Embroidery on Dark Fabric

I have been doing some embroidery lately and it reminded me of this earlier blog and I thought I would share it again.

I love doing embroidery.  I have many of my grandmother’s embroidery iron on transfers.  I don’t iron them on the fabric since they are so old and the paper is quite brittle.  Instead I place the design under the fabric I am using, and trace it on to the fabric with a fabric pen.

But sometimes the fabric I am using is too dark, too thick or maybe a fabric with a design on it to see the embroidery design through the fabric.  Even use of a brightly lit window or light box doesn’t help.

In those cases I have learned to trace the design on to very thin tissue paper (the type you would use in a gift box not the type you would use for a runny nose) and then place the tissue paper over the fabric and into the hoop.

Here’s what I do.  I first trace the design onto the tissue paper (trust me the design is there.  It is my blog logo).  Make sure the tissue paper is big enough to fit in the embroidery hoop or frame.  This will help keep the tissue from moving around while you stitch.

Now center the design where you want it on the fabric.  I usually pin the corners of the tissue paper to the fabric so the tissue doesn’t move when I am putting it in the embroidery hoop.  Carefully close up the hoop.  If you have to adjust the fabric so it is smooth, pull only on the fabric.  If you pull on the tissue paper, it will tear. 

Once everything is tightly secure, you can start stitching.  It will feel a little weird at first to be stitching on paper but know that what you see on the tissue paper is what will be seen on the fabric when the paper is removed.  Make sure your stitches are tight. 

Just a little warning: you might tear the tissue in the way you are holding the hoop or in some other action you might take.  I tore the tissue above the design just by picking up the hoop.  Know that that is OK.  You don’t have to start over just make sure the tear doesn’t get too big so that it moves your design around.

When you are done stitching then comes one of the fun parts; tearing off the tissue paper.

What I do is gently take my needle or a straight pin and perforate the paper near the stitching.  This makes it easier to remove the paper.  Be careful pulling the paper around the stitching.  If you pull too hard you can pull at the embroidery and distort it.  If paper gets stuck under the stitches, very carefully with the point of a needle or pin pull it out.

©2017, 2020 Cheryl Fillion

Raz-a-ma-taz

I was rereading some blogs and came across this one.  It made me smile at the thought and I want to go out and get some sparkly things.  Hope it brightens your day.


 RAZ-A-MA-TAZ!!  I like that word.  I like how the z's just bounce off my tongue when I say it.  I like the smile it puts on my face.  I like the feeling it gives me. And I like how it has no meaning what so ever.


I say it has no meaning because I can't find it in my dictionary.  But it does mean something.  It's just that it has different meanings to different people.


The last time I saw the word on anything was on a neon sign for a club in my hometown.  I was never in the club but I imagine lots of glitter and neon lights and loud music.  I think Raz-a-ma-taz when I see my metallic pinwheel tied to my front porch  railing reflecting the 5:00 sun in the afternoon as the breeze twirls it.


To me Raz-a-ma-taz means light.  It means lots of color, bright solid colors in quilts.  It means buttons, feathers, metallic trip and sequins embellishing those quilts. It means a new contemporary pattern that is done simplyto emphasize all of it.  The idea of light bouncing off the trim and fabric makes me smile just like the word makes me smile.


Raz-a-ma-taz - whatdoes it mean to you?  What do you think of when you hear the word?  What feelings come from you when you say it?  What is in your life that makes you think Raz-a-ma-taz?


Think about it.  And when you find your Raz-a-ma-taz, fill your life with it.  Get as much of it as you can.  It's the only way to live.

© 2020, 2017 – Cheryl Fillion

 

Summer Fun

I was reminded recently of an earlier blog about the summer and I thought it might be good to repeat the message since many of our summer plans have been changed due to the pandemic. 

I like the summer.  I have always had jobs as an adult where my schedule changes and becomes more relaxed during the summer months so it feels like the summer vacation I had as a child.  I sort of turn into a child during the summer.  All I want to do is play and right now that is probably our best medicine.  

What happens to me this time of year is I go back in time.  I get cravings for those ice pops.  You know, the sugar and syrup concoctions in the plastic tube that you stick in the freezer.  I know they have no nutritional value whatsoever but I want them. I want inflatable water toys.  I gaze lovingly at sand pails and shovels.

Think about being a child in the summer.   No homework, no classes, no heavy clothing.  You didn't have to worry about getting dirty.  In the summer, it was expected that you get dirty.  If you were one who went to camp, then there was adventure or at least arts and crafts.  There were ghost stories over an open fire.  There were smores (my latest addiction) to get gooey in your hands.  

Some countries have extended vacations for everyone, not just the school age kids.  And when you think about it, it is not a bad idea.  A break from all responsibility adds a bit of balance to the workaholic thinking our world is in now. It allows us to decompress. That helps the blood pressure and the stress level lower. Unfortunately this is not something we all can do.

So this summer particularly with stay at home orders and social distancing  regress to the child you used to be around this time of year, indulge yourself.  Buy some bottles of bubbles (one for each member of the family) and drive your neighbors crazy with hundreds of bubbles floating from your yard.  Get those ice pops and have one while you are doing the bills.  A purple tongue can make anything easier.  Go buy a pail and shovel and build a mud castle in your potting soil (remember you are supposed to get dirty).  and if there are no fireworks in your community for the 4^th of July, buy glow sticks and light up your yard (that is my plan for this year).

Indulge in some summer play.  It will be real fun to do with your children (think of the glee they might experience with a Mom or Dad who has a purple tongue).  Just enjoy yourself.

©2020 Cheryl E. Fillion