Marriage cross stitch

And so it begins...  It is a 8 by 10 bucilla counted cross stitch number 40777 (19 colors).  Since I have two of these to make (not the same pattern) hopeful it won't take too long. 

In the bottom photo you can see my magnifying glass that helps me see the stitches it is on a stand and had a light to illuminate the project making things easier to work on as well... I am not as young as I use to be.  Sadness I use to have 20/15 vision better than perfect but with time we all get older.

The heart you see started is the middle of the cross stitch.  Haven't gotten any progress on this done as I have been sick the last few days so here is hoping I can get this one done before the term starts and I am back in classes and the craziness of life takes over again.

a few projects

Last night I started to knit a pair of what the author calls traditional Portuguese lace socks.  This is in the hopes they would help me to figure out the toe section I want to do on the fair-isle style  yellow and red socks that I want.    Those yellow and red socks I want to make have a stitch  count of 12 to 14 per inch.  That may not seem like much but when you look at a single square inch that equals 144 to 196 stitches which is an insane about of stitches per inch... If you then  compare that to 91.375 stitches per square inch for the lace pattern of the sock just started yep it will take 8 to 12 times longer to knit.  My kids got me sick last night or I would be further along on this.

The pattern for the lace socks can be found In Andrea wong's etsy store
 
Other projects started at my home.

I am doing cross-stitch contract work.  Two of them to be exact, they are wedding samplers.  This is for the same lady I have done all the baby announcements for in the past.

My middle daughter has started to make a few hand made books.  She is using the coptic book binding technique taught on a long time ago on my blog but she is using paper instead of fabric.  I think she is making six of these.  She has been real sick for a while so this is something she can do while in bed.

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There is also another knitting project on the horizon. This is a knitted Christmas stocking for my cousin Eric.   We as children: my 6 cousins and my older sister brother and myself grew up together at my Vova's house  ( grandmother's house).  She had the nuns in the area hand knit us all  Christmas stockings.  Some how a few years back my cousin Eric's went missing his was the second oldest grandchild stocking.   So I am borrowing my oldest cousin Kelly's sock to make a copy of it to give to Eric, this was requested by my Aunt Nonnie.  I could have just bought one on Ebay or Etsy for him for 40 some dollars that would have been the same pattern but it would have been made out of acrylic yarn.  Ours being the age they were are made in all wool.  So I will be making his so it will be made out of wool like the rest of them.  Won't be the original but it is as close as I can do.

Now to just buy the pattern and of course knit it.

P-51- Mustang

My husband is addicted to airplanes. So a little over a year ago my oldest daughter, China, did her first attempt at a cross stitch as a gift for him  She finished it about 1:30 A.M. on December 23 2016.   Just in time to give it to him for Christmas.  This is her first attempt at cross stitch so there is always room for improvement but as a first attempt not bad.  Her threads need to be neater on the back and she need to keep her work cleaner.  The easiest way to do that is not to take it on choir tour to work on it.  Just let it sit in one spot so it doesn't get messed up.  But over all I think he will like it.  She will have given it to him before this posts so yes this is posting Christmas Eve but she is giving it to him on Christmas Eve early in the evening.

And here is the back for those that like that sort of thing.  You can see if you look close her tails are too long.  Makes the back look fuzzy also when you go to mount this in a frame things like this don't let the piece lay as nicely in the frame.  As a first project it is pretty good all the same.  My first project like this was like 2 inches by 3 inches hers is 11 inches by 18 inches which is a ton more work and takes so much longer to  do.  I did my first cross stitch about the age of 12 seven years earlier than her wish i knew where mine was if I ever find it I will post it was a girl clown.  Hers is much more intricate not a beginner project mine was a beginner project 100%.  Neither of us started with stamped cross stitch both started with counted cross stitch stamped is easier it is sort of like color inside the lines but for stitching.  She added the name of the plane and her initials and the date after I suggested it I think it finishes the piece nicer to have that on there. Encase anyone wants to do this project the pattern is from A & L Designs P.O. Box 945 Pottsville PA 17901, 717/622-6102  that is from the pattern but i don't know if it still works or not. Item number SA003-B Sky Aces Series p-51-Mustang.  Sorry I don't know the publish date.  Looks like there might be a few other planes in this series a

•  Zero A6M2 
•  P- 38 - Lightning 
• Hurricane Mk-2
• P-51- Mustang ( shown in this post)
• F-4- War hawk

not sure if there is more than that.  she found the kit at a thrift shop  and thought her dad might like it.

There is also what is called a warrior series which includes

• F-III Raven
• F- 14 Tomcat
• F-15 eagle
• A-6E Intruder
• panavia tornado

Work Stuff

So UVU is putting on the production of one flew over the cuckoo's nest... This is the main nurses hospital clothes mostly finished it today still have to do the hem.

 

Recently at work we added an embroidery machine my boss is having fun testing it out... Hat she put embroidery on to say thank you to one of  my daughters for helping to wrap Christmas gifts for her.

 This is another item that was embroidered... the machine I am not use to it yet...so yep i really have not used it yet.

Some of the other machines at work ...This is the newest serger... we have three older ones home models .

This is our industrial Juki serger.  Love this machine.

Thus us our industrial bernina we have lots of these.  They do a few fancy stitches and button holes.

Our industrial Juki these sew lightning fast but only do straight stitches and back takes but the machine does cut its own thread love how the foot pedal works with this machine one of my favorite machines for just stitching.

