Thursday, October 22, 2009

Winter Thread Keeper

Two finishes, Winter Thread Keeper and Winter fob. Winter Wonderland was what I was working on last post, and had lost the picture. When I got close to being done, I decided to postpone my blog post until I had the piece attached to the Winter Thread Keeper by Impie, Hattie and Bea. The fob was worked over one on a scrap of the same fabric, Raw Linen, I believe, and the design was from Winter Wonderland, by LHN. The front shows the snowman and the back, just one of the trees from the piece. Both pieces were worked as charted. I did "embellish" a bit by making a few of the single stitches Smyrna's, along with the little blue snowflakes. I backed the "pocket" on front with a grey blue dupioni silk that a friend sent me and hand sewed the piece to the front of the keeper. (I also lined the pocket with interfacing for stability.)



A word here. I usually hesitate to voice my opinion on anything, but a while ago, I voiced an opinion on the Impie, Hattie and Bea piece for LHN's Traveling Stitcher. I said that my piece was uneven and that I thought I could do it better. I still think I could have sewn the piece better, and probably could even sew 5 of them better. But, I recently found out that these pieces were all sewn by one person. I definitely could NOT have sewn 100 of them better, or 1000. (I get way too bored, find ways to cut corners, when I do more than one or two of the same items.) Long ago, I did sewing for a stitching store in Michigan, making pillow tops, finishing stitcher's pieces into wall hangings and other things. Almost all of these things were "one of a kind" and therefore didn't bore me. But, when you sew the 10th pillow top, or pin the 12th ruffle, etc, it does get somewhat boring. So, I deeply apologize for my "big mouth" on that post. In doing as many as she did, she did pretty awesome work. Now, with a red face, and a grimace, I will slink back to holding my opinion to myself.


The fob work was practice for all the PIF's I've been working on. I had an idea and wanted to see if it would work, so I practiced on my own piece. Now, on to finishing the other three pieces I've already shown you. I will post a picture when the three are completed. And in between finishes, I have been working on my Shepherd's Bush "Into the Night". I'm past the wording now so better than half done. After that, I'm thinking of doing LHN's "The Library". Just ordered the fabric today.

Autumn has come to northern Indiana, bringing more restful and cool nights. I hope all of you are enjoying the autumn colors which are rich and wonderful this year. Stitch on, dear friends, and thank you so much for your constant encouragement and comments. Until next time. . . . .

EDITED TO ADD: Terri asked for pictures of the inside of the thread keeper and the inside of the finished pocket, so I'm editing this post to add those pictures. Please keep in mind that it's rainy and very dark here in Indiana today, so I wasn't able to take these pictures outside. The dining room table had to suffice. Thanks for looking.

8 comments:

Deb said...

I think that your finishes are fantastic! Very pretty and ready for the upcoming season.

And don't kick yourself for the comment. I think we've all done that, not knowing the circumstances of something. I'm sure you meant no harm and you've now apologized!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Your finish looks fabulous but I want to see the inside of the pocket, please!

Siobhán said...

Beautiful finishes! They're lovely.

dragonxser said...

love that winter needlebook - great work Debs :)

Anonymous said...

Hello deebs, oh it is magnificent, it is too beautiful! The assembly(editing) is magnificent really very beautiful realization! It is always a big moment to come to ballader me on your blog! Kisses of marylin France

Brigitte said...

Oh Deb, it looks fantastic. You are doing some terrific finishing work.

Susan @ Real Girl Designs said...

I don't think you should feel the need to apologize. If you pay money to purchase something, you should get it in a condition that you're happy with. I didn't buy the purse myself, because I thought it was overpriced for what it was, and thought I could make my own. Like you, I don't think I could stitch 100 of them, or whatever, but I wasn't offering my services... JMO...

Congratulations on your Thread Keeper finish. It's beautiful!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Thanks for posting the inside pics, Debs! I've been so busy lately I haven't been visiting blogs too much the last week. I love the inside - you really did do a GREAT job!