MY CROSS STITCH

Welcome Back & A Finish by Heidi

2012-01-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a very safe and happy Xmas and new yr! Thisyr we start off with a wonderful finish by Heidi, she stitched this magnificentpiece on Picture This Plus fabric. A stunning piece of stitching and suchinspiration! Thank you again Heidi, for sharing your wonderful finishes with usall here.

Luv from Olga.

Happy Christmass To All !

2011-12-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

I would like to take the time and opportunity to wish everyone a very happy and safe Christmas and new year. thank to all my followers and thank you to all the people that leave comments here for me, its very much appreciated, and also to all the guests that come visit my blog and to all my friends.

..and i will be back in the new year! :o)

Lots of luv from Olga.

Another Crocheted Doily

2011-12-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

I am delighted to share with you my latest finish of a crocheted doily. It’sabout 50cm wide and it’s from an English booklet and therefore the crocheted termsused are the English ones. When i first started to stitch this, i was using thewrong crochet stitch as i was doing the USA crochet terms. I therefore had tounpick it all and I did go a long a way before I realised that the doily wouldnot lie flat as it should. I then re-stitched it with the correct crochetstitch and now you can see what a wonderful doily it turned out to be. I justlove the wheat design and the spider design in the middle of it complementsreally well.

In case you wish to make this one, it’s found in an English booklet calledThe Super Lace Crafts Collection Crochet, Tatting And Knitted Lace, A CoatsPublication Book Number 1324, published in 1984. Here is a picture of the frontcover of the book. I bought mine from Amazon.

hope you enjoy the pics!
luv from Olga.

A Sampler Garden by Designer Judy Odell

2011-11-28T05:23:00.000-08:00

Now that my friend Olenka has her gift, i can show you pictures of the sampler garden by designer Judy Odell. She is my most favourite designer, i absolutely luv all her work, she is an amazing designer. Olenka received her gift and she is overwhelmed and delighted to have received. I hope it brings her many many hours of happy stitching with it. i wanted to give her something very special as she has been through a very rough year, and i wanted to lift her spirits. hope you enjoy the pictures. It was an absolute pleasure to stitch this for Olenka.

Luv from Olga.

Some Finishes

2011-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Thought i would share with you all a few finishes i have made. My friend Heather has already received her alphabet doll and she loves it! The Needle Box was a bit tricky to make up, it was difficult to decide how to get it to close nicely, i had to try a few things before i got it right. And lastly the pincushion and fob was a lot of fun to stitch. enjoy the pictures.
Luv from Olga.

A Stunning Finish by Brenda Called Sophia by John Clayton.

2011-11-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

I received a wonderful email from my wonderful friend Brenda, to show me her latest finish, called Sophia, one of John Clayton's Ladies. What a stunning finish Brenda ! Congratulations on a stunning piece of work! thank you also for sharing your finish here with us all.
Yourself and Heidi, are such an inspiration to us all !
Lots of Luv from Olga.

A Dragon Finish by Hiedi !

2011-11-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Heidi's latest finish! ..is an amazingly beautiful dragon! the colours are just gorgeous! and Heidi also did her own framing! what an amazing finish and framing. the fabric is Picture This Plus.... Congratulations to Heidi, well done!!!
Luv from Olga.

Carre d'Abeilles by Jardin Prive

2011-09-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Carre d'Abeilles by Jardin Prive a French designer, very well known in the stitching world, you can buy this chart here at her site. This was suppose to be a large pin keep, but when i saw it, i thought it would make such a lovely sewing box with accessories as i could see that the design you could do so much with it and adapt it to the box and accessories. I decided to make the front of the flap drop outwards, holding the scissors and case in place and in the back there is a pocket where you could put packets of needles and other little items that take your fancy :o) ............ I made a matching pincushion to fit inside the sewing box and i also tried to make the lid on the inside very very padded to give it that lovely old fashion look, its so padded that its very easy to keep your pins and or needles attached to it. This took me a very long time to make, about 2 months as there was an awful lot of stitching to do before i was able to put the box and accessories together. I also decided not to put beaded feet on the box as they would have interferred too mch with the stitching, so i just left it as is. This will be a gift for a very special friend for Xmas, cant say her name here as she always comes to my blog :o) and i want it to be a big surprise for her. The fabric i used was evenweave, a very light green which was given to me by a very special friend who is very ill at the moment, so prayers her way would be very much appreciated. The green buttons you see in the pictures are vintage buttons, i bought them at a car boot sale a couple of years ago from an elderly lady and said to me they use to belong to her late mother. I also attached some very thick crochet style lace to the front of the Needle Keep book. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Pineapple CentrePiece Crochet Doily

2011-09-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have just finished stitching this lovely crocheted doily, took me about 4 full on days to put it together. I enjoyed making it even though i get a lot of pain in my left arm as i crochet. The end result was worth all the pain. The pattern is from my book called Crocheting Tablecloths and Placemats Edited by Florence Weinstein, Dover Needlework Series. I used no 20 crochet cotton which comes from Greece, its like a thin rope, its far more prettier in real life than the photos. Hope you enjoy my pics.

Antique Style Violin Shape Scissor Case

2011-08-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

A while back I saw an antique violin scissor case picture on the Internet and I thought it would be a great idea to try to make one. I found it was not as easy as I first thought, but I persevered with it and this is what I ended up with. It is a little fiddly to tie the bow around scissors. You can hold a packet of needles on the inside lid and pins or needles on the padded strip of fabric.

I think it turned out rather well.

hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Hares' Christmas by Plum Street Samplers

2011-08-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished putting this lovely cushion together, and am very happy to share my finish with you. I changed a couple of colours and I also added a lot of metallics on this one. Its always difficult to work with metallics, but the end result is worth all the trouble! :o) I stitched it on 14 count sparkly aida, light lemon colour. The entire thing is very sparkly, but couldnt capture that in the photographs. ....if i do stitch this one again, i will only use thread and no metallics. I did enjoy stitching this one :o)

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Swan Sewing Case and Accessaries By Keepsakes Stitches

2011-08-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have just this moment completed the finishing touches to this set, and am very excited to be showing this finish. It is a special gift for Heidi's mother in law called Cathy. She has been very unwell all of a sudden, so prayers her way are very welcomed. I wanted to make her something special, and as she loves swans, i couldnt resist but to stitch this up for her for a xmas gift for this year. I have changed some of the shape of the design, and i made up the stitching tray all on my own, my own shape design, and i put it together my own way too. I found it very difficult to make the hole in the handle section, and I also found it very difficult to get the fabric to stay turned inwards, but it came out ok. If there is an other time that I would make another tray, i know how to better improve myself. I think the tray turned out rather well.

I absolutely luv the way the scissor case turned out, with all the stitching inside and outside and I placed a special matching scissor to go with the gift. I luv the beads on the front, makes it look very femine to the eye. The stitching seemed to have taken forever to do, there was a lot of it. The entire thing took me about 2 months to complete. I did grow tired of the stitching towards the end, but well worth the effort :o) I added the ruched ribbon where ever possible, I feel it gives it a much prettier look to it, and also it helps to hide the seams.

The whole set is more pink than it shows in the pictures, it was very difficult to capture the pinkness.

Pink is Cathy's favourite colour and I luv to stitch on pink :o)
It's amazing what can be accomplished with a bit of cardboard.

I hope you enjoy looking through the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Amazing Finishes by Brenda in the UK

2011-07-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when my friend Brenda emailed her latest finishes. She is an awesome stitcher! Her finishes and pictures look more prettier than the ones used by the designers! :o) The top scissor case/cushion is called elegant scissor pocket by Polstitches, and the 2 bottom pictures is by the Victoria Sampler called Milady's Reticule . Check out her biscornu! stunning work !!! and if you think this is special, check out Brenda's other finishes on the Gift of Stitching Blog, her biscornu finish is too amazing for words!
thank you for sharing with us Brenda, we always enjoy your finishes.
Luv from Olga.

