and various and sundry scraps of linens and felts and velvets from finishing projects. Yes, it's been a busy month!



The needlework class I attended is an annual event taught by Susan Greening Davis. The attendees lovingly refer to it as Pirate Camp since it is held in the St. Augustine area - and they've had more than their fair share of pirates in the day. The beaches are beautiful in this area.



I like to make favors for my table-mates and hosts of the class and, this year, decided to make scissor fobs.



A little piece of needle work from JE's late mother inspired the black-on-black stitching on the front. The fabric is 22 count Hardanger stitched with #12 perle cotton.



In keeping with the pirate theme, I found a cute Jolly Roger rubber stamp and used it to make emblossed velvet for the back of the fob.



Joining the two pieces was a bit of a challenge. The velvet was crawly and evil and didn't want to stay put to be sewn together with the stitched piece. There was a lot of cussing involved. I made the tassels from #12 perle cotton, and the cording was made with #5 perle cotton and red #4 Krienik braid.

I'd been to St. Augustine several times but had never visited the lighthouse. Right before taking our afternoon break, one of the ladies at the class asked who was going to be climbing to the top of the lighthouse. At the time I thought to myself, "Not me!" But a while latter, driving down A1A, there was the lighthouse.



I turned off the main road to get some pictures of it and one thing lead to another. Oh, did I mention my mom was with me? Yuppers, she'd come to the stitching class and here we were at the lighthouse.



Now, understand, I'm afraid of heights and Mama had a total hip replacement a year ago last Christmas. Neither of us were great candidates for doing this, but I knew we could. All 219 stairs up to the top.



I kept my eyes on the wall when going up the stairs; the holes made into the stairs offered too much of a view to look down. Mama, on the other hand, was watching the stairs to make sure she didn't make a misstep. We'd rest on the landings, and Mama wanted to quit a few times, but I kept egging her on.



And we made it to the top! It was a glorious view and I wish I'd been able to step away from the safety of the brick wall to look around more, but I was terrified. Going down was a lot faster than going up for Mama. It took me a bit longer because I had a death-grip on wall mounted handrail (with both hands) and had to hand-over-hand my way down - looking at the wall not the steps. I was very happy to reach the bottom but could now brag I'd actually made it to the top. Three cheers for me and Mama!

Pookie had also made the trip, but we left him in Jacksonville with our friends B and TM and their bird, Gus.



Here's a book safe I made for B for her hospitality:



It's the best book safe I've made to date and she appeared to be please by it.



While there, I saw the scissor fob I'd made for her last year. It's a Lori Birmingham design. Don't you love them? They're all so delicate and beautifully feminine



I'll leave you with a shot of the good ship Bob sailing along the carpet.

Insomnia post

I almost always have trouble going to sleep at a decent hour, but diphenhydramine an hour before bedtime helps. Only problem is I have to remember to take it. On those occassions when I forget, I'm up until an hour after I do remember. Meh. Thank you, A&E, for Criminal Minds reruns.

The last of the handcrafted Christmas gifts has been delivered. It was a Lori Birmingham design for a scissor case and fob. The actual needlework had been finished for a while and dear friend PP even gave me some fabric perfect for the lining. What was missing was the actual finishing work and I admit I was scared of it. On second thought, scared for it would better describe my feelings. It was such a pretty thing, I was sure that badness would occur and it would be ruined while I was finishing it.

As it was, my fears were unfounded and it turned out pretty well. Oddly, the lining fabric - which is actually a lavendar color - looks way too blue in the pictures. All the rest of the colors appear true, so I'm not sure what's up with the color difference on just the lining.



I love to learn new stitches and techniques when working on projects and this project did not let me down. Interlocked slanted queen stiches were used to make a lovely lacey pattern on the scissor case. Click on the pictures to get a better look. I also loved the double running stitch laced with gold blending filament. Those can be found beneath the point on the front and in a square around the heart motif on the back.

Ok, I've got to ask: do you strip the white part away from the blending filament before you use it? I do and dont' seem to have much problem getting the filament to behave. I've had folks tell me I'm doing it wrong but, hey, if it works don't fix it! That being said, I'd still love to hear other opinions about working with blending filament and what works for you.

I really like the way the closure was worked: satin stitches were used to outline two adjacent rectangles. The interior was cut away and ribbon threaded through. A heart-shaped Swarovski AB crystal was hung from the point of the cover flap and the ribbons are tied over it. Very pretty and clever.


The fob was a bit of a challenge. I'm used to finishing fobs using the same evenweave material front and back. That makes them easier to join together. This time, though, I used the lining fabric as the backing for the fob and had to break out the sewing machine. That almost felt like cheating, but it was the only way I could see to join the two different fabrics neatly together.

Ok, the diphenhydramine has kicked in; bedtime has arrived!

T.G.I.F.

Dang! Where did the week go?

Taking care of Bob and Sadie has really taken more of a toll than I thought it would. The hard part is having to keep them separated so that Sadie doesn't infect Bob.

Ooops, forgot to mention I took Sadie to the vet Monday so they could have a look at her and be sure she's healthy enough to mingle with Bob. Turns out she wasn't; poor old dear had a respiratory infection and an ear infection. She has to have antibiotics and ear drops twice a day and stay away from Bob.

Mourning Sadie Jones has been living in the bathroom the whole time she's been here and she's becoming put out with it all. Only a few more days until she gets to join the rest of the household. I'm hoping she will fit right in and not be too grumpy with Bob, who is already fascinated with her.

I've been skipping my stitching nights to tend to the kitties and have been too tired to stitch at home this week so not much to share or talk about on finished crafts. There are two projects in the near-finished stages, though. I'm putting together a Peacock Stitching chair from The Cats Whiskers and a drop-side sewing box designed by some folks from Whitehorse, Yukon, Cananda, that I can't find a link to right now. And working on a real pretty item from Lori Birmingham Designs, it may be a gift for someone so that's all I'll say about that now.

On a gloomy fall day like today, it's hard to decide whether to do something productive or just nap...