First Post of January!

Well, it's the middle of January and I am finally posting.  I've wanted to post on a number of occasions but in between packing, working, horrific indigestion, a bought of flu, I haven't had the oomph to do so.  Let's see, I had my birthday on the 3rd, which was quiet as usual, Christmas on the 7th, also quiet since I wasn't feeling all too well, and my third ultrasound, baby is beautiful and healthy so far.  Lots to celebrate and be thankful for amidst the turmoil of our house.  I packed a lot of my stitching stuff away, and am now regretting that since I've wanted to start so many things, but I do have my current projects out so I've been working on those when I can.  

January is one of those months that I begin to feel the first sprout of glee at the prospect of Spring.  I saw the teeniest buds of snowdrops poking through here and there which means crocuses will be on its way soon too.  There's always a sense of awakening with the coming of Spring and of course this year, it'll be a big awakening...possibly keeping me awake all night! I look forward to the birth of our child.  Not the actual birth, but the after part of course! 

Now I do have a few things to share with you all.  Back in November, I finished a little BBD pillow for dear Jo as a little thank you for the fertility gift she sent to me way back in April.  When I was prepping the package for Jo, I heard Titus leaping onto the pillow and rolling around onto the package.  Uh oh! There were three pins in the pillow and then there were two! I couldn't find the third pin which freaked me out.  I checked Titus all over to see if a pin was sticking in him and thank goodness, there wasn't one.  He seemed fine and not like he just ate a pin, plus that would be very out of character for him to do that.  He does like to eat toilet paper, but not pins.  Anyways, a few weeks ago as we were packing, I moved some books over and found the pin! Phew...what a relief to me!  Silly cat!

I also received two amazing gifts from two amazing ladies, Melissa and Vickie. Vickie is so sweet to have sent me yet another lovely little ornament to celebrate our new family. 

We will be putting this on our tree for this year's Christmas.  Thank you my dear friend, we will treasure this ornament for many years!!

Then I had the unexpected pleasure of having a tunic made to fit for me by the creative seamstress Melissa, from Words and Blooms. Other than my mom, no one has made clothes for me before and I have to say, Melissa, you did an amazing job!! I love my tunic and it looks great on me with room to grow too! The fabric is a pretty sky blue with whimsical blossoms falling all over.  Very comfy too!

I did make one new start this year.  It's the BBD freebie "Souvenir de France" for one of our French immersion teachers who will be retiring this year.  I chose a scrap of linen and GAST Blue Jay to make it with.  I hope she will like it!

A Sarah Chapple update.  I stitched a lot on the borders and just started the second vase last night.  Instead of pulling her off the qsnaps to show the border, here's just the vase.

I'm really loving stitching on Sarah as I know I won't get much of a chance once Bean arrives.  As for Bean, I've been thinking of making things for him/her but have held off because I don't have a baby room yet, so no clue how to decorate it.  I thought about making some bright coloured Granny square bunting triangles to string up in the room for a burst of colour.  I think I'm going to start some tonight and see how it fairs.  All my yarn is in a plastic bin which I've kept out so I can still craft.  Maybe starting with the bunting will inspire me to make more things for Bean.  I'm just not good at making clothes and stuff like that.  I so wish I mastered knitting ages ago!!

I borrowed Lucy's photo of her granny bunting triangles to show you what I mean.

Not my photo...Lucy's from Attic 24

I hope you have enjoyed this little update from me.  I wish it was more packed full of stitching but there you have it.  I also felt guilty for posting as I have been so behind in blog commenting it's not funny.  I did spend some time last weekend going through and reading/commenting and it was fun! I'm amazed at all of you who have been keeping up with the 15-30 starts this month in honor of Debbie.  She was such a lovely lady who has inspired us to continue making new starts!!

Hugs to you all!!

This photo I took makes me think of an inky watercolour

Twist and Shout...Twist and Shout! Come on Come on Baby Now!! Twisted Ribbon Tutorial

Okay, so I have that Beatles song in my head.  Why is it still so good 50 odd years later?!?!

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post and welcome to my new followers.  Today I am going to attempt to describe how to do the twisted ribbon finish.  I stress the word "attempt" because I may leave out some info.  If I do, please don't hesitate to let me know, alright?

Twisted Ribbon Tutorial with Two Ribbons

1. Pick two different coloured ribbons, a neutral thread and a sewing needle.  You also need some patience as this is a fiddly project!

2. Knot the end of your thread and poke it through the middle or to the left side on the bottom of your pillow.  I usually like to start at the bottom because if you are displaying the pillow in a bowl, then the bottom isn't really seen. 

