Tips for Stitching Away from Home.

Over the course of my stitching life  it seemed I have stitched almost as much away from home as at home.... in waiting rooms, meeting rooms, at ball games, on decks, banks of rivers, hospital rooms, airports, on planes, etc. etc. Being able to do this has helped to pass countless long boring hours...  A blog reader wrote and asks if I had tips for doing this.... I sure do.... start with being prepared.

This bag ALWAYS hangs on this chair ready to go packed with the most necessary tools  In 5 minutes I can add some additional threads, beads, or trims and be out the door.

Take a long hard look at your most indispensable tools and keep an extra set in your bag.  For me it is these four tools:  Do note: both hemostats and scissors are on retractable badge holders so if for some reason I do not have my chatelaine, I can clip them on my shirt and not be searching all over for them.

 (1) a tiny pair of hemostats 

(2) A  favorite scissors.

(3) An awl. Mostly for making holes for button shanks but also a very useful tool  for teasing ribbon work as well. 

(4) This threader intended for needlepoint... larger yarns and needles.  But I find it fabulous for threading Kreinik threads which separate like crazy and works for perle, etc. as well..  It is a MUST for me and I  have a special pocket for it on my chatelaines.

 

You will notice I do not have a thimble because I do not use one.  Your list of tools will be slightly different... but it is so nice to have the right tool when you need it.  But for me it is the rarest of occasions that I do not have a chatelaine I designed for my own needs. It is great not only for travel but for workshops and retreats where you are working amongst others.  The biggest plus is you can't mislay a tool if it is attached to your body..

This is an older chatelaine and you notice I had to put my name tag on separately but my newest chatelaine has my own name  on it.







This is an older one and does not have the tiny forceps which I now want with me. But I have gone through several   chatelaines until my latest one meets all my needs.  Every item has its own pocket and nothing is dangling about to catch on things.

I did make a pattern when I taught a class for it but need to update it and do printed directions and plan to offer it as an online class by late summer.

So I always have a chatelaine in my bag.  This one only looks like it is crazy quilted.  It is actually whole cloth embellished.. trompe l'oeil

 

Next I have a piece of a velour blanket approx. 12x15"  It is handy to keep a supply of various needles and pins on it so I don't need a needle book and if I have something special like the beads in the little bag, I attach it so it won't get lost.  It's fuzzy surface is great to keep beads from rolling about.

And an added bonus is if I am using it  with beads, I do not need to put the beads away when I have to leave.  I fold the cloth in thirds one way and in thirds the other way and pin it.  When I need it next I just unfold and all is ready to go.

Next at the last minute  I pop in a ziplock bag with my needlework, the valuor pad and just a few threads, ribbons, etc. and am out the door...

Now for the nice but not necessary... First is a work surface.   In the car I use a padded lap tray which are readily available in craft and thrift stores... But they are bulky and not always useable.

So I keep a folding TV tray in the trunk of my car.  I buy the cheapest, most lightweight one I can find at a thrift store.  The old vintage ones are the best because they are the lightest and have the lip around the edge. 

But they are harder to find and now I have one like this.  It does have a bit of a lip and is so light I can carry it and my bag in one hand... 

They are the most useful for places you are going to be for a while like a hospital room with someone sick and you need to be there... Also they are nice in hotel or motel rooms as you can easily set them where there is the best light.  They are also nice to set out on a balcony or deck. It takes up next to no room in the trunk of the car and that is where I always keep it.

And then there is the issue of light.  I cannot recommend a light more enthusiastically than this one.  It was actually designed  for a music stand. Each head had TWO LED bulbs so it is very adjustable and can be easily focused where you need the light.  If you don't have a table to clip it to, a book works just as well.

 It operates on both batteries or AC/DC.  Of course you get a brighter light on AC/DC which is usually how I use mine.. Much of the hospital time I have spent sitting in a semidark room.  This clips right onto my folding tray.  It is less than $20 and available at Amazon.

Recently we went to the hot springs... I like to wake about 5:30 and DH likes to sleep until seven.  Not much to do in a dark cabin,  I used this light clipped to my folding tray table and stitched until he woke up. 

