This is how I spent the majority of my afternoon. I had today off from work, and after getting errands done in the morning (Vero one of your magazines is winging its way to you now!), I pulled out all my stuff to work on getting some things really finished. I am very bad about putting stuff in a plastic bin rather than taking it to be framed or finishing it myself.
Here is my finished scissor case. Doing this has really been a confidence builder for me as this was the first accessory I have completed totally by hand. I bought this kit last year, but I was a bit put off by the hand sewing that was in the instructions. You have to sew in the batting, and then sew on the silk lining. First off, just working with a silk lining was scary, though the dupioni is really great to work with. Then it had to be laced up to close it, which wasn't as scary as the hand sewing. And then finally the dreaded cording.
Here is the flip side. Everything stitched up perfectly. I tend to ask a lot of questions in the various bulletin boards I visit, and I have gotten loads of great hints. I guess really you just have to sit down and do it for it to really make sense. The cording I had to do more than once as it has been so long since I have used my little machine, but I am quite pleased on how it all turned out. My niece was quite taken with my corder, so I taught her how to use it--she was having a good time!
Since I had all my finishing things pulled out, I decided to finally complete my Just Nan scissor case that I stitched last year. It is from the Silver Needle. This was a special piece only available from them for their 20th anniversary. I stitched this last year, but I only partially finished it. I used the sewing machine for this one. I was really struggling with it. Even today I didn't think it was going to turn out. It is rather bulky and sewing it closed was really stressing me out. So much for tiny stitches and all that. Now I see why it calls for cording! Thankfully it covers all my messy stitching to close the case!!
I didn't get the little fob stitched. I do plan on working on that one. It is stitched all over one, and I have had an aversion to over one stitching. As it is not terribly large, though, I am going to get that done this summer as well. It feels really good to get a couple of things completed. Maybe now I won't have such a fear of finishing, and I hope to learn some other techniques as well. I have already ordered (as my reward!) This Too Shall Pass II, which is a pinkeep! And I have pulled out the Just Nan companion piece to this, And Many More, which is a needle case. Tomorrow, though, I think I will work on my exchange projects, and I really want to get back to my John Foster sampler as well!