A Mouse In A Box

2011-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

I just finshed putting this one together. The mouse is quite cute, its a pincushion, and you can put a pair of scissors down its side, but i think i stuffed the mouse too much with filling, and the side pockets are too tight. It has its own special box which i also made from cardboard and fabric and lots of glue! ...........hope you enjoy the pictures.
Luv from Olga.

Sampler Garden by Judy Odell

2011-06-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished stitching this one together this morning, and am so thrilled to see it completed. It was a lot of hard work, but as you can see it was worth all the trouble. The designer is Judy Odell, you may be familiar with her work, but she is one of my most favourite designers, as she comes up with the most unique designs and amazing finishings. You can buy her charts directly from her from her web site. She is very friendly and most lovely to deal with. Thank you Judy for making this possible.

The pictures do it no justice, the colours are brighter and the blue fabric is brighter also, it’s a very nice shade of light blue and I used ice blue ribbon for the finishings. I also hand dyed the fabric to a lovely light blue. I also used the design to make the scissor case and the big round pincushion. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

A Very Old Box

2011-05-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share with you, this very very old box, it must be early 1900s. When I bought it, it was in a very bad condition, one hinge was missing and the ones left were badly rusted and all coming apart, some of the screw pins were also missing and some falling out as well. It’s a real shame because it’s a very beautiful box, and it looks as if it never had been looked after at all. After I bought it, I removed all these bits of wood inside the boxes including inside the large section of the box, it was really horrible. I cleaned it up as much as I could; I couldn't use that magic polish, as I was afraid it would stain the lighter sections of the design and turning the design into a big smudge. So I bought some old fashion French Polish made from beeswax. It hasn't got the shine yet as it needs to be done a number of times before it gets that look. I had to buy doll house hinges to put the box together, it was a big learning experience for me, and I know where I went wrong and will know better for next time, but I hope if there is a next time I will not have to go through hamming in hinges. Anyway, here are the picture of before and after. I placed some ribbed ribbon and then on top of that I placed some old lace that I had in my stash, the lace is about 40 yrs old. I decided to do a swan on the inside lid of the box, and decorated with some gold tiny bead string that had to be glued on. I also stitched a rabbit for the big section and 2 little hats for the small little box sections. I have been working on this for a long time and im glad that now I have finished it. The box doesn't really close properly, but its still very useful for a sewing box where you can keep some scissors and other little things in there. The box is about 8 inches in width, 3.5 inches in height, and 4.5 inches in depth sideways, just to give you an idea of the size of the box.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

A Sweet Stitch By Sue Hillis

2011-04-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

A Sweet Stitch by Sue Hillis, I finished this one almost as soon as I received it. A wonderful lady called Dorothy, from the 123mb, donated her tin to me, to which i'm very grateful for. Thank you so much Dorothy! (hugs) .........I did make a few changes when it came to the construction and the design. I wanted the scissor keeper to be separate from the tin. It’s mostly in pinks, its more pink than the actual photos, but it was difficult to capture its true colours. Does look more different and prettier in real life.

I truly loved stitching this one! And the special tin is amazing too! I luv how the stitching fits into the tin lid. The lid has a special section that you can mount your stitching into it. I tried to capture this in the photograph.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Clover Sheep NeedleKeep by Island Cottage NeedleCrafts

2011-04-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

I just finished this most gorgeous little sheep needlekeep. I used linen to do my cross stitching. It took me 2 days to complete it fully. I have enjoyed making this even though it was a bit on the fiddly side of things. I did however find that I can improve on my finishing next time round, as I found some imperfections in the sewing that could have been avoided, but I didn't realize this until I had actually stitched it up and by then it was too late to undo the sewing, and thought best to leave it, but will know better for next time. Its a lovely size, its about 13cm wide and about 13cm in height..........i do however have one tip if you plan on buying this chart pack, when you trace your sheep onto both fabrics, I did not cut each one out, I instead placed both together with the stitched piece inside which i tacked, and then i also tacked around the entired thing but outside of the stitching area away from the sewing line, and then machine stitched around it as per the instructions, and then, I cut around my sheep. This helped to prevent the fabrics from slipping and messing up your sewing, this way it matched up perfectly without distortion. I also think it would be more lovely next time, not to use fabric for the back, but use the same wool fabric.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Look At Heidi’s Latest Finish! Woodland Goddess

2011-03-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

I just must share with you Heidi's latest finish! Her needles are truly smoking right now! :o) .......another very beautiful amazing finish. Congratulations to Heidi! I luv the hand dyed fabric, goes beautifully with the stitching.

Woodland Goddess designed by Joan Elliot.

Enjoy her pics.

Luv from Olga

My First Tin

2011-03-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is my very first attempt at decorating a tin. The tin I used was a tobacco tin, so its about 3 times bigger than the normal altoid tins, which is great coz you can house a good sized pair of scissors inside. I found it difficult to attach the decorations onto to it because the glue takes time to dry and during that time, there is the danger of your fabric slipping out of position and that is what happened to mine, but I will know better for next time and take more care in that respect. The inspiration for this was my one of my best friends also called Olga, and she has her own blog, and she is a totally amazing stitcher. If you have time do go browsing through her blog, you will not be disappointed. I also placed some green felt on the bottom of the tin, giving it a more of a warmer feeling to it, and on the inside lid I used fabric and underneath the fabric is some felt giving it a wonderful feel to it, and you have to take care that the fabric does not interfere with the hinges. The design i used is from Mollie's Prism Of Posies Etui by Twisted Oaks Designs

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Another Amazing Finish by Heidi!

2011-03-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here is Heidi's latest finish, another amazing finish I might add ! Heidi's needles must really be smoking right now!! :o) ......But her mermaid is just too beautiful for words, so I will leave you to enjoy her picture. Its Mirabilia's Queen Mermaid and Heidi stitched it on a Belfast hand-dyed which she bought from E-Bay.

Well done Heidi, im happy dancing with you !

Luv from Olga.

Nora's Letter 'S'

2011-02-25T04:57:00.000-08:00

Another amazing finish by Heidi, wow !!! It’s absolutely stunning!! Well done Heidi, and thank you so much for sharing with us all. Heidi stitched it on
PTP crystal Legacy fabric, and is called Nora's Letter 'S' and the designer is Nora Corbett

Enjoy!

Luv from Olga.

A New Yr and New Finish By Hiedi

2011-02-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome back everyone, I hope that you had a very happy and safe xmas and new yr. I have been stitching, but nothing yet that I can show you. However my wonderful friend Heidi has this most gorgeous finish of Charlotte, designer is Mirabilia. Here is a close up of her hair, its just magnificent! Well done Heidi, you have blessed us again with your amazing stitching!!

..

I'm also hoping that a lady by the name of Karen will email me, my email can be found here on my bog. You asked me some questions, I cannot email you personally because I don't have your email address, that is why I am posting here for you. Unfortunately I am not talented enough to actually produce designs, I wish I was, but I best leave that to the professionals :o) ........There are many freebies on the net, and I understand your concern about viruses, as I have just lost my computer to one virus that destroyed the c drive, I am now using my very old computer that is 7 yrs old. Most of the small designs you see on my blog are from bought designs, some have been gifts also. Hope you can email me.

Enjoy Heidi's pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Happy Xmas to all !

2010-12-24T05:08:00.000-08:00

Wishing all my followers and bloggers around the World a Happy and Safe and Joyful Xmas filled with lots of love!

luv from Olga.

Italian Garden Shaker By Marie Le Gouis Of Atelier Des Fees Brodeuses

2010-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this for a number of months now, on and off. I went to a car boot sale here where I live, and found a jewelry box; very used and scratched a lot on the wood and the inside was quite dirty and grubby. The lady selling it only wanted £1 pound for it, so I bought it. Before I started working on it, I took some pictures to show you the before and after pictures. I removed all the inside parts of the top and bottom drawer, I cleaned it all up and I also used a special furniture polish which gives it a stain and gloss at the same time. It works wonders and gets rid of all scratches too!

