The Big Five :))

Happy birthday to my darling son who just turned 5. Mommy loves you! We will be celebrating his birthday at the Museum of Fine Arts tomorrow. That should be fun :) Hope the weather will be nice.

Sewing in Hand VS. Using a Hoop or Frame

On this project, one of my goals was to practice the "sewing in hand"method (this is when you sew using no tools other than the needle and the needle always remains on the front side of your fabric at all times). I mainly have used a hoop or frame and have never attempted this because I like a taut fabric and have better control of the stitches and the fabric. But I heard sewing in hand is MUCH faster and hassle free because you aren't using any tools. Great for travelers and for people who take their work with them.

So I gave it a shot. At first, it was very awkward and felt very un natural. My hands felt clumsy and stiff. I was fine when sewing a whole straight line but when I had to change lines, I had a hard time navigating the needle to the next point of change. But I kept at it and by the end of this project I feel much more comfortable and can now say, I know how to properly sew in hand.

What I liked about sewing in hand:
1) I sewed MUCH faster this way!
2) I had much much less thread tangling and knot problems (almost none while sewing this way)
3) No cumbersome tools to deal with or move around or constantly adjust

What I didn't like:
1) The stitches didn't come out as neat as when using a hoop/frame
2) Hard to maintain perfect tension
3) Fabric felt clumsy and "all over the place"
4) Easier to get fabric soiled more since your touching and handling the fabric more this way

I am super happy I finally learned how to properly sew this way. I think for future works depending on size, scope and detail of design, I will be incorporating both methods into my sewing and alternating.

Hope everyone had a productive stitching week like me :)
Now on to the next one....

My First Attempt at Making a Design

This was done at the spur of the moment. Couldn't find anything in my current stash that "spoke" to me. So I decided to make my own since I've been wanting to try this. I did not use any cross stitch software, tools or charts or draw anything before hand. I just started to sew free handed on the fabric working on one piece at a time and adding the next one as I went along. I didn't want any restrictions, border or boundaries, so I didn't want a set plan. I decided to let my creative juices kick in and put the needle to the thread and see where it took me ;)

There are TONS of boo-boo's and mistakes, lettering is not spaced evenly and it's a bit out of proportion, (so don't look too closely lol) but over all I am very pleased with the outcome considering it was my first attempt and done without a picture to follow. In hindsight, I really wish I was sewed things much bigger. I was timid and unsure of my abilities, so I kept everything very small and manageable. I am also happy with my color choice and even happier I didn't have to go out and buy anything for this project ;))

This is sewn on 28 count ,off white lugana. Stitch size 12 x 12. This is one week's worth of sewing... about 3-4hrs every night. May add some more to this design. Have not decided if it's completed or not yet.

Stitching Woes

So much has been going on lately (life , work, more life and MUCH more work )All work and no fun makes a cranky and unproductive xstitcher :( I've been so busy, I haven't had any time to stitch this whole week :(( and to make matters worse, I have been feeling soooo under the weather too, and just plain TIRED. There just never seems to be enough time in the day anymore..Do not know what is more tired.. my brain or my body at this point.......sigh
I miss my stitching and itching to get going again.

I started to work on The Kiss again tonight (even though I'm still feeling so yucky), but after about 30 minutes of sewing I had to put it down. I think somewhere along the way during all the little practices, I "crossed" over and became a stitch over two stitcher (whoo hooo..little happy dance for me). I don't like stitching on Aida anymore, and just don't want to finish this design on this fabric (16ct Aida), But that makes me feel bad, because it's coming along nicely and I've already invested about 50 hours thus far. I think I will put it aside for a while and come back to it. I will either try to finish what I already started OR start all over again on another fabric. So-  bye bye for now. Until we meet again..hopefully sooner than later.

Unfortunately for me, next  work week will be a repeat of this week's events ..oh joy. Soooooo hoping to have a little energy left at the end of the night to sew. Here's to wishing ;)
Hope you are all well and getting your stitching groove on!
Hugs

Beautiful Day

The weather was gorgeous today! Sunny and bright, although you can't really tell based on my picture here..

And here is a shot of my two little people. I was suppose to spend the day doing paperwork to get ready for tax filing (fun fun fun), but couldn't really focus because the kids wanted to be outside and it was just too nice to be stuck indoors. So I loaded up the kids in the mommy car and off we went to the park. Turns out, it was just what we all needed. Lots of fresh air and sunshine! It felt soooo good to be in the sun and outside :)

Here is my latest completion. Its called "Bridegrooms Heart". Thought it would take more time to sew this, but I finished it in one night. I have been experimenting on sewing with different types of fabrics since all I ever worked on before was Aida. So I have been choosing very simple and very small, one-two color designs that aren't big or complicated so I can focus on "getting to know my fabric" and sewing over two (still new at this remember? ) And not have to worry about changing a gazillion colors and trying to follow a complex chart.

From my RAK stash, I've sewed a tiny bit on Jobelan, Annabelle, Belfast, Lugana and Linen. This design that I just finished is on an unknown piece of fabric that was in that stash. I have no idea what it is at all. But it's super soft and bit thick. Wish I knew...
My favorite is Lugana so far and my least favorite is Belfast. I love how Lugana feels and its easier for me to sew over two on this fabric than the others. I am able to see the holes clearly.So I went to 123Stitch and ordered 4 Lugana fabrics in different colors. Whooo, can't wait to get my stash!

On another note. I introduced xstitching to a dear close friend on Friday. I put together a sewing box like mine, for her ,along with threads,needle, fabric and chart to do a design. I am sooooo hoping she will get HOOKED like me on xstitching. Would be so nice to have a sewing buddy near by. I don't know anyone else who likes to sew that I could share this love and passion with locally. So I am really really hoping. We will see what happens. Time will tell ;)

Another Quickie

Sorry this picture is so dark...was taken with phone. This is my two night quickie, Valentines finish that I will turn into a bookmark as soon as I get a sewing machine. I never really had a need for a sewing machine until now. There are so many things I want to make , but can't because I don't own a machine. So that is what I'm hoping for ..for my upcoming birthday ;) I think I will start on a new larger piece tonight. The million dollar question is what?? I am soooo loving these Quaker designs and on a Quaker kick right now. ( Although this one isn't consider Quaker )

First Quaker Piece

I found a bunch of small, cute , quickie quaker style charts online the other night. So decided to do my first one tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed sewing this, and LOVED sewing this quaker design. I'm hooked folks! Think I will do some more one-two day quickies for a bit. Was a nice change after working on TK and dealing with that big "hairy"problem. And I felt productive. It's a small finish, but never-the-less...it's a finish! :))

And for the first time ever, I sewed my first piece on a NON Aida fabric!!! Used a 28 count fabric and best of all - I finally learned how to stitch over two. WHOOOO HOOO . It means so much to me to be able to do this! This was not something I was able to do last month...so I was very bummed about it.