The two pieces that I am working on right now.

The heart below is what I’m working on mostly, as someone is interested in this piece. There is quite a bit more done on it, but still more to go. I work on it a little here and there, keeping track of my time.  It is amazing how much time goes into something like this.

I listen to sky streaming music while working in my little creative space. I open up my spreadsheet that DH (dear husband) set up for me that figures my time when I enter figures, then I pick up needle and thread and start again. This piece is a real joy to work on, it makes me feel happy. I love hearts and flowers. This heart is being mounted to the background fabric that it is laying on here. Right now I’m adding a lace edging, which is being sewn on with perle cotton using the French knot stitch, which is anchoring it to the background fabric. I have a bit more of embroidery I want to do and more beads to add too.

This is the other piece I put aside for a bit. I keep looking at it to see what all I want to do to complete it. I have enjoyed making this and the scripture verse is a favorite of mine. I’ve got more ‘sand’ to add.

There is something so calming and enjoyable working with threads and beads. I can’t explain it, but I know others that do this kind of work know what I am talking about.

Here’s how my little creative space 6ft. x 8ft. it looking these days.

Part of my ‘stash’ sitting on the floor so that I can get to bins and shelves.

Thank you for visiting, thank you to those who have become followers and to all of you for your kind and encouraging comments.

Oh yea, I did find some carbon type paper for tracing designs onto fabric, found it at JoAnn’s Fabrics.  So I look forward to using that.

Have a great weekend and happy crafting ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

***

Take your needle, my child,

and work at your pattern;

it will come out a rose by and by. 

Life is like that -

one stitch at a time

taken patiently

and the pattern will come out all right

like the embroidery. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Help!! What to use to trace patterns onto fabric?

I am terribly disappointed in some wax free tracing paper I bought at Walmart, for tracing patterns to fabric. It doesn’t work. I used a nice stylus type tool, pressed hard, and nothing. I tried the red and the blue, blue was a little better, but faint and missed spots in the drawing.

I have some antique patterns I want to embroider and bead, but HOW do I get them onto the fabric?

I’m going to take this paper back to Walmart and hopefully will get a refund. It was $3 and some change and I don’t have money to just throw away.  Sheesh!

Any help will be appreciated.

FlowerLady

Weave- it loom and weaving and what I did with it

Hello fellow needleworkers and crafters,

I hope you are able to create as much as you want, or as time will allow at any rate.  Creating does something for heart, soul and spirit.

The other morning I was putting canned goods away from our trip to SAM’s wharehouse store, and at the back of my cabinet I spied two boxes.

I barely remember putting these in the cabinet, and after I realized where I got them, I figured they’ve been in there about 18 years. So, I brought them out to light of day, and decided to try using what was inside the small one first. The first try was with size 10 crochet thread, because I like small threads, but I made two mistakes and didn’t like the way it looked. Last night I tried again and used yarn, like the directions say to do anyway, and it turned out much better.

Here are the boxes. My late MIL bought these up north near where they lived and I inherited them when she passed away.

Here is the small loom and needle.

Here is my finished little weaving, which I did a single crochet edging around.  I didn’t notice the light lavender color while working on it, as I was so engrossed in weaving.  I noticed the lavender this morning when I wanted to do something with it. The weaving is about 2 inches by 2 inches, a ‘twinchie’.

I wanted to make a beaded heart to applique to the weaving so that’s what I did. Then I saw the lavender in the weaving and added some little light lavender seed beads. The color of background is not right in this photo, which picked up too much red, making it look pinkish which it isn’t.

I then cut out the heart, and sewed it to the weaving using two strands of sewing thread, a lavender and an aqua color, using the blanket stitch. I already have a box of frames that DH had made up for me from scraps of molding that we have, so picked one out to go with this piece.  I mounted the piece to foam board with the 4 corner beads.

The frame is brushed metal and sanded down to take off the oxidation that had happened on it over the years.  I love how this turned out. Now I just need to put brads in the back to hold it, and a backing, a label and it will be ready to upload to my Etsy shop.

I’ve been thinking about this next piece for a week or so and got it started this afternoon by printing out the words.  This will have an antique frame, 7 1/4 inches by 9 1/4 inches.  I’m probably going to make another starfish in either ecru or cream same with the sand dollar, as the white is too stark for this piece. I will use seed beads for grains of sand.

That’s it for now.  It’s time to have a glass of pre-dinner wine, while I figure out what to fix for supper tonight. Last night we had tilapia fish with kiwi-ginger sauce, delicious, served over brown jasmine rice and mixed vegetables.

Happy Creating ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

Crocheted sea creatures

Good morning Friends ~

Here it is Monday morning, for us, and the start of a new week.

I wanted to post the link for the sea creatures, so, click here.

I love working with fine thread, these are made with size 30, except for the peachy colored conch and that is size 50.

These are tiny. 

The small conchs are 1” x 1” x 3/4” high.

Star fish, roughly 1 3/4” point to point.

Sand dollar 3/4” in diameter.

Angel fish 1 3/4” long by 1” wide.

Even though they are tiny, they take time, from around 25 minutes to almost an hour. I wear my stronger glasses working with this size thread.

I love how they turned out.

Happy crocheting ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

Latest Crocheted Piece

Hello Folks,

Here it is Friday in our part of the world.