I glued on some very old lace that is about 30 yrs old or more, to the sides of the drawers, I then did the cross stitching for both drawers, I glued felt on the cardboard bits and I then laced the stitching to the backs. I then glued both bits to the drawers and as you can see, it came out rather pretty. What a transformation of the wooden box, to what it was before and what it is now :o)

The design I used was from The Gift of Stitching Magazine issue 56 September 2010 and the design is called Italian Garden Shaker By Marie Le Gouis of Atelier Des Fees Brodeuses. I manipulated the design and only stitched certain parts of it.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

I've been asked what was the polish i used on the wooden jewerly box. I forgot to post a picture of it, so here it is now. It's called 4 in 1 wood renovator. Here is a picture of the tin. Its a pink liquid, and has a very strong smell of nail polish. It even removes water stains on wood! I think i bought it from Home Base. Hope this helps

Congratulations to Antaresia

2010-12-06T01:42:00.000-08:00

Antaresia has followed my tutoria for my scissor case. She has left a message under the tutorial link, which has a link to her finish. I just had to share with you all her amazing finish. I luv the shape she has given her case. Congratulations Antaresia, your finish is absolutely beautiful !! and im glad that you have got in contact with me so i can show your wonderful finish. Thank you for sharing with us. I hope you have been an inspiration for my other readers to try my tutorials.

luv from Olga.

Most Gorgeous Finishes By Brenda

2010-11-13T06:14:00.000-08:00

My lovely friend Brenda emailed me with her amazing finishes, she made some humbugs by The Victoria Sampler. This is free chart from The Victoria Sampler, just click on the link. It will take you to their website.

Brenda always amazes me with her wonderful finishes, she did a great job! They are just absolutely gorgeous!! The colours are just sooooo pretty! The pink one is my favourite!

Thank you Brenda for sharing your wonderful work with us all.

Enjoy her pics.

Luv from Olga.

Thank You Rachel !

2010-11-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

This morning in the mail, i received a lovely surprise. Rachel has sent me her hand made card, its very very pretty, and she did such an amazing job with the stitching and the decorating! Will treasure it ! I have it on my desk where i can see it :o)
Thank you Rachel ! (hugs)
luv from Olga.

A Pink Box for Rachel

2010-11-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

A number of months ago, I found out one of my best friend Kathy, her daughter Rachel does cross stitching and I thought I would make her a pretty box for her to keep her things in while she stitches etc. I made the box in her favourite colour pink and I made it large enough so that she can keep what ever she is working on, inside the box. She received her gift yesterday and Kathy has told me she is absolutely delighted with it and Rachel is now stitching me a thank you card, which I’m looking forward to :o)
The scissor case is attached to the side and does not move, and the scissors are held in place with some ribbon, so the scissors are well secured to the case and will not fall out when not in use.
Here are the pictures, enjoy!

Luv from Olga.

Also a special thank you to all my blog readers, followers and the ladies that take time to post comments, very much appreciated. (hugs)

Shoe Pincushions Galore!

2010-10-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just have to share with you all the shoe pincushions I have made. They do get easier to make with practice, and most had no cross stitching which made it much easier to align the fabric with the templates. Some of the buttons you see are vintage buttons. All of these are gifts for Xmas, and as you can see the green one, Heidi already has. I think my favorite one is the red Xmas shoe :o)
Enjoy the pics!
Luvs from Olga.

Snow Queen’s Slipper and Accessories by Carolina House Designs

2010-10-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the snow queen’s slipper and accessories. I made it all in greens as this is Heidi’s favourite colour. She now has her gifts, so it’s ok to show the pics. This was suppose to be an exchange with Heidi, but the contruction of the slipper was too overwhelming and difficult for Heidi, which is understandable as I too found it most difficult constructing the slipper together. You had to make your own template and then match up the stitching with the templates and then cantering everything and working with small bits of fabric, that was very tricky too do. But thankfully it all turned out well. I enjoyed doing this so much that I now have a template and have since made many shoe pincushions, most of which are mainly made from fabric, there are few that I took some designs that I was stitching to fashion a shoe pincushion to match, one of which you have already seen in my previous post. Also the slipper was suppose to have a buckle on the front, but I found it looked much better with a large button and the one I have used for Heidi’s slipper is an old vintage button which I think matches everything quite nicely. And there was way too many beads for the design, therefore i used ruched ribbon in some areas where i could on the shoe and the scissor case and fob. They do get easier to make with practice. Hope you enjoy the pics and Heidi, is very delighted to have her gifts, which gives me much joy to know :o)

The slipper mesures about 4 inches in width and 3 inches in height at its widest points.

Here is a pic of the chart pack

Luv from Olga.

Folk Art Flowers Purse by Lettie Eckberg

2010-10-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

I have recently finished this most gorgeous little case, its big enough to house a small pair of scissors. When I saw it in the Gift of Stitching Magazine, I knew I had to stitch it. I also used the design to fashion a shoe shaped pin cushion to match the case. This will be a xmas gift. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

The case design is from Issue 54 July 2010
Luv from Olga.

A Precious Gift Received From Heidi

2010-10-09T02:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in the mail I received a most wonderful gift from one of my best friends Heidi. I opened up her package and was stunned to see this most beautiful little pincushion! It’s most colourful and very very pretty; I can see that Heidi put a lot of hard work and Love into it. I luv the way she did the finishing on it, very pretty! I'm so honored and also very excited and very happy to receive such a most precious gift, that I had to share with you. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Thank you so much Heidi, I cannot thank you enough! I luv this treasure you have sent me! :o)

Luv from Olga.

The wooden box in the background - there is a story to that, which i will share with you at a later date.

My Friend Kathy Has A Finish

2010-09-19T03:52:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends Kathy has emailed me her latest finish, a patchwork bag. She has made such a lovely bag. I think this is her time at making one, so I think she did such a wonderful job with it. I also luv the colours! Congratulations on your finish Kathy!

Enjoy her pictures,

Luv from Olga

Pink Open Box

2010-09-07T02:31:00.000-07:00

I finished this not long ago, and thought i would now share some pictures with you. I called it 'An Open Box' mainly because there is no lid to the box. Last year i received a gift in this box, and i thought i would keep the box and decorate it one day and here is the results. :o) .....the ouside of the box is lined with paper but the dark pink floral pattern has a velvet feeling to it, makes the box that little extra special. This box will be a xmas gift for one of my friends. :o)

enjoy the pictures!

luv from Olga.

Heidi Wonderful Finish !

2010-08-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

I’m so excited to show you Heidi’s current finish. She just emailed her wonderful finish of her Unicorn and the Maiden by the famous designer Joan Elliott. Her chart featured on the Cross Stitch Collection magazine issue 179 in case you wish to hunt this chart down.

Heidi did such an amazing job with her stitching, and fabric just complements her stitching so wonderfully !!!

Congratulations on your finish Heidi.

Enjoy her pic.

Luv from Olga.

Thistle Needle Case

2010-08-14T02:23:00.000-07:00

Last year, I sold some of my stash in order to afford to buy this kit. I bought the kit to stitch for Heidi’s birthday for last year. But last year, something else came up for her birthday, so I saved this one for this year. When I received the kit, I didn’t like the colour of the fabric to stitch on, as I felt that the design would not show nicely on the fabric, therefore I changed the fabric to a lighter colour. I also made a mistake on the two side bits when I did the cross stitching as I think it was suppose to be stitched one over one. I also didn’t like they way it was suppose to be put together, which I didn’t understand very well. Therefore this threw out all my measurements. I couldn’t understand the instructions anyway, so I ended up putting the case together in my own way. I don’t know why designers can’t explain things in simple plain English. Anyway, I also had to re-stitch the top bit that closes over the case, in order for it to close properly. I attached a lovely gold colour toggle and claps to give it some jazz :o) ………

The name of the kit is 'Thistle Stitcher's Purse' by Stitching Treasures.