3.  Take your two ribbons and wind your thread around the ends and poke it through the pillow again to make it secure.  I did this two times because the silk ribbons are delicate and I didn't want them coming apart. Don't worry if your thread is visible.  When you come back towards where you started, you can add a couple of loops to hide the start!

4.  Next, poke your needle through a bit of the seam under the ribbon, then poke it coming up through both ribbons (it should be coming from underneath the ribbons so that the needle is poking upwards not downwards into the pillow).  Twist the ribbons and squish them a bit so they make a little bulge. 

5. The tricky part.  Come back down into both ribbons a teeny bit away from where your thread is coming up from and into the seam of the pillow a little bit away as well.  

See how the thread is going down into the ribbons?  Don't worry about the loose ribbons, when you put it into the seam and pull a bit they will tighten up.

Here's a better photo of coming up and down into the ribbon and into the seam.

6.  Keep twisting your ribbon one or two times clockwise and squish a bit so they look loopy...lol.  I often changed the direction of the twisting and sometimes twisted counterclockwise to create a more haphazard la-dee-da effect.  

Let the ribbons go where they may and continue this pattern until you finish the edging.  There were a few times I didn't like the way the ribbon looped so I took out a few stitches and re-twisted in a different direction for the loops to look good. 

I tried to keep the loops somewhat the same size but allowed a few to be a bit bigger and smaller as that was what I wanted.  

7. To finish, I knotted my thread under a loop and pulled it through the seam a couple of times...no one can see it!

There you go! The twisted ribbon finish inspired by my hubby and finished by me! 

Warning!! Make sure cats are not nearby the ribbons as they will play with the tail ends of the ribbons!!

Another warning...don't pre-cut your ribbon because you won't know how much you will use!

Recognize that fabric Mouse?


Onto other news, I have been cycling like a mad lady and am super sore today.  We met up with a serious cyclist friend (we aren't that serious trust me!) and we toured around the most darling little town yesterday, Fort Langely.  Such a quaint little place! We went to the cutest little candy shop and our eyes popped out of our heads.  I bought some Popeye candies, Gold Rush gum, licorice for my Nana and some other sweets for my hubby.  It was a dream going in there! Here's some photos of our trip!

Bliss

I so wanted this but didn't have room in my bike paniers

Lord of the Rings Pez dispensers!! $40!! Crazy

Our serious cyclist friend.  Hubby...not so serious

A cool wheel from the 1940's in the most amazing antique shop

Fort Langely's Community Hall...beautiful

A gorgeous house now a doctor's office

View of the street before my camera died

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and a peek at Fort Langely!

Take care

Anne

Two BBD Finishes and IHSW

Hello everyone!

I actually have some stitching to show all of you.  Last week, my hubby and I went for a 3 day camping trip to Porpoise Bay.  It was wonderful there.  So warm and not too busy.  I brought one of my BBD WIP's with me to stitch and I had to buy an internet pass to look up how to do a buttonhole and chain stitch! Buttonhole stitches are actually quite easy once you get the hang of it.  I finished the design a couple of days ago and am rather pleased with the result.  

Here is Buttons and Pins, stitched on 40 ct. Light Examplar with the recommended GAST threads.

My hubby suggested I try doing a twisted ribboned edge.  I will see how that works out once I get it sewed together.  I also finished a very sweet little BBD last week.  I started it in Prince George and it's for a very dear friend.  I will be making it into a box for her as well.  It's from the Flowers of the Field booklet, stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Buttercream with the recommended threads.

 love that dark bluey grey in this.  Such a pretty design.

For IHSW weekend, I stitched only on Hannah and just for two nights.  I really tried staying up late stitching but my  eyes got very wiggly and I was making mistakes.  Must not stitch at night!

I'm feeling so close to the end I just want to press on. 

 

 The box for Life's a Stitch needs a few more shiny coats on it before I can add the design.  I hope to finish the box and the pillow tomorrow if all goes well.  

That's all for stitching.  What I'm really excited about is that I started from scratch my very own curry!! I followed a Masterchef Australia recipe, called Desi Murgh Chicken Curry.  It was delicious but took me about 1 and 1/2 hours to make! I've always wanted to cook a proper curry and now I understand the process a bit more than I had.  

Yum!!

Here are some photos from our little bike trip.  Enjoy!

I'm obsessed with close ups as you can see.  I would love to save up for a really good camera with a micro lens, but that's 1000's of dollars....sigh.

Last but not least, a shot of my favourite summer bush flowers: hydrangeas.

I hope everyone is staying cool as I've read quite a few people's blogs that there are heatwaves going around.  We have been so fortunate with our weather.  So please take care! Sending you my thoughts and hugs!!


Anne