Annies Crazy World

tonight I did one seam of the TAST Week 36 cable chain Stitch before persueing more…

…Shisha ideas and started experimenting with adding beads.

For the first one I attached the shisha and then stitched the beads into the attaching stitches.

I then played around with using the beads to attach the shisha…limiting factor with adding beads is that the thicker threads don’t fit through the beads but I overcame that by using a thin thread to attach the beads and then going to a thicker thread for the surrounding stitches…

I have new curtins in my studio and as they were installed at short notice there was no time to do more than move everything from in front of the windows to wherever I could find a place to put it, consequently my studio looks like a disaster zone…I am going to take it as an opportunity to reorganize the studio and do some cleaning out and destashing as I go…Now I just have to work out where to start…

This shisha is a 1/2 inch square mirror…to attach it I came up at the middle of the bottom edge, down at the middle of the left edge, up middle of top edge, down middle of the right edge, that gave me 2 diagonal lines across the corners of the square…from there I finished the square and kept working around the mirror with straight stitches till I got to the corners which I finished with colonial knots…At the bottom I made a tassal from a few straight stitches.

My second page of visual journal ideas has led me off in a different direction for tonights shishas…When I am putting down ideas in my visual journal, I make a note of anything that crosses my mind, I then look at each idea, ask myself can it be done? How? Some ideas are undoable but it is always worth thinking about because sometimes what might be a problem does have a solution and when it does…

When I got to the witch flying in front of the moon, the problem was How do I attach a charm to the shisha…I would need to have something to stitch it to, something that wouldn’t block the mirror, something like the fine net that some laces are made on…Tulle would be worth an experiment…I have used a miniature dragon because I didn’t have a witch charm and it worked, I had a solution…

…When the problem does have a Solution it can be very exciting because it can open the way for other possiblities…If I can cover the shisha with Tulle, what else could I cover it with?…Organza…It works too and below is a red moon memory of the luna eclipse last week…and there are a few more ideas that are percolating through my brain.

Clusters are a good way to experiment with shishas….They allow you to play with different threads, shapes and design ideas…CrazyQstitcher has blogged a lovely cluster of shishas that not only shows how different threads stitch up differently but also shows a variety of the different objects that can be used…and my cluster, for which I have used only a DMC varigated #5 cotton perle thread, shows a variety of different ways to attach the shisha and different stitches that can be used to surround and decorate the shisha.

The first of the shishas in this line was anchored to the fabric from Sharon B’s instructions with the surrounding stitching done from my instructions with the stitches spaced out to create a lacey look.

The second and third shishas were already on the fabric, the second one has very close surrounding stitches and is surrounded by Colonial knots the surrounding stitches on the third shisha are not as widley spaced as #1 nor as close together as #2

The 4th shisha is a 1.25 inch diameter mirror that Sharon B gave me to play with….I used its size to experiment with embroidering on top of the shisha, after anchoring and stitching around it I used the surrounding stitches as a base for a row of Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch which I chose because of the loop that the thread makes between the stitches.

I anchored the last shisha with a Star which holds the shisha in place so the surrounding stitches don’t have to attach to the shisha, it is there to soften/protect the edge of the shisha. I surrounded it with a row of Portuguese stem stitch but it was a thick mirror and the first row wasn’t deep enough so I did a second row of Portuguese stem stitch on top of the first row.

Cutting shishas from old CD’s makes a good substitute if you don’t have access to the real thing…Cutting shishas from old CD’s also enables you to cut different sizes and shapes.

Draw the shape you want to cut with a permanent ink pen and

Soak the CD in warm water to soften the plastic so that it cuts rather than shattering…I have also found that sitting the CD beside the heater softens it enough to cut and I daresay that putting the CD out in the sun would work in summer.

Use large sized scissors and make short cuts using the bit of the blade nearest the pivot point of the scissors.

You will find the cutting easier to manage if you cut a wedge from the CD and then you can nibble bits from the side…I seldom bother but you can smooth the sides with an emery board…and don’t worry if your edges are a little jagged, they round up when you stitch them on and they are probably more authentic if they are a little jagged because the original shishas (on the right of the image) are small chips of thin mirror and are very odd shaped and jagged on the edges.

