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 ...

************************************************************************************

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.

*************************************************************************************

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.  

 

Bower Birds

Have now framed Bower Birds. I was going to paint the frame, but I decided not to - I think it looks nice in its original colour. This is a design by Liz Mathews. 

 

Two Cross Stitch Finishes

Not the best photos ...

Two cross stitch finishes. The first one is Bower Birds, designed by Liz Mathews. It's stitched with one strand of DMC 3024, over 2 threads. I bought a frame from The Store, but have been too busy stitching the next design to frame it! 

And this is Needleworker, from Little House Needleworks. Again, with one strand (of Classic Colorworks overdyed cotton threads), over 2 threads. 

Now to decide what to stitch next 😊

 

More Project Bags!

So, more bags! Another 6.  I originally cut all 6 14" x 11" ... but had to trim the one on the front a little, because the vinyl was a tiny bit too short at the left, and it came undone after I'd sewn on the binding! How annoying ...

 

May Flowers Tree

This is May Flowers Tree, from Hello from Liz Mathews. I actually stitched the design, and made the tree, in January, but couldn't decide what to use as a base. I went through lots of different containers, but finally decided on the plainest, smallest old candle pot! There's a piece of foam, cut into shape, and a couple of layers of wadding, inside the tree, and moss peeking out of the bottom of the tree. I glued the moss to the base of the triangle, as per Liz Mathews' instructions. I mixed tacky glue and chopped up moss to fill the candle pot, and stuck the tree trunk in the middle and left it to dry overnight. I finally finished it today! It's stitched on 18 count Aida. The colour is very similar to the linen Liz used for hers, but I had this Aida and thought it would work, and I think it looks really nice with the off white thread. The thread is DMC 3865.

 

Fake Patchwork Mat

This is a very fake photo ... The set-up is fake, because I only put the plant and lantern on the mat so it would make a nice Instagram pic! The patchwork is also fake - it's a printed fabric - but I did do the quilting along all the lines. I made it a while back, before I started making the project bags, and I was even considering using it to make another bag, but I needed something to put on top of the stove heater, to protect it from scratches. Last night I cut out a looooong piece of fabric for the binding, and attached it, and then started hand sewing the back of the binding. I have the basket full of project bags (and projects ...) on top of it, so that you can hardly see it, but it serves its intended purpose!

 

Three more ...

Three more project bags. I made these last week, but had to finish off the binding, and I did that (late) last night and then started to hand stitch the backs of the bindings, and finished them all today. These are the smaller size - 10" x just under 8", because I managed to cut the vinyl the wrong size! These should be a good size for the smaller projects, or at least for projects where the patterns/charts are smaller. I still want to make a few more of the larger size, but will have to wait until I get the vinyl tablecloth I ordered, and then see if it's the right thickness! Otherwise I will have to wait until I can get some more of the 150 micron vinyl I originally bought.

UPDATE - I found 150 micron vinyl on Amazon and have ordered some!! (same day as above ...)

Folklore Hoop

As soon as I finished Yonder I started on this one! This is Folklore Hoop, designed by Jacob de Graaf of Modern Folk Embroidery. It took me three days to stitch. Finished it this morning, and I've framed it in a flexi hoop. I want to add a felt circle to neaten the back, but I can't find the felt. 

I used Ruby Slipper wool thread, from The Gentle Art Simply Wool and 32 ct Zweigart Belfast.

The design is centred in the hoop, it's just that I couldn't quite get a straight-on image when I took the photo!

Yonder

Yeah, I've finished and framed one of my cross stitch projects. It's taken only 5 days to stitch. I didn't think I would be able to finish because I'd run out of DMC 741. Ang gave me some she had, but I used it up. But I thought I knew where mine could be, so I got out my sewing projects bag earlier today, and there it was! The frame is one of the ones I bought from The Store, and it fits really well.

