Inktober 2026 - Day 02

Inktober 2026 - Day 02

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper with Staedtler super fine black marker and watercolor.

Flowers is one of my categories so I drew an Echinacea flower aka cone flower.

Generally, pink in color with a large center and petals facing downward.

I am happy with my background wash. 

 

Needle Minders

I decided to make some needle minders for Christmas Store.  

Needle minders are a tool that allows you to park your needle when you stop working on your stitching and not have it go missing.  We all have been there. They have a powerful rare earth magnet in them that it needs to be kept away from electronics, kids and pets.

I did try several approaches which involved placing the magnet in fabric but it lessened it's effectiveness to much for my liking.  I then did a deep dive in my metal storage bins to see what was there.  It yielded some goodies. Of course, some of the metal I had was not steel and was not attracted to the magnet at all.

How to Use the Needle Minder: Placing the magnet against the front fabric of your project just place the other on the back of your fabric. When leaving your stitching for a bit just place your needle in the center of the minder and it will be there when you get back.

Packaged it in cellophane and stapled on a header.

For this minder I chose 2 identical metal flowers in a bronze color.

I glued the rare earth magnet to the front one and let that dry over night.

With the magnet just behind the front flower the head pin stays in place nicely.  I chose head pins as I have plenty in supply but needles were more precious.

Here I chose some Aida cloth and stitched a frame with yellow thread.

I added a head pin in the same color.

For this minder I chose a metal snowflake.

I glued the 1/4 in rare earth magnet to the back and let it dry over night.

I spent some time designing the backs for these unmatched pieces.  I settled on a large circular brad I had in my paper crafting supplies.

I searched through my button collection to find buttons that would fit tightly in the cup on the back of the brad.  I glued the button in place and let it dry over night.

I cut a piece of ivory Aida cloth and stitched a red square frame and paired it with a red head pin.  The backer has a red button.

I used another bronzed colored metal snowflake for this minder.

I glued the rare earth magnet in the center of the snowflake. The sparkly in the center is the glue coming through the holes in the center.

The backer was created with a gold brad and a creamy ivory button which was glued in place Both piece were left to dry over night.

I stitched a frame in ivory thread on my Aida cloth which does not show up very well. 

I paired it with a pearl head pin.

For this needle minder I chose gold colored metal hearts. I glued a magnet in the back of the front one.  I also added a short string of beads through the hole at the top which helps with separating the minder.

I glued the rare earth magnet to the front beaded heart.  Since both piece are the same the beads let you know which has the magnet. I let the glue dry over night.

I chose a piece of printed linen for this one.  I stitched a frame in warm peach colors to coordinate with the beads. I chose a warm orange head pin.

For this needle minder I paired a couple of bronze colored metal brads.  The front one I trimmed the long prongs leaving space for the 1/4" rare earth magnet. I glued it in place.

The back one I glued a brown button in place and left both to dry over night.

I chose a piece of warm grey linen fabric and stitched a narrow frame in black thread. I  added a box in the lower half for the minder.

I added a black head pin.

Card - Slow Stitching - Flower

I created a yellow based free motion stitched background with brown thread.

I appliqued a yellow flower to the front of the background with brown thread and the running stitch.  I then added a dark brown center to the flower held in place with running stitch and French Knots.

I stitched the fabric art piece to the front of a dark brown A2 card base.

I used a bit of Inktense paint with a dry brush to add contrast to the edges of the petals and some color to the leaf.

I put a half sheet insert to cover the stitching on the inside.  An ivory envelope finished off the card.

It is off to a special person celebrating a big birthday.

Card - Painted Fabric

 I created this card on a piece of white cotton fabric which I invisible basted to a foundation layer of white cotton.  I drew the flower with the Pigma Micron Archival Pen in black nib size 08.

I heat set it with a hot dry iron before painting it.

I used my Inktense paint to color the background and the flower.  The color blending with the background adds charm and is unavoidable.

Once dry the Inktense painting was heat set with a hot dry iron.

I then stitched the painting to a Perfect Plum A2 card base with a half sheet insert and a white envelope.  

Sitting in my card box.

Vintage Spool Gift Items

I have decided to work with my collection of wooden spools to make gift items for the Christmas store.

Here is a cute little flower in a wrapped spool.

I added a bit of green yarn for leaves.

A brown circle on the top of the spool for dirt and a black one on the bottom to protect the surface it sits on.

I will be able to use some of my lighter twisted stems that did not work for the bigger flowers.

There is hints of raspberry in the flower so I used a scrap of fabric to wrap the middle of the spool.

I found a small jig in my wire box which I was grateful was still there after the decluttering before the move.

