Daisychain Sampler "U"

Ok, this was kind of a weird one to do.

But also super cool (I think I've been using that phrase too much lately ... but I can't think of any other way to decribe it right now so ... super cool it is.)

I kept thinking feathers on an arrow, as in bow & arrow.  Can you see it too?  Or am I just going completely mental here?

I was also asked about my needle size yesterday so I thought I'd do a little show & tell on the subject.

My favorite brand - Jeana Kimball's Embroidery/Redwork needles.  Love them.

And my favorite size is 10.  HOWEVER, I ran out of 10s and have been resorting to an old pack of 9s lately ... which are longer.  Embroidery needle numbering is such that the larger the number, the smaller the needle.  Totally decided by a man, I'm sure! LOL!

But I don't like buying new needles if I have some that still work, even though they are a little cumbersome. 

Anyhow, a #9 embroidery needle is about 1 3/4" long. 

I think my needle looks so big in my photos because it's really hard to judge the size of my letters without accurate reference ... they are just over 1 1/4" tall.

Remember, I like little. ;)

And since it's the end of another row ... AND it's Friday ...

(Eeeeeeeeeep!!!!!!)

And one more thing ...

As to my plans for this Sampler when the embroidery is done, still no final decision.  But the floss was inspired - in part - by these fabrics ... Moda's Seaside Rose from about 7? - 8? years ago?

I may or may not use them for the finished piece.  All I know is that it will become a wallhanging of some sort.

All right, that was 2 weeks of Daisychain Sampler catch up and it sure felt good!  But my old tendonitis is starting to bark at me a little and my sister has gone home so I should take a little break.  Kay?

Oh wait, and just one MORE thing ... I've had a few questions lately about the floss I'm using. 

Here's a link to a previous post with all that info, including where to buy the pattern, the floss and what colors I'm using.  There's also a category called Daisychain Sampler under Tags on the right side of my blog where you can check out my progress to date.  ;)

Happy weekend everyone!

Daisychain Sampler "T"

You guys are just like totally awesome with all your pink S snake remedies!  From trumpets to tubas you had some fantastic alternative visuals.  But my favorite - and the most popular solution - was to fill in the curl at the end of the so-called tongue.  I'm gonna do that.

But the problem in my mind is already solved because for the rest of my life when I see that "S" I will think of you and how funny and kind and generous you all are. :)

Also thank you for letting me know I'm in good snake-phobia company. :)  I know it's irrational.  And I don't want my daughters to inherit my junk ... I've gotten over A LOT of some pretty major hangups since becoming a mom ... like catching diarrhea with my bare hands and pulling teeth out another human being's head (that is just.not.cool!  and that's what DAD'S are for!)  But this snake thing ... I dunno.

But now on to T.  This was a super fun one for me.

I loved how the colors in this letter turned out ...

... that what a happy coincidence Alicia's original Sampler has the reverse coloration and it works here for my Sampler too. 

LOL!  "Coloration!"  Look at me using such a fancy schmancy word ... guess I'm feelin' kinda cerebral today ...

AND I got to do the long-short stitch again.

Sooo simple.

And yet sooo fun and cool looking.

Hey?

Am I right or am I right?

Tee hee!  I knew it.  I'm right. ;)

Daisychain Sampler "S"

It's amazing how much embroidery I can get done when my sister is visiting.  I really wish I had more stitchy friends that lived near by.

Why is it so hard to find people who like to sit around, drink tea, maybe eat yummy snacks, chat about whatever and make pretty designs on fabric with a simple needle and lovely thread?

Oh, and a few people asked me last week what I'm going to do with this Sampler when it's done.  I do know it'll be hung on the wall.  I'm leaning towards some sort of patchwork piecing to frame it.  Maybe just in a frame.  Haven't decided for sure.  I'll have to play around a bit.  I'm open to suggestions ...

This letter is done with a backstitch fill.

Which was totally ok with me.

'Cause it doesn't really matter (at least to me) if the stitches aren't all the same length.

And it has such a neat texture.

[Insert panic here]

Oh crap!  NOW all of a sudden it looks like a pink snake - all poised like a hooded cobra, sticking out its tongue and ready to strike ... I HATE snakes!!! 

