Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Turning the page...


What are your thoughts as this year comes to a close? What are you thankful for? What do you wish had gone differently? Are you one to make resolutions? How will you celebrate this new year, this gift of new beginnings?

I am thankful for so much. I am thankful first and foremost for my husband and children. I am thankful for my faith. I am thankful for my health after a hiccup or two in that arena this year. I am thankful for the people God has placed in my path. The wonderful opportunities to see, taste, smell, feel and hear the goodness of God all around me. And even on occasion to recognize that goodness within me.

What do I wish had gone differently? Well besides the desire to be a size 5, that we all know is never going to happen, I can't say that there is much in the way of regret in my life right now. I will take that as a good thing. Oh sure I wish I had gotten the closets cleaned out, that I had come closer to that size 5, that I had done a better job at house keeping or saved more money but those aren't what I would call regrets.

Resolutions, I don't do well with that concept. Perhaps goals is a better way of looking at it. I am not usually a list maker. I always have a sense of the list trying to tell me what to do, and that frankly ticks me off. I didn't say it was "normal" just one of my quirks. So what are some of my goals?
  • To eat more healthy instead of wishing I was a size 5. I would like to conquer my sugar addiction.
  • To re-decorate my bedroom. It is a depressing place right now.
  • To travel. Don't know where, I would love to go abroad. Maybe this will be the year.
  • Speak more kindly.
  • Spend more time in prayer.
  • Be more thankful. If there is one thing I really wish I could change about myself it is to be more of a "glass half full" kind of person. It isn't my innate inclination so it is a constant challenge.
  • I would like to re do the whole house really but will admit that it sounds very overwhelming.
  • Take a photography class.
  • And as always, sew more.
  • And to finish more of the UFO's hiding in that cabinet. They are trying to be quiet and coy but I know they are in there!
It has been a good year, albeit a relatively quiet one. And that is a good thing. So what are your reflections on 2008 and what do you look forward to in 2009?

A few of my blog haunts have posted a year in review. Imagine my shock and dismay at Summerset over at Pins and Needles who sewed this list:

  • 33 Tops, Blouses, Shirts
  • 13 Skirts
  • 15 Dresses
  • 9 Jackets or Coats
  • 9 Trousers or Shorts
  • 10 Miscellaneous Items
I mean whoa nelly!!!!!! That is 89 items. And many of hers are not lightweights. The cowboy set alone that she made for her son is amazing. But I am not her, so below is my meager showing for my sewing year in review.


Updated: I guess I must have had a slideshow here originally. In looking back, whatever is there is gone. So I replaced it with a photocollage of my year in review.

5 Wee Care gowns
2 Wee Care bonnets
4 Silk Ribbon Embroidered Make Up bags with matching Kleenex holders
2 Doll Dresses
2 Daygowns
2 Rompers
1 Embroidered Bib w Matching Embroidered Hanger
1 Lace Jacket w Pintucked Dress
1 Hemstitched Bonnet
1 Felt Candlemat
20 Embroidered Needlebooks

For a total of 48 items. Not too shabby for a partial year. I don't have pictures before March of this year.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Happy Birthday Twennie



Happy Birthday, you are missed.

"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."
Aristotle


Sunday, December 21, 2008

Fatal blog surfing sickness averted



I found the blog. Whew, I'm not losing my mind as quickly as I first thought. The Nester at the Nesting Place is where I first found the post about garland. She is even having a Garland Show and Tell.


Warning: Blog surfer sickness may ensue!

Enjoy, I did.

Christmas at our house



I have talked before of the blog surfing sickness. Well I have it. And I have an advanced case I think. And one of the most critical symptoms is not being able to find a blog again after you leave it. I came across a blog that had a tutorial on mantle garland. Hers looks loads better than mine I think. Of course since I can't find it again it could be a memory problem. Maybe mine looks just as good as hers and I don't know it! It was a lot of fun to do.

The picture above is the end result. One thing I love about this picture is not only the garland but the glare of SUNSHINE. We haven't seen sunshine except for a brief 10 minutes on Friday in weeks. Weeks. So while it might be bitter cold outside, 8 degrees, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.

Back to the garland, the picture below is just one side. The goal is to add to the garland and add to it until it will hold no more. I probably could have added more to mine if I had tried, but since I didn't want to glue anything into I was afraid it had reached its holding capacity.