Expect a few cuts to shatter as you get the hang of cutting them, you will have to experiment to get the right temperature water to suit your climate and the season of the year. And try a few different brands of CD, I think the composition of the plastic may vary because I am sure some shatter easier than others and they must be made by different processes because the label side peels of some but stays stuck on others.

I have stitched a golden Shisha Sun to Celebrate that today is the first day of spring.

I drew a circle the size of the shisha and stitched the fly stitch sun rays on the fabric before attaching the shisha because it is easier to get long spokes at the right angle when the shisha isn’t in the way.

I have made this shisha into an ATC so that I can send an overseas friend a little Aussie sunshine.

When I read Elizabeth’s post on the hazard of shi sha dust I was moved to write this post, thankfully no damage done and alls well now but I was reminded of the OH&S module that I studied as part of my Diploma of Visual Arts and Crafts, Until then I had never thought about it and was surprised to learn that my Gentle Art of Needlework could Actually be a dangerous occupation.

When you do think about it we work with pins, needles, scissors and rotary cutters, all sharp objects, irons are hot and burn, fabric sheds dust, poor light causes eye strain, then there is RSI and cramps from sitting in the one place for to long, back ache from working at bad angles and lugging heavy sewing machines and bags to workshops/classes, then there is the toxic elements of some of the products we use, even financial stress when we overspend our sewing budget…sounds a bit doom and gloom but that is not my intention, it is just that Health and safety for needlework studio’s is not often talked about and I think that it should be because I believe that we need to be aware of the hazards in order to prevent or at least minimize their damage.

I would like to invite readers to comment with any tips they have for good work practices that could help make all our studio’s healthy, safe environments to be.

Shisha stitch and Sharon has illustrated a different method than the one I knew so the first thing to do was to try Sharon’s directions

Conclusion I love Sharon’s method for anchoring the shisha to the fabric but prefer the stitch I have always done around the edge.

I then played around with doing a knotted stitch to hold the threads in place, rather than the stitch around the edge, I was looking for a lacey effect…A bit messy, The varigated thread makes it look confusing and I din’t really know what I was doing but I will give it another go because I think that it has potential.

More Shishas tomorrow when hopefully I can get some better photos than I have been able to take tonight.

To Make the Christmas Stocking

Cut out a back the same size as the front and put a matching band on it.

Cut out 2 linings…(Optional….I cut the linings 1/2 inch shorter at the top so that when the lining is pushed into the stocking the outside rolls 1/4 inch to the inside, which creates a neat top as there is no chance of the lining showing.)

Using a 1/4 inch seam, sew the front to the front lining and the back to the back lining as per illustration.

Iron the seams towards the outside ends.

Place front/lining unit right sides together with the back/lining unit, matching the joins…Stitch together using a 1/4 inch seam, leaving a gap in the straight section of the lining.

And this is one I prepared earlier (the miniature sewn with contrasting threads shows the stitching line better than the photo I took of the real one)

Another Optional refinement…At the fold line of the outside and lining, (which is at the edge of the seam if you have cut lining shorter or on the seam if you have cut the lining the same size as the outsides) increase the seam allowance by about 1/16th of an inch, this makes the lining slightly smaller so that it fits inside better.

Clip curves on the outside pieces (it is not necessary to clip the curves of the lining).

Turn stocking right side out through the gap in the lining.

Before slip stitching the Gap Closed I stitched the Braid across the back of the stocking top…I wasn’t going to bead the back section of the braid but it did look a bit bland…and is beaded.

For the Hanger I like to use about a 12 inch length of satin ribbon so that I get a long hanger that is easy to slip over whatever it is to hang from…

The bells are hung with Twisted Ribbon, for which you can use silk or satin ribbon or thick threads.

I Finished the top with a bow tied with a metalic gold ribbon.

A TIP…When stitching the Hanger and Trim on, thread on a bead each time the needle is at the back of the fabric…This turns the potential mess at the back into a sparkling secret.

Add your name and the date and your stocking is finished.