Another finish!

Yes, there's another finish here at Chez Magpie and an addition to the 2020 Christmas box.  Several of you 'almost' guessed what I was creating!

Above is the outside and below the inside 

(clickable to embiggen)

I fell in like with some beautiful embroidery scissors and simply HAD to create a special pouch to hold them.  This is number one of a series of three.  And here are the scissors that started all this in the first place....

They measure 4" long

Today's quote..."Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created"

Done, done, AND done!!

Above - Front of hussif, folded

Left - the back




Below - the inside fold

Outside, unfolded...

Inside...

I think this will be the last hussif, at least in the foreseeable future anyway.  I don't know anyone else in my immediate circle that are 'in need' of one.  This has ended up being one of my favourites out of all the ones I've made - maybe 8 of them, not sure because I've lost count.

Today your quote is from Jerry Ellis..."We're all only fragile threads, but what a tapestry we make"

Tah Dah (sort of)

This afternoon I took the latest hussif off the embroidery frame, so I guess a 'tah dah' is in order.  I won't show you the whole thing today (the light was gone by the time I was finished so decent pictures weren't an option). In the meantime, here's the final section...

I added the iron and the vine to complete the stitching.  The vine is whipped chain stitch; the flowers are web stitches overlaid with lazy daisies with a red bead in the centre; and the leaves are simply three seed beads surrounded by another lazy daisy.

Today the quote is from Judith-Annette Milburn.... "Can you imagine experiencing the world as a great sandbox given for us to play in like we did as children?  As we play, we can also open ourselves to the exploration of our edges, always creating new adventures of self-exploration as we let go of old out-dated beliefs about ourselves"

Progress - of the black & white kind

There has been a little bit of progress on the latest hussif.  The area where you see the words will be 'enhanced' with some buttons I think - will wait and see what it ends up needing.  Or not.

Today your quote is "Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye - it also includes the inner pictures of the soul"  (author unknown)

Having a plunging good time?

Good time?  Nope, not so much.  Woke up this morning to a clogged drain in our bathroom sink...joy.  After a trip to the store for various and assorted potions (supposedly guaranteed to 'unclog even the toughest blockages'...hah), seven hours,  and a second trip to the store to replace the overworked plunger, we had success.  Would have been nice had it been nice enough to give us warning so we could have dealt with it before it became a problem.

Plunging, and draining, means no stitching!!

However, I do have some stitching to show you today anyway.  I've started working on another hussif (I know, I can hear the collective groan from here).  This one is black with white stitching (and a teeny little bit of red here and there), and I'm trying to come up with as many sewing themed patterns to use on it as I can.  

Here's the progress so far...

(the 'blob' of white on the lower left

is a piece of tracing paper with my

next pattern I'll be stitching)

Today your quote is from Alice Walker... "No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow"

Hussif? Done!

The Front fold

My Asian-themed hussif is now finished!

My pattern is a three-fold design, so I have shown you pictures of each of the three sections. 

The back fold

The Inside fold

Inside

This one was great fun to create and now I just hope my daughter-in-love likes it!  Next 'up' on my list is another one for my other daughter-in-love. 
    

Today your quote is from Chritiane Collange.... "We have a tendency to obscure the forest of simple joys with the trees of problems"

Tah Dah!! (Part Two)

Okay - here goes for Part Two

The Inside of the Hussif

INSIDE OF HUSSIF

On the left is a large open pocket and to the right you can see a pincushion roll. In the middle is a large zippered pocket (see the rose charm on the upper right which is actually a zipper pull) that flips down to show further things beneath. The large rose is a needle case, of sorts. To the right you can see a crochetedthimble holder and a holder for a spool of thread.  On the upper left of that section is the magnetic needle holder and to the right is a pin keep. Below is a smaller pocket (the flap opens up to reveal a pocket and the area behind the flap is left open to create a further pocket area.

