Pin Cushion

Here's another item from my apothecary jar. Last Christmas (2007) I was experimenting with making some different pin cushions for friends. The base is a soft drink bottle cover. This guy is cute, but he doesn't stand up very well, and is bigger than I wanted. I didn't feel like he was successful enough to give away.



I have to run, we are going out to eat with friends!

Needlebook

This is a needlebook that I picked up in an antique shop. The round spot on the front of it is where the price tag was pasted. Usually needlebooks have felt pages to hold the needles, but this one has an open, lacy type of fabric. There were some needles in it when I got it, leaving some rust marks.

I think it is hand stitched, but I'm not sure because the stitching is very fine, and I can't see the back. It is very delicate looking, but I'm wondering if I should clean it and try to get rid of the adhesive and rust spots. It's pretty!



I haven't had a chance to stitch all week, but my taxes are done!

Scissors Fob

This little scissors fob was an exchange gift from Mayte, who was living in Spain at the time. She lives in California now. A fob is a small ornament, meant to be attached to the handle of a scissors (or other item, like a watch) so it is easier to keep track of.

It has her and my initials on the back, with the date, and Mayte told me she enclosed a Spanish euro to weight it, and for remembrance.



It is another of my treasures from around the world.

More from the jar

I felt bad on Monday because I could not find the website of the piece I showed, so I've been poking around trying to find it, and there it was, in my favorites: http://www.i-bead.com/ Today's entry is from the same company, a little thimble holder in the shape of a bumble bee. The head comes off, and there is a little space inside.




The main thing I would like to do to improve this item is to stiffen the wings some more. I had dipped them in Future floor wax (it's acrylic) once already, but the wings tend to droop over the body. Hopefully, if I dipped them again, they would get more rigid.

I have at least one more kit, and possibly two from that company. That is another reason I don't feel the need to go to the Bead and Button show this summer, I still have loot from the last time I went.

A Teenie, Tiny, Bead Bowl

This is a little tiny bowl made out of beads. It is just the right size to hold a couple of rings while you wash your hands. It was on the cover of one of the beading magazines a couple of years ago, I jumped at the chance to get it, since my friend had taken a class with the designer and had paid quite a bit.

The bowl has a very pretty spiral pattern. It is stitched in peyote stitch. The construction is a little like crochet, since the shape is formed from adding beads where you would do an increase in crochet.



My mother would scold because the last thread is still hanging. I wonder where my beading needles are so I could fix that?

"Smalls" Apothecary Jar

I cross stitched this weekend, so I don't have any progress pictures to post. I love to cross stitch, but it takes a long time.

I decided to show some of the things I have stored in one of my apothecary jars next to my stitchy chair. They used to be in a basket, but my dog has discovered that those are fun things to play with! The jar gives a little more protection.

This is an "amulet" bag (it is a pouch) done in peyote stitch. I got the kit at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee last summer, and made it up right away. The kit was excellent. Your color guide is printed out on to a paper that you glue right on your bead support; after each stitch your needle points directly at the symbol for the next bead you need to pick up, no looking back and forth between your pattern and the project! It went really fast.




It is reversible, the red/coral on one side, and the blue on the other. It is a trifle big for a necklace, but it certainly makes a statement.



The fringe beads were included in the kit as well, and were easy and fun to assemble.