The New Year 2023

It's been so long since my last posting...life ,a kitchen renovation and Covid, happens. Christmas brought the whole family to the house so getting back to normal has taken a while. January, a start to the New Year, means I bring out Unfinished Objects, i.e., projects, to complete. My file box of UFO's is much smaller after several years of working on them, thank goodness. 

I pulled the "Berry Chatelaine" by Jan Kerton of Australia, from the box. I don't remember when I took the class with Jan but it was maybe 18 years ago....'nuf said! This kit makes up into a thimble pip (the blackberry construction sequence seen here)

One covered with French knots, the other half covered with beads over the French knots...

Beaded berries cut out...  

One gathered, getting ready to stitch to the thimble pip design.

Both berries slip stitched to the motif.

The set also includes a scissor case (already completed in class), a pin wheel and a pincushion, all tied up in a Chatelaine. Stumpwork berries and raised embroidery techniques on a smallish scale. I like it, and who doesn't like berries?

The New Year also means I make up Wee Care gowns (a dozen for now) for our chapter of the Smocking Arts Guild of America (SAGA) since I'm our Wee Care Chairperson. I dug through my scraps of heirloom batiste and found enough to make the gowns to be handed out at the January meeting. All each member has to do is smock and insert a small ribbon in the neckline casing. I kept three for myself to smock.

January brought another deadline for submission for Classic Sewing Magazine. A smocked dress for the summer 2023 issue was in order. I can't share a picture of it for obvious reasons but it has something to do with ice cream since July is National Ice Cream month. But here's a photo of my doodle cloth where I was working out some of the design features. It doesn't look like much here but the finished design, and dress, looks so cute!!

The last project I'm working on - and it has absolutely nothing to do with stitching - are gift tags. Yup...gift tags. I've had the idea to make gift tags out of old Christmas cards we've received the last 8 years and decided this was the year. All I had to purchase was a pack of various colors of cardstock from a craft store. I had everything else, and you know what? It's fun to make a few gifts tags every now and then. It makes me feel good about recycling the cards into something very useful. 

Relaxing, creative and fun! Isn't that what crafts, stitchery and sewing are all about?