1:24 Scale Mangle

 

I've been assembling furniture kits for my 1:24 Washtub Cottage over the last couple of weeks, but this mangle is the only one I've fully finished. The rollers were a pain to do, because the toothpicks provided didn't fit inside the plastic tubes they'd given us. In the end I had to get some thinner (but still not thin enough) toothpicks from the kitchen, and sand the them down so they fit inside the plastic tubes!  This is another kit from Petite Properties. There are two kits I'm waiting for them to have back in stock - the "brass" double bed and the boiler/copper. 

Lots of Framing!

Stitched from a kit some time in the 90s! I probably washed in the washing machine, and it had some very stubborn creases, and a couple of iron scorch marks (and maybe even slight shrinkage ...)! I spent hours trying to get rid of the creases, but just gave up - you can still see the creasing, but I'll pretend it's part of the "look". And to cover up the iron marks I mixed up a walnut crystal dye and painted on the dye on the outside of the design - I was amazed that it worked out OK ... The frame is from The Store. I didn't have a lot of fabric to do the mounting properly, so I cut it to size and stuck the fabric onto the foamboard, with Aleene's Tacky Glue. This one will go in the craft room, although I have no idea where ...

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I have a lot of finished stitching from the past couple of years, waiting to be framed, but all the frames I'd found before had been standard photo sizes, but then I discovered Rock Photos had all sorts of shapes and sizes. I bought a lot of frames from Rock Photos, including a square frame for Winter Rose Manor, which I thought I'd have to get a custom frame for. I'm trying to frame as many as I can myself, using ready made frames, before I have to resort to get custom frames. I still spent £100 on frames, but I enjoyed doing the framing myself. I think that even when I have to buy custom frames, I'm going to ask them to make the frame but I will do my own mounting and framing.

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Winter Rose Manor, a With thy Needle and Thread design. Stitched May - June 2021. The frame is 30cm x 30cm, from Rock Photos.

Pinning the fabric onto the foamboard. I use sequin pins.

Simple Joys, from Little House Needleworks. Stitched July - August 2021. A 20cm x 20cm frame from Rock Photos. 

Knot, Hearts and Horses, from Modern Folk Embroidery. Stitched February - March 2022. Framed in a 7" Nurge plastic embroidery hoop, which I bought from xJuDesign, on Etsy.

Mighty Acorn, from Blackbird Designs' "Winds of Autumn" book. Stitched January 2022. Frame from Rock Photos, in its origial colour. 

Another one from "Winds of Autumn" - Patchwork Pumpkin. The one in the book was made into a little cushion, but I preferred to frame it. Another 20cm x 20cm frame from Rock Photos.

Project Bags

I haven't posted anything in a while. Not because I haven't done anything, because I've done a lot, but because I haven't fully finished anything, and I only plan to post fully finished projects. I've bought more new cross stitch charts and needed more project bags, so I spent all day machine sewing 6 bags, and then did the hand sewing yesterday and today.  

 

1:12 Scale Table Top Quoits and 1:48 Scale Tea Trolley

I got this 1:12 scale kit with an order from Jane Harrop. I've had it for a while, but because I don't have a place for it I hadn't put it together, until today (ie 23/9/21). It went together very quickly.

This 1:48 scale tea trolley is one of the kits from the Petite Properties 2020 advent calendar. It was very fiddly to put together! 

I used one of these alcohol pens I received earlier this week, to colour the tea trolley - much quicker than using paint. These are "skin" colours, but since there's a Mahogany, Natural Oak and others, they work just as well on mini furniture! I may get more colours ... or borrow some of Ang's ...

 

Spell of the Moon

Another design I stitched in August 2021. I thought it was going to be plain sailing, but I first made a mistake on the tree trunk, and had to re-stitch the house 4 times! I didn't use the DMC suggested in the pattern, but use a very dark browny grey for the bits which were originally in black, and changed the yellows too. The moon was stitched in overdyed thread, but I used a variegated DMC instead. I really like the end result. 

The frame is from an old roombox! It was originally painted a faded white, and I gave it a couple of coats of about three different greys and black. 

In the book ("Winds of Autumn") this is finished as a little cushion, but since I had this rough-looking frame, which was the right size, I thought I'd frame it instead.

 

And I Will Love Thee Still

I haven't posted anything for a while because I've been so busy doing the actual cross stitching, and I now have a pile of things I need to frame, or finish otherwise.  

This is And I Will Love Thee Still, from Blackbird Designs' "and Blossoms as the Rose" book. I used the DMC colours. I stitched it in a couple of days, in August 2021.

The drum (or pincushion ...) is stuffed mostly with sawdust, plus a layer of polyester filler at the very top.

Herringbone stitches around bottom and top,  

 

Bower Birds ...

The plastic "glass" had a scratch down the right side, so I've re-framed it without it! Looks nicer without the glass actually.