Heidi has already received her gifts, so it’s ok to show the pics here :o)

Happy Birthday Heidi !! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

HatPincushin/NeedleCase Finish by Brenda

2010-07-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Brenda emailed me a couple of days ago with these beautiful pictures of her finishes. She followed my tutorial to make 2 very pretty finishes. I just adore the fabrics she used and the colours complement each other very well. I was very delighted to see her finishes and she has allowed me to post her finished work on my blog to share with you. She also made a gorgeous biscornu, how wonderful !! ……..congratulations on your finishes Brenda, and I'm so delighted that you tried out my tutorial. If anyone else has made a hatpincushin/needlecase from my tutorial, I would be very happy to hear from you and post pictures of your finishes on my blog.

Congratulations to Stella and Brenda for their finishes, hope that they have been an inspiration for you to try one :o)

Enjoy!

Luv from Olga.

A Finish by Stella

2010-07-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a lovely HatPpincushion/Needlecase finished by one of my best friends Stella. She has followed my tutorial and im so pleased that she has made one. She has emailed me her wonderful pictures, and as you can see, she used such lovely floral fabric, dressed with pretty little flowers around the bonnet section. Some cross stitching on the inside to give a pretty look for when you open it. Thank you so much Stella for sharing your wonderful finish and pictures for all to see. I'm sure you will be an inspiration for my readers to try one for themselves and hope that you all try making one as I would very much love to show your work on my blog.

Congratulations on a great finish Stella !!!!!!!

Luv from Olga.

A Scissor Case and Fob to Match

2010-07-21T04:04:00.000-07:00

I have made a matching scissor case and fob for the hatpincushion/needlecase. hope you enjoy the pics.

luv from olga.

A Finish By Anastasia.

2010-07-12T03:14:00.000-07:00

I received a wonderful email from one of my readers called Anastasia. She made a wonderful finish using my scissor case tutorial. She fashioned this wonderful square shaped scissor case. Congratulations on your finish Anastasia. You did a great job! Thank you so much for sharing your work with us all. If anyone else has tried my tutorials, I would luv to hear from you and post pictures of you work on my blog.

Enjoy Anastasia’s picture.

Luv from Olga.

Tutorial on HatPincushion/NeedleCase

2010-07-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have made another hatpincushion/needlecase and now i will try to explain how i made it. I dedicate this tutorial to the ladies on the 123mb whom have requested this.

some things that you will need:

cardboard

batting

double sided tape

fabric

trimmings for decorations

felt

needle

sewing cotton

button

to start the tutorial, you need to cut 4 circles all the exact same size with a

diameter of 4 inches. this is the size that i made mine, you can make any size really but your circles must match in size.

now cut some batting to match the size of the circles and attach with some double sided tape in the centre of each one. i have used the non coloured part of the cardboard to go on the outside, therefore the clean side of the cardboard has the batting on it.

now cut out some fabric for only 3 of the cardboard circles, but make sure it is slightly larger than the circle because you need to fold the fabric over the cardboard.

you can do some cross stitch for one of the circles, i chose to do this pretty floral design, and this will go on the inside of the needlecase part later on.

now place some double sided tape on the edges of the cardboard circles and you have the batting side face down, now turn over the edges of the fabric. remember this is for only 3 of the cut outs, and it includes my stitched piece.

this is what the other side of mine now look like.

now with your spare circle cardboard, cut a piece of fabric one and half the size of your cardboard circle diameter, so therefore the circle was 4 inches in diameter, so the fabric size is approx 6 inches in diameter, don't worry if its slightly smaller, but make sure it is not larger than this cox then it will not work out......

now my fabric was rather very thin, so i had to add some interfacing to the wrong sides of my fabric. now with this large fabric you have, begin to gather the fabric along the edge with some matching sewing thread. go right around until you get to where you started, do not cut the thread.

now place the circle cardboard with the batting facing you (upwards) ....therefore underneath this on the cardboard, there is no batting, the batting is on the gathered side. make sure you have centred your circle and pull up the gathering very tight. now you should have this:

this gathering must be a firm and tight feeling, and end your thread securing the gathering. if you find this is not firm, you must undo your work and cut the fabric circle a little bit smaller otherwise your hat will not look nice. it doesn't matter if the little gathering shows a hole in the centre, cox you will not see this part. its very important that this is firm and tight. now put this aside for the time being.

now cut a circle about 6.5 inches in diameter. do not make this bigger. this circle of fabric will form the top of the hat which will be the pincushion.

again you must gather the edges like you did previously.

now begin to stuff the fabric with filling until its full and firm and pull your gathering tight. secure your gathering so that it does not come undone.(disregard that little circle cardboard in the background, it was not suppose to be in the picture.)

you should now have the above two pieces.

now place the round pincushion on top of the other piece that has the gathering, make sure it is centred.

now with matching thread, begin to attache the two pieces together with some small stitches close together, and go right around, this will secure the two pieces are joined together and will not come undone.

now your piece should like this.

now this is the time to attach trimmings onto your hat for decoration. i attached some gathered lace with some small hidden stitches all the way round, turning in the edges, and i then i secured some flowers and trimmings where the lace meets to cover this area, you can go right thru the card board if you have to in order to attach your trimmings as the underneath side will be covered with the cross stitched piece.

now cut a piece of fabric about 3 inches long and 3 inches wide, 2 times, you need 2 pieces of fabric of this size. For both - fold in the edges to the centre of the fabric and then fold in half, also fold in the sides at one end.........now, hand sew the piece closed......... so now you kind of have an tube that is closed up......i do not recommend that you use your sewing machine because it is very hard to turn it out with right side facing, that is why i have hand sewn mine.

for just one of these tube fabric, make a button hole at the end where you closed it neatly, to match the size of your button that you have selected for your hat.

now attache the one without the button hole onto the left hand side centering it, and making sure your front of the hat is facing you, centred like my picture.

attach the end to the inside of the hat as per picture, it does not matter how untidy this may look, you will not be able to see it, just go around it on the sides. i have sewed it in about one inch inside.

now get one of the three circles you prepared earlier, choose which one you would like to have showing on the bottom of the hat pincushion/needlecase, and attach a button close to the edge but not right on the edge, in just a little bit. you can go right thru the cardboard to the other side to secure your button, as that side will be hidden.

........now attach the button hole fabric putting it thru your button and leave for now. sorry i didn't take a pic of this.

...

now join the piece that has the button with your last circle, with small whip stitches along the edges, do not sew thru the fabric that has the button hole in it, as the loose end will be sewn into the hat section..............

now cut a matching piece of felt which will hold your pins once finished, and this must be smaller than your circle. i used button whole stitch at the edge of my felt to make it look pretty. ...........now with matching cotton, attach the top of the felt to the circle, i stitched about one inch in width at the top of the felt. i did not go all around it, just the very top of it.

now get your hat which has attached the bit of fabric, and now get your stitched piece and begin to sew the two together, with small hidden whip stitches, start just before that bit of fabric, when you get to this bit of fabric, make sure you sew right through all the fabrics, in and out motions very close to the edge, until you pass it and then go back to whip stitches, continue until to you get to the opposite end, at this end you now get your other circle that has the button with the fabric thru the button hole and place the whole thing together in order to determine how much of the end of fabric you need to sew into the hat section so that it will close up nice, not too loose or tight........once you have determined this, sew thru all fabrics making small close together stitches close to the edge in and out like you did before, until you pass the fabric bit. if you are able to sew a few stitches to secure it before you continue to close up the hat edges do so.

your hat should now be fully finished, where one of your 3inch fabric has a button hole in it that will be used to open and close your item.

i hope i have explained this clearly, it was difficult to put into words. If you have any problems while constructing this, and need help, please do not hesitate to contact me.

luv from Olga.

