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Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Apr16

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is a hibiscus tea, a beautiful ruby red color, made from Nigerian hibiscus blossoms. Good job hibiscus! This is a lovely, juicy, herbal blend with hints of berry and citrus flavors. And look at those strawberries! Yummy, and again, good job, and shout-out to Mother Nature!

Tuesday is also my “Junking Day”, which I of course love to do. We have several stores in town, that I visit monthly. Usually I don’t have a purpose other than to peruse, and see what treasures I can find. I think that this leaves the options open to all sorts of possibilities.

Here are some of last week’s finds, a cache of saltshakers that caught my eye. So, what can you do with saltshakers?

Fabric flowers, zipper flowers, rickrack flowers and Penny circle flowers
A variety of ideas…
Ribbonwork Flowers

Tips: Repurposing Saltshakers

First thing to do is to give them a little clean up. I usually just pop them into the dishwasher, and voila, all clean. If you find a particularly “grungy” one, then let it soak in hot water and soap, rinse it when clean, and let it air-dry.

If the top of the shaker is rusted, or dented and not usable, then remove it, and fill the vessels with flowers on wire stems. Here are some suggestions:

If the top is usable, then the holes can be used to position the bouquet in an arrangement.

  • I filled one of the saltshakers with mushrooms on wire stems. First remove the top, add the stems, then screw the top back on, and arrange the bouquet.
  • Stick hat-pins or floral-pins into paper flowers, then insert into the holes in the top.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar26

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is my old stand by, Earl Grey, black tea, good for bringing a smile on a gloomy, cloudy, day. Another old stand by that provides some needed cheering up, is pulling out my collection of vintage handkerchiefs. These are so dear, and I enjoy pulling them out and just imaging a past life-time when I would place one of these in my pocket book, along with my lipstick, and other dainty-lady’s needs.

Hanky and Lace Collage
Tea Cozy
Bella Fleur Mouchoir

Here are some pieces where I used some of my hanky collection, for my book Creative Embroidery Mixing the Old with the New. Often, people ask how can you use hankies? Well the book also covers that too, with projects and gallery pieces! Hanky and Lace Collage, is one of the Projects by Design, the Tea Cozy, is a Stash Project, and Bella Fleur Mouchoir, is a gallery piece.

Tips: Working with Hankies

  • Stabilize the hanky with an iron-on sheer-weight or light-weight interfacing.
  • Cut a hanky that has an embroidered pattern on 1 or all 4 corners into 4 sections.
  • For a hanky that has an allover pattern, cut off each corner, leaving a square in the middle that can also be used in a collaged base.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar19

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is raspberry zinger, as you can see from the tea stain on my mug. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and all is right with the world. And, after you read today’s post, you will probably chuckle and agree.

Today I bring you a story of lost and found while foraging for this and that….

I am sure all of us have walked into a room, and paused, wondering just what the point of the journey was. Or another example is foraging in your fabric stash (mine is 40 boxes strong in the closet behind me), looking for that special scrap or section of fabric you knew, I mean really KNEW was in that box that you looked into the day before, or was it last week?

Today’s journey started with a song that Neil Diamond was singing, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore. With a smile, I looked at the bunch on the table that my hubby had brought home the day before, lovely sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and those funky green things. Then I was looking at the crazy-pieced block hanging on my mood board, and thought sunflowers, yes! that is what it needs. So, I found some porcelain sunflower, rose, and bee buttons that I thought would be just right. Then I was thinking about the embroidered sunflower and bee I had stitched, for my book, Hand Embroidery Dictionary. So I pulled out the samplers and there it was, the embroidered Alphabet Sampler that I had been looking for, last week, that was supposed to have been in a folder for a new class proposal.

Tip: Serendipity, enjoy it, celebrate it, and let inspiration come in the quiet moments of reflection.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Mar5

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is Darjeeling black tea, it has a nice citrus/fruity flavor, and tastes a little milder than some of my other black teas. I have been decorating for spring, and brought out my collection of vintage French beaded wire flowers. These are so lovely, and I treasure the few that I have.

Today I want to touch on a subject that I think many of us can relate to. Mainly the “voice of criticism in our head” that either stops us from creating, learning, or doing something different. Often criticism, no matter how gently delivered can live in our heads for a long time.

Photo credit: Diane Herbort

I was teaching a seminar on Embroidering Within the Lines, at the Houston Quilt Festival in the fall of 2023. The table was laden with samplers my from books and classes, and my friend Diane who was helping me, took this image of the table. It was a fun seminar to teach, and the audience seemed to learn quite a bit.

During one of the presentations, I had a member of the audience say, what does the back of the embroidered piece look like. I showed her the back, and she said, “OH”, (with disappointment), and went on to say “it is just as messy as mine, as my mom pointed out”. I was a little taken aback, but she went on to explain “that it doesn’t look like the front”.

front of blanket stitch sample
back of blanket stitch example

This is a common question, and misconception that I would like to address today. The front of the embroidery stitch, rarely will look like the back, due to the way the stitch is formed, as shown in the examples above. I can think of only two stitches that will look the same both front and back, the first is the satin stitch, which is a series of closely worked straight stitches. The other is a quilted or running stitch which is a series of straight stitches worked along a row.

Tip: This is a simple one, think about how the criticism was offered. Did you learn something? Do you work better because of the comments? Or, is it the opposite, and does that keep you from doing something that you may enjoy? The voice may have had a purpose then, but does it now? You decide.

If you would like to learn more about embroidery, and the specifics I have an on-line class that I teach on Creative Spark, called, Hand Embroidery Basics and Beyond.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Jan9

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Happiest of New Years to you all. Tea today, was a choice between the Italian Chamomile and the Ambrosia Plum. I am wearing a wonderful fuzzy jacket my daughter gave me for Christmas that matches the plum tin, so my decision was easy!

