• About…
  • Beautiful Art Books…
  • Beautiful Inspirational Books…

Satin & Sand

~ Reflections on Beauty

Satin & Sand

Category Archives: Crafts

Beautiful Atomic Habits and Needlepoint Projects…

16 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Crafts, Design, Needlepoint, Sewing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Atomic Habits, beautiful, Elizabeth Bradley, James Clear, Needlepoint

Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound and turn into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years. – James Clear

I began the needlepoint project, pictured above, in October. It is entitled Hedgerow, from Elizabeth Bradley’s Natural History Collection. After I started working on it, I realized that it would take me about a year to complete due to the size of the canvas, the number of color changes (24 different colors of tapestry wool!), and the amount of time I had to devote to it – typically on a catch-as-catch-can approach. It usually takes me about three months to finish a needlepoint, so this one was a bit daunting by comparison. I knew I had to just get on with it. The needlepoint wasn’t going to get done by itself, but I wasn’t sure how to speed up the process.

However, last month I read James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, after which I decided to make some changes to my morning routine. I now get up an hour earlier every morning to work on my needlepoint. The needlepoint canvas and wool are laid out on the sofa ready for me to pick up in the morning so I am able to start working right away – no set-up time is required. This activity may or may not be accompanied by a podcast or new music stream or just thinking about how I am going to structure my day to get the tasks done on my to do list.

Although it is still early with my new habit formation, I have to report that I am thrilled with my progress! I only complete a tiny square of stitches each day but I can see that over the last few weeks these tiny squares are accumulating nicely and the textile will, indeed, be completed by the summer – probably four months earlier than my projected finish date! Yay! (I will still have to sew it into a pillow, but that is another story.)

I have so many textile, studio art, and home improvement projects in the works that I have been somewhat frustrated (more like overwhelmed) wondering how I am going to get them all done. This needlepoint project is only one positive data point, but I plan to apply this process to the other projects and I am looking forward to the results!

Five Beautiful Tips on how to Upcycle Clothing…

29 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Crafts, Design, Fashion, Sewing, Tips, Upcycling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

beautiful, Five tips, Sewing, Upcycling

© Joan Currie – From blouse to bag. Simplicity pattern #2685, style D.

Upcycle definition: reuse discarded objects or material in such as way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.

Last summer, I made a last minute purchase of a blouse to wear at a family celebration. Although I liked the fabric, it never really fit me properly despite my best tailoring efforts to salvage it. Yesterday, when I needed a black bag to go with an outfit, I thought it was time to put the blouse to a better use. I am happy with the result and thought I would share some upcycling and sewing tips:

  1. Source the fabric for your project from your clothes or family and friends’ donation boxes, garage sales, and thrift stores. Look for the largest sizes to yield the most fabric yardage.
  2. Be resourceful and don’t limit yourself to just clothing: wraps, and even sheets. drapes, and tablecloths can work well.
  3. Find a simple sewing pattern that will be easy to modify. I had found Simplicity pattern #2685 on Etsy. It required more fabric than what I could harvest from the blouse, so I decided to use a different, but complementary, fabric from my quilt stash for the lining. The lining fabric I selected wasn’t quite wide enough, but by decreasing the size of the lining pleats by a little, I got it to fit.
  4. Be creative by adding embellishments such as buttons and piping on the outside placard to make the bag truly your own. In this case, the fabric was so busy, I decided to eliminate the decorative placard all together.
  5. Don’t be afraid to mix and match pattern pieces from the various styles within the pattern package to meet your needs. I usually lengthen the straps, add an interior pocket for my phone, and attach a carabiner for my car and house keys.

There you have it. Happy Upcycling! xo

Simplicity pattern #2685 D.

Beautiful Christmas Gift Tags…

18 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Birds, Christmas, Crafts, Reflections

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Andy Rooney, Birds, Christmas, Gift giving, gift tags, Reflections, watercolor

© Joan Currie. My watercolor birds as gift tags.

