Signs of Summer Tin and ABC Cubes

A couple of years ago I started stitching Bent Creek's "Signs of Summer" for an Altoid tin top and I just stopped in the middle.  My fabric was similar to the suggested one, but the colors just weren't showing up right.  I tried changing them, but I began to hate the whole thing.  Recently I discovered the half-finished piece while searching for something else, and although I didn't like it any better, I decided to try again on a piece of 28 ct cornflower blue Jobelan.   I'm much happier with the finish this time.   I glued a couple of buttons on the outer lid to hide my messy ribbon gluing job.

I actually had more fun finding applique crochet patterns to decorate the inside lid.  Thread crochet is so fiddly that I had some false starts.  But I finally settled on some patterns that worked.  I don't know if I'll keep the sea turtle in the tin, but he definitely looks cute.  The shell comes out kind of rounded by design, so one could add a little batting for a 3-d look.

If you are interested, these the are links to the free crochet patterns I used:

Tiny round fish
http://bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/sail-away-crochet-pattern.html

Long fish
http://mymerrymessylife.com/2012/04/crochet-goldfish-applique-free-crochet-pattern.html

Spiral seashell
http://dascrochetconnection.blogspot.com/p/sea-shell-garland.html

Sea turtle
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sea-turtle-applique-2

 

And finally, Ele's ABC SAL is complete!  Here is the final block:

I'm very proud of myself for actually doing the finishing.  This is the kind of thing that can live in a drawer for a long time until the finishing mood strikes me!  I decided to arrange them with the ABC as the top of one block and the 123 as the top of the other. Then the sides are the rest of the alphabet.  The bottoms of each are the remaining number blocks.  I stuffed them lightly with poly-fill so they are scrunchy.   My eyes are really starting to rebel in the evenings so I think I made tons of mistakes in all those seams.  I was trying to stitch by feel and that's really not a good technique.  Not sure what I'll do with these.  I think a baby could rip them apart so they aren't really toys.  I'll just admire them for now.

Peace card, ruler sleeves and spool pin doilies

The JCS 2015 Ornament Preview issue arrived, and I was immediately drawn to "Peace" by Cathy Haberman of Hands On Design.  It was shown in the chalkboard style that she has popularized lately, but my eyes just can't take stitching on black.  I hoped that doing it on a blue fabric would work out and I do like the result.  The photos are a bit blurry... rainy days and I kept missing my opportunities when the sun came out.  I think it makes a cute holiday card with the rick-rack trim and a couple of sequins.  The sequins are actually to hide my mistake in cutting the window... necessity and the mother of invention you know.

I'm still on my quest to find the best way to finish the 6" ruler sleeve.  I stitched another of Vavi's 'long' alphabets,  "ABC Romantique" on Edingburgh dirty linen.  This time I did not do a full lining, but used iron-on interfacing to back the stitching.  The border fabric is doubled. I folded in a seam allowance on each side, then folded up from the bottom and used a blanket stitch to sew the side seams.  Blanket stitch is really hard to do nicely so that the back looks as good as the front.  I never seemed to get the hang of piercing the fabric at an exact 90 degree angle.  Now I understand why quilters don't usually go for  the 'stab' method that x-stitchers use.

I also tried another one with just plain fabric and a quilt type binding.  I added a crochet motif for interest.  Not sure I like that one either.  I think I may be giving up on this type of project.

 

Sandy of San-Man Originals discovered a vintage item that crocheters use to make, something called a spool pin doily.  These are used on old sewing machines as a decorative replacement for a circular felt pad that sits under the top spool of thread for stabilization purposes I guess. 

 Here's a photo of one that is currently on sale on Etsy .

Sandy was planning to make one for her old Singer treadle machine, but it looked like something quick and fun to do so I made three and sent them to her. Such cute little things.  They are each about 2.5" in diameter.

The first came from a flower pattern at this link:
 Kimberly's Coaster Patterns

I used crochet cotton doubled (I had a ball of thread that came that way already) and a size 6 steel hook. That made the hole about the right size. It's 2.5" in diameter. 

