Sewing - Penelope

I know I said I was planning to finish this as a pincushion, but I loved the fabric so much I though it would be a shame to only have a small border ... so I made a mini pillow (it's about 9"/22cm) square.

I bought the fabric years ago in Hobbycraft - it's a Mary Engelbreit print, and it was on sale for something like £4 a metre, which seems well worth it now!

The backing fabric is black felt, which helps give some structure to the piece. I've made a teeny matching pin cushion too.

Bumble Bee - Penelope

I changed my mind about framing this, and made it into a mini pillow with some of the lovely bee print fabric that's been sitting my stash! I hate cutting into a new piece of fabric, but really, what's the point in having it if I don't use it? This was finished as part of my finishing frenzy yesterday - I sat and stuffed it watching The Remains of the Day on DVD :o)

Sewing - Penelope

My friend Sue sent me this little kit as a RAK.

I have an old Singer sewing machine just like the picture. It truly is a family heirloom. It originally belonged to my "little" great gran, who was born in 1901, and was hand powered at the time. It passed to my gran on her marriage, and she made many clothes using this machine for herself and my mum during the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1967, my grandad paid for a motor to be fitted to the machine as a wedding present for my mum, and my mum stitched her wedding dress herself with a little help from this workhorse - which doesn't do fancy stitches, only straight - it doesn't even do reverse!

The sewing machine moved south when my mum did, and was put to good use clothing myself and my sister - often in matching dresses, but hey, that was style in the 1970s! About 1980 Mum was finally able to afford a more up to date machine, and the Singer was put out to retirement. For many years, it was loaned to a family friend's daughter - it must have been a good fifteen years or more - and was given up for lost. But good friends come through, and the machine was returned, still in excellent working order. Mum was contemplating selling it, but as my modern machine had never been reliable, I offered to exchange it! I think my mum was relieved I wanted it, because this machine is so much a part of our family history and has sentimental value. My sister doesn't sew at all, so at least there was no arguments :o)

The machine is very very heavy, and setting it up usually requires a phone call to my mum for help, as it has it's little quirks :o) But swap it for a modern model? No thanks!

As for this design - a very quick little stitch, and the finished piece is going to be made into a pincushion, when I find the piece of "perfect" fabric I know I have somewhere in my stash!

Design Details

Fabric: 14 count aida, white
Threads: Anchor stranded cotton
Designer: Not credited
Chart Details: Penelope "Momentos" PM10 Sewing - Coats Crafts UK/Wm. Briggs (c) 1996
Stitch Count: 26H x 26V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Back Stitch
Threads Used: Anchor stranded cottons in 883, 884, 295, 75, 398, 400, 403, 77. Cross stitch in two strands, back stitch in one.
Embellishments: None.
Modifications Made: None.

Bumble Bee - Penelope

This was a small kit I picked up at a car boot sale for the princely sum of £0.50 - and it kept me entertained for several hours, which is good value in my book! That's what I like about stitching - one might feel guilty at the cost of buying stash, but when it gives hours of pleasure when stitching, and then on-going pleasure having the finished item around, it really is a value for money hobby! There are people I know who spend more on a mass produced print than I do on a cross stitch project, and that baffles me a little :o)

Anyway, the project - small and sweet. I wasn't sure about the oranges for the honeycomb at first - they are much brighter than on the kit front - but they seem to work okay. I'm going to put this in a tiny pine frame and secret it on one of my bookcases along with the honey jars and other small things.

Design Details

Fabric: 14 count aida, white.
Threads: Anchor stranded cottons.
Designer: Not credited.
Kit Details: Bumble Bee - Penelope "Momentos" from Coats Craft UK
Stitch Count: 26H x 25V
Stitches Used: Cross Stitch, Back Stitch.
Threads Used: Anchor 295, 302, 298, 304, 355, 235, 236, 403. Two strands used throughout for cross stitch, one for back stitch.
Embellishments: None.
Modifications Made: None.