Friday morning in fact, and I’ll be heading off to work shortly.

I found a pattern yesterday, several actually, designed by the same lady, who has given permission to all to use it, even to sell your creations using her pattern, you just can’t sell or claim credit for the pattern.

***

The first one I tried is a conch shell.

I used a fine thread and a size 13 or 14 hook.  It is 1 3/4”long by 1 1/8” wide by 3/4” high.

I love it and enjoyed creating it. 

I’m looking forward to making the other patterns too.

Hope to have them in my Etsy shop soon.

 

Happy Creating ~ FlowerLady Lorraine

Latest ‘behind’ TAST 2012 stitches

Maybe I will get caught up this year. I am working on catching up though.  I completed two last week and started on a third, which is the satin stitch, which is a simple one but still takes time to putter with.

I hope to do a couple more this week.

The whipped wheel really had me stumped but then I got it and really love the stitch.  I ‘tried’ to make a shell using that stitch and it’s not that good at all.  I don’t know how to make the stitches look nice, unless you just go underneath and come back up at the other side to have it all look the same.  Anyway, it was/is a learning experience and I am grateful to Sharon for hosting this adventure.

Here is my rendition of a whipped wheel and broken shell.

Here is the barred and alternating barred stitch.

Now since it’s raining today I need to do some ‘home caring’, and maybe get some pieces listed on Etsy.  I am such a ‘procrastinator’.

Thank you for visiting. Thanks for encouragement and inspiration.

FlowerLady Lorraine

I did it! Hurray.

I found a lovely blog called Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials.  Her pictures are great and her explanations easy to understand.  So, I made my first little whipped wheel and I have a feeling this is going to be a favorite stitch now that I've got the hang of it. I've got more to do on this little sample, then I'll take a picture.

FlowerLady Lorraine

I need help

I am truly frustrated with the whipped wheel stitch for TAST.  I'm way behind and this one stitch has had me stumped for quite sometime now.  I'm discouraged.  I've  looked at you tubes and none were the whipped stitch.  I looked at Sharon's page of instructions and couldn't figure out the stitch that way either.

Can someone please HELP me with this?

If these are only the basic stitches, then I'm lost already.  I had trouble with a couple of other 'simple' stitches in the beginning and told my DH that I would never try using those stitches in any projects. Some stitches I can get right away, others, forget it.

I'm going to try the next stitch before I break down in frustrated tears. :-)

FlowerLady

Latest bits and pieces

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything in here.  I’ve been crocheting and have done one beaded/embroidered piece. I work part time, garden, cook and do some ‘home caring’ in between. I’ve got dust that has settled, etc., etc.  I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about.

I’ve not been keeping up with my TAST stitches.  Here’s the latest piece I did right around my birthday, combining several stitches.  I had a horrible time with two or three of them and got more depressed.  I did this a day or two before my 63rd birthday.

Now it’s a couple of weeks later and I’m still NOT caught up.

I’ve still got to practice needle tatting.  Haven’t done anymore since the first couple of try pieces.

Here is the beaded/embroidered piece that I did.  I’ve still got to mount it and put it into the frame.

Below are some more crocheted needle cases and some Irish crochet roses.

Crocheted Irish roses in silver. I thought ladies who do crazy quilts might like these.  We’ll see.

I enjoyed making all of these, but really enjoyed making this one. Even though these pieces are small, they are time consuming.

These below are actually a copper color.  I’ve got to take better pictures.  The color of the piece that they are lying on is the color above, not the sickly color shown here. Sheesh.

This picture below taken outside in screened porch.

Silver, light orchid/pink, dusty rose, river blue.

This was taken indoors.

Needle cases and babies on my workspace.

Babies are right around 2” tall.  Teeny, tiny babys.  The hardest thing is stuffing them and tying the bow on their bonnets.

Here are the babies stored in an empty egg carton, the plastic lid closes over them so that each one is in her own little compartment.

Now, the hardest part is figuring out how to price everything. Creating is so much more fun.

I’ve really got to figure out what to do with all the pieces I have beaded but not done anything with yet either. Sigh.

Happy Creating, whatever your medium.

FlowerLady

New threads, needle cases, beaded heart, behind in TAST

Good morning Friends ~ Boy am I ever behind in my TAST stitches.  I hope to get caught up this weekend. Here I was so gungho to start and after three pooped right out. Too much going on, gardening, helping DH with the caravan, home caring, work. I know I’ve much to learn with all the stitches so really should keep up with them. I am a procrastinator too, so that doesn’t help.

A week or so ago I created the beaded and embroidered heart below.  Still have to mount it and put it into the frame, then get it listed on Etsy. The heart itself is 2” x 2”. Overall size is 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”.

Below are my new colors of crochet thread for needle cases.  I just love these colors and hope others will too.Don’t they look yummy and spring like?

     

   

     

 

Three needle cases have already sold. Two in ecru and one in burgundy. I have a sage green one left in my Etsy shop here.

I’ve got 5 more crocheted in new colors: wood violet, river blue, silver, dusty rose, and copper mist. Now I just have to insert the felt, sew on button and crocheted flower, take pictures and get them uploaded to Etsy.

That’s it for now.  I’ve got to get ready to head off to work this morning.  I need to stop for gas first and stop at the library too.

Happy Creating ~ FlowerLady Lorraine