No, you don't understand!  I mean REALLY ... as in full blown phobia ... as in like Indiana Jones only add screaming like a girl running in the opposite direction with arms flailing in the air!!!  (I won't even go into the reptile house at the zoo ... )

[Insert reconsidering very irrational response to thought of a snake in my Sampler and attempting to regain SOME semblance of maturity here] 

But then again, maybe I don't like them because they don't come in pink ... maybe I could learn to like pink snakes ... hmmm, I'm gonna have to think about that one ...

Daisychain Sampler "R"

R is for I'm on a ROLL here!

And if you're Canadian, it's also for RRROLL up the RIM to win time, eh?!  LOL!  I actually went into a trash can yesterday because I forgot to roll up my rim before I threw out my cup ... didn't win anything though.

For those of you who have absolutely no flippin' idea what I'm talking about, lemme 'splain.  There's a famous national donut chain (yes, there is some merit to the stereotype about Canadians & their donuts) called Tim Hortons - locally known as Tim's, Timmie's, Hortons ... and probably other nicknames I haven't heard. 

Tim Horton was a hockey player turned entrepreneur.  And may I just throw down the gauntlet by saying that Tim Hortons beats Krispy Kreme (an American donut chain) every day of the week and twice on Sundays.   Other donut shops have gone head to head with Tim's, but none have lasted. 

Just sayin'.

So once or twice a year, Tim's has a nationwide contest where you have a chance to win a prize ranging from a free coffee or donut to a car.  The potential prize is hidden under the rolled edge of a paper cup, hence the term "roll up the rim" - and you have to roll the R like you're Scottish. 

I don't drink coffee.  Tim's does have a nice steeped tea, but I can get tea for free at home.  And then there's also the thing about me not having enough self control to walk into a donut shop and NOT order a donut ... so "just a cup of tea" ALWAYS turns into "a medium steeped tea, double double (that's how I order cream & sugar) and a 10 (or 20) pack of assorted Timbits".

However, yesterday I was at the swimming pool for an hour on a field trip with my daughter and I WASN'T allowed to bring any stitching because then I wouldn't be WATCHING her jump off the diving board like I promised.  And I also didn't have time to make a cup before I left home.  But there just so happened to be a Tim's drive-thru on the way to the pool ...

But I digress.

LOL!  I'm gonna make all you non-Canadians at least honorary citizens by virtue of meaningless trivia about this fine country if it KILLS me!!!  LOL!  You can thank me next time you're struggling for a topic of conversation and you find yourself talking about donuts and Snowy Owls at a cocktail party. ;)

All right, all right!  Keep your shirt on ... here comes the Sampler.

I wasn't sure if this dark brown & light pink would work together.

I was worried the dark would end up super loud ...

... and the delicate pink would disappear.

I don't think that happened.  I am totally diggin' how it turned out.

Daisychain Sampler "Q"

The first time I did a search for something on the internet was in June 2002 for my first daughter's first birthday.  I wanted to take a picture of her wearing a fairy crown made from the pink daisies growing under our kitchen window.  But I'd never made one before so I Googled "How to make a Fairy Crown." 

Here's how it turned out. 

That's my little cutie almost 10 years ago. 

(Sorry 'bout the quality - they're photos of photos ... remember, I took them back in "the olden days" before I had a digital camera!  LOL!)

A few years later, I made another one for my second daughter.  This time we were on a holiday (and she was almost 18 months ... you know how it goes with the second child ...)  No pink daisies to be found, but there were tons of white ones.

This is the little munchkin who made the anniversary embroidery I showed last week.

Is it normal that looking at these pictures of my babies makes my heart ache?  I miss that new baby smell & the squooshy squoosh & pudgy cheeks & baby giggles & tiny fingers & them sleeping in my arms. 

(Sigh.)  Anyhow. 

This is my long way of explaining WHY I wanted to make this "Daisychain Sampler" in the first place.  Seriously.  It was this post on Alicia's blog that sold me.

And now with this letter?  I would do the entire alphabet with this style of letter.  Really, I would!

I admit to almost wishing I'd used a darker background fabric so I could make the daisies white.

But I think this pale buttery yellow worked out so beautifully.

Normally, I'm a little (ok, a lot) fussy about my lazy daisy petals being exactly the same length and perfectly spaced around each flower.  But in this application, I felt the haphazard, "natural" approach would suit this letter best.

