The hardest thing

~ Liz A ~ 13 Comments

Being random is harder than it looks …

Inevitably, I fall into a rhythm of stitching and before I know it, the stitches are anything but random.

But stars are random … or seem to be.

So I’m trying a new way of going, using a heat erasable marking pen that isn’t visible until it dries, making it somewhat easier to make random dots since I can’t see where I’ve already marked …

Not that I actually stitch each and every dot exactly as marked … ha!

So, one yard of star stitching down …

and an estimated 54 yards to go. It’s a good thing I’m having fun … for now anyway.

Yo ho ho

~ Liz A ~ 18 Comments

Long ago and far away (in 1978 to be exact) I made a counted cross stitch sailing ship on 22 count Hardanger cloth (using a pattern) … then put it in a candle stand and gave it to my dad, who kept in on his dresser … seen here when my SIL asked last year if I’d like it back …

to which I said yes, please … minus the candle stand. And have since wondered what to do with it, until deciding to give it a place on My Heart’s Compass …

And then, having pretty much finished the herringbone waves on the sea of hope, I turned to the task of quilting the long strips of cloth along the sides …

Traditional running stitch or Jude’s glue stitch? The first being far easier, the second more haptic. So I asked Don, who voted for visible beads of glue stitch worked in perle cotton …

to which I decided to add a scattering of Hazel stars. And yes, this will certainly take longer to do than running stitch, but oh what fun!

Shirt tales

~ Liz A ~ 25 Comments

I love mending. So when Don popped a button off the cuff of this 20+ year old shirt, I happily reinforced the hole that resulted, and then reinforced the other cuff button to prevent future breakthroughs …

While I was at it, I also tackled what I had long wanted to do: removing the collar of the shirt and turning it so the ragged, yellowed side would be hidden and the like-new side would be visible …

I also did a bit of design mending on a new-ish pajama top with plackets that had an annoying tendency to not sit well …

It doesn’t take much to make me happy.