An Experiment in Actually Doing Stuff

Some tutorials, tips, and pointers I’ve put together this year.

My Parking Method - Keeping multiple threads ‘in play’ as you stitch.  Useful for large patterns with a lot of confetti.

Recording Your Embroidery - Keep that camera steady so your viewer can follow what you’re doing.

Sewing the Edges on Hand-Made Patches - Works best with simple shapes, but can be adapted with practise.

Various Embroidery Mounts - Differences between hoops, scroll frames, Q-snaps, and stretcher bars, with pros and cons for each.

Using Variegated Floss - Different ways to use variegated or overdyed floss, and what each method looks like on the fabric.

Creating Your Own Photo Pattern - Tutorial uses PCStitch, but any software or web app works with this method.

Adding New Floss Colours to PCStitch - New DMC colours will be coming out next month.  Here’s how to add them to your colour library!

Framing Your Embroidery in a Hoop - No glue or tape needed.  Keeps your embroidery nice and tight in the hoop for as long as it lives there.

Marble Dye Method - Hand died fabric made ultra-simple. Just need a bowl and a microwave.  And your dye, of course.

Gridding Fabric with Pens and Floss/Filament - Two methods for gridding your fabric, with pros and cons for each.

Using Stretcher Bars with your Embroidery - Stretcher bars are weird and scary.  Learn how to use them without hurting your embroidery.

Loop Start Method - Who says you can only do a loop start with two strands?  Learn how to do it with three.

Tent Stitch - Learn what it is, and when you want to use it.

Railroading and Laying Tools - Keep your stitches looking nice and even, no matter how many strands you’re using.

Creating Alphabet Charts - Use any font on the internet to create an easily stitchable alphabet chart, in any size you need.

Repairing Torn Fabric - If you tear your fabric while you’re frogging a section, don’t start over.  Fix it.

Photographing Glow in the Dark Floss - This one gives a lot of people trouble.  Learn how to cheat your way through with black lights.

1 over 1 vs 1 over 2 - What’s the difference and when to use each.

Different Fabric Types - Differences between Aida, Evenweave, and Hardanger. 

One-Stranded Loop Start - Yep.  One strand.  Up that start game by getting rid of knots and tangles.

Frogging a Large Project - Avoid ruining your fabric by accidentally tearing it while ripping out all those stitches.

Thread Heaven on a Budget - Get the same stuff at supermarket prices.

Absolutely!! 

It’s no big secret I’m not a M@iko shipper. I think she’s incredibly unsupportive and dismissive of Zuko’s feelings, which might work with another person, but considering the trauma Zuko went through as a child, he needs someone who can help him grow emotionally, be there for him in a way his family never was and just listen to him. Mai did none of that. 

With Katara, even in canon as platonic friends, she showed him support both physically (thus why Zuko chose her to accompany him to face Azula) and emotionally (as she does with all the other characters). She pushed him to be better than he is. It’s in her nature to be nurturing and loving. I can’t imagine Katara not loving her significant other unconditionally. 

Unlike Mai, Katara would listen to Zuko. You can see the basis of that in the Catacombs when they connected over their respective grief of losing their mothers so early in their lives and that was when they were enemies. If they were together, it’s safe to assume that that understanding and connection would deepen and mature over time. Katara would make sure Zuko knows that she’s always there for him, as a confidante and a friend. She would make sure he knows his feelings are valid and that she loves and respects him, which imo, Mai never did. When Zuko so much as starts talking about it, she dismisses him. Not to mention what Mai did in the comics (ie. basically aid her father’s assassination attempt on Zuko by lying and staying silent).