 

This was an old motif from my stash.  I think the pattern was from the "Harmony Guide to Crochet".

The final one is the Dahlia Circle from the book "25 Floral Blocks to Crochet":

Crochet Airplane and L'l Fairy

People who don't do any of the needle arts often assume that they are all the same and if you do one type, you do them all.  That's kind of the case with a friend of mine.  She's a fabulous party planner and it was her idea to do a baby shower for a co-worker.  She picked a 'travel' theme because the prospective parents do a lot of traveling.   While she was browsing on Etsy for ideas, she discovered a crocheted soft-toy airplane that she liked.  It seemed pricey to her, but when she showed it to me, I didn't really think it was over-priced for a hand-made item.  However, without her asking, I knew she was hoping I would volunteer to make one. 

I'm really not into crocheting little toys like that, especially an airplane!  A princess.. maybe.  Although instructions for these things look simple enough, I know there can be hidden gotchas once you start trying them out.  But I said I'd give it a try and cautioned her to have a Plan "B" ready. 

The cutest patterns looked way too difficult, but I found this free patten on The Craft Frog.  It looked like a good compromise --- cute and a good chance of coming out right.   I used a cotton dishcloth type yarn because I already had some.  It was definitely a challenge and something I don't intend to ever do again!  The pieces are fiddly and it's tricky to sew them all together.  But in the end, I think it worked out pretty well.  My friend liked it a lot and that's what counts.  Actually, that smiley face on the windshield is pretty endearing.

 

I couldn't resist signing up for a WOCS Fairy quilt square.  I had a pattern in my stash Li'l Fairies by Pine Glen Designs, with several funky little cuties that were just the right size.  I had stitched one of them a number of years ago, and now I know why I didn't do more.  The charts are very hard to follow.  The backstitching lines obscure the edges of the stitching so you have to guess which stitches are whole stitches and which are fractional. And I find it difficult to count when using charts that don't have a darker line every 10 stitches.  So she took a little longer and I did my fair share of frogging, but I do like the result for this quilt.  It's stitched on 32 count lugana.

While looking for something else, I came across two completed Paula Vaughn pieces that I completed a hundred years ago.  I never knew what to do with them and I decided they needed to come out of hiding.  So they have been donated to WOCS as well to use as they please, possibly on a "Ladie's Accessories" quilt, on a tote bag, or on a pillow.  I leave that to the sewers.  They are both done on 18 ct ivory Aida.

Paula Vaughn Reflections of the Past

Paula Vaughn Cameo of the Past

Spring Celebration and Hope House

Spring is in full bloom here now.  My headaches are a testament.  But I love going outside without a coat and just feeling warm anyway!    Lately I seem to have a fascination with primitive designs.  It's such a change from the really detailed type of cross-stitching I used to prefer.  When I saw this cute little freebie from the Primitive Hare,  "Spring Celebration", I couldn't wait to stitch it up. I used a piece of 32 count natural Gander linen that I bought from The Thread Basket.  I had heard so many good things about this linen that I was curious to try it out.  It's not available much in the U.S., but the Thread Basket does specialize in French patterns and has a limited supply on the site.  It's a nice weighty linen, and I enjoyed working with it.   It was just the right size to turn into a luggage tag for Spring Break getaways.  I gave it to a Jazzercise instructor who taught an especially fun class on the day I finished it up.

 

While searching for something completely different, I found this cute pattern for a funky crocheted house on Pinterest.  Just for fun I tried to see if I could actually re-create it.  My finishes from a lot of crochet patterns just don't turn out anything like the models.   This one worked out pretty well though.  I added a safety pin on the back.. poor man's brooch.  One of my friends has been training for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk.  She's trying to get in shape without over-doing and it's been a little tricky.  I will give it to my friend as a gift of encouragement.  The pattern is called "Hope House" and you can download the free pdf here.  I should have taken the photo in context so you could see the size.  It's about 3" (7.62 cm) high.  I crocheted it using #10 crochet cotton with a size 7 hook from colors that I had already.
 

