Erica's Stitches

My "band" sampler is getting closer to done.  It's been a long and winding road. The bands are supposed to be 2 by 6 inches.  MIne are 2 inch squares.  Part of the decision was to use up scrap linen.  Another part was to make the stitching go faster.  Finally, it was a challenge to shrink the designs. Initially, I was going to sew the 6 squares together to make cubes.  I thought a pair of stitched dice would be a good idea.  I changed my mind.  The ground fabrics turned out to be of different counts and it seemed like too much work. Instead, I pondered the idea of sewing the squares into a quilt.  I almost scrapped that because it also seemed like too much work but I didn't have any other ideas. I was planning on more than 12 squares, but when I started arranging the squares some didn't fit in with the others (they'll go into something else).  I replaced them with other squares that fit in better. Next challenge was to pick fabric to go around each squar

I stitched on my travel kit while waiting in the airport.  I worked on the border.  It was simple enough that I could stitch without referring back to the pattern. There are other sections that it would be more fun to work on, but they involve more counting and attention to detail. Usually I like to stitch the border last.  So, I was very relieved that after stitching all of the vine the border connected back to itself.  I hate ripping.  I was even able to fill in some of the shamrocks.  I have many more to go. When I got this pattern, it was a free download, but the link now yields only a "sorry this page could not be displayed".  But I did find a link to a picture of a finished sampler . The design is "An Irish Shamrock Sampler" by Lucy Lyons Willis of La Chatelaine Designs.

I'm going on a short trip soon.  I've been mentally packing for a while. One thing I need to have is a small travel kit to work on while I'm stuck in the airport.  I've been reviewing all the small patterns I've seen recently trying to decide which one I would like to do the most.  It was going to be a hard decision. But, look what I found!  An old travel pack forgotten for a few years.  I guess I should work on that one.  It has shamrocks on it and St. Patrick's Day is next month so it is season appropriate and I have a chance to get it done before the holiday.  It's already half way done. My kit comes complete with dental floss - my travel cutter of choice. I know small embroidery scissors are allowed, but I'd rather not take the chance of them being taken away.  I've got some stitching, a magazine and some snacks.  Lets go!

Here are 2 brooches I've made from this book .  It's full of crafts recycling different items.  So, what did I recycle? A plastic bread bag. And a plastic shopping bag. Other items that went in to the brooches are wire, thread, buttons, beads and sequins.  Although the main body of the brooch is made of plastic bag it didn't use that much more of the bag.  I'm going to have to make alot more brooches or find another way to reuse the rest of the plastic. 

Yes, working on another stitched and painted bookmark.  This is a different brand of bookmark blank - here is the entire front label. Crafter's Pride MAKE IT YOUR WAY Be Original & Creative Perfect For: Painting - Stencilling - Rubber Stamps Needlework - Machine Embroidery This label is what gave me the idea to paint.  But, unlike the other bookmark, it didn't paint well. There's some sort of coating on the Aida cloth that tended to repel the paint instead of letting it soak into the fibers.  I had to use much more than I planned in and paint much closer to the stitching.  Also, the paint tended to glop instead of spreading out.  In the pictures you can see white space under the stitches.  I was afraid to add to much paint.  You can tell as I worked from top to bottom I got better at handling the paint.  I guess you are supposed to do a test area first, but it's impossible on something so small. All in all, I liked the finished bookmark.  There is no pattern