Heidi Stitches When She Can

One reason I hate backstitching...

2012-03-03T20:22:00.002-08:00

...here's Reason #1. I'll show you Reason #2 when I finish it!

This is "Tatty Teddy Little Hearts." I started this little piece back in 2005. I finished it about an hour ago, March 3, 2012. It only took me SEVEN years to finish! I'm not even sure what I'll do with it now. Part of me just wants to roll it up and stick it in a drawer!

The reason why? All that backstitching! What makes Teddy so cute is all of his "tattiness." I can't tell you how many times I picked this up, put in a few stitches, and then threw it back in the WIP pile. My only resolution for this year is to try and finish as many old WIPs as I can.

When looking at something new to stitch, the first thing I do is see how much backstitching it has. It has to be pretty much "none" for me to even consider it these days.

So, here's Tatty Teddy upclose.

Here's the back. Another reason I'm not thrilled is how messy it is, and it's BECAUSE OF ALL THAT BACKSTITCHING!

Okay, I've vented, I feel better.

If you are a glutton for punishment OR if you actually don't mind backstitching, and you think you would like to stitch this (after my ringing endorsement), I'm giving the pattern away - including the extra thread which I think there is enough left to make him again. I figure I should at least try and give this pattern a new home rather than the trash can I was thinking about tossing it into.

Send me an email or leave a comment letting me know you would like to have it and I'll gladly run down to the post office and send it your way. First one to ask gets it!

Happy Stitching

Spring has sprung

2012-02-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

I worked on these butterflies at the beginning of January thinking that I wouldn't really post them until spring had arrived here in Southern California. Well, we really haven't had much of a winter this year (I know you're probably laughing about So. Cal. even having a winter), and for the last few days I've noticed that the butterflies are already out and flitting around our willow tree. So, if I'm seeing the real ones, I guess I can show you the cross stitched ones!

The patterns are from the March 2011 Cross Stitcher magazine (Issue 236)

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you have a wonderful day!

(This is my Halloween tree and I figured I could use it for all the holidays this year! Now it's my Valentine's Day tree. I made the little heart ornaments by using some baker's twine and just gluing two sequin hearts together. So quick, so simple, so cute.)

Love Notes

2012-02-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

Instead of buying Valentine's Day cards this year for my guys (my husband and son), I decided I'd whip up some "Love Notes" for them. They don't read my blog, so I can share this with you a day early. I always get up before them, so tomorrow I'm going to make them breakfast and they will each have their very own love notes to read. Hopefully it will start their day off on a "good note."

Cross stitch they don't really understand, however they do like the origami I make. So, in my quest to "use what I have," I came up with this simple idea.

Each one starts with "I love you because..."

Both of my guys got one that said this. Everyday they do something that makes me laugh!

I hope you have a great day and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get a love note too!

The ultimate in cross stitching

2012-01-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this article and had to share it.

Here's the link to the story about this sampler.

I just had to share this...

2012-01-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

This was the view from my front door yesterday. There is a cement walkway leading up to the door (which you can't see).

This is the culprit. It's our Ash tree and it's between 40-50 feet tall! It finally realized that it was winter and that it needed to shake off all it's leaves.

Here it is all raked up. My son had fun riding his bike through it. If you look in the right hand corner, you can now see the walkway.

I am crafting and I will have things to show in the next few days. I never talk about my personal life but I had to share this. It happens every year and we have so much fun with it.

My Ornament Swap Tree

2011-12-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here's my ornament swap tree. I've been swapping handmade Christmas ornaments since 2008. I'm always amazed at how creative people are. I also love that I get to exchange ornaments with people around the world. When you think about it, something I made is sitting in someone's home in Australia, UK, Germany, Iceland, Czech Republic, Spain, and the list goes on. Yes, I've been flaked on a couple of times but I've never let that dim my pure enjoyment of receiving these little packages in the mail every year. I look forward to it for years to come.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need a bigger tree!

This year's mantel

2011-12-10T11:23:00.001-08:00

Trees!

As I was going through all my Christmas decorations, I realized that I have a fondness for trees so I thought I would gather them all together and place them on the mantel this year. I love the way it looks! My dark secret...it's not all of them. I probably have twenty more that I just couldn't fit on the mantel. What does this mean?? I need a bigger mantel! (only joking)

So, here is this year's Christmas mantel. The stockings were all made by my husband's mother and I adore them.

Now, these pics show the mantel during the day. Scroll down to see what it looks like at night.

It's really beautiful and peaceful to look at when it's lit up.

Holiday stitching

2011-12-04T16:20:00.001-08:00

I was stitching during the month of November so I would have some Christmas cross stitch. Except for the red Santa, all of them came from Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments 2009, 2010 and 2011. Santa came from the British magazine, Cross Stitcher.

