More Fabric Folding

The fabric folding project I began here, I decided, needs to be finished, so on Saturday, I dragged another two tubs of fabric up two flights of stairs to the bedroom. I think I have now folded all the large pieces (except for fleece.) Oh, my gosh, I can't believe what I found. Can anyone tell me why I purchased nearly six yards of navy blue broadcloth? I honestly have no recollection of buying some of the pieces that now fill two of the large totes (in addition to the totally filled smaller one.) I did find a nice blue fabric that I think will work well for a slipcover for the straight chair that goes with my dressing table. I really shouldn't have to buy any fabric for a long, long time.

I still have three bags of smaller pieces to sort through, and I have to decide what to do with the fleece pieces, but I can see the end in sight. It is nice to be able to go to my tote labeled "pink and purple" or "blue" and find something I can use for a project.

Photos

As I promised yesterday, here are photos of my newly-completed projects. To the right is one of my fabric boxes (design from Sew Pretty Homestyle).










Next up is the wall pocket, also from Sew Pretty Homestyle. I was thinking today that the size could be varied - narrower and/or longer - and used for a dried floral arrangement, remotes (who doesn't have a pile of those?), etc. There is a variation in the book which has several larger pockets sewn to a single piece of fabric; the picture shows a magazine in one of the pockets. Might be a nice project for the bathroom.






This is Woodland Sampling. I still haven't decided where to hang it. Despite the picture, it is straight!










And finally we have Garden Pleasures by Little House Needleworks. I apologize for the blurriness of the picture; the batteries in the camera were dying and I had to snap the photo quickly or else the camera would turn off.

Hope you have a great (rest of the) weekend!

Finally! A Productive Day!!

I pulled out my copy of Sew Pretty Homestyle today and tried again to make one of the fabric boxes. I thought I blogged about my first attempt, but I can't find the post, so quickly, the pattern called for thick high-density felt-like foam. I tried using it, but it was just too thick to make the box look nice, so after thinking about it, I decided to forego the foam and instead use craft bond for stiffness and fusible fleece in place of the foam. The box came out much better, even though I forgot to use the fusible fleece and instead just used the non-fusible variety. After that, I took apart the first box, removed the foam, and ironed craft bond to one half of the fabric only (instead of the entire piece, as I did with the previous one. I honestly prefer the second box, but each one looks nice.

I also made one of the scalloped wall pockets to hang by my chair in the bedroom. I could have done a better job with the scallops, but other than that, it looks great and was a fun project. I will try to get pictures tomorrow during the day.

One other thing I completed the other day was the finish-finish (read that term on another blog) for Woodland Sampling. I haven't decided where to hang it yet, so again, I haven't snapped a picture. I am very pleased with the finish and still love the chart. Lest I forget, my hubby helped me choose the fabric for the finish; he has a phenomenal eye for color and I rely on him a great deal in that regard. Thanks, Phil!

My Cozy Corner

Several weeks ago, I realized I needed to do a thorough cleaning of the master bedroom. I did about half of it, moved a couple pieces of furniture, and let it sit. That is until the cable man came last week. We now get the channels 2 - 99 in the bedroom, something I hadn't expected. I realized I'd be spending much more time there, and since my husband theorized that my constantly sitting in bed at night to work on the computer and stitch was causing at least part of the back pain I've been experiencing, I thought I should move the recliner from its unused position (in the left corner in the second picture) to its present location (see the first picture.) That meant moving my husband's armoire (not shown), sliding the TV cabinet to the center of the wall, and putting the cedar chest in the corner where the chair used to be. There are still a few things to be cleaned up, but so far I am thrilled with the new layout and am enjoying the recliner. All it needs is a slipcover, perhaps in a navy blue or solid tan, which I will have to get on sale or with a coupon (perhaps at Linens and Things).