A Most Precious Gift Received

2010-07-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I received the most beautiful surprise in the mail. My wonderful designer friend also called Olga, sent me a surprise in the mail. She knew I’m having such a hard time with threading my needle, that I even thought about giving up my stitching. Well she felt for me and sent me a needle threader aid, but she added so much more! I can’t put into words or speak more highly of Olga’s stitching and finishings and most importantly her friendship. Her gift was wrapped in some square felts then with some tissue paper wrapped up in some ribbon. As you can see in the pictures, she has a magic touch. She decorated a tin for me, with some of her vintage fabric and trimmings from her stash, and she stitched the prettiest design for the top of the tin, matching the biscornu she designed which I bought from her and stitched. Not sure if you can see the one over one, such pretty stitching with some metallic on the boarder. She also added some other goodies in the tin with some lovely thread and buttons and beads! I am still very overwhelmed by Olga’s love and thoughtfulness and kind gift, I had watery eyes when I opened it and was totally shocked! I can’t thank you enough Olga for your friendship and kind gifts made with such love and care. With no disrespect to my other stitchy mates, and I know I have said this before, but Olga’s stitching and finishings are the most prettiest I have ever seen, her gifts look like they have been bought in a shop and not hand made, that is how magic her work is :o) …if you have time to look at Olga’s blog, do so, she has many lovely pictures, and she has also made some lovely designs that you can buy from her, including the biscornu you see in my picture………..if you have never received a stitchy item in the mail from a friend, then I wish I could share my experience with you, because its one that you never forget, no matter how times you receive a stitchy item in the mail from any one of your friends, the experience is always very unique.

….now I leave you all to enjoy the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Hat Pincushion/NeedleCase - All In One

2010-06-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I finished making this all in one hat pincushion/needlecase. It was a bit fiddly to make, and I redid some parts until I got it looking right. I posted a picture of this on the 123mb, and the ladies there loved it. Some have asked me to do a tutorial on this. So next time I make one, I will take some photos and will do up a tutorial for it. I also made a matching scissor case with fob. This will be a Xmas gift later in the year. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

My Friend Has a Giveaway!

2010-06-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

One of my loveliest friend also named Olga, is having a giveaway on her blog. Do join in, in her fun. If you are lucky enough to be the winner of her stitched item, you will not be disappointed. She is also an amazing designer, if you are interested in purchasing her designs, all you need to do is email her, her details are on her blog. While you are there, please check out her work. I’m always left speechless at the quality of her finishes and I am also very honoured to have some of her stitched work, the most amazing stitching and finishes I have ever seen in my life! ……..hope you enjoy her blog.

Luv from Olga.

Friendship Box Set

2010-06-04T04:10:00.000-07:00

I have just finished putting this box set together. I made the box fully padded on the outside and the inside. I made the matching accessories as you can see, the scissor holder with fob, button pincushion, and needle case. I have added beaded feet to the bottom of the box and I tried to do something different with the needle case, and I tried to make some pretty flowers decorated with buttons on the inside and large one on the front for decoration. This will be a gift for later in the year.

I have also stitched up a bookmark from a kit I had. I have also hand sewn some felt onto the back of the bookmark.

Hope you enjoy my pics.

Luvs from Olga.

Heidi Has A Finish

2010-05-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Heidi’s finished Halloween box. A friend of Heidi asked her if she can put the box together. Heidi received the stitched pieces and then she put the box together for her friend. She did an amazing job with it, congratulations Heidi on your wonderful stitching of the box and thank you for sharing your wonderful work!

Hope you enjoy her pics.

Luv from Olga.

My Frist Peg-Dolly PinCushion

2010-05-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

On a happier note, here is my first peg-dolly pincushion. She was much easier to make than the first doll pincushion I made. Took a whole day to make. This will be a gift and will soon leave my hands.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Luv from Olga.

Stella's Gifts

2010-05-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of some gifts made by my very wonderful friend Stella. But sadly they were stolen; the package was stolen on delivery and am unable to retrieve it. This has been very hard for Stella and me. Just wanted to share with you her very hard work, she put so much time and love into every item she made for me, and I appreciate her hard work and time and luv very much. Stella is a wonderful and caring person. I feel very awful about her gifts gone missing, that im going to put a few things together for her to help cheer her up and perhaps make up for some of the loss. Before she mailed it out, she took some pics of the items and here they are. She did an amazing job with the crochet rabbit, she is so gorgeous! And you can see how much hard work has gone into it. The little clothes are so adorable too! And what a lovely pincushion and card ! Thanks you so much Stella, even though I don’t have them, thank you so much for thinking of me. (Hugs)

Please enjoy her pics.

Luv from Olga.

Doll PinCushion

2010-05-10T05:04:00.000-07:00

I thought I would try my hand at making my own doll pincushion. I found a pattern and thought I would try it out and see how it comes out. I must admit, I found it very fiddly to make and a bit difficult as the pieces were very small to work with. I was hoping they were easier and maybe make some for sale. But I have my sight on a peg-dolly pincushion which should be easier to make and hopefully I can make some for sale. The other two doll pincushions you see in the background are also hand made, but not by me. I have bought those doll pincushions for my collection. I’m also going to try to make the half doll pincushions, where you use a ceramic half doll for the doll section of the pincushion, as i have a few of these in my collection and are suppose to be vintage hald dolls. Anyway, hope you enjoy my pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Six Yr WIP Finished !

2010-05-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness I cannot believe that I have finally finished this project, after taking it out every so often during 6 yrs !

This was a kit I bought from eBay 6 yrs ago, it’s an Asian kit, and therefore I’m unable to give you the name of the design as I don’t understand the writing on the packaging it came in.

............this was not the easiest of pieces I have completed, it was a huge challenge to say the least, there are so many beads, hundreds of them! And her fish part of her body is fully stitched in metallic threads! I consider myself an accomplished stitcher, therefore I would not recommend this design unless you are quite experienced yourself, and don’t mind working with a lot of metallics and beads and a lot of colour changing.......

I couldnt get good pictures of it, its one those pieces that need to be seen in real life to appreciate the beauty of it. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics!

Luv from Olga .

Bread Sampler

2010-04-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have recently finished stitching this bread sampler for my youngest sister: Maria. She has been asking if I have finished it for her many times :o) ……..I'm pleased that I have finally finished it for her, she already has it in her hands and is delighted to say the least!

For those of you that wish to hunt down the chart, it was from The Cross Stitcher (USA magazine) June 1999 designed by Lois Winston and it was stitched in Anchor threads. There was far too many ¾ stitches, so if you are not a fan of ¾ stitches then I do not recommend this design for you. Oh there was a lot of back stitching too!

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Luv from Olga.

Some Finishes by Heidi.

2010-04-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

Thought i would share some finishes from my mate Heidi. She made these as gifts and will be sent to her friends as gifts. She did a great job in the finishing, well done Heidi.
Enjoy the pictures.
luv from Olga.

A Gift For My Best Friend.

2010-04-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a gift i made for my best mate Elizabeth, she now has the scissor and case safely in her hands, and is very delighted to have such a gift. And so its now ok to show you pictures of it. Elizabeth is quite an amazing stitcher herself but sadly does not have an album where you can see her work.

I made a very large scissor case as you can see from the bottom picture; i placed her large stork scissors next to your ordinary 3 inch stork scissors and you can see how large they are. So i had to make a special sized case for them. The cross stitched girl is by designer Joan Elliot, one of my most favourite designers. Enjoy the pictures.

luv from Olga.

La Roseraie designed by The Cats Whishers

2010-03-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

After dealing with a serious family crisis which is now under control.......... i managed to finally finish La Roseraie designed by The Cats Whishers. This is the fourth design in the lounge suite series. It stitched up very fast and i attached the back in a slightly different way to the directions, and i left out all those ribbons on the back as i thought it spoiled its true beauty. It even would be nice stitched without the back of the chair, as a little circular box. I enjoyed doing the ribbon embroidery, and attaching the beads too! Hope you like the pictures and again i cannot show any contruction pictures of the chairs due to copy right laws.

enjoy the pictures,

luv from olga.