Here is a glimpse from our tree. Why don't the light cords fade into the background when you take a picture the way they seem to when you are admiring the tree? Oh well I digress as usual. This is just a tiny portion of the tree. Our tree is like the garland, it is added to and added to until it can hold no more. I am an excessive personality in case you hadn't caught that drift yet. But I love my tree. I miss the tinsel, but other than that I love it. In this small snapshot I can see 40 plus years. There are a couple of ornaments that hung on my tree as a child and teenager at home. There is a teddy bear sporting a yellow bow that I bought on a Sunday afternoon when DH and I had left our oldest child with a babysitter the first time. There is a glob of glitter and cardboard my son made in boy scouts, there is the toy soldier my best friend made years ago, there is a needle pointed Santa my mother made when I had just two children. I see a "vacation" ornament from a trip DH and I took to Myrtle Beach SC a couple of years ago. There is a cardinal I just purchased this year while visiting my daughter for Thanksgiving. I see a Madame Alexander ornament by Hallmark that is part of the collection for my youngest daughter. And then I see a couple of the Lenox ornaments I have collected for several years.

If you have read this far you are a glutton for punishment or a relative. :) I hope you enjoy your tree as much as we do. Every year my husband says, "I think this is the prettiest tree we have ever had." And then he recounts past trees and what he liked about them.




I am off to get the rest of Christmas out. The nativity hasn't been put up yet. Then I have a few more jobs to do and Christmas will be "ready."

Sunday, December 14, 2008

I do still sew

Even though it hasn't looked liked it in two weeks. These are gifts I made for some friends in my Tuesday Cursillo group. Less than $10 can be made into a nice gift. I stitched silk ribbon embroidery on silk dupioni. I made each person a silk kleenex cover and a ditty bag. It can be for makeup, medicine, coupons, illegal drug paraphenalia or what ever they choose. I don't think they will do the drug thing. :)

For the Kleenex cover I used one I had received as a gift as a template.


For the bags I used the cover pattern in Inspirations magazine Issue #58 as a base for the pattern. I don't know about you but I seem to be on this kick lately that I am going to one up the design or the directions. It has bitten me in the ankle every time. I am an instructions kind of gal and just need to resign myself to it. The brown and pink bag I stitched 3 times because I thought I could do it better/different, something. I didn't want seams on the inside. I am sure there is a way to achieve that, but I couldn't work out the geometry and or physics in my head to make it work. So the bag that I liked the embroidery the best I hated the construction the least. Isn't that always the way?



I have one more set to do, this one will be for my spiritual director. In addition to being a spiritual director, a speaker, teacher and a nun she is a fine arts artist. Since it reminded me of watercolors the bow is done in a ribbon I wouldn't normally choose. Just a teeny bit more embroidery to do and then I can construct it. We have bad weather coming, so it is my project tomorrow to finish it. Maybe the geometry can resolve itself by tomorrow. I doubt it though. Then it is onto a t shirt quilt for youngest daughter.



Do you keep all of your supplies in pretty, neatly organized drawers? Me either. But even this homely old box I love. It is not something I would have ever made, bought or been drawn to but it belonged to my best friend and her mother. So like most of her craft things, it came to my house after they died. Her mother loved glueing "stuff" to other "stuff." The quilted fabric on the box has to be 30+ years old and the box a whole lot older. The glue is beginning to let go in places and even though it is really really ugly, I love it. I even kept the old pair of Eva Lou's glasses I found in the box in there with my silk ribbon. I have no use for the glasses but its too soon to be able to get rid of them. Maybe one day.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Too cute,

funny pictures of cats with captions


Back to the sewing room where I belong two weeks before Christmas!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

About that looking like Christmas



It is certainly cold enough here to be Christmas. 14 degrees this morning. Yowzers! Last night my boyfriend and I braved the cold and went to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows over in Belleville, IL The website doesn't do it justice. Every year they have a Way of Lights that is beautiful. We have lived here over 12 years, every year saying we are going to go. Well it takes us a while but we finally went. Just beautiful. We had entertained the idea of seeing the lights on a carriage ride. So glad we didn't do that last night. Wicked cold!

The top picture is of the outdoor amphitheater. Not the best picture. And it is taken from incredibly far away. But it was beautiful.