So I let go of my OCD perfectionist tendencies and just let the petals be where they wanted to be.  Some flowers with 5 petals and some with 6 ... and a few are just half flowers. 

Love it.

Something told me to go with my favorite blue as the flower centers.

Could you not just weep? 

Isn't it THE.most.unbelievably.pretty.letter.EVER?!

Daisychain Sampler "P"

Yay!  More Daisychain Sampler! 

As you found out yesterday my sister is visiting.  But despite the time lost searching for the Snowy Owl on the weekend, my sister & I still found some time to stitch & chat.

I forgot to show you the group shot after I finished the last row ...

And now for some poetry.

P is for Pretty.

P is for Pink.

P is for Perfect.

P.

I totally missed my calling as a poet.  LOL!  NOT!  Think I'll stick to stitching & sewing. 

Unless Sesame Street calls. 

Then it'll be all, "I can't work with this big yellow bird.  Get him off the set or I walk!"

I have a very rich ... & delusional ... imagination.

Daisychain Sampler "O"

Oh my gosh you guys!  I had no idea so many of you even remembered my poor Sampler, let alone missed it!  I'm totally sorry 'bout that.  Thanks for letting me know.  Now I'll be more motivated to finish it. :)

So here I go again coloring outside the lines not following the pattern.

And yes it's all because of my deep & abiding dislike for the satin stitch.  I especially didn't want to do it for this letter because the stitches would be reeeeeeally tight together along the inner circle and then a little farther apart along the outer circle. 

I don't know why exactly, but doing that makes me crabby.

As my daughter used to object when she was little(r), "Me no like!"

So.  I've chosen one of my all time favorite stitches instead - the feather stitch. 

Now, I didn't exactly plan that well and used a bright blue pen to trace.

But do you think I was worried?

(Oh, and by the way, to join a feathered circle simply thread your last stitch thru the first one.  Neat, eh?)

Sometimes I actually ENJOY solving problems like this ...

See?  Colonial Knot to the rescue.

"There are no mistakes, only opportunities for embellishing." 

Words to live by ... if you're like me and you love to make things, but don't always get it "right" on the first try.

Oh and in case you can't tell from the photo, I used two shades of yellow here.  Just 'cause.

And in case you needed reminding of the nerd that is me, here's what I think about my beautiful golden filagree letter ...

Is now a good time to admit that back in high school a friend of mine & I used to write notes to each other using Rune letters we decoded from "The Hobbit"?

This is me rolling my eyes and shaking my head at my 15 year old self.  Geez!  No WONDER my parents didn't worry about me getting into trouble! 

And no wonder I never had a date either!  LOL!  I guess I shoulda hung out a little more in the physics lab ...

How DID I end up snagging one of the hottest/most eligible jocks in school?  Damn lucky I guess. :)

Daisychain Sampler "N"

I feel so guilty having neglected my sweet little Sampler!  Aye yay YAY!  Thank you Sue Anne for the little nudge. ;)

It's not like me to leave something that I love so much alone.  But I think it's because I'm taking so many "in progress" pictures of each letter.  I literally have to perch in the livingroom next to my makeshift "photo studio" (THAT is a laughable description!), and hop up every 5 minutes or so to take a photo.  Plus I need to do it during the day for good lighting so I can't stitch this up in front of the tv in the evening - my favorite time to stitch.

But enough whining and complaining.  Here comes "N".

Wait, I take that back ... a little more complaining.  See, I'm not a big fan of the backstitch.  I like it more than the satin stitch, but ... it just gives me and my uneven stitches away.  I MUCH prefer the stem stitch, which totally hides any little uneven-ness.

I know, you're probably wondering why.  It's practically the easiest, most basic stitch of them all.  I'm no staticis statiticitia statis ... BLAH! ... expert on statistics, but I bet it's in the top 5 of the most common embroidery stitches ... maybe even top 3 ... (maybe even #1 ... but I feel super nervous about saying something that bold and daring without something more than a hunch to back it up!)

It's just that I like to stitch fast and I can't do this stitch fast AND well.  I can EITHER do it fast OR well.  Guess which one I choose ...

And now to my FAVORITE ... the Colonial Knot.

Have you guys tried it yet? 

Have I converted anyone from the French to the Colonial Knot?

I'm not just sitting here stitching & blogging for the fun of it, ya know.

Oh wait, YES I AM!!!! LOL!

