What Else Are You Making?

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I've been debating what design to use on the border of the Home Sweet Home piece and came up with the idea of bargello.

I checked out Abe Used Books and found a couple of pattern books to order.

$7.58 total including shipping! I'm psyched. I love shopping online. It's like Christmas when it's delivered.
 
I have a theory I pass on to all mothers of teenagers. At 16 they know EVERYTHING. You know NOTHING. So pull them out of school, send them out into the world with their diploma and then when they turn 25 take the diploma away and send them back to school. By then they realize just how stupid they are and how smart you became. ;)

My daughter has a 20 y.o. and she can't tell her anything. The only thing the daughter knows is that her parents have more money than she has. Five years to go. :rolleyes::ermm:
 
got the material for kitchen curtains and for a pillow today. i am pleased with what i found. got the 4.39 apiece pillows from amazon. they are really nice, i was a bit curious as to what they would like. they are a dark blue with huge sunflower on them. really cool, now i have to get busy.
 
got my new couch cover on tues. it really looks good, just like a new sofa. charlie and thomas love it too, for naps. guests on sat. and sun. so next week i start on the curtains. and the pillow. was just going to cover an old one, but the appliquéd houses will not fit. so will have to make and stuff. not my favorite thing but that's the plan.

what are the rest of you crafters up to?
 
My needlepoint Home Sweet Home is on hold until my Bargello books arrive. I got several used for a fraction of the cost of new. I'll pick a border design from one of them.

I finally got the tension correct for the blouse. Now all I have to do is set up the ironing board and start sewing. Once I got it reset I did sew the center back seam. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to it. There's only a few seams, but I still have to make facing patterns to fit it.
 
I'm really interested to see which Bargello design you pick, Zhi...I had to look it up and they are beautiful.
 
Me too! I made a bargello pillow once before. I bought the pattern, the yarns and the canvas, and since the canvas was 36" wide, I cut it in half, and sent the original pattern, half the yarn and the 18" square piece of canvas to my Mom for Christmas one year. When I moved to Florida, we put the two pillows on her couch.

That was a gorgeous pattern of a flame design in turquoises and blue like the flame on a gas stove, surrounded by shades of gold.

I was waiting for two bargello books, but when the books arrived, one of them was a 1939 book on ballet! They told me they were out of the correct book, and not to bother sending the ballet book back.

I went back to the Abe books site and used Bargello as a keyword and it came up with so many (cheap) books that I re-ordered the one I had wanted before, then for $20, another 4 books. The few I had seen for new cost $30 - $40 just for the book and with the shipping would have cost around $50 - EACH!

I got emails for all 5 books yesterday that they have shipped. I'm really looking forward to a drool fest of patterns to choose from.
 
what are the rest of you crafters up to?


Last year I started an lapghan with fun fur for my granddaughter. Maybe someday I will finish it. I work on it mostly when I go to Winthrop or for an unwanted stay in the hospital. I also started a set of placemats a while back with matching napkins. I really need to get my butt in action. I ask my youngest son for a chair for Christmas to sit in so I could crochet while I was watching TV. Well, I got it and have used it once. If I bend over, will someone give me a swift kick in the butt? Please? I have gotten so lazy. :ohmy:
 
Last year I started an lapghan with fun fur for my granddaughter. Maybe someday I will finish it. I work on it mostly when I go to Winthrop or for an unwanted stay in the hospital. I also started a set of placemats a while back with matching napkins. I really need to get my butt in action. I ask my youngest son for a chair for Christmas to sit in so I could crochet while I was watching TV. Well, I got it and have used it once. If I bend over, will someone give me a swift kick in the butt? Please? I have gotten so lazy. :ohmy:

Swift kicks are my specialty!:)
 
I'm really interested to see which Bargello design you pick, Zhi...I had to look it up and they are beautiful.

I'm in heaven! 2 of the bargello books arrived today and one of them is the book I had years ago, with the same pattern I made before. It's so beautiful!

I won't do it again, though, it was 14 mesh (14 stitches per inch), and my eyes won't handle that any more.

I was so excited that I ordered a stand and frame to make working easier.

NEEDLEWORK STAND.jpg
 
I'm in heaven! 2 of the bargello books arrived today and one of them is the book I had years ago, with the same pattern I made before. It's so beautiful!

I won't do it again, though, it was 14 mesh (14 stitches per inch), and my eyes won't handle that any more.

I was so excited that I ordered a stand and frame to make working easier.

View attachment 13072

When I was recovering my my gastric surgery more than 35 years ago, I found a beautiful American Sampler clock that I wanted to make. I couldn't sit bent over (for obvious reasons) so I bought one of these stands. I could sit back and still have the work close to me. The best investment I ever made. It got lost or left behind in one of my many moves. I am definitely am going to buy another one the next time I pick up a piece of needle work.

Note of interest: There are several pieces that I have made over the years that my kids now have and want to pass down to their kids. They consider them family heirlooms. So each time I have put a sign on the back with my name, date it was made, and any other information that I thought was pertinent. I then painted a clear coat of nail polish (for the lack of anything else on hand) to protect the piece of paper and slipped it inside a small pocket of vinyl. Then securely glued it on the back. I didn't have anything acid free on hand. If you get a lot of compliments on your work, then it is worth saving and framing with the information on the back. That providence immediately adds value to your work.
 
When I was recovering my my gastric surgery more than 35 years ago, I found a beautiful American Sampler clock that I wanted to make. I couldn't sit bent over (for obvious reasons) so I bought one of these stands. I could sit back and still have the work close to me. The best investment I ever made. It got lost or left behind in one of my many moves. I am definitely am going to buy another one the next time I pick up a piece of needle work.

Note of interest: There are several pieces that I have made over the years that my kids now have and want to pass down to their kids. They consider them family heirlooms. So each time I have put a sign on the back with my name, date it was made, and any other information that I thought was pertinent. I then painted a clear coat of nail polish (for the lack of anything else on hand) to protect the piece of paper and slipped it inside a small pocket of vinyl. Then securely glued it on the back. I didn't have anything acid free on hand. If you get a lot of compliments on your work, then it is worth saving and framing with the information on the back. That providence immediately adds value to your work.

That's a great idea.
 
That's a great idea.

This is true of even handmade gifts. Let the recipient have the information. Specially for quilts. When giving food products like jam, let them know the date it was made. That way they have an idea of how long they can expect it to last. Remember, food products do not have the preservatives that store bought items do. Be proud of your work. And if someone asks for a recipe, be only to happy to share it. Forget that it is a family secret. Someone loved it enough to ask for it. Consider that a compliment of the highest. Being willing to share the goodness of your efforts, taste and heart. :angel:
 
Good idea, Addie. This project is on 7/inch plastic canvas, 11" x 22". I found myself working with one hand over and one under so I kept wishing I had my old frame/stand to hold it while I worked.

This one is the same as one I used to have. Simple and inexpensive, plus the piece is on display when I'm not working. If I can see it, it will nag me to work on it.
 
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