The latest issue of The AntiCraft just came out, and it's entirely devoted to bacon.  Remember the bacon project I teased you with?  Well, now you can make your own Bacon Of Hate.  Well, what are you waiting for? :)

The plan for the sewing machine cover is starting to come together.  I've pulled out the vintage German fabric that Isa sent me eons ago.  I'd love to use them in a way that I will see them every day.  I like how they look with the Victorian lady, too.

here are parts of the Victorian Lady embroidery that I totally love.  There are others that I don't totally love.  I knew picking floss colors for the dusty purple corduroy background would be challenging, but I totally misjudged how any of them would really look.

I've loved Dover clip art books forever.  All the way back to when you'd have to cut the bits out, tape them on your whatever-you-were-making and then make copies of the pasted-up layout.

These days, their books come with CDs of their images.  Awesome!  Recently I bought Old-Time Anatomical Illustrations (which would have come in handy when I made the bleeding heart handbag) and Victorian Fashions.  They join a handful of other clip art and pattern books already in my stash.

Either I've never had the flu before or the flu has become some crazy-mega-flu, because I've never had my ass kicked like that before.  I'm still not 100%, but I'm no longer worried that I'm permanently brain damaged from my fever.  Next year I'll be getting a flu shot for sure!

I originally designed the Bad Eggs around Easter of 2006.  I did a set of four in black with embroidered designs.  At the time, I thought subversive Easter eggs (traditionally-colored eggs with non-traditional imagery) would be hilarious, and I got my chance to make some when they were accepted  for the Anticraft  book.

Look at that squirting arterial blood!  I can't tell you how much I love that decapitated bunny.  It warms my heart.  I couldn't be happier about how it turned out.  The white-on-white embroidery outlining his leg doesn't photograph well, but it looks good in person.  His tail is a bunch of floss loops making a 3-D puff.

Ahhhh ... a cute chick with a taste for eyes.  Chirp!  The eyes filling the basket are made with a tiny sequin and a black seed bead ... and embroidered eyelashes.  I do realize that if a chick was digging the eyeballs out of peoples' heads and collecting them in a basket that they wouldn't still have eyelashes, but I think that makes it all the more creepy. :)  It totally oogs me out that the chick is holding an eye by the optic nerve.

The other two eggs in the Bad Eggs set are based on the original designs.  One is embroidered with 360° flames and the other has evil eyes on each side in alternating warm and cool colors.

Certainly, you could make non-snarky Easter eggs with the pattern ... but why would you? ;)

With some help from Kari (whose mom and sister and used to own a cross stitch shop) and one last trip to the craft store, I have now become the proud owner of ALL of the colors of DMC floss.

A calm has settled over the craft table*. I now know that I can find the perfect color of floss for any craft project ... and if I can't, then it just doesn't exist.  Crafting with confidence, that's my motto.

* Sadly, I'm only half joking. :)

This post actually contains two tutorials involving the blankets stitch:

• How to sew two pieces of felt together using blanket stitch


• How to sew an edging using blanket stitch

There are also some helpful extras, like:

• How to start if you aren't going all the way around


• How to handle corners


• How to stitch around circles


• What to do if you run out of floss in the middle

It's a lot to pack into one post, but they all involve the blanket stitch, so I thought they should all be together.  Let me know if there is something I can make more clear.

For other options to hand sew felt see my whip stitch tutorial and my post about choosing between blanket stitch and whip stitch.

Note One: All stitches should go in and come out the same distance back from the edge of the felt.  When making an object that will be stuffed, about an eighth of an inch works well.  If you are making an edging, use whatever length looks best.  Also keep your stitches the same distance apart.

Note Two: I used to struggle with knotting my floss, but Heather Bailey's Best Knot Ever Tutorial changed my hand sewing and embroidery forever.  Seriously.

