The Thread Organiser

For mums Christmas present I made her a thread organizer. I used a small cross stitch pattern I had done in an afternoon/evening. The cover is leather as is the scissor holder which I made to fit stork scissors.

Front cover

 
The cross stitch pattern is from Joan Elliot's Bewitching cross stitch. The rest of the design I made up as I went along. The closure is Velcro and the whole thing is stitched around the edge.

Inside the organizer

  The Inside has a scissor holder and pin/needle holder plus replaceable thread organizing cards. The pin holder is close cell foam covered with the calico lining, there is a thin card board layer between the lining and outside leather. The cards are folded around wires.

Cross Stiched Foot Stool

Last year I made my mum a cross stitched foot stool. the cushion on the top was cross stitched and my husband made the stool which did not turn out the way he wanted it to and he is going to remake it..... eventually. I havn't included any photos of the stool its self just the cushion.

The pattern is a combination of a boarder i found in a book and a pattern off of the internet at www.crosstitch.com

Finished cushion

Close up of chekins

Close up of boarder

I don't remember how long it took me but I think it was a couple of months. The design is on buff 18 count adia.

Wood Working

I have also dabbled in a little wood work this last couple of months. I made 4 lucets, a medieval tool for making cord, If you are familiar with making rats tails where you use 4 prongs to make a hollow cord. This is the same thing except with two prongs.

Here are the four lucets two of which are the same. The swan I did two of  I also have a design for a dog and a dragon that I haven't yet finished

.
These two photos show the swan heads. this is where you work your thread
in a figure of  eight type pattern in to a cord which you thread through the hole in the bowl of the tool.














The wood I used for the lucets is rimu. I used a pyrography tool to add more detail to the carved heads and finished the tools with danish oil.

Close up of the Horse heads

Whole tool

 I will post photos of the Dragon and dog heads as I finish them.

Close up of the pyrography on the bowl of the tool

Whole tool

These tools fit neatly in the palm of the hand and are turned as you work the thread around to create a cord.

Cross stich bags

I have made 2 cross stitch bags for Christmas presents this year, one for my grand ma and one for my mother in law. I did the cross stiches and then made them into front pockets for the bags i made to go with them.


The peacock bag is the second one I made, the pattern is from Lesley Teare's Oriental cross stitch. The cross stitch it's self took me about 2 months and the bag took about 3 hours to complete I used plain  coloured cotton for the outside and cream calico for the inside and handles.

The peacock half finished

The peacock finished

Peacock bag

close up of finished product

The First one I completed was the Willow pattern Bag the pattern was taken from a book called blue and white cross stitch, I don't remember the author. I borrowed the book from the library. The materials for the bag are the same as above except I used white cotton lining for the lining and handles. The cross stitch took 1 month and the bag about 4 hours as I was working out the design.

Willow pattern bag

Close up of the cross stitch

A Month of Books

I have completed 3 books and 2 small photo albums in the last month all of which were for sale at a recent market.

My helper (sewing frame for sewing books)

The 3 books were 2 small note books about A6 size and one slightly larger than A5

Front cover

A look inside

The paper on the covers is scrap booking paper and black buckram the pages cream parchment paper with red patterned end papers. This one is A6 size.

Front cover

A look inside

This book is sewn onto tapes and the covers laced in. Tight back leather spine and fancy synthetic book paper on the cover and hand marbled end papers from an experiment I did with marbling. The pages and size are the same as the above book.

Front cover

Inside the book

This book is slightly bigger than A5, I used scrap booking paper on the cover again along with green book cloth. The end papers are hinged on the same book cloth and have left over parchment paper from the 2 small books on the endpapers. The pages are varied thicknesses of trade aid paper.

The two small photo albums

Front cover

A peek inside

This photo album is sizes to fit 6x4 photos one to a page. I have used scrap booking paper again and synthetic book material for the hinged covers. I used Japanese sewing style to bind it. 

Front cover

 

A peek inside

This one is the same size as above and uses the same materials and techniques except for colours and the sewing style is slightly more complicated.

The books were trimmed with my new book plough that my husband made for me and works a treat, Thanks Hun. :)

none of these books sold at the market. 

a month and a half

Its been a month and a half since my last post and I have done several projects in that time. It is also a week to Christmas and I'm knackered. The veggie garden is less than successful which is a shame, something keeps eating the carrots before they have a chance to grow properly and the cats keep digging up the seedlings. Any way the projects.............

1st of November

Today is the first of November and there is much to do. Christmas is less than than a full two months away and there is much crafting to be done. With the potential of a craft fair coming up in December, I have a lot that needs doing. Suppose I should get to it then, hadn't  I  :)

Mums Birthday Present Complete

I manged to complete Mums birthday present in true fashion, on the day about half an hour before we gave it to her. I have limited photos but here is what it looked like part way through plus the nouveau  pendant which we gave as a birthday present to another friend.

the obsidian like pendent with flowers

the nouveau pendent which was finished with a bright blue cord

small round beads which were turned into earrings, and bracelet

There were more round beads made using the same flower cane but different style and of varying sizes. These were used in the earrings and necklace. 

Mum's Birthday Present

I have started to make mums birthday present and it has been very frustrating, I attempted to make look a look a like garnet out of polymer clay and failed miserably. but as I screwed it up I ended up with a very cool pendant that looks sort of art nouveau which is kinda cool. Ended  up doing a snowflake obsidian pendant and several other beads for mum, still have a couple to go.

