tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8991309050115122992024-03-05T10:47:08.901-07:00ElnestaTheresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-72692406041961861232018-07-11T23:23:00.000-06:002018-07-11T23:23:45.821-06:00New Start<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hold on! I am getting ready to restart this blog. It will be cleaned up and will consist mostly of cross stitch related news.<br />
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Coming soon!</div>
Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-29490535047058859022015-07-13T04:27:00.000-06:002015-07-13T04:27:34.104-06:00Curtains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so I bought a home. As I said before, a small modest home and it mine - all mine. Sometimes my mind races with things I want to do to decorate it. I moved in on January 1, 2014 so I have been here for 1 and a half years. After several moves and living in an apartment for several years I didn't have much in the way of decorative items. I go to the thrift store, usually once a week, and I have been gathering things along the way. Sometimes a find will change the whole way I look at a room. I have to take a picture of the red chair I found.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, I want to talk about curtains. I am not a sewer with experience but I do have my sewing machine set up and I have a dedicated area for it. My daughter doesn't like it but she is forced to share the basement with my craft area. I started with curtains for my bathroom which I don't have pictures of. They were made out of a sheet and they are orange. Now I have an orange bathroom! It is a bright and cheerful color to wake up to. Also, because I didn't line them, in the afternoon through a west facing window it gives the whole room a golden glow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next I did curtains for my kitchen.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCODZZYyVdU8J3019UU-Cyl21IPObUBe89G0dwVM3ISGzhw6ns2ACQUInZ3lo_JxIsIJ3GaAXsBHIIETLC7D7dYeT521aVqC1FrSHs9vC7pT2oP0oQt4hxBDaU6y65QXI5ma5Ud8jAOwAq/s1600/kitchen+curtain+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCODZZYyVdU8J3019UU-Cyl21IPObUBe89G0dwVM3ISGzhw6ns2ACQUInZ3lo_JxIsIJ3GaAXsBHIIETLC7D7dYeT521aVqC1FrSHs9vC7pT2oP0oQt4hxBDaU6y65QXI5ma5Ud8jAOwAq/s320/kitchen+curtain+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kitchen Curtains</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My kitchen definitely has a retro 1950's look with those black gingham with red cherries curtains. The window that you are looking at is quite large. There is a second window over the sink that is smaller and also has these same curtains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gingham made it easy to follow straight lines and get a consistent hem so they were a good project for the beginning sewer that I am. Since the curtains are for my home, I wanted to take my time and personalize them. To that end, I crocheted a lace border on the valences and made matching ties. People at my work thought I was nuts because I brought them to work for me and crocheted during my lunch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my kitchen was curtained, I decided to tackle my bedroom. I made white cotton sheers and covered them with a royal blue frame.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUZa3hddZz9-ATpPtSokY_f3CESIa17x5Qs6tbhyphenhyphenyNmCHajJIEydtf1vOuaNJ0tuNqsrQRT4VwCNSK5hcxHi5CS4XhcEDrBvwC8NASXgOFj5okm1tx5S0s0hve8yfTszgsTNSbgqSp5l6/s1600/closet+and+window+bedroom+curtain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUZa3hddZz9-ATpPtSokY_f3CESIa17x5Qs6tbhyphenhyphenyNmCHajJIEydtf1vOuaNJ0tuNqsrQRT4VwCNSK5hcxHi5CS4XhcEDrBvwC8NASXgOFj5okm1tx5S0s0hve8yfTszgsTNSbgqSp5l6/s320/closet+and+window+bedroom+curtain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The opposite corner also has a window.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iT1p73pzak-w65StrL5U60zBhdiexZ0Q49kE2vrLRbKIAqo9dWqhc0bJnryCd1NZkb1onykpBHSw8W6agiNcajNGaHPq1t6A_sMcCtDEcEUsRgpis5tst1UGrDNCzToup5FcLu85uvgO/s1600/Single+Window+Bedroom+Curtain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9iT1p73pzak-w65StrL5U60zBhdiexZ0Q49kE2vrLRbKIAqo9dWqhc0bJnryCd1NZkb1onykpBHSw8W6agiNcajNGaHPq1t6A_sMcCtDEcEUsRgpis5tst1UGrDNCzToup5FcLu85uvgO/s320/Single+Window+Bedroom+Curtain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not too bad for a beginner! I kind of wish that I had made fancier middles, but I still have some of the fabric and I might just tackle them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to laugh at the memory of my husband watching me lay the fabric down the hallway. I put masking tape at the beginning point and the ending point so that I could cut the fabric the correct length. He thought I was nuts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can't see it in the pictures, but I would like to comment about the hems. I hemmed all of the pieces by hand. I used the <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Blind-Stitch" target="_blank">blind hem stitch</a>. I have used the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CjOXMuTFXo" target="_blank">ladder stitch</a> for quite a few finishes of projects that I have done through <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/stitchmap/info" target="_blank">StitchMap</a>. Blind hem stitch was a natural progression. For those of you who sew, you will understand that I am so proud that I was able to pickup just one or two threads while I was hemming. It felt like quite an accomplishment! </span></div>
Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-15948951819656885952015-07-13T03:50:00.000-06:002015-07-13T03:50:00.481-06:00Cross Stitch Shoes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have started the third piece in the set I am making for my daughter. I think she was 8 or 9 years old when I started the set. Even though it was cross stitch, I was sure I could get them done in time for her teenage years. Well that didn't happen, she is now 17. I did get the <a href="http://elnesta.blogspot.com/2015/01/its-2015.html" target="_blank">first two</a> completed and I have started the third.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkgCbCXqm_HQdS1-uN1lAUaMTfutXn8UZDo0sdZu1em0Hjzdpr7wNBODWMIPLtOuitLam_Tj9mOjhMNw9uzgY4UhAypoPsi6Kk0lKs_qykX0gQalK1I-EzqmLjYHogZi5nT55IT2cPQlm/s1600/boot+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkgCbCXqm_HQdS1-uN1lAUaMTfutXn8UZDo0sdZu1em0Hjzdpr7wNBODWMIPLtOuitLam_Tj9mOjhMNw9uzgY4UhAypoPsi6Kk0lKs_qykX0gQalK1I-EzqmLjYHogZi5nT55IT2cPQlm/s320/boot+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoes 1<br /><br /></td></tr>
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This set is from a different designer and it looks like the individual elements are bit larger and the colors are a bit softer. I am glad of this. It is more in the color ranges that I gravitate to. I still have several other projects going at the same time, so I don't expect this one to get completed quickly. It is a start!</span></div>
Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-57473403201469307622015-07-12T20:05:00.001-06:002015-07-12T20:14:37.312-06:00Butterflies in Chains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have previously written about a pillow case project I had started. The pattern contained butterflies and flowers. The pattern was stamped on the pillow case as cross stitch. I love cross stitch but not as a surface embroidery stitch, so I had the wonderful idea that I was going to do the entire project in </span><a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/10/embroidery-stitch-video-tutorial-chain.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">chain stitch</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or some </span><a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2014/12/26-chain-stitch-variations.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">derivative of chain stitch</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. You can see the </span><a href="http://elnesta.blogspot.com/2011/04/butterflies-in-chains.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">beginning post </a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and an </span><a href="http://elnesta.blogspot.com/2011/11/bookmarks-updates-new-year.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">update</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well they are done!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTabZar7LDUJdyniFLPE82oTJb4qfPfDaMfQHyjMTmf5xx6s6KRymqXnasBZInh-qzC94ukz-zXn54K6WU2xl6fAuds8P0XYDHg_l1h-9cMEaQL0vDw1r21CXQF5BCi_dne5-gy7RDZpjh/s1600/Butterflies+in+Chain+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTabZar7LDUJdyniFLPE82oTJb4qfPfDaMfQHyjMTmf5xx6s6KRymqXnasBZInh-qzC94ukz-zXn54K6WU2xl6fAuds8P0XYDHg_l1h-9cMEaQL0vDw1r21CXQF5BCi_dne5-gy7RDZpjh/s400/Butterflies+in+Chain+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterflies in Chains</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a little glare on this picture, but it works.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I owe a debt of thanks to <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/" target="_blank">Mary Corbet of Needle N Thread</a>. I have written about her and her blog before. No doubt, it is one of my most favorite blogs. She does not know me, but I am still proud of her contributions to the needle arts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could not have stayed true to my original intention without her blog. First, she speaks about using c<a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/05/16-filling-stitches-for-embroidery.html" target="_blank">hain stitch as a filler stitch</a> which I had never heard of. Not too long after I had started the pillow cases, she wrote an article about the <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/07/hungarian-braided-chain-stitch-video.html" target="_blank">Hungarian Braid Stitch</a>. I decided that would be my first derivative and the outside scalloped borders were done using that stitch. Next I worked the pink flowers in <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/daisy-stitch-video-tutorial.html" target="_blank">Detached Chain Stitch</a>. I was thinking about using her tip about <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2011/07/daisy-stitch-in-two-colors-take-two.html" target="_blank">Daisy Flowers in Two Colors</a> but decided to try out the <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/06/oyster-stitch-video-tutorial.html" target="_blank">Oyster Stitch</a> instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can't see it now, but my next step was to outline the end butterflies in <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/07/embroidery-video-tutorial-cable-chain.html" target="_blank">Cable Chain Stitch</a>. I took it out, however, because I had used a dark blue color that just didn't work with the other colors. The project languished as other priorities too place, but I had not forgotten it. I might take a while, but I am proud that I usually finish the projects I start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The project came to the forefront again after I purchased Mary's e-book <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2015/04/stitch-sampler-alphabet-available-now.html" target="_blank">Stitch Sampler Alphabet: Decorative Initials in a Variety of Stitches!</a>. That is how the outer butterflies came to be laced and the next outer butterflies were whipped. I had forgotten about her article on <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2013/01/stitch-fun-lacing-and-whipping-embroidery-stitches.html" target="_blank">Lacing and Whipping Embroidery Stitches!</a> I also utilized her idea about putting a straight stitch in the middle of my detached chain stitch flowers. It really plumped them and added a lot of definition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is still a lot of other information about the chain stitch on her blog. <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/10/chain-stitch-switch-adding-a-new-thread.html" target="_blank">Starting a new thread</a> and <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/10/chain-stitch-tip-circles.html" target="_blank">Chain Stitch Tip:Circles</a> are just a couple. I will say it again, I could not have stayed true to my original intention without her blog!</span><br />
