To the Beach Freebie - FINISH!

So last time I mentioned a project I'd worked on earlier this summer.  I thought I'd share this finish today and show you all the goodies I made to go with it.

First, a little back story.  I took a Saturday road trip early this summer to The Finishing Touch in Louisville, Kentucky.  I just love Saundra, the owner, and Carol, fabric cutter extraordinaire!  As a parting gift, Saundra gave me the "To The Beach" freebie by Hands on Design.  I have a great affinity for Cathy Habermann designs and I couldn't wait to stitch it.  Let's check it out.

Design:  To the Beach Freebie

Designer:  Hands on Design

Fabric:  40ct. Vintage Pearled Barley

Floss:  GAST as charted

Started:  6/12/16

Finished:  7/4/16

Completed: 10/9/16

I knew from the start I wanted to finish this as a tin topper.  I intended to take it with me as my travel tool box on my trip to Myrtle Beach for the PALs Retreat in October.  I had heard that Hands on Design might be one of the vendors and thought it would be fun to show Cathy in person but she wasn't there.  Want to see the inside?

I decided to put a sheet magnet in the lid for needles and such.  I also padded the bottom and added cording around so the needles wouldn't get lost in the gap.  I also made a matching ORT catcher using the same fabric and some coordinating fabric.  Then I decided those naked scissors needed a fob.  All scissors need fobs, right?!

Design: From the chart On Beach Time

Designer: Hands on Design

Fabric: 40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley scraps

Floss: GAST and DMC

Started:  10/9/16

Finished: 10/9/16

Completed: 10/12/16

And if you are going to make a fob, why not a two sided fob!  I used the finishing instructions from Jeannette Douglas' chart called "Friendship Sweet Bag."  She suggests using two quarters to give the fob weight.  Now this finish could not be easier and it really gives a nice look and feel.  I also just had to add a couple tiny embellishments too where the twisted cords meet.

These are two things that also live inside the tin.  I love those LoRan threaders and always pick one up when I see them.  I'm pretty certain I have one in every project bag.

Now the other "tool" you might recognize from a trip to ULTA or Sephora!  It is one of those spoolies they give you to test mascara!  It works wonderfully as a "boo boo" stick.  Now I can't claim this as my own brilliant idea.  I heard my blog buddy, Vonna, from The Twisted Stitcher blog/FlossTube mention it.  She's really the brilliant one.  Go get yourself some of these 'cause they are awesome and best of all, free!  You're welcome!

~*~*~*~

So there you have it, a fun finish I thought you'd enjoy seeing today.  Every time I use this sweet set I think of being at the beach.  The beach soothes my soul and I absolutely love being there.  Too bad I live in the land locked midwest.  LOL!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I'm off to a guild meeting and all day stitch tomorrow.  I'm hoping to make some progress on "Heaven Above" and I couldn't resist a new start last weekend so I'm going to work on that too.  More about that another day!  Thanks for visiting.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Lucet Class

 Sherri's lucet collection

 
I wanted to tell you about last weekend's lucet class with Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods.  It was awesome!  I have to say that if you ever have the opportunity to take class with Sherri you will have a ball and learn a ton.  She is so friendly and welcoming.  I instantly felt like I'd known Sherri for a long time.

Sherri with her super size lucet!  Isn' that just too dang cute?

We started out learning the history of the lucet.  As you know, I love history so this was right up my alley.  We learned the lucet can be found made of wood, bone, horn, and even silver.  We also learned it came from the Vikings and is enjoying a resurgence at historical reenactments.

We spent the morning learning how to make square braid on the lucet and then the afternoon was spent learning flat braid.  We also tried adding beads and inlaying threads too.

We learned the size of the cord produced is determined by the fiber size not the size of the lucet.  Thank goodness, look at the one Sherri was teaching with!

Cord examples

I have to tell you that it's all about the tension on your fiber.  Seriously!  I'm thinking I'm going to have to do some more practicing before I can get good enough to make the many yards need to finish our project.  However, it will be worth it!

My lucet collection

I surprised myself by how quickly I took to using the lucet.  I am happy to report I am officially hooked.  I now have my own collection of lucets!  Yep, that's how hooked I am.

The one on the top left is the one that came with our kit.  The one on the upper right and lower left are made of walnut and the one on the lower right is made of cow horn.  I bought these from Sherri after "road testing" them in class.