As always, here are the fronts...

and the backs...

Happy Holidays!

Everybody's a Winner!

2011-12-02T08:50:00.001-08:00

That's right! I had five comments and I can definitely fold five origami wreaths (which seem to be the most popular - I love them too). So, Chris, JoAnn (I have your address), gill, Wagapapa, and Jennifer @ Woodley Cottage, just shoot be an email with your name and address to heidistitcheswhenshecan@gmail.com and I'll send it right out to you. Patterns will vary, but all wlll be beautiful.

Thanks for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Origami tree stills

2011-11-23T18:54:00.001-08:00

I was trying to figure out how to add these pictures to one of my boards on Pinterest and all I could figure out was that they seemed to have to be on my blog to get them there. I don't spend enough time on the computer to figure this stuff out (I'd rather be crafting!).

Anyway...the giveaway is still going on. Leave a comment on my previous post about my tree or on this one. I'll pick two winners on December 1!

My Origami Tree and a Giveaway

2011-11-16T16:21:00.001-08:00

Here's a little video of my Origami Tree. I folded all these ornaments over a three month period. I love all the color! This is a real goose feather tree. I bought it over 15 years ago and I think it will be my "official origami tree" for every future Christmas.

Now the good part...if you would like to have your very own origami ornament for your tree, just leave a comment about which ornament you like. You can even tell me which colors you like best as well. On December 1, I'll pick TWO winners and send an ornament especially made for you! Don't you just love this time of year??!! The giveaway is open to everyone (that means international friends can play too).

I really have been stitching...

2011-11-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

but I'm finding out that I do much better with small motifs. These are all from Just CrossStitch Halloween Collection. Simple, simple, simple to stitch. Just the type of projects that fit into my life right now. I'm still using fabric that I have, so most of these are on aida cloth. It works well with framing them in the hoops. One day I'll take a photo of the wall that all of these are hung on. It's getting quite crowded.

And the backs...

I've already started on some Christmas cross stitch.

...and another Handmade Ornament Swap

2011-11-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I love freshlyblended's annual ornament swap, but she is taking a break from blogging and a very courageous person picked up the gauntlet this year. I'm very excited to participate but the only drawback is that swap-bot is the host. The one problem with this is that the ornaments you send and receive are not from the same 10 people assigned to you. I'm willing to take the chance on this but others prefer to know that they are only in a certain group for giving and receiving. I get it, I understand.

A group of crafters would like to know who they are swapping with and have started a swap for this year. I've joined in and I hope you will too. Yes, it's quite a few ornaments to make and mail (if you participate in both), but I've found that what I receive is usually worth it in the end.

So, if you would like to participate, just go to this link on flickr. SIGN UPS END ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6! Hurry, don't procrastinate, you will love it!

I love the ornaments I've made this year...wouldn't you like to receive one?

It's that time of year again...

2011-10-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

This will be my 5th year particpating (and the first year I'm NOT stitching my ornaments)! I'm really excited about the ornaments I'm working on. They are very different from years past. It's lots of fun - come on and join!

Here's the link to swap-bot.

(P.S. I have been stitching some small pieces that I will be sharing soon.)

Engagement Gift

2011-06-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

My husband's niece recently got engaged and their engagement party was just a couple of weeks ago. We wanted to give them money to help with expenses but we HATE just sticking money in a card and calling it good. During the teen years, both she and her brother had to suffer from us being "creative" with money gifts. We've rolled it into straws, stuffed it in ugly pottery that had to be broken to get to it, put it between pages in a dollar store book, put it in gumball dispensers, etc. Fun to think up and even more fun to watch them try and get it.

Well, I wanted to do something more "grown up" and I came up with this vase full of origami boxes. Besides cross stitch, origami is one of my favorite things to do. To keep my folding skills up, I typically leave some piece of origami next to our tip when we eat out. Usually a crane since it only takes one sheet of paper. I've never stuck around to get a reaction from the wait staff, but I hope they enjoy the surprise (right before they throw it away!).

I decided to find some quotes about marriage (some funny, some snarky, some serious) and I printed them out and then rolled a $10 bill within each quote. My favorite quote was "No husband was ever shot while doing the dishes" - amen!

After rolling them up, I put a bow around each one.

Then each quote went into a box and the the last flaps were folded in place.

Ten boxes, each with a quote and $10 inside.

There is an easy tutorial for the boxes at Origami Mommy. You can just Google "quotes about marriage" for tons of ideas. Picking ten was kind of hard to do.

I ran out of time and didn't get a snap of the note that went with it explaining that the small (3" x 3") boxes were just "filler" while the 10 large (4" x 4") boxes were the ones they needed to open. To make sure no friends or other family members thought they could take one (not knowing there was money inside), I sealed the top with a circle of celophane and then added the ribbon to hide where I had taped it down.