And this little tiny lady (antique pin cushion) is suppose to be over 100 yrs old, she is very dainty and petit, and she is very fagile especially her dress fabric whip rips very easily. Her original color of her dress was pink. She fits into the palm of my hand.

The Garden Chair (2nd in the Lounge Suite Series) by The Cat's Whiskers

2010-03-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to show you pictures of my finished Garden Chair, designed by The Cat's Whiskers, its the 2nd chair in the lounge suite series. I attached some lace to the parasol and i left the little cushion (fob) unattached to scissors as i thought it was prettier just leaving it as little cushion. I must admitt though, i found attaching the little bit of fabric to the armrolls difficult, and with all those pins everywhere, i just couldnt do it, in the end i just tried doing it my own way and as you can see the armrolls turned out just as lovely :o) Also, i attached printed fabric to the back of the chair aswell as the base of the chair, since i didnt stitch anything on these parts, i thought it would look prettier with some printed fabric, giving the chair some contrast.
..
I normally dont keep much of what i stitch, but i have decided to keep this chair, plus it has my name stitched on the little cushion. It will one day go to my daughter anyway :o)
I have also had some requests to do a tutorial on the contruction of the chair, but due to copyright laws, i am unable to do this, trust your understanding.
..
My next challenge is to stitch and make up the La Roseraie designed by The Cats Whiskers which is the 4th design in the Lounge Suite Series. La Roseraie is only available at Needle Nye-Dle Noo.
hope you enjoy the pictures.
luv from olga.

Scissors

2010-03-05T03:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of some scissors i have. They are very special to me, as i just love old fashioned styled scissors. They certainly don't make scissors like they use to.
The larger ones that you see, are in fact a late 18Th century scissor, apart from the blades, they are made of brass. I have no other history on them, i have no idea who owned them before me. But i am so privileged to have such a pair in my collection.
The other smaller ones are an ANNA GRIFFIN ANTIQUE STYLE SEWING TOOL SET SCISSORS replica from an original set.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
luv from Olga.

I'm Back

2010-02-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, just a quick note to say I'm back now. A big thank you to all my friends and everyone that has emailed me personally and for all your support, I'm sorry i had no access to the Internet while i was away. I think i have now caught up with everyone.
...............................................................................................................
My fathers funeral was one of the hardest days i have had to endure. I am glad my father is no longer suffering and is now resting in peace. No matter how well prepared you think you are, its amazing how much you are not prepared, its just something in life that no one can be prepared for. I'm grateful that i had a chance to say my final goodbye to my dad, i needed this for closure. We need to move forward now and allow the healing to take place.
.............................................................................................................
I look forward to getting back into my stitching and routine. Soon i will post some pics of scissor set i bought while i was away, its a replica of an antique set.

luv from Olga.

Will Be Away For a Few Weeks

2010-01-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

After battling cancer for some 7 yrs, my father passed away a few days ago. I want to thank all my friends for their support and all the support from the ladies from the 123message board. A special thank you to Kathy, Olenka, Heidi, Stella, Coral and Heather, and more. This is a very hard time for me at the moment, so i will be away for a few weeks. Thought i would post here on my blog in case anyone contacts me for what ever reason and didnt know why i wouldnt be replying, as i will have limited access to the innet over the next few weeks. Hope you will all return to my blog after i get back. Please take care.
luv from Olga.

Scissor Handy Set

2010-01-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest box set i have finished with accessories. I have put up some new tutorials on my blog. You can click on the links on the left hand side to view the tutorial on the box and the needlebook. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

luv from Olga.

NeedleBook Tutorial

2010-01-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

here is my tutorial on a needle book, and i dedicate this to one of my best friends Heidi.

things you need to get started:

pencil

cardboard

sewing machine

sewing cotton

elastic

glue

ribbon

fabric

wadding

double sided tape

iron

safety pin

pegs

Firstly you need to cut out your cardboard for your needle book.

measurements i used:

Also if you have any cross stitching to do, do that first and remember your fabric must be larger than the cardboard cut outs.

cut 3 of 7.8 cm by 10.3 cm

cut 3 of 7cm by 9.5 cm

again you can make any size you want as long as your pieces fit together.

so you end up with 3 each of the following.

first you will put together the outside parts of the book. i have my 3 larger cut outs and my 3 cross stitched pieces.

now cut out some wadding for your cardboard cut outs.

now turn them over onto the wrong side of the fabric and with some double sided tape turn the corners over, and mitre the corners and lace, or you can use glue.

this is what the front of mine now looks like, notice i have also attached all my embellishments to the front, so if you have any, now is the time to do your embellishments on your front fabric.

now you will prepare the inside parts, again cut out some wadding for padding and your fabric, remembering your fabric must be larger than the cut outs. i also cut out double wadding thickness for one which i will use as a pincushion for the inside.

again mitre the corners and lace up, or glue your fabric over. the front of these now look like this.

now if you have any embellishments to go on these now is the time to do it.

...

POCKET - OPTIONAL

now if you wish to attach a pocket you can and you must do it next. you will need some fabric that is cut the length of the cutout and the double the width of the cut out. and you will need some elastic too.

with your fabric iron over the edge a little.

and now fold it over about 1.5 cm and iron it.

now using the folded seam as a guide, machine stitch this down with matching cotton.

using a safety pin at one end of the elastic

thread it though your fabric starting at one end till you reach the other end.

holding the elastic place and make sure it sticks out a little, machine stitch up and down securing the elastic to the fabric at the end edge.

now you should still have the safety pin inside the fabric, using your hands and fingers, slip it through to the other end, gathering your fabric as you go and hold on tight to it.

now remove the pin without losing your elastic, and again machine stitch the elastic securely to the fabric. you now should have this. looks like a little skirt :o)

now place the fabric how you would like it on one of your inside pieces, and secure the fabric to the back of it, i placed mine about 3/4 way up one piece and i hand stitched the sides of the fabric to the back, and i made sure the bottom was nicely neat and gathered. the back of mine now looks like this. you could use glue, but i think sewing thread might be better, but its entirely up to you.

and now this is the front, and i have also attached a bow to the top to make it look more pretty.

now cut out some matching ribbon, a nice large width ribbon works very well. cut it about 50cm long and you need 2 pieces of it and put it aside.

now you need to cut out some more fabric. this fabric needs to go across all 3 pieces, so you need a width that long PLUS more is needed for the areas that are in between the pieces. refer to my inside finished pics above to see what I'm talking about, you also need it to be double the length of the height of the book cut outs.

so you need about a piece 9 inches wide by 8 inches long

iron it and fold it half with right sides together, and then machine stitch in a straight line

now turn it inside out and so now you have the right side of the fabric and it's like a tube of fabric now :o) .......now iron it flat out, but make sure the seamline is down on the bottom creating one of the edges. notice now that you can't see my seam? because its down on the bottom edge.

for now put this aside.

........

now you need to glue your ribbon to one of the pieces of the stitched front, this will be the first one you want to show on the book, and in this case its the little flower girl on mine. so half way up the piece, glue your ribbon in place. make sure you have your work up the right way and not upside down, its very easy to make a mistake, so double check before you glue. note that the ribbon is glued on the left hand side.

now you need to do the same to the piece that you will use for the centre piece, but make sure you this time you glue the ribbon on the right hand side of the piece and making sure your work is up the right way and not upside down. always double check to be sure before gluing.

now place glue on the first piece with the ribbon on the left hand side.

now place the fabric that you machine stitched about 3/4 of the way onto the stitched piece, and making sure its centred and you have the same space at the top and below. refer to picture.

now glue the first inside piece, making sure you glue right up to the edges every time you glue.

now place it centrally onto the first piece and make sure its centred, and i used pegs to hold it together while the glue dries.

once dry, place the fabric over the other two pieces and put the tops on top but DO NOT GLUE , this is just to work out how much space of fabric you need to leave before you glue the 2nd outside piece to the fabric. once you put the book together, fold it over like you would if it was completely finished, and make a marking with chalk or pencil to where you will start to glue the 2nd piece. this is important because if you don't leave enough fabric or too much fabric, your book will not close properly and neatly. notice the first fabric space is a bit larger than the other one?

once you are satisfied with the spaces, now you can glue the fabric onto both remaining peices, remember to keep your middle piece in the centre and it should have the ribbon on the right hand side.

once dry you can glue the top 2 remaining pieces. i have decided to place the pocket in the middle, and i place the thicker padded one on the end right as the pincushion. i placed wieghts on top until the glue dried, if you find the corners didnt glue down properly, just add a bit more glue with a toothpick or your fingers if you can and place weight on it again till it dires. you may need to add a bit more glue on the edges too, but if you put and spread the glue properly on the sides the first time, you will find that you will not need to add more glue in this fashion.

you have now finished the needlebook.

enjoy!

luv from olga

Treasure Cross Stitch Box Tutorial

2010-01-20T02:46:00.000-08:00

Here is my tutorial on the Treasure Cross Stitch Boxes that i make. I hope that my instructions are clear enough for you to also make them. Please note, i have added beaded feet to the box, 5 in total, but this is optional, you can make the boxes without the beaded feet.

