One Stitch Two Stitch

Cupcake Pillows Update

I've added my cupcake pillows to my SeeSueStitch shop. I'm working on more, but I was eager to add the ones I had finished. Click on my shop's name for details! Sue

Memorial Day

Going to the Arlington Cemetery was quite humbling. Since it was Memorial Weekend there were droves of veterans walking around paying tribute to their fallen brothers. There are sections of the cemetery that go as far back as the American Revolution and Civil War. Two presidents are buried there: Kennedy (which I got to see) and Taft. I was also able to catch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns which is done every 30 minutes of every day year-round. T

he cemetery had placed an individual flag on every single tombstone (the tour guide had stated over 300,000 are buried at the cemetery). As I walked along the tombs, I was fascinated to read about soldiers who had participated consecutively in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars (many awarded the purple heart). On this day, I thank these soldiers for their courage and dedication. I will always remember. Sue

My Trip to Washington D.C.

I was lucky enough to travel on a fieldtrip with my students to Washingtion DC. We spent 4 days in the capital and it was such a fantastic experience. Since I had never been, I was a bit awestruck by all the sites. These are some of my favorite places we visited:

 Iwo Jima Memorial

 Mount Vernon

 The Capitol

 Fresco in the Capitol's Rotunda

 FDR's Memorial Park

 The Natural History Museum

 The Lincoln Memorial

 The White House

A couple of interesting things I noticed: all the monuments are larger that you can ever imagine like the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was mammoth. The original constitution is written on four, very large, pieces of parchment paper. Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot is quite small.

We were lucky enough to visit Washington during the Memorial weekend, so there were many vets and special events happening which were quite enriching for the kids. I did notice that eventhough, we spent 4 days, it still seemed like not enough time to really see everything. I'm definitely planning on coming back again! Sue

This Weekend

. . . literally flew by. Friday came and went. Saturday afternoon was dedicated to attending my school's annual festival. That evening, my bf and I had some friends over, and we all enjoyed some tasty bbq (courtesy of my bf!) and some gooey brownies a la mode (courtesy of me!). On Sunday, my bf and I had a beach day. Lots of sun and well-needed relaxation. Throughout the weekend, I was able to sneak away to my craft room and work on my new embroidery project. Here are some pics:

 

I'm hoping to finish these by Tuesday. How was your weekend? Was it relaxing, busy, or crafty? Sue

Embroidery 101 - Peking Knot

This stitch is an alternative to the traditional French knot, and can be easily mastered. It was the customary stitch used in old Chinese embroideries. Due to its diminutive size, this stitch is also called the blind stitch or forbidden knot. It works wonderfully to fill in areas of a pattern or, can be used alone. Whichever way you use it, the Peking knot is definitely a great addition to have in your bag of embroidery tricks!

 Step 1: Begin by bringing your needle from the back to the fabric’s front. Have you thread form a C shape as showm in the picture.

 

Step 2: With your left thumb and forefinger, twist the thread to form a loop. Make sure that the thread that trails is beneath the emerging thread.

 

 Step 3: Place the needle inside the loop as close to where the thread originally emerged. Push the needle only about a quarter through the fabric.

 

Step 4: Pull the thread to tighten the loop around the needle (how loose or tight your knot is depends on you!).

 

 Step 5: Keeping the thread taut, pull the needle through to the back of your fabric. It should look like this . . .

Happy Stitching! Sue

My Embroidery Take on a Cupcake

I've caught the embroidery bug again. After I finished these brooches, I was inspired to come up with new cute embroidery design, so I started doodling in my sketch book and came up with a yummy cupcake. Here are some pics:  

 

 My cupcake naturally transformed itself into the sweetest pillow (pun intended!). I christened it a Yum Yum because of its cute lip-licking expression. It's definitely a keeper! For this coming week, I've decided to make a set of them in different prints, can't wait! Talk soon, Sue

Embroidery 101 - The Back Stitch

As promised here are the custom brooches I had been working on, all finished now! And as promised, this post will be dedicated to teaching novice embroiderers some basics in needlework. The first stitch lesson is learning the back stitch, this stitch is the one I used to embroider the names on the brooches. It's the most basic stitch and it's the most commonly used on embroidery patterns.

Step 1: You can start by drawing a straight line on some fabric. Bring your needle from the back to the fabric's front at A.

 

Step 2: Take your needle to the back at B and then have your needle re-emerge at C. Be sure that the lengths between A and B and A and C are the same. This will allow each stitch to look consistent with one another.

 

Step 3: Pull the embroidery thread all the way through. Avoid pulling your thread too tight since this will cause the fabric to bunch.

