TAST - (Reverse) Buttonhole Stitch (Mistake)

Sometimes, great things come from the result of a mistake! It was my intention to do the Buttonhole Stitch in reverse. I however, did not account for the extra space that I needed and marked the 1/2 circles on my seam a little too close together. But just look at what I came up with:



Isn't this great?!! They look like some sort of abstract flowers found on an antique sampler! Can you imagine how cool this will look once I bead it? I can't wait!!!

Once I had the row completed, I added some straight stitches inside the open part using a pink metallic thread.

Here's what it looks like on the block:



As promised in my post yesterday, I've drawn up the pattern for perfect buttonhole stitches along with the pattern for this, my "Reverse Buttonhole Mistake":



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger version.
When printed, the Buttonhold Stitch pattern should measure about 4 inches wide.

Trace this pattern onto tissue paper, pin it along your seam-line and stitch. Or, if working on a fabric such as cotton, you can trace it onto lightweight cardboard, cut it out and trace it directly on to your fabric.

I know I've mentioned before that I use coins with lines drawn down the center in permanent marker. I lay the coin along my seam line, lining up the center mark on the coin and then trace my 1/2 circles. This won't work on dark or plush fabrics so the suggestion of using tissue paper is a perfect alternative.

Did I mention that this piece will be another purse? Are you at all surprised?

Stop by tomorrow for an update on this piece!

TAST - Buttonhole Stitch

Ok, this is extremely pathetic! I'm sure it's nothing that hasn't been done before but after working on the computer all day yesterday, trying to meet an extremely tight deadline, I just wasn't feeling very creative:



And I will honestly admit, my stitches are far from perfect. I don't care for doing this stitch on 14 count Aida. That grid is just so confining to me! I love this stitch but much prefer doing it on a crazyquilt seam! So that's where I'll be doing my next example! I already have a cool idea and although it's not new to crazyquilting, it will be new to me! I'll be working it on this block:



I'm just itching to sew up some new pieces including the purse flap that I'll be using my gorgeous vintage collar on. Serious sewing time is scheduled for next week!

Tomorrow, I will have an update on this block along with a pattern for making perfectly spaced buttonhole wheels. In the meantime, if anyone actually likes what I did with the Buttonhole stitch, here the charted patterns for 2 variations:





Click on one of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger versions.

I'm off to package up all that lace that I painted the other day for my Etsy shop.

Oh! Do hop over to Sharon's blog and see her gorgeous stitched Praying Mantis! What a beauty!

Green Purse Completed!

I always feel a bit sad when I complete the stitching on a crazyquilt project. I enjoy the process so much! The stitching and embellishing are complete on this now:



I had to use the camera instead of the scanner due to the rose pin that I added. I must say, I'm quite pleased with this despite my dislike of the color yellow. This looks so light and Summery!

On the TAST front, Sharon has named the Buttonhole Stitch as this weeks stitch focus. The Buttonhole Stitch is very versatile and one that I use quite often on a variety of projects. Also known as the Blanket Stitch (which is what my grandmother always called it) you can find it on my Dryer Sheet Pansy Project posted on January 2nd. It's a wonderful overcast stitch for finishing off raw edges.

I will be playing with this stitch a bit later today (I hope) and should have a photo for you tomorrow. I also plan to draw up a Buttonhole Wheel pattern for you to use on your projects. I've mentioned many times that I like my stitches to be perfectly spaced so I mark my pieces before I stitch them instead of just eyeballing it.

On another note, after three years of blogging, Sharon has posted a very interesting article on blogging & technology. Boy, did I see myself while reading Sharon's post! I am not one to move with the times as far as technology goes! Quite frankly, technology gets on my nerves! I hate upgrading and I hate changing things on my computer! Like my husband always says, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

I still use bookmarks rather than the RSS Feed option. Mostly because I still don't quite understand how the RSS Feed thing works. I just bought a new Backup Battery for my computer but I have no patience for the mess of cords under my desk so I've asked my dad to come and switch from the old one to the new one for me!