It was perfect to create a small flower from 26 gauge wire. I chose navy and wrapped and tightened. Pulling the 2 ends down into a twisted stem which I just did by hand with a skewer at the end.  I sewed 2 yellow buttons to the center.

I folded the twisted stem at the right height and then folded it again on itself to fit into the hole of the spool. I wrapped the middle with yellow cotton topped with a strip of navy cotton and stitched it in place.

Brown dirt circle on the top and black on the bottom.  I added a set of green yarn leaves to the stem. 

I used my purple wire pin jig again to create a pink flower from 26 gauge wire.

I created a twisted stem again. 

Folded the stem and pushed it into the center of the spool which made it quite secure.

I sewed small purple buttons on both sides of the center.

I added a piece of bright purple fabric folded in half leaving the fuzzy edges at the top.  It was stitched closed then wraps were added around to provide some highlight.

Brown dirt circle on the top and black on the bottom.  I added a set of green yarn leaves to the stem. 

This is copper wire from a motor or something.  It had crusty bits that had to be removed but easily flaked off.

I doubled it because it was thinner than the colored wire I used earlier.

I added olive green fabric scrap to the middle of the spool sewed closed with orange thread then some wraps to add interest.

I added orange buttons to the center back and front with embroidery floss.

Brown dirt circle on the top and black on the bottom.  I added a set of green yarn leaves to the stem. 

I chose to make a yarn flower for this little spool.

I used the same jig I used for the wire but made it a wee bit bigger because the strands will shrink when taken off pressure.

I chose some thin red yarn with sparkly accents in blue and gold.

I chose some yellow crochet cotton to bind the petals together and make the center of the flower at the same time.

I chose a scrap of navy linen to cover the middle of the spools stitched on with red thread.

Brown dirt circle on the top and black on the bottom.  I added a set of green yarn leaves to the stem.

Here we go!

Fabric Flower - White Tulle with Hot Pink Accents

I made a flower to coordinate with my Hot Pink Vase Wrap.

The white tulle was cut to .75 wide and 4.5 inches long.  I put 65 of them onto a 1.75" metal ring with half hitch knots. Then I added 5 hot pink lengths of frilly yarn. That took a long time.

I punched a 2" heavy cardstock circle to create the support for the wire stem.  I stitched the gold twisted wire onto the card stock.  

I then placed a layer of batting and the hot pink cotton fabric to create the center of the flower.  I stitched these layers from the back with heavy thread over the covered ring. 

I then stitched a hot pink fabric circle on the back to cover the wire and stitching. 

2026 Slow Stitching Project - Page 12 - F2

I am following K3N Cloth Tales' slow stitch project for 2026. We are doing from A to Z where she chooses the first one and the community chooses the second one.

The community choice was Found Object. I chose this yellow button as my Found Object then created a Funky Flower around it. I chose a variety of threads from my ORTS box and made each petal a different color. I added a green stem and leaves.  

Then I added a Frame in purple with the chain stitch.  I added several rows of stitching around the Found Object in the center of the Flower.

You will notice the Frayed edge of the linen Fabric on which I am stitching. All good!

Cards - A7 - Die Cuts

Another few cards today.  Again, A7 (5.25x7.25 inch) envelopes.

I started with an ivory card base.  I cut a piece of textured turquoise card stock to leave a small border.  

I cut a Tim Holtz Cameo Frame die cut from left over Stampin Up More Mustard card stock from yesterday's session. Trimmed a piece of watercolor designer paper to fit the middle of the die cut. 

The floral accent is a large daisy punchie in turquoise, topped with a small More Mustard one held in place with a turquoise mini brad. 

The cabinet die cut was then adhered to the turquoise layer with 2 more blue mini brads top and bottom.

I added the finishing border with a warm grey colored pencil and also added lines on the large daisy die cut.  A white insert and an ivory envelope to finish it off.

For this card the base is SU Tempting Turquoise card stock in 12x12. 

I used the negative piece from the Cameo Frame die cut to layer onto the card front leaving a tiny border. 

I placed a piece of the watercolor designer paper behind the More Mustard layer. 

I cut a Sizzix Leaf Stem die cut from warm green card stock then embellished it would pencil crayons. I cut a couple more leaves and added them below the opening.

I added a pencil crayon line along the inside of the die cut in a warm grey.

A white insert and an ivory envelope were added.

For this card, I chose a warm green card base. 

I ripped left over card stock in the More Mustard and the Tempting Turquoise and layered them with a piece of the watercolor designer paper.

I cut a flower with the Sizzix Flower Daisy #4 die from turquoise card stock.  I glued it to the front of the card with Scotch Quick Dry adhesive.

