The listing starts at only $20. ebay link to Phoebe
I was hoping to list Yvette today but found I had no pictures of her after I added more things to her. It's too rainy to take good pics outside so I may list something else.
I'm still unpacking boxes and plastic tubs but thought I really needed to start selling the holiday dolls I've been storing since before covid when they were made. I got lazy about listing things for sale other than new patterns so have a lot to get rid of. I'm starting selling at Ebay but will put some things at Etsy, too. I'll post here when I list things.
I'm selling this Vampire Queen at Ebay. The listing is up today at https://www.ebay.com/itm/267790913552
I'm selling things at a lower price than I'd normally sell them at because I've moved back to just my old house and there's just no room for all my supplies :-(
Keep checking for sales by creativestitches
This has been the most stressful summer. We’re still trying to get everything moved. The house has boxes in every room, the garage is barely passable, the rented storage unit is 3/4 full, and there’s still a lot in the garage at the place we moved from.
I want to restart my Etsy shop but I’m still so overwhelmed by all the stuff that has to be sorted. There’s bins of holiday dolls I need to sell. I donated some to goodwill this week. The fabric must be down sized.
We’ve donated a lot instead of having a yard sale. We’re just too tired to have one.
Today is the DH’s birthday and tomorrow is our anniversary. No celebrating for us 🙁.
It's hard to believe the problems we've had with moving and trying to fix everything that needs fixed. Since we have been living elsewhere for the past 9 years (but kept the house) we weren't worried about fixing anything. We always thought we'd end up selling the house and staying here.
The carpet in the living room needed replaced badly. My husband and I could never agree on what to get so it just got worse. We made the mistake of not getting info from a few places and instead went to the local Home Depot to get carpet and flooring for the kitchen. Now if we were putting it down things would have gone a lot smoother. The carpet went down great. Two guys from central america (originally) did the work in a few hours and were so nice. They texted to make sure we knew they were coming. WE wish they were doing the kitchen, too. The kitchen flooring is where the HUGE problem is. I had already removed the old flooring years ago and bought stick down tiles but the DH wasn't happy with them so they've sat in boxes for years. Now he's wishing he had helped me put them down rather than deal with the hassle we're going thru now.
Here's a list:
1. Both the carpet and kitchen flooring were bought on May 27. The flooring the DH chose (I gave up arguing over any flooring) had to be ordered.
2. 2 weeks later the carpet was put down.
3. June 21 the tile was delivered to us to store for a month until they gave us an appointment.
4. The week of July 15 the DH has been calling and calling to see if the workers are still coming. He's told yes but there was no text from the workers. Since we aren't living there full time we had to get up early and drive 20 minutes to the house by 8 am. They never contacted us or showed up.
5. The DH called again and again and was told they hadn't finished the job before ours and would be out the next day. Same thing no calls or texts.
6. Home Depot was NO help at all. Everything is thru a company called ASC who don't hire local workers but send people all over. The first crew were from NYC.
7. So we were rescheduled for the 22. This time 2 guys show up only to say they don't have the tools needed to put down that floor and that they had never installed that kind of flooring. WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!! More phone calls this time with the head installer explaining that they didn't have what was needed plus we were sold the wrong edging.
8. This time when the DH went up to Home Depot to co plain to the manager he found that guy had quit and a woman was in charge. Thank goodness because where the other manager was hopeless this person helped us SO much with getting the right edging.
9. Ok, now you'd think everything will go smoothly. WRONG! We still don't have an appointment to get it installed.
If moving isn't stressful enough, to deal with this is just too much. We are so tired of packing and unpacking that we rented a storage unit. It will be less stressful without lots of boxes that need dealt with and be in the road. We've been staying at a place with 3 bedrooms we furnished and still keeping everything at the house so there's tons to downsize. The amount of stuff that's being donated to libraries and local humane society resale shop is a lot. We have stuff we plan on selling but feel over whelmed and decided to store it all until we've fully moved to the house. I'll be listing all the dolls and bears I've been storing since I stopped selling on ebay at really low prices (like $5 - $15). I also have lots of quilting magazines that need to go. I'm trying to decide what to do with all the old Martha Stewart Living I have, sell, donate, or put in the paper recycle bin. Well back to work packing up more sewing and craft supplies.
