Back to the blog’s grass roots

I decided that Blogger was bad for my blood pressure when trying to upload photos, so back home I’ve returned to WordPress which I find cleaner and easier for posting … and the cuss words are a lot less than when trying to post in Blogger!

As part of the move back ‘home’ again, I have given the blog an updated facelift with a new header and background.  While it doesn’t have the diversity of choices that Blogger has (the main thing it has going for it), I think the new look will satisfy for the interim.

I’ve also been through and tidied up the Inspirations page – unfortunately many of our most inspiring stitchers have closed their stitching albums down or were hosted on Webshots which closed itself down … which means most of the links no longer worked.  I’ve deleted all the old links, and added a couple more that I thought would be of interest.  Those links are:

• Donna – I’ve been a fan of Donna’s amazing finishing skills for years, her Flickr album is a true delight to wade through
• The World’s Largest Collection of Smalls
• The World’s Largest Collection of Smalls TOO

I’ve had a few tutorials in semi-complete form for almost a year now, but life got in the way over the last 12 months, what with some crazy working hours and some serious health issues with my Dad (and myself).  In November my office will be moving back closer to home again which will give me much more free time back once again, and hopefully that also means time for blogging once again, something I’ve missed doing.

In the meantime, if there are any tutorials you’d like to see prepared and published on the blog, please leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do to arrange one for you.

Kind regards,

August FAL – inspiration!

Looking for inspiration for this month’s theme?

Try The World’s Largest Collection of Smalls blog as a starting point for loads of pictures of stitching accessories, which are all grouped by category. Check out everyone’s gorgeous scissor fobs, needlecases, pincushions, needlerolls, pinkeeps, biscornu, scissor pockets, and tape measure covers, along with all the other beautiful finishes

Think outside the box: for example, mini biscornu make wonderful scissor fobs, like this cute patriotic fob by Linda in Iceland:

and these 3 colourful fobs by Melanie in Australia:

Or why not try out a strawberry fob, like this one by Blackbird Designs in last year’s JCS ornament issue, beautifully stitched and finished by Cathymk:

More thinking outside the box; needlerolls don’t necessarily have to be vertical designs – here’s one I made using a horizontal design, which I adapted slightly (Homeward at Last by JBW Designs):

and if you don’t fancy the idea of hemstitching the ends, just use banding, like this one stitched by AnneS:

If you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, why not create a matching set of accessories, like this beautiful set of LHN designs stitched by Becky:

or these fabulous Quaker accessories stitched by Nicki?

I couldn’t find a tutorial for a needleminder, but the basic idea is quite straightforward. Michelle has made a couple of beautiful needleminders recently (I’m totally drooling over the Quaker one):

Sarah Moon (top) and Flower of Courage needleminders, stitched by Michelle (Cozyegg)

The instructions she used came with a kit but think metal ornament finishing forms, magnets (inside and out) and any kind of trim for the edging and it’s not too hard to work out how to create your own. Or you could try a basic pincushion or fob with magnets inside to hold your needles or pick up dropped pins, like these great examples by Barbara:

and Lelia:

And finally, if you’re up for a challenge and want to try something completely different, what about a chatelaine to hold stitching tools? Here’s an example of one designed by Guilia Punti Antichi:

and a gorgeous one created to her own design by Helen:

So what are you waiting for? Drag out your stitched pieces and your finishing supplies and get finishing! And don’t forget to post your finishes to the blog so we can all admire them. If you’ve not already signed up to post on here you’ll need a WordPress account (free, no need to create a blog) and then you’ll need to email me to add you as an author so you can post. It’s quick and painless (honest!)

Have fun!

Page updates

I’ve added Niky in Italy’s blog to the Inspiration page.  Niky is a prolific stitcher and accomplished finisher, who does wonderful work.  I can’t find an online album for her, but there are loads of beautiful pictures of her stitching and finishing on her blog.

I’ve also added 2 tutorials to the tutorials page showing how to add a zipper to a project.  I used both of these tutorials when I made my zippered project bag recently and I thought they might be useful to include here.

U-handblog zippered pouch

Twelve22  zippered pouch