Category: needlepoint

completed bucilla stocking!

You guys I am super excited about this. I finally completed the stocking I was making for my niece!

Let me tell you again the reason I was making this. Everyone on my husband’s side of the family has a different one of these beautiful stockings (by Bucilla) handmade by his grandmother who the kids called Gigi. When we married into the family she even made one for us. This year we were all so sad when Gigi was diagnosed with two advanced forms of cancer and passed away within a few months. I personally really looked up to her and she is the one that gave me her sewing machine and taught me how to use it. She made Meredith many gorgeous knitted blankets, hats, sweaters, and toys. She also had an amazing life story that I never tired of hearing about.

Anyway, my niece Karley was born in March of this year and Gigi wasn’t able to make her a stocking so I volunteered to try! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law helped put a lot of the sequins on the pieces and I know they would have done more but it was kind of hard to split up the work with such a complicated project. I was also excited to figure it out by myself. As for my experience in needlepoint, I am an amateur cross-stitcher and I have only done the simplest of embroidery and felt work before. I was learning new things up until the very end with this, but I enjoyed every bit of it!

Now excuse me as I show you a ton of detail photos because I can’t stop looking at it.

Santa’s hat and face were the first pieces to go on. I’m glad they turned out as well as they did because I really had no idea what I was doing at first!

The train and the jack-in-the-box were probably the most time consuming parts of it.

The hardest part might have been simply embroidering the name on the tag! Since it’s personalized I had to trace it onto tissue paper and then stitch over the paper, tearing it away at the end. It was kind of messy and I am just so happy that I didn’t have to redo the whole thing.

Another detail shot of the stitching:

The whole project was both easier and harder than I expected. I started it back in September because I had no idea how intense it would be, and I’m really glad I did. I don’t have a ton of spare time and this is some really detailed stuff! Every single little piece has to be sequined, embroidered, cut out, stuffed, and attached by hand. So it’s a lot, and I’m really glad I didn’t develop pregnancy carpal tunnel because I don’t know if I could have done it with numb fingers. :) But also, once I mastered a few stitches and became familiar with the material, it was really just matter of doing it!

For fun I hung it up on our fireplace to see it next to the others.

From left to right is David’s, mine, Meredith’s, and Karley’s. You can see how the patterns have become way more complicated in recent years!

It is so satisfying to be finished with this project, but I can say that I am actually already looking forward to making another one for our little boy next year! For now though, I am really excited to be getting back to my true love, cross stitch, and this project that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. :)

December 18, 2013
quick takes

one

I am so tired today. It’s been too much week. We’ve had something planned every night this week except for one, and that night the toddler was a hellion so I’m just beat. It was good stuff that we were doing: dinner with family, church, and our anniversary dinner (we went here and it was delish) but I’m just not used to having so much to do after work. Tonight we have to prep our house for carpet installation which is a lot of work, but I’m also super excited about the result.

two

This week at work has been lighter than usual which I am very grateful for, so I have had some computer time. I managed to blog every day this week, an accomplishment in itself, and I am also caught up with blog reading, Craigslist browsing, and my Pinterest feed. But the side effect is that I have a bunch more ideas and inspiration now that I still have no time to execute.

three

Speaking of crafts that I have no time for, here is an update on my autumn sampler:

I haven’t worked on it since last weekend but it’ll get done…eventually.

four

And here is how my niece’s stocking is going:

I’m pretty happy with it so far and it’s still a really fun project. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are at work on some of the pieces so I think there might actually be a chance that we finish it in time.

five

Here is what I want to get done this weekend, ideally: carpet installed and everything put back, regular chores, Project Life spread, list 9 for Book of Lists, some Photoshop work for a couple of blog posts, replace the outlets in the bedroom, visit the craft store to choose yarn for my blanket, a quick “just for fun” craft that I have supplies for, an IKEA trip, and painting the shelves in the bedroom. Plus I have a baby shower and church small group to attend. Sooo my plans might be overstretching things a bit. It doesn’t hurt to dream though, does it?

