Missed a Few

Last week I wrote a year end wrap-up post showing all the things I had made in the previous 4 months, but it turns out a forgot a few.

Moccasins-

I made a pair of moccasins. Earlier in the year I made a pair with beads and fur, which I wear with bare feet, and now I made a pair to wear over wool socks. I used a piece of wool melton cloth for the upper, and stitched on it with wool. The leather is moose hide, and they are lined with denim.

Painting- 

A while ago I turned an old salt shaker (that I had bought in a bundle of things from an auction for a $1), into a picture holder (thanks Pinterest). It stood empty for a few years, so I painted some miniature watercolours to display in it.

Cross Stitch -

This little pillow is an anniversary piece. The pattern is Beggar's Valentine from Primitive Cross Stitch on Etsy that I modified with our wedding date and initials. It is stitched with a poly/cotton embroidery floss that I had been given and wanted to try out. I used one strand of floss over two linen threads. The linen is one that I dyed (I think a 36 count). The embroidery thread worked well with good coverage (it is the inexpensive one from AliExpress). I made it into a pillow cover because last year when I was recycling an old down coat into pillows this was one of the small ones that needed a cover. The stitching is 5"x7".

This is Spell of the Moon by Blackbird Designs. It is stitched with cotton floss that I had dyed, and the linen is one that I dyed too (more of the 36 count). Stitched one strand of floss over two linen threads. I laced it onto a piece of foam core to hang on the wall. It is 4"x5".

The pattern is from this book - Winds of Autumn by Blackbird Designs.

This picture is one that I put together. Stitched with cotton floss and linen that I had dyed. This linen is 42 count. Stitched with one strand of floss over 2 linen threads. 

I had designed it to fit in an old frame. The stitching is 6"x8".

The motifs come from these two books - Répertoire des Motifs by Valérie Lejeune, and the Sampler Company's Ultimate Sampler Motifs Source Book by Brenda Keyes.

Random Photo -

This is the face of someone that had to come in because it was too cold for her to be outside (-30ºC temperatures with -40ºC windchills lately) while snow clearing was happening outside. What you don't hear is her crying and sad howling trying to get her beloved back (she could see our son working outside). I don't know who it is more stressful on - her or those who are inside with her.

All the best!♥︎

All the Crafts!

Instead of blogging recently I have been making things! I love my new craft room - it is wonderful being able to easily access all the tools, books and supplies, and I have been spending a lot of my time there. Here are some of the things I have been working on (picture heavy)-

I turned a piece of the card weaving braid from earlier in the year into a door hanger.

I added a couple of tassels, twisted and braided some of the fringe, and added lots of bells and bobbles. For some of the beads I used jewelry making skills to make little charms.

Along with the other piece of braid they should be good for Christmas decorations.

Quite a while ago I read about a quilter that made test blocks, and class blocks out of Christmas fabric, because if nothing else she would eventually have enough blocks for a Christmas quilt - I apply this to other crafts and make things in Christmas colours, so they could always be used for decorations.

I made a little bit of Russian punch needle (igolochkoy).

The circle is about 1.5".

I used 1 strand of embroidery floss (the three were all handdyed).

My oldest son made the box - he is working on his new laser cutter and trying things out.

I made a couple of pairs of moccasins (my husband and I needed new slippers).

They are made from moose leather and beaver fur, with a fleece lining.

It is the first time I made moccasins with a sewn on extra sole, and it worked surprisingly well. For one pair I used the smooth side of the leather for the foot and the suede side for the top with the beads, the other is reversed. Both have the soles made with the suede side, so that they aren't slippery.

I took a class on making moccasins and mukluks many years ago, and use a book from MacPhee Workshop that is still available (there is also a video link on making mukluks).

The beading starts with a drawing on paper.

The designs are outlined, the paper removed,

and then filled in. 

The first pair had more beads than the second one because my fingers were getting tired of beading.

Apart from machine sewing on the soles (with a walking foot) the moccasins are hand sewn (I used imitation sinew for the first time which was much easier than what I had previously used - nylon thread and beeswax).

There is nothing like a new pair of moccasins!

I couldn't resist participating in the new Temecula Quilt Company's Mini Monday Sewing Bee.

These are the blocks for January and February (4" blocks).

Recently I have been watching Floss Tube (the term cross stitcher's use for their YouTube channels). It seems that cross stitch has changed recently - there are lots of new-to-me terms, so it has been interesting. 

I love the overdyed fabric and floss that people use, so since I have lots of floss and scraps of fabric leftover from other embroidery projects, plus dyes for plant fibres, I tried my hand at dyeing fabric and floss. They all came out really well and I hope to dye more.

The first thing that I embroidered with the floss and fabric was this little pincushion - it is a free pattern from the Primitive Hare.

With a little bit of fabric I stitched just the hand and turned it into a tassel.

Last time I showed a skein of yarn that I spun, now I am knitting a cowl with it (I am participating in a spin/make along). This is just a simple 6 stitch entrelac cowl.

This isn't something that I made recently - this is my Quilt Along quilt from 2011! It is a very big quilt and never fit on any of our beds. Last week my husband and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary, and bought ourselves a new queen size mattress ("love you, but need a bit more space"). Our antique brass bed was converted into a queen size by cutting the side railings and welding on extra metal, and longer wooden boards were added to support the mattress. It worked out well and we were pleased that we could keep the bed frame.

Photos from Around-

Miss Maggie enjoying the sun.

Miss Molly enjoying the cold (she runs like the wind!).

She loves pushing her ball down the snow banks and running after it.

The snow from the surrounding fields seems to have blown into our yard.

We have had strong winds and cold temperatures,

Such cold temperatures (-35ºC) that one of the windows cracked (really exploded - there were tiny shards everywhere) - this is the inside pane, luckily there are 2 more panes of glass (hopefully they will hold until temperatures warm up enough that we can change the window).

All the best!♥︎