Snow days and a quilt update

We have had almost a week of snow!

We get snow most winters but not usually this much and it usually doesn't stay this long.

I love the gray sky:

and how beautiful the landscape looks

covered in white:

Rego and Berit LOVE the snow and everything about it!

Chasing snowballs, eating snow...

it's all good!

Speaking of snow, do you remember my snow quilt project?

I have made some progress with stitching motifs in the small plain fabric squares:

and I have decided to use the open cretan stitch for all the borders around the blocks:

I like this stitch, It is quick to do and suits the patchwork-y look of this quilt. So far so good - I will keep you updated on my progress.

100 stitches - knot stitch edging

This beautiful stitching is knot stitch edging. According to 100 Stitches, this is also know as Antwerp Stitch Edging.  This is the first stitch I have done on my 100 Stitches journey that is done of the edge of fabric and I didn't use an embroidery hoop!

I did however, very much enjoy making a hem using my wonderful sewing machine!  I am really pleased with the nice way it stitches:

To demonstrate my stitch, I am using this lovely pink floss, DMC color variations pearl cotton #4180:

For the first step of this stitch, the 100 Stitches instructions say to bring the thread in from the back of the fabric.  I wanted to hide the knot so I started by slipping the needle into the hem:

and out through the bottom of the hem pulling all the way through. Now the the knot is hidden inside the hem:

The next step is to set up your needle and floss like you are doing a single blanket stitch.  Just bring your needle down through the top or right side of the fabric out the back.  Where you put your needle in determines how long vertically your stitch will be.  I put mine right on my hem stitching line so that I could use that line as a guide line. Notice the postition of the needle and the working thread - the needle is going to pass over the working thread:

as you pull, it begins to form a blanket stitch:

pull all the way through:

Bring your needle around and pass it above the floss that is edging the bottom of the fabric but behind the loop you have just formed:

and start to pull it through - again notice the needle is going to pass over the working thread:

pull all the way through forming the "knot"

That is all there is to it!  Now you just set up for the next stitch:

make the single blanket stitch:

and then the knot stitch:

100 Stitches suggests that you space these stitches about 1/4" apart:

It makes for an impressive line of stitching.  I think this would look so pretty as an edging on a pillowcase:

This stitch is just as beautiful on the back too:

This stitch was very easy to learn and do. It was a relief after all the trouble I had with the eyelet hole stitch :) Thank you again everyone for all your help!
This is stitch #56 and is in the knotted stitches section of 100 Stitches.

snowman and snowflakes

Here is a snowman I've just finished stitching. I really like the look of this, especially with the snowflakes:

Do you like the color combination on his striped scarf? I do! This is not a color combination I would have thought to put together just looking through my embroidery floss collection. I had started with black floss for his top hat and I love the color combination of black and acid green so I put those together.  Then I wanted some colors that went with the green. The acid green floss nicely matches the "yellow-green" color group on my color wheel.  The complementary color group for the yellow greens is the "red-violet" group:

I had several beautiful floss colors that matched the colors in the red-violet group so I made this combination.  I especially like the way it looks on the scarf fringe. 

Here are the colors I used, with their floss numbers:

100 stitches - eyelet hole stitch Updated!

Here are my newest eyelet hole stitches! I think they are a vast improvement over my first attempts! :)  Thank you all for your encouraging and very helpful comments on my last post.  Angela sent me an article that clearly explained how to do this stitch - with pictures of what the finished product should look like - thank you Angela! I still need to practice (these are still a bit lumpy and uneven) but at least now I know the correct technique:

There were two major things I was doing wrong.   Number one, I was using the wrong sized needle.  I was using my #24 chenille needle.  The best needle for this stitch is apparently a #10 sharps needle.  I couldn't find a #10 sharps but I had a #9 sharps in my supplies.  Just look at the size difference between the #24 on the left and the #9 sharps on the right. 

The sharps is so thin and flexible and a bit shorter in length.   Look how tiny the eye is!

Number two, I shouldn't have drawn two circles - you don't need to draw an inner circle to follow.  You only want the outside circle.  Just stitch the running stitch along this circle using only one strand of floss, and then after piercing the center of the hole with an awl or making a small x, take very small overcast stitches all around the circle.  These overcast stitches need to come out consistantly ;) right next to the outer edge of the circle.  The rest of the steps are all correct in my original post. 

So I am continuing to practice! I am sort of wondering why the different sized needle would make such a difference? Maybe because it is easier to take smaller closer stitches?

100 Stitches - eyelet hole stitch

Well - I tried :(  Unlike so many of the stitches that I have learned from 100 Stitches, this eyelet hole stitch looked sooooo easy but turned out to be  almost impossible for me to do!  These three are the best I could do:

Here is a darker picture so that you can see the white satin on white fabric.  Don't look too carefully!

Here is the hall of shame with a few of my many attempts.  What am I doing wrong?! At first I thought that these looked so horrible because the outer edge was so jaggedy and uneven looking.

So, I decided to use this hole template as a guide:

I drew a 1/4" inside hole and a 3/8" outside hole.  After practicing with different types of floss, I decided to go with three strands of cotton floss:

The first step is to stitch a running stitch all around the outer circle:

The next step is to pierce the center of the small hole.  100 Stitches suggest either using a "stiletto" to pierce the fabric - or to cut across the center both ways.  I used my scissors to cut two small x's:

I think at this point, I had the best results with using only one strand of my cotton floss:

Come up through the fabric right at the outer edge of your running stitch:

Now bring your needle down into the open area of the hole and back out through the fabric on the outside edge of the running stitch.  Notice the needle is emerging right next to where the floss first came through.  This is just a simple overcast stitch:

Pull all the way through:

and take the next overcast stitch by going back into the hole and out on the outside edge of the running stitch:

Just keep overcast stitching and it will start to draw the raw edges of the fabric to the underside of the fabric and enclose them in the stitching.

Just keep working your way around. 

Until you are done.  Now secure the floss on the underside.

Here is a closer look at the uneven outer edge!  I seem to be having trouble with two things...keeping a consistent outer edge of my stitching and stitching so that there is even "coverage" all around the circle.  I would very much appreciate any suggestions or tips or ideas for improvement!

Here is the underside of my stitching:

I think I like these best in a white on white.  It seems more traditional, like eyelet lace fabric.  I also really liked using the satin floss on these.  I think it looks prettier.

This stitch is in the flat stitches section of 100 Stitches and is #21.

UPDATE - please read this post for updated instructions and corrections on this stitch!

Some Christmas crafting supplies!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I had a wonderful Christmas.  I wanted to share some of the beautiful crafting supplies I received. Plenty of embroidery floss in some gorgeous color combinations like these pinks:

This lovely blue and yellow:

and this pretty group of a blue and white variegated, a violet and a rich purple.

I am so happy to have received this:

a rotary cutter!  I have really needed one of these.  It cuts fabric with such a nice clean edge!

Speaking of fabric, do you remember this bright blue fabric? I am going to be stitching some snow motifs on it for a small project I am working on.  I think the blue makes a nice background for this white pearl cotton floss: