Some Sewing and Assembly Finishes

As my vacation winds down to a close and I realize I haven't done any sewing finishes. though I had ample opportunity ... I figured I'd better get cracking.

First, I backed and beaded the last three of my Sue Donnelly Merry Mystic ornaments.  While looking through stash for something else entirely, I found some black adhesive backed felt that worked quite nicely.  And I have a huge selection of leftover Mill Hill beads, so making the hangers was a breeze.  I have tucked them away with some Christmas presents I bought at various craft galleries.  Let's just hope I remember to untuck them at Christmas time.  I have been known to forget a cache of presents for several years.  The plan is to use these little cuties as package trim.

 I also spent some time finishing up a tote for knitting projects, complete with a lining with pockets for long skinny needles and a section for an upright skein of wool.  The design comes from the 2010 JCS Halloween ornament issue: Plum Street Sampler's Halloween Greetings.  What with all the sheep, it seemed more appropriate for a knitting tote than a Halloween ornament so I stitched it on a 28ct instead of the recommended 36ct linen.  This tote was made from sample swatches of various upholstery materials and lined with fabric cut from an old flannel bed sheet.

  I finished this tote with a flat bottom using this excellent tutorial.  To give the bottom a little added stability, I covered a heavy piece of cardboard, cut to shape, with some more of the soft flannel.  I am rather proud of this little tote and will enjoy taking it to the knitting circle when it starts up again in October. It now organizes my meager stash of knitting materials.  But I expect, as I learn more and practice more, the stash will outgrow this modest beginning.

When I first began stitching this Papillion Creations' Peacock design, my intention was to finish it as a biscornu but I really didn't feel like stitching a complementary bottom in order to have a final finish ... too labor intensive.  So, instead, I chose to make this tall, skinny throw pillow.  I had all the green fabrics and trim in my stash.  The lace with ribbon ruffle actually came from my mother's craft stash.  She used to make and dress dolls before her eyesight became an issue.  Now she crochets.

I also had the Just Nan hand-painted peacock charm in my stash ... purchased for no better reason than that I thought it was pretty and I knew I would use it someday.   I stitched it to a yo-yo made from the darker green fabric and then used that to conceal the whip-stitching that closed the opening at the top once the pillow was stuffed.






There are a few more projects on the dining room table in various stages of completion. I hope to get to them tomorrow.

The Victoria Sampler Holly and Hearts Christmas ornament.  The boards are cut and padded.  I only need to lace the backing fabric and the stitched fabric to the boards and assemble them.  Heart shaped ornaments are always a bit fussy and I tend to put off such finishes whenever I can.

Another "finally" project was prepping the boards for a flat ornament promised to a reader who won one of my blog giveaways from 2011.  It was supposed to be mailed in March 2012 but is still in process: stitched  since last February but laid aside and the victim of out of sight, out of mind syndrome.  It will be  assembled and mailed sometime later this week.  This is another of the Halloween ornaments from the JCS 2010 issue: Ink Circles' Full Moon.  I stitched it for myself on the recommended neutral fabric and when I had occasion to stitch it again, I chose a deep purple linen as a more appropriate night sky background.  I'll show a photo once it is assembled.

The candle mat from Prairie Grove Peddler has a summer-y theme: lighthouses that remind me of vacationing on the coast of Maine.  So it seemed appropriate to put it together in August.  I have put together all the layers.  All I need to do is sew on the double fold bias tape edging.  I just wasn't ready to take the ecru thread out of the machine and re-thread with red.  Again a photo will follow once I have done the final finishing touch of adding the binding.

And the reason I wanted to leave the ecru thread in place: I constructed the patterns and started the sewing on Better Homes & Garden's Tooth Fairy Pillow which will ultimately find its way into the hands of my grandson, who just celebrated his fifth birthday.  He loves trains so I thought this pillow ticking fabric reminiscent of the striped overalls of old-time train engineers  would be appropriately masculine.  Of course, I will have to re-do this project in pinks and ruffles and lace and ribbons in just a few years for my granddaughter who is totally girly.  I am already gagging at the thought! How I managed to have a granddaughter who is mad about Disney princesses, pink ruffled dresses and all things ultra-feminine is beyond me.  I can't even blame my daughter-in-law who is as staunchly unfrilly as any good outdoorsy environmentalist should be.  I blame my daughter-in-law's mother whose hopes for a doll baby of a little girl were met one generation late.

All in all, a productive day at the sewing machine.  Hey, at this rate, I'll get enough practice on the new machine that I may be able to discard the manual when figuring out how to load a bobbin or thread the machine when changing thread color.  I've managed to deal with the basics well enough but I'll still be wanting to take a course or two to learn how to use all the more complex features.  Maybe in September.