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-30415874580328184592015-01-11T22:18:00.000-07:002015-01-11T22:18:25.159-07:00It's 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, I really have let my blogging go. I have renewed my commitment for my blog. It is my means of sharing, recording, researching and all else for the needle arts. My new plan is to post something on my blog every week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a conversation with a close friend last week. She was reminding that at one time, needle arts was the only avenue women had to express their creativity. I find it so ironic that, now in my time - a modern time, it is very hard for me to squeeze needlework into days that seem to take all my time. Needlework does take time. Some projects even span years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to start by writing about what I did in 2014. I didn't get everything I wanted done, but I got some things done. I started the year by buying a home. It is a modest home - but it is mine. I have some many thoughts about what I can do and make for my home. One of the first things I did was frame and hang some of my cross stitch projects.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcDJETeGKwl8d8n0QiRUTLf1L_YP20iqRgRkwuR1Xf4Ja34HOoSkkLMTm4B2TSLA7hvUZAiVDn3d74_ksZliTC4LhVDDKt1O9EzFaIm9UaZ6s344lmoO2-36uGkSL8CPW7gd1kEI31GZU/s1600/hats+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcDJETeGKwl8d8n0QiRUTLf1L_YP20iqRgRkwuR1Xf4Ja34HOoSkkLMTm4B2TSLA7hvUZAiVDn3d74_ksZliTC4LhVDDKt1O9EzFaIm9UaZ6s344lmoO2-36uGkSL8CPW7gd1kEI31GZU/s1600/hats+2.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HATS</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hats is the first of three that I did for my daughter. I framed it myself in a black frame. It is the first picture that I actually framed myself. I wrapped the project around foam core and laced it very thoroughly. I think it turned out nice.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34gSqNyob5UBZQcBXpgXx47rF3dyrfDR4MEyXttABaRKaTduM-7Kkt4hOIA2qVCQ7S8UtoJ4Kgz0RxxYDF3HP269j37k8nzSbHxlu9v0AynMJ8PJTOyMTrBPpf4SFVkl2VKShfxYPjb6S/s1600/purses+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34gSqNyob5UBZQcBXpgXx47rF3dyrfDR4MEyXttABaRKaTduM-7Kkt4hOIA2qVCQ7S8UtoJ4Kgz0RxxYDF3HP269j37k8nzSbHxlu9v0AynMJ8PJTOyMTrBPpf4SFVkl2VKShfxYPjb6S/s1600/purses+2+.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PURSES</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is hanging with Purses. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I recall, the last time we saw purses I only had about 1/3 of it done. I had spent a day at LAGOON, which is a local amusement park working on it in the shade of a gazebo while my daughter and friend was taking in all of the rides.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvIZpZsD_Ut4hIirkiRUrKrZfikgpGCdmR1mrZMsZ3DY-fnhOZfPINffsLIfiI44m2vyXDka-3zv0wA-YWBL55RpS5zkDkMkPuLsd_pwLHaic8HnAH8dXBFrI58LLqZq0ZZa8R8j_XShs/s1600/shoes+promised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvIZpZsD_Ut4hIirkiRUrKrZfikgpGCdmR1mrZMsZ3DY-fnhOZfPINffsLIfiI44m2vyXDka-3zv0wA-YWBL55RpS5zkDkMkPuLsd_pwLHaic8HnAH8dXBFrI58LLqZq0ZZa8R8j_XShs/s1600/shoes+promised.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SHOES</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shoes has been started, barely, and is still promised. I have the picture from the kit framed as a reminder of the promise. That and I wanted the three pictures to have the same frames. My daughter really likes them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next post I will be showing more of my finishes.</span><br />
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-24510193328352503692013-07-21T14:22:00.004-06:002013-07-21T14:24:09.520-06:00Jacob's Ladder Crochet Pillow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXLva4ElYFWdQwpJz7TzgdfjLMa4looCKgrHhgR8pg0L3q3DHWAVIAsnXt6siq3EASx69I2HZke6d8Gk5TIfWRuu0LkSxF_Xg7JlJubCYh0Hm1800li0y9qoBB_yQGB2dbcyFyx7_bg-c/s1600/Bed+Pillow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvXLva4ElYFWdQwpJz7TzgdfjLMa4looCKgrHhgR8pg0L3q3DHWAVIAsnXt6siq3EASx69I2HZke6d8Gk5TIfWRuu0LkSxF_Xg7JlJubCYh0Hm1800li0y9qoBB_yQGB2dbcyFyx7_bg-c/s320/Bed+Pillow+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have completed one of my larger projects. It is a pillow cover that was crocheted using Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread, a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#10 Bedspread weight.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I have used 3 colors: Bridal Blue, Delft Blue and White. The thread was purchased online at </span><a href="http://www.herrschners.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Herrschners</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pattern was found online too. It is called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/round-jacobs-ladder-blanket-for-babies" target="_blank">Round Jacob's Ladder</a>. I altered the pattern by using #10 thread instead of baby yarn. I also made 2 complete rounds. What I mean is that when the original pattern is completed you have 10 double crochets between the chains. My pillow top was not big enough so I started the pattern again where there was 4 double crochet between chains and followed the pattern until once again I had 10 double crochets between chains. It sound more complicated than it was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did this for two round doilies and then laced them together over a round pillow top with 1/4 inch white satin ribbon. Initially I was concerned because it looked like the center was going to cone once the chained loops were drawn up. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once it was washed and dried, however, the center laid nice and flat. There is a nice article about crocheting a flat circle in <a href="http://slugsontherefrigerator.com/crocheting-a-flat-circle/" target="_blank">this blog post</a> on <a href="http://slugsontherefrigerator.com/" target="_blank">Slugs On The Refridgerator</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It was a "happy accident" when the laced chains doubled to fit just where the sides of the pillow are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I was not following directions for color changes, so I decided to use the principles of the Fibonacci principal simplified. what I mean by that is each color was done in either 1, 3, or 5 rows. It is held in design theory that a Fibonacci sequence is thought to be more pleasing. For those mathematicians and scientists out there, you can find a nice article about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number" target="_blank">Fibonacci Numbers</a> on Wikipedia. Each side of the pillow top is a different sequence of colors so they are not identical. I did start both sides with a white center and used a row of white between each color change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really like the pillow and it has found a home on my bed.</span></div>
Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-36422282630281982992013-07-21T13:41:00.001-06:002013-07-21T13:41:45.113-06:00Yo-Yo Anyone?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As all crafters know, we must have our supplies. This includes all the newest tools and toys. If the new toys are relatively inexpensive then they just seem to magically appear in our stash. Once you buy the toy, you have to use it in a project. However else can you justify the toy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.clover-usa.com/" target="_blank">Clover</a> manufactures several yo yo makers. You can see their selection <a href="http://www.clover-usa.com/products/453736" target="_blank">here</a>. While viewing <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, I kept seeing yo yo flowers and I decided I had to do the project. Here is what I ended up with:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0_M3dTny_rPsIxDqPaTKArVd5QRyTrtv5gNa4fv9qcs7Xhobk4ggDZk00wAj5tJ0PjSexLSjCThpP81FgREBr92PTLULShySGgEBxMg8teJk5J6aSzoBCvka0Keb46DeHeLqREsN32-x/s1600/YoYo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0_M3dTny_rPsIxDqPaTKArVd5QRyTrtv5gNa4fv9qcs7Xhobk4ggDZk00wAj5tJ0PjSexLSjCThpP81FgREBr92PTLULShySGgEBxMg8teJk5J6aSzoBCvka0Keb46DeHeLqREsN32-x/s320/YoYo1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-55103507908728181242013-07-21T13:12:00.000-06:002013-07-21T13:12:41.629-06:00A Few Crochet Hook Holders<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember the pattern weights? They came in really handy when I was making my Crochet Hook Roll-ups. I have been wanting to make me one for some time and I realized that they would be the perfect appreciation gift for my friends who support my charity crochet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a lot of fun picking fabric for each person. One of my friends told me that her favorite color was iced orange. I have been trying to make friends with the color orange because I had a color prejudice. I think it stemmed from all of the olive green and burnt orange colors of the 70's. Another friend claims green as her favorite color. I have always thought green was a nice supportive color for flowers but not as a main color. I have altered my perceptions of colors and really enjoyed both colors in this project.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some photos:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUccV3ROxffilb79vD2cW_T8NsZrE3HbC4xJHwvOCQYTAiF9YqmPlGJCVCxrYjFR6PAHtTFCTXUHXXibTZSGrrJdlCtq1hEKVFRNWFeewzgVUdIXDp1BlvPM-n6tuXiqxQlw6ytJ-qJLBv/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Roll-up-+Deborah+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUccV3ROxffilb79vD2cW_T8NsZrE3HbC4xJHwvOCQYTAiF9YqmPlGJCVCxrYjFR6PAHtTFCTXUHXXibTZSGrrJdlCtq1hEKVFRNWFeewzgVUdIXDp1BlvPM-n6tuXiqxQlw6ytJ-qJLBv/s320/Crochet+Hook+Roll-up-+Deborah+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closed Orange Crochet Hook Roll-up </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeMxMz8VZB_EW_mBALvNWdGNzwNPe5ajsHXkiraCuE4dt4mowcDHHfy-F5gfCEnQ06kaA_oME-ClsZ9mgO2MV3gnXpO6QBckeLTw51FvTcY9coVL26eGZ0pFtbnw0UdOayicZBubnT65W/s1600/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Deborah+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeMxMz8VZB_EW_mBALvNWdGNzwNPe5ajsHXkiraCuE4dt4mowcDHHfy-F5gfCEnQ06kaA_oME-ClsZ9mgO2MV3gnXpO6QBckeLTw51FvTcY9coVL26eGZ0pFtbnw0UdOayicZBubnT65W/s320/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Deborah+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Open Orange Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrtT_3PG3CHIAfAEer2MALflCb-ovEeVXL-XAA0OgIxhw26KDs9qPD4tISm_XEGMvRvNfiVj2z8ybovE5bjk1csj1nogt76P8HUV-gB5XWN9gFbbFwZB2TuGZXbp7GnHpwsBEVDIKtLoD/s1600/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Leesa+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrtT_3PG3CHIAfAEer2MALflCb-ovEeVXL-XAA0OgIxhw26KDs9qPD4tISm_XEGMvRvNfiVj2z8ybovE5bjk1csj1nogt76P8HUV-gB5XWN9gFbbFwZB2TuGZXbp7GnHpwsBEVDIKtLoD/s320/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Leesa+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closed