I've been struggling with an eye infection so sitting down to stitch in the evenings has not been comfortable. But, in an effort to stay on TASK, I sat down last night and stitched this seam treatment. It's a much different version than I had planned. My original idea was to draw the "rick rack" curve with my Samples' template, satin stitch the inner section, then do an outline (stem) stitch to seal the curve. After I drew the curve, I knew there was no way I was going to satin stitch it. As it was, my stem stitching needs some serious practice. So I filled in one of the sides of the curve with lazy daisy stitch. In hindsight, the outline stitch blends too much so I might have to go in later and fortify it somewhat.
I do think it plays nicely with the rickrack giving it a crochetted lace feel. Surprisingly, the template was exactly the same curve as the rickrack.
At the flea market last weekend, I bought this pair of earrings. I thought I could take them apart for embellishments. Last night I took a good look at them. Can you tell what they are? I hadn't noticed when I bought them.
At the flea market last weekend, I bought this pair of earrings. I thought I could take them apart for embellishments. Last night I took a good look at them. Can you tell what they are? I hadn't noticed when I bought them.
They are paper wrapped paperclips! How clever is that for an embellishment idea? Any paper could be used. They have a slight shine to them so they were probably brushed with decoupage gel or the paper was originally shiny. My uneducated guess would suspect they were handmade. They are going to be easy to attach by sewing through the ends. I like them!
This is a necklace I also picked up for $1. Don't these circles remind you of those gummed stickers you could put on notebook paper to reinforce the punched holes? Do they make those any more?
Holler if you need yellow circles! As you can see, I have a ton!
Comments are welcome! Let's hope we all get our stitching MOJO back for next week!
23 comments:
Sometimes the stem stitches need to be really short when going around curves, that might have been part of your dilemma though an eye infection certainly does not help. Jewelry is fun to take apart and use for something else!
I was feeling a little pressured & got sloppy with the stitching. Yes, smaller stitches would have helped. I had to do alot of stem vs. outline. One part of the curve was up and the other down. Since my stem stitching was a bit rusty, I should have stayed with a straight line! But hindsight is always better than foresight.
Another great seam treatment, would really love to see it combined with satin stitch. The wrapped paper clips look like animals, giraffes in fact, wwibt to wrap paper clips!?
Debra, I like your stem stitch curve in that colour--I think it relates back to the shade of the central motif, and adds some nice, subtle texture. A good idea using the detached chain stitch.
So, are we going to be seeing lots of lemony rings on this block? (my brain keeps saying.....one ringy-dingy,....two ringy-dingy......!)
Hope your eye is better!
Let's just pretend I did it! I may have a go at it, who knows?
You could use fabric dipped in a little glue and wrap paper clips. It would be a way to get some additional print/texture into a block. I really think these are cool. Plus, the loop at the end would give you a spot to hang dangley things too.
I have enough of those rings for a lot of projects! But, they certainly could be used in many ways.
You could always use the leftover ones for knitting markers...that's what they made me think of.
Kudoes to you for stitching with an eye infection! Hope you're well on the mend soon! Your daisy stitches remind me of tassels. That would have been a whole lot of Satin stitching~best to save your thread for those bullion stitches your anticipating! ;) Also love your use of the black and white in this one~very effective.
But that would mean I have to knit. I don't see that happening even though once a year I start a new sweater.
Hope your eye infection clears up quickly. I think your block is looking great! Thanks for sharing the "paperclip" idea. Who knew!
My desktop computer died. We had a storm last night so it may have gotten fried. I'm using my laptop and I'm not used to the keyboard. Luckily I just printed off the rest of the images I needed for my blocks because my wireless printer isn't working for my laptop. Grrr. I may just move into an Internet cafe and forget all this at-home electronics stuff.
During the last storm we had, I had my IPhone hooked to the computer for updates. The electricity went out and when it did, my phone was fried. Nothing that $300 wouldn't fix.
Just $300 I could handle, but I took my car in for an oil change this past week and found out the rear stablizer rod had busted and it would cost about $380 for that and the oil change. Then my tooth cracked and I need a crown...$400 roughly after insurance. Now the computer. When does the fun begin? I was hoping to buy a kiln soon :-<
Well, $300 sounds like a lot to me for a phone I rarely use!
I've had some expensive months like yours too so I feel your pain!
I like the clamshell effect of your trim: nice work, especially with an eye infection. I hope you're on the mend soon.
Good point. You caught me having a pitty party. My car is an '01 with 160,000 plus miles and I have had it in the shop once or twice total for repair, so I have been truly blessed there. My tooth had a lot of miles and smiles too ;-) I know we all get hit with bills and breakdowns now and then. At least we have the stuff in the first place that breaks down, right?
The little yellow rings are fabulous. You could cover them with thread by crocheting or tatting the thread over the rings to get other colors, or you could get other colors by painting them with oil paints or enamels or nail polish too!
We got hit last year with a few months when most of the major appliances & both computers took a tumble down a steep hill. It felt like a conspiracy! I was pretty shell shocked when it was all over. On the plus side, I have all the appliances I want & not ones the builder picked out!
I'm sure you will find multiple uses for the rings! The lazy daises on the stem stitch look great.
Lovely stem stitch and lazy daisy's Debra. Sorry to hear about the eye infection. Hope it clears up for you soon.
Thanks for showing us the paper clip earrings. It just goes to show that some inventive people can really make a a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Maybe we could have an extra Tuesday Stitcher's Challenge that each month someone suggests an item (like a paperclip) and we each have to come up with a unique crafty way of using that item. (Joking of course, because I'm sure we all don't need another challenge in our busy lives)
I was about halfway through this and saying to myself, "Really?" Ha! Ha!
I think my paper clips will be perfect for hanging a charm along a seam.
I like the seam, even with yellow. If you want it to stand out more, maybe weave a darker thread in with the stem stitch?
Good idea--I always forget about the weaving possibilites. It's changed, though. I'll show you this weekend!
Post a Comment