Monogram Stamp -Works in Progress

Truthfully I have been a little obsessed with the whole monogram thing lately. I have another project in the works that is H related. I confess that I am a fairly newly wed and the "eeeee!!!" sensation hasn't worn off yet.

This is a stamp that I am cutting out of fun foam, it's roughly 5x12.5cm. If it is not clear, it is supposed to be an H with leaves sprouting from the middle. It's pretty basic but we all have to start somewhere, and the foam doesn't seem to hold details well. It's also a little rough in spots but perhaps that will be a part of its charm. I'm going to glue it onto another piece of fun foam that's the same size, I don't think that I will stiffen it any further than that mainly because I don't have anything to use. My intent is kind of a book plate stamp sort of deal. I have been eying them for a long time but can't afford to have a nice custom stamp carved for me. We all have to work with what he have on hand these days; this was made from some scraps I had left over from making my small crochet blocking board at the beginning of this year using the ever handy craft knife we all have. We'll see how it ends up.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays! I just made it through Christmas by the skin of my teeth. I finished everything on time, for everyone though just barely. Being the big goof I am, I managed to give away the ornaments I made for my father and inlaws before I got pictures, or even finished writing the patterns. While I think I can complete the last snowflake pattern from memory, I will have to wait untill I am next visiting my family to get the needed pictures. It shouldn't be too long from now. In the interim I have this little pin to show for myself. Measuring with a fingernail, it is approximately 3.5cms. It's a little simple monogram H, for Hall, for no reason. I needed to have a little selfish project after all this Christmas crafting. It was worked up fairly quickly from felt scraps, some leftover embroidery floss, and a safety pin. The stitches are slightly abused: satin stitch, blanket stitch and whatever it took to attach the pin. The pin now resides on my wool coat, bringing a little colour and a touch of the alphabet to the party.

Crochet Snowflakes-Works in Progress

I'm doing some last minute crafting for Christmas. My father didn't want anything this year, he said that if we HAD to give him something it had to be handmade. These were rules I could abide by, and ultimately speaking I can't just NOT give my dad something for Christmas. Also I had no idea what to give the new inlaws. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes, and whip up a big batch of snowflake ornaments.

This pile of curly picots is five flakes waiting to have their ends woven in, and to be stretched and stiffened. It's been a couple days work, mostly in the evenings after Travis, my husband, has gone off to work. I am going to do a handful more before the week is out. I have used one pattern and the others I have made up as I went along, adapting elements of the pattern to make flakes that have continuity, sort of. I may post some of the patterns that I had developed, after the real work of the project has been completed.

Olivine Hankie

This is a hankie that I embroidered as a Christmas present for my mother. Knowing that my mum will not be reading this before Christmas, I feel safe in posting this. It is my first attempt at cutwork and I think it turned out rather nicely. The olive-branch motif is recycled from an earlier embroidery of my design. I had decided to use the motif because my mother is originally from Santa Barbara, California; I have only visited there when I was very young, but my memories of it are very mediterranian and I automatically think of Santa Barbara when I think of olives. Also when my mother moved to Canada, she brought and taught her love for olives to my father who she met here, (he apparently never used to like them, now he admits he couldn't live without) and then eventually to my sisters and I. (I admit I can't live without either).

It is worked, wholely, in a double strand of regular polyester sewing thread just because I couldn't afford to go out and buy floss (if you can imagine) and I liked the colour of the thread I had on hand. It is mostly buttonhole stitch, with a little whipped backstitch for the black outline and whipped chainstitch for the letters; there is plain chain stitch and a teeny tiny running stitch for the shade in the olives. The running stitch is more woven in as they are only a single strand of the fabric in width and in space apart. There is a little satin stitch on one of the olives that boarders onto one of the open spaces, and it is also used in the hand-rolled hem. The fabric is cotton linen, if I recall correctly; it's been in my stash for a while so exact fibre content is mysterious. It is approximately 30x30cms and took me probably something on the order of 20 hours, half spent on the embroidery, half on the hem. If there's any more one could say about it, I'm not sure.

Beginnings

I would say something witty for my introduction but everything I come up with seems so manufactured.
My intent for this blog is that I will use it to harbour my creative pursuits. My crafting, perhaps some of my art, maybe reviews of crafty resources. Who knows what the future will hold!