Blog #54 - Stitching ... and More Stitching

Monday,  27 March 2017

Every spare moment of this month

- and moments when I should have been doing other things (e.g. ironing) -

have been taken up with stitching and finishing stitched pieces.

 

A few blogs ago I mentioned that I wanted to have several Fisherton de la Mere fobs

made so that the attendees in my class could see finished examples in various colours

and so that each one could have a finished model in front of them during the class

as they learnt to stitch one for themselves.

 

Pictured below are some of the fobs in the process of being made -

 

And, here is a pic of all the fobs finished -

 

And too, I have finished  the two versions of the antique sampler that I wrote about in Blog #50,

had them framed, written the instructions and printed the design.

 

Here again, is a pic of the original sampler

and below the two reproduced versions.

 

The first reproduced version has been worked with DMC  Stranded Cotton threads

and the second reproduced version has been worked

 with an overdyed silk thread by The Thread Gatherer

(SNC 083  -  Finnegan's Fog)

and solid coloured  DMC  stranded cottons.

 

Charts and instructions and thread and fabric choices for both versions

are given in the one pattern.

 

Design Code:   BARB 2007

Design Title:   Hannah's Simple Sampler

Design Cost:   $21.50

 

I enjoy accounting.

At the age of 16 - when I left college at the end of the 6th form,

for a few years and before I began nursing training and was married -

I worked for the first few months as a junior and from then on an intermediate

at an accounting firm in Upper Hutt.

 

Those were the good days when one learnt by 'on the job training' and experience.

Loved it!!

 

When Keith and I began our business partnership with the establishment of

'Crib Retaining Walls' in Dunedin

on the 3rd of March 1981

I went to night-school conducted by an Otago University lecturerer

and obtained my Stage One Accounting degree.

 

Pictured below -

our truck, our business yard, cribwall stock & our manufacturing building,

and

inside the factory building - steel moulds, concrete hopper & fork-lift

and - sometimes Keith couldn't work!

 

However - sometimes - nowadays - I'd much rather be stitching.

 

BUT, the Inland Revenue does not see this

and they were strongly requesting our income information

for the past income year of 2015/2016.

 

And so I had to spend a lot of time this month preparing,

writing and calculating our tax obligation.

This I still do completely by hand - no computer -

 right up to Balance Sheet stage

 before sending it to the accountant for them to officially file with the IRD.

 

And now, here we are, almost at the end of another financial year!

Time to count all the stock in the Needlework Gallery

and excess stock stored in various drawers and cupboards throughout the house.

Oh dear!!!

 

That's all for the moment.

 

 

Blog #53 - 'Celebration of Needlework' Class Project

Monday,  6 March 2017

In Blog #49 I gave you a sneak peek at my 'Celebration of Needlework'

class project and here it is again.                                                          

 

  

I have named this piece, 'Thankfulness' as the verse on it reads,

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness".

 

Once stitched it will be a daily reminder for you to give thanks for your many blessings.

 

The verse is stitched in Cross Stitch with a muddy/murky green coloured

DMC  Stranded Cotton  (#640)

and the decorative stitches between the two rows is created

with the English needlework technique of Fisherton de la Mere

with DMC  #12 Coton Perle  (#642)

and a silken pearl thread by The Thread Gatherer.

 

The colour of this thread is 'Desert Moss'

and the fabric is Belfast Linen  (32 count)  in the natural / raw colour.

 

 

As this project is a teaching piece, this has to remain an exclusive piece

until the beginning of next year.

I will advise when it becomes available but should you wish,

I can "hold" a design for you and send it to you at the release date.

Please let me know if you like me to do this.

 

Design Code:   BARB 1018

Design Title:   Thankfulness

Design Price:   $22.50

 

As well as the 'Thankfulness' piece I will teach the Fisherton de la Mere fob design

that I also mentioned in Blog #49.

 

To follow are images of the front and back of this fob design.

 

Fob front

 

Fob back

 

I have named this fob after the distinguished embroiderer,

Josephine Mary Newall

of Fisherton House

in Wiltshire, England

who devised this needlework technique.

 

History of this amazing lady is included with the design.

 

Design Code:   BARB 1025

Design Title:  Josephine's Fob

Design Cost:   $25.00

 

Materials as per the chart design are -

 

FABRIC:   Belfast Linen  -  32 count  :  Platinum  (#770)

THREADS:  Silken Pearl  -  SP10  9713   :  Desert Moss  by  The Thread Gatherer

DMC  Coton Perle  -  #12  :  3033

DMC  Stranded Cotton  :  3033

 

As a colour comparison, pictured below is the same design

using a blue Silken Pearl thread -

SP10  048  -  Pearled Blues

and a blue/grey fabric  -  Cashel Linen  :  Confederate Grey

 

Also note that I have placed the tassel and the scissors cord on the points of the fob

so that it hangs diagonally. 

 

Fob front

 

Fob back

 

This is an excellent little piece for learning the Fisherton de la Mere stitches.

 

That's all for the moment - so much to do - so little time  ... !!