If you have something that works for you when you stitch away from home, let me know and I will add it.

Mystery Needle Case

This is a mystery hussif of sorts.  It has pins, needles, buttons and thread and is probably at least 100 years old.  I would love to know more of its history

At the top of the interior flap is "Kirby Beard & Co" which when I Googled it found that it was a general manufacturing company in England during the 1800s which did indeed make all kinds of sewing supplies...everything from pins and needles to sewing machines.  They also made many other things as well.

The pocket at the bottom has two spools of thread....one black and one white...  The buttons have 4 holes and are also black or white.  The wording on the buttons says "BEST RING EDGE."  Because the whole thing is so sturdy I suspect it may have been for a man....maybe military or explorer...just a guess.

It all rolls up into a tidy package secured by a leather strap.  The leather is in remarkably good shape considering how old it must be.

Has anyone seen anything like it?  I was hoping the unusual buttons might be a clue..

Chatelaine and my blonde mom!

Hopefully this will be the last chatelaine for a while..  This one is for the class  display at the quilt shop and the class has already been approved and January dates selected. Sign up doesn't start until next month. This one is finished except for the tools for the pocket upper left...  I tried to keep the embellishment simpler on this... Didn't want to scare people.

One of my stitchers always uses a thimble and is fashioning a lace pocket for her thimble on her chatelaine.  Another would like to have a pocket for her glasses which she wears while stitching.

One friend would love to make one but this would be too fussy for her... I have some lovely black toile in the barn.  It would be fun to make a chatelaine with it coordinated with black and white stripes, checks and polka dots.  A whole different look. Between the suffrage quilt and the Morris book, I have an endless supply of black trims and lace.

This morning to went to town to bathe my mom and color her hair blonde.  She's 94 years old and does not want to be buried with gray hair..She has been telling me for years that I wouldn't look so old if I'd color my hair..  I don't mind my gray hair but I can't fault her the burying issue as I have a few of those myself.  I have a long list of things I want to be buried with including  my tambourine and my red shoes.

I'm "hot", on the edge of a new trend, and in the right place at the right time.

Stopping at the quilt store in August and being accepted to offer a CQ class was a shock...  Having it fill twice and a waiting list is a bigger shock.  I had been schlepping my stuff around to quilt stores for years getting the proverbial cold shoulder. Now I discover I'm "hot", on the edge of a new trend, and at the right place at the right time.

One night last week the shop had a "teacher's" night to discuss submitting a proposal for a class, expectations from the shop and what they thought would meet the approval.. The presenter said there is a new trend with their quilt customers.  They want projects smaller in size than quilts and they are wanting "hand work."  And here I am...on the spot so to speak...

As usual I had taken work with me while I had attended the meeting and of course I had my chatelaine...  They felt a class for the chatelaine would fill instantly... so here I am making two more...actually one and pieces.  One for a display model for the shop and pieces of one for teaching aids.  Since it is a quilt store and selling cottons, these examples are cotton.  My stitchers were here yesterday and since they are doing the chatelaines I picked their brains on how many classes and how long the classes needed to be to finish comfortably.  It was great to get their input.

And one stitcher is making a CQ Christmas stocking and made this flower from gold sequin trim and a button the same way I did my black ones.  It is spectacular.

And to end on a happy note every evening when I go out to lock up the chicken house and check on the barn, I return to the house and see my lovely door all lit up with Christmas lights... It never fails to make me smile and what a great way to finish my day.. The photo is spotty as it was foggy and raining.

Finished with last chatelaine

This gift chatelaine will go out in tomorrow's mail.. Then I can focus completely on the suffrage blocks.  I did make a couple little refinements on this chatelaine.  Instead of sewing the two sections together at the back of the neck, I connected them with a button.  Not only does this allow the recipient to adjust the length of the chatelaine, but the button acts as a pivot or hinge... I'm thinking this might be a very good thing.

