Thursday, September 18, 2014

Witch Cauldron

Hello!

I got the stitching bug and just finished a little Halloween piece.


All started with an empty container of orange hot chocolate that I saved from last year.


So cute, but needed something more...


I stitched "Jinx" from Just Nan "Moon Riders" on 28 count evenweave using DMC.
I made it like a padded ornament, and glued it on the lid of the caldron, trimming  with a twisted cord.
I love Just Nan designs, especially the Halloween ones, but believe me, this is my first Just Nan finish ever!


I also glued a Halloween ribbon around the rim of the cauldron to cover the words "orange hot chocolate". To add a little charm, I made a bow for the side of the handle, using tulle and ribbon.


It was a fast, fun stitch! Now, I need to find more things to recycle.


I wish you a great weekend, and happy stitching!

Ana Paula.



Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Christmas Rules Finished !

Hello!

Here in Southern California is sooo hot! Right now is 92 degrees.
School started for Brenda and things are getting back into the normal routine.
I tried hard to finish my Christmas Rules before school started, but it was not possible.  So, I finished it today!


I stitched it on 14 count aida with DMC. I made some changes on the colors and also changed the space between each design. I chose to stitch only the simple border that comes on the patterns to separate the designs, skipping the "box" that half of the charts had. I think it looks less crowded this way.


It was fun to stitch. I love all the little details.




I finished it as a wall hanging / bell pull. I have some hangers that I got years ago on e-bay.  Unfortunately I only had one part on the right size, but I love it!


To finish as a bell pull, I cut a pice of Christmas print fabric of the same size of the stitched piece.
After that, I ironed interfacing on the back of the stitched piece and on the back of  the Christmas  fabric.  The next step was to sew red Ric-rac on the stitched piece around three sides, leaving only the top one.



 Now, pin the two right sides together (the stitching and the Christmas print) e sew using the Ric-rac stitch as a guideline. Trim the seams, turn, iron, and fold the top inside about 1/2 inch. Now, fold the top to the back, about one inch, depending of the kind of hanger you are using, and stitch it by hand.


Now, just insert the hanger, and it is ready!


Since this is a long piece - mine is about 30x7 inches, I found this finishing style to be very affordable and easier to store, what for me are two very good reasons to do it.
If you find my instructions hard to understand, the Twisted Stitcher has a great tutorial on her finishing blog.

Have a great week, and Happy Stitching!

Ana Paula.