There was a room full of Christmas trees decorated to represent different countries. The first is from the Lithuanian tree. Loved the ornaments. Not sure what they are made from but they were cool looking. The next is the tree for Greece. Loved the candles and it was trimmed with holy cards. Would never have thought of that. And the third is the tree for Ireland with the 12 days of Christmas.



This is just one of the few pictures that I got outside because just as we got to Bethlehem, the camera battery died. Isn't that just the way of things? So what are you doing to celebrate the season? My next project is to whip out some small gifts for the girls in my prayer group and for my spiritual director. Our tree should arrive next week.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

How do you say yum?



With a 40 year old Pyrex bowl filled with fresh from the oven banana pudding. That is how. I have been craving old fashioned banana pudding for weeks. Finally broke down and made one. Can't wait for it to cool enough to eat. Nothing fancy, just the recipe that has been on the side of the Nilla Wafer box for as long as I can remember. I know some make it with jello pudding but that has never been my preference, I like the scratch custard better. And my favorite part is the soggy wafers. You could almost leave out the bananas as far as I am concerned. Ahhhhh

Friday, December 5, 2008

Are you kidding me?



As I have confessed previously, I am an Internet shopper. And like blogging when you click on one link it often brings a plethora of other choices to the fore. This is what I stumbled upon at Overstock.com. I mean really? And we beat our chests and lament over where are we going wrong in today's world? I think this is a perfect example of someone having lost their way. Do I even want to meet the person that thought this was okay let alone amusing, entertaining or socially acceptable? Part of the description is:

  • Anonymous effigy design can represent anyone you please.

  • Now I will admit to having a quirky sense of humor that is sometimes less than reverent but this goes wayyyyyy out of bounds if you ask me. You didn't but I am letting you know my unsolicited opinion anyway. And we wonder why children are bringing guns to school and parents are killing each other over youth sports.

    Monday, December 1, 2008

    Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...



    Ahhh first snow. Just a tad. But it was a surprise this morning. It was really the best kind of snow. On the grass, but not the sidewalk or road.

    Christmas has many faces;



    This beautiful picture of our neighbor's front yard. Almost makes you think of a Christmas card doesn't it?

    Or...


    the pile beginning to accumulate in the front room. I have a confession to make, I am a dyed in the wool internet shopper. I save gas, time, aggravation and usually money as well. And the biggest advantage, I do it in my pajamas. So as I said, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We just returned from out of town last night, so I need to get out my Advent wreath. Our tree will arrive in a couple of weeks. (Yes I order it as well.)

    We went to our #2 daughter's home for Thanksgiving this year. If everyone is not careful, I could get wayyyyyyyy used to sitting in a chair and stitching while the kids make dinner for a holiday! We had a wonderful time, everyone was there. DD did a great job with minimal intervention from her mother. Older daughter did desserts, boys did the multiple runs to the store and baby sister helped clean up. You just couldn't beat it.






    What mother doesn't like the look of her kids in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner? And smiling while they do it. Notice that brother isn't washing, drying or wearing an apron. He gets away with it every time! Unless you tell him he has to help clear the table before the Texas vs Texas A&M game. Then he can sling some dishes in record time!

    I hope your holiday was wonderful. I didn't get a chance to wish everyone a wonderful holiday. Hope it was warm and blissful as you took a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for. I know mine was. And what am I thankful for? Well those smiling faces above are a big part of it.

    Friday, November 21, 2008

    A link to the past

    Julie from Smocked Clothes commented #2 DD's birthday post that she hadn't heard of picking up gingham squares to smock the fabric. It is similar to the picking up iron on dots.



    There are two ways to use iron on dots, since I think they are evil I haven't used them in 27 years. One way is as I described, you pick up the dots as I did the gingham and that creates your pleats and smocking design as you smock across the fabric. This method has been referred to as American smocking. Not many people have heard that term, like many people from England have never heard it called English smocking. English smocking can be done with iron on dots as well. This way to use the dots is the truly evil evil side of those &^%$# dots. You pick up each dot with a tiny stitch to form pleats across the fabric that you then go back and stitch the smocking on. (I am sure my oldest daughter and my friend Jan are cringing at the grammar in this paragraph. Sorry girls.) I pleated ONE dress with those dots, never finished it. I was so done in by pleating it by hand, I had long lost interest by the time it came to smock. I love the smocking part, not the prep part.