I’m beyond exhausted due to so many things going on.
My husband had a place where he was helping a friend so we were living in 2 places. His friend no longer needs his help so after almost 10 years we’re moving back to our house. We have so much stuff that needs to be moved and a lot donated. I gave about 12 bags of books to local libraries. Clothes and household stuff went to other charities. And there’s still more that has to go.
A new sewer had to be installed, new internet signed up for, and a bunch of other things.
Then there was the tornado that hit our yard and house last month. We had 3 days to get everything cleaned up before the guys came to put down new carpet. Now the kitchen is getting new floor this week.
Too tired for any crafting so I’m not sure when I’ll put up a free pattern, sorry. I hope life gets easier but I think it’s going to be crazy till the end of the year.
Here are more pictures and the PDF is at Goggle Drive. Click on the link to get it.
My fridge is broke again. Turns out the part they replaced back in Oct. was bad and now they can't find a replacement part. Waiting to see if Lowes will honor the extended warranty with a replacement fridge or gift card.
Hoping for a better year but.........
I know that Nov and Dec were never listed. It was because I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do in these last 2 sections. I just finished the top area last weekend. I never wrote down what colors and amounts of floss I used due to the stress I was having over it.
Below the cat I put 2 small yo-yos. I'll be adding beads to them so they will lay flatter. In fact I'll be adding more beads all over but it needs to be stretched and lightly steamed first.
The top area has a fence using narrow grosgrain black ribbon. If you look to the right of that section over by the pond you'll see a few branched of yellow and green ribbon embroidery. That's what is left from the original embroidery done in that area. It was one of the original sections I did years ago that I grew to really dislike but felt bad about removing it since it was silk ribbon. I have a lot of silk ribbon, hand dyed, YLI and old Bucilla, so decided to use some up for the flowers.
What I learned while making this was to add the borders of fabric before embroidery since I wanted to stitch near the edge. I think I'd also decide what embroidery I want in each section so I can get the threads and supplies sorted before I start.
Here's the piece with all the embroidery just waiting for stretching, borders, beads. and finally the batting and backing. I'm not happy with some of it but at last I got all the embroidery done. All those french knots above the bee skeep are still too many.
I came across the pattern at The Gingham Fox youtube site. Here's the link to part one and you can see what the original pattern looks like, Halloween shelf part 1 .
I was so inspired after doing the shelf, and lucky I had used a large piece of fabric, drew the rest of the design you see. I stopped myself from going crazy with lots of seed beads but I still think it could use some scattered around the floor and the shelf could use more.
BTW, I'm still working on the last 2 sections of the crazy quilt. The top left section was partly done when I first started this project and now I'm not really liking it anymore. I keep drawing it and adding to it but I think I'll end up removing it like I did for a few other sections.
Here I am back again with another section of my woodland quilt. I decided since it was woodlands I needed to finally add some mushrooms. Got a bit carried away, as I tend to do, with the moss but like enough that I won't be removing any.
When trying to decide on threads I came across a box of old flower threads I bought ages ago. I have some Ginnie Thompson and some DMC. DMC isn't making the thread any more but they do some some new eco threads that would be nice for this section. I decided I wanted the matte look of the threads for most of the embroidery. To substitute regular DMC for the flower thread just leave off the 2 at the front then you have the regular floss number. Flower thread comes in 1 strand that has the thickness of about 3 strands of floss, at least that's what it seems to me.
Using a Frixon pen I doodled where I wanted the log first. It's 2 layers of brown felt. I used 2 to give the log some dimension. They were basted down the center to hold them in place. Then I used DMC 839 brown size 3 pearl cotton. I just did long straight stitches next to each other to cover the felt.
Next came the moss. Again I used 2 layers of felt and cut them in rough circles. I used gray but green would be good, too. For the french knots I doubled the thread. The knots are a variety of wraps so that they are different sizes. I did 2,3, and 4 wraps. The threads were Ginnie Thompson: 409 (like a dark olive green), 448 (sage), and 470 (dark green). Then just because I thought it would add more texture, I used DMC 2730 (olive) and 2318 (grey for pebbles). You can see in the photo I covered the ends of the log with the knots. If you use grey felt you could leave areas bare to look like the moss is growing over a rock.
