Needlebook Finish

This is an important tool if you are like me and have a tendency to stick needles in a random piece of fleece that seems to have taken up residence on the craft table, or whatever is at hand.

I stitched this needlebook 10 years ago. In fact, I took the class with Lauren Sauer in 1995 or 1996. Last year I finished the scissor fob. Only the scissor rest left to do! Someday let's not rush headlong into things. I did not use the designer's finishing directions because they involved blind stitching the entire piece. This is me we're talking about here!

If you need directions to make a needlebook, these people can be of help: our friend Maeri, Instructables,  Nana Company does it with a button and hair elastic closure from, Lynn (makes everything so fancy), or Tiny Modernist.

sneak peek of the lining.

Another Camp Project Complete

The dude thanks you for all your praise, but says, perhaps rightly, that it's our neighbor who deserves all the credit. I know we couldn't have done it without him...except the digging. That we did do without him. Thanks again. It's a small joy to walk down the path every day.

I finished another camp project last night. This was a patriotic needlebook from 2009. Now, the Silver Needle gives you everything you need to finish a project, including mat board cut to the correct size. So it's not like it's any great difficulty to finish these projects. I don't know what was holding me back. Well, besides having lost all my notes and photos on the project, nothing was holding me back. {wink} I sent an email begging for help, and the fabulous Mona sent me photos of the piece. Even with my difficulties with spacial relations I figured it out. Except where I had to unstick each section for one reason or another! Thankfully Aleene's tacky glue is pretty forgiving.

This needlebook takes its elements from Fanci That's Long May She Wave.  All the parts were stitched on one piece of fabric and even though I left loads of room between each component, I still screwed up the spacing when I cut. That's why she's flying so low. But it doesn't look horrible, right? Don't answer that. There's not a lot I can do about it now!

Yes, I miscut this one too. It can't be helped. I like to measure once and cut twice. I chose the Liberty Bell because I live nine miles from it. 

You can see here that the inside can hold many things. Sorry the picture is so blurry. You get the idea. Moving on...

These are the adorable accessories that accompany the needlebook: a pinkeep (I'm not going to apologize again for my bad centering job. I think this went awry in the sewing rather than the cutting. Sigh.) How about that tiny fob? Very nice centering job, no cutting issues. Of course, it is only an inch or so. Very proportionate to the Kelmscott Little Gem scissors you can just see peeking up there.

I'm so pleased to have finished this. And now I have achieved the August finishing goal.

Princess Sews Trim

Whoa. I guess a tutorial is in order. Thanks for the interest! I'll work on that this weekend.

In the meantime, I've been sewing trim on things. These pieces have been nearly finished for a long time. I just had to make and sew trim. Apparently, my princess self doesn't really like doing these menial tasks...I forced her.

This is an EE&F scissors fob. I think I bought it because people kept telling me that bestpal and I were two peas in a pod. She bought it too. She's probably been using hers for years. Anyway, I found that pea fabric--which is brighter than the stitching and even brighter IRL--at Keepsake Quilting, and just had to have it, even though I had to buy much more (like a yard) than I needed. I made the cord the same colors as the checked border. I like how it came out!

This was a camp project from 2005. It's Mary Garry's freebie needlebook. I completed the stitching in 2005; I think I sewed it up last year, but never got around to doing the trim. Now I have! Wow! I can bring it to camp with me next month!

I think this princess and I are going to have some more talks!