Thursday 28 May 2015

Scissor Fobs and a Needle Minder

So, these are not the greatest quality, because I only have my phone, and it's not the best for taking super closeups, and trust me when I say, these are much prettier in real life.  But here are the fobs and the needle minder I recently made.

First up is the needle minder.  I found the most beautiful bead that was originally part of a bracelet.  The owner of the store broke the bracelet up and sold me the bead, as she is getting rid of her bead stock.  I used a bit of hot glue and glued a magnet to the back.   24 hours later (just to make sure it was truly dry) I now have a one-of-a-kind needle minder.








These are my favourite scissors.  They are Leah from the Gingher Designer series.  I know it's hard to see the detail, but they are the most beautiful purple roses with green leaves.  For the fob I used a lavender glass seed bead, purple swarovski crystals and a leaf green bead.  The centre is a swarovski ball and the end is a bobbin that I threaded some purple DMC thread on.

 Here's a closer look.

This is a terrible picture and I do apologize.  These are my Ginger Designer "Julia" scissors.  I used a smoky moonstone bead, a smoky glass bluish/greenish bead, glass periwinkle seed beds and ceramic blue bead for the middle.  The end bead is a fresh water pearl set in silver.

A better look, although the pearl doesn't really show up very well.

These are my Ashleys.  I used a pale pink pearl seed bead, swarovski purple, the same green beads I used for my Leah's, and the end bead is a pale pink rose.

A closeup of the rose.

These are my Charlene's. These were the first Gingher scissors I ever collected. 
The fob is swarovski amethyst and light purple, with a smoky rose bead in the middle.  The end is a swarovski heart.

These are my Alyssa's, which are tiny peacock feathers.   I used blue and clear seed beads, and blue and white swarovski crystal beads.  The end bead is a palm tree a friend whom I met on a cruise to the Caribbean gave me.

I really enjoy making fobs, and I've made them for all of my friends in my stitching circle.  Although they do run a tad on the expensive side to make, the crystals really catch the light and make for a stunning outcome.

And that's it.   I do think my Gingher collecting is at it's end, so my Visa (and my husband) can relax.  But who knows. Gingher puts out 2 new designs a year, and down the road there may be a pattern that I simply must have.  And of course, it will have to have its own fob!

Perhaps I had better not put the Visa away just yet....

~Rai Rai











Thursday 14 May 2015

Page 8 of Winter Hat Owl is Complete

Started May 7 and finished May 14, this is definitely the fasted HaED page finish I've ever had.  To be honest, my wrists are a bit sore, but I wanted to finish this page because I'm scheduled to work the next 3 nights, where I don't get a chance to stitch at all.  It would have killed me being so close to a page finish and not being able to pick it back up until Sunday.

This piece is now 50% done!   





The grey part of hat hat was my nemesis! Pure confetti madness which slowed me down to the point where I wanted to scream and fling it into the fire - if I had a fireplace, that is.  Instead I had to be content to using unpardonable language and copious amounts of it, which, on one occasion, scared the cat. 

I have been busy creating fobs for some Ginger designer scissors I received for Christmas, as well as a needle minder, but I can't seem to get a photo of them that do them justice.   If I can get a good photo, I will post it between my next update of Adrift, which should be in a little over a month because it will be a full page and a partial - which means a row finish.

Stay tuned.  Wonderful things will be coming down the pike!

~Rai Rai

Thursday 7 May 2015

Adrift, Page 16 Complete

The good and bad thing about transitioning from day shifts to night shifts is the all night stitch-fests I get to do.  Of course the downside is looking at the beautiful day that today promises to be and know that I will be missing it because I will be sleeping all day.

But back to the all night stitch fests.  Last night I finished page 16 of Adrift.  More of that beautiful tail.  I managed to finish this relatively quickly, starting the page April 19 and finishing May 7.  And I am very, very nearly at a milestone.  This page finish brings me up to 49% done! Nearly half-way!


I should have an update of Winter Hat Owl really soon.  It's just a page of blue, and not even a full page, at that.  I managed to get 100 + stitches in after I finished my page of Adrift, so I'm well on my way.

Well, it's been a long night and the sun is shining, which means it's bed time for me.

Happy stitching everyone, and I will see you all soon.

~Rai Rai