A finishing primer

Few things are more exciting and rewarding to a stitcher than putting in those last stitches and finishing a piece.

Unless, of course, it's picking up your finished piece from the framer.

I got to do that last week and was pleasantly surprised to see it look even better than I had anticipated. My Southwestern Pots stitching came alive with the colors of the double mats and frame, carefully chosen by Sandy, a professional framer at the Attic Needlework shop in Mesa.

It's not an easy job to select the right combination for the framing of your piece. And what makes it difficult is that there are so many wonderful color combinations and choices available. If you find a framer with much experience and an artistic flair, one who can suggest techniques you would never have thought possible, you have a real treasure.

I highly recommend framing your work at a needlework specialty shop. They are in business for their love of the art and know how to frame fiber arts. Believe me, not every framer does.

Or find a good frame shop and question them to determine if they know the proper way to frame fabric. Do not assume that they do.  What is their technique? Do they press and prepare the fabric for framing or do you need to bring it in ready?

I have a good method, passed on to me by my sister, Edie, for "freeze-drying" your finished piece. It involves washing it with a fine fabric wash (as you might use for hosiery) or a drop of Dawn detergent. Lay it on a towel and roll to remove excess moisture, then put it in the freezer for a short time. Then remove and press with an iron, pressing on the wrong side of the fabric.

I always bring my piece in ready to be framed; that is, clean and rolled in tissue around a paper-towel cardboard roll. Some bring pieces in all crumpled and leave it to the framer to prepare.

If I am trying to match my piece to colors in a room, I bring in a sofa pillow, a scrap of carpeting or a paint sample.  When you start looking at the hundreds of hues available for mats and frames, it's easy to become confused. You don't want to rely on your memory or resort to guesswork at that point.

I also avoid places such as arts and crafts shops as they often have part-time sales clerks doubling as framing "consultants." They may also use inferior products while advertising deep discounts for them. At the point of framing your piece, you have invested too much time (and love) in the creation to let it be spoiled by poor finishing.

It's not always necessary to use glass in framed pieces. If it is a relatively small piece, involves beads, or texture, I want the look of fabric without the glass to spoil it.  In a larger piece, I usually use UV non-glare glass. There is also museum-quality glass; expensive, but you can hardly see there's glass at all. It is often well worth the investment.

Don't compromise on the finishing of a piece after you've labored to make it so beautiful. Your handwork should be a lasting treasure.

Above all, enjoy the creating. I have started pieces that turned out to be frustrating and a work of labor, not a work of love. That's the point at which I "chuck" it! I do needlework for the sheer enjoyment of it, like reading a good book you can't put down.  When I can hardly wait to get back to a piece, and can hardly stand to put it down, I know I've got a good thing.

And the happy ending is the finished product.



Tools of the trade

Everyone who has a craft or hobby has tools.

Card makers, scrapbookers, knitters, stitchers, bikers, woodworkers, even readers, all have tools.

Here are some tools I use for my stitching. They are ones any stitcher would have.

A really good, sharp scissors, a stitch ruler, magnetic needle
finder, needle holder, a needle threader, scissors case

There are stitching web sites with tools available you probably never knew you needed. Or that even existed.

Here is a "mystery tool." Do you know what it is? Or what it might be used for?

What is this?

It is a metal 3-inch piece with oval holes on each end.

If you're waiting for the answer, it won't be coming from me. I have no idea what this is. But I do know it is a stitching tool as it was in my Mom's collection and she gave it to me long ago. She had no idea what it was either, or how or where she acquired it. She just had it tucked away in her collection, and when she gave it to me, I tucked it away in mine.

If you can solve this mystery, please let me know.

Another tool I use is a magnetic board to keep the pattern in place. And then I mark off stitches as they are done with a yellow highlighter. This pattern calls for so many slightly varying shades of the same color that I would be lost if I didn't mark off the stitches as they're done.

I never use the original pattern but rather I photocopy it and work from the copy. Why?  If I make a mistake (heaven forbid), or mis-mark it, I can re-photocopy the original again and start over. And if I share the pattern, or want to make it again, I always have the original intact.

My favorite "tool" of all is my wooden frame. Many stitchers prefer the feel of the fabric in their hands, especially if working on linen.  Since I usually use Aida 16- or 18-count fabric, I like having it held taut and not touching it.  I don't usually wash my finished piece, as recommended, because after being on the frame, it doesn't need laundering.

You can see where I am on this piece. The bars can be lowered or raised as the pattern progresses. A few stitches are visible from the bottom of the piece before the bars were raised to work on the top of the piece.  The fabric will be raised again before it's completed.

I work from the bottom up which is contrary to what most stitchers are taught to do (upper left side or middle, working down). I don't know why I do this, only that I started out that way, and you know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks!

Discovering new tools is fun, and looking through the latest Nordic Needle catalog is a favorite pastime. Always on the lookout for a new tool I really need!

Years ago, sometime in the mid-1970s, I told my mother I could never do counted-thread work. I was working on a stamped cross stitch piece (perish the thought, now that I've become a snob).

So she bought me a kit that included the fabric, pattern and floss needed and started me out. I saw how easy it was (with a simple pattern) and I got hooked. From there, I was brave enough to tackle a bit more challenging pattern, and have been stitching ever since.

If you have never tried counted thread work, I encourage you to try it and hope this inspires you.

Happy Stitching!

Another me day

Yesterday, I had another me day.