Step 4: Now take your needle back to A (through its same hole) and have the needle re-emerge at D (same way as Step 2). Again, be sure to keep the stitch length consistent.

Repeat Steps 2-4, taking your thread back and then re-emerging. The key to a good back stitch is that your needle always enters the exact hole from the last stitch. If not, the stitches may look disconnected. Another good clue that you've mastered the back stitch is looking at the back of your fabric.

The opposite side of the stitching shoul look neat. You'll notice that the more you practice, the neater that back side will become. Neat, huh? Ready to practice?

Here are some free embroidery patterns to get you started!

Alicia Paulson - Pleasant Dishtowel Embroidery Pattern

Follow the White Bunny blog - Owl and Pussycat Embroidery Pattern

Helen Dardik - Honey Bunny Embroidery Pattern

Bulletin Board Ideas - A Tasty Table Setting!

School's almost over but there's still enough time to create a fun display to keep your kids (and you!) motivated. This board was inspired by my students' most recent essays about their favorite restaurants. Except for the background, all supplies were found at your local dollar store.

To create this display, you'll need: 1) Approx. 2 yards of fabric 2) 4 plastic cups 3) plastic forks and knives 4) plastic straws 5) Ketchup/Mustard bottles 6) yellow or red yarn 7) paper plates 8) glue gun 9) pre-made border Keep in mind that the color scheme of your "table setting" is really up to you. I had in my stash the red gingham fabric, so I decided on a red, white and blue scheme which matches with summer and the 4th of July.

The set-up took less than 30 minutes. Once you have your fabric and borders stapled, glue-gun the cups and utensils directly to the borders (avoid hot gluing the fabric!). Don't forget to add a straw to each cup. Staple as many paper plates as you need to your board and serve your student's "tasty" work on each plate.

 

For your board's title you can use pre-cut font and or, if you have the time, you can get a bit crafty and create it yourself!

 On some card board, write and then cut out your display's heading or title. Cover the cardboard title with tacky glue and run the yarn around the letters of the title until you can no longer see any of the cardboard. It may look like a mess of white gunk and yarn, but let it dry overnight, you'll find a beautiful heading in its place!

 Lastly, pass some of the yarn through the mustard (or ketchup) bottle's tip. Put a push pin inside the container to attach it to the board. Hang your title next to the mustard bottle and be sure drape the yarn onto the title, so it looks like the mustard is oozing out of the bottle!

Hope you've enjoyed this fun, easy, and most importantly inexpensive display board that will definitely wow your students!

Embroidery Love

 One of thing I really enjoy doing is embroidery. Everytime I work on an embroidered piece, I get into this trance-like state where I'm totally relaxed. I have this huge embroidery handbook that's my bible for stitching which I use very often when I'm working on my projects, but I also like to improvise and come up with my own stitches. I'm currently working on some personalized rag doll brooches for a customer. At first I was a bit hesitant because I had been so focused on crochet that I hadn't done embroidery in a while, but it was like riding a bike. The stitches came happily back to memory! Here's a some peeks on my progress:

 I began by tracing out the design. I used a back stitch for the name.

Then comes the details. Her hair is made up of Chinese knot stitch and a Drizzle stitch. I also stitched tiny butterflies!

The outer circle was made with a chain stitch.

The outermost circle is my own improvised stitch!

I'll be posting some more pics of these brooches once they're finished. I'm thinking of making a special post with some basic how-tos on needlework, so if you're interested in trying out embroidery, stay tuned! Sue

2-4-6-8, Who Do We Appreciate?

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day! My administration and PTO have little gifts throughout the week to show they're appreciation. Yesterday, my principal greeted us with personalized capes and masks, telling us what "super teachers" we are. The office staff even made a city background where we posed in our super teacher gear for a photo. Today was our "spa" day. During our planning time, we got hand and neck massages (very relaxing!). Tomorrow, our PTO will be hosting a luncheon for the teachers (they always make it quite special!).

 

What I love the most about this week though, is how the students express their appreciation. It's the simplest of gestures that are the most touching. Last year, all my 5th graders came back from their lunch with an apple they had saved for me and sang "you're the apple of our eyes Ms. A." Another student wrote me note that read "You're the perfect grape among the bunch!" My 3rd graders, after their recess, brought me several hibiscus flowers picked from the bushes that surrounds the school's playground (so sweet). In the end, it's really not about the gifts, but these genuine displays of gratitude that reaffirm why I became a teacher and my on-going love of teaching.

 I'm hanging up my "uniform" for tonight. To all my fellow "super" teachers: You are appreciated! Talk soon, Sue