The cross stitched sides are also optional, you can make the box entirely from fabric, and the padding is also optional, you can use no padding if you wish, or you could pad the entire box if you wish. I chose to pad the inside walls and inside base of the box, and i padded the lid top and the inside of the lid. The remainder of the box has no padding.

To Get Started you will need:

cardboard peaces for the box

glue, i have used bookbinding glue which i think is the same as pva glue.

double sided tape

strong stewing cotton

scissors

pencil

beads

wadding

paper fasteners

pegs to hold things together while glue is drying.

fabric

cross stitched pieces optional

Box Measurements that i used:

lid top cut 1 of 13.8 cm by 13.8 cm

lid inside bit cut 1 of 12.5 cm by 12.5 cm

lid lips cut 4 of 13.4 cm by 2.8 cm

inside box sides cut 4 of 5.8 cm by 12.9

inside box base cut of 12.9 cm by 12.9 cm

outside box sides cut 4 of 6 cm by 13.3 cm

outside box base cut 1 of 13.3 cm by 13.3 cm

Please note you can make any size box as long as the measurements all fit together, after you make one you will understand how the measurements play a very important role in putting the box together, bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

Method:

** if you wish to do the cross stitch for the inside walls, do that first.

Cut out your inner box base and wall sides. Notice how the wall sides exactly match the sides of the base?

now cut out your padding for the walls and have your fabric for the walls ready, the fabric must be larger than the wall cardboard cut outs.

now you can use double sided tape on the corners like i have, and fold over your corners, i have mitred my corners, but you can glue them down if you wish.

do the same for your base,

and now you should have the following..... I laced the sides, holds things better this way, and i highly recommend it.

now place your side as follows, and make sure you have your stitching up the right way , the way you want it to show for the inside of the box.

now place on together to the base, you should have the wrong sides outwards,and start to stitch the side wall to the base.

continue to do the same to others, so you end up with 4 walls sewed to the base of the box,NOTE: the sides of the walls are not sewed together.

this is what the back looks like.

now begin to stitch the sides of the box together, always start at the top and sew downwards, this will ensure that the top is flush with all sides.

this is what the inside now looks like

this is what the bottom

now cut out your outside box base and side walls. also cut out your fabric pieces for it.

now mitre the corners or glue, like you did for the above inside of the box. again i have laced my pieces.

NOW THIS IS OPTIONAL:

attaching beads to the base of the box.

firstly you will need 5 wooden beads, and 5 paper fasteners and a kitchen skewer to make holes.

place a fastener through the bead right to end so that the nothing sticks outside one end of the bead.

now mark out 4 even spots on your corners and one in the centre of the base box. using your skewer, carefully poke a hole through the dot you marked.

now push through a bead with the fastener all the way through to the wrong side.

now open up the flaps so that they lie flat and even

this is what the inside looks like

and this is what the right side looks like

now you can continue to make the box:

now sew the sides to the base together like you did for the above inside box.

now only sew 3 of the corners from the top downwards, leave one corner opened, preferably you will use this corner towards the back of the box.

this is what your outside box should look like. notice all my 3 corners are flush and you can see i have left one corner opened.

now place glue to the inside of the outer box, use more glue than i have, i only stopped to take the picture. use your fingers to spread it evenly.

now glue the outside of the inner box also, and then place it INSIDE the outer box you just made, using the open corner to your advantage to sit it well inside.

now sew up this last opened corner on the outer box. and this is what you now should have. notice the top inner box is slightly lower than the outside box and i used pegs to hold the sides to each other until it dried.

this is what the bottom looks like. notice the pretty beaded feet?
......................

now its time to make up the lid.

cut out your top lid and the inside lid, and the 4 lip lids.. also cut out your fabric and wadding for both lid pieces.

now mitre the corners and lace, for both pieces. or use glue.

this is what the right sides look like. now glue these two pieces together, with wrong sides togethe, therefore you have the nice right sides showing on both sides. sorry i didnt take a pic of this step, i must have forgotton.

now you need to sew your cross stitched piece to the outside of the lid.

this is what you now should have for the top of the lid.

now you must prepare the lips of the lid. cut out a pice of fabric 4 times the width of your cardboard piece, and just a little longer than the length of the entire 4 pieces.

using double sided tape to help hold things together, put some on one face of the cardboard, and then fold the fabric over on the ends first.

**make sure you leave a tiny gap between each piece of cardboard so that they can turn the corners to fit the lid top when you get to stitch this onto it.

now fold the other side over to the centre.

and then fold over again and your ends should almost match exactly to each other.

now begin to sew from end to the other end and fasten off your thread.

you should now have this.

now you need to attach the long strip to the lid.

try to hold the lip downwards but have it matching the edge of the lid, and begin to sew it together. work all the way around, and around the corners till you get to where you started from and fasten off your thread.

now you have this and all you have to do now is sew the gap closed, starting at the bottom where the 2 corners meet and sew upwards towards the lid, this way you make sure that your corners of your lips are flush.

this is what the inside of the lid looks like

you have now completed the box. *phew!! :o)

A Barbara Anna Box

2010-01-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

I enjoy making these boxes, and im begining to get better at making them. I litterally made 2 boxes, one to fit inside the other one, and i then sewed the top tips together. The box is fully padded on the inside and the lid is also fully padded except the lip bits on the sides. I did not use glue for the box, it was all hand stitched and laced. For the needle book, i did use glue to fix the sides together to each other. I also made some accessories to go with the box, and i also made what i call a button pincushion because it is so small, i used a plastic milk top for that, which was put together like my sunflower pincushions but without the petals. Everything just fits into the box. This was a lot of hard work, took me about a month to cross stitch and finally put all together. The design i used is by Barbara Anna, Thanksgiving biscornu.

This will be a Xmas gift for this yr for my special friend Coral whom already has the following matching biscornu and tin pincushion.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

luv from Olga.

Christmas Wishes!

2009-12-22T04:29:00.000-08:00

Just want to take the opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and New Year! ..........I want to also say a special thank you to all the lovely ladies that always leave such wonderful comments on my blog, thank you for taking the time to do this.
once again Happy Christmas to you all !!
luv from Olga.

A Most Precious Gift Hand Made

2009-12-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

words are just not enough to describe how honoured i feel and how overwhelmed i am to receive such a precious and priceless gift from my friend Coral, i can't thank you enough Coral, i luv it so much! .....Santa Table Runner made by my stitching mate Coral and she even added buttons from her grandma’s button bottle! so precious!! ...thank you once again Coral !! (hugs)......

It was hard taking the pics, i couldn't capture its true beauty, its one of those things that needs to be seen in real life to admire its true beauty. It's so perfectly made, that you can't tell that it has been hand made! .. I also have the perfect spot to place it, well away from my rescued cat 'Smudge'

..enjoy!

luv from Olga.

