A little stitching.....

I had some extra time today and decided to finally get started on a candle mat. I'm a huge procrastinator. Part of it is that I'm afraid to actually cut into a new piece of wool or material and use it. I'm the same way with scrapbooking. My son is almost 14 and I have three pages completed, and one isn't even of him! lol! I'm afraid that my end product won't look like it did in my mind's eye. On top of the procrastination I'm a perfectionist. It makes getting anything done almost impossible.

I took the plunge today and cut into a new piece of wool. Well, it's new, but I've had it for months, afraid to cut into it. Geez Louise, you can buy more lady. That's what I kept telling myself. Here is a sneak peek of a candle mat that will probably be finished in the next day or two....if I keep on track. It should be easy peasy now that I got past the wool problem. : )

First go at coffee staining

Well, live and learn.........

I stitched a cute little pattern from Chestnut Junction and decided to coffee stain the fabric since I couldn't find my natural muslin fabric when I got the itch to stitch. Not having the patience, I stitched first. I guess this would normally be okay, but I used dark red wool and, well, you can see where this is going. I had good success with a scrap piece of fabric to test this method (though it is a simple technique, I had never done it before) and went ahead with the stitched piece. A few minutes in the oven and the red wool bled a bit. You can see on the second picture where the fabric is a bit pink. I had intentions on putting this on my website for sale, but it looks like this one belongs to me! : )  Lesson learned: Stain first, then stitch, especially when using red wool.

I know this piece doesn't look coffee-stained, but it indeed is. I used white cotton so it just stained it a more "natural" color. The really good staining was on the edges, so that got cut off. I had much better luck with the sample piece when doing the staining, so that's another reason to do the coffee staining first.

The back is a red and off-white leaf pattern on cotton. I do plan on making a new one for sale in the next few days, using the piece of fabric I first coffee-stained.  : ) 

Good news/Bad news

The good news is I've got the itch to stitch. The bad news is I've got the itch to stitch.  : )

I guess it depends on how you look at things. There are dishes and clothes to wash, toilets to be scrubbed, and meals to plan, but this morning I'm spending a little time stitching. I go through moods where I will really feel like creating a mess in my craft room (I like to call that productivity) and then other days where I feel guilty about the other things in life that need taken care of and will put off stitching for weeks. One day I will figure out how to get it all done without feeling guilty about neglecting one or the other. Until then it's a roller coaster.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner so I'm creating a few 100% wool candle mats with hearts. This is the only time of the year I really get into hearts. Hopefully I will have something to show you in the next few days.

What are you working on today?

Happy stitching!