Cross-stitch and Embroidery, General Sewing

The best thing since sliced bread? Toast!

wittychild

I made my parents a toaster bag for their anniversary.  A what?  Toaster bag.  Due to a severe lack of counter space in the kitchen, the toaster lives in the pantry when not in use.  In the interest of keeping dust off it and keeping crumb-tray detritus off of everything else, it was generally stored in a repurposed bag from some store or other.  And, you know, the plastic bag worked just fine, but it lacked pizazz, so I decided a sturdy, washable fabric bag was in order.  When I presented it to them they were pleased (really!), and then my mom made an offhanded comment about having a cute toaster embroidery pattern “like the pot you did” (referring to the Aunt Martha’s “Animated Kitchenware” pattern I did on an apron for myself).

Aunt Martha’s “Animated Kitchenware”, alas, is limited to pots and pans and their ilk; no fancy plug-in appliances.  I checked out Sublime Stitching’s “Krazy Kitchen” sheet, but no toaster there, either.  Boo.  And then…I remembered downloading a peanut butter and jelly pattern from Urban Threads some time back.  Of course!  A bread-based design would work just as well, wouldn’t it?

The hearts make it so anniversary-appropriate!  This was my first attempt at crayon tinting, and I’m really pleased with how it came out.

For a better idea of the whole project and its dimensions.

Being used for its exact purpose.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

What’s shakin’, Daddyo?

wittychild

So here’s the problem with parents: you stitch a card for one, and then the other one starts clamouring for one.  Okay, so not really – but I couldn’t not make a homemade card for my dad for Father’s Day.  I found a motif in an old issue of Cross Stitch Crazy that bore a vague resemblance to our youngest cat, Skeeter, and then changed the markings just a bit to make it look more like her.

That mocha-y colour around her face is the result of tweeding, my friends.  Oh, and the ball has blending filament in it for a little added sparkle.

She seems to approve:

(And so did he, for what it’s worth.)  Also under the Homemade Goodness category, I made the No-Bake Black-Bottom Peanut Butter Silk Pie from Vegan With a Vengeance. It didn’t turn out quite as it should have, I suspect – agar tends to behave unpredictably for me, and this time, although it firmed up somewhat, there was no way it would hold its shape once cut – but I calmly stuck the whole thing in the freezer and turned it into a really delicious dairy-free ice-cream-type dessert.  I miss ice cream cake sometimes, but this was definitely a worthy substitute.  How worthy?  It got devoured, and I didn’t get a picture.

baking

Some day we’re gonna marry and you’ll be my pineapple queen

wittychild

Nothing outstanding today, sorry.  This isn’t even the first time I’ve made them.  But summer’s rapidly approaching, and nothing is quite as refreshing as a Pineapple Right-Side-Up cupcake from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Aren’t they adorable?

They look all fancy-like but are actually ridiculously simple.  And straight out of the fridge…mmmm….that delicate blend of spice and fruitiness can’t be beat.  And who couldn’t use a little extra Vitamin C?

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Track 29! – Hey, can you give me a shine?

wittychild

When I worked downtown, I made the acquaintance of one of the – if not the – city’s remaining shoe shiners.  He always has a smile and a hello for everyone who passes by his shop, and knows absolutely everyone who is down there on a regular basis.  Heck, he knows me, and I don’t generally wear shine-able shoes.

Last year the newspaper featured a human interest story about him, how he got started, how he came to be in his present location, that kind of thing, and the one quote of his that really stuck with me is “You can’t make a deal with a dirty heel.”  He’s probably right, but more than the accuracy, the saying appealed to me as a potential sampler, although it took me more than a year to get around to doing anything about it.  With an alphabet from Better Homes and Gardens 2001 Cross Stitch Designs and my beloved PCStitch, I came up with this and stitched it up for him:

I tried to keep the colours masculine – doing “dirty” in a shoe-splattered brown was my dad’s idea, and I think it worked perfectly.  When I went downtown for lunch the other day I stopped by his shop to deliver the finished product, and I think he was rather surprised by my humble little gift.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Mother’s Day Post: Short n’ Sweet

wittychild

I don’t think I could let a Mother’s Day pass without making at least some small handmade item…that would be too weird.  I knew I wanted to do a stitched card this year, and after flipping through my ample collection of British stitchery magazines, I decided on this one for two reasons:

1) Mumsy likes dragonflies (this sort of stems from the fact that the kitties like watching and chasing them in the back yard, and since the card was supposed to be from the kitties, well, that made perfect sense)

2) It was a welcome break from my latest project, a Charles Wysocki kit called “Too Pooped” which, though enjoyable, has possibly the largest tree ever and is primarily brown and more brown.

Bonus: Now that I’ve finished it, I feel confident that I can one day tackle the Frederick the Literate kit I’ve got stashed away.

Without further ado:

Happy Mother’s Day!

General Sewing

From the Vault: Scrub Top

wittychild

I say “vault” because this was actually a Christmas present for my mom, and it’s only now that I’ve gotten around to taking pictures and posting it.  I had originally seen the Bugs Bunny fabric in Fabricland last summer, and knew I had to buy some without really having a firm plan for it; the plan fell very quickly into place shortly thereafter.  [Internal monologue: “What would I do with that?”  “I dunno, make a scrub top?  He’s got the lab coat and stethoscope and everything.”]

