BUSY DAYS

Are you rushing about too.....trying to put the finishing touches on your Christmas preparations?

I know, I know.......my stress reliever is putting a needle in my hand, even if it's for only a short time each day.

So....after locating a stabilized, pre-marked & basted square of wool-felt (a sample from my book, "Embellishing with Felted Wool"), I was able to get a jump start on a small wall hanging.

I began by digging into my stash of white buttons....some old, some not. They were positioned to fit within the basted star shape.....selecting sizes to fit. After sliding the layout onto my work surface.....I began stitching them in place. The piece was fitted into a Qsnap frame & the stitching was done using a single length (not doubled) of Nymo white beading thread.

I sewed through only 2 of the holes (in the 4 hole buttons).....the idea is to attach the button just to hold it in place. I like to position ALL the buttons before moving onto the next step......to be sure the entire button design looks great and that the buttons lay flat on the fabric.

Now.....the fun begins......as I add beads to give the bead design a more polished and finished appearance. Don't you agree......look at the before beading and after.......it's worth the extra time!

I'm not sure yet how I'll complete this piece......for now, I'm just enjoying a few minutes at a time......with my needle in my hand!