I told you about my occasional me days in a post last October. A me day is when I declare a day all to myself to enjoy spending time with me.

October was my last me day, when I spent the day in Minnetonka, Minnesota, spending hours looking at fabrics and patterns at Stitchville USA; then to the Country Store gift shop, browsing through their two floors of selections and buying a few special treats for, who else? Me.

Yesterday's adventure didn't start out with that intention.  But basking in the glow of having a ladies' lunch and ginger-peach tea with my friend, Judy, at Mrs. Thomas' Tea Shoppe in Mesa, I just allowed a me day to commence all by itself.

The tea shoppe was so quaint, cozy, and charming. Linen tablecloths decorated Victorian tables, all set with china tea cups and plates. Elegant silverware and a teapot perched on top of a silver candle-warmed tray to keep the tea hot completed the table.

Well, not quite. There was a small porcelain stand with a welcome message bearing our names at the table.

We dined on scrumptious chicken soup, quiche, little tea sandwiches, fruit, and scones with lemon curd, honey and butter. A scoop of raspberry sorbet for dessert. All the makings of high tea.

Then we shopped in their little gift shop area for a bit, and hugged each other as we parted to resume our day.

Well, hmmm, thought I.  This is just a perfect entree into a me day.  And I decided to continue on.

My first stop was Attic Needlework. This shop is so artistically arranged, it's like being in an art gallery. Or a kind of museum, as the shop specializes in samplers, a colonial art of old.

They have many finished pieces hanging on the walls. I took my time looking through patterns and threads.

It's a me day, remember.

I bought a stitching tool. One end has a needle threader and the other a stitch remover. It also offers a way to even out and repair stitches.

My mother gave me one many years ago, but I forgot it in Minnesota. I've missed it. Now I have one to keep in Arizona.

My next stop was the very large Goodwill store on the corner, next to Attic Needlework. I am always searching for bargains, especially Southwest pottery and the like. A voice over the loud speaker announced it was half-price day.

I bought a bedroom lamp, priced at five dollars, much in need of a good, thorough scrubbing and a new felt bottom. Two dollars and fifty cents. Half-price.

My next stop was to be the Fiber Factory for yarn. I had not been there yet, and I want to make a lap-size afghan for our Arizona home. I drove around a bit to find it, and discovered it's in "Old Town" Mesa, a folksy, artsy part of town.

I parked the car, and as I walked to the middle of the block where the yarn shop was located, I passed a vintage shop with a great window display of retro tables, chairs and dinnerware. The door was open, and, of course, it called me in - insisted, actually - to take a look.

It was another museum-type shop with all kinds of used knick-knacks, vintage clothing, jewelry, furniture, you-name-it.  Kind of an upscale Goodwill.

I found these old pottery vases, the kind we had looked at for our Mesa living room but couldn't afford anywhere else.  For eight dollars, they were all mine.

Okay, on to the Fiber Factory. It might be a me day, but the afternoon was almost over.

No bargains here, exactly, but a good yarn shop is a real treasure. There is nothing like the feel of well-spun, soft yarn from a quality mill.

This shop has spinning wheels in the window, which they sell. They offer classes on how to use them, and one was in session.  So many beautiful, colorful and creative yarns to choose from, one could easily get carried away.

But I stuck to my mission of finding yarn for my afghan and found this beautiful yarn from Sweden, in perfect colors for a southwestern home.

Isn't it gorgeous?

 My watch tells me it's now almost five o'clock, and time to head for home.

Ahhh, another perfectly wonderful me day. I highly recommend it.

You are so worth it.

Country mouse

My daughter-in-law, Julie, just redecorated my granddaughter's bedroom.

Out with the barnyard animals that has been the theme of the room since Ava's birth three years ago.

So now we have a "French country mouse" theme. Julie asked me if I could stitch something for the new decor.

A French country mouse...hmmmm...finding a pattern was going to be an interesting challenge.

And indeed it was. Actually, it was impossible. I searched the Internet and looked at several stitching shops, including the cookie-cutter Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics variety. Lots of mice, per se, but they were either the Christmas or the Mickey Mouse variety.

It became clear I would need to find an alternate design to match the room. I went back to Ava's room to take a look and there it was, all over the curtains, the rug and the country mouse lampshade...HEARTS!

Well, now we're talking. There are heart patterns galore.

The one I chose is called French Country Love.


So I started it over the weekend. I'm making the top one in the white frame.

I figured she'll outgrow the country mouse someday anyway. But hearts? For a little girl? Are you kidding?

Anyway, this Grandma's heart is going into every stitch.

Storyteller

When I travel, I'm known to carry my obsessions with me and hit every bookstore, knitting and stitching shop the area has to offer.

It was no different when my husband and I stayed in Tucson for a month last winter. I fell in love with all forms of southwestern art: Navajo rugs, Mata Ortiz pottery, turquoise jewelry, Native American designs and colors - and the storyteller. We saw story teller dolls for sale at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, but they were way too expensive for my meager retirement funds.

So when I found this cross stitch pattern at The Busy Needle in Tucson, I was thrilled.

Now at least I could stitch the storyteller, and get many hours of enjoyment. Cool!

So I started it a couple days ago. Starting is always the hard part as you need to carefully measure and center and then I stitch it onto a frame to keep it taut. I never use hoops.

So here is what it looks like now. You know what I'll be doing in my spare time...in between knitting and reading!