They were very excited to see the vase and were curious about what was inside. It was fun to do and a great conversation piece at the party.

I'm back!

2011-06-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Update: The link to the flower tutorial is at Craft Snob.

So many things have happened since my last post in February. Since I try not to talk about personal things on this space, let's just say one door has closed and I'm enjoying the summer with my family. August will be the month that I start knocking on doors and hopefully one will open for me.

In April, I started making these felt flowers from a tutorial I found (which I now can't find but once I do I'll post the link...sorry). While the original tutorial just hot-glued the petals together, I decided to sew mine (just a simple needle and thread). They turned out great and I've been giving them away to friends and family ever since.

The image I pinned them to I found at The Graphics Fairy, a wonderful source for free images.

I put a bird on it - Ode to Portlandia

2011-02-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

Portlandia is on IFC. One of the funniest segments was "Put a Bird on it." At the same time, the latest issue of Martha Stewart came out and there were some quick and easy cross stitch patterns. One just happened to be the right type of bird. So, in the spirit of Portlandia, I put a bird on it!

She had another pattern that I thought was very cute, so I also "put a mouse on it."

Creative Color Challenge - Complementary

2011-02-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

The theme was "Blooming." You had to create something using complementary (as opposed to complimentary - look them up, I had to) colors. My color choices were blue and orange. I was going to figure out something to cross stitch, but then I started thinking about making something practical, something that you could use everyday, not just hang on a wall. I hope my partner likes what I created. I was really pleased with the results.

After I came up with the idea, I started by creating this:

Once I had the basic concept, I started creating my blooms.

Then I created the "practical" blooms. Blooms that my partner could use everyday. Yes, magnets!

And then I wanted the sun to really shine, so I made part of it into a necklace!

Here it is attached to the card. I must confess at this point, I used the wrong craft punch when I rounded that corner (not paying attention). It became a clever mistake since I was able to do this with it:

So, here is the completed piece that I sent off to my swap partner today. I really hope she likes it.

And, as always, here's what the back looks like.

I used the paperclips to keep the magnets in place, however they still moved around quite a bit. What I didn't take a picture of was that I ended up using clear packing tape to anchor everything down so hopefully it will survive shipping.

What's in my purse

2011-02-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

Since I'm trying to stitch more, I've decided to keep a small project in my purse that I can pull it out and work on it whenever I have to wait. It keeps me happy and the time passes much more quickly.

The pouch. I'm not sure where I got it, but I know I didn't make it!

A look at what's inside it.

The pattern, fabric, floss, needle book and fold-up scissors - the bare necessities.

I've got SO much red aida cloth, so I decided I would try and make my first biscornu. I love the looks of them and I've always wanted to make one. Using the black floss makes a very dramatic statement against the red cloth.

And, as always, the back.

Okay, I'm doing it...

2011-01-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

...because it keeps the creativity flowing! There is still time to join. Take a chance, what have you got to lose?

Changing to Blue and White

2011-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

In my effort to "use what I have" I've decided to stitch a few lines from one of my favorite bands. I won't reveal the song or the band until I'm finished (although some of you might be able to figure it out!). I've never designed anything on my own, so it's been a challenge picking the right cross stitch font. I'm using "Madeleine" from the book, 'Minuscules & Majuscules' by Valerie Lejeune. It's all in French, but the best thing about cross stitch is that it doesn't matter what language you speak, you can understand a cross stitch chart! I found this book at The French Needle. I do have an obsession with French cross stitch.

I'm still trying to figure out a border or some other motif to incorporate into the piece. It will be fun to see how this all turns out.

I also received another alpabet book in the mail this week, not even realizing that it was also a book by Valerie Lejeune! I must really like her. It's called, "Cross Stitch Letters Bible" and has over 800 alphabets ranging from 1 point all the way to 55 points. The book has over 700 pages (it's about 2 inches thick). I found this book at Nordic Needle.

One last stitch in red and white

2011-01-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

I did this as a prototype for one of the ornament exchanges I participated in this past year. I really like it but it was too time consuming to mass produce. This new year I'm going to try and stay away from red and white (hopefully).

French Country Star
JBW Designs

...and the back.

So would you like to make an origami wreath?

2010-12-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

While searching the web for origami projects, I came across this video. While the gentleman that does the demonstration is "interesting," his directions are clear and easy to follow. Happy Folding!

Packaging

2010-11-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about the ornament swaps I participate in, is to come up with a creative way to send my ornaments off to their new homes. I do enjoy the presentation just as much as the gift itself. Here is this year's swap packages (more pictures of this than the actual ornaments!).

The 5th Annual Holiday Ornament Swap

Cookie boxes - front

Back

Origami envelope with note inside

Creative Color Challenge Ornament Swap