 

 

 

HUSSIF INSIDE - MIDDLE SECTION

Above you can see the middle section opened up.  At the top there is another small pocket with a flap (also left open behind for additional storage).  Below left is a needlebook and to the right a scissor holder.  The flap itself holds a scratch pad and a pen.

Below are some close-ups of the inner sections...

CLOSE-UP OF LEFT SECTION

 

 

 

 

 

CLOSE-UP OF MIDDLE SECTION

CLOSE-UP OF RIGHT SECTION

CLOSE-UP OF MIDDLE 'BENEATH' SECTION

CLOSE-UP OF MIDDLE FLAP SECTION

There you go - the entire hussif.  Finished.  Done.  Complete. 

This project has taken a little over two months to complete - two months of pure unadulterated joy in creation.  This hussif will never likely be actually 'used' as a hussif, but will be kept pristine and perhaps, one day, might become an heirloom.  Of course there's an equal chance it will end up in the garbage tip once I kick off the mortal coil but that won't be up to me!!  The design is my own, cobbled together from many great ideas I have come across on places like Pinterest and in various books and magazines. As I said on the previous post, you can click to embiggen any of the pictures and if you want even more details see the labels on the right hand side of my blog under 'Hussif' and 'Crazy Quilting'.

Today I give you a quote from Elbert Hubbard.... "Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal"

Ta Dah!!!! (Part One)

Well, folks, you will be ecstatic to know that you won't have to suffer any longer!  The hussif is done...done, done AND done!!  And you thought it would never end!! 

I thought about dividing the pictures up over

two days, but in the interest of not subjecting

you to any more of it, I will

do two posts today.

(otherwise the pictures load might be too heavy for

some computers).

So, here goes...

THE OUTSIDE OF MY HUSSIF

OUTSIDE

The above photo shows the entire hussif opened out (measures approx. 9x23" when open).

As you can see, there are a LOT of roses!!

I decided to add a piece of lace around the outside but my stash

didn't yield anything that was wide enough so I had to settle

for something narrow.  At some point I might add

on another wider lace, which I think would make it

look better.

FRONT

 The hussif is a three-fold design and here you

can see the front fold.

The whole thing is a chubby little lady so I

opted not to have any sort of closure so I could

allow room inside for expansion as I added

sewing supplies.

MID-BACK

 

This shows the middle fold on the back.

INNER FOLD

 This part is the inner fold which is

mostly hidden from view unless 

you open the hussif up to see inside.

Below are a couple more close-ups of the outside...

 

 You can click on the pictures to embiggen them

should you so desire!

Stay tuned....part two is on the way

(along with today's quote).

Two more!

A pincushion and a needlebook.

The pincushion will fit perfectly in the 'spine' area of my hussif (which explains why it's long and skinny!).  I edged the needlebook with a row of buttonhole stitches and then crocheted a filet trim using the buttonholed stitches as a base.  

I also mucked about with my new photo

program.

ooooh - special effects -

who knew??

Today the quote is from W. J. Boetcker.... "If you want to know how rich you really are, find out what would be left of you tomorrow if you should lose every dollar you own tonight"

Progress, of the hussif kind

I have completed a couple more things for the 'innards' of my hussif.  I know this hussif is seeming to take absolutely forever to get done, but it's getting there - I promise!

First of all, I made this needle keep.  It's a large button blank covered with embroidery and inside I glued a couple super heavy duty magnets (tricky little beggars to get to stay in place while the hot glue dried - they kept wanting to leap together like bunnies in heat).  As you can see a needle sticks very nicely to it and won't be so easily misplaced while I'm working.  Of course, having said that, the secret to success is going to be training my brain into actually putting the needle onto it!

This little creation is a crocheted thimble holder.  Being that I don't actually USE thimbles it's rather a waste of space in my hussif, but that didn't stop me from making it.  I just like the look of it!

Today the quote is from William James.... "Be not afraid of life.  Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact"

New computers and roses (I hope!)