I added some texture to the flower with colored pencils. 

I mounted a tiny button in the center of the flower with a Bling Zot.

A white insert and an ivory envelope completes the card.

Slow Stitching - Extra Squares

Another extra square of slow stitching. I have used up the supplies I had packed for being away so I will have to dig out some more.

White cotton top layer on a foundation piece.  I did not learn my lesson about now covering the front with fabric as well which makes for a thick piece.  In all fairness, I did not have a plan when I started.

I chose strips of purple fabric in various patterns. I stitched the horizontal lines first in running stitch with purple thread from the ORTS tin.

Then I did the vertical ones with bright pink thread. Along the way I had found the lace flower I had dyed a while back and decided to use it.

I tacked it in place then added a purple circle which I over cast stitched to the piece. Then I added a lot of French Knots in yellow in the middle of that.  That was very thick with 4 layers of fabric.  Turned out nice.

Slow Stitching - Extra Squares

Sewing Group

I have joined a group who meets to do sewing the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

The last group shut down when the pandemic hit and our leader moved away.

I got a call in early October to attend the first meeting. We brainstormed who we could find from the old group to invite? What was the purpose of the group? When were we going to meet? 

A women's group. Tradition quilting is the focus but all are welcome with whatever project they are working on.

We will meet from 10 to 12 Noon then have lunch together for fellowship.

I missed the last meeting due to commitments here at home and made it for a bit of lunch. 

Today, was our third meeting and fortunately I was able to attend.  With most of my stuff packed I brought my slow stitching.  The 2024 challenge will produce 53 pieces about I think I need 56 for the project so there is room for a few free lance pieces.  I pull some fabric bits, some foundation pieces, my tools box and the floss box and a bit of lunch and headed out.  It was a great time. Three of the ladies are working on their own traditional quilting projects, another brought knitting and me with my slow stitching. We shared our projects and then 3 of us had lunch together it was great.

I cut my foundation pieces 5.5 inches square from white cotton - top white and the bottom stained. I brought pink fabric scraps and some green.  I cut the petals and leaves, pinned the pieces and stitched them down. Added the yellow center circle with running stitch and French Knots. I added blue seed stitches to the upper part of the background then some green below.  A bit of a brown strip at the bottom. I think it was supposed to be ground but now it's just a random element/.

Slow Stitching - No. 046 - Kantha Motifs

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

This week's prompt Nakshi Kantha Motifs which is part 2 of last week's Kantha Stitches.

I chose the fish as my motif.  I drew a circle which I stitched in black stem stitch. Then added my 2 fishes going around in it.  The central element is a lotus flower reflected.

I chose two different shades of green threads and alternated them on each fish.  

I used blue thread and seed stitches for inside the circle.

I used the Double Running Stitch in blues for the background quilting stitches. Alternating with single running stitches in darker blue. 

Oil Diffusers - Travel Case - Set 1

Blue Bird of Happiness - This diffuser features a bluebird sitting on a branch applique with stitched flower in the upper left corner. The back is a light blue denim with a blue felt drop, a loop and hanger. 

Blanket stitched all the way around to kept both layers together.  All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Embrace Life - This diffuser features layered felt flowers with a dark center which would work well for a spot to place the essential oil.  The flowers were appliqued to green felt using running stitch and long stitches. The leaf was stitched in place first with the flowers overlapping it.  The back on this one is light mustard linen fabric with a brown drop, green loop and a hanger.

Again, blanket stitch all the way around. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Be Happy - A happy face is always fun and uplifting. I used a white felt background for good contrast. I cut the yellow circle then used a hole lunch to create the eyes then filled them with black felt circles. These were stitched in place. The smile was stitched in stem stitch then a satin stitch on the outer edge.  That took a long time.  I used a piece of quilting cotton in coordination colors for the back.  The edge of the cotton is folded over before stitching to provide a finished edge. The back has a yellow loop and felt drop and a hanger.

Blanket stitched all the way around the perimeter with yellow embroidery cotton. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Wine O'Clock - I  hope that I have conveyed the message clearly enough with the clock in a wine glass. I chose a bright red felt for the background then cut a white circle for the clock. Black French Knots do for the numbers and then I stitched the hands.  I then stitched the wine glass in grey thread to represent glass but maybe black would have been better.   The back is a grey fabric to coordinate with the grey on the front.  A black loop,a red felt drop and a hanger on the back. 

Again, blanket stitched all the way around with red thread. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

For overall information you can check  Oil Diffusers - Hand Stitched Original Designs with Travel Case.

Card - Sympathy - Watercolor Flower

A sympathy card for a friend who recently lost her husband.  He has been ill for a while.