Purple Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n_ds_Gp_4Mofxt0Xa8qDBq81J9lRHyi6TnUKdU8QQTO1zW2JNK_MMykt4hyWy294X6swKKu-KFgwNa9mQPbyBRsQuQLazEu4MIpwfwoGzcN5jJVqZ9sm8JBwCtIEFyY8l9giF1IodQfw/s1600/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Leesa+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n_ds_Gp_4Mofxt0Xa8qDBq81J9lRHyi6TnUKdU8QQTO1zW2JNK_MMykt4hyWy294X6swKKu-KFgwNa9mQPbyBRsQuQLazEu4MIpwfwoGzcN5jJVqZ9sm8JBwCtIEFyY8l9giF1IodQfw/s320/crochet+hook+rollup+-+Leesa+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Open Purple Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Iep-2_pXMX8MpnSc3fDNy6VAK7jO35OzX6xyi6N_NI7V6sz0Ow5a_iW3fZP-GjmZIKsskOTDSfMUvZKEZdZLEKjJAIEEhr7RbDsy7dy73OOJbK4sG_3tXIVl9fdgw38uPk1m5lAG3fWs/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Iep-2_pXMX8MpnSc3fDNy6VAK7jO35OzX6xyi6N_NI7V6sz0Ow5a_iW3fZP-GjmZIKsskOTDSfMUvZKEZdZLEKjJAIEEhr7RbDsy7dy73OOJbK4sG_3tXIVl9fdgw38uPk1m5lAG3fWs/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closed Pink Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3tO_CmGXfcugxmYRhILGMfxZHRSBh7u_AD2t2kyNTfR2ZyOBmhkhc5pntjd4Dk4N5lyq9iTJ1sDLYfMiAIttVpeX-3fKlp3s9sBwuVjgpizrKNBoWZehuNJsmxJ1KfU8leg3yem9Bo_Z/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3tO_CmGXfcugxmYRhILGMfxZHRSBh7u_AD2t2kyNTfR2ZyOBmhkhc5pntjd4Dk4N5lyq9iTJ1sDLYfMiAIttVpeX-3fKlp3s9sBwuVjgpizrKNBoWZehuNJsmxJ1KfU8leg3yem9Bo_Z/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Open Pink Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEKIf_OznQ50g9MMpL2l8xDDw4mu31X7jMq-_Ean6Uvm8HmVHzXz8kbZl2aR_wrTwnvweXx9cUKz5Vuw1xVRHp5B2POckdrHLH22rcW5V_1ObDxbqAFR7wMnLTJygGy3UhyLyqtxhoPEg/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEKIf_OznQ50g9MMpL2l8xDDw4mu31X7jMq-_Ean6Uvm8HmVHzXz8kbZl2aR_wrTwnvweXx9cUKz5Vuw1xVRHp5B2POckdrHLH22rcW5V_1ObDxbqAFR7wMnLTJygGy3UhyLyqtxhoPEg/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Open Green Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfUwjVJYL7bAfWUs8QsKF6uDw-05-_xvN5JV5bfx4cHJ-rKAuPpJdiR7kpKb4qaKkkobzGhKf51MXtuOZY5c3WuRJQb6F4IuBQlPhAJDwk-QLjkdRKcYo-ymisYRmf4__Te8AMCwm1cC0/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfUwjVJYL7bAfWUs8QsKF6uDw-05-_xvN5JV5bfx4cHJ-rKAuPpJdiR7kpKb4qaKkkobzGhKf51MXtuOZY5c3WuRJQb6F4IuBQlPhAJDwk-QLjkdRKcYo-ymisYRmf4__Te8AMCwm1cC0/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Ragena+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Closed Green Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6305OEVBTLYN_vZaog6BIho5KtUa6QrTsoZVsp4QqvdblTZTDLRXoA8iOys-imAbksXppoqGmAvKDhggQklZN9egMkAh5hFlNNdrSxsOa23Y1Fmiupyh-vxOKjTqYY624EYkULsedPb4q/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+large+Hooks+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6305OEVBTLYN_vZaog6BIho5KtUa6QrTsoZVsp4QqvdblTZTDLRXoA8iOys-imAbksXppoqGmAvKDhggQklZN9egMkAh5hFlNNdrSxsOa23Y1Fmiupyh-vxOKjTqYY624EYkULsedPb4q/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+large+Hooks+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Open Large Hook Roll-Up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Large Crochet Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKYeSnotk8SwW_6PDHAjgo9cwasAJFYDJ2OmB2ks7aT4Qp7XM1MQV2hGKiy3cPCv7jbyK5lSgaFaQWkH_fUTJC4n0mcgeti42W3hogIFucyd5MZeyb-07gsAn-nI6lrFwXQqzQBpSPobF/s1600/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Steel+Hooks+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKYeSnotk8SwW_6PDHAjgo9cwasAJFYDJ2OmB2ks7aT4Qp7XM1MQV2hGKiy3cPCv7jbyK5lSgaFaQWkH_fUTJC4n0mcgeti42W3hogIFucyd5MZeyb-07gsAn-nI6lrFwXQqzQBpSPobF/s320/Crochet+Hook+Rollup+-+Steel+Hooks+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steel Hook Roll-up</span></td></tr>
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-34068547816694048442013-07-20T00:24:00.001-06:002013-07-20T00:26:08.249-06:00I love this peacock<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite things to do is to visit a second hand store or thrift store as I like to call them. One weekend I was sorting through a bin and found a dresser scarf that had an embroidered peacock at both ends. I really liked it and the price was right so I ended up taking it home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Isn't she pretty?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4xS6axpZg6YQczj5EuHq8nTFE1FY4DpVUXSh6-oELnbB4dacVaT2nhXkRPpYkyPoS-bmM6sIqr9Iedkopvf2SMRwJIVE9opHhnmBRFzHshi8fDWo-6UuF5LLC3hb-WT5Xoqi70FFXRZ9/s1600/Peacock+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4xS6axpZg6YQczj5EuHq8nTFE1FY4DpVUXSh6-oELnbB4dacVaT2nhXkRPpYkyPoS-bmM6sIqr9Iedkopvf2SMRwJIVE9opHhnmBRFzHshi8fDWo-6UuF5LLC3hb-WT5Xoqi70FFXRZ9/s400/Peacock+close+up.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peacock Dresser Scarf</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a matching bird on the opposite end. I haven't gotten to it, yet, but I keep thinking I need to make two matching handkerchief envelopes. I will be sure to show you when I get them done.</span><br />
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-42108462055953658532013-07-20T00:14:00.000-06:002013-07-20T00:16:19.994-06:002012 also saw the completion of Redwork Class<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite group at <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">StitchMap</a> offered a Redwork Embroidery class. I learn so much from this group! Before it was over, I considered it a colorwork class. The class could also have been titled Beginning Surface Embroidery. I don't want to give away all the details, but I would like to show you a finished drawstring bag.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSqmT4TXmdd6vwmdmgFKFr_mfwmLaN-DJdsbGxY6fCoV693m3yzBzDnqZHMDNTBXeyhKcC2AlriVneSvN3mopCxCJRy_tWI8uQ4TKTMQxYszA-7JLjIyrIdiAD0KlxuVqBcYsLgll7MEl/s1600/RWC+L6+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSqmT4TXmdd6vwmdmgFKFr_mfwmLaN-DJdsbGxY6fCoV693m3yzBzDnqZHMDNTBXeyhKcC2AlriVneSvN3mopCxCJRy_tWI8uQ4TKTMQxYszA-7JLjIyrIdiAD0KlxuVqBcYsLgll7MEl/s320/RWC+L6+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colorwork Drawstring Bag</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love how it turned out. The coordinating fabric really made the embroidery pop.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bag was created to hold "pattern weights". These are little pillow like pieces that we made by embroidery simple motifs with the embroidery stitches we were learning. As soon as the class was finished, I put them to work. I needed to cut out a pattern 12 times. I don't know how to estimate how much time the weights saved me - but if I was doing it again, I would most certainly use them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing I really liked about the class was that it promoted a system for documenting fabric, threads and stitches. A really useful record of the materials and tools that we as embroiderers use, is a modern equivalent of a traditional sampler. I know it is a source that I go back to over and over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The class was a big hit!</span><br />
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-68223949825607147032013-07-19T23:55:00.000-06:002013-07-19T23:55:20.156-06:00So much time . . . <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was disappointed to see just how long it has been since I have updated my blog. Time has not stood still and I have a couple of projects that I would like to share. Let's start with my Magic Needlecase.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsk65uzhWCw255eMMU6k2gWPEdduGLSZTLE8QOmAgOA5-gY5N0ZD3JArFkZQQ7K03QaOr-FGlDsUH8nwlmOE3QoaXdXnmt89pYW7RwfBBAD-Etl45Q_B33kUXV9ifsIBqwxWlISpc0MCR/s1600/finished+folded+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsk65uzhWCw255eMMU6k2gWPEdduGLSZTLE8QOmAgOA5-gY5N0ZD3JArFkZQQ7K03QaOr-FGlDsUH8nwlmOE3QoaXdXnmt89pYW7RwfBBAD-Etl45Q_B33kUXV9ifsIBqwxWlISpc0MCR/s320/finished+folded+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Completed Magic Needlecase</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is it a magical Needlecase?, you ask.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobexhipbCQydkHgQqWrr4EonkU0nGYmB3gcSY4ubpzwuk5oNXLG3yp5rwC3LqEuylwVNAa5kTqW6_hpg9HWq8IJCEGIwNCPKk1xYiQNhOE6tuSz9XjQUh4E97ok3tF8jXcjQcPAY46vwX/s1600/Finished+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobexhipbCQydkHgQqWrr4EonkU0nGYmB3gcSY4ubpzwuk5oNXLG3yp5rwC3LqEuylwVNAa5kTqW6_hpg9HWq8IJCEGIwNCPKk1xYiQNhOE6tuSz9XjQUh4E97ok3tF8jXcjQcPAY46vwX/s400/Finished+inside.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inside the Magic Needlecase<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The felt squares start outside of the ribbon holders. When you open the case the felt "magically" is pulled under the ribbon. It was a lot of fun showing the ladies at work how the magic works.</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I used colors a little outside of my normal palette. The gold was fun and I decorated the outside with yo-yo flowers that were beaded on the outside edge.</span><br />
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-7176157975493552892013-02-03T03:41:00.003-07:002013-02-03T03:41:44.029-07:00What did we do with the circles?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We made Halloween faces. Lots of Halloween faces. Over 500 Halloween faces. </div>
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We had quite a group effort. Those who could crochet, crocheted. Those who could not crochet cut and pasted.</div>
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It was fun handing them out to the kids on Trunk or Treat and we were able to show a lot of people that there was a crochet group presence.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEPaxm2FvcxQB0I0p0pPp0NJioDB1yrW930FGedVGvEuS3T0G5Q8uWhtl4KKnxhkP5svFGtQt2pks1KwdQQxXhoIrn7XioblcrGGC_o5IFZoWPnUQpPmilzAsRmNihy01JQjoi9qCrBB8/s1600/10-27-12+072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEPaxm2FvcxQB0I0p0pPp0NJioDB1yrW930FGedVGvEuS3T0G5Q8uWhtl4KKnxhkP5svFGtQt2pks1KwdQQxXhoIrn7XioblcrGGC_o5IFZoWPnUQpPmilzAsRmNihy01JQjoi9qCrBB8/s320/10-27-12+072.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween faces 2012</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcd0L-UZjbkdcZCYu_acnu_dHIDGJnWOOvRTUa6SI_rGZR9XHfpe8Hn0CjKcV0H7HHUTrO3JEteMuhd0TGiiIsSf0TbClZRr6tuXH2y20ak12fII6a_d93d0sUkVzM1u3wJXzA77TdIVA/s1600/10-27-12+074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcd0L-UZjbkdcZCYu_acnu_dHIDGJnWOOvRTUa6SI_rGZR9XHfpe8Hn0CjKcV0H7HHUTrO3JEteMuhd0TGiiIsSf0TbClZRr6tuXH2y20ak12fII6a_d93d0sUkVzM1u3wJXzA77TdIVA/s320/10-27-12+074.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone for a black cat?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRzDdOaFItnPtnPA0RmqSVztWnzZI3rt6U2rOYZcEz-2E1YO7WQTdhjvEBHrm5Y055bWOd9QQvnKGUXzRkK4wAEbH5IradeIWPraUqEj38THBB1dzUPG8YwnpBJip7ggIzsMOyHHAaA3P/s1600/10-27-12+068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRzDdOaFItnPtnPA0RmqSVztWnzZI3rt6U2rOYZcEz-2E1YO7WQTdhjvEBHrm5Y055bWOd9QQvnKGUXzRkK4wAEbH5IradeIWPraUqEj38THBB1dzUPG8YwnpBJip7ggIzsMOyHHAaA3P/s320/10-27-12+068.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The spiders were a big hit</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPjTfAi8n3Dh2kPFZjme-NBb6pmEfk4f0TR4FWSD8RR60jeJ7qeSc4oLogDKnLJCuKfCQTgejT28q6zwstjtGrCdYQeuJwhFaLc1lsnQHEeqMR7GqhxbOhm4Y62YdnL4KPGh5zHvotGfZ/s1600/10-27-12+070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPjTfAi8n3Dh2kPFZjme-NBb6pmEfk4f0TR4FWSD8RR60jeJ7qeSc4oLogDKnLJCuKfCQTgejT28q6zwstjtGrCdYQeuJwhFaLc1lsnQHEeqMR7GqhxbOhm4Y62YdnL4KPGh5zHvotGfZ/s320/10-27-12+070.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a close up</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBHs7T03CF0vKCa2es5jD3XCBqtLE1FKMVWHMi3XKujhOpiNbjmZM6B9A4GWhcEiIGaE5TqpslbLjU9tfOXFL6MO8LvZRSAxz1PJ1d4_jfsOkY7TBvAYWeLtFP4y3Oco730IinrCljYr-/s1600/10-27-12+071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBHs7T03CF0vKCa2es5jD3XCBqtLE1FKMVWHMi3XKujhOpiNbjmZM6B9A4GWhcEiIGaE5TqpslbLjU9tfOXFL6MO8LvZRSAxz1PJ1d4_jfsOkY7TBvAYWeLtFP4y3Oco730IinrCljYr-/s320/10-27-12+071.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And another close up</span></td></tr>