Since I'm not using any red in this piece I decided to make the mushrooms light purple. I marked 3 lined where I wanted the mushrooms. The stems are 2 strands of Ginnie Thompson 100 which is white, though since the thread is so old it's taken on a creamy white look. I made long straight stitches so the stems are about 1/8" wide. The cap is 2 strands of Ginnie Thompson 610, a light purple. I filled in a dome shape with straight stitches. The french knots are 2 strands of the creamy white, 1 and 2 wraps. I used 1 strand of DMC 2642 (light tan) to stitch a few straight lines along the bottom of the purple and a stitch across the stem. I also did a few stitches on top of the log between the 2 larger mushrooms.
I thought the mushrooms and moss needed a snail and for it I used regular DMC embroidery floss. The body is 12 strands of 898 to make at least 4 stem stitches curving up one end for the head. I used a single strand for the antennae. The shell is 3 strands of 841 and 6 strands of 746 mixed together. I couched it in a spiral using 2 strands of 841. After finishing I saw that I lost the look of a shell but decided to leave it,at least for now.
The flowering plant is made with 1 strand of Ginnie Thompson 448 to stem stitch the stems. I used 2 strands for the lazy daisy leaves and the 1 wrap french knots. The french knot flowers are 2 strands 260.
I decided it also needed some grass so I used Ginnie Thompson 412 to make some straight stitches.
Only 2 more sections to do! I already started on the one above this one and may make some of it's embroidery down in the empty area above the log. See you next month :)
I am still working on the next sections of the crazy quilt so come back for them. This next section is one I'm really liking.
Look at the section with the web. I removed the bright green plant and embroidered some grass and flowers. I used narrow silk ribbon for the long leaves.
The blue water section is made similar to section one. It has the same yo-yos, small white flowers, and fish. Go back to the Feb. post on it.
Along the "water" edge I drew lines to look like various grasses. I used feather and stem stitches. There are french knots in the curves in the feather stitches. The cat tail plant was made with padded straight stitch and outlined with stem stitch.
Next I added the ferns. I do have the color for them. It's DMC 890. I used 3 strands to stem stitch the curved stems and lazy daisy stitches for the leaves. I did two in DMC 842, but wasn't happy with them so only did the 2.
Around the ferns are lots of french knots. I used 3 strands of DMC white, 936, and 937 to make them. I then decided it needed a few small "rocks". I used 4 strands of DMC Flower thread 2642 to make 3 wrap loose french knots. This time I stopped myself from going crazy by covering all of the fabric. It was hard to stop but I'm glad I did. I have a box of DMC and Ginnie Thompson flower threads that I'm trying to use more often. I also have a box of DMC rayon thread. It was sent to me from DMC when I was one of the winners in a national contest they were involved in. I found it breaks easily so I guess that's why they stopped making it.
Between the extreme heat and my allergies I'm not getting as much done as I want but I do have some new patterns to get up at etsy. I'm also thinking about bagging up bits of tatting I have filling a large candy jar to sell. I'll post when anything gets listed.
Thanks for reading and try to keep healthy!
3. The hollyhocks are buttonhole wheels using 3 strands of DMC 603 for one and 605 for the other. If I had to do it again I'd start with the lighter pink move up with 2 more shades of the pink, with the darkest for the french knots at the top. The french knots are made with 6 strands. The leaves are DMC 470. I used 6 strands for the lazy daisys and 4 strands for the french knots.
4. Now we come to the bush trees :) I used 3 strands of DMC 780 to stem stitch the branches. I added some straight stitches as I filled in the flowers and leaves. The flowers were done with french knots in 3 colors. I first started with 6 strands of white floss I dyed pale yellow and pink. I bought a Tulip dye kit at Walmart a few years ago to dye my own threads. Yarnplayer at Etsy has MUCH better ones. Because this was boring to me I added some knots using DMC 963 (6 strands) and DMC 3716 (3 strands). This is when I practically covered the fabric. For the leaves I was going thru my old stash of DMC and Ginnie Thompson flower threads and decided to use GT448. I used 2 strands to do the lazy daisy stitches.
