Saturday, February 15, 2020

Cross Stitch, a Knitting Lesson and Some Binding

First things first...I found the hoop for my embroidery project!  I had put it somewhere for "safe-keeping" and then had forgotten where that was...until this week, when I was doing some fabric cutting and I looked up...My hoop was on the shelf at eye level.


Now, I can get my embroidery framed and hanging on the wall.  I wondered if anyone has any ideas for finishing the back of the embroidery...do you cut off all the excess fabric and leave it that way or do you cover up the back?  I put a piece of white material behind the embroidery as the fabric that came with the kit is a bit thin.  Just leave a comment if you have some ideas for this. 


I finished off the Linens and Thread January cross stitch ornament this week.  I'm not sure what I am going to do with these yet so I am just going to store them for a while.  I have the pattern and Aida cloth ready for the February pattern.  I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with the same colour scheme or not.


My friend, Pat, came over and gave me my first knitting lesson this week. She brought over some needles for me to use and I found a bin of yarn in the basement which I had used for crafts back in the day.  We decided this lovely red yarn would be perfect for practicing.  I must have purchased this when I was a teenager at the Zellers store near where I grew up.  Check out the bargain price--regular $1.29 but I bought it on sale for 75 cents!  I sent a message out to my family members, offering homemade red scarves to all of them but I did not have any takers!




Pat taught me how to cast on and how to knit and pearl.  I am trying to do a bit of knitting everyday so that I can get better at this.  I did some knitting when I was 8 --I set out to make myself a yellow scarf--I'm pretty sure it was never finished.  I did remember how to do the knit part but had never done the pearl before.  I am getting faster and my tension is getting more even as I go along. The tension was a bit uneven at first, as you can see above. I think I will practice some more before I tackle a real project!


If you read my previous post, you will see that I have been working on a baby quilt this past week--not for any baby in particular...I just like to have a baby quilt or two on hand in case I need a gift in a hurry. I decided that 20 blocks made a nice sized baby quilt so I have put the blocks together.  I have my backing picked out and just need to get the batting pieced before I can quilt it.


The Elgin Piecemakers had a sewing day today.  I spent a couple of hours cleaning out my sewing storage room yesterday and found some old UFO's.  I had participated in a row robin years ago and had never put my quilt together.  I had put the rows aside and found them in a pile so I decided to bring them to the sewing day and make them into table runners.  My row was the one shown above.  The batik with the circles on it was one piece of fabric.   I added the binding to each runner as soon as I finished the quilting.


I now have three runners quilted and binding machine sewn on, ready for hand stitching tomorrow for slow Sunday stitching.  These will likely be donated to the church Christmas bazaar.  I am just glad to have them just about finished and off of my UFO list.


8 comments:

  1. I use hoops to frame lots of my x stitch. Use the frame as a template for a piece of felt. Frame the embroidery and using double thread do a running stitch around the piece about inch away from edge and draw the ends tight. I then trim the bulk. I blanket stitch the felt in place to cover the back! I will take a photo and email it to you if it helps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to seeing your embroidery finished and on the wall. I love your new baby quilt, the fabrics are gorgeous. Beautiful fabrics in your UFO too. Good luck with the knitting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your colors on your cross stitch ornament. I was wondering the same thing when it comes to finishing it off. Your runners are gorgeous! Happy stitching today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the blue and brown table runner. The others are gorgeous too, but that one speaks to me. I am so glad that you found your hoop. I usually put some type of fabric behind my work to so that you can't see through it. I sometimes use hot glue to put another piece of fabric across the back of the hoop too. This has two purposes: it prevents the hoop from separating and it prevents dust from the back. A little rick rack along the edge on the back makes for a nice finish.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have no answer on finishing an hoop project! I am hoping to learn a lot about that this year. That batik was a perfect piece for your tablerunners! Really makes it! Yes, knitting really takes practice. Are you stitching by throwing your yarn or continental?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I will be interested to see how you do your hoop project - I have one my daughter gave me and I need to finish it off some way to display.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you found the hoop in a safe-keeping spot. You are not alone in putting things away for "safe keeping." Mine are so safe that I have to search also. Lol. Keep us posted on how you finish the back. Enjoy learning how to knit!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good job on your knitting! So nice to have a friend close by to remind you how to knit. Your cross stitching is pretty and I really love the baby quilt!

    ReplyDelete