Baby drawers birth record

Doing another cross-stitch for a customer.  This is the same person that had me do them in the past.  She just keeps getting grand babies.  I decided to show all the progress in just one post.  As most know I am not fond of cutesy items and yes I consider this cutesy.  I also discovered during this that it is getting harder for me to do this type of work my eyes are having a hard time focusing on such things so close to me.  So I do wear glasses now when my eyes are tired from doing small hand work for long periods of time.  I guess age is catching up to me.

french beaded corsage and boutonnière

My daughters went to homecoming recently and I made a corsage for one and a boutonnière for the other.

My middle daughter went stag as she is too young to date so I made her a corsage.

She found her dress six months prior thrift shopping for 30 dollars not a bad price for such a dress.  She modified the dress to be more modest with a shirt.  I used French beaded wire techniques to make this item.

I also used pink rhinestone buttons and plastic sequins to make the corsage.  The beads I used were beads left over from other projects that I had been collecting in color themes so I could make flowers out of them.

My oldest  daughter went on a date the theme was starry night or some-sort of thing like that. Her dress.

I found thrift shopping for 10 dollars.  Her jewelry is rhinestone I owned as a child and the purse was her grandmothers.  Last time it was used was in the 1960's to go to another homecoming dance.  I made a beaded boutonnière for her date in the shape a rocket with stars, and a moon. My husband did a doodle and I made the boutonnière after his design as the inspiration.  I used French beading techniques to make the stars and exhaust.  Wear as the rocket and moon I embroidered the beads on to apiece of felt then cut it out and stitched that on to a wire frame.

Guardian Angel ...cross stitch

Been busy trying to get a cross stitch done for a customer.   She always starts a cross stitch but then get behind on it so I end up doing them.   This one was not the norm as usually she makes one mistake and Ii find it and it is easy to fix and go forward. 
This one had so many mistakes before it got to me I had to frog what she had and start from scratch.  So all the work you see in this is mine although it did come to me originally with a 1 inch by about 1 1/2 inch area done.  But since I removed all that and started again... well you get the idea.  Those that follow my blog know I am not fond of doing cross stitch for contract work but this lady usually gives me tips and since I have done stuff for her in the past kind of hard to say no.  So  I just do it these days.  Of course when she picked this up she had another one for me to do.  The new one has more stitching than most so it will be twice the price of the usual ones she brings me.  Below you see the progress of the work I did none of hers is in these photos misplaced my camera for a bit so I missed that part of the process.

The angel in the original pattern had short hair and wings.  She did not want the angel with wings so I did not do that part.  Also since it was a baby girl I gave the angel long hair to fill in the area that should have had wings.

This is what it looked like when all finished

Adding filet rose lace to hem

About a week ago I was at a thrift shop and bought this skirt it is an Ann Taylor skirt linen with rayon embroidery and rayon lining.  I really liked the embroidery on it but I wanted it a little longer.

 So I thought it would look nice with a filet crochet rose hem.

It gives it a sort of folk look.  I crocheted the lace and sewed it to the rayon lining of the skirt, I like it.  I played with the layout for a little bit wondering if I wanted a rose centered or two roses forward. 

  I finally decided on centered was best to me. 

 

I think this will be a real nice skirt for the fall months.

2 little ducks went out to play

 

It has been a while since I showed some embroidery.  I pulled this out of the box  a few weeks ago and started to embroider it.

If you remember a while back I made this and added the handmade tatting to it that I had done.  But I had wanted to embroider on it.  My oldest daughter who did this wanted to help so we each did a little. Her stitches are getting real good almost can not tell whose stitches are whose I still can but not for long. She did all the flowers and the feet and beaks.I am sending this post to my little brother today so that he will have it for his new little baby girl that will arrive soon.  Along with a few baby bonnets and such too.  Some day I need to start teaching them to sew clothes.  It would be a good thing but I always figured if I show them everything else sewing clothes is easy the patterns tell you what to do but i should teach them.

Little gingham dress done but not done

I finished sewing the gingham dress on Sunday but I as most know can not leave something plain Jane or the way a pattern tells me to do.  I have to add something to make it a little more special or a little more me.

 

I was given some Irish crochet lace (2 small pieces) and some very wide crochet lace by my Vavo a few years back it was a gift to her from our family friend Dorthy Avila. I have been saving both pieces of lace for a special occasion as they are over 100 years old and I wanted to do them justice.  I have decided to use them on here plus some tatting I did too made from antique thread.  I do not have all the laces sewn on as of yet so I will save that for another post.

I did want to let you know how the dress came out on its own as pictured in the pattern.  I must say the sleeves were the most confusing part of the pattern.  If I ever make this pattern again I have reworked the sleeves in my head to a way that will be easier and faster and not so difficult.  It almost seams like the person who made the pattern wanted it to be hard to do the sleeves and make them look well.  I also added seam binding to the hem the pattern had you just roll the hem.  I think this will look better especially once all the antique handmade laces are added to the dress.
I also sewed on the button with pink embroidery thread and bullion knots just for a small surprise of color.  Sorry for the lack of ironing before I took the photos.  I think this would be the perfect St. Patrick's day dress especially after I get done with the lace.  Can I possibly hope for a little red headed granddaughter someday to just make it perfect.  Probably not since redheads do not run in my family  but my husband has one sort of redheaded brother so just maybe the girls have that gene in them somewhere.