Serger Serging

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Heather

I think you all know that I love my serger. Unfortunately, I haven’t quite figured out how to use it, or it might be better to say I’m not really sure when it use it instead of my sewing machine. I have made a few projects with it, like last year’s Christmas napkins (which, apparently, I never took pictures of), and some fabulous paperless paper towels that we’ve been using for over a month (more details about them soon).

Anyway, after the terrible Creativ Festival serger class last fall, I’ve been really wanting to take another, better serger class. And guess what! Craftsy just released a serger class! (Click on the link to help me earn points towards a free class. No need to sign up for anything, I promise.)

I haven’t done too much with the class yet, other than purchase some supplies (gosh, FabricLand does not have a great supply of serger thread), print out some handouts, and watch the intro videos. But check out these stitch samples:

Serger Stitch Sample Pages

Okay, they don’t look like much, but they are letting me get to know my machine much better. And once I get myself an orange zipper, well, just you wait!

Near perfect 4-thread overlock stitch. Yay!

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Easter Baskets and Bunnies

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Heather

It’s almost Thanksgiving you say? Well, clearly it is time for Easter stitching!

Easter Ribbons, from CherryWood Design Studios

My fifth and final CherryWood Design Studios’ finish is Easter Ribbons. This one, amazingly, it actually stitched as per the chart. However, I’ve yet to attach the ribbon with cross stitches because I still need to iron the fabric. I will do that part when I finish up the piece into a weighted cube. The fabric is Enchanting Lair’s Two Roses, and the threads are WDW and CC.

And that is it for the Ribbons designs for me. I’m back to working on the Lizzie*Kate mystery and furiously trying to get a pair of socks knit up in just over two weeks. Ack!

Thank you very much for all the lovely comments on these finishes. 😀 Each one means a lot to me!

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Love Letters

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Heather

Another finish! That makes four this month! 😀

Love Letter Ribbons, from CherryWood Design Studios

It is, just like it was last time, CherryWood Design Studios’ Love Letter Ribbons. The fabric is probably Enchanting Lair’s Parchment, 28 count Lugana (probably). The threads are as per the chart, except I substituted DMC 3371 for WDW Mascara.

I did make one change in the chart, purely for artistic reasons and not because I got the symbols mixed up. Honest. 😉 The row with the buttons should have been stitched in the dark brown (Mascara in the original), but I stitched it in the pink thread. I think it looks nice, and provides a nice balance to the helix row above the ribbon.

Last night I started on my last of the CWDS ribbon designs–Easter Ribbons. After that, I’m back to the Lizzie*Kate mystery and maybe Jeanette Douglas’s My Story Needlewbook. And, then the Creativ Festival is right around the corner! Woot!!

 

Thank you for all the good thoughts about the little man’s meet the teacher last week. It went very well, and I feel much better about everything. His teacher seems like a really lovely lady. And, really, to be a kindergarten teacher, you’ve got to be a really special person.

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Theme-a-licious – September

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Heather

What? I missed Theme-a-licious too? Really? Where has my mind gone?

So, September’s theme is Smalls. Hey! I’ve been stitching smalls all along. It’s almost like I knew what I was doing. (Don’t be fooled–I didn’t.) So, with that in mind, here is where I’m at on my latest CherryWood Design Studios’ piece.

Love Letter Ribbons, from CherryWood Design Studios

This is Love Letter Ribbons, and I’m stitching it on Enchanting Lair’s Parchment. I’ve made a couple of mistakes on it, which is why the stitching has been going a bit slow. But, I’m pretty sure I’ll have it done in time for Valentine’s Day. I might not actually get it finished into anything by then, though. 😉 The threads are as per the chart, with the exception of using DMC 3371 for the dark brown (which is actually charted as WDW Mascara, but I liked dark brown better with my fabric).