I cut a piece of mixed media paper to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.

I loosely sketched the flower and leaves with my 4H pencil. I wet the paper and added the background in blue at the top and green on the bottom. 

I then a painted the flower with an orange and the leaves with sap green.

Once dry I erase the pencil marks and added the spatter marks in blue.

Once that was dry, I stamped the sentiment with my black Versafine pad and a stamp from the Simple Sketched set.

I then mounted the painting to a Kiwi Kiss A2 card base.  With a quarter sheet insert and a white envelope it was ready for pressing.  It will be mailed shortly. 

Slow Stitching - Embellishments to Book Bags

I went back and revisited my book bags and chose embellishments for some of the earlier ones. 

1. I added a dragonfly charm on a peice of blue felt

2. An orange cloth flower on a blue bag.

3. A yellow and green circle accent for the masculine striped one.

4. Just a bit of a strip of turquoise fabric with stitching for the first one I made.

You will see that I have added a "My Bag" tag to each of them as well.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

We had a snow storm this week.  

It was blowing and snowing pretty hard.

I can barely see the building one street over  through the snow.

I did purchase a fabric marker from Walmart because I wanted one to create designs for embroidery which will wash out after the stitching is done.

Then just after I bought at retail I found this set of markers at Restore.  

I have plenty for my needs now for my slow stitching.

I found this Clover Kanzashi Flower Maker Pointed Petal small at Goodwill this week.

I was wanting to make flowers to decorate my bags and thought this would work well.

It does work well but the flowers are quite small.

Once I understood the concept I could make a large one with out the gadget.

At the same time my sister was looking for something similar.

You can check out the method and flower she made in this post.

I have made flowers both ways and it works quite well.  The pentagon flower requires quite light fabric as it needs to bunch a lot to make the petals.

Card - Slow Stitching - A Rose

It's a rose!

I found this heavy cotton fabric at the ReUse Center. I cut it to size finding a nice composition.

I highlighted the stamens and a few of the petals.

Mounted with double sided tape onto a Stampin Up Tip Top Taupe A2 card base.

Adding a quarter sheet insert and an envelope it is headed to the card box for now.

 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The second Sunday of Advent and lighting the PEACE candle.

The second Advent candle reminds us of Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before Mary gave birth to Jesus. 

This second candle recalls that after all of the division, destruction, and dispersion of the kingdom in the Old Testament, there might finally be peace on Earth – Jesus is coming, and so is his Kingdom of Peace. 

So fitting for our world today.

On Sunday I attended the Steve Bell concert with my sister and brother-in-law.  They have seen him 2 times before and this was my first time.

The Alliance Church was about 80% full. His concert in Calgary was a sell out.

The music was good, the company was great and it was a wonderful evening.  Driving home late at night was made better by the fact that there was no snow or ice and the temperature hovered just about 0C.

We had supper at Swiss Chalet before the concert which is the first time in nearly 4 years that I have eaten there.  The food was delicious as always.

I bought this book a couple of months ago for .50 cents.  It was after I had started with my Inktober challenge and I recognized that I needed to improve my drawing so I could do better ink and watercolor pieces.

I read the first 5 chapters.  That is the basics, now I will have to read and to exercises so that is no longer bed time reading.

I will have to get a sketch book and work on this.

When I was at the reception for the Christmas Store there was a table which had not been filled when I visited earlier with my friend.

The pieces were glass which is my weakness. There were small glass pieces made by Joe DeWitte.  There was a gorgeous acorn but it was less versatile than this small golden yellow flower.  Check out those tiny perfect water drops in the center of the flower. 

I still have to decide how I will display and use it but it means I can have flowers on my table all year long.

Totally happy!

I decided to revisit Greenland Garden Center this week. What a difference 5 weeks makes.  The shoppe was so empty compared to when I last visited.  They have moved a huge amount of inventory in that time.

I was truly amazed.

There was still a nice collection of Christmas decor to make a few shots possible.

The fresh flowers and plants were really nice.  Check out that Christmas cactus.

On Saturday I went to my aunt's house to make our traditional meat pies called tourtieres.

The meat is a mix of beef and pork with potatoes and onions then slowly cooked with wonderful spices.

She made a double batch of pastry dough and we made 8 small pies. The bit larger ones are for her and the 4 smaller ones for me. They turned out really great.  She froze enough meat to make a large pie when she is ready to host her family.  

We had omelette for lunch with no alcohol white wine and had a great visit.  It was a great day.

I attended the Women's Christmas event at church this week.  It was a small group with a wide age range.

It was a last minute thing.  I just got the details a couple of days earlier. 

