The Stitch Up

Fall WIP Round Up

I've been juggling several projects for the last few months.  Part of it is the fact that I get a bit bored just working on one project for weeks at a time, and the other part is that some projects need occasional prep steps: transferring patterns, stitching different parts together or finding the right color of embroidery thread.  Despite the stops and starts however, I've made some progress on the various projects I've been working on.  Not enough to finish all of them by the end of the year, but enough to feel like I haven't lost all momentum and the finish line is close.

Project 1 - Spanish Ladies Quilt

I have about 3 “tile” patterns left to stitch for the bottom section of the front of this quilt.  Once that is done, I can move to some borders, a really cute backing fabric and then bind it all together.

Project 2 - Mexican Tourist Jacket

This has been slow going, mainly because I can’t work out exactly how to transfer the embroidery patterns onto the felt. I’ve tried a couple methods - heat transfer pencil and sulky stabilizer paper - but they don’t work so well for large sections.  Currently I’ve been doing some basting stitches to get the pattern down and then re-stitching with the wool embroidery thread. Since I'm basically stitching each pattern twice, I’ve just made it through the pockets and one sleeve.

I probably wont finish the whole jacket by the end of the year but I would like to get most of the embroidery on the jacket pieces as I think the most challenging part for me will be actually sewing the pieces together so that it becomes an actual jacket.

Project 3 - Sashiko Quilt

I really pick this up during breaks from my other projects.  It's pretty easy and quick to transfer a sashiko pattern to a denim square and start stitching whenever I need a short term project. I’ve made 10 squares and a couple of small panels.  These squares come together pretty quick and I think once I focus on it, this can be turned into a final product without too much trouble.  The one issue I do have is that I keep wavering a bit on whether I want these squares to become a quilt, or if I'd rather turn them into a bag, or some other end product.

 

4. Year in Stitches Tea Towel 

Surprisingly, I’m almost up to date on this.  I just need to stitch up something for the month of October. It’s been fun to think about the big events of each month and try to capture them in an icon or two.  This is another nice project to pick up whenever I want a break from my larger projects.

 

I wanted to give myself this sort of status check since we are fully into the holiday season now and I've got a number of Christmas projects in the works.  I'm hoping I can still find a little time over the next six weeks to work on my various WIPs, but if not - there's always next year!

Sending out my wish that everyone is having a wonderful Fall and enjoying a little relaxation before the holidays kick into gear.

Wrapping Up Summer WIPs

The end of summer is fast approaching and I’m happy to report I did finish a couple of the projects I've been working on.

First up, I FINALLY finished my Mountmellick project:

Overall I’m happy with the way the purse came out and I think Mountmellick is one of my favorite embroidery techniques.  I’ll definitely be doing another Mountmellick project soon.  However, my finishing work leaves a little to be desired. I think juggling multiple WIPs can result in my just trying to finish one or two of the items I’m working on rather than focusing on just one item until it’s done.  I would have a more refined result if I was willing to rip out bad stitching and start again when something goes wrong. In this instance, my attachment of the purse frame to the exterior and interior purse design is a bit sloppy since I was forcing it all to fit.  You can see it in the photos of the interior:

Ultimately I do have to be honest about how I craft and the truth is I just get bored sometimes with one project and I need to pause and work on something else. After I've started and stopped a few projects there’s a point where my craft room gets messy and disorganized with various half done projects I'm working on and I realize I have to crack down and actually finish a few.  My plan is to find a way to organize my disorganization so I'm less stressed about the various projects I'm juggling.  Thankfully, a lot of crafters seem to have this same problem and I've found some suggestions to corral the chaos.  I'll try out a few and share any that seem to work!

Next, I also finished weaving the pink scarf I was working on. This is the second project I started in the weaving class I took in January. I love weaving! The casting on process is still going to be a learning curve for me, but I’ve found some good resources on youtube and I've been checking out the blog Hello Hydrangea  which has a lot of amazing tutorials so I’m hoping to slowly progress with this new technique.  My goal is to make some gifts for the holidays – I’m thinking dish towels or something similar.

I also fit in a quick project for my friends. I’ve been trying my hand at macramé and had seen some cute car air fresheners I wanted to make. I have two friends with birthdays coming up and decided to make this cute craft for all my ladies.

I’m still learning the various macramé knots and the process of learning knots has taught me a bit about how I learn things in general. There are some GREAT youtube videos which helped me understand the whole process for making the air fresheners. However, I often need some kind of illustration when I’m learning a new knot. I need a real step by step this string goes over this string’ type of explanation to really understand what to do. Once it all makes sense to me thanks to the diagram, I can follow along with a video. And can I just say there is such an art to making a great video or written tutorial. I’m so appreciative of people who can take a detailed process and explain it so that others can follow along. The awesome video I used for this macramé car air freshener is from Macrame Princess here.

Lastly, I started a new project (of course) because I just can’t help myself.

I'm starting on a Sashiko Quilt.   This is actually turning out to be a fun project and the process of using sashiko embroidery for each square is a pretty quick process. It’s also fairly portable as I can just stick one or two squares in my purse and stitch whenever I have a spare moment. It will take some time to finish all the squares I need for a complete quilt, but I’m off to a good start.

