Annies Crazy World

Now that the years end is nigh I have used my visual journal to check off the TAST Stitches that I have done and make a list of those that I still needed to do.

First on the to do list is

TAST Week 25 Long and Short Stitch

…Umm does half a loaf of bread count?…I started this loaf of bread to put on Mum’s memory quilt, in memory of my Dad having been a bread carter for years but didn’t get it finished because I hate working Long and short stitch…so I do hope that half a loaf of Bread counts, I did give it a try.

TAST Week 37 Rice Stitch and its variation Boss Stitch

Week 37 is also quite a while ago as this stitch prooved to be more of a challenge than most…I saw rice stitch as very much a counted thread stitch and couldn’t imagine it as a crazy quilt seam treatment that is untill today when the pressure is on because I would like to complete this challenge before the years end…Today I thought what if I put the big crosses linked corner to corner along the seam, a quick sketch it just might work…to vary it even more I alternated the larger squares of the Rice Stitch with the smaller squares of Boss Stitch…the squares are a little wonky because it is harder to gauge the size and angle of the stitches when the threads can’t be counted, but it is such inconsistancies that give seams there own character and I like the effect.

TAST Week 48 knotted Cable Chain This is a nice stitch that I have used quite a bit.

TAST Week 52 Spanish Feather Stitch

I love this Stitch…To vary it I randomly changed the angle and length of the stitches and wandered it back and forth across the seam.

TAST Week 49 Pistil Stitch

Umm It’s new years eve and the radio has been interviewing the fireworks organizers around the country and I am thinking Pistil Stitch fireworks. I did fireworks on my mothers quilt using french knots and straight stitches but they can be done just as well with Pistil Stitch.

I did the starburst fireworks a couple of years ago on a block that I originally pieced for another project…Today I added the silver ones on the left, the ones that shoot straight up into the sky releasing puffs of light as they go.

As this is the last of the 52 TAST Stitches Firworks is doubly appropriate as a celebration of finishing the Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge and my Congratulations to everyone who took part in TAST in any capacity, that is Sharon for her inspiration and hard work coordinating, To All the stitchers however many or few seams you finished, and a Big thank you to the blog readers…And A Very HAPPY NEW YEAR To Everyone.

I didn’t think that I would like this stitch very much but to see what Berry Stitch, the TAST Week 50 stitch would look like when placed end to end I did a short seam on a sample block, I used a piece of my left over Thread ends and when I pulled out a an extra strand of another colour because it was a sample block I didn’t bother seperating it and surprise, surprise, I think the extra colour flecked through it helps I actually like how the berry stitch looks on the seam …

So I did another seam on a christmas stocking with an extra strand of metalic thread.

I have done Chained Bar, the TAST Week 51 Stitch on one of the unfinished Christmas Stockings. I worked 4 lots of bars along the seam so that they crossed back and forward acrosse the seam line but the undulations formed are so slight that they are barely visible.

This seam on the same stocking has always annoyed me because the front of the train is chopped off but tonight when I was working on te chained bar stitch I realized that the front of the train would still be in the seam which means that by unpicking the seam and nicking the fabric either side of the section that I wanted I could lift the train over the seam in the same way that I did the design on the Pink block.

To finish the seam I did a black buttonhole stitch which extends the black background around the train.

This Flower Trail is composed of different ribbon flowers, it had a few lazy daisy leaves but not enough so I have added more leaves with Drizzle Stitch, the TAST Week 43 STtich

I still have a few TAST stitches to catch up and have been casting around for ideas of how to use them…This photo on a box for a net of christmas lights gave me an idea for TAST week 50 Berry stitch which is also known as double lazy daisy stitch or double detached chain stitch

As it turned out the Berry Stitch was to big and heavy but a single detached chain on each intersection worked…now I just have to find another idea for the Berry Stitch.

Boxing day, the day after Christmas day, a day to rest and start clearing up…well I did a lot of resting and not a lot of cleaning.

I got the unfinished Santa pockets out to late to finish for christmas this year and have decided to finish them now so that they are ready to deliver on time for christmas next year so here is Santa Pocket #2.

Firstly I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

The last few days have been unseasonaly cold and wet and we had thought that we may have to eat christmas dinner inside but we had a beautiful 22 degrees celsius (72 degrees fahrenheit) day, warm enough to eat outside and slightly overcast so that it didn’t get to hot.

Jessie and I went to my sisters place for lunch and she set the table under her pergola.

Our big brother had sent us a cheque to spend on christmas day so we decided that we could afford to have prawns for entree, we beleive that a love of seafood is in our blood and we learn to peel them at an early age

Due to the messy nature of eating prawns we sat on the lawn to devour them.

For the main course we had cold chicken and ham with salads, as kids we always looked forward to christmas lunch because we had pickled onions and other treats that we didn’t get at other times of the year, my favourite was hard boiled eggs and I was delighted to find the the box of free range eggs that I had bought was all double yokers.

For Desert I made Chocolate Mousse, I used Muffin patty cases to make Chocolate shells to hold individual serves of the Mousse.

A wonderful meal and plenty of left overs for the next few days including the plum pudding, cheese and crackers, chocolates and the fruit including, mango, cherries, watermelon that we didn’t get to because we had all eaten enough.

For this edge I stitched the gold beads on first, I stitched them a little further apart than I did on the edge I showed yesturday and it has helped the beads to sit better, It is also a more delicate edge…To form the pattern I went through a gold bead then picked up a green, a gold and a green bead, I then went back through the red bead and picked up another green bead before going through the next gold.

Ho to prepare the pocket

Cut the front and lining for the pocket 6 inches square…place pocket and lining right sides together and stitch a 1/4 inch seam across the top…turn right side out and iron seam across the top.

How to Assemble the Santa Pocket

Cut backing 8 inchs square and place right side down on the table, place batting on top of it and place a 6 inch square (will be the back of the pocket)…

Stitch the first border at the top of the centre square, when stitching you are sewing through all the layers so that it self quilts the wall hanging as you go.

Place the pre prepared pocket in the centre so that the top of the pocket lines up with the seam sewing the top border on…

Sew on side borders and then bottom border.

To finish the Santa pocket bind the edges (Instructions for one method of binding can be found here) and add a ribbon hanger.

To do this beaded edge I stitched the red beads on first and then went around again putting the needle through a red bead and then picking up a green a gold and a green bead before putting the needle through the next red bead…I then, because the beads were flopping all over the place and wouldn’t sit flat, I went around again and stitched the gold beads to the backing.

I only had to stitch the hanger onto the back of this Santa pocket to finish it.

A few years ago I had an idea to make Santa Pockets for my neices and nephews….A Santa Pocket is a small (8″ square) wall hanging, that can be hung on a door or above a bed, with the childs name embroidered on a pocket that they can put a letter to Santa in.

I have 5 in various stages of constructionfrom just started through to nearly finished…On the right is an appliqued star…below is a detail of the Chain Stitch that I wrote the name in and the embellishment around the star which is Coral Stitch done with 2 strands of silver metalic stitch and a strand of black perle.