With the fabric at home and the plan in mind, I dragged my wonderfully patient friend to WalMart’s craft department and flashed different pattern envelopes at him.  “Okay, this…or this?  Do you like the crossover style, or the one with the pocket detail?  Hey, this one claims to be so easy, what do you think?”  We agreed that Simplicity It’s So Easy 3633 fit the bill.  I love when he indulges my whims like that.

Despite having everything picked out so far in advance, and even having cut the pattern pieces out well ahead of time, it was still 9:00 on Christmas Eve before I finished the blasted thing.  Fortunately, she loved it, and thought I had bought it.  On to the pictures!  The front:

And a close-up of that awesome fabric (you may get a larger view if you click it.  Go on, you know you want to):

A final note: I don’t have a serger, but to keep the seams nice n’ sturdy, I trimmed my seam allowances once they were sewn, and re-sewed them with a zig-zag stitch.  This thing ought to be able to stand up to whatever she has planned for it.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Make it “sew”.

wittychild

I want it known that I am not a Trekkie.  Never have been, never will be.  Sorry, Bill, Sue, Rick, and anyone else who doesn’t get why I don’t get them.

*whew*

So, then: what’s a girl to do when her contract at work is up, and she’s grown rather attached to her coworkers, and wants to do something nice for one of them to remember her by?  One doesn’t want to get extravagant, obviously, but to just leave having done nothing didn’t seem appropriate to the situation.  The coworker, unlike the author, is a Trekkie, albeit a TNG fan (Philistine!).  Enter black-lupin (http://black-lupin.deviantart.com) and her fabulous array of mini-Star Trek characters!  This is what I came up with:

(What horrible lighting!  His uniform is partly burgundy, I swear.  DMC 814, if you want to check!)

I wasn’t quite sure I had done Captain Picard justice, but both the recipient and another coworker knew immediately who it was.  I feel so validated.

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

I love my wife, but oh, you kid!

wittychild

So, over the winter I took a Swing Dancercise class through the city’s leisure guide…basically, an hour of aerobics with swing-based footwork and a little choreography thrown in for fun.  I won’t be winning any dance contests anytime soon with what I’ve learned, since this was a no-partner-required deal, but hey, it got me off the couch for an hour a week.  The instructor made it really fun, too, always kept things upbeat.

When I rediscovered Sublime Stitching’s Roaring Twenties patterns in my stash, I decided she needed a little goodbye present, since our last class was rapidly approaching.  One of the dances we had learned was the Charleston, and that appeared to be just what this dancer was doing, so onto a tea towel she went!  (Besides, no kitchen should be without one of these!)

Action shot on my stove:

And a close-up of the stitching:

It’s mostly backstitch, with a little satin stitch and a few French knots thrown in for good measure.  Her dress and gold accessories were done in Petite Treasure Braid metallics, which are honestly the best metallic threads I’ve ever used.  Pricey, but worth it.

And her garter matches her shoes….eeee!!

Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Hey, good lookin’ – whatcha got cookin’?

wittychild

Somehow, National Embroidery Month (known to the non-crafty types as “February”) almost slipped right by me with nary a stitch in sight.  Oops.  I started this on the 27th, and although I did not manage to finish it before the month was up, that was easily accomplished this past weekend (the first of National Craft Month – that still counts, right?).

Nothing too fancy, I’m afraid.  It started its life in my household as a rather plain white apron with inexplicably yellow pockets.  The bib needed something, though.  One Aunt Martha’s Animated Kitchenware transfer and a few old movies’ worth of embroidering later:

Action shot.  The bowl is empty, but I assure you, I did bake cookies later on.

Close-up.  Mostly comprised of stem stitch, with a little backstitch and satin stitch thrown in for interest.  Please excuse the distorted colours; thin white fabric over a red t-shirt will tend to do that.

I can’t help but feel it would make a lovely accompaniment to Rachael’s tea towels.  Too bad I’m not giving it up!

baking, Cross-stitch and Embroidery

Birthday Bonanza

wittychild

Update: I was finally able to give the birth sampler/card to my coworker last week, more than a month after the baby was born, but no matter…

My mumsie’s birthday was also last week; naturally, much home-made goodness was in the works.  I made her blue velvet cupcakes (blue is her favourite colour) with vanilla-coconut buttercream frosting.  It’s kind of hard to tell in the photo what colour they are, but trust me, they’re blue.

I think that icing may be my favourite thing that I’ve ever made…all coconutty and yummy…

She still collects hedgehogs, so a hand-stitched card was a must:

It’s from issue 216 (I think!) of Cross Stitcher, and originally said “Nice Cross Stitch”, but I took some artistic liberties with it.  I still have a baby-sized callous on my finger from doing the backstitch on that.  Uurgh.  Trying to pierce the fabric where there’s no hole and it plainly doesn’t want to be pierced becomes old after a while.  Still, I think the end justified the means.

For the next piece, you must understand that “Bork” is a verb in our household, and not just an interjection.  In the kitchen, dropping, spilling, or mixing vigorously and flinging, well, anything, will cause someone to yell, “You borked the ice cream/potatoes/toast!”  (Much as the Swedish Chef yells “Bork, bork, bork!” just before he sends his utensils flying.)  She “got it” as soon as she opened it, and I daresay as custom designs/projects go, this was one of the best.  Also simplest.

It’s on one of those awesome tea towels from Sublime Stitching which was an absolute dream to work on, and is currently brightening up the oven door.

As always, thanks for looking!