5. I didn't like how empty is looked under the skep so I made straight stitches using 1 strand of DMC 3348 to stitch grass. That wasn't enough for me so I added french knots using the same threads as I used in the last section.
6. The bees will get bead bodies when I finally add all the beads to the entire piece. The wings are lazy daisy stitches using Maderia Decora 1401.
That's it, here's a photo of the sections so far. Notice that I added a border above section 5. It's 2 pieces of crochet cord I made using some pearl cotton I dyed. It's called Romanian cord and the directions are on YouTube.
I'm going to combine the next 3 sections in one post. Two are done and the third has been drawn. Yay! we get a break from the green backgrounds. I wish I had either used all tans and browns for the greens or stayed with the same color of green so that picking out floss would be easier. I'm really disliking that lime green in section 4 so it may have to go. I'm thinking more of those hollyhocks instead.
This photo shows part of the wood frame I'm using instead of a hoop. The holes in the wood are from the thumb tacks I use to hold the fabric in place. This makes doing the embroidery so much better, no crushing or shifting anything. If you are wondering about the whited out area, it's where some embroidery was done when I first started this years ago. It looks like section 6-8 will end up as one post since the embroidery blends into these sections.
I did section 4 with spider web because my tiny fairy is walking along a strand. I'll do the spider later with a bead body. I wanted the web to shine a bit so I went thru my stash of threads and found an old package of Medira Decora 1402 I bought on sale somewhere. It's a shiny viscose thread that is stranded and I only used 1 strand. I used a Frixon pen to draw out the shape. It has 6 long straight stitch lines. Working from the center I couched along the 6 lines to make the web. I also added the line the fairy is walking along with a few couch stitches.
Next I did the greenery at the right. I may add more of it to go into the next section which I've drawn out but haven't started. Draw the lines for as many stems as you want. A tip is to leave room for the leaves or you'll be stitching over other leaves. I did this in a few areas but wouldn't want all of it squashed together. Another tip is to draw one and embroidery it, then do another, and keep up this way until you get as many as you want. I used 3 strands of DMC 16 to make the stems with stem stitch and lazy daisy leaves. Along the stems there are french knots made using 3 strands of DMC 746. I did 3 wraps.
Th spider web flowers are next. Mostly they are called roses but I'm thinking of them this time as ranunculus flowers. Make them the usual way with 5 spokes of single thread and 3 to weave. I used DMC 3078. A tip is to draw the circles where you want these and the blue flowers to be leaving room for the leaves.
The blue flowers are very easy. I used 3 strands of DMC 775 to make lazy daisy petals. There are 8 for each flower. The centers will be beads added later.
The leaves around the flowers are lazy daisy stitches. I used 3 strands of DMC 895 around the yellow flowers and DMC 471 around the blue. Fill in as much as you want. I notice now that the darker green is not showing up real good so I may have to change it. Using green fabrics has made picking green flosses hard. With the Bali fabrics having many shades in them I'm tending towards much lighter shades than I would normally use.
I decided more needed to be added so I used french knots to fill in along the bottom of the greenery and around the flowers. I think of them as tiny wild violets. There are one of my favorite flowers and I drive my husband crazy when I refuse to mow over where they grow until they are dome blooming. I used strands of DMC 503 and 210 for the knots. I did the purple first then added the green.
That's it, you can see the fabric for the next section. It's the one I cut off the fabric and put a new one on.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!
This pattern is designed like my other patterns, meaning it's meant to be printed book style with the paper folded in half. Each design is written so you can print just the ones you want to work on. I used DMC and Lizbeth threads for everything but the green bracelet and earrings set. That gorgeous bright green came from Yarnplayer at Etsy. I LOVE her threads!
That's 2 new tatting patterns in less than a year. Amazing what I can finish when I really find the time to work on it. I'm working on 2 new sewing patterns and updating 2 old ones I no longer even list.
May's free embroidery will be later in the month. I've had a hard time deciding on the flowers I want to embroider in this section. It's about half done.
AND lastly, there's going to be a big SALE in the entire month of May. All of the listings will be 20% off.
Thanks for reading :)