Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Not A Finisher…..

Goldwork & Silk Embroidered Tudor-Style Rose

I have discovered recently, that I am not much of a finisher.

What I mean by that is, I have so many projects I have started and I

don’t seem to finish them! I start something, I seem to be going along

pretty well, and then it bores me and I begin another project. My

newest endeavor is teaching myself to embroider. I must say that

I have done some embroidering in the past without any real

knowledge of what I was trying to accomplish. I also have

some minimal knowledge, that I vaguely remember, from

my childhood. My mothers sister Olive taught me how to cross stitch.

Aunt Olive was so patient, kind and loving. 

I can still smell her perfume and see her crooked arthritic fingers.

That didn’t stop her one bit. When looking back

on it now, I can actually put a name to quite a few of the stitches

I was creating with her guidance.   So…just recently,

I decided to get serious about embroidery….well for as long as I can

stand itSad smile….I plan to walk right through that boredom …well at least until spring! Smile 

Studying the videos at Needle N Thread has helped immensely. I also write

the directions out. I practice on a vintage white damask cloth napkin. It has stains and

a couple of holes in it. The first 2 stitches I taught myself were the stem stitch

and the French Knot. This is the result on the napkin………

DSC07471 The French knots are pretty good but I have more

work to do on the stem stitch! Then, I wanted to get one of my absolute

favorite stitches down and I think I accomplished that….the Feather stitch….

I LOVE that stitch. Here it is…DSC07472 and again…DSC07473

Once more, it is not perfect, but I can do the stitch without looking at the directions and

that was my goal. I started working on another stem stitch from one of the videos. It mentioned

working in a small rectangle. Once done, I was left with a not very good stem stitch in a

small rectangle!! So I decided to try another stem stitch and some French knots and

stenciling! This is what I did…..DSC07474 I can’t recall what my husband said it looked like

but he definitely saw my name and 2012 which was a big bonus because none of it was done that well.

Of course my motives in doing all this have to do with the bottle cap pincushions I am working on.

Like the embroidery, most I have made are practice pieces. I am getting a little bit better each

time I make them….here are some I’ve made that are rough….DSC07470 The two

to the left and right of the Singer cover are not finished. DSC07475 It’s one thing to

put a French Knot on a flat cloth and a totally different thing to put one on a pincushion. It just does

not look the same because of the way you have to do it.DSC07477DSC07479

DSC07480   DSC07482DSC07484DSC07486

DSC07488 I have a long ways to go and as long as I strive to be a finisher and not a

procrastinator,  I may just improve on my stitches. They may not be as messy and crooked as these are

in the future!! Oh well…I am having fun trying. Oh I got a nice card from Dawn from C and G Design the

other day. She is doing so much better!! When I first starting blogging, she was one of the regulars

I would go to and we ended up meeting. She’s a great girl who has been through some tough times and

is now turning the corner….thank God! I am hoping she comes back to blogging soon. And her mom

Jean comments from time to time on my blog. We met last year and she is awesome too!!  Well….any tips

would be much appreciated….thanks!  I’ll be back soon…..when I am done

with my Practice….Practice….Practicing!! Ha haImg43

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Join the unfinished club!

At the beginning of this year I hard-heartedly threw away any project that I had not looked at for four years. Ones I taken out, looked at, then folded up and put away again didn't count.

Stick with the embroidery - it's rewarding when you do finish something!

(I think your signature is perfect)

Debbie said...

Jane...I am having trouble with this new blogger comment section and now this is my third attempt to write in here! Thank you is what I want to say to you...I will keep at it until I get something good out of it all! You're the best Jane!

Jean Merriman said...

I think you are doing very well Debbie.

Thanks for all the kind words. As is always your way, you are way to sweet!

I do not like change and all the sites seem to keep changing and I am in agreement with you on the blogger change.

Lili said...

Those embroidery stitches are so pretty...they remind me of what you would find on the vintage crazy quilts. Those tiny pin cushions are adorable! ~Lili

Claudia said...

That feather stitch looks great! I've only tried that stitch once before, but you're right, it is such a neat look. Love your pincushions!

xo
Claudia

PS - So glad to hear Dawn is doing so much better!

Debbie said...

Hi Jean...Thanks for your lovely comments....your a sweetheart too! Say hi to Dawn.
Lili...well thank you so much!! I am trying. Eventually I will get it. I learned 3 new stitches this week. Thanks for coming by and that is a huge compliment coming from you!
Claudia...Thanks girl...you are amazing with embroidery! I hope I can scratch the surface of what you do someday!

vesselsmemories said...

This morning as I sit with a cup of coffee watching the birds outside my window...I decided to poke around blogs and I came across yours :)

I also, am not good about finishing projects :( I love your pincushions! They're adorable! I also like your blog background...is that a custom design that you made?

And, I have a delicious slow cook pork recipe for you...so easy, so yummy! It might just become a favorite!

Place a boneless pork roast in your crockpot (I use about 2.5 lb...just two of us) Then cover it with 1 jar of Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn Salsa. That's it! I cook for 1 to 2 hours on high then turn to low till it falls apart. I love this recipe!

Dawn in NH

vesselsmemories said...

I also, thank you Debbie, for visiting my blog :) I'm now following you and look forward to reading your posts and getting to know you. I just love the "quaint" little town of Yarmouth!
Dawn

Debbie said...

Dawn...This is so exciting to have a fellow blogger that is so close by Maine! I have not been blogging much as i have been busy but will definitely try to get by as often as I can. Thanks for coming by! Welcome...

wendyytb said...

Those pincushions are so sweet! I have to admit that I am not much of a finisher either, but I am trying to change that! Nice stitchery!

Chubby Chieque said...

Hi Deb,
Million thanks for dropping by in STockholm and be my new follwer.

Wow... you are a great crafty lady, huh? Make me so jealous.

Hope to see you again. I am your new follower too.

Blessed,
/CC
http://yummilicouschubbychieque.blogspot.se/

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