Creative Teamwork

My daughter & I finished the Anniversary stitchery.  What do you think?

I confess to searching Amy's blog for some ideas and found this one ...

The cute "Washi Tape" idea on the corners of her quilt got me thinking about the seam allowance here which hanging by a thread ...

... LITERALLY!

I thought adding some washi tape applique would help, and be a cute little detail too.

I presented the idea of adding tape to all 4 corners but I was vetoed.   At least she allowed 2. 

AND she liked the buttons.

Maybe when she moves away to college I'll sneak on the other 2 tapes and hopefully she won't notice.

Here it is "in situ" in my favorite corner of the kitchen.

Livens up the place, that's for sure!

"Thank you Sweetheart for your beautiful handmade gift for Daddy & me.  We love it and will treasure it forever." ox

Remember This?

That was almost 2 months ago.  But my spunky little 8 year old didn't give up on it.  I think her interest was rekindled when I told her I'd like to sew it up into a wallhanging ... this mama's been around the block a few times now ... ;)

And this little issue about running out of room that was making her so frustrated?

Here is how we solved it.

Somehow the yellow floss she started with went missing so we color-matched as best we could.  We've decided it's not at all noticeable.

The little angel thought she'd "trim" the top edge for me ...

... I'll make it work somehow!  LOL!

Here are the fabrics "we" chose.  She picked the yellow polka dots "... 'cause they're so fun!"

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend!

(Right now I'm SO wishing I had the same kind of magic one of my all time favorite bloggers has ...)

Proud Mama

I almost didn't have anything to brag blog about today.  But then I thought you might like to see what the other needlewomen in my house are up to these days.

Big Sister (10) got this book from Santa. 

Santa rocks, just sayin'... ;)

And she wanted to try out this design on a t-shirt,

so I suggested she practice on muslin first.

I must say she has a most impressive stem stitch.

So of course whatever Big Sister is doing, Little Sister (8, but almost 9) also wants to do, right?  I was a little sister so I know ALL about that.

She decided to stitch her initial, which she drew freehand with no hesitation.  (She did NOT get that confidence from ME!)  Haha!

(Love her little curli-q's!) And check OUT that backstitch! 

So when she realized it was our Anniversary last week, she wanted to "secretly" make something for us.

She's watched me make letter templates many times before with the computer so she just went ahead and made up her own pattern.

And I hadn't put away the muslin yardage so she helped herself to a nice big chunk.  Unfortunately, she was a little upset that the piece she'd cut was still too small, (thank goodness she used the 'el cheapo' muslin and not my prized fabric from the "forbidden" pile) but I have an idea for that.  I'll show you when it's done.

The most surprising thing to me is that this kid usually loses interest in things quickly ... but she hasn't given up on this yet!

(Please notice how she flourished the Y.)

I really am a super proud mama. :)

Daisychain Sampler "M"

As in James Bond's boss. 

Or half of the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hands. 

Or my daugher's middle initial. 

Or just plain old "Mmmmmmmmmmmm", which is exactly how I feel about this color (again!).

You know, I really like the chain stitch ... once I figured out how to not pull too tightly so my links would stay nice and round!

It's another one of those cool texture stitches.  I've used it as a purse handle, a skipping rope, a chain for a pocket watch, octopus tentacles ... it's super versatile.

Daisychain Sampler "L"

This is such a cute little letter.

And I love making flowers with this ...

a pinwheel blanket stitch.

But the whole time I was stitching up these flowers, all that was going through my head was, "The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round ..."

Clearly I've been on one too many field trips with 5 year olds!

For the first time in this Sampler, I'm using a single ply - here for the Colonial knots. 

I want the little knots in the flower centers to be delicate and I think 2 plies would be too chunky. 

Remember, I reduced the size of my pattern by 30%.  If you're stitching with embroidery floss too but on the pattern full size, you may not want to copy me here.

See?

Uber super dee duper cute. ;)

Daisychain Sampler "K"

K is my favorite letter.  I mean of all time.  Before I was married my initials were K.K.  Now I'm K.C. ... with my very own imaginary "Sunshine Band" all you 80s people ;).

I know it would have been expected for me to stitch it up in pink, but since E & J - the adjoining letters - are already pink, I just went with what color was needed here.