 

In other news, tonight is Curriculum Night at the little man’s school (the fancy new name for “Meet the Teacher Night”). Cross your fingers that she only has good news for us. C has told us some stories of another boy punching him, and I’m hoping that it has gotten worked out and that C isn’t the instigator (it would surprise me if he was, since he tends to be one to sooth people, rather than lash out).

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Flakey

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Heather

I’m still in the mood to stitch smalls.

Snowflake Ribbons, from Cherrywood Design Studio

My latest finish is Snowflake Ribbons by CherryWood Design Studios. It is stitched on either Enchanting Lair’s Wind or (the old) Silkweaver’s Summer Breeze. Either way, it is a 28ct. 😉 I used the listed WDW for the teal and the listed Crescent Colours for the white, but substituted DMC 3371 for the GAST Espresso Bean.

I followed the chart, or perhaps I should say I followed what the chart meant to say since the colour key was completely wrong. Thankfully, it was easy to figure out what colour was supposed to go where based on the cover picture. If you have this chart yourself, double check your colour key. It should be:

• Snowball (DMC B5200)
X Espresso Bean (DMC 3371)
o Island Breeze (DMC 597)

I contacted the designers, and apparently I was “lucky” enough to get one of the very few first runs of the chart. The vast majority of the charts out there will have the correct colour key.

I also added an extra row (two threads) in each ribbon space. I felt like the ribbon looked too squished up to the lines of Island Breeze. It might be because, even though I used the called for 28 count fabric, I picked a hand-dyed that had been washed and most likely had shrunk a little bit.

So, I’ve got two more CherryWood Design Studio ribbon designs to go. After that, I think I will work on Jeanette Douglas’ My Story Needlebook. That should get me up to the Creativ Festival, when I will be swimming in new projects again! 😀

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TUSAL – September

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Heather

Wow, I’m later than I have ever been with my Totally Useless Stitch Along post! It’s on my calendar, but I just keep forgetting. With the little man starting school and a mild health scare (one of the kids in his class had whooping cough, but thankfully C’s tests came back negative), I’ve just had my mind on other things. I’m also taking a couple of classes through Coursera, so I’ve been getting back into the groove of being in “school” myself.

Anyway, on to the pictures! (It is raining today, so things are very dark.)

My little ort collector.

 

My big jar o’ Orts.

So, let’s see–I’ve got yarn from the dishcloths, a wee monster I knit the little man (pictures soon!) and those socks from the other day (and maybe a Christmas gift too…). I also have floss from the CherryWood Design Studios smalls that I have been stitching (I’ll share another one tomorrow), and from the Lizzie*Kate mystery. And, there is a wee bit of floss from my latest mystery start. Anyone want to guess what it is? I’ll give you one small hint–I’m not stitching the border, which is all PTB and beads. (Also, the picture is really dark. Thanks, rainy day!)

Oh, a mystery!

 

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SKYP Socks

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Heather

Yep, skyp not skip.

Simple SKYP Socks, designed by Mushroom Knits

SKYP is actually a series of stitches – slip one, knit one, yarn over, and pass the slipped stitch over those two stitches. It makes a lovely little pattern, just right for breaking up a wee bit of pooling. And while I really enjoyed knitting these socks (the last pair in the Summer of Socks KAL), I’m a bit sad that the pattern doesn’t stand out better. The yarn is just too dark.

So, the knitty (haha) gritty details–Pattern: Simple SKYP Socks from Mushroom Knits (free on Ravelry); Yarn: Dye-Version’s Bamboo Stretch Sock in colourway Nightingale. I made the cuffs 3″ long before starting the heel. Since I’m rather short (5’1″ if I stand up tall), this actually gives me a nice length for the cuff, long enough to keep a cool breeze from blowing up my pant legs, but short enough that I don’t feel like they go halfway up my legs.

Next on the sock needles is a pair of colourwork socks I started ages ago, as well as a pair of plain socks in a wild yarn that I’ll knit to pass the time while waiting for the little man’s school bus.

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