And today ...

This morning, before work, I took a few minutes to iron a few more pieces from my "to finish" basket and to put the Workbasket Rabbit Rondel on its backing. I laced it, pressed down the gathered edges so that it laid flat when I glued it to the top of the box. Now, all that is left to do on this project is gluing the two overlapping trims along the outer edge of the lid. And, of course, I need to continue assembling the pin cushion. This is a really fussy job since foolishly I decided to assemble it with ladder stitches just like one does with a biscornu and the silk straight stitches seem to disappear into the fabric. Even with my magnifying lamp I am having a hard time with it. I only stitch an inch or so at a time before my eyes cross and I put it down in disgust. God knows how I am going to manage the scissor fob which is even smaller ... I am thinking of stitching two rows of machine stitching around the edges of the design and the layers of backing [after I have inserted a quarter for weight] and then pulling threads to create a 1/4" fringe outside the machine stitching. It will save me some eye strain and still be reasonably pretty. I can then make a beaded bracelet style cord to attach it to a pair of scissors. I also laced the angel cat and the cat skull and cross bones to their backings and then whip stitched the two sides of this little door hanger together. Since the black linen on which the cat skull and cross bones was stitched was almost gauze like in weave, I backed its board with stiff black felt instead of the usual quilt batting. It really makes the white stitching pop since it gives depth to the black background. I still need to make cording that will work with both sides. Since the angel cat is a tabby in shades of grey and black, I figure blending a medium and a dark grey with black floss will make a workable cord. Now, I just have to search out a really good tutorial on cord-making. I've only seen it done twice and am not at all confident I can make a really nice one. I also attached a hanger to a little "1st Class Teacher" bell pull I made for my niece who teaches Middle school special education students.

I should have some pictures to post tomorrow since I plan to work on these finishes after work this evening.

I also spent an hour this morning continuing to stitch on The Stitcherhood's Quaker Flower ... I have chosen a 40 ct. linen and have changed out the colors somewhat to make it suitable for a Christmas ornament. I decided to use GAST Pine for the leaves and GAST Cranberry for the flower and corners. And, at lunch I plan to do a bit more work on Workbasket's Quaker Pig, finally finishing the center motif.