The organized chaos in my office/warehouse/factory has become even more disorganized! With the arrival of grandbaby #7, I have made the baby quilt a priority. The fact that it is “new and shiny” means that it has become the focus of much of my attention. It has beautiful colors and a playful design. The quilt top also has a lot, and I mean a lot, of appliqué. Doing the appliqué requires different “tools” that I do not use in my business or everyday sewing. The embroidery machine is out of the closet and on an important work surface. Two fabrics is the norm for most Blooming Daisies Crafts products; the quilt requires 10 or more—and they must all be out to make sure that they coordinate. And, just so you know, embroidery requires stabilizer paper and specialty embroidery thread. With all of the additional sewing
accoutrements out and about, I cannot get to the high traffic spots for things like Blooming Daisies Crafts’ shipping supplies. Right now, this is about to drive me crazy. I can so relate to this Needle Minder.
Speaking of Needle Minders, because of the ample supply and wide variety carried by Blooming Daisies Crafts, I can change them to suit my mood! Some days it would be nice to have something that is a cross between a mood ring and the “magic eight ball.” I would hold the orb, or whatever, in my hands until it sensed my mood, shake it, and see what Needle Minder to put on my WIP. My husband would want it to be “smart” so he could get the possible “stormy weather” warnings. Anyway, I digress. The Frosty the Snowman w/Rudolph Needle Minder has been replaced by the Happy Snowman Winter on my Dimensions (70-08948) Christmas Beach Chair project. He looks like he is jumping for joy. This suits my mood.
While you admire the cute Needle Minder, may I draw your attention to the progress that has been made on the sky! They are half stitches, but there are a lot of them. Beginning again and seeing the fruit of my labor has brought me out of my funk. I may jump for joy. My sister has been working on the Gnome project (when not cuddling a Corgi) that I sent home with her and it has inspired me to get to work on a project so I can move on to another one. My end goal is not to finish a WIP, it is actually to finish one so I can get out another WIP--a younger, more attractive project. It might be called the “trophy” cross stitch project. Most people enjoy moving on from one project to the next. It is a strong person that has the discipline to finish the minutiae (read: backstitch) before beginning the next job. Frankly, sometimes, I am that person; sometimes, I am not. I am okay with that.
A few Blooming Daisies Crafts blogs ago, or maybe many, covered the different fabrics used in cross stitch. However, that Gnome Sweet Gnome-April project that I gifted to my sister (and reduced my stash) is stitched on a wooden blank! The wood is obviously not flexible at all and the holes are smaller than plastic canvas (requires a #26 needle). She says it is not easy finishing the thread but has learned to finish one thread under the next. It can be tricky in some areas but the effort is worth the outcome. As a bonus, the Gnome Sweet Gnome pattern has two other options for use with regular cross stitch fabric with “additional content”. My sister is now looking at goldeneedle.com for other months. Because of the challenge that is the wood field, she may not cross stitch the full year of Gnomes, probably just the four seasons.
With July 4th next week, this week's featured product is Patriotic! I know it's a stretch!
Americana - Patriotic Dust Cover - It will have different lining fabric though
Red, White/Blue Stars on White Grime Guard
Red, White/Blue Fireworks on Blue Grime Guard
Dog Paw Print Grime Guard
Red, White/Blue Stars on Blue Grime Guard
4th of July Needle Minder
Patriotic Red/White/Blue Heart Needle Minder
Patriotic SunFlower Needle Minder
And more - check out the holiday needle minder section!
FYI - We will be having a Christmas in July Sale - July 19th thru July 25th!