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-75368713234959820812012-09-02T22:54:00.001-06:002012-09-29T22:08:29.230-06:00A Pattern for the Crocheted Circle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The circle. It is an important shape. Circles can be joined together to form a larger fabric like an afghan or table runner. It can be the base for a cyindrical item such as a hat. It can also stand alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have a project in mind for circles but it is going to take a lot of them. Some of my friends are going to help in compiling a stash of circles, so for those who are going to contribute I am providing a pattern for both single crochet and double crochet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have been sworn to secrecy so I can not reveal the project yet. Soon there will be lots of pictures. I can let it slip that it might just involve some witches and goblins and other nefarious characters - but don't tell them that I told you so! ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">First some abbreviations:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Abbreviations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">CH</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chain Stitch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">SL ST</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Slip Stitch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">SC</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Single Crochet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">HDC</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Half Double Crochet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">DC</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Double Crochet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Simple Circle in SC</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 1: CH 2. In second chain from hook, SC 6. Join with SL ST into first stitch. (<span style="color: red;">6 SC</span>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 2: CH 1 *2 SC in next stitch* repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (<span style="color: red;">12 SC</span>)<br />
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Round 3: CH 1 *1 SC in next stitch, 2 SC in next stitch, * repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (<span style="color: red;">18 SC</span>) <br /><br />Round 4: CH 1 *1 SC in next 2 stitches, 2 SC in next stitch * repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (<span style="color: red;">24 SC</span>)<br />
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Additional Rounds: For each additional round, add 1 more SC in next stitch between increases. Increases are where you are crocheting 2 SC in one stitch. For example, round 5 would have 3 SC between increases then round 6 would have 4 SC between increases and so on. <br /><br />Finish off and weave in ends.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Additional Rounds: For each additional round, add 1 more SC in next stitch between increases. Increases are where you are crocheting 2 SC in one stitch. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, round 5 would have 3 SC between increases then round 6 would have 4 SC between increases and so on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finish off and weave in ends.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Simple Circle in DC</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 1: CH 4 (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">counts as first DC)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. In second chain from hook, DC 11 Join with SL ST into first stitch. (</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12 SC</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 2: CH 3 (counts as first DC), 1 DC in the same stitch, *2 DC in next stitch* repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (<span style="color: red;">24 SC</span>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 3: CH 3 (counts as first DC), </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 DC in the same stitch,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 DC in next Stitch, *2 DC in next stitch, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 DC in next Stitch</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">36 SC</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span><br />
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<div>
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<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Round 4: CH 3 (counts as first DC), 1 DC in the same stitch, 1 DC in next two stitches * </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 DC in next stitch, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 DC in next two Stitches* </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">repeat from * all the way around Join with SL ST to the beginning stitch (</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">48 SC</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Additional Rounds: For each additional round, add 1 more DC in next stitch between increases. Increases are where you are crocheting 2 DC in one stitch. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, round 5 would have 3 DC between increases then round 6 would have 4 DC between increases and so on. </span></span><br />
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<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Finish off and weave in ends.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Theresa E.</em></span></div>
</div>
Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-84018457999915338992012-08-05T18:09:00.000-06:002012-08-05T18:55:03.581-06:00Crocheting for Charity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For just over a year, I have been the unofficial leader of a crochet group at my work. We do not have a lot of members but we have an open and welcoming policy. Right now we are not very structured, we don't even have a name, but we have plans to help the group grow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last year, I was approached by a Manager for ideas on how to generate a spirit of volunteerism. I am very involved in a Yahoo group, <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">Stitchmap</a> which is a mentor-apprentice group. The group's website, <a href="http://mentorandangels.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Keeping Needlearts Alive by Sharing Stitches</a> is named based on the philosophy of the group. We think that needlearts are important and that we must make efforts to introduce the arts to new people. By doing so, we invigorate the art and prevent the skills from dying out in our modern society. Well you can see that the two ideas merged for me and I suggested that we have some craft opportunity for charity.<br /><br />Last winter we had a huge success crocheting hats for both the homeless and for chemo patients at our local children's hospital. You can read more about it in my post <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2011/11/hats-hats-and-more-hats.html" target="_blank">Hats! Hats! and more Hats!</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For the first part of this year, we wanted to do something especially for women. There are so many charities, but I am especially pleased that we agreed to do a project for the <a href="http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=glLUJgP9H&b=67283" target="_blank">Women In Jeopardy</a> program that is hosted by <a href="http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=glLUJgP9H&b=67256" target="_blank">YWCA</a>. Simply put, this program reaches out to women and their children who are fleeing a violent enviroment. Much of the time, they are fleeing with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing. The program offers safety, shelter, and assistance with basic needs to these women. There are a number of contributors who concentrate on the needs of the children but sometimes the women are overlooked. It is the women that we focused on for the project.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiP3mu93zvuvMrcAQj7_3XhxwXxWxjQxqAmG1kozc8bwG3SCO5WyEpspTZ0yIrlrHad2ZoUoEIFwbpV1ttNF5RB2L91dKF-wRmKn1P4h1ik2ms0tamDb8uBRLU8V5_k7z9StPgUSoVOzu/s1600/baskets+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiP3mu93zvuvMrcAQj7_3XhxwXxWxjQxqAmG1kozc8bwG3SCO5WyEpspTZ0yIrlrHad2ZoUoEIFwbpV1ttNF5RB2L91dKF-wRmKn1P4h1ik2ms0tamDb8uBRLU8V5_k7z9StPgUSoVOzu/s320/baskets+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some baskets</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The more experienced crocheters in our group put together 77 crocheted baskets. Some of us used the <a href="http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-perl/itemdetail.pl?item=AA-871045" target="_blank">Bavarian Crochet</a> pattern. There is a U-tube video with instructions <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x745ZeNbVFM" target="_blank">here</a>. Others had a favorite pattern that they used. It was a great way to use of the scrap yarn saved from various other projects. We ended up with a very colorful selection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />Others crocheted washcloths. We were able to put two washcloths in each basket. It was very gratifying to see new crocheters complete their washcloths. They would then move to a new or different pattern and with each completed washcloth their skills and confidence increased. There are more free washcloth patterns than I have time to count. <a href="http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/index.php" target="_blank">Crochet Pattern Central</a> has a directory of patterns <a href="http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php" target="_blank">here</a>. <a href="http://allcrafts.net/" target="_blank">All Crafts.net</a> has a list of over <a href="http://allcrafts.net/crochet/dishcloths.htm" target="_blank">200 dishcloth patterns</a> on their web site. A search of your favorite search engine like <a href="https://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&tok=Pk-vMLzQFozoz8dyA8vq0A&cp=27&gs_id=32&xhr=t&q=crochet+dishcloth+pattern+free&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&biw=983&bih=490&oq=crochet+dishcloth+pattern+f&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=98e8107661d10a1" target="_blank">Google</a> or <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=free+crochet+washcloths+patterns&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC" target="_blank">Bing</a> will locate many more.<br /><br />Our crochet group contributed a lot of the items that filled the baskets. We were also able to involve others as contributors. The following list is what we were able to fill the baskets with:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVzHKQTSTuPST5IvQfHx6kBfU9OKuot4-Uh4U2ix7AVJ1ovztZuBRPvgL3shjpJumfr9HeXyMBv6r1ATtcYOu6gH1UYY76sDgEYOEATjGbYx4_nhq6Ggh4cqjkxetSG4NmdJD3HnGxN43/s1600/all+of+them+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVzHKQTSTuPST5IvQfHx6kBfU9OKuot4-Uh4U2ix7AVJ1ovztZuBRPvgL3shjpJumfr9HeXyMBv6r1ATtcYOu6gH1UYY76sDgEYOEATjGbYx4_nhq6Ggh4cqjkxetSG4NmdJD3HnGxN43/s320/all+of+them+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The collection of baskets.</td></tr>
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Shampoo</div>
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Conditioner</div>
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Body Soap</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Deoderant</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Lotion</div>
Toothbrush<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Toothpaste</div>