But what I love about Zutara is not just what Katara could do for Zuko, but what he could do for her too. She’s had to grow up so fast when her own mother died and she became a mother to Sokka then Aang and Toph. Yes, it’s in her nature to be nurturing, as I’ve said, but she’s also a person who has undergone a lot in her life and she needs to be taken care of too. What Aang never gave her was that support. Throughout the show, all Katara did was cater to him, give him unconditional support, try to shield from the harsh realities of life, try to weather his tantrums and ensure he’s protected at all costs. Yeah, he’s the Avatar and he’s important and that would’ve been fine had they not ended up together. But they did and she did all that for him and what did he even do for her? They never ever have a meaningful conversation about Katara. In the comics, there was that one panel where he was teaching and Katara was in the corner looking sad and lost. That’s not who she is. This is the girl who forced the Northern Water Tribe to start teaching a girl how to bend (dismantling the fucking patriarchy singlehandedly). This is a girl who fiercely fights for the disenfranchised, who dons the Painted Lady mask to help people. She is not some idle trophy wife. She’s the most powerful waterbender to have ever been born in years. 

And you know who in the show actually listened to Katara and seen her grief and anger and pain? Zuko. He listened to her in the Catacombs and then helped her find Yon Rha because he knew she needed that closure. He withheld his judgment for whatever she wanted to do because it wasn’t his place to judge. This was about Katara and he was only there as support. Unlike the others, Zuko didn’t hold Katara on a pedestal. He recognised her as an equal, a flawed person, a grieving daughter, an immensely powerful bender and a loyal friend. If they had ended up together, I don’t doubt that Zuko would never have tried to hold her back and she would’ve done so much for the world in politics and bending and medicine. 

What Zuko would’ve given Katara is equally as important as what she would’ve given him. They would’ve been beautiful and healthy together. They would’ve had children that they loved as unconditionally as they loved each other and they would’ve supported them regardless of whether those kids were benders or non-benders. After all, Zuko would’ve encouraged all his kids to learn to fight non-bending styles as he once did. He would’ve instilled them a respect for those who can bend and those who can’t. Katara would’ve made sure they were all equally shown affection and love. 

Just shit, the missed opportunity here. I’m so salty I’ve made myself angry writing this hahaha xD 

Little Dots Pattern

Is anyone interested in doing a 30for30 in the month of May? I’ve not been able to touch my projects since March and I really need to get a move on.

Not official anything, just for fun! Do 30 mins of crafting a day for 30 days! Take pics and post your progress and see how far you can get by the end of the month! Since May has 31 days, you can take one cheat day if you like, or power through for a 31/30 goal. Any project is ok!

Gift Tags for Handmade Gifts - What Crafters Really Think!

These tags and card are all from Etsy. I know a lot of knitters who would love these.

Top Left Photo: “I made this for you please pretend to like it”, Etsy Seller hipscrap.

Top Right Photo: “This took freaking forever. So you’d better pretend to love it.”, Etsy Seller dyedinthewoolyarnco.

Bottom Left Photo: “Made with Love. If you lose it, I will cut you.”, Etsy Seller dyedinthewoolyarnco.

Bottom Right Photo: “I expect you to wear this every time I see you”, Etsy Seller dyedinthewoolyarnco.

For more gift tag printables I know you will like, go here: diychristmascrafts.tumblr.com/tagged/gift-tags

Here are some free printables for handmade gifts 

DIY Gift Tags for Handmade Items free Printables from Pretty Prudent here.

DIY Gift Tags with Care Instructions for Knitters, Crocheters, Sewers, Quilters and Crafters from Eskimimi Makes here.

My Bullet Journal Set Up

So some of you have asked me about my bullet journal (I’m looking at you, @munirastudies (and some anons - hi anons!)). Here it is: my set-up!

I previously did a post on my bullet journal at the very beginning of this studyblr, which can be found here. It’s just changed so much since then that I decided I’d post a new one!

- 1 - I’ve got a dotted Leuchtturm1917 A5 notebook in a really dark blue - which fits because I’m Ravenclaw. I was actually planning on painting the house crest on the front cover, but I never got to do it… but I think I’ll do it soon haha.

