Sunday, January 18, 2015

Tammy 4 All Seasons

All I have been able to accomplish for this hop is due to the incredible patience of  Mary and Madame Samm.  The creativity of Brooke and Corri sure challenged me.

Now to what I did accomplish - TA DA!
This is my Tammy bag - almost finished.  It's on my ironing board along with the start of my Spring pinny.  That's a tiny red gingham that will be my gathered edge on the pinny.  I say my Tammy bag is almost finished because I know I have the coveted Presencia thread finca pearle #8 and I cannot locate it.  So I attached the handle to the front the best I could and still maintaining some decorum with broken threads.  I decided when the project was no longer fun, it was time to stop as the witching hour for posting was nearing and quit for the night and share what I have.

I used to cross stitch and loved it.  I hadn't pick up the hobby in several years and knew something was wrong when I could not only see to thread the needle but also I had no clue where the holes in the cloth were.   So in November 2013 I had surgery on both my eyes to help with double vision.  This is my first project since that surgery.  I first started on the adorable Spring dress on 28 count over 2 and got lost.  So, I opted for colors that were easier to see on a light background  (and NOT black background) and started over.  I now have prisms in both lens and still have to move my head to focus properly.  I got a magnifier that you rest on your chest to help see.  Mine worked great as long as I don't move.  I don't know about you - but my chest moves when I breath and certainly when I move my head to focus.

The red fabric is the outside of my bag and the light aquaish blue is my lining.  I back stitched around all my items - just a habit.  I had never used beads with stitches in cross stitch.  I had done a pattern of all beads.  I attached my beads with X to make me feel more secure.  I even put a bead in the middle f my sunglasses.  I adore the beads on the bathing cap - I remember those well.  Oh, the days of swimming classes in college with waist length hair!

I will admit that I used no hoop for the first time when Ii cross stitched this.

Now I want to make a "Jaxon bag" for my three year old to carry his cars and trucks to big brother's games.  I think a boy print would make a cute bag for him for his treasures and the pockets would help keep him busy.  Maybe he'll get a Jaxon bag for his birthday in March.

Madame Samm showed some of the tools she uses in some of her projects.  She showed what I think is a beautiful seam ripper.  Yep, that's my brother who makes them.  I loaned mine to one of my guild members for a potential opportunity and I can hardly wait for it to come home.  I have had fun, fun, fun preparing for today.





Please visit the others who are sharing their accomplishments tday.

44 comments:

Anita said...

Looks like this is going to be a gorgeous Tammy Bag when it is finished; love your cross stitches and your beads! Great work!

Judy B said...

I love how you added beads to your cross stitch on your Tammy! I am going to try that. Thank you for sharing.

Gmama Jane said...

You can now be a charter member of MY club!!! When you go to my blog you will understand!! I love your colors and first attempts are Priceless!!
Blessings
Gmama Jane

Heleen Groot said...

It is almost finished! You did really well. I never got the hang of cross stitching and it took me waaaaay into my adult life to start enjoying other stitcheries! I am in awe of your cross stitches! With all the visual stuff going on, you are even more awesome! Well done.

Baa. xxx said...

Lovely colours - just my favourites!

Mara said...

I do like your bathing suit cap, it turned out really cute with all of those beads.

charlotte said...

Well, it is a very good job so far. When you find your thread, you can finish it. You are right to stop and take a break when you are getting frustrated. That just leads to mistakes.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

You're doing a great job. The fabrics will be perfect for the summer stitchery.

Sparky said...

http://secretlystitching.blogspot.gr/

secretly sttiching link is not working...please add this one so we can find Mara as easily as we found you..

and you did your best on your tammy bag....it takes time and looks like you did try...good for you..

Michele said...

Yes it does look like it will be fabulous when you are able to finish it.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Ohhh you did a great job on it!!

Kate said...

It's looking good thus far - carry on! :)

Linda said...

It's going to be really pretty finished! Your fabric choices are beautiful!

Needled Mom said...

The little beads look so pretty. I know you will love the finished little Tammy bag and Pinny.

Carol Swift said...

Quite an accomplishment with all those prisms bugging you...it looks beautiful! Love the beads!

StitchinByTheLake said...

With your vision issue I know this was a challenge. My sister was left with a kind of double vision after a stroke and also has prisms in her glasses. I bet Jaxon would love one of these! blessings, marlene

Calicojoan said...