Floss<br />
Hair brush and Comb<br />
Inspirational Key Ring</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The key rings were the idea of a 7-year old granddaughter of one of our members. She asked her grandmother what abuse was. Her grandmother simply explained that the women and children were leaving a place where they were hurt. The granddaughter insisted on helping. She told her grandmother that she didn't know how to crochet but she could make key rings. She then enlisted her mother's help. Her mother would lay out the alphabet beads into words of inspiration that her daughter had chose and the daughter then beaded and attached to a key ring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The words were:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">BRAVE, <span style="font-family: Arial;">COURAGE, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">FAITH, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">HOPE, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">STRENGTH</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPrSVULJg49XrUDQjRluUP_qtfhoOeUmpMpFXgajEdA0fGXA_sdwELyy9DyiX6KsC5fXyjgpuD8Xn1OxBL1l6ki1z0c_-KDKb8RtI52ZtQPBcMWBCeGJvD-86wuRP6PcXuRDuN_-l2KjmB/s1600/all+of+them+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPrSVULJg49XrUDQjRluUP_qtfhoOeUmpMpFXgajEdA0fGXA_sdwELyy9DyiX6KsC5fXyjgpuD8Xn1OxBL1l6ki1z0c_-KDKb8RtI52ZtQPBcMWBCeGJvD-86wuRP6PcXuRDuN_-l2KjmB/s400/all+of+them+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another look at the baskets</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all those who worked on or contributed to the project - Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Theresa E</em></span>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-10163000660640960702012-07-14T21:11:00.003-06:002012-07-14T21:17:42.780-06:00CQJP 2012 May Block<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have finished the work on my May CQJP 2012 project. I am pretty happy with it. I think that filling it up more and making bigger stitches has made a difference.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0EYL9dud-m2t89tXmSKwAi7aZraBHstYIiwWDf3AMs_QllKbGfXlx3F_BmVpR9xMwjPN7xloEww7C566D_z_lCn-m4i6s_K1B6EwL3UeYjYySRJR_5whgJWh52pjDKD5XU4PoxBSWh6J/s1600/may+block+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0EYL9dud-m2t89tXmSKwAi7aZraBHstYIiwWDf3AMs_QllKbGfXlx3F_BmVpR9xMwjPN7xloEww7C566D_z_lCn-m4i6s_K1B6EwL3UeYjYySRJR_5whgJWh52pjDKD5XU4PoxBSWh6J/s320/may+block+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May CQJP 2012 Block</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tried to do a version of a crinoline lady. I tried to fill in the background with some flower stalks made of <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/buttonhole-wheels-video-tutorial.html" target="_blank">buttonhole wheels</a>. There are flower bushes made of <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/07/embroidery-video-tutorial-cable-chain.html" target="_blank">French Knots</a> and French knots were also used to embellish the <a href="http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/fly.html" target="_blank">Fly stitch</a> seam treatment on the left. You can also see a closeup of one of the butterflies that I have mentioned in previous posts. The butterfly pattern can be found <a href="http://blog.mariesmaking.com/2011/05/crochet-butterfly-pattern.html" target="_blank">here</a>. You can find other butterfly patterns on my <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/p/crochet_03.html" target="_blank">Crochet</a> page. Here is a close up of that section:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tq3R5oAjtfyXyME4Ft4HqgP-j6gw57jlPo0xT01J8Fa4Wuc0QlQ1L6OZYsdYChp7s6CKXhRGMPbkFVp2vzkixEenylHmd3idowmkhb3vZjwvdOFYA32tlMFeMqcJq43s0SrbqoxPHQVd/s1600/may+block+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tq3R5oAjtfyXyME4Ft4HqgP-j6gw57jlPo0xT01J8Fa4Wuc0QlQ1L6OZYsdYChp7s6CKXhRGMPbkFVp2vzkixEenylHmd3idowmkhb3vZjwvdOFYA32tlMFeMqcJq43s0SrbqoxPHQVd/s320/may+block+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Close up of CQJP2012 May Block</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get so much inspiration from the web. In the picture below you can see the bottom lace piece was embellished with a <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/07/embroidery-video-tutorial-cable-chain.html" target="_blank">Cable Chain</a> stitch. This was the stitch for <a href="http://pintangle.com/2012/06/25/tast-week-25-highlights/" target="_blank">week 25</a> of the <a href="http://pintangle.com/tast-faq/" target="_blank">TAST</a> on <a href="http://pintangle.com/" target="_blank">Pin Tangle</a> The pink flowers running vertical along the right side of the crinoline lady were inspired by an <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/07/granitos-in-embroidery-video-tutorial.html" target="_blank">article about Granitos</a> on <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/" target="_blank">NeedlenThread</a>. You may like to know, that Mary Corbett has created an alphabetical listing of her stitch videos which she talks about in <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/07/embroidery-stitches-by-name-from-a-z.html" target="_blank">this post</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2nd View of CQJP 2012 May block</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have really enjoyed this block. Now I am going to get my June block started.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Theresa E</span></div>
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Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-29456532636995880692012-07-10T19:38:00.000-06:002012-07-10T21:20:22.346-06:00And One Thing Leads to Another<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturdays are pretty hectic at my house. After working all week, it is time to do the house work. House work, laundry, and grocery shopping are priorities, but my family usually likes a good breakfast and then I also get food prepared for the week. I usually manage to get it done in time to do my weekly shopping either at a thrift store or dare I say it, a craft store. I consider it my play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This one particular Saturday, I dragged my daughter kicking and screaming to Joanne's with me. I needed some DMC #5 floss and I wanted to pick up a Dresden Plate Template. While we were there, Assa found some really cute cupcake fabric. Mom, can I get some, she asked? I don't normally indulge her because she never finishes a project that she starts. I usually try to interest her with supplies on hand, but she was patiently walking around the store with me while I took in my dose of color and possibilities so I asked her what she would do with it if I bought it for her. She didn't know, but she really wanted it. I bought 2 yards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It sat around for a while, and I decided that I was not going to let it go to waste. I have been perusing sewing blogs and <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> pictures and I had come accross a pattern for <a href="http://www.bclef.com/2011/06/fastest-easiest-pillowcase-ever.html" target="_blank"><em>fastest easiest pillow case ever</em></a><em>. </em>I pulled out my sewing machine and gave it a whirl. Here is a picture of the finished pillow cases:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhJ3BfYoCgp4yZiHdiI-41XyE6V01iF7tYziFSHICP_uxpeCGxElO53KrbQovjm2H07N72Brm2cc-h4YWzB1u0RFZfbTC0E5eebrmRZ8SjZ1_Ar3iOqv79-FIRS66mGv4R2biF2WF7YHG/s1600/Assa's+Pillow+case+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhJ3BfYoCgp4yZiHdiI-41XyE6V01iF7tYziFSHICP_uxpeCGxElO53KrbQovjm2H07N72Brm2cc-h4YWzB1u0RFZfbTC0E5eebrmRZ8SjZ1_Ar3iOqv79-FIRS66mGv4R2biF2WF7YHG/s320/Assa's+Pillow+case+2.jpg" title="Assa's Cupcake Pillowcase" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Assa's Cupcake Pillow Cases</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was working on my box which you saw in the last post, I thought I bet I have enough of that fabric left to make her a box too. I did. It was a lot of fun being able to give her a box like mine with her fabric choice. Here is a picture of her box.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Assa's Completed Box</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inside Assa's Box</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was able to finish a lamp shade for her too.</span></div>
</div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-19706685341307914212012-07-10T16:36:00.000-06:002012-07-10T16:54:35.265-06:00Box Finished<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I participated in a Box Finishing class that was hosted by Meari of </span><a href="http://meari.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meari's Musing</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. It is a really fun blog where Meari shares her life and love of Cross Stitching with her readers. She has a regular Marvelous Monday Update and there is always something going on. On one of her <a href="http://meari.blogspot.com/2012/07/relief-finally.html" target="_blank">recent posts</a> she won a DMC contest and she shows what was sent to her as a prize. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The class was a lot of fun and I am sure box tops will become one of my favorite finishes. There's a lot to be said about a finish that doesn't require sewing! (Said from a tentative-at- best sewer). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We needed a box and a finished piece. Most of my classmates used a cross stitch piece as Meari is a moderator from the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/" target="_blank">Yahoo group</a>, <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/i-love-cross-stitch/" target="_blank">I Love Cross Stitch</a>. It is a fairly large busy group where everyone can share their love of Cross Stitch and develop online friendships. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a little warning before the class began and even though I didn't have a finished piece, I did have a cross stitch that I have been wanting to do. I also thought that a box top would be a very good finish. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The design is titled Dogwood Fan. It was designed by Ursula Michael and the pattern was published in Stitcher's World March 2000 magazine. The design size is 5.78 x 5.78 inches. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmZdOxBV13rHyILfjgjDOcaAsxn1lkyrweeWPbXUM4pByTPjQWXHKBib_LIqmxjBt5yDIctVBJb8STJfgsqoVrNqSWBHsWhv8SrmPxG0m4h3M180fxLitaf0_t75PxvfS8cj0fpbpb_ws/s1600/Box+Crossstitch+Piece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmZdOxBV13rHyILfjgjDOcaAsxn1lkyrweeWPbXUM4pByTPjQWXHKBib_LIqmxjBt5yDIctVBJb8STJfgsqoVrNqSWBHsWhv8SrmPxG0m4h3M180fxLitaf0_t75PxvfS8cj0fpbpb_ws/s320/Box+Crossstitch+Piece.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Photo of Dogwood Fan in March 2000 Stitcher's World Magazine</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My box was purchased from <a href="http://www.joann.com/search/_unfinished_wood_box/?page=1" target="_blank">Joanne's</a>. It is 7.25 x 7.25 inches and the bottom depth is 2 inches. The top is inset by .25 inch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I got busy stitching. I made it just in time for the deadline of when a photo of the finished piece needed to be posted. Here it is, still in the hoop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meari provided clear and easy directions to stain or paint the box. I chose to paint mine white. I am going for a blue and white palette in my bedroom. I also found some fabric to use in lining the box. It was easy to do just by following the instructions. Here is a picture of my inside box with the lining and the trim done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is a picture of the finished box.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the box. It is placed on my night stand and it holds my diabetic supplies. When the class was finished Meari had a little contest to see which three boxes would get the most votes for most liked box. I had some pretty stiff competition but I placed in the top 3 and won! I was as proud as a peacock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Previously, I had participated in 2 of her other classes. The first was for a Flat Fold Finish. </span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4M8NhLb-_B-i2h4ZbkF3EiTgvl2EwYuDsUkx15DIloMDContuoluNaMBjZN_hNe93dCELMpN-VTH2y_vrZLwi0d6yj7w-nZVbm9f-SB9549nhDMclFq6YED57GkJWXBF_jy6zG6wCkXO1/s1600/S6300683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4M8NhLb-_B-i2h4ZbkF3EiTgvl2EwYuDsUkx15DIloMDContuoluNaMBjZN_hNe93dCELMpN-VTH2y_vrZLwi0d6yj7w-nZVbm9f-SB9549nhDMclFq6YED57GkJWXBF_jy6zG6wCkXO1/s200/S6300683.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The second was a Mail Art Finish.</span></div>