A Last Minute Xmas Gift - Xmas Biscornu

2009-11-29T06:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a last minute xmas gift, it will be sent to one of my friends. its called Christmas Biscornu, from the Cross Stitch Collection Magazine (UK Magazine) from Jo Critchley of Polstitches in issue 178 which is currently on the stands here in the UK. Hope you enjoy the pics.

luv from Olga.

Heidi Has A Couple of Finishes

2009-11-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

Heidi has been working very hard to get her Bluebeard's Princess Mermaid by Mirabilia Designs finished......what a great finish too!! ....... she also framed it herself! what a wonderful job she did with it, and she tried to get a close up of the beads, i luv the way they sparkle! :o) ........she also has finished a Shepherd's Bush Home kit, and again she did a wonderful job, i just love that little sheep! :o)

Congratulations on your finishes Heidi !

luv from Olga.

Some Accessories for the Etui Box

2009-11-18T04:09:00.000-08:00

I made some accessories to go with the etui box i just made. I will be sending this one for a Xmas gift for my friend Marianne. Hope you enjoy the pics!
luv from Olga.

Victorian Etui Box Tutorial

2009-11-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Again i have been asked to do a tutorial on my etui box. Again i can only offer you the way i make the boxes together. I therefore have made another one, and took photos as i went along. Measurements are extremely important because the box needs to match up perfectly. I tried to make the box with gussets but i just couldn't work it out so i have kept to the traditional look of the box opening up flat. For this one i have made the lid separate as it was easier to do. Hope you find the instructions helpful and hope that you too can make such wonderful etui boxes :o)

..

Some things you will need:

pencil
cardboard
ruler
fabrics
batting used for padding.
double sided tape
glue (bookmark glue or pva glue)
waxed dental floss or fishing wire.
strong cotton
sewing machine
lace
elastic
sharp needle
scissors

MEASUREMENTS for the Cardboard Pieces:

LID:

cut 1 of 4.8 inches square of cardboard (outer side of lid)

cut 1 of 4.4 inches square of cardboard (inside part of lid)

LID LIPS:

cut 4 of 4.10 inches by 1 inch of cardboard.

BASE:

cut 1 of 4.6 inches square cardboard (outside bottom of base)

cut 1 of 3.14 inches square cardbord (inside part of base)

WALLS:

cut 4 of the outer walls 4.3 inches by 4.7 inches square of cardboard

cut 4 of the inside walls 4 inches by 4.4 inches of square of coardboard

METHOD:

first we will start with the lid. you need the cardboard for the top of the lid and the cardboard for the inside of the lid which is slightly cut smaller than the other one. you will need some batting for the inside, and 4 of the side bits that form the lip of the lid.

cut both your fabrics for pieces of cardboard lid.

starting with the inside bit, cover the cardboard with batting using some double sided tape.

do the same with the top lid fabric but no padding, then turn the corners over and sew them down, i mitred the corners first........then lace the back of both pieces like you would lace if you were framing a piece.

front sides look like this, the one that goes inside the lid is padded the other one is not. **all the outside walls of the box are not padded, but the inside ones will be padded.

now place the inside one on top of the outside one and glue into place, making sure you centre it.

now you must prepare the lip sides of the lid. using your little pieces, place them onto the fabric and cut out a piece of fabric about 3.5 times the width of you cardboard.

leave a tiny gap between each cardboard because you want these spots to bend which will form your corners on the lid.

with some double sided tape in the centre of each cardboard place them onto the wrong side of the fabric one length height of the cardboard.

with some more double sided tape, this time on the side facing you

and turn the fabric over and tape will hold it in place for you while you work.

now fold the top down to meet the cardboard.

now turn it over again and this time it should meet just under the bottom edge as per picture below.

now open it again and turn the corner section over as per picture.

now turn it down again and begin to stitch it together with hidden whip stitches.

keep going till you get to the other end and fasten off your thread.

now you should have your lid and this strip of fabric.

now starting at the back part of your lid, begin to stitch the strip to the lid and make sure that the untidy side of the stitching is on the inside of the lid, as you want the prettier side to show outwards.

holding it in a position that is downwards because you want the lip to sit downwards begin to sew.

keep stitching it with whip stitches til you get to the end

now you will get to the spot where you started from

now close shut the 2 ends together, forming one of the corners of the lid.

you now have the lid completed. Notice how the corners are important for the lid to work out properly. That is why measurements are extremely important, otherwise your box will not work out to match.

this is the inside view of the lid.

now you will prepare the bottom of the box. you will have your cardboard pieces similar to the lid, the padding to go on the inside part, and fabric for the bottom side.

complete both pieces like you did for the lid. the outside one has no padding and the inside one has padding.

i have used patterned fabric for the inside part, but you can use the same colour of the sides if you wish. for the outside parts, i have used all the same fabric except the lid of course.

now put all what you have done aside.

.......

now you will prepare the sides of the box. You will have 4 pieces of cardboard that will be used for the outside and 4 pieces of fabric. No padding is required for the outside bits.

now complete the sides like you did for the outer lid. Don't forget to lace the backs.

now you will prepare the side bits that will form the inside walls of the box, these will be padded.

now complete them as you did for the inside part of the lid, lacing the backs.

now you have 4 walls for the outer side of the box, and 4 padded walls for the inside of the box.

now you will join the 4 outside walls to the base of the box which you have prepared earlier. don't forget to make sure you place the sides properly as you would not want the laced sides on the outside.

now i have used waxed dental floss to attach the base of the side walls to the base of the box, as per picture, i continue like that and pulling tightish as i go. (you can use fishing wire or very strong cotton for this part.)

you now should have the following.

this what the other side looks like, all my fabric that i want to show on the outside is showing.

now i just sit the other parts to see what it looks like on the inside.

now if you want to, you can stop here and glue your inside parts to the outer walls and glue your inside base to the outer base, and perhaps put a strip of ribbon in the centre of each one before you glue the peices in place.

........

now if you are more confident you can attach pockets to the inside walls as i have. for this you will need some more fabric and some elastic.

.........

now cut 4 pieces of fabric that is 1 & 1/2 width of the inside wall and add a further 2 cms and the height of the wall .............iron the top down about 2 cms and iron again a further 2cms over.

machine stitch the seam down with matching cotton.

you can also now machine stitch some lace on the top like have to give it some contrast and plus it looks pretty too :o) ............you will also need to cut 4 elastic peices the with of the inside wall and add a further 2cm .

now using a safety pin, feed the elastic just enough for one end to meet the end of the fabric and machine stitch in place so that the elastic is secured. Now move the safety pin to the other side and do the same but be careful not to loose your elastic.

now hand sew the fabric about just under half way of the inside wall to the back of the peice, and make sure you stitch it well starting from one side going right around and then the bottom to the other side and then fasten off your thread. .............dont worry how bad the back looks as you will not see this after you are finished. you now should have this.

this is what the backs of mine look like.

Now glue the inside walls which have the pockets to the walls of the box and glue in place the inside padded base to the base of the box.

Congratulations, you have just finished your victorian etui box. Makes a wonderful gift for a stitcher. Enjoy!

Luv from Olga.

All In Pink

2009-11-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

Red, pink and purples are my most favourite colours and i just couldn't resist finishing this wonderful box and accessories in pink.
...........it took me a good week to do it all, the stitching took a few weeks to do also...the chart is from the gift of stitching online magazine, Issue 45 October 2009 issue called Stitching Treasures Needlework Set, by Deborah Thorpe of Midsummer Night Designs............if you are familiar with Judy Odell finishing of the mermaid box, then you will have some understand of how i put the box together as its similar to that.........and of course i used the design to make matching accessories to go with the box..........the box measures about 170 cm by 170 cm and the height of the box is about 75 cm ........the fabric is called 28 count Riviera Linen (100% Linen) in Soft Rose/White Gingham....I stitched in two threads over two and I used Anchor threads, and it was lovely to see a designer using Anchor threads, they are so pretty and wonderful to work with, and the linen was fabric i had left over from a previous project.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
luv from Olga.