    I think I found the pattern that I used to make that little blue gingham dress. I found it at "America's Garage Sale" aka ebay.



    It is the same smocking design. This pattern is from the 70's the seller stated. I may have bought when my oldest was born. I thought I still had the pattern. I still have the pattern I made my sister a toaster cover with, why I have no idea, but I didn't keep this one. Anyone want a pattern for a toaster cover? In the description for this pattern it states that it has the transfer dots included, but I am sure it has the gingham directions as well. I wouldn't have used those dots twice.

    I pondered re-making the same little dress out of this blue plaid, and Children's Corner Lee. I am sure the embroidery would be light year's better, I would pipe the yoke, pleat it before I smocked it on one of these handy dandy gifts from the gods, the Super Amanda Jane pleater,



    and surely the construction would be immensely better. But I stopped myself. I loved that little dress, love that picture, I loved that I had made it for her and so began the legacy of taking pictures of my children in their mommy-mades. If I remade it, it just wouldn't be the same dress made by a young mom with two tiny children, little to no time on her hands, working full time to help put her husband through school; but loved her children enough to wrap them in stitches of love. Sewn while babies napped or everyone else had gone to bed. That little dress really can't be replaced. So I walked away from the project. Its better that way.

    Thursday, November 20, 2008

    Bookworm award!



    I have been awarded the Bookworm award by Missy at The Little Things in Life. Thank you Missy. This little award made me laugh at first. You see the rules are not difficult, brainiac, high brow or lofty. They are:

    1. Pick up the closest book you can lay your hand on.
    2. Turn to Page 56
    3. Find the 5th sentence,
    4. Type out that sentence in your blog post.
    5. Pass it on to five people
    Now what was funny about that you ask? Well the closest book to me was on the desk to my right where my "brain" folder etc from our daughter's weddings are waiting for the last daughter to get married. Well there was a book in there. Wedding Papercrafts. I turned to page 56 and what do I find? There was only 4 sentences on the page! So I had to cheat right out of the box and choose my second book. It is a bit more impressive unless you knew that it was close at hand because I have spent the past 3 hours clearing the mountain off the desk, so it was uncovered waiting to be put away.
    Here we go:

    Journey of the Soul
    by Doris Klein, CSA

    "While it does not make sense to our linear mind, we are invited to trust in the merciful God who supports us in this suspended place, giving us all we need to lift the wings of our heart."

    At least it was a long sentence to make up for the non existent one in the first book. I hope you have better luck. So for fun I will pass this onto

    Cheryl at Time Really Does Fly
    Robin, a new blogger, at Sew It Snows
    Cindy at Sew Blessed
    Jane at Northern Exposure with a Southern Twist
    and my daughter, (she felt left out last time) at No Really We are Still Trying to Get Pregnant. She might be sorry.

    It will be interesting to see the books close at hand for other people.

    Wednesday, November 19, 2008

    Custom Camera Strap GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

    Custom Camera Strap GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

    As is the custom in blog land there is a giveaway! Shey B is giving away one of her beautiful camera straps in honor of one of Grosgrain's readers. ANd if you are like me, you find your way from blog to the next by the links they share. That is how I found it. One of my stitching pals Jenn had posted about it on her blog. So the funny bone is connected to the arm bone is connected to the hand bone... You get the picture. Go visit and find out how to buy one, you have to buy it because I plan to win the giveaway. :)

    Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl!


    Hard to believe, 27 years ago #2 daughter was born. She was our miracle baby, but after many months in bed and countless doctors visits, she was kind enough to also be our "banker baby". First contraction at 9 she was born at 3:30. No one lost any sleep and it was a beautiful crisp November day. If only raising children as a whole were that easy. Seriously I wouldn't trade a moment.


    And of course to go back to the subject always at hand, this was the first thing I smocked for her. It was a BIG 3 pattern done on Poly/cotton Dan River gingham. You picked up the squares to stitch the smocking.



    The stitches are wonky, I can't even discern what the blue flowers are stitched in and no piping, but I loved this little dress; this is one of my favorite pictures of her. Taken at a photographer's booth at the only grocery store of the tiny town we lived in at the time. LOL.


    For First Communion I had planned that all of my girls would wear the same dress. The dress I made for her older sister. Sometimes the best laid plans just don't work. So a new dress was made. From Mimi Turner's French Dress by Martha Pullen, she thought she was so grown up.



    She even let me smock her prom dress. I can't seem to lay my hands on that picture right now. Instead this her celebrating the day she graduated from high school.




    And the day she got married. A beautiful bride. Happy birthday baby girl. I love being your mom.

    Monday, November 17, 2008

    Is he cute or what?



    Isn't he cute? I really have nothing to share or knowledge to impart, I have been playing with my new camera. This is a shot that I didn't enlarge, I took it this close up, didn't adjust anything. Straight out of the camera. I love this little guy, he is made by a former chapter member of my SAGA chapter. She donated him for our auction. I probably paid too much for him, but I love her stuff. I have one of her large winter bunnies. Time to bring her out again. Laura is so talented. So just to give you a smile I decided to share. I think he needs a name. Hmmm?

    Thursday, November 13, 2008

    Quick project and a new camera



    After spending my time doing pin stitch, shadow work and time consuming turkey work it is fun to pick up something quick and knock it out. A friend gave me this little kit from Bareroots in June Lake ,CA. It was fun to do, and quick. Which is always nice. Plus my new camera came today so I got to play around with it when I took pics of my little candle mat.



    I think I do itty bitty stitches better than big honkerin' ones. And when you look at them under a gazillionX zoom they look even worse. But I am okay with it.

    I also received my new camera today. My old camera is about 7 years old and probably would do more than I knew that it could. I am terrible about reading the manual; I just push buttons and see what happens. Good thing it wasn't a camera from Mission Impossible or it might have self detructed by now. But the new one is a Panasonic Lumix FZ28.



    Now I am SURE it does more than I am aware of. I am trying to read the manual to learn some more. I may even have to purchase a book or two. I would love to take a class or two. To many in blog land it probably isn't that whizbang of a camera, but it is more than I had. So we will see. Wish me luck!

    Pin stitching

    Designdreamer asked if the pin stitching done on the bunny jacket was done by hand. Yes and no. I am a firm believer as I have said before, that it doesn't matter how you get to Cleveland as long as you get there. I want the pin stitching to look even and uniform. But I don't want to belabor over it. So I cheat. First I stitch the pin stitching on my machine that is threaded with Wash A Way Thread.


    I stitch with a large needle, a Schmetz 100 or 110 sized needle with the Wash A Way, then go back by hand and stitch in and out of the same holes. I get the hand look with the precision of the machine doing all of the measuring for me. There is more than one way to skin a cat! Thanks for your questions and comments. Edited to add that when I wash the garment, the initial stitching done with the Wash A Way thread dissolves leaving just the hand stitching behind.

    Saturday, November 8, 2008

    Awww-sweet bunny tails

    I have been MIA this week due to being under the weather and spending a lot of time at hospitals and doctor's offices. Hopefully that will be over soon. On to the subject at hand; sweet bunny tails.



    Remember I love linen. And pair it with adorable fluffy bunny tails and you have almost heaven. This is the finished matinee jacket and bonnet set I gave you a sneak peek of in this post. It is a class called "Baby's First Outing" and it was taught by Wendy Schoen at this year's SAGA convention.



    Shadow work bunny bottoms with turkey work tails. Embellished with embroidery of back stitch, lazy daisies and French knots. Stitched with DMC floche. Quite simple really. The jacket hem is pin stitched.


    Somehow instead of being finished first it was edged out by the baby gown. But I love this set. I love this bonnet. One of my favorite things is the silk satin ribbon that is ruched under the brim. Very nice touch. It is kind of fiddly to do but the effect is so sweet. Can't you just see a sweet baby face peeking out from under this bonnet brim?



    This set is sized newborn to 6 months, so that is a baby in arms or often over mom's shoulder. So as a treat the back yoke is embroidered too.



    The same embroidery is on the bonnet.



