AKA: the Christmas Pudding Chicken-Robin

I has a old magazine "freebie' stitch kit running around on the floor so I decided to do it to get it out of the way.

It's alway a bit hit and miss with these old kits if I still have the magazine they came with, and therefore have the pattern. I gave heaps to the second hand shop a while back.

In this case I didn't even look, just did a search and found the magazine on a Russian website. (CrossStitcher issue 298). The picture of the pattern was a bit blurry so it was really hard to follow the backstitching but I suppose that's my punishment for being too lazy to see if the magazine was still running around the house and visiting a website of questionable copyright legitimacy.

I asked my brother which one he thought I should stitch, he said 'the chicken'...
he's 30. sigh.

So I went with the robin (not a chicken). I tweaked it a bit just cos I could.
The body uses three strands of floss, 2 of DMC 436 and 1 of 818 DMC. I figured I had some extra colours might as well use them to add some character and three strands to make the body a bit bulkier / pronounced. This unfortunately resulted in the robin looking a little like a Christmas pudding. Hence the title it was honoured with once finished - "Christmas Pudding Chicken-Robin". Regardless I don't mind the effect.

I also made the eyes more defined and left off the odd white line. I was going to use a French knot if needed but the black eyes looked fine as is.

There are some people out thee who love backstitch, I am not one of them. It took me an extra day to bother finishing it for that reason.

I also didn't turn it into a brooch. The hoop is about 5cm in size and I thought it would look silly as a brooch. Instead I plaited up the leftover floss into a hoop to turn it into a tree ornament. Much better.


Finished:

Bright Stitches Scissor Keeper

Cute little kit completed to aid in my goal of not loosing any more scissors.

Kit: Needleworks by Sue Hawkins

Kit included;
18# canvas
DMC stranded cotton and needle
Chart and instructions.

Stitches used:
Rhodes stitch
tent stitch/diagonal tent stitch
Rice stitch
Satin stitch
French knot

It should also have been finished with a long-legged cross stitch on the edging but my brain couldn't handle all the messing around so I just stitched it however I felt. Worked out okay and with a lot less frustration than long-legged cross stitch.

The instructions on a whole didn't really agree with how my brain works so I spent a disproportionate amount of time scratching my head going 'hu'. And feeling pretty stupid. The instructions weren't in any way bad just not great for me.

My tassel was terrible and the thread to hold the scissors coming out the edge instead of the top. But otherwise pretty happy with the outcome. Fuzzy cat is as well, he's already attempted to liberate it as a toy...which might explain where some of the scissors have gone to.

Sulpher Tuft (mushroom)

So a year or so later I remember I have a blog and figure why not update?

Here today we have a (fully finished) sulphur tuft cross stitch finished into a jar top.

The cross stitch is an old Allura Design - miniature, stitched on a piece of 12cm aida. I picked the cross stitch up ages ago at an Op shop for about $2-4AUD and like most of my craft things lately it sat and gathered dust. But recently I've been trying to do stuff again other than work and be miserable and today there was success.

Finishing something helps for sure.


The finished cross stitch:

And as a reminder of what type of mushroom it is I added the name using a spare bit of yellow/green and tan, just made it up as I went, with a little trial and error. I think it turned out nice:

I cut a circle of white felt to the size of a jar lid I just happened to have on the sink and located a small amount of stuffing to go between the lid of the jar and the felt. The stuffing I was hopping would smooth out the lid shape and the white felt so the black of the lid wouldn't show through the aida. I stuck down the felt to the lid with liberal use of the hot glue gun.

More liberal use of the hot glue and the mushroom was stuck down over the felt and to the lid;

Bit more glue to add a bit of ribbon and a little trim and done:

Sick kitty

Not much creating out of me lately,  just stress and more stress. Little Fenn kitty got sick :( he's doing better and home now but it's trown me for a complete loop.

Slow Clay Pottery Centre

I've been taking pottery lessons since the start of the year of which I have completely failed to post any updates or finished products here. I'll do a post a full pottery update at the conclusion of this semester.  

On the Saturday 15/8/2015 and Sunday 16/8/2015 the studio where I have my classes had an open day. Since my Saturday was free I volunteered to help out. So many children...