Wow, Thats a Lot of Poo

I have spent the morning shoveling horse poo and have only removed a small portion of what I had hoped to get rid of. Oh well back to free cycle we go !

Sad Little Box

Today I made a box, a sad little box no bigger than my palm.
It holds the dearest little thing that I have ever lost.
I know not what name to put upon the lid, for life it never got
But close to my heart this tiny spark will stay
Long after the earth have rotted it away

Bone Carving continued

I have finished the bone folder and had a chance to use it, it works quite well and will serve my purpose until I can get the antler one finished.

So carrying on from where I left off. Once the bone was dry I decided on the shape which is pretty basic gently curved at one end and more pointed at the other. I used a horse rasp (a rasp used on horses feet) as I didn't have any other rasps, to make the basic shape. The rasp removes greater amounts of martial quickly. once I had the basic shape down I refined it with a medium file and then finished it off with a medium - fine sand paper. I didn't take many photos whilst I worked ( to busy shaping the bone) But here are photos of the finished product.

The bone folder from the topside. This was originally the outside of the bone.

the under side of the bone folder. It is easy to see the curve of the sides of the bone.

Some idea of how big the folder is.

Bone Carving

I have finally started to make my self a bone folder out of a piece of bone I collected off Grandmas farm.

So far I have cut the ends off the bone and sawed it in half length ways. This has rooted the blade of the hack saw either that or attempting to cut the antler which I also hope to make a folder out of also. The bone has now been cleaned in a solution of bleach, warm water and washing powder left for 20 min or so and scrubbed with a tooth brush. The bone pieces are currently sitting in the sun drying.

Bone pieces after cutting, the large will be a bone folder the smaller I may turn into needles.

The bone pieces and the antler

Book Binding - what keeps me awake at night

As odd as it sounds I spent a restless night last night thinking about book binding. The books I have to fix, what I need to get to get them fixed. What books I would like to make, the list is very long............

Horse Poo has a Home

Yay I finally have people wanting to take the horse poo away its excelent!!

Now to fill more bags

Yuck

Arghhh after 4 days of illness I am finally out of bed and have manged to stomach some yogurt which is great. Concentration is still on the blink and reading is kinda difficult. I think it could be just adjusting to being upright again. Poor O has had to take the week off course to look after A for me, which I feel horrible about.  

Recent Book Creation

Having recently joined the ABC (association of book crafts) I have been reinvigorated to bookbinding. Time to myself is some thing of a precious commodity when chasing after small trouble and living with big trouble (my husband and son). I don't get much time to enjoy the crafts I pursue, like bookbinding. Anyway the ABC are having an exhibition in Auckland and requesting books made by their members for display. As a result I decided to knock something together and here is the result.

    The book measures 11cm x 15cm. The knot work patten on the closure I burned into the leather with a poker machine or wood burning tool. The leather colour according to what was written on the skin is Autumn leaves.

The spine is sewn with green embroidery thread in a cris-cross patten. The pages are sewn straight to the leather, no spine lining was used

The pages I did some time ago as an experiment and put them aside to be used when a book came up that they would be right for. They are cream paper, tea stained and hand ripped at the edges to create a deckle edge. the front and back sections have the first/last page pasted to the leather covering to create endpapers. I strengthened these sections with an extra slip of paper round the back of the section before sewing.

The cover is limp and has a front flap that is tied down when closed with a leather strip and the a fore mentioned tag.

All and all fairly pleased with the result, it took about two days to put together ( a couple hours each day)

Green Fingers, maybe I have them

Wow the seeds in the seed trays are actually sprouting!!! I planted a Fancy lettuce mix (the leaves are different colours), rocket ( O. likes it), endive (I have no idea what this stuff is except O. bought it when he bought seeds and the packet says it goes well in salad, we shall see.....) and Spinach (mmm yummy spinach and feta packages).

I planted them in an egg tray Monday 5th Sept. and now they have sprouted yay!!

 Sadly the peas and carrots planted on the same day but into the garden don't appear to be doing anything :(

Mothers

I was sent this via email and had to share it !

JUST A MOTHER? 

A woman, renewing her driver's licence , 
was asked by the woman at Registry to state her occupation. 

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.   

'What I mean is, ' explained the woman at Registry,   
'do you have a job or are you just a ......?' 

'Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman.. 

'I'm a Mother.' 

'We don't list 'Mother' as an occupation,

'housewife' covers it,' 
Said the recorder emphatically. 

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself

in the same situation.   
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, 
efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, 
'Official Interrogator' or 'City Registrar.' 

'What is your occupation?' she probed. 

What made me say it?  I do not know.   
The words simply popped out   
'I'm a Research Associate in the field of 
Child Development and Human Relations.'  

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and 
looked up as though she had not heard right.   

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.. 
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, 
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.  

'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest,
'just what you do in your field?' 

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, 
I heard myself reply, 
'I have a continuing program of research, 
(what mother doesn't) 
In the laboratory and in the field, 
(normally I would have said indoors and out).   
I'm working for my Masters, (the whole family) 
and already have four credits (all daughters).  
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, 
(any mother care to disagree?) 
and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).   
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers

and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.' 

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she 
completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, 
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.  
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, 
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, 
testing out a new vocal pattern..   
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!  
And I had gone on the official records as someone more

distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another Mother.' 

   Motherhood!   

What a glorious career!   
Especially when there's a title on the door. 

Does this make grandmothers 
'Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations' 
And great grandmothers 
'Executive Senior Research Associates?'   
I think so!!!    
I also think it makes Aunts '

Associate Research Assistants.'