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day.
Don’t clean it up too quickly.
Andy Rooney

When you are finally cleaning up the mess of ribbons and wrapping paper, be sure to save some of the gift tags. I treasure the ones I have collected since I was a child. My mother loved to use the front of beautiful note cards with images of winter such as those by Cornelius Kriegoff, A. J. Casson, and Roy McMurtry. She had beautiful penmanship and always wrote a sweet note to go along with the present. I especially love the gift tags given to me from my daughters – their early attempts at printing “Mommy” and their names are delightful!

Last year my gift tag theme was Christmas trees, but this year I decided to go with birds. I hope one of my children continues my tradition of not only saving the tags but of creating them as well.

Beautiful Winter Robin…

07 Wednesday Dec 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Birds, Christmas, Crafts, Poetry, Red, Winter

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

beautiful, Birds, Christmas, Elizabeth Bradley, Needlepoint, Robin, Walter de la Mare, Winter

© Joan Currie. Christmas Robin needlepoint I stitched.


Winter by Walter de la Mare

Clouded with snow
The cold winds blow,
And shrill on leafless bough
The robin with its burning breast
Alone sings now.

The rayless sun,
Day’s journey done,
Sheds its last ebbing light
On fields in leagues of beauty spread
Unearthly white.


Thick draws the dark,
And spark by spark,
The frost-fires kindle, and soon
Over that sea of frozen foam
Floats the white moon.


I have been noticing robins on the branches of fruit trees on my walks through the neighborhood. Although the robin is usually thought of as a harbinger of spring, the December robin makes a delightful Christmas herald!

Home for Christmas…

23 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Christmas, Humber River, I'll be Home for Christmas, Michael Bublé, Old Mill Bridge, Toronto

© David Dodds – Old Mill Bridge, Toronto

I am dreaming tonight of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it’s a long road back
I promise you 

I’ll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.
from I’ll be Home for Christmas by Gannon, Kent, and Ram
sung here by Michael Bublé 

Best wishes to those who have been in lockdown and have perhaps spent too much time at home this year.
And Godspeed to those finding their way home in time for Christmas.

Finding time…

20 Sunday Dec 2020

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography, Reflections

≈ Comments Off on Finding time…

Tags

Art, Creativity, Georgia O'Keeffe, Photography, Reflections

© James Currie

To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage. – Georgia O’Keeffe

Grateful for a day dedicated to my creative pursuits…

Christmas in reflection…

25 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Satin & Sand in Crafts, Photography, Reflections, Relationships

≈ Comments Off on Christmas in reflection…

Tags

A Child's Christmas in Wales, Christmas, Christmas Day, Dylan Thomas

Lauren in Vancouver at Christmas

Lauren DiMarco in Vancouver © Joan Currie

One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now
and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights
when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.
from A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (YouTube reading by the author)

I will have no trouble remembering this wonderful Christmas day!

Flapper time…

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Writing

≈ Comments Off on Flapper time…

Tags

Art, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fashion, Flapper, Mixed media

© Joan Currie – Charleston bodice & skirt – Mixed media

This is the beauty I want. Beauty has got to be astonishing, astounding — it’s got to burst in on you like a dream, like the exquisite eyes of a girl.
from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Flappers and Philosophers

The holiday season has arrived. Dressing up for a razzle-dazzle evening…

Bursting at the seams…

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships

≈ Comments Off on Bursting at the seams…

Tags

Beauty, In Absence, Love, Relationships, watercolor

© Joan Currie – watercolor

Absence extinguishes a minor passion and intensifies a great one – as the wind blows out a candle but fans a fire.
from In Absence by François , Duc de la Rochefoucauld

Trying to wait patiently for your return…

Regrouping…

11 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Crafts, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships, Writing

≈ Comments Off on Regrouping…

Tags

Labyrinth of Desire, Love, Relationships, Rosemary Sullivan, watercolor

© Rachel Valley

© Rachel Valley

She does not yet  know that real love does not demand perfection.
from Labyrinth of Desire by Rosemary Sullivan

But she is about to meet the man who will teach her …

Model: Lauren DiMarco

← Older posts

Archives

Copyright © 2010 – 2023 Joan Currie/Satin & Sand. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. Thank you!

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Satin & Sand
    • Join 324 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Satin & Sand
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...