But it was busy and fun :)

Here's a handful of photos I took at the beginning of the day before it was too busy;

Some little pottery bits and bobs that could be taken home for a donation to the rebuilding of the Nepalese pottery industry;

 

Some visitors to the open day having a go on the wheel under directions of the resident experts (it got a lot more hectic from this point onwards);

And the details of the studio:
Slow Clay Centre
13 Keele st, Collingswood 3066

It's really a nice place and I'm enjoying making a clay-y mess every week and the occasional success.

Rest in Pieces Taxidermy Workshop

I enrolled to attend a day class in taxidermy. Read no further if you are particularly squeamish or are sensitive to the subject...!

I wasn't as focused as I would have like, my cat Fenn was on his 4th day at the vets and getting picked up (fingers crossed) by my brother while I was in the class. My brother had also torn his Achilles tendon that week. So I was stressed and pretty broke but I really wanted to do the class, I challenge you to find any other taxidermy classes in Australia. It's a pretty unique experience.

The company "Rest in Pieces" is fairly new, only founded a year or so ago and has been running full day courses/workshops to taxidermy mice (the only thing you can really do with a bunch of beginners in a day) throughout the year. 

The workshop had a maximum of 9 students, though we lost one who slept in and didn't make it in time. You really can't come in late. The group included a professional taxidermist wanting to practise something small as she usually worked on birds and restorations, one single guy (he was a giant!), some serious committed amateurs and a couple of beginner-beginners. 

The course took from 9am to 5.30ish for our group but if someone needed more time then it would have been given. No one goes home without a mouse! We learnt the basic processes involved in creating taxidermy. Learning how to skin and preserve a little mouse, as well as how to mount him into a standing pose with optional cheese. I was going to make some little props for him but the class was moved forward a month for me and I didn't have time. Someone did bring a little tutu (her mouse was tiny but the tutu was smaller so it ended up as a neck ruff - probably cuter that way regardless)

Everything was supplied on the day including the mice, tools, aprons, lunch and some (optional) wine. The mice were python feeder mice pre-frozen at the pet shop. The host named mine Chester. 

You can find more form this workshop and others @ instagram
#restinpiecestaxidermy @restinpiecestaxidermy
I don't bother with instagram so no pickies from me.

We were also advised to bring a strong tummy, I was pretty good with that until we got to the bit where we used a cotton bud to get his brain out...gross. But I got past that brief squeamishness.

After his hide was treated and we had lunch we came to the part of rebuilding our mice back into mouse shapes and not tiny little mouse skin rugs. Around then there is a point were you wire him up like a deranged marionette. There was wire sticking out everywhere. 

I hate hand stitching and at the end  we had to sew up his back. My sewing was pretty rough, and near the top I tore the skin a few times so he has a bit of a ruff where I put in multiple stitches to hold him all together. I was pretty tired by the end of the day.

I'll save you from the more gruesome pictures - well his insides no long inside anyway - the body including the tail comes out as one piece it's weird yet fascinating.  But here's the finished product and a work in progress shot (skin only)

Behold, Chester the mouse;

 

And some of the ambiance in the workshop; 

 

And a work in progress shot, the skin after removing it;

Tatty Teady, Christmas Coat

I haven't really felt like blogging recently, too much work, not enough hours in the day. But I have been working (very slowly) on finishing some half started projects.

This guy I started ages and ages ago, put aside and...yeah completely forgot about it.

The design is Tatty Teddy, Christmas Coat by Anchor.

The kit contained the usual 14 count white Aida fabric, Anchor stranded cotton, a chart, full instructions and a needle.

Finished size: 11 x 8cm.

One thing the picture doesn't really show is the snow and his boots have a thread of glittery blending filament which in person looks quite nice.

Stitching him was relatively straightforward once I re-started. Though almost at the end doing the french knots the cat distracted me. I lost a needle, which I anticipate finding with my foot or other soft body part when I least expect it, and accidentally yanked 2 of the french knots out. It was not my finest moment.

So the back is messier than I'd like and when I frame it I'll need to put some soft wadding at the back to deal with the knots I couldn't fix but other than that one cute teddy WIP completed.

And a WIP shot from earlier today;