Light moss green. :) 

I L.O.V.E. doing this stitch - long & short stitch.  It takes a little bit to start seeing the texture.

But once you get going, it is the COOLEST thing.

Just to give you a scale reference ... told ya I like little!

I love using stitches to create texture.

Progress Report ...

I am one happy stitcher. :)

Daisychain Sampler "J"

Geez, I've neglected this poor Sampler for a month now!  Shame on me.  Let's blame it on Christmas. :)

Now you may (or may not) know I have a thing with quilting where I don't like the same color or the same print to "touch" when I'm piecing fabrics together.  Well, I kinda have the same thing here.

I'm loosely following Alicia's color placement and she has dark pink in both "I" and "J". 

I ALMOST changed the color.  But I admire Alicia's talent so I figured if it's good enough for her, it's CERTAINLY good enough for me!

So I did it.  I let the dark pink be beside itself here.

The sky hasn't fallen.

Think I'll be ok. ;)

Daisychain Sampler "I"

I is a cute flower made almost entirely with lazy daisy stitches.  Love it.

Whenever I mark out a lazy daisy stitch, I ALWAYS use just 2 dots.

One for where the needle goes DOWN and one for where the needle comes UP.

See?  This way, if I pull the stitch too tight (or not tight enough) there are no markings underneath to tell on me.

Nifty, eh? (And yes, those are 3 Colonial Knots - not French Knots - in the flower center.)

My daughter just walked into the room as I was writing this post and "informed me" that 'hi' is a word in the alphabet.

"Did you know that, Mummy?"

Love her.  :)

Daisychain Sampler "H"

Ok.  This wasn't so bad, satin-stitch wise, I mean.

I didn't worry as much about the edges being perfect.

'Cause I knew they would be hidden ...

... with a little outline. :)

You know, with all the yellow I've been using lately in my FWQAL blocks and now this pretty little letter, I really need to rethink my relationship with this color ...

Daisychain Sampler "E"

I decided to just go for it this time and not do the pre-outlining before I satin stitched.

Lazy or brave?

You decide. ;)

Daisychain Sampler "A" Part II

Ok, ok.  Satin stitch, here I come.  And I'm going to do it right.  The sampler is coming along so nicely I don't want to spoil it with a sloppy satin stitch so here's my plan.

I learned this trick a long time ago.  If you outline the object that is to be "satined" with a backstitch (some people recommend a split stitch) first, and then satin OVER the outline to hide it, the edges where your needle goes in and out will look much smoother. 

I hate doing is extra step because it's work NO one will EVER see.  It almost feels like a waste of time. 

Until you actually DO it and then see how nicely your stitches turn out.

All right, all right.  I'll stop complaining now.

Time to get knotty ... Colonial Knot-ty, that is.  ;)

Ok.  Totally worth the extra work.  :)

Daisychain Sampler G

Ok.  I'm about to say something that might shock you if you embroider ... the french knot & I are sworn enemies.  I am SO not even joking about this, you guys.  I mean enemies as in:

• Montagues vs. Capulets (Please tell me you know a little Shakespeare)
• Edward vs. Jacob (If you don't know Shakespeare, you MUST know these guys)
• Mr. Darcy & Mr. Wickham (my favourite) 

But seriously.  I will never reconcile with the french knot.  And there isn't a single one in this letter - or in my entire sampler, for that matter.  I swore off french knots a few years ago and haven't made one since.

Huh?

Nope.  Not a single one.  So what knot DID I use for this letter?

Brace yourself.  I'm about to rock your embroidery world ...

The Colonial Knot. 

When you are making it, it doesn't misbehave like a french knot can (and often does for me!  Grrr).  And it lays on the fabric all nice and flat like a donut. 

Yes, go ahead all you lovely Americans and make fun of this stereotypical Canadian who somehow found a way to compare embroidery to donuts.  tee hee ;) 

I have yet to find a situation where the french knot CAN'T be substituted with a colonial knot.  Give it a try.  It's worth the time to learn.  Trust me.  If I can teach my 10 year old dyslexic daughter how to do it, you can do it. 

Here's how my sampler looks so far ...

Ugh.  But now H is more satin stitch (I'm typing this in my very best whiny voice ... can you hear it?)  Guess I better just suck it up and go back to A before my sampler ends up looking like Swiss Cheese on account of all the holes left where satin-stitched letters should be!