Hannah's Crosses

Thank you all for your supportive comments on my tutorials.  No tutorial today, just a quick Hannah update before we head off on our camping/cycling trip tomorrow.  I plan on taking a couple of little smalls for me to work on as I really enjoy stitching outside while I hear the birds sing!  I've been working on Hannah pretty steadily and had one whole day of stitching...but then I had bad tension headaches afterwards.  Anyone else get those from a long bought of stitching? I really enjoyed stitching Hannah's crosses and the little bird motifs but now that I am close to the finishing line, I'm already thinking about my next sampler.  I have about 9 more blooms, a couple of motifs and the 1 over 1 stitching to do.  I hope to finish it by the end of summer. 

I had to post a photo of Titus because I forgot to the past couple of posts.  We are going to miss our big baby but he will be in good hands of our neighbour.  

Take care everyone!

Hugs

Anne

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

A Box Finish

Today I woke up to a bright and sunny Sunday morning.  A perfect morning!  I thought I would share with all of you how I do my box finishes.  It all started with Angela's box, from Hooked on Stitches.  This will be my third box so far this year and now I have requests to make more! My brother wants one with some sort of moose/deer or hunting theme.  If anyone has a good monochromatic design that fits a hunting theme could you let me know?!

So here's a mini tutorial.

Step 1: Buy box! I usually get my boxes at the dollar stores although I have purchased one at Michael's.  It would be good to sand it down first before painting. I have yet to do this! I just found some sandpaper in my hubby's tool box so I'll be using it for the next box I do.

Step 2: Disassemble box by taking off all the hinges with a little screwdriver and set aside in a cup or bowl so you don't loose the tiny screws.  The clasp part of the box doesn't come off so you will have to paint carefully around those pieces.  If you do get paint on the hinges, don't panic.  Take a q-tip and some water and dab off the paint.  Start applying paint with a medium, regular paintbrush (you can get this at Michael's), using a craft paint.  I usually give the box 2-3 coats, letting each coat dry before I apply another coat. You can also use a glossy paint for a nice finish but those are more expensive.

Step 3: If you don't use a glossy paint, then you can spray hobby craft enamel over the paint.  I usually take the box outside to do this because there are so many warning signs on the can!! Let the box dry completely to touch before attaching any sort of stitching/fabric onto the box.

Step 4: This step can vary depending on if you want to put your design directly on the top of the box, or if you want a more raised look, like the Ink Circles box I made.  For this design, I used some batting on top for a more cushy look. I used some craft glue to attach the batting to the top of the box.

Step 5: Attach your design with a craft glue. I used a toothpick to apply the glue along the sides of the top of the box and made sure my design was square before gluing down the sides.  I folded the edges like I would wrapping a present. I added a little glue to the triangled edges to make sure they stuck to the fabric on the sides.

Step 6: Embellishment!  The fun part!! To hide those unseemly edges of fabric, add a ribbon, lace, or flat embellished cording. After attaching the sides with glue, I looked at my assortment of ribbons and played around with a few options.  I settled on a purple ribbon but decided it was too plain and added buttons on top of the ribbon.  I think it turned out great! 

Last step is to reattach the hinges and screws into the box and there you have it, the box finish!

Stay tuned and I will be back with the twisted ribbon finish!
 


(Edited to include Annie's questions!!)

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