October 4, 2013
quick takes

one

So, this happened at the beginning of the week:

Apparently I’m prone to stomach viruses because I seem to catch one every year at least. But catching one when you’re pregnant is a whole different ballgame. It’s super easy to get dehydrated (especially when one doesn’t drink enough water to begin with – I’m working on it, okay) and when you get dehydrated you start contracting and that’s no bueno all around. I spent the night in the ER on Monday night receiving fluids and getting the contractions to stop (they gave me terbutaline and that stuff is weeeiiird). For some reason they refused to give me anti-nausea meds until I was still vomiting at 3 a.m. even though I begged to the best of my ability. Somewhere in the middle of it I think I decided that I don’t want to try for a natural birth this time around. I’m kind of over pain and discomfort at this point, no matter how worthy the cause. Anyway, I took the next day (obviously) off work to sleep, and the next day to regain my strength. Fun times.

two

One slight positive to the ordeal is that I had some extra time to lie in bed and work on my stitching. I probably should have used it to work on my niece’s stocking (I have made progress on that, but I forgot to take a picture this week) but instead I was way too excited to start on the autumn sampler. Here’s my progress so far:

It took me way too long to get this far (can I blame my weakened state?) so I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with it in real time but I’ll do my best. It’ll be ready to display next fall. :)

three

This stuff already has me in holiday prep mode. I have so many plans, but most of them involve making things and I think I just need to check my expectations at the door right now because 1) I don’t have much time to begin with, 2) my extra time right now is devoted to the stocking, and 3) I have a baby due in January so I probably at some point need to focus on that a little bit. Not to mention my goal of getting our bedroom halfway set up before then. It feels like I have forever to get ready but this time of year flies by.

four

I listened to a really interesting Freakonomics podcast this week about the impact parents have on their children. Turns out that obsessive parenting regarding things like having your kids in a bunch of activities & educating them super early doesn’t make much of a long-term difference, but things like behavior modeling (whether you smoke & drink, if you are kind) do. That was a relief to me because I am not into the rugrat race. I don’t care if my kids are the smartest or highest educated or earn a lot of money later in life. I want them to be happy and I want them to know they are loved and I want them to know Jesus. So I’m going to keep on keepin’ on with my “lazy” parenting ways.

five

I’m sure glad I didn’t decide to do seven quick takes each week because that’s just too many for me.

six

Weekend plans: chores, lunch with another couple from church, do a Project Life spread, get together with my MIL and SIL to work on the stocking, maybe take a trip to Lowe’s to pick up some things for our bedroom, hang out with the fam.

September 27, 2013
cross stitch #2 : home sweet home

I finally got these framed so I can share! I finished this project months and months ago. It’s from Cross Stitcher magazine and was meant to be pillows but I wanted to frame it because I am not advanced enough to make pillows nor do I really want needlepoint pillows.

Did you know that it is not very easy to find square frames, especially 12×12 ones? I had to order these from Amazon and then get custom mats cut. It is hard to tell from this photo (and I apologize for the glare, it was impossible to avoid) but the frames are a dark mocha, not black. I am very happy with them and how the modern clean lines contrast with the traditional sampler form.

This is our breakfast nook, and the table here is roughly the same color as the frames. I am working on “finishing” this area and hopefully I’ll be able to provide photos of it soon. In this space we used to have some large bamboo plates hung and I was so ready for a change. The plates were fine for awhile, but this adds much more life.

A closer look at the stitching:

I also did a better job of getting rid of/hiding the wrinkles in the fabric this time around. Overall I am super happy with this project!

April 11, 2013
cross stitch #1 : welcome

Okay! Today I finally have my first cross stitch project to share.

This is a pattern that I kind of improvised. I saw something like it in a thrift store, took a picture, and made my own. I chose the colors based on another painting we have hanging in our entryway. I also framed it really quickly so pay no attention to the wrinkles; obviously I have some practice to do. And can you spot the mistake in the second E? I got careless while I was watching a movie and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to fix it.

And here is where I hung it up. Someone is testing her boundaries in this photo, seeing if she can escape outside. :)

Later that day after I hung this up David pointed it out to me on his own with no prompting on my part and told me that he likes it. So! Success in my book.

March 6, 2013