Cord Making + Mystery Sampler

Hi, happy fourth .... sort of.

Oh what fun .... went to EGA chapter meeting last night. yeah, and let me tell you about the dome light that wouldn't turn off -- and the 3 of us (carpoolers) trying to get the interior light off with the doors open .... eee gads. Mosquitos ate their dinner courtesy of us .... but, back to the chapter meeting.

We were in a series of lessons for scissor fob making ... there were three lessons -- cross stitching (May), tassel making (June), and last night cord making. Now, I've had a drill for making cords in my drawer a good year or so (never out of the package) and enjoyed using it last night. I even had a handy-dandy weight .... sold separately. HA ; )

chapter web site www.surfnetinc.com/NANI

My friend Sue is an excellent teacher. She said for small pillows + ornaments: use 4-6 lengths of floss (don't separate) for cord making. For stockings & larger pillows - use perle coton.* She suggested taking measured strands of perle coton + making small samples to figure out the diameter cord you like. Her formulae was measure around the project and multiply x 4. So, if you have a final length of 8" (2" per side) multiply by four, or 32" lengths of floss -- to give you a starting length for your cord. BEFORE TWIST

*Sue confesses to watch for sales on cording at Hobby Lobby. What a hoot.

So, she cuts off lengths of DMC 734 (like split pea soup color) ties them in a knot -- hooks to the drill, and knots the other end around a pencil. Hands it to a new guild member & makes the cord. She shows us how to make bi-color floss cords and metallic floss cords. Of course twisting it and letting it fold back on itself is quite cool! An awesome demonstrations.

I .... idiot (I for Idiot) have my handy drill ready ..... lengths cut -- knot in one end over the drill hook .... and the other end around my finger; when my buddy, Sue, reminds me not to twist around my finger and cut off my circulation ..... what would I do without her. yeah, I get handed a pencil .... I put it around a pencil and made a couple cords. Fun-ness.

Sue continued her lesson ... she showed us how to stitch the fob sides together and how to stuff and how to add the tassel (which I didn't make yet) and how to add the cord .... and HERS WAS BEAUTIFUL. Then sew the thing shut. It is all so easy when shown.

Ok, here is the bonus. She has another way to finish a fob .... she had another tip ... demonstration. She used a 6" square of linen/evenweave, had her motif stitched in the center. She turns it over and folds the points into the middle. So, the square becomes a diamond --- then, folds it again ... the diamond shape is back to a square shape. Like oragami. And the edges are beautiful. Sue says "now sew on a button" in the back where the corners meet.

Remember the I for Idiot .... I'm like, yippie -- thought we didn't stitch anything -- drop a puff of stuffing on the square -- just fold - fold again - add a button .... done!. Yeah -- good thing Sue was there! No, Sue says, you gotta sew the edges before adding the button. With the sewn edges -- I bet it will be beautiful.

Mystery Sampler -- in Needle Arts magazine -- suggests a METER of linen banding. I swear, I think I have 36" or one yard. Not 40" or one meter. It is my pet peeve about mystery samplers -- tough to get the right sized ground without knowing a final stitch count. So, I posted a note on the yahoo group and keep my fingers crossed somebody in cyberland knows the stitching count length.

Now, let me tell you about Man Day in Valparaiso .... on Father's Day, my husband (wonderful man) decides to paint my bathroom. He dumps everything into the sink and starts painting. Oh, honey .... what dropcloth? Argh.