Sunday 28 March 2010

A week of stitching woes!

What a week!  I caught a sickness bug on Tuesday so haven;t been feeling too good and I think my stitching caught it too as I've had a few disasters with the pieces I have been working on in the last few days.  The little checkered purple piece I showed a glimpse of in my last post I nearly ruined.  I had so enjoyed stitching this and was keen to get it complete but once again my finishing skills or lack of them I should say reared its ugly head.  I was making it into a small pillow, turned it out the right way to stuff and close the gap when I noticed that I had cut the fabric to near, there was a little hole at the side and the fabric was all frayed so there was nothing I could do to rescue it.   I was so mad at myself I could have cried.   I left it overnight and the next morning I unpicked it.  Thankfully it looks as though I might just have enough fabric around the design to do something with it, so fingers crossed I can still make it presentable enough to hand over. 
Now you would think that was enough stitching trauma for one week but yesterday it started all over again. First of all I was delighted to discover that the baby design I thought I would have to rush to stitch was sitting there all pretty in my box of finishes.  I had stitched the girl version a few years ago when I bought the chart and had of course forgotten all about it.  All I needed to do was add the name and date.  Now to most stitchers this would be a two minute job.  First attempt I had to many spaces between my letters, secondly it just wasn;t centered right then when I did have it the way I wanted I felt there was too much space around the name and date.  I raided my button box , stuck on some stars and it seems to look okay.  Next my favourite part , how do I finish this off.  I checked my stash and I had everything I needed to make it into a cube.  I pinned on my backing fabric, no problem, then of course when I went to add the stitching piece, could I get it straight and even , no, on and off, off and on.  By this time I was ready for the head in the oven.  Just in case you haven;t realised I;m not a patient person..lol.  Finally I was ready to add the strip around the cube but of course the piece of baby fabric wasn't long enough and I had to make two.  I am not very happy as my cube now has two joins , so in my head it just doesn;t look right.  Hubbys says its fine but what does he know..lol.  I can;t remember whose blog it is but yesterday I signed up to a pass it forward and if I get chosen I need to pass to someone else.  I;m now thinking this wasn;t such a great idea for me I think it might be better if I just publish a book How not to finish your needlework...lol! 


Well I need to go and get the craft box out to cut some templates for the kids to make some Easter crafts.  I've got some mini eggs and tiny fluffy chickens so we may make some little baskets.  It is going to be a busy week as I also have Leons 2nd Birthday, a friends daughters 18th and I can't quite believe it but my Dad is going to be 80 on Friday.  The years are just flying in.
See you next time, Hugs!

16 comments:

Cheryl said...

If you publish a book want me to write a chapter too? LOL I can so relate! I love stitching but im not so keen on finishing and have had a few really frustrating things go wrong! That cube looks great though!

Lesleyanne said...

I can't finish either but I'm so bad I just don't try and thats why I never enter a PIF. I think your cube looks great.

Deb said...

I think that your cube is adorable and the finishing looks excellent. If you do write your book though, I can definitely contribute a chapter. I'm known for finishing disasters!!

Mylene said...

The cube looks great to me. I never tried that kind of finishing yet-i don't know where to begin.

Goodluck with everything this week.

corinna said...

i like the cube
sweet personalized gift
smiles
c

Carol said...

We've all had those stitching/finishing mishaps, Elaine! Just keep practicing--you'll get better with each finish. Your little cube looks great :)

Annette said...

OMG you had a bad week.....But I love the cube, I don't know how to make some but i love love love it, it looks so darn cute..Get better soon and good luck with the birthday party's

Bette said...

I love the way your cube looks. I never finish anything myself because I just don't have the skills.

Annie said...

The finish looks great. Only you (and your readers) will know about the tiny flaws. It's a great keepsake.

Hope this week goes better for you!

Tanyastitches said...

I think it looks great and you only get better with practise. Finishing is the worst bit for me, although the more I do the easier it gets, I still hate doing it though LOL
Hope you are feeling better

Rachel S-H said...

I think it looks fantastic. It was made because you cared and that is most important. And you finished it--I did that one for a co-worker and never gave it to her.

I hope you are feeling better.

Barb said...

Hope this week is better for you Elaine, love that cube, it looks just how it is supposed to.I think we all think our finishing is not good enough we are our own worst critics. I havent tried one of those either . Hmmm maybe one day

Clare-Aimetu said...

I hope you are feeling better Elaine - what a shame about the stitching mis-haps but your finishing is fab - we all think our own is no good. I hope you have many stitching highs this week.

http://ingridsknitting.blogspot.be/ said...

ouch what a bad week you had, but the cube is very beautiful! I hope you feel better now!

Berit said...

Sorry you're having all this aggravation; I think it looks just fine in the end! Your stitching looks so neat! :o

Shari said...

Elaine,
I got your comment about my new blog. I just tried it....I copied/pasted & it worked fine for me. You could also try going to the new blog, via the link on the right hand side of my current blog. I would have emailed privately, but I don't have an email for you!