I remember when my husband wanted to get a digital camera. I kept telling him that we're not picture takers and he doesn't even use the computer so why do we need one? (He can't even send an email without my help!) Well, thankfully I agreed to getting one because it comes in quite handy for my love of blogging!

Honestly, do you remember the days of buying a new television, bringing it home, plugging it in & turning it on and it worked? Oh no, not these days! I don't know what's worse, the mess of wires behind my TV or the mess of wires under my desk? Please! Is all this really necessary?

Now Scott would like to get a big flat screen TV. Ok, I can deal with that, but after looking into it, we found out that if you want the High Def thing to work, you have to upgrade your Satalite or Cable service, if you have a Satalite service then you need a new dish to receive the signal and a new box to bring that signal to your TV. WE both agreed that at this time, we do not need the High Def thing! Technology is like a vampire and if you let it, it will suck your wallet dry!

I really don't even watch television. I just listen to it while I stitch or look at magazines! I never listen to anything through the stereo. Who needs that much noise? When I listen to CD's, I just play them on my tiny little boom box here in my room. I will admit, it's kind of cool to listen to Pirates Of The Carribean movie through the stereo. Yes, it sounds like there are zombie pirates everywhere! But do I really need to be chased by zombie pirates while I'm stitching? No, not really. Honestly, my television is really only 6 or 7 feet from my sofa! I mean, I'm not deaf!

The point I'm making is that technology is fine when it suits our needs. Eventually, I get used to things. I remember when I had no choice but to switch from Win 98 to Win XP! Oh, did I hate Win XP! I couldn't find anything! I whined constantly about wanting my Win 98 back. Well, I've had Win XP for a few years now and I can't even remember what Win 98 looked like. Yes, Sharon is right. We all move with technology at our own pace. For me, it's only when I absolutely have to!

Beads & Old Lace

We had a lovely time up in Galena yesterday. I never want to leave when we're there!

One of my favorite shops is a bead store called, The Bead Bar. This has to be the best bead shop I've ever been in! You will never see so many beads in one place as you will here! I of course made quite a dent in my spending $ in that store:



I tried to make good choices and picked things that I don't usually see here where I live. It's difficult as I always want one of each!

I don't have any stitching to share today, but I did get a huge mound of vintage lace all painted up Saturday afternoon. This is a wonderful batch, mostly crocheted, some knitted, some tatted and a bit of old manufactured lace:



I hope to get this and some other things packaged up and listed in my Etsy shop later this week.

I do plan to have stitching time later today so check back for an update tomorrow on my green & yellow purse!

More On Purses

We had some errands to run this morning and while out & about, we stopped at Borders bookstore and look what I found:



This is the most delightful little book on the history of handbags and purses! It's about 450 pages and is loaded with gorgeous color photos of handbags from pre-1890's through now. Of course I'm most attracted to the embroidered and beaded bags but even the Lucite and Bakelite handbags are interesting to look at.

It's a wonderful reference book for the collecter and a great source of inspiration for the needleworker and purse designer! Also, if you just like to look at photos of pretty purses, this book is loaded with eye-candy!

I found this book over in the Antique & Collectible section if anyone is interested in checking it out.

And speaking of purses, here's an update photo of my green & yellow purse:



I did more beading on the ribbon. I used yellow silver-lined seed beads on the points of the Fan Stitches. That adds alot of sparkle without being distracting.

I then added a SRE spray which still needs to be beaded. Yes, this another rare piece for me as I don't do alot of SRE! I had wanted to do the leaves with ribbon too but I didn't have any ribbons in green. I think I'll contact Pat Winter and see if she'll put together a small custom package of green ribbons for me.

I don't think I'll have time for a blog post tomorrow. Scott & I are going to drive up to Galena, Illinois for the day. It's a 2 hour drive so we'll have to leave at 7 am to make it worth the drive time and we probably won't get back until about 5 or 6 tomorrow evening. We really love it up there so we decided to do a nice day trip and spend some time looking in the shops.

For now, I'm off to start painting a huge mound of vintage crocheted lace for my Etsy shop. I have all sorts of neat new things to list and hope to have everything ready for listing later this week.

See you on Monday!