Day 7: The End

Homemade enchilada sauce ~ recipe here

Well, that was interesting. I don't think I could keep up with 7x7 posting for very long though. In fact, if I hadn't had those tutorial posts already in my drafts folder, I don't think I would have accomplished it. OK, so now that that's done… what's next? How about some thundersleet? Yup. We had thundersleet today. On the second day of March. Is it just me or does "Thundersleet" sound like something we need He-man to battle for us?

Little Miss Cupcake stayed home sick from Mass with me this morning. We were supposed to have some dear friends over yesterday for some frolicking in the 80 degree weather and a "spring inspired" taco bar dinner (complete with the homemade enchilada sauce you see above) but illness on both sides ruined those plans. And now it's 21 degrees outside… Hello, Thundersleet! I want my spring back. (I know, I know… you people who are living in the frozen tundra north of Oklahoma haven't even started spring yet. But it's such a HUGE tease to be at 80 degrees one day and then wake up to "THUNDERSLEET"!!!!)

Day 5 :: Saints 'N Stitches Tutorial {Part 3}

(I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. My workspace is in my laundry room and these were taken on a very grey and dark day.)

Now that you're little saint is dry and wrinkle free, place him/her face down on the right side of the backing material. 

With a pencil, draw a line around your little saint, kind of a rounded rectangular shape that sits about an inch away from the outside edge. 

Here is a close up.

Stitch along the line you drew leaving open a two inch space at the bottom. 

Here is the opening I usually leave open. 

Trim the edge around. I like to use pinking shears but you don't have to. 

Turn your little saint inside out and press the edges flat, especially the open edge. 

It's much easier to stitch it closed if you have a nice, flat crease there.

Stuff your little saint as much or as little as you want and then pin the opening closed. I like to use an invisible closing seam to close up the opening. You can see a tutorial of that here. It's the same stitch I use to close up my bandana blankets. Once that's closed, you are...

Finished!

Part One : Embroidery Resources

Part Two: Removing the design lines

Day 4 :: Saints 'N Stitches Tutorial {Part 2}

Part One :: Embroidery Resources

How to wash off the water soluble design

 When you are all done and happy with your embroidery, you will want to wash off the blue lines underneath. You could wait until they are all stitched up into dolls and then toss the completed doll in the laundry, but I like to make sure it comes off before then. (I haven't yet had one not come off. )

 Run the design under some gently running cool water. 

 Make sure that the water runs all over the design. When you can't see any blue under your embroidery, gently squeeze the excess water out. 

 Lay out your fabric on a clean towel and roll it up to get all the water out. 

When it's mostly dry, unroll and hang to dry.

When it's completely dry, you can iron all the little wrinkles out.

Tomorrow I'll show you how I turn your embroidered square of fabric into a little pillow doll.

Tips and Resources for learning how to embroider can be found here.

Part Three :: Sewing Your Doll
 

Day 3 :: Saints 'N Stitches "Tutorial" {Part 1}

Tips and Resources

The official tutorial on how to sew one of my pillow dolls is coming tomorrow… this part just has information and resources.

A few people have asked if I am offering any instructions on how to stitch the embroidery kits I'm selling in my Etsy shop. The fact of the matter is that they are each so different and kind of basic (and subject to my whim) that I really can't offer a set of instructions. My goal for these little kits was to offer an easy way for moms and daughters (and sons and fathers if they are so inclined) to have a little fun exploring a new craft with a saintly theme. I used these little designs to introduce my girls to embroidery at a very basic level. We called it "Coloring With Thread". They used a very simple running stitch and 3 strands of thread doubled up and knotted at the bottom. (I always use 2-3 strands doubled and knotted together. It's the way my grandma taught me and Grandma was always right.)

Some of first ones...

If you know the basics of embroidery, you should be able to stitch these little saints easily. You decide what colors you like where. If you want to fill in something or leave it outlined, it's totally your call. If you want to eliminate something completely that I put in the design, just leave it blank and the blue lines will wash away.

If you don't know anything about embroidery, anything at all, then the best place for you to go is Mary Corbett's Needle 'N Thread website. Her how to videos are where I turn to learn new stitches and techniques. I think they are very detailed but also easy to understand. Start with the basics… Running Stitch, Back Stitch, Stem Stitch, Split Stitch. Those are my main go-to stitches. For filling in anything you want filled in, I prefer the Long & Short Stitch (without the shading, I haven't yet done any shading). The important thing is to have fun and be creative!

Tomorrow, I'm going to show you how to deal with the water soluble ink when your design is complete.

Part Two :: Washing Off the Design 

Part Three :: Sewing Your Doll

Day 2 :: A little bit about the shop...

(Psssstttt… I posted more kits last night.)

I've got some tutorials planned for the next few days that have to do with my little saint dolls and the embroidery kits, but today, I just wanted to take a minute to say that in this world of Etsy shops that can turn into huge business opportunities, my vision for my shop is just like my blog... very small. I am not a corporation and my shop is not a business in the traditional sense. It's an overflow of my life here at home.

Right now, I am on an embroidery kick and I found a way to share that with you all. Next month, it might be baby blankets. By the time we hit July in Texas, it might be underwater basket weaving… who knows! I am not looking to market it or promote it or sign up to be anyone's sponsor but thank you for thinking of me and asking. I'm not looking for it to grow any faster than the natural course allows. And it is completely subject to my whim and fancy. I might close it next week, next month or next year. (Just FYI, I plan on putting the shop on vacation starting April 6th until after Easter to make sure that the last weeks of Lent get the attention they deserve.) I see it first and foremost as a hobby and an experiment. (Especially since my Sunshine has been curious about opening her own Etsy shop for a while now.) In fact, this woman's humble shop has long been my inspiration.

I'm not trying to create a brand and I'm not trying to "make it big". I'm trying to be the best wife and mother I can be and still nurture my creativity in my spare time. I will try to take on custom orders as my time and responsibilities allow. You should always feel free to ask, I just reserve the right to say, "not right now". Thank you for respecting that and understanding.

Day One

According to the Queen of Blogging Link-ups, (that would be Jen), one of the advantages of the 7 x 7 blogging challenge is:

"It’s like a blogging closet cleanout. When I clean out my closet, I have a rule that if it’s been more than a year since I last wore an item, I either need to decide that I will begin wearing it now or give it away — no more looking at it and saying “maybe one day I’ll get to it…”

So, for Day One, I took a look at my draft folder. There were only 6 posts there. A couple of them were BigBoy sayings that never got posted. One of them dates back to 2009! I don't know why they weren't ever posted, so here they are to tickle and amuse him and my big kids who read my blog now almost daily...

AGE FIVE:
(BigBoy writes/types a story)
asthe bugwas tr/terminated.buythe foxTHEY CHEERED.

(As the bug was terminated by the fox, THEY CHEERED!)



AGE SIX:
If you smell rotten eggs, it's me. Oh, by the way... excuse me!



AGE NINE: 
(reading aloud) : The State of Massachusetts absolutely forbids dueling with water pistols.
"Well, I am never going to visit there!"

(Nine year old boys have their priorities you know!)


Oh, how they grow!!!