Monday, June 25, 2007

You Made a What?

What a busy time it has been! The Rockome National Counted Cross Stitch Show (NCCSS) ended yesterday. In spite of some bumps along the way, the show was a success! (Tessa asked about Rockome. It is a lovely garden in rural Illinois Amish country. Anyone interested in a detailed history of the garden can read about it here. Rockome's website is here.) There were over 200 show entries. Stitcher's Express did a wonderful job providing a shop at the show, in addition to their shop down the road in Mattoon. The vendors were great, too!

I took loads of pictures and I'll be sharing some of them in the coming days. I also brought home my fair share of new stash. Ok, maybe more than my fair share! I have a lot to share, but my goal today is to show you my latest finish. Actually it is my only finish since March!

Rita P. on the Rockome NCCSS Yahoo Group designed a fun chart for making a name tag. I stitched the design over one on a scrap of unknown fabric using DMC. In the end I didn't think I would enjoy wearing a name tag, so instead I devised something I'm calling a purse fob. (Hence the subject line!)

My purse fob is a pillow style ornament with a hanger that attaches with a button. I can button the fob to my purse and easily remove it as needed. Here are a few pictures. First, a front view of the fob.Isn't Rita's design cute? I love the pinks and greens! The colors inspired me to decorate the hanger a wee bit. I also made my very first handmade buttonhole. It was surprisingly easy to do and turned out much better than I expected. Here is the back:
Honestly I don't know what I was thinking when I centered this project on the piece of fabric. It left me no backing fabric! I did a lot of measuring and cutting and ended up making this center seam. It worked just fine until I sewed the bottom of the ornament closed in the wrong direction! Fortunately it was easy to rip out and resew.

Here is what the purse fob looks like on my purse. I think it's really cute!

Thanks to everyone for your nice comments about my yo-yo's. Nicole I saw the Clover yo-yo gadget demonstrated at the Rockome show in Susan Greening Davis' booth. You're right, it does make yo-yo's super easy. I passed on the yo-yo maker, but I know I'm going to need a circle cutter. I cut like a kindergartner! Sue asked - what do you do with a yo-yo? I think the answer is, anything you can dream up! Traditionally they were sewn together to make a quilt or coverlet. I like the idea of making a pillow cover with them, or using them with surface embroidery on bags and such. Waxing Moon used to have a design called Take Thyme that came with premade yo-yo's. The design used the yo-yo's as flowers and you stitched the stems and leaves. It was really cute!

Thanks also for your congratulations re: my 3rd place ribbon for Moonlight Stroll! It is a project I finished as a pillow. At the show it was displayed on the seat of a chair. There was no way to get my picture taken with it unless I crawled on the floor...so that's what I did! Yes, I have no shame. Here I am behind the ropes! (Or in this case it was chain...)

That's all for now. I want to show you the sweet gifts I received from Susie and more photos from the show. I also have a few redecoration pictures from home that need to be posted. They will have to wait for another day. I have a back ache today and this office chair isn't helping matters!

31 comments:

Anna van Schurman said...

Forget socks and biscornus, I predict purse fobs are the next big thing! (What the hell do I know? I am totally out of touch with the American people.) I think it's cute!

Congratulations on your prize!

Anonymous said...

Love the purse fob - the colours are lovely and the added decoration on the hanger is perfect. Definitely a new trend coming up :)
I love the photo of you and your prize winning pillow too - I would have done the same!
My LPS tell me that you can now get yo-you makers in the shape of a heart - I want one of those!!!

Sharon said...

Oh Chelle, this is just so pretty! and a very neat idea. I love the colors.

Anonymous said...

Your new purse fob is VERY clever! I love the button attachment, and the stitching across the hanger adds a great detail! What a fun finish!!

Katrina said...

Big congrats on your ribbon! Wonderful :-). I love your name tag too, what a great idea to add the button.

Dawn T. said...

The purse fob is so cute!

Carla said...

Congratulation for your ribbon!!!!!And your purse fob is adorable!!!!

Anonymous said...

Love the creative nametag!! Very inspiring!

Cindy said...

Congratulations on your win at Rockome! I wish that I could have made it down there for at least a day, but maybe next year!!

mainely stitching said...

What an adorable name fob! Fun picture of you behind the chain!

Rachel V said...

I love it Chelle!! Very cute idea and great job on the finishing. :)

Maddie Can Fly said...

I don't like nametags either so your idea is great! And congrats on your ribbon -- what fun to get to go to a show like that -- can't wait to see the stash you bought.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Love the purse fob :) That's how you find it right...look for the fob?! How CUTE!
And HURRAY for your ribbon!!

Jenna said...

Great idea, Chelle! I really like it and it turned out beautifully. :)

Anita said...

The purse fob is so cute..:) thank you for the enabling and love the pic of you and the beautiful pillow. Congrats.

Lelia said...

LOL -- you went under the chain for your photo!! Go you!! So nice to see you with your project wearing a beautiful ribbon.

Clever you Chelle! A purse decoration -- what an awesome idea. And you can transfer it to a tote or whatever ... excellent.

Looking forward to your 'new stash' pics, too. What will you work on next???

Michelle said...

The purse fob is adorable! And a wonderful alternative for a nametag. Congrats on your ribbon!

Terry said...

Congrats on the ribbon. I was at the show the first day and there were so many lovely designs there. You did fantastic!!

Lillie said...

Chelle,
Loved the purse fob. Its so lovely.
Congrads for your ribbon. A beautiful design and finishing.

Margaret said...

A purse fob?? - Love it!!!! I suggest you patent the idea right now because this is going to be a biggie.
Great picture of you and your prize winning pillow. Congrats on the ribbon.

Karin said...

Love the purse fob! It's super cute.

lena-lou said...

What a great idea for the purse fob, it really looks good on your bag. Nice to see a picture of you too :)
Enjoy your week!

stitcherw said...

I love the purse fob idea you came up with. The design did work up very cute (fun colors), and it looks adorable hanging on your purse like that.
Sue

Anonymous said...

I like the purse fob! And congrats again on your ribbon!!

Anonymous said...

I'm new here...love reading your blog..very fun to read! And am inspired by your work!

carol

Anonymous said...

Chelle,

Thanks for visiting my new blog! This is so much fun. Congrats on winning a ribbon at Rockome Gardens! I've been there...but not to the XS show! My aunt lives near to Rockome.
Your purse fob is adorable. Wow, I am getting all kinds of ideas now.

Jackie in UK said...

Lovely fob Chelle! Thank you for commenting over at my blog, I appreciate it!

Jackie xx

Hazel said...

That is really lovely. It looks really cute. xx

monique said...

It's been 2 months now since your last post (but who's counting?) and you must have done *something* blog-worthy by now...

:)

Shelleen said...

the purse fob is cute

Lelia said...

Hey Chelle -- dust off this blog & post something ... would ya????

LOL : )

Yeah, I'm rocking busy, too. Miss ya. Miss your humor & delightful posts.