    Someone asked me how to do the scallops. I don't know if there is an official way to do them but this is what I have learned over the years,
    1. Slow down, there isn't a race, the slower you go the more accurate you can be.
    2. Use a straight stitch foot. I have never been one to use a straight stitch foot much until recently, but I can tell from this project it does give you more control.
    3. Use a very small stitch length. I used a 1.5 stitch length.
    4. I traced the seam line on the pieces instead of trying to eyeball the raw edge with the markings on the bed of the machine. I was able to follow my traced lines.
    5. Clip, clip, clip! You can't be afraid to clip up to the that stitching line, coming within 1- 2 fabric THREADS of the stitching. It is one of those physics things again. If you don't release the pull on the fabric it won't turn to the right side without having puckers and tucks at the seam line.
    6. As you stitch each scallop turn your fabric as you are stitching, try not to stop and pivot. Try to stitch each scallop, turning and stitching without stopping. You will get a smoother stitching line. There are a couple of scallops that aren't as rounded as I would like and I think that is what happened.
    7. Just as important as clipping is press, press, press! I don't know why so many people, especially young or new sew-ers don't realize or value the importance of an iron. I still am not happy with the pressing on my bonnet. I want slick smoothness without a crinkle to be seen. I have learned over the years that most mistakes and missteps can be cured with an iron and I learned very early on, if you press as you go, the better the final product will be. Then when you are finished, press, press, press some more! And starch! I love me some starch.
    So enjoy this sweet jacket and bonnet. I have to go clean up my mess then decide what to move onto next. There is an advantage to being stuck at home, you get a lot of stitching done. I do know one thing, I need to pull out some boy UFO's. I tell you I am going to have a softball team of boy grandchildren when they start coming if I don't sew a few blue things. My kids are pretty on board with my dressing future grandchildren. I think they may squawck if I try to dress baby boys in pink linen though. No matter how much I love pink linen. I'll get that famous nodding up and down of the head as they stuff it in a drawer never to be seen again. And that would not make mother happy.

    Saturday, November 1, 2008

    Granito leaves, revised

    Note: These are new pics and revised directions.


    I am always looking for a better way to do a stitch. Not always does it have to be faster though. Sometimes I enjoy slow, detailed and some would consider tedious. In making the previous pink linen daygown over the summer, I enjoyed the embroidery but will admit that about half way through the 17,000 satin leaves I was about to lose my mind. I wanted to be done. I loved the project but enough already! So I came up with a way to do a quicker leaf. In describing it to some friends I conveyed how I discovered this half way through that project but wasn't willing to unstitch the first 8,500 leaves so had to finish them the original way. The consensus was that not all leaves are the same. True but since I had started down one front and was working my way around the other front, the two sides wouldn't have matched. Normally if you wouldn't have been able to tell, I would have switched methods and forged on. But I do believe you would have been able to tell the difference so I plowed on with the original leaf.

    So here are the steps for a quicker yet sweet looking leaf I call a granito leaf. This may not be an original idea, but it was to me. Mirella Arroyo has a flower she calls a "Claudette flower" because the person who first showed it to her was named Claudette. This could be a "Martha leaf." Nah, probably not.

    note: As always click on the picture to enlarge.

    • To give granitos a uniform size and look, always use the same number of stitches. If you want to vary the size of your granito or granito leaf, then you would vary the number of stitches used. This granito is 8 stitches and then 2 "magic" stitches.
    • I take my first stitch entering the fabric where my granito will lie, Point A. I don't use a waste knot for a granito. When you have this much thread piled on top of itself where you have entered/exited the fabric in the same holes it is not going to come out.


    • I exit at what will be the bottom of my granito. Point B. I take a half space back stitch, exiting on the back of the fabric I split that thread to secure it.
    • This is the bottom of the fabric where I am stitching back down from the top, you can see the needle splitting thread.


    • I now begin using a sewing motion to form my granito. Exiting again out of point B and re-entering at point A each time. That thread tail I will snip off after a couple of stitches.



    • Take two straight stitches in and out of the same hole,



    • To fatten the "belly" of the leaf, for the next 4 stitches I will throw the thread off to either side. This gives the belly of the leaf a more rounded look. Alternate one side, then the next for the 4 stitches.
    • I also use my thumb as a guide and controller. Below I have moved my thumb to the side, but as I am stitching I often will have my thumb on top of my stitches.


    • Take 2 more stitches over the center of the granito. You should have a nice plump round granito made from 8 stitches.
    • Now come the "magic" stitches to give the granito its leaf shape. For the last 2 stitches I move my point A, one to two threads above my granito. This one actually looks like it might be 1.5 threads above the granito. The stitches will go over the center of the granito.


    • Completed stitch. I will take my thread to the back and tie it off by running under my previous stitches a couple of times. Kind of cute!



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