I always make the pin cushions with a yoyo stuffed with poly and use a large button to flatten it.  Instead of a button this time I used a bezel --- one I use for my button.  I drilled a few holes in it so I could sew it on and then glued one of my buttons on it...  Another good thing!!!




On helper day last week we were mixing cement and filling every hole and crevice in the back of the house.  The oldest part of the house has a loose stone foundation and critters find a way under or through to spend the winter soakin up the warmth of the house and having a litter of young in the spring.  These critters often include squirrels, feral cats, rabbits and skunks.  Of course skunks being the very worst senario. In past years I've buried wire and cement blocks and still they dug under.  This time my helper dug very deep and we buried heavy wire and filled in with cement and then I'll stack cement blocks in front of that.

   

New Chatelaine and Mini Tip

I'm in the last stages of this new chatelaine...  It is a surprise gift for someone who I know REALLY needs it..

This one is not fancy materials but sturdy cotton home deco fabric. I spent a long time studying photos to pick the colors that would go with what she wears.. The colors she wears are quite different from the colors she uses in her work..

It is assembled and ready for the front pockets and buttons and beads.

I have the embroidery done on the front pockets.  Rather than cut the pockets out and embroider, I like to embroider on a larger piece and fine tune its placement on the pocket. and how do I do that you ask?

I trace the pocket pattern onto a piece of clear plastic.  This is a top of a box.

Then I can use the plastic as a template as I work and adjust the design just how I want it.  For the "bird" pocket I wanted the leaves and flowers to   conform to the shape of the pocket and sometimes it required changes in the design. When finished I use the plastic template to mark the pocket when I cut it out.

If placement is not an issue I just trace around a pocket pattern onto a larger piece of fabric  If it is a dark fabric and difficult to mark I do a basting stitch for the pocket shape.

Update on chatelaines - 3 approaches

Our CQ group had a "sit & stitch" yesterday.  I was working on my cottage piece and three people were making progress on their chatelaine...  I love how diverse they are..

Theresa used an elegant tapestry and is basting down laces from her collection.  She also does doll costuming so has a supply of interesting embellishments.  She had also ordered some interesting tools from e-bay... I should have photographed them.  I'll to remember.  Several were antiques but one was a fancy retractable awl from a country with a cyrillic alphabet and none of us could figure out how it worked.

Kathy F. is using a paisley brocade in deep rich autumn tones.  Her  pockets are  of coordinating, heavy textured silk.  One of her pockets will have an elaborate spiderweb and the other will have lace butterflies.

She also has compiled a large collection of trims and threads..

Kathy S. (we have 3 Kathys) had the surprise of the day.. Hers is totally whimsical.  She has recently learned to crochet and is using this new found skill to make the embellishments for her chatelain.  Her lining is red with tiny yellow dots....perfect.  You just have to smile when you look at it...

Text on felt tutorial and name tag!

This post is a HUGE thank you to Shirlee Fassell who suggested I put my name on my chatelaine.  I did it after the chatelaine was finished as I wanted it to actually look like a name tag pinned to it.  I would have never thought of doing this myself and love it.  And here is how I did it.

When I did the rabbit poem recently and when I did all the lift-up flaps in my Morris book I did a lot of experimenting.  The first thing I learned is when you just use the 2-way fusible to attach the printed text, the felt texture and fibers as well as the adhesive of the fusible  bleed through the printed fabric.  And this is so even though I use a poplin photo fabric which is pretty dense.  It would be even worse with printed silk.  I solved this problem by first using a fusible tricot on the photo transferred text.

Here are my usual supplies for this technique.

First I apply the fusible tricot to the printed text which is untrimmed.  I find it easier to trim it after the fusible is bonded and then there are no loose threads.  I add the 2-way fusible now and trim to size and remove the paper backing.






Then I use the 2 way fusible to attach it to the felt and trim so there is about 1/16 edge of the felt showing.  I usually use this bit for stitching it down and adding beads.

Sometimes in the Morris book I used 2 and even 3 layers of felt to get the effect I wanted.

