Stitching - Exercise Mat

With the floor being installed I decided that I would need a mat to do exercises in the living room.  The floor is hard and provides no cushioning.

I researched options and found a large rug at IKEA which was 100% cotton and a color I could live with.  I had bought a yoga mat from my sister who had purchased it for a class and never used it again.  That provides the non slipping base for the rug.  I only do walking videos so there is not much impact exercises.

It is about 5 x 7 feet in size so doubling it up with the yoga mat would provide 3 layers of cushion.  That should be good.

I did try it for a few days until I was convinced that the idea would work.

It would really need to be solidified into a single piece now that it was folded because there were open edges which presented tripping hazards.

The blue yoga mat is just a bit smaller than the mat which is okay.

It really sticks to the floor so keeps the mat in place very well.

It is big enough to do my floor exercises and the cushion makes those comfortable.

I clipped the folded edge first for stitching.  That way any adjustment can be made on the open edges if needed.

I laid the hemmed edges opposite the fold next to each other instead of over each other to make that edge smoother.

I chose some heavy 100% cotton crochet cotton for the stitching. It is Clark's Anchor Cronita size 10 in Turquoise to add a bit of color to the mat.

I am so grateful for what I have learned on my slow stitching journey this year.  These experiences gave me confidence to know I could do this.  I found a heavy needle in my stash. 

I used a back stitch which doubled up the stitching on the back.  Hopefully that will wear better than single stitch.

Now there were a lot of inches to go about 250 of them so it was going to take a while.

The weaving of the thread was quite open considering the size of needle I was using.  The weaving was very even so I could just follow the edge of a row.

I made crosses at the corners to really tied down those thick corners.

I am very happy with my even stitching.

The turquoise color is great.

It took about 8 hours of stitching to go all the way around.

It feels and looks great!

I found a piece of webbing and a clasp to make a strap to keep it closed when I roll it up every day when I am done.

This clasp just traps the webbing in a clip on both sides so no sewing was required.

I am amazed sometimes at what I have in my stash.

It was exactly what I needed.

Everything needs a home at my house so I placed a basket on the bottom shelf of my IVAR shelving unit to hold the mat and my indoor exercise running shoes. 

That works very well tucked away in the corner of the living room.

A two week project but bodes well for regular exercise with  my walking videos now that fall is here and the temps will be cooler.

 

Graduation Card - Sunburst

I made this card for my niece who is graduating from high school this year.

I started with a royal blue card. I then cut 2 pieces of card stock to 4.00 x 5.25 inches, one white and one yellow.  I cut the yellow one with the Stampin Up Sunburt Thin Die and layered it onto the white one.  Once adhered together this layer was adhered to the card front. I created a graduation cap by punching 2 squares 1.50 and 1.25 inches with my Creative Memories Double Square punch.  I layered the blue onto the larger black.  I created a tassel with yellow crochet cotton. I held in place on the hat with  a tiny white star brad.  I punched a SU decorative label the royal blue card color and added a SU Word Window greeting in yellow.  These were adhered together then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Friday's Hunt 1.22

These photos are for Friday's Hunt challenge.

The prompts this week are:
Starts with V
Favorite
Sunshine

This is Vintage Linen.  This is one of a set of three Vintage Doilies I found recently at a sale.  I loved the embroidery of a blue basket filled with pink flowers. It has a wonderful crocheted edge.

This is captured Sunshine.  I have several prisms in my living room window.  When I open the curtains in the morning the sunshine highlights bouncing around the room as the crystals move and swing.  I captured one of these on the cushion of the chair.  The colors are all there!! Love it.

This is a photo of a lake in Northern Ontario.  There are just a million of them.  There seems to be one on every corner.  This is my favorite for this week. 

Joining Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.

Challenge Card - Paper Garden

I made this card for a challenge at Paper Garden. They are running a 2015 Holiday Card challenge.

For my card I started with an olive green card.  I chose the BoBunny Blitzen Sentiment paper which coordinated well with it's vintage feel.  I chose to repeat the word idea and decided to cut a word for the accent. I wanted to highlight the warm blue color in the DSP so I chose Stampin Up Blue Bayou card stock. I cut an oval with the SU Sizzix Ovals die (retired). I then aligned it with the Tim Holtz WISH Mover Shaper magentic die and cut the word from it.  I then cut an identical oval from ivory to back it.  I adhered these together with quick dry adhesive.  I then cut a scallop oval from warm red card stock with the Spellbinder Nestabilities - #4 from the small oval set.  The wish accent was glued to this layer.  I applied 3D foam tape to the back.  I cut a piece of the same card stock as the card to 4.25 x .75 inches.  I placed 3 lengths of ivory cotton thread across it and taped the ends to the back.  I then adhered it to the card front. I adhered my WISH accent over the strip aligned to the left.  I tied a trio of short lengths of ivory cotton in the space I had left next to the red scallop oval. I trimmed the thread ends even. 

Check out the cards submitted and vote for your favorite.

Christmas Stack - Joy Background

I love this card.  When I saw this card stock background I just had to buy it.  I was not sure how I was going to use it but I just love the way this simple card turned out.  I color printed several images I designed onto vellum.  The strip is 2.75" wide.  Cut the white/kraft background to 3.75 x 5.00 inches.  I placed the vellum on the front of the background and folded over the top and bottom to the back.  I added several wraps of crochet cotton around this layer and tied a knot and trimmed the ends. This layer was then adhered to the front of a white card.





I included an ornament, an angel, a tree and a wreath in the set of cards.

You can find my Ready 2 Go Christmas kits here.