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Both of these classes are available as tutorials on <a href="http://meari.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meari's Musing</span></a>. I'm pretty sure the box finishing tutorial will make it's way there too.</div>
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<em>Theresa E</em></div>
</span></div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-72372706412435765942012-07-10T15:01:00.001-06:002012-07-10T15:47:01.489-06:00April CQ Block 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am going to get my blog posts caught up! I will! I will! I will! With that being said, here is a picture of my April 2012 CQJP.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RfMFscqndg1VWCoKNkHluBA_09x_Oog7Z9qeb9I28kxsUr-doZATCeJf4_jJQFR5A6YG_OLbmtJRrHZ_-3f1h4zmE_6pNGMaIO2kzYILVYUXKaINtQBB6eIZCfJqpj0KX2ZBLpOnUkDn/s1600/april+block+2012+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RfMFscqndg1VWCoKNkHluBA_09x_Oog7Z9qeb9I28kxsUr-doZATCeJf4_jJQFR5A6YG_OLbmtJRrHZ_-3f1h4zmE_6pNGMaIO2kzYILVYUXKaINtQBB6eIZCfJqpj0KX2ZBLpOnUkDn/s400/april+block+2012+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 2012 CQJP</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The white flowers at the bottom right were crocheted with #3 cotton. The birdcage motif was really fun to embroider. I found the image on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> which is a very addictive site. If you would like to see some of the images I have acquired, you will find a link in the right side bar. <br /><br />This block also looks a little bare. It will benefit by adding some of the crocheted butterflies. The butterflies are not ready to show yet, but I can tease you by saying that they are crocheted with variegated size 20 thread.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Looking at the block, I think that I need to make my stitches bigger. Especially since I am using DMC 5 thread.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also, I see some patterns that are emerging. I seem to want white in the blue outside corners. This project is to make 2 pillow shams using 6 blocks each. There is a least one piece of white lace in each block and I have one embroidered motif in each block. I have them hanging on my project wall and they do seem to belong together. I am looking forward to see how they finish up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>Theresa E</em></span></div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-59129620622774315232012-07-08T22:01:00.001-06:002012-07-08T22:01:41.992-06:00March 2012 CQ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know. I am getting to this post a little late and it has been a while since I published a new post. Sometimes, I just don't know where time goes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is a picture of my March 2012 CQ project block.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyk8DNsX8rfQttS7iLhyphenhyphenBGZsWc8Zt3SitbJQP76ruEqBMZ25guvNp3daq4vIuPuaEFYGR4CdyN1f2kHDw9rvDSK2AnpYOY251BMfuR3FmAdo7RASP3PPavK7U0wjfyDEEZ9hsPjpkUzbA/s1600/march+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyk8DNsX8rfQttS7iLhyphenhyphenBGZsWc8Zt3SitbJQP76ruEqBMZ25guvNp3daq4vIuPuaEFYGR4CdyN1f2kHDw9rvDSK2AnpYOY251BMfuR3FmAdo7RASP3PPavK7U0wjfyDEEZ9hsPjpkUzbA/s400/march+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March 2012 CQ Project</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It looks a little bare in the picture above, but I am crocheting some small butterflies to add to all of the blocks. I mean to use the butterflies as a unifying concept. You'll see what I mean later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For me the best part of this block is the basket of flowers. You should have seem me on breaks at work cutting out all those little white flowers from a salvaged piece of lace. I do think they work rather well with the <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_5977363_make-silk-spider-roses.html" target="_blank">organza spider web roses</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The fan in the upper right hand corner was crocheted from size 20 crochet thread. Size 10 is more common but I wanted a daintier feel and also I didn't want the finished fan to be too large. It is really funny that the older I get, the worse my vision, the smaller the thread I want to use. The fan is decorated with bullion roses. Mary Corbett of <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/" target="_blank">Needle n Thread</a> has a nice <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/05/bullion-rose-bud-video-tutorial.html" target="_blank">video tutorial for the bullion rose</a>. The seam treatment is done by <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/02/stitch-play-whipping-two-rows-of-chain-stitch.html" target="_blank">whipping two rows of chain stitch</a> which was featured in her series <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2012/05/stitch-play-index.html" target="_blank">Stitch Play</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What isn't working so well is the V-stich hearts and what is supposed to be the overcast stitch on the lace. The hearts do not make a statement and the overcast stitch looks like a poor example of crochet. The white valley and peaks created with french knots and the pink straight stitch are bold enough in the right hand corner but would have looked better if more care had been taken with getting the original line better defined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I still struggle with marking my fabric. I have been using a variety of techniques such as tissue paper, waste canvas, marking pen and patterns. Different needs work better with different methods. I should also mention that I have created a <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/11/transferring-hand-embroidery-design.html" target="_blank">prick and pounce kit </a> but I haven't yet made any patterns to use with it. One thing that concerns me is that the pattern needs to have enough space around it that loose powders are prevented from spilling onto the fabric. I do have a couple of pages ready to go to the printer for printing on vellum. I'll let you know how well it works for me.</span></div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-73831821138230976202012-07-08T21:10:00.000-06:002012-07-08T22:04:45.108-06:00Chikan Embroidery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In March, I participated in a SAL (Stitch Along) with other members of <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">MAP</a> in a LAB project. As a group we took the tutorial from <a href="http://artisticfingers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Artistic Fingers</a> for a <a href="http://artisticfingers.blogspot.com/2012/02/sal-starts-on.html" target="_blank">Chikan Embroidery project</a>. I knew nothing about traditional Indian embroidery, other than I follow a couple of blogs which discuss their embroidery for Saris and other traditional uses. One of my favorite is <a href="http://sadalas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Hand Embroidery from Sandalas</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Chikan Embroidery is a combination of shadow work, pulled thread and surface embroidery. Armed with some Batiste fabric and regular stranded embroidery floss, we went to work. First we transferred the design onto our fabric and then we started with the shadow work part. The design was a paisley which is a traditional design of Chikan Embroidery. We learned the stitch named Double Back Stitch. It was a lot like working Herringbone from the back. All of the stitches we used have names from their traditional roots. It was fun to see how they were alike and how they differed from the stitches that we already knew.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wanted to do two of the design. I was thinking ahead to how the pieces would be finished and thought I would like to make a pair of pillows for my daughters room.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZcGLNr-zchW5CnVeQILYBeee3d8xRXjpTZ3ENS0sSbyhxIojPqqJqfr__I7Lg0KqGuCB2aL2sn59uDFkJ4bbkXm_Lus3p_AmLm9qKpi8_xMpBagimJcKqKSne3TxFRxSJj2Yz5Lmxu7z/s1600/pink+chikan+fully+stitched+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZcGLNr-zchW5CnVeQILYBeee3d8xRXjpTZ3ENS0sSbyhxIojPqqJqfr__I7Lg0KqGuCB2aL2sn59uDFkJ4bbkXm_Lus3p_AmLm9qKpi8_xMpBagimJcKqKSne3TxFRxSJj2Yz5Lmxu7z/s200/pink+chikan+fully+stitched+.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pink Paisley 04/2012</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZbyLiUW2Mq41r11UHv7QThYVEftt_dwGCiYlMW_aHJv2riylUFcCQ8uD6x8FNrc6rG8ty_rOql97SCYPdOBJGDXflZCv9F9N07Z_dUBXlfSU2qbM30KcCXDlKGOqtfpaRkabBEFN7RBA/s1600/blue+chikan+fully+stitched+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZbyLiUW2Mq41r11UHv7QThYVEftt_dwGCiYlMW_aHJv2riylUFcCQ8uD6x8FNrc6rG8ty_rOql97SCYPdOBJGDXflZCv9F9N07Z_dUBXlfSU2qbM30KcCXDlKGOqtfpaRkabBEFN7RBA/s200/blue+chikan+fully+stitched+.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blue Paisley 04/2012</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once they were embroidered, the pieces kind of sat in my sewing basket. I'm not really a sewer, but I am trying to learn. One weekend, I framed them with some matching material, however, I miscalculated the size and they would not work for the pillows I had in mind so I ripped out the sewing and they went back in the sewing basket. This last weekend, I finally pulled them back out determined to have them finished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I did struggle. I didn't have the original embroideries cut, squared and uniform. I also was not working from a pattern. The blue pieced together fairly well but the pink fabric was not opaque enough. I ended up doubling the pink panels. I was covering a printed set of pillows which I didn't want to show through. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I sewed the extending panels on, the seams were puckered a little. I didn't want to pick them out for a second time because I was worried that picking out sewn fabric multiple times would sabotage the embroidery. I opted for a way of covering the seams. Each project teaches me a little more. On this project, I learned alot about <a href="http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4302/understanding-thread-tension" target="_blank">thread tension</a> on the sewing machine. I was able to fix the tension problem towards the end by <a href="http://www.coolcottons.biz/blog/2011/8/4/a-tensioning-trick-you-may-not-know.html" target="_blank">turning the bobbin case thread tension a 1/4 turn.