I still need to calculate exactly the number of squares to complete the quilt but I kind of changed my concept once I pulled everything out and put it together. My original plan was to do one side of the quilt in just Sashiko embroidered squares and then on the back use a couple Tenugui Towels I’ve bought at Japanese book stores in the past. However, once I pulled everything out, it really made more sense and creates a much cooler look to use the blue and white Tenugui Towel I have with the squares I’m embroidering in white and then on the flip side, go with the colorful Tenugui towel I have which I plan to partner with embroidered squares in bright pinks, blues and purples.

And that brings me to the end of summer and starting to inch toward fall. Soon I know I’m going to get the itch to start on some knitting or crochet projects so, once again I need to shake my tail feathers to get a couple more things done before diving into new projects. I hope everyone is enjoying the end of Summer, looking forward to Fall and progressing on all of the projects you might be juggling!

Crafty Status Check

I know the saying is that 'time flies when you're having fun' but it also seems to fly when you're just working and meeting deadlines.  I always feel like I should have more to show – craft-wise – after more than a month since my last post.  Truthfully, I've been working away on a few things, but my day job and some back yard projects have been taking up the bulk of my time.  That said, I wanted to update the blog with my current WIPs and upcoming projects.

I HAVE completed one project - the “travel project” from my Texas trip. I turned the embroidered piece into a textile necklace.  I'm happy with the end result but I learned a lot of things for my next "jewelry" project.

After I finished stitching the pattern I designed, I used some fabric glue to attach it to a cream colored felt.  It gives it a bit more structure and gave me a way to attach a necklace cord.  I outlined the design to reinforce the attached backing.  I used black embroidery thread for the outline which had the added benefit of giving the design a bit more pop as well. 

I wasn't quite sure about attaching cording or chain, so I ordered necklace cords in a variety of colors and sizes to see what color and texture looked best with the design.  I decided to use a black cord that I cut in half and stitched to each side of the design.  It worked but I did not anticipate the cord fraying like it did so I ended up doing a combination of glueing and stitching the cord to the back of the design.  The next time I do this I will use more of a formal connecting ring or something for the cording.  I enjoyed this process enough to read up on it a bit and try a few different things until I get it right.

I am SO close to finishing the Mountmellick purse is as well.  I’ve sewn the outside and inside purse panels together and now it’s just a matter of sewing in the purse frame.  My problem with THAT is I did not fully understand the process to attach the purse frame - which - honestly is not exactly difficult.  But I thought the frame would be attached on the inside of the purse and I could fudge a bit with the size, but it's actually attached to the outside of the bag which made it obvious that I had ordered the wrong size purse frame.

I am a big proponent of guiding principles in sewing such as "measure twice, cut once".  Everything works better if you read all the instructions, work with precision and follow directions.  But I am also the great granddaughter of Ida Tunnell and her more organic, "It'll Never Be Seen On A Galloping Horse" type of crafting, so sometimes I have to learn the hard way.  The lesson here is that with purses that utilize a frame you should really be making your purse pattern around the frame rather than making the purse and trying to find a frame to fit it later.  WHICH I KNOW NOW.  I think I've found a frame on etsy that will work and the purse will come out cute despite the hiccups.

While wrapping these two projects up I’ve been fitting in some time to work on my second weaving project.  It’s basically set up to be a scarf although I might see if there’s some other way to use it.  I do want to experiment with embroidery on weaving so I might use this finished project to try out some different techniques.  I also finished another square for my "Spanish Ladies" quilt and did a couple of “quickie” up-cycling projects.  

I’ve been collecting patches from places we visit over the years and also some patches that I’ve seen when shopping that I just find cute.  I used them for fancy up two items.  I used a beautiful bird patch I found at World Market to class up an older blazer that I don’t wear much anymore but I think I’ll get a lot more use from now!

Most of the other patches I put on a denim jacket that I bought on Thrifted.  I love that this is kind of a wearable souvenir display.  There are patches from our recent trip in Texas, from Vegas trips, New York and other spots.  Plus I'll also be attaching patches that I make, like the swallow tattoo design that was a previous "travel project".  

I’m excited to keep adding to this with more patches from future trips.

Summer took a while to get going this year, but it has officially arrived and we are soaking up the sun.  We’ve been fitting in some pool time and grilling every chance we get.  I really love to slow down and spend time outside once the great weather starts so I focus on portable projects I can take outside on the patio or to the pool.  My next project is going to be a Sashiko quilt.  I’m planning to use denim I’ve up-cycled from jeans we don’t wear anymore that I’ve cut up into squares.  To start off and kind of "learn" the process I bought a cool pre-printed Sashiko kit on Etsy.  It comes with everything you need to start.  I'm finding it's a different way of working with thread.  My plan is to use this for the back of the quilt along with some really cute printed "tenugui towels" I've bought.  The Sashiko process requires some practice to try and get the stitch lengths equal and thats working WITH a preprinted pattern.  I think this is a good way to kick off learning this technique and it's helping me work up the confidence to try some free form designs for the front of quilt squares.

I hope everyone is enjoying great weather and finding time to stitch in the sun!