But  my name tag I wanted to be REALLY firm BUT flexible and  under the felt layer I added another layer....crinoline.  Crinoline is a lightweight buckram which looks like starched cheesecloth.  I had this scrap left from a ribbon flower class.  In the olden days when I was in high school all the girls wore long gathered dirndl skirts with crinoline petticoats.

This crinoline layer was perfect and I'll use it again for certain... The finished piece is very firm (not brittle) and still flexible and sewable.

So I did a little beaded ruffle around it and there you are.  The only other thing I wish I might have tried is an oval shape.. but too late for this project...

Again a big THANK YOU to Shirlee!!!!

Chatelaine good enough to travel!

Well it's done enough to use... I still have to do my name  and a new pincushion...  But the pincushion requires me to paint a new button of Morris and I don't see that happening before I leave so the old pincushion will do until then.

I ran into a few hurdles and changes in directions but will tell about that in another post..  One pocket is trimmed with the ruched velvet ribbon and the other ended up being trimmed with some cool pleated trim  I salvaged from a dress years ago.

I have a bead or two I might add and have room for some new keepsakes and a spider web.

















And I do have pockets....

You can see the pleated trim on the left pocket better in this photo.

Last minute checklist

Now that I'm going to actually assemble it I am making a final check with all the tools in their pockets...making sure I haven't missed anything and that everything fits... It will be hard to make changes once it is assembled.... I learned that tidbit from experience.  I'll assemble it in two sections and have decided I want to add the "name tag" after it is assembled.

Never found the needle case yet so I'll use the long one I used for doll needles until the other shows up..

     I was considering this lace around one of the pockets but know this would be disastrous... not only would it snag on everything, it would quickly soil and look tattered and yucky..






I do have this lovely ruched velvet ribbon trim that would work around the red pocket and give a scalloped look.  It would wear well.







But it doesn't look as good around the black pocket.






But I do have some very dark dense lace that I could combine with it and stitch the lace to the ribbon so it wouldn't snag...

Now I'm anxious to finish and actually use it...

Chatelaine progress - end in sight

  This evening I finished the motifs on the front pockets. You'll notice I used some of the daisies from my expensive vintage daisy trim... I will have to use it often to justify the cost... Good thing I still love it...

 

All the trims and seam work has been added to the front pieces and the pocket have been added to the back of the tool openings.  I can sew the lining to the front at this point..

I put my sterling silver needle case somewhere safe until the chatelaine was finished and of course I can't remember that safe place...

Lining for chatelaine

The lining has two parts.  Sew together with a long stitch---6-8 to an inch.  This is because one the chatelaine is assembled this seam will be removed and become the pocket opening.  Press open and top stitch on both sides of the seam.

Last time I didn't take the time to embellish the lining but will do so on this one... I added a small lace just below where the opening will be...and then added this lovely venice lace rose...

The roses were salvaged from a thrift store teddy....a passionate purple satin just dripping with wonderful back lace of high quality... The sales clerk looks askance at an old frumpy lady buying this very naughty garment..

The lining pockets need their own lining so I cut this striped material just to fit behind the pockets.

Then I stitched across the tops of the bottom pockets and across both the top and bottom of the zipper pocket.  The sides will be secured when the project is assembled.

I'm hoping to have this project and the door finished by this weekend..

Chatelaine - more patterns and planning

 I made the pattern for the back side of the chatelaine.  It has two sections which I had added to my current chatelaine and I love for non-sewing items... I keep my MP3 player in one and business cards in the other.   I plan to add a small zippered pocket also on one side for my needle threaders.

I also made patterns for the outside front pocket and the needle pad.  And I did a template of the actual size of the front pocket to use as a guide for the motifs.

I used the template as a guide to baste the outline of the pocket on a 10" square of fabric I could put on a hoop...

Then I started auditioning bit of lace to use as a base for a fan.  It's an awkward shape to put a fan on but there will be a fancy button on the left which pivots the needle pad and I can  add a charm or two on the other corner.

I will do the motif BEFORE  I assemble the pocket to allow me room for error.

There will be a floral motif on this pocket and I'm choosing a piece of lace to act as a base... My favorite is the filigree  upper left but it's too fragile.