As Ye Sew, Sew Shall Ye Rip

Yup. The Ripping [Out] Queen is at it again. Every time I picked up Garden Pleasures, it looked like the center was up too high on the fabric. I should have paid attention as it sure was. But this time, I am not totally to blame: there's a bookmark pattern on the same sheet as the main design, and the marked horizontal center is for both designs, which you would never stitch on the same piece of fabric! I've looked several times, and I do not see that information anywhere on the pattern envelope. Darn. So now I'm ripping everything out and will start again. If only my brain could still allow me to think these things through before I end up in these situations.

Sidetracked

This little snowman seems happy about the cold, but not so me! It is freezing cold - about 13 degrees right now with a wind chill of 1 above! The temperature will hit 32 only once this week; the remainder of the time it will be in the 20's. Brrr!!

We got cable TV this week, and I've spent way too many hours watching HGTV. We did watch Casablanca as a family the other night, and enjoyed seeing Myth Busters tonight. Finally tonight I pulled out my box of fat quarters to find fabric to make a wall hanging out of Woodland Sampling. I ended up organizing the entire box, folding everything the same size and organizing by color. After all that, I found three green fabrics that are good candidates for completing the project, and I will ask my hubby which one he thinks is best. I also auditioned some brown prints, but the green made the cross stitched piece "pop".

My specialty threads finally came today - just in time - so I can continue stitching Garden Pleasures. I was all set to start another project that called for DMC floss, but I will put that on hold.

I hope to be more productive this week; I have only two commitments, Phil's oncology appointment on Wednesday afternoon and our stitching time on Thursday evening. I have no car due to a collision with a deer last Sunday night (details are here [entry for Thursday, January 17, 2008]; scroll down to the second half of the post), so I have no excuses for not getting some projects done!

Woodland Sampling - Finished!

I put the final stitches into Woodland Sampling Monday night. I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern and would definitely stitch it again. I still haven't made a decision as to how to finish it . . .

Meanwhile, I decided on my next project: Garden Pleasures, also by Little House Needleworks. I have the Crescent Colours and GAST (Gentle Arts Sampler Threads) on order; since it also calls for DMC floss (all of which I had except for one color), I have started the project. I chose 28 count Antique White linen to stitch on, and I'm stitching 2/2, as the pattern calls for.

I will try to be more diligent in taking pictures of this project!

Woodland Sampling

I finally connected the needlework and the camera!
This is the progress on Woodland Sampling; I just have to finish the house and do the white border and some snowflakes. The white does not show up well, but if you look hard, you can see some under the house and just to the upper left of the cardinal. I love this design and have enjoyed stitching it! Need to think about how to finish it . . . I'm thinking wall hanging.

Cross Stitch Progress

I have been working steadily on "Woodland Sampling" and am pleased to report that I am close to finishing. Of course, I don't have a picture, as I got involved with other things Sunday night and forgot until it was too late. Monday night is our stitching time, and I expect to get a lot more done.

How many of you watched Jane Austen's Persuasion on PBS Sunday night? We enjoyed it and are looking forward to the rest of the series. It made me want to stitch some of The Sampler Girl's creations!

My Aunt's Tablecloth

It's been a while since I posted as Phil, Sarah, and I all got sick right after New Year's. We're better now, although our stomachs are still a bit tender.





















One of the things I've been doing is cleaning up my computer, including going through a lot of emails. This picture is of a cross stitched tablecloth that my aunt made. A crocheter-turned-cross stitcher, Aunt Barb has done some wonderful projects. Many of her handmade cards now have cross stitched inserts on the front, which I am determined to do something with (pinkeeps?)

"Woodland Sampling" Progress

This was my progress on "Woodland Sampling" as of about 5:00 tonight. I worked on it again after dinner, then discovered that my tree trunk is one stitch too high, so it will have to come out, as will the "A, B, C". Oh, well.

Some members of the family lead a cushy life! Here are Callie (the calico) and Klausey in front of the kerosene heater, which I turned on late this afternoon as the temperature began falling. Wednesday and Thursday's expected highs will be only around 19 degrees F. But by Sunday, we will get up to 50! Go figure. Sounds like good stitching weather to me.