Spring Altoid Tin

Hoping for a spring warm-up this week.  We got a taste of it yesterday, but pretty brisk again today.  I've been doing a bit of stitching in spring colors to give Mother Nature the hint.  This Altoid tin and stitchy items inside will be a little thank you gift for a friend.  She doesn't stitch, but appreciates all the smalls she sees me make.

The tin top design is from the current issue of JCS.  The magazine is featuring a series of hornbooks and this one is from Dames of the Needle.  I stitched it over-one on 32 count lugana.  The photos look like the fabric is white, but it's actually a more ivory color.

 

It's always harder to figure out what to put inside than it is to decorate the tin.  But here's my current plan for contents.  This could change if I get other ideas, but I'm tired of thinking about it so this will probably be it.

The egg pin cushion is by Aliolka. She showed it in multiple color schemes and she has a second version with a daisy I think.  Click here for the free pattern.  I just sewed up a backing following the outline of the stitching, stuffed it and added beads on the edge.   It is stitched over-two on 32 count lugana.

The keychain fob is a tiny granny square done in variegated crochet cotton.  I got the idea from this pattern for granny square earrings.  There are many variations on granny square earring patterns but this was the tiniest version and simple to attach to the keyring.  Tiny is important when working on Altoid tin contents.

 

The little bunny on the lid is a popular free crochet bunny pattern.  Works up in no time.   One could make dozens of these in a wink if there was any reason to.   Here's a link to the tute if you want to whip up a few of these for the coming season.

And once again, a toothy take-off on a famous painting in the guise of a dentist reminder card.  If you think I go to the dentist a lot, you are right.  Miserable mouth syndrome.

This one may be harder to recognize.  Think men in bowler hats floating in air,  Golconde by Magritte. Ignore my sneaker.  It was windy out on the balcony and I was trying to keep the card from blowing away.

Wear a smile, have some coffee, and think Cinderella

I think I just did the fastest complete cross stitch project of my life.   Mii Stitch chose me as the next in line to stitch Lizzie Kate's "Wear a Smile" in another of the traveling patterns that's making the rounds.  Such a cutie when I saw it, but I probably would never have thought to stitch something like this otherwise.  I received the pattern on Friday, stitched almost the whole thing on Friday night, and finished it up into a pinkeep on Saturday.  I'm planning to display it on a little easel and give it to my dentist as a little knick-knack for the office.  The office seems to thrive on such things.  It's stitched on 36 ct HDF linen over 2 threads in the 3 shades of DMC on the pattern.

I need to pick a stitcher who would like to stitch this pattern next.  Please leave a note in a comment that you would like to be included in a drawing and I'll pick a name.   As always with traveling patterns, we would like you to stitch it in a timely fashion, show it on your blog, and offer to send the pattern on to another stitcher.

Does everyone's dentist send out such arty re-call notices as mine does?  Take a look at the latest one I received:

I stitched up another Aliolka pattern to make as a gift for a coffee loving friend.  I was going to do a book mark, but then I thought about a quilty coaster.  Not 100% happy with my finish, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.  Not sure if this is on linen or evenweave.. just used an available scrap.

You can find the free chart here.

 

I crocheted this cute princess motif from a Japanese designer.  I think of her as Cinderella, but maybe with that hair she's more of Princess Leia.   This was a very difficult graphical crochet pattern to interpret.  I finally found a number of people who tried it on Ravelry and several gave a variation to make it work out.  So I used one of those and still had trouble.  She's not perfect, but who is?  I got the idea to make a pumpkin zippered pouch from one I had seen on the web and applique the princess on the back., So I think of it as Cinderella waiting for the pumpkin to turn into a coach so she can proceed to the ball.  Did not quite turn out the way I imagined it, but I am proud to say that I figured out how to do it with no exposed raw edges inside!     I'll probably donate her to WOCS to use as one of the favors they give to nursing home residents or even to the children in one of the shelters for domestic violence.