There is that little thing called breathing that we all need to do! LOL! I finally found a pair of magnifiers that clip on my glasses, that work very very well for me. I can't even imagine stitching on 28 count! Yikes. Interesting my first few projects I never used a hoop of any kind either, but I do find that I love Q snaps!

Carla said...

It's amazing you accomplished this much with vision issues. Cross stitching is not easy on the eyes even with 14 count let alone 28. You will love your bag when it's finished.

Charlene McCain said...

Beautiful stitching and I love your colors. Great job!

Lana said...

Oh wow...are those beads on that cross stitch???? LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
Can't wait to see this finished!!!!

Lisa in Port Hope said...

The fabrics you chose set off the cross stitching wonderfully. I just used 3 strands of the DMC floss to attach my handle.

Renee said...

Your bag looks lovely!

CeLynn said...

So,tell me,How on earth did you stitch such a beautiful x stitch with such a challenge from your eyes! Simply Amazing,and Beautiful to boot! I think you rocked it!

Mary Ann said...

Beautiful job on the Tammy. Hope to see your pinny when you finish it. I love gingham, especially red. :) Thanks for sharing.

Kwilt Krazy said...

Wonderful job. Love the beads. It will be lovely when finished. I know what you mean about not fun. I WAS having fun but near my deadline I was getting stressed. I finally said "Stop" slow down and don't make it a job. I figured everyone here would understand and they have :) I am still slowly stitching away and now having fun.

Jane's Quilting said...

You are going to have a beautiful Tammy bag when it is finished. I bet you got 101 things to use it for too, huh?

Createology said...

Thank you sew very much for sharing your Tammy Bag and for hopping along. You did a wonderful cross stitch job...especially with your eye issues. Creative Tammy Bliss...

LJ said...

I'm amazed that you would consider csing when you have seeing difficulties. Bravo! It looks wonderful and the beads are spectacular - a perfect addition. You didn't add your brother's website (Does he have one?) for us to check out the seam rippers. Clue me in as I'd love to see what he makes - and I use one almost as often as my scissors!! lol

Kristen King said...

What a lovely summer bag!!! :)

tink's mom said...

Great job so far. Very little left to go. Love the beads on the swim cap. jazzy.

Janarama said...

Amazing that you were able to x-stitch with your vision problems. Your Tammy Bag will be awesome when finished. I love the added touch of the beads too.

evelyn said...

Hope you find your thread soon. The bag looks lovely so far. I heard a quilter say once-finished is better than perfect, so don't let it become a UFO-you are doing great.

JuliaP said...

The beads were a great touch the the stitching. Your Tammy bag is going to be fabulous when you finish it. Good luck in finding your missing thread.

ChitterChatterDesigns said...

Love the additional design the x'ing of the beads adds to the the cap. It is so pretty. Your bag looks amazing. It is hard to tell you were having trouble at all! Way to go in accomplishing what you did. Looks just beautiful. ~Cori

Thearica said...

Cross stitching tires my eyes pretty fast so I have to work a while and lay it aside and come back later... trouble is, I don't know when to lay it down... I am hooked again. Kudos to you for finishing the cross stitch and basically the Tammy is complete. You will find your thread and then it will be ready for a day in town to show it off. :)

Quilt n Queen said...

Suze...you did an amazing job!! I love your fabrics and you are almost finished. You get a big pat on the back...job well done!! Happy stitching, Pauline

Lovelli Quilts said...

Beautiful stitching. I think that gingham will make a beautiful ruffle.

Leslie Schmidt said...

Cute, cute, cute swim cap. Your Tammy is very sweet. I'm sorry to hear about your vision difficulties. It makes everything so hard. Good luck with the finishing of your Tammy.

Leslie S. in MN

Deonn said...

That looks so neat with the beading! Aren't these beautiful patterns? So glad your surgery went well - your bag is great!

Amy said...

Ohh, it is sew close to being complete. Love the red and blues you chose to make the bag from. Too cute!

Michelle said...

Your Tammy is closer to being finished than mine. lol Looks lovely.

Brenda said...

Way to go, Susan, you know I'm with you on this.
b/

Mary said...

You did a wonderful job on your cross stitch.I really love how your Tammy Bag turned out. I know your Pinny will too.

MalinisQuilts said...

Such lovely bag. I can't wait to see it all finished. Check by blog you just won the FQ bundle.Congratulations!