I think that we all believe in new beginnings in January. We consider what we can do differently, make things better, easier, or even more challenging. I recently read an article in American Quilter Magazine that spoke to me. Basically the resolution was to make doable, and productive changes. I totally agree. Here are my thoughts.

Tips: New Year’s Resolutions

  • Throw out bent straight pins. Well duh, why do we keep those in the box?
  • Change the blade on your rotary cutter/s, and take your scissors in to have them sharpened. Good to do in January, then you won’t have to try an remember when the last time it was that you did that.
  • Clean your sewing machine, or have it serviced. Again, good to do once a year.
  • Sort out and take an inventory your sewing threads, see if you are missing any colors that you use often. Make a list, and when you next head out to the store, you will be prepared.
  • Make a list of UFO’s, numbering them in order of almost finished, half-way finished, still in flux, etc. Put these in a box, with the items that it will take to complete them. Give yourself the time to work on these a few times a month. No pressure to finish one or all of them, just give yourself the time.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Nov21

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today, is a cup of spiced masala chai tea. Rich, warm, and just right for the season. I am sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying the decorations that I put up a few weeks ago.

Here is a peak into more of the directions that I put up a few weeks ago. I really love to use owls, as we have barn owls in the neighborhood, and you can hear them talking to each other at night.

I also, of course love to use pumpkins, which come in all kinds of colors, and materials.

Here is a close-up of the Oliver the Owl pattern that you can find here. The mushrooms are a gallery piece that I created for one of my books.

My tip today is simple, enjoy this week with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving Week to You! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

Oct3

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

tea on tuesday

Tea today, is actually a cup of hazelnut coffee. I am sitting here enjoying the early fall weather, it was down in the 50’s this morning when I woke up. I am so excited today, as it is that time of year to get out my collection of fall decorations!

We are all busy, I get it! It is hard enough to dust, let alone decorate. But I think giving your home a “mini make-over” each holiday can be fun. I know that it makes me happy, and I bet it will do the same for you!

Tips:

  • Set aside a dedicated space for holiday displays.
  • Use small groups of collections and treasures to create a theme.
  • Work one a room at a time, this way you can work at your own pace, and over several days if needed.
  • Work slowly, with a purpose, and enjoy the process.

Happy tea drinking, decorating and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays is taking a break…..

May23
coffee break

I have enjoyed posting this weekly installment on my blog, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading them, however I think that it is time to take a much needed break… This year has flown by for me, and I frankly have no idea how it became May 23, 2023.

I started the year, upgrading my teaching skills, to this century, and learning how to navigate the process of “video-style” learning. I created a class for Creative Spark, Upcycle it with Embellishments, and enjoyed the entire process.

I spent February through April of this year, promoting my newest book, Creative Embroidery, Mixing the Old with the New. I was able to have many friends involved in the series of blog posts that I wrote for C&T’s blog, as well as my own. In addition my newest line of Embroidery Stencils, Crazy Quilt Seam Designs debuted in March. I designed a Free Project, and wrote a series of blog posts to help introduce the readers, to this product.

I also created a lecture and class for C&T’s symposium, Embroidery Extravaganza, which was held on a Zoom platform, May 11, 2023. I needed to learn even more “tech skills”, which was a bit scary at times. Throughout the process I began to realize how much I needed to learn, and that this was going to be a challenge, as well as a humbling experience, due to my lack of tech-savvy knowledge.

That being said I have new projects on the horizon, that I will need to spend time on, and turn my focus to these. I will not be posting on Tips and Tea on Tuesdays for the summer, and probably through the fall. I will also be cutting back on my other two weekly posts, but may occasionally install a Friday’s Favorite, or a Slow Stitchin’ on Sunday Mornings entry.

New things to look forward to:

  • I will be giving a series of short lectures for the Quilt Festival Long Beach, July 8, 2023.
  • I will be creating a series of embroidery classes for Creative Spark this summer, and will update you all on the availability of these classes.
  • I have a new product coming out, Periodic Table of Embroidery Stitches Poster, available for pre-order through C&T Publishing, and will debut in stores after September 24, 2023.
  • I will be giving a series of short lectures for the Quilt Festival Houston, November 2-5, 2023.
  • I am writing an article for AQS Magazine, which will be featured in the March 2024 publication.
  • I am also working on a new product, that will be available next year, June 2024. Details will follow.
  • Lastly, I am also working on my next book, this will be available sometime in 2025. Details will follow.

Tips:

Be kind to yourself, be fair, and understand your limits.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you, I have enjoyed meeting and talking to you all! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

May16

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

may flowers

Tea today, is a nice soft green jasmine tea. Lovely aroma, and it is so nice to drink it from this lovely vintage tea cup that my friend Jeri gave to me many years ago. Pictured here are the flowers that my guy bought me for Mother’s Day, and vintage iron that my daughter bought for me. The lovely tablecloth belonged to my grandmother.

Tip:

Today’s tip is another simple one, treasure your past, present, and leave something for the future.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.

Tips and Tea on Tuesdays

May9

On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea and Blue Kitty

Tea today, is a cup of Jo, in a cup that I am feeling is really important today. It is hard to listen to the news, and understand that there are people who are full of so much hate. I personally am blessed, I love my husband, we have a great relationship. We have a beautiful daughter. We have a wonderful family.

Today my Tips are simple ones:

Think of small ways that will make someone you love happy.

  • Be kind.
  • Smile.
  • Say thank you.
  • Enjoy the moment.
  • Listen.
  • Laugh.

I know that these are sometimes hard to achieve, but a little encouragement may be all that you need, I know that it helps me.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.