I used sequin pins to attach the fabric to a piece of foamboard. I had to discard the first piece of foamboard because I'd cut it the same size as the glass from the frame, which meant that when I added the fabric the piece wouldn't fit in the frame! So I cut another piece, and this time trimmed ⅛ of an inch from two sides, and then it fit perfectly. I'm happy with how the dark frame matches the darker colours in the design.

 

Another One ...

I needed smaller bags for some of my projects. I made a mistake with the measurements again though! I thought I'd cut the vinyl at 11" x 8" ... but no I had cut them 10" x 8", so I had to trim down the width on all of the quilt sandwich backs! I have 3 more ready to sew up. The bottom left corner could be squarer, but they're for me so who cares - it gives it some character 😂

I've got a bunch of projects in bags, in a big basket. Some are completed, waiting to be framed, but most of them are WIPs! I have to stop buying patterns now and stitch what I have. When I came back to cross stitch I was planning on finishing old kits, framing them, getting rid of anything I wasn't going to stitch ... but instead I started to watch Flosstube (well, Flosstube came first, and then I went back to the cross stitch!) and I want all the patterns people are stitching! I also have all of the DMC threads (and now Ang has given me 3 more boxes ...) so the intention was to start using up all the stuff that I have. Instead I'm buying the "fancy flosses", or overdyed threads, the patterns call for. Not for all of them, because I don't want to start a huge collection of all the fancy flosses, but if there's just a handful, or there are no DMC conversions provided I've been buying those too. I'm going down a long and winding rabbit hole ...

Room to Sew

I bought the April 2021 issue of "Cross Stitcher" in Morrisons the other day, and found the perfect design to put in this house frame Angelique gave me! It's a design by Zoe Patching, and was very quick to stitch! I started it yeserday. The backstitching took longer than the cross stitches, and the scissors took me several attempts to get right, but I eventually got there. The blue in the rug is not the colour used on the chart, but when I realised I'd made a mistake I'd stitched too much of it to re-do with the correct colour. Had to leave window and basket out, otherwise it wouldn't have fit the frame. I ironed on some heavyweight interfacing to the back of the design, and cut it to fit.

The frame is from a charity shop.

Floss Rings? Floss Ring Bling? (or whatever they're called!)

Made these yesterday. Not sure what they're called, but they're just decoration to add to a ring holding embroidery thread! The clock cabochons came ready made, and the Xmas one is punched from scrapbook paper. I've put a couple of them onto the thread rings for some of the projects I've got on the go. I added a jingle bell to the Xmas one, and will add charms to the others when they arrive. By the way, I've got a few of the clock cabochons to go in my 1:12 scale home decor shop! I have plenty left, so I'll use them in the dollhouse too.

 

Yes, another bag ...

This is the bag that went wrong ... Luckily I had two pieces of the binding fabric, already cut to size - I think I'd cut it out to use on another bag, so didn't have to bother cutting anything out. I managed to fix the sewing machine last night, there was a piece of thread underneath the feed dogs, which is why the fabric kept jamming. Because I had to trim a bit off the side and bottom it's a little smaller than the other bunch of bags I made, but it's still a nice size. If (when ...) I make more bags I have to get the dimensions correct though ...

 

A Bunch of Project Bags

Yep, more bags! Can't make any more until I can buy the vinyl, but I should have enough for all of my projects now. I meant to make them 14" x 11", but I got it in my head that it was 14" x 10"! Later I found another piece of vinyl, and I thought I'd make sure I cut that bag 11" tall ... but I went to trim the quilt sandwich ... and cut it at 10"!! They end up as a neater sized bag, but it's a little bit easier to fit an A4 sheet of paper in the 11" bags.

I spent a couple of days hand sewing the bindings - my arms ache so much ... I was halfway through the binding on this pink bag, when the side came undone, and I realised I'd cut the vinyl a tiny bit too short on the left side and along the bottom, so I've re-trimmed it and it's ready to sew up the binding on the machine, and so on. I had to fix the sewing machine last night though, because there was a bit of thread stuck underneath the metal plate, and the fabric kept getting jammed in the feeddogs! 

I also want to make a few smaller (approx A5) bags, from the bits of vinyl I have left over.