There were a few ladies I had visits with which was wonderful.  There was snack food and games.  Minute to win it games went on for a long time and there was drama between a few of the participants which showed some immaturity. Disappointing.

There were wonderful door prizes. I chose this jam set with beautiful small jars, a plate and spoon.  Fig, apricot, orange, raspberry and black cherry are a few of the flavors.

Sticky Note Holders - Photos

I decided to make Sticky Note Holders as small gifts this year.  I wanted to use photos if at all possible.  I did some brainstorming with my sister and came up with this idea.

Square photos I have!

I had sticky notes in blue, green and pink so I selected my photos based on those colors.  I choose flowers but also other stuff from my previous nature photo calendars. 

I chose designer card stock in smooth colors so that it would not clash with the photos.

I designed my photos with a black border all the way around wider than I need it.  I printed two 3x3 photos on a 4x6 with Christmas greetings in the extra inch.  This will allow me to trim the photos as I see fit and not worry too much about whether the border is same on each photo.

I decided to go with a pocket design so the front would be clear of any closure.  This makes the most of the photo on the front.

I did end up adding a tab to the back sheet cause in some cases it was a bit hard to pull the sticky note out of the pocket.  

This also ensures that the sticky note is always put into the pocket sealed side first which is the tightest.  Once a few sheets are taken it will be easy to pull the pad from the pocket.

I used my Stampin Up Round Tab punch.  Punched the shape from the scraps, scored it down the middle, tape on both sides, aligned to the edge and press down. 

Turns out the tab should be in the center which makes pulling the pad out even and therefore easier.  Some are not quite in the center.

It looks very nice.

When the sticky notes are gone you can just add another pad onto the last sheet and start all over again.

This holder makes having notes handy in your purse or briefcase.  It keeps the note corners square, the notes stuck to the pad, and easy to find.

It looks nice on your desk by providing a pretty something to look at instead of boring notes.

It took a couple of tries to get the box right.  The bottom tabs need to fold from side to bottom.  If the tabs are folded bottom to top they interfere with the sliding of the pad of notes in the holder.  I had to sleep on that problem but woke up in the morning with the best way to make them.

Having a score tool was essential for this project. The bottom tab is 3/8" as that is the width of the pad. I used quick dry adhesive to glue all the tabs.

It took a bit to find a way to add just a bit of looseness.  I added a smidge on the side scores which allows just enough space.  I glued the box with the pad inside to that I could adjust a very bit when I glued the side tab.

I used double sided tape to adhere the trimmed photo to the holder front.

Cards - Exchange

My August exchange cards are ready!

Again, I am using 4x4 inch photos from my 4x6 photo calendars.

I believe this is a strawberry flower with morning dew.  I would have taken it at the Community Garden.

I chose a Handsome Hunter card base.  

I cut a Stampin Up Lattice die in white.  I adhered it behind the flower photo allowing only a portion of it to show on the bottom.  

I added small yellow handmade paper flowers, white flower sequins and black tiny brads on the intersections of the die cut.

I then adhered this layer to the front of the card base, added a quarter sheet insert on the right hand panel and a white envelope.

Excellent.

My next card features a Queen Anne Lace flower which I would have taken in Ontario when visiting my sister.

The colors on this one were warmer so I chose a white card base.

I cut the SU Lattice die from a warm green textured card stock.  I split the diecut in two and placed one half on top and bottom of the photo.  The diecut was taped to the back of the photo then the layer was adhered to the card front.

The photo needed a bit of something so I used my fine black marker and added a dash frame all the way around the photo.

The photo has been trimmed to about 3.5 inches square.

I added a white quarter sheet insert and a white envelope and it is ready!

Card - Watercolor - Echinacea

I watercolored another flower for a birthday card.

I wanted to find another flower so I searched for an image.  This is an Echinacea or Cone Flower.  After making a light pencil tracing I used my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  

I wet the paper very well then dabbed a bit of Night of Navy and Not Quite Navy at the top of the paper and Always Artichoke and Old Olive on the bottom half.

I used Rich Razzleberry in several different intensities from light to more intense at the bottom of the petals. The petals have 3 to five layers on them. The centers are Daffodil Delight and More Mustard with a brown created.  Then, I used Always Artichoke and some Old Olive on the stems. I used an ultra fine Micron 005 black permanent marker to outline the flowers and stems.

Once it was dry, I adhered it to a A2 Rich Razzleberry card base with the fold at the top. I added a narrow strip of Always Artichoke card stock across the stems on the bottom. I then added a circle greeting with pink words and brushed the edges with the Always Artichoke ink pad.  It was placed just off center. I used a wet brush and clear water to soften the color.   I added a quarter sheet insert.