 

 

Blog #52 - The Little Kit Company

Monday,  27 February 2017

Almost at the end of February.  Where, oh where, have the last two months gone?

 

As mentioned in my last blog, I acquired ‘The Little Kit Company’
from my friend, Liz, at the beginning of last year.

 

For 20 years Liz created the needlework charts from hand-drawn ones
by Maree Garstang of Masterton and stitched models,
wrote instructions for the designs and packaged these designs and instructions
with fabric, threads and needle and sold the little kits throughout New Zealand
at craft shows, to craft retailers, to museums and to city information centres.

Also as mentioned in my last blog,

all designs feature NZ birds, scenes and icons

and all are ONLY available as kits

and are to be made as either bookmarks or framed pieces.

All designs are now on my website  -  www.barberryrow.com/barberryrow.html

Three designs

Aotearoa Kiwi

Pohutukawa & Kowhai

Wellington

 

I’ve also created a dedicated Facebook page for them  -  www.facebook.com/littlekitcompany

and I would appreciate it if you would “LIKE” it. 

 

And too, I’ve opened an Etsy shop  -  www.etsy.com/shop/thelittlekitco

although only the bookmarks are listed in it as yet.

 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy - it is a site where crafts people who design,

make, and/or manufacture their own items can sell their products.

Each shop has a shopping cart and there are several payment choices.

I have to confess that prices in my shop are a little more expensive - only slightly -

as the website host charges a percentage fee.

 

 

Below is a list of some kits currently available from ‘The Little Kit Company’

SCENES:         All Scenes:   $ 19.50  each

 Art Deco Napier          Auckland           Christchurch            Dockside Café          Dunedin

Farming Down Under          High Country Hut          Lake Taupo          Lake Tekapo

Lake Whakatipu          Map of NZ          Marine Parade Napier

Mount Cook          Pioneer Cottage          Pohutukawa Tree           Taranaki Farmland          Wellington

 

BOOKMARKS:          All Bookmarks:   $ 17.50  each

B is for Bee          Black Cat          Bullrush & Fern           Dusky Dolphins          Fruit of the Vine

Houhere  (Lacebark)          Kia Ora           Kiwi          Kokako          Manuka

Mount Cook Lily          NZ Kiwis          Pohutukawa & Kowahi          Red Billed Gull                 Sheep

Sheep Dog           Takahe           Tuatara          Yellow Eyed Penguin

 Traditional   -   Carving   :  Kiwi   :   Poi   :  Tiki

 

MISCELLANEOUS:    These designs  :    $ 19.50  each

Aotearoa            Aotearoa Kiwi           Native Flowers          Wild Flowers

To view other designs  -  check these out on the website or Facebook

The most popular design is :  Bookmark  -  Red Poppy.   $ 22.50  

I have added a couple of pages to the kit.
One page relates the history of the creation of ANZAC day
and Canadian medical officer, Colonel John McCrea’s
poem about the poppies he saw in Flanders’ Fields, France in WWI
and the second page relates how the red poppy was first created
as a symbol of remembrance by American teacher,
Miss Moina Belle Michael.

 

Also included with the design, fabric, threads, needle, instructions and poppy information

is an artificial red poppy.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this design is donated

to the NZ Returned and Services' Association. 

 

Unfortunately the computer charting programme that Liz was using in her computer

was not compatible with my system and so I’ve not been able to ‘download’

the charts and instructions into my computer.

Consequently I am having to “redo” them - one by one. To date completed ten - lots more to do!
 

 As for “kitting” the designs - each design has a “recipe” sheet -

that is, a list of all the contents to be in a particular kit.

I have a special board that has thread lengths marked on it for measuring of the threads.

When I cut threads for a kit, I actually cut 25 sets at one time so that I always have stocks on hand.

So too, with the pieces of fabric for the scene designs and the banding fabric for the bookmarks.

I cut several at one time so that there is always stocks ready cut on hand. 

Cutting of all the thread lengths and the fabric pieces takes quite a lot of time,

and then there is -

1. the printing and folding of the design chart & instructions

2. the adherence of the design photo to the inner packaging

3. the folding of the inner packaging

4. the assembly of all the kit items

5. placing all assembled items into the inner packaging

6. and finally, everything being put into the outer plastic or cello bag packaging.

 Below is a pic of my ‘LKC’ cupboard -

 

Shelf one & two -  boxes containing small cones of threads :  18 - 20 cones per box

Shelf three - box of small cones, box containing separate thread packages for all bookmarks,  

       box containing separate thread packages for all scenes & misc designs, packaging bags

Shelf four  -  cream printed packaging, extra rolls of banding fabric

Shelf five  -  black printed packaging,  box of photos for all bookmark designs,

      box of photos for all scene & miscellaneous designs, trays contain cut fabrics, needles, glue

      templates for folding instruction & chart sheets, etc

Shelves six, seven & eight  -  large cones of threads  :  5 deep

Shelf nine & ten  -  more large thread cones, spare boxed threads,

      excess small & large thread cones & pre-folded ‘Red Poppy’ information sheets.

 

I hope you have gained a little insight into the process of creating a kit.

That’s all for this time.

Bye for now.