</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o-1nj7F1YuzUdEn6xeb6_hRfzmvusmaI5-aUvN3w6cveSJyarbMh21l1lKyJIG7CbGkFtzx-FXR7b65TAZag8CykALhYkkJ_BXEO4brP-eeDISXEFkERjL1VcuBQggQKAnbGJeMQsLrI/s1600/PAISLEYS+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-o-1nj7F1YuzUdEn6xeb6_hRfzmvusmaI5-aUvN3w6cveSJyarbMh21l1lKyJIG7CbGkFtzx-FXR7b65TAZag8CykALhYkkJ_BXEO4brP-eeDISXEFkERjL1VcuBQggQKAnbGJeMQsLrI/s320/PAISLEYS+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finished Paisley Pillows 04/2012</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished pillow slips are also just a little snug on the pillows, but they work and my daughter loves them. The backs of the pillows are the same fabric as the ruffled border on the front. Here you see them being modelled on my own bed. The blue one matched rather nicely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh BTW - do you see the lovely blue chenille bedspread. This was a recent find at a thrift store. I walked out of the store having spent $8. My bed is a full size and the bedspread turned out to be a king size. I can testify to how quickly you can get something done if you want to because I had that bedspread washed, cut down to a generous size and hand hemmed by 9 am the next morning. This weekend, I was able to sew two matching pillow shams from the excess fabric. I am really enjoying the bed spread.</span></div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-38864028085538529512012-03-11T23:40:00.004-06:002012-03-11T23:42:18.075-06:00CQJP 2012 February Block<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have finished</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> my February block for the <a href="http://www.cqjp2012.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">CQJP 2012</a>. It is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. With each decision I make some new thing emerges. I'm not experienced enough with CQ to have an idea before hand of what the block is going to be. There may come a time when I plan (map, diagram) the block beforehand but for now,it is really fun, exciting and a little magical.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWUxfVCIb3gZ4N6D2v3lxqWUnJeVP2-Pt-slJzgpPx2RrfrgMziljXMgK4iD3NkG-T-ktR5eK9BJR0uxJtLX5dA8I3b8vm6XszW8PWR4nLx8GZttUYCKIr62cEwSMgyc6iwjVaUL_jSQg/s1600/Feb+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWUxfVCIb3gZ4N6D2v3lxqWUnJeVP2-Pt-slJzgpPx2RrfrgMziljXMgK4iD3NkG-T-ktR5eK9BJR0uxJtLX5dA8I3b8vm6XszW8PWR4nLx8GZttUYCKIr62cEwSMgyc6iwjVaUL_jSQg/s400/Feb+005.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February CQJP 2012 Block</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part of the magic, for me, is that it all depends on what is in your stash and what jumps to the hand to be used. Accumulating stash is one of my favorite activities. Money is not plentiful enough for me to buy for each project as it occurs. I am not usually able to make large investments in stash. Rather, I take advantage of thrift stores, garage sales, and repurposing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I talked about how the fabric for each of these blocks is from table linens collected. The lace is all found treasure. The large blue flowers are from a lei that was 29 cents. Even the yo-yos were bought at a thift store. There was a small bag of them for $1.99. The small butterfly was crocheted from a blue and white varigated 30 weight ball of thread from the thrift store. I also have a pink and white, yellow and white, and green and white that I have a feeling you will be seeing more of. I will probably add another 2 or three butterflies to this block as I get them crocheted. The heart pattern was found on the internet for free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I will concede that the threads were bought new, but they were not bought for this project. There was a sale and I stocked up on stash. I have limited supplies that are hard from this project, but the buttons on my ort bags were collected from the thrift store and so was the sewing thread. Last time I went to Joann's I bought a spool of all purpose white sewing thread for $2.49. How I appreciate the gallon zip log bag of Gutermann thread for $5.00 that I found last year. Even the decorator fabric used on my turtle was from the thrift store.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well I am posting this at the end of the first full day of Daylight Savings time. I better close up shop and go to bed. It a work day tomorrow.</span>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-67637561369769116802012-03-11T23:01:00.000-06:002012-03-11T23:01:01.274-06:00Turtle the Pin Cushion<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those that follow me know that I belong to a group named <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">Stitchmap.</a> Our February challenge was to make a Turtle Pin Cushion. The <a href="http://www.shawkl.com/search/label/Turtle" target="_blank">tutorial</a> was provided by Kathy Shaw of <a href="http://shawkl.com/" target="_blank">Shawkl.com</a>. It was an adorable project and I had a lot of fun making it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGDp-ArmCjIi3Nw6VW7uQIvw8ktXxVEMtBye6KudM097En2O_bDRRguPvCfzvzX0oMtnFx_ourFzuMqA_jcPkzPFQRTJZb96gRUKYo-Evo39p2sPtvyF-9ILHgNQz-JTlLx5xUq922xKX/s1600/Turtle+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGDp-ArmCjIi3Nw6VW7uQIvw8ktXxVEMtBye6KudM097En2O_bDRRguPvCfzvzX0oMtnFx_ourFzuMqA_jcPkzPFQRTJZb96gRUKYo-Evo39p2sPtvyF-9ILHgNQz-JTlLx5xUq922xKX/s320/Turtle+001.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turtle the Pin Cushion</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have been sewing quite a bit lately. I did this Turtle, my <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/purple-traveling-bag.html" target="_blank">Purple Travelling Bag</a> with it's sewing accessories, some <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/purple-traveling-bag.html" target="_blank">Ort Bags</a>, <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2011/07/business-card-holder.html" target="_blank">Business Card Holders</a>, pieced my <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-new-year-cq2012-i-am-ready.html" target="_blank">12 blocks for the CQJP2012 project</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Somewhere in all of this, I have been making friends with my Sewing Machine. I have a simple Brother model. I am not skilled enough to warrant any bells and whistles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These days, I barely have to think to wind a bobbin or replace the bobbin. I can change thread and rethread the needle easily. I am getting the hang of curved seams. I can eyeball when it is the correct time to rotate the fabric for a direction change. I am confident when I change a straight stitch to a zig zag stitch and back again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The turtle presented a challenge in getting the seams correct on the small curving seams of the appendages. Someone even told me that know one would know if I sewed those seams by hand. I persevered but next time I might just give that a go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The ort bags gave me a little trouble on the points of the triangle. I needed to be able to push the fabric through the feeders at the place where there was not much fabric for the feeders to grab. I know there is a tool for this. I used my scissors because they were at hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are two other issues. First, I have not yet changed the needle. I keep thinking that I should, but so far, there hasn't been any problems with the needle that is in it. Second, I should have changed the presser foot for the top stitching on the ort bags but I wasn't sure which foot it was. But the point is - I am using my machine and I am learning how to use it.</span>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-80368009357133542242012-03-11T21:35:00.001-06:002012-03-11T21:35:41.654-06:00My New Ort Bags<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been using my new <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/purple-traveling-bag.html" target="_blank">Purple Travelling Bag</a> of sewing accessories to take a project with me when I leave the house. I always have something that I can do with those random moments when I am waiting or between tasks. I was able to find a tool set to add to my kit that seemed to be just the right thing. The <a href="http://www.joann.com/search/_sewing_tools/price_$10-$25/brand_donna_dewberry/" target="_blank">Donna Dewberry 12 in 1 tool</a> even came in purple. It seemed that it was "meant" to be (or at least I could justify the purchase).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But taking this kit with me to work and waiting rooms, I knew I was still missing a vital component. What could I be missing, you ask? The answer is an ort bag. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">What is an ort, you ask? Meriam-Webster defines <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ort" target="_blank">ort</a> as a noun that came into being around 1500 A.D. that means "scrap" but I personally like the definition that can be found at <a href="http://needleorts.com/" target="_blank">Needle Orts.com</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Everywhere I go I am looking for a place to put the little left over pieces of thread. I haven't been keeping them but rather just throwing them in the trash. I have changed my mind, however, because in addition to the tidiness issue there have been several times when I needed a piece of thread for just a stitch or two. I've also heard suggestions that the thread pieces can be used to create new fabric, fill a clear ornament and be used in tassels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What to do with these thread pieces is not a new problem. Needleworkers have always faced this dilemna and there have been some creative solutions proposed. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mary Corbet at <a href="http://dev.needlenthread.com/" target="_blank">Needle'nThread</a> has a cute <a href="http://dev.needlenthread.com/2008/12/revisiting-orts-or-cleaning-up-heap-o.html" target="_blank">blog entry</a> about those pesky pieces that I enjoyed reading. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I was able to find a popular style of ort bag from <a href="http://the-scarlet-thread.blogspot.com/2010/01/ort-containers-ort-port-or-ort-bag.html" target="_blank">The Scarlet Thread</a>, and <a href="http://www.merrimentdesign.com/pincushion-thread-catcher.php" target="_blank">Merriment Design</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I also found some for sale at and <a href="http://www.embroidery.com/product.asp?sid=&EFID=1123&productsetid=115011&shopstop=1">Embroidery.com</a> and at <a href="http://www.nordicneedle.com/6419.html" target="_blank">Nordic Needle</a> available for around $20. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQAcm3M_nAP0GBTEw9fcZw7hMdRNJxY-vh2wOJnViUXH5ySufA6qKgxWVWqdM58p6XdvRqJiEZbD4DvCy_0wINdrxLWTiLwNLiqvQXVcCq3GqG7yQxx-YJ-JMwoc7JYoJvGi55siPHvnj/s1600/Ort+Bag+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQAcm3M_nAP0GBTEw9fcZw7hMdRNJxY-vh2wOJnViUXH5ySufA6qKgxWVWqdM58p6XdvRqJiEZbD4DvCy_0wINdrxLWTiLwNLiqvQXVcCq3GqG7yQxx-YJ-JMwoc7JYoJvGi55siPHvnj/s320/Ort+Bag+1.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Triangular Thread Catcher or Ort Bag</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But it was the <a href="http://needlingthings.blogspot.com/2011/08/triangular-ort-thread-catcher.html" target="_blank">Triangular Thread Catcher</a> at <a href="http://needlingthings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Needling Things</a> that I knew I had to make. I saw a picture of this on the Internet and it was my friends at <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">StitchMap</a> that located the tutorial. I made two of them this afternoon. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I think that this may have been one of the easier sewing projects I have done. It was also very appealing in that I could make one to match my new <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/purple-traveling-bag.html" target="_blank">Purple Travelling Bag</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to laugh. I am remembering a discussion on a newsgroup a few years ago where the name for these left over pieces of thread was a topic for debate. We had our "Ort" camp but there were also some "Snippet" followers. Humorously we agreed, that at least for a little while and among ourselves, they would be known as Snorts!</span>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-42737275662048528222012-02-26T22:09:00.000-07:002012-02-26T22:09:00.619-07:00Purple Traveling Bag<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z3s9HTg48Ewk5HVolGR9sPVHkLv-V3WYLJ2HDgvmcSede7na9MHsNaIvBMzIGUm04k9TETSFuvApanS2ClwbT9wYMDXP2ztxJJ5AX1PREOwrvedRoFDG2X2R_axuyUAbifqUGiqYC71W/s1600/Complete+Jan+Challenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z3s9HTg48Ewk5HVolGR9sPVHkLv-V3WYLJ2HDgvmcSede7na9MHsNaIvBMzIGUm04k9TETSFuvApanS2ClwbT9wYMDXP2ztxJJ5AX1PREOwrvedRoFDG2X2R_axuyUAbifqUGiqYC71W/s200/Complete+Jan+Challenge.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Purple Travel Bag</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My daughter says she is worried about me. She doesn't understand the appeal of having matched sewing accessories. She has no idea just how proud I am proud to display my matching sewing accessories in my purple travelling bag.<br /><br />In fact, before I started updating my blog, I made sure that my current project is in that bag. I am taking it to work tomorrow to finish once last seam during lunch. I can hardly wait for my co-workers, who will stop and want to know what everything is, to see my recently finished bag.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgjsPZNd9oJPpn2atQPGOnIeb4IaYyPq_VHUcXAFz1pQ5iOBHtdn5NsXxc4gTb9YAPB96KySoOmswkuxhmy7xwLgERRrHX0BPidd1eeLtkHJVQIuokjKmnSOWb8hcmpB9-7iRjugyiECB/s1600/Scissors+fob+and+case+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgjsPZNd9oJPpn2atQPGOnIeb4IaYyPq_VHUcXAFz1pQ5iOBHtdn5NsXxc4gTb9YAPB96KySoOmswkuxhmy7xwLgERRrHX0BPidd1eeLtkHJVQIuokjKmnSOWb8hcmpB9-7iRjugyiECB/s200/Scissors+fob+and+case+2.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scissor's Keep</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided to branch out in my choice of color for this project. I used purple. When I went to <a href="http://www.joann.com/" target="_blank">Joann's</a> last week, I found a matching purple thimble. I also found matching purple embroidery hoops. I even have purple straight pins. I had to settle for a blue seam ripper but I have my eye out for a purple one!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMEjizHMwoCLi3WRL9EN_CFPD7zQrFWls8ns80Mb8knMujQLP74QiOA-OEDnYV-bFME2XC6aVfmvQvVMv70oetntlL4eRmLa2MFgEc52q3E_WIx-w6KyHCQWAXFriYJ7vctM0gpkwvNj1/s1600/Outside+Pin+rollup+and+Needlebook+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMEjizHMwoCLi3WRL9EN_CFPD7zQrFWls8ns80Mb8knMujQLP74QiOA-OEDnYV-bFME2XC6aVfmvQvVMv70oetntlL4eRmLa2MFgEc52q3E_WIx-w6KyHCQWAXFriYJ7vctM0gpkwvNj1/s200/Outside+Pin+rollup+and+Needlebook+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pin Rollup and Needlebook</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The project called for some embroidery. I found the motifs on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/hooplove/pool/" target="_blank">Hoop Love</a>. We are so privileged to live in a time when we can utilize resources on the web. I used the tissue transfer method. See this blog post from Mary Corbet on <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2010/09/beginning-embroidery-design-transfer.html" target="_blank">Design Transfer.</a> It was a good opportunity to try out my light box. It worked very well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was another project that was sponsored by <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">StitchMAP (Stitch Mentor Apprentice Program)</a>. I have learned so much from them. I know that they all appreciate how much fun it will be to show off my new tools at work. My daughter just asked if I was going to "inflict" my crafting on my co-workers while she is rolling her eyes!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GxogfJz9y92e52tWlU1SY6Ijof0QuHQ5VtLPHF5fzo8YKo44aQvaXr23PWXZjaj60AuF0WLiIrm-8jz9KWR4Uaex5RtSbHjGw7EwbSb2iwHrVCJXCrODE-qNyCbQ4aMaeNOLICtJOBje/s1600/Goody+Bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GxogfJz9y92e52tWlU1SY6Ijof0QuHQ5VtLPHF5fzo8YKo44aQvaXr23PWXZjaj60AuF0WLiIrm-8jz9KWR4Uaex5RtSbHjGw7EwbSb2iwHrVCJXCrODE-qNyCbQ4aMaeNOLICtJOBje/s320/Goody+Bag.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Travel Bag</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899130905011512299.post-12621596087587057602012-02-05T16:54:00.000-07:002012-02-05T17:13:50.670-07:00CQ2012 January's Block<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so excited. I feel like a kid who has just learned to ride a bicycle with no hands! Can you hear me saying, "look at me"? What is all the fuss about? I finished my first block for the <a href="http://www.cqjp2012.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">CQJP2012 project.</a> A thank you to <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchmap/" target="_blank">StitchMAP</a> for the CQ class that made it possible for me to think I could actually do Crazy Quilting.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoukowJHJcwfV-Ytj_W6QIyVjNd-CJPtGwfuWv9PK7nVn4D76q0Wn1RX8NvKVcqs7v48D5b__wAR-JcSmEbNsQt3iT86vu6kWXO4C6aMxjwWf8S3k6a0sdIoIfKCZJMPmBVE6KnYBNarD/s1600/CQJP+2012+January.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoukowJHJcwfV-Ytj_W6QIyVjNd-CJPtGwfuWv9PK7nVn4D76q0Wn1RX8NvKVcqs7v48D5b__wAR-JcSmEbNsQt3iT86vu6kWXO4C6aMxjwWf8S3k6a0sdIoIfKCZJMPmBVE6KnYBNarD/s400/CQJP+2012+January.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CQJP2012 January</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx19mWNxxz-J_n-lJas-PrPlqydmshhwgfWUUdylRvE9U01utBn-5FagOA0Uep994XZKCeje7Gxj3XAZhXGGAU5W0hWwQAIgBWILZcdk6ioV_5ZUSchKjjBL9XdtBnC02i5G42yu9KnsaR/s1600/Fan+Close+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx19mWNxxz-J_n-lJas-PrPlqydmshhwgfWUUdylRvE9U01utBn-5FagOA0Uep994XZKCeje7Gxj3XAZhXGGAU5W0hWwQAIgBWILZcdk6ioV_5ZUSchKjjBL9XdtBnC02i5G42yu9KnsaR/s320/Fan+Close+Up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fan Close Up</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really had fun with this project. It started out slow. I found the fan picture on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/hooplove/pool/" target="_blank">Hoop Love Vintage Transfers</a>. I used tissue paper to transfer the design. It worked very well. I used <a href="http://www.dmc-usa.com/" target="_blank">DMC</a> regular 6 strand cotton embroidery floss. What was so fun is that I experimented a little with Long and Short Stitch on the flowers. <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/" target="_blank">Mary Corbet</a> has a <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2009/08/long-and-short-stitch-lessons-index.html" target="_blank">tutorial</a> for the stitch which I had participated in last year. Also, I have to admit, that I have purchased <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trish-Burr/e/B001K85MLS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank">Trish Burr</a>'s book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Needle-Painting-Embroidery-Beginners-Milner/dp/1863514201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328474907&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Needle Painting Embroidery</a>" It was such an excellent book that I had to also order <span style="color: blue;">Colour Confidence in Embroidery. </span><span style="color: black;">I am still going through these books. I have no doubt they will be important resources for me.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FAcZxE4LRzz-x-xsRwjRn2TtTpanGqzwfGNvWICg9V6rfjpaPaZiDz5MBw0Sl1fqHS2t6os4LPTJ9wkOaMwNeBLw5aSpeRS58Hujk4U6q1L8PuohGw2CVzIFfX7TiOfoHwGtjaW4Ha-P/s1600/Silk+Ribbon+Flowers+Close+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FAcZxE4LRzz-x-xsRwjRn2TtTpanGqzwfGNvWICg9V6rfjpaPaZiDz5MBw0Sl1fqHS2t6os4LPTJ9wkOaMwNeBLw5aSpeRS58Hujk4U6q1L8PuohGw2CVzIFfX7TiOfoHwGtjaW4Ha-P/s320/Silk+Ribbon+Flowers+Close+Up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Silk Ribbon Flowers Close Up</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the fan, I used <a href="http://www.elnesta.blogspot.com/2012/01/tast-2-buttonhole.html" target="_blank">Buttonhole Stitch</a> to applique the lace rose. Because the 12 blocks in the project are destined to become a pair of pillow shams, I have imposed some limits. I don't want a lot of beads or buttons because the piece will need to be washable. Also, I'm pretty sure they would not be comfortable. I originally thought the same about silk ribbon embroidery, but this corner kept calling out to me. It wanted some silk ribbon flowers and I was hoping to duplicate the flowers in my center piece fabric. My picture is a little blurry, but how do you think I did? It is only my second time using ribbon. These ribbons are actually organza ribbons that I purchased on <a href="http://www.ebay.com/" target="_blank">e-Bay</a>. That's where I also purchased a <a href="http://www.needlenthread.com/2007/09/embroidery-tools-best-laying-tool.html" target="_blank">laying tool</a> made of bone. It really does help to keep your ribbon unbunched and full.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The seam treatments were fun. The Buttonhole Wheels were transferred from a pattern by Kathy Shaw. You can find more information about her book <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/80393222/embellishing-crazy-quilts" target="_blank">Embellishing Crazy Quilts</a> which contains these templates on her blog, <a href="http://www.shawkl.com/" target="_blank">Shawkl</a>. I used waste canvas on the Herringbone Stitch and the Fly Stitch seams. <a href="http://kerrykatiecakes2.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kerry Katie Cakes</a> has a nice <a href="http://kerrykatiecakes2.blogspot.com/2009/08/waste-canvas-tutorial-cross-stitch.html" target="_blank">tutorial</a> on using waste canvas on your crazy quilt block. She uses it to apply an image. I used it to build even seams. I first saw the idea on the blog, <a href="http://www.kittyandmedesigns.com/" target="_blank">Kitty and Me Designs</a>. Pam Kellogg, blog owner, has put together two <a href="http://www.kittyandmedesigns.com/catalog.htm" target="_blank">e-books</a> on seam treatments that are on my wish list. I follow her on <a href="http://pinterest.com/telnes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> because I love her work! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is one last look at the block.</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEu_Xp7X3R_3IXlx4l-Dqu9SnhKJnr2RuuEfPAwWS4-Cf3cAdbcETtM2kMKBUpviiYpna1bo5RX-3yN-tQs__4M6pu5k0x0o7cu9OaLyIORW4zlvsUJHgr5nbLkK9cq9dN2ldZx9Ijff2M/s1600/Another+look+at+CQJP+2012+January.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEu_Xp7X3R_3IXlx4l-Dqu9SnhKJnr2RuuEfPAwWS4-Cf3cAdbcETtM2kMKBUpviiYpna1bo5RX-3yN-tQs__4M6pu5k0x0o7cu9OaLyIORW4zlvsUJHgr5nbLkK9cq9dN2ldZx9Ijff2M/s400/Another+look+at+CQJP+2012+January.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another look at CQJP 2012 January</span></td></tr>
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</div>Theresa E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04107890760434902045noreply@blogger.com4