- 2 - When you look at my bullet journal you’ll see that I have some bright tags there. They really help me find stuff quicker (but they aren’t sticky enough so they often get loose.. I should change that). You can see my tag list in picture

- 3 - and it’s at the very end of the notebook. For those of you who don’t know this system yet, it’s really simple! You just decide how you want to tag that page, for example “books” as I did in mine, and go to the back of your notebook to write it down there. Then you choose a colour and put a strip of washi tape (or I use post it flags) on that page in the back and also on the page you want to tag so that the colours are in one line and you can see them from the outside (god I’m bad at explaining this but I can’t find the page that explained it to me, sorry!).

- 4 - On the first three pages there’s an index, and I use the first page for years and months, then the second page (which you can see in the picture) I use for anything else.

- 5 - Then there’s my key. I have a colour coding system, but I use some colours twice (which is really bad, I know) because there just weren’t enough colours! I have one colour for each subject, then also for other parts of my life like work, family and friends, uni in general and health (which is anything really: when I eat, doctor’s appointments, when I clean my flat etc). There’s also a key for my expenses which I rarely use anymore, and one for how long it took me to do a task which I also don’t use anymore.

- 6 - In this picture, and also the one before, you can see my yearly overview (which I am still so proud of because I thinks it’s really pretty). I only write down really important stuff in there, and things I’m looking forward to.

- 7 - Now we come to the more important stuff in my bullet journal. In this picture you can see my monthly overview. Here I write down everything that happens that particular month, like when I have to work, exams, family and friends stuff, and birthdays etc. I also have space for goals that I want to achieve that month, and an expenses table. This really helps me because often times I would just go shopping for books and stuff and spend so much money (which you can see hasn’t really improved much {{I spent 70€ on books last month?!}}). Now I can see how much I spend and what I should do better next month (like, I should definitely buy less books {{I actually spent more money on books this month and it’s not even halfway through but shush}}). On the next page there’s an example of a weekly overview. This one looks pretty much the same every week (at least the layout). Here are some more examples:

There’s always space for my weekly goals, then a food table where I write down everything I eat (which should make me more aware of what I eat and change my habits of eating - but it kind of doesn’t), underneath that there’s my habit tracker (and you can see I’m not very good at that either), and then there’s some kind of time tracker…? I don’t know what it’s called, I just thought I needed to know how I spend my time each day, like if there’s a lot of pink I’ve been doing a lot for myself (reading, watching movies, listening to music), if there’s lots of yellow I did a lot with friends and family, then there’s days where I was very creative and a lot of the time is purple - or if there’s lots of green (history) and red (English) I did a lot for uni. I really like this one (and I think I came up with it myself, but if someone has already claimed credit I give it all to you haha).

- 8 - Let’s just ignore the fact that this was one of my most unproductive weeks of all time (like, do you see how often I migrated tasks here?!). Just like my weekly overviews, my daily overviews look pretty much the same every week - at least the basic layout. I get bored of a certain layout about halfway through the week, so I try to come up with a new one every week. See how I got an arrow based layout in the orange overview, and kind of tree/nature based in the green one? What I always include is how much water I drink. I try to drink 12 glasses of water, which in my case is about 2,5 litres. Then there’s the basic to do list thing that bullet journals have. I include my colour code here as well, it just makes it easier for me to see what kind of things I have to do each day. Some more examples:

- 9 - I also have pages in my bullet journal that I use for lists, uni stuff, recs, organisation and personal stuff. In this picture you can see my “books to read” list. On the first example picture of the daily pages you can also see my wish list (which only has “money” on it - figures) and a pro/contra list about the two options I have for my stay abroad. Here are some more examples:

My saving goals page (which isn’t really done yet) and my schedule for this semester(which doesn’t have the hours on it):

and a “movies to watch” list (some spelling mistakes included):

- 10 - This last picture is my current spread. I saw this on tumblr and wanted to try it, but my colour code kind of destroys it. Maybe I’ll try it again some time without my colour code… Here’s another picture of the weekly overview: