Risky Business!

I know this is risky, and I hope this doesn't blow up in my face, but I've been making Cross Stitched Pinkeeps for the last several weeks and I've finally got a collection of designs and shapes I like. But I need to sell them for some Christmas money. So before I go further I just want to say...I did not make any of these designs. I am only using them to pretty up the face of the pinkeeps. If anyone has a problem with that, by all means, email me. I'll be mortified and embarrassed, but I will do my best!

So far I have only got the pics of the designs I've made myself, so hopefully I'll be able to build on these and anyone who wants a design that I don't have on hand, I will be able to sew another one. Simples!

Where possible, I will give credit to the actual designer, but since all of these came from Pinterest, obviously that is not always possible. Okay, disclaimer over...

Thread and Needle Square Pinkeep-

About 7.5cms across on 26 aida.

$10 for completed item.

$6 postage in Australia

Purple Flowers and Dark Leaves Wreath

About 7cms across on 28 count evenweave.

$10 for completed item.

$6 for postage in Australia.

Monochromatic Sew Pinkeep

About 8cms across on 28 count evenweave

$10 for completed item

$6 postage in Australia

Thimble, Needle, Thread and Scissors Pinkeep

About 9cms across on 28 count evenweave

$15 for completed item

$6 postage in Australia

Scandinavian Birds and Tree Pinkeep

About 6 cms across on 26 count aida

$10 for completed item

$6 postage in Australia

This will do for the time being and it's only the tip of the iceberg! All of these have endless variations available. If you want it on heavier or finer count cloth, colours and material for the back side of the pinkeeps. At the moment I'm relying on what I have on hand. If I can make enough to replenish my stores, I will be stoked beyond words. Anyway, the easiest thing is to comment if you have any questions and then I can contact you and we'll see where we go from there.

Cheers!
Dx

Blackwork Handwork

I have had a lot of fun keeping my hands busy with little hand sewing projects and Huzzah! my knitting mojo has returned.  I've cast on to knit a pattern I've done before but everything was wrong with the first incarnation of this garment. Wrong size, wrong needles and wrong yarn. This time around I think I have a much better chance of completing something I like.

But first to the projects I've finished!

I love making pincushions and scissor fobs because they are small, easy to carry around and relatively quick to execute. And since I'm always putting my scissors down and forgetting where I put them, these little attached pincushions make them easier to find amongst all the stuff I tend to surrounding myself with mid-craft. Here they are!

 This is a little Biscornu Pincushion I made with the last bit of pale blue aida cloth. I did the design in really dark brown that looks black. I like the clean crisp lines of the blackwork so I enjoyed doing this. The worst part is always whip stitching the two parts together and stuffing it! Even ironing thin interfacing on the back to stabilize the base material doesn't always help.

This one I like because of the nice effect with the sage green blackwork lines with the golden-yellow french knots in the centre of the flowers.  It's not that complex a design and I think that's one of it's appeal. It translated into a really nice scissor fob too.

 And this last one I decided to make a Pin-Keep. I never knew this sort of thing existed until recently and I kind of made up the design myself. Not the blackwork design. Just the actual Pin-Keep itself. No doubt I've done this wrong but it kind of works the way it's supposed to so I thought it worth the experiment.

I'll have to look up to see if I can find a pattern for these. It's a handy little thing and I'm already beginning to be overwhelmed with pincushions. Blackwork is a wonderful form of embroidery that builds a great design filled with clarity and clean lines.  It was also a nice interlude after intensive knitting. So as I take up my knitting again, I put aside my needles and threads, fine weave cloth and embroidery hoops until next time.

Whenever I pick it up again, it's guaranteed to be fun!

See you all later :)
Dx