Well, the grand computer change-over of 2015 took place over the weekend and I'm now up and running on my new one...complete with a great deal of trepidation!  Windows 8.1 is a whole new learning curve!  So far I've managed not too badly (despite the great 'Skype Debacle Of Last Night' that we won't talk about, other than to say all's well that ends well - I think).  Today I put my brave face on and am attempting to load a picture onto my blog.

Here goes!!

Well, I'll be darned!!

It worked!!!

Sometimes I amaze myself.

Oh - and the photo above?  It's a pin keep that I made to include in my hussif.

Today the quote I'm giving you is from Susan Jeffers (and 'fits' what happened during the afore-mentioned 'Skype Debacle')...."Feel the fear, and do it anyway"

Yuckism and roses....

Depending on your viewpoint considering snow vs. roses, you can decide for yourself which part of this post falls under 'yuck'!!

First of all, this is the view out my studio window as of a few minutes ago...

If you embiggen the picture, I think you can see the BIG snowflakes that are falling (and have been for much of the afternoon).  See the build-up on my windowsill?

oh - and can you see a little mourning dove perched in the tree?  He's hard to spot!!





Meanwhile, inside, I have been continuing the work on my rose-themed hussif.  Remember my post of a few days ago where I showed you the free-standing rose?  Well, I wasn't happy with it so I've added a couple of rows of buttonhole lace (in two different shades of pink) around the outside of the petals and now I'm much happier. 

Above is the picture as it was the other day, and to the right is what I did today.  Perhaps you can't see why I would 'fix' it, but trust me, when you see the overall project I think you'll understand!

I've also made another little pocket for the 

inside of the hussif...

It's not a very great photo!  The roses were done using cross stitch on waste canvas.  The entire pocket measures approx. 5 x 4".

Today I give you a quote from Clarissa Pinkola Estes.... "I hope you will go out and let stories - that is life - happen to you and that you will work with these stories....water them with your blood and tears and your laughter til they bloom, til you yourself burst into bloom"

hussif progress

Now for a couple pictures...

This is the 'cover' of a pocket that will be on the inside of the hussif.  Just plain ol' embroidery - nothing fancy!

This is a smaller pocket decorated with silk ribbon flowers and some pearl beads.

Today's quote is from Bruce Barton.... "When you're through changing, you're through"

Hodge Podge Mumblings

 I have begun work on the 'innards' of my hussif and this is the first thing I made.  This will be part of a pocket I think.  Or maybe not.

And finally, here's the quote for today!  This one is from James Dean.... "Dream as though you'll live forever.  Live as if you'll die today"

Sorta done

Over the weekend I completed the outside of my rose hussif and now it's on to the goodies I'll be putting inside.  These photos overlap somewhat because it's impossible to get just certain sections (altho' I guess I could have cropped them, couldn't I?). 

For some reason, known only unto Blog-grrrrrr, I can't manage to space down to put my usual quote at the bottom of my post (what's up with that??!!)....so I'll put it here....

Today the quote is from Martin Luther King.... "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence"

Left side of hussif.

Middle of hussif.

Right side of hussif.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rose is a rose is a rose

The painted rose was a brooch in a former life and now has been treated like a shisha mirror.  Roses to the right were on a hankie.

Web stitches with lazy daisy 'petals' on top, and a teeny little cross stitched rose bud.

Spider web roses with lazy daisy leaves and french knots.

This rose was made with french knots in the middle and surrounded with stem stitch.

Today the quote is from Leo Buscaglia...."A single rose can be my garden...a single friend, my world"

and some more....

Another waste canvas cross stitch.

Cross stitch flower, crocheted trim, blackwork flower (also done on waste canvas), and a seam treatment using ric rac.

Cross stitch leaves, ribbon roses, bullion loops and french knots to create a seam treatment.






Today the quote is from Haim Ginott.... "If you want children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others"