She also had one just like the one in the center.  It's made from a silver dollar!  Yes, it actually does make cord.  I tried it out on Sherri's.  She told us she got it from Etsy.  I went over there and had one made for me too.  I couldn't live without one.  It's just too dang cool.

Jenny and I with our lucets

It was a real treat to have Jenny spend the weekend at my house.  We had a ball exploring the basket o'joy and the box o'fun on Friday night.  As well as the other random piles of stash that litter my studio.  It was fun having someone to hang out with.  You'll have to pop over to Jenny's blog to see her Hare Pyns finish.  She took that class on Sunday.

Speaking of blogs, I met a new-to-me blogger at the Lucet class.  Her name is Amy and her blog is called Thread in Hand.  Go check her out.  We had fun sitting together in class.  She and her friend, Kathy (no blog)  sat across the table from Jenny and I.  They were a hoot.

***

After class we several of us went to our hostess, Paula's house to check out all her awesome stitching.

 

Paula's entry hall

I stitched the piece in the back on the left  for Paula!

(Jenny has a good pic of the box top on her blog.)

Check it out, Paula collects Shaker boxes too!

It was so fun to visit another stitcher's house and admire all her pretties.  Someday I hope my house is filled with as much stitchy goodness as Paula's.

***

After we left Paula's house we all went to a steak house for dinner.  It was fun getting to know Sherri, Amy, Paula and even Jenny a bit better.  We shared stories about how we each got into stitching and just generally had a great time.  I sure wish we all lived closer together.  It would be so fun to get together for a Saturday stitch day once in a while.  I had a great time in class and a great evening spent with friends old and new.  I can't wait to take class with Sherri again.

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.  I hear we are due for some sunny 80 degree weather in my neck of the woods!  I can't wait.  I foresee a certain motorcycle coming out of the garage this weekend.  It's going to be a good one!

The Inspired Stitcher

Tiara Retreat Here I Come!

My bags are packed and ready to go!

Tomorrow I head off to the Tiara Retreat!  I can not wait.  A long weekend spent secluded in the woods with all my peeps.  We'll stitch, laugh, eat, laugh, stitch, laugh, stitch till we pass out, repeat.  It's going to be great!  I think the hardest part will be deciding what to stitch first.  Don't worry, I've got several things to choose from!

This year we are doing an exchange.  We've not done this before so it should be fun.  I almost hate to give mine away!  I'll show it to you when I get back.  I don't want any noseys seeing it here first since all the peeps read this blog.  No spoilers here.

We are also having chair massages this time.  I've never had a massage of any kind so I'm looking forward to this.  I usually get a pretty good kink between my shoulders when I marathon stitch.  I'm thinking this should be a very good thing.

***

I thought I'd show my dorkness and share with you all the crap I'm toting in my bags.  I know I usually schlep way too much with me but I just can't help myself.  You never know when you might need something.  I'm going to be out in the woods ya know!

Inside my Vera

In the "lid"

• Calculator
• Stitch reference book
• Small notebook
• Confirmations, directions, etc.

In the "bottom"

• Pencil pouch (see below)
• Ott-lite with extension cord (in a draw string wine bag)
• Whitman's Sampler tool box (contents below)
• Mighty Bright clip-on light
• Extra Q-snaps (not in the picture)

Pencil pouch contents

Top row stuff:

• Hello Kitty mini ink pen (yep, I love Hello Kitty)
• 6" drafting ruler
• Purple Thang

Bottom row stuff:

• Identi pen (has a small and medium felt tip)
• Pigma micron .05 black pen
• Mechanical pencil
• Highlighter with Post-it flags built into the cap
• Quilter's marking pencil
• Retractable eraser
• Cutter Bee retractable exacto-type knife
• Magnet wand
• 6" Omnigrid quilter's ruler
• Paper scissors
• Cardboard tube of mini colored pencils

Inside the Whitman Tin toolbox

Toolbox contents

In no particular order:

• Roxanne thimble
• 3" corner square from House of Stitches
• Bottle cap pincushion
• Strawberry emery
• Bee pin box
• Blue basting thread
• Tape measure
• Rubber circles for pulling stubborn needles
• Needle threaders (on a fob gifted to me by Christie)
• Green scissors with fob to match the tool box
• 26 & 28 DMC needles
• Quilter's measuring gauge
• Clover needle threader
• Tweezers
• Nail file
• Nail clippers
• Hair elastic
• Silver seam ripper
• Crochet hook
• Metal seam gauge

Señor Frog

Oh yes, no trip is complete without my frog travel buddy, Señor Frog.  Don't you just love that t-shirt he has on?!  [My coworker named him after visiting this place.]  Hopefully he will keep his peeps away from my peeps.  We'll see how that works out!

Well, I'd better get on with it and get off here.  I need to get some sleep.  I still have to work half a day tomorrow.  I'll be back with tales to tell and I'm sure the peeps will too.  It's going to be a great weekend!

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher

My Stitching Nest

I ran across a blog post today that inspired me to think about where I stitch and wanted to share it with you.  The original post shared where she blogged from.  I thought it might be fun since we are stitchers to share where I stitch instead!

 

My Nest

Let me tell you a little bit about my nest.  I stitch in our living room.  Usually while listening to the TV.  You'll notice my nest is on the right end of the couch if you were sitting down.  This is so the arm of the couch can support my right arm as I stitch (I'm right handed dontcha know).  

The other thing you'll notice is the position of the Ott-Lite.  It shines over my right shoulder when I'm stitching so I don't get any nasty shadows on my work.

You'll also notice it's a bit messy.  Nope, I did not straighten up before I took the picture.  I'm keepin' it real folks!

The two bags on the floor are the ones I've dragged about recently.  My DH says I have an obsession with tote bags.  Imagine that?!  I tend to think you can never have too many.

I made the patchwork stripe one on a marathon sewing day with Jenny.  She wanted to learn how to quilt and I thought a tote bag would be a good way to learn the basics.  I'm proud to say she was an excellent student and went home that night with a completed bag!

The other bag is my Vera Bradley "Little Travel Bag."  I found mine on the Bay of Evil (eBay).  I'm pretty sure it's a discontinued one but you can still find them on the Bay. I usually take this one with me on retreats or to classes.  I'll tell you more about this bag another day

I also keep a shallow Longaberger basket beside me.  It's usually filled with charts I'm thinking of stitching or newly acquired stash I still want to fondle before I put it away.  Oh come on, you know you fondle your stash too!  We're keepin' it real remember?! 

Close up of the Nest

Here's what usually lives on the end table I affectionately refer to as my Nest.  I keep all my necessary stitchy things either laying here or in the Shaker basket.

Laying here, we have my Stitcher's Lotion, my Star De-tailor (an absolute must-have in my world), my travel tin (usually in a project bag), my current project's floss on a ring, and my scissors with that cute fob attached.

A quick note about the fob, I was gifted with this cute fob and a coordinating floss tag by Staci of Snippets and Stash last year in a private exchange hosted by Becky Bee.  I really enjoyed that exchange.  Of course this was before I had a blog.

You'll also notice my wind up frog.  I got him this year in the gift shop at the lodge where our LNS has it's annual stitching retreat.  He cracked me up when I saw him.  When you wind him up he does a back flip.  Too dang funny!  I had to have him.  I say if it makes me laugh out loud then it has to come home with me.

In my Shaker basket I keep packs of spare needles, a nail file, a 6-inch Omnigrid ruler, a pencil, some fabric scissors, a Purple Thang (I do my own finishing.  It's great to use when stuffing things.) and my very necessary ORT (Old Raggedy Threads) collector.  It's actually a spongeware ring holder I got from a Henn Pottery party a very long time ago.

So there you have it, that's where I stitch and what's in my stitching nest.  I hope this post inspires you to share your stitching nest too.  I'd love to see where you stitch and what you find necessary to keep near you when you stitch.  If you decide to do a post too, leave me a comment on this one so I can come check it out.

Have a great weekend everybody!

The Inspired Stitcher

There's a fob for that

I belong to a small group known as The Tiara Club or just Tiara for short.  One of the peeps pulled a practical joke on one of the other peeps before I joined the group.  She made a stitcher's tool belt with fobs on literally everything.  (I wish I could have seen this in person.)  So now we have a running joke about fobs being on everything in a stitcher's tool box.

Well, I just had to make this fob and I'll tell you why.  They say necessity is the mother of invention and I'm here to tell you it's true.

If you own a Star De-Tailer you know how small it is.  If you don't and you are like me, one who stitches right down to the nub,  get thee one!  You won't be sorry.  I don't know how I managed to stitch without one.

Anyway,  I kept losing mine in the couch cushions.  I'd settle into my nest and start stitching only to find my Star went missing.  So I got out my bead box and made myself a little fob and solved that problem!  So yes, there really is a fob for that!

The Inspired Stitcher