Sewing two pieces together (and how to stitch around a corner)

	(1) Place the wrong-sides of the felt layers together. Take your knotted floss and go from the inside of the front layer through to the outside. The knot should be sandwiched between the two layers with your floss coming out of the front layer.
	(2) Insert the needle to the left of where the floss is coming out of the front piece.
	(3) Pull the floss through most of the way, then put your needle through the loop from the back to the front. Pull the first stitch so it is a little loose.  You will need the loose floss to complete the last stitch.  See next image for reference.
	(4) Insert the needle to the left of your last stitch.
	(5) Pull the floss through most of the way, then put your needle through the loop from the back to the front.  Pull this stitch (and all subsequent stitches) tight so the vertical bar is straight up and down. Continue across using step 4 and 5.
	(Corner 1) Make the last stitch before the corner so your needle goes in right where the inner corner of a square would be if you made a square from the corner.  See inset in image for clarification.
	(Corner 2) Insert needle into same place as last stitch.
	(Corner 3) Complete stitch so that bar is diagonal from the needle insertion point to the corner.
	(Corner 4) Insert needle into the same place as the last two stitches.
	(Corner 5) Complete stitch so that the bar is perpendicular to the first corner stitch. Continue across using step 4 and 5.
	(6) Finish the last stitch before you need to join to the beginning.
	(7) Place your needle under the vertical bar of the first stitch.
	(8) Insert your needle in the back piece of felt so the tip comes out between the pieces of felt at the top (see next image for reference).  Your needle should go in the back piece where the stitch would normally come out.
	(9) This is the same step as the last one, just a different view to show you how the needle is going in through the back piece and coming out between the felt pieces at the top.
	(10) Pull tight.  This is why the first stitch needs to be a little loose, because it becomes a right angle in this step.  The stitches should all look right now. Place your needle under the back bar you just created and make a knot.
	(11) This is the completed knot.
	(12) Insert your needle between the felt pieces and have the end come out somewhere else on your piece.  Pull the thread through and tug a little to bury your knot between the felt pieces.
	(13) You're done!

How to start if you aren't going all the way around

	(1) This is a technique I use when I'm doing just a little bit of blanket stitch, such as the bottom edge of this jellyfish. Place the wrong-sides of the felt layers together. Take your knotted floss and go from the inside of the front layer through to the outside. The knot should be sandwiched between the two layers with your floss coming out of the front layer.
	(2) Insert your needle in the back piece of felt so the tip comes out between the pieces of felt at the top (see next image for reference). If you are stitching the edging on a single piece of felt, put your needle through the starting knot in this stage.
	(3) Pull the floss through to tighten stitch.  The thread should be coming out from between the felt layers to the left of the stitch.
	(4) Put your needle under the first stitch on from right to left.
	(5) Pull the needle through.  There is now a loop around the top of the first stitch.
	(6) Continue blanket stitch according to instructions above (step 2). When you start the blanket stitch this way, the first stitch stays vertical.

Sewing an edging (and tips for round objects)

	(1) Insert your needle from the back of the piece so it comes out the front.
	(2) Insert the needle to the left of where the floss is coming out of the front piece.
	(3) Pull the floss through most of the way, then put your needle through the loop from the back to the front. Pull the first stitch so it is a little loose.  You will need the loose floss to complete the last stitch. If you are stitching around a circle, make this stitch VERY loose.  You will need lots of extra floss to complete the last stitch.
	(4) You will make your stitches following step 4 and 5 above.  When stitching around a circle keep your stitches straight by holding the circle so your stitch is at the top and imagining your stitch continues down the circle through the center. The red arrow is your imagination.
	(5) Here is the next stitch and it's blue imaginary arrow.  See how the red and blue arrows cross in the center of the circle?  All of your stitches should point toward the middle.
	(6) Complete the edging by putting your needle under the vertical bar of the first stitch.
	(7) Pull tight.
	(8) On the back, put your needle through the initial knot.
	(9) Make your final knot.
	(10) You're done!

What to do if you run out of floss in the middle

	(1) Knot your floss at the top of the last stitch.
	(2) Insert your needle (threaded with knotted floss) into the knot you just made and pull until the new knot is against the knot you just made.  Both should be hidden between the pieces of felt.
	(3) Insert your needle into the felt to the left of your last stitch.
	(4) Complete the stitch as normal.

Yesterday I stumbled across a clearance sale of DMC embroidery floss ... 10 cents each!  Luckily I had my checklist with me.  I bought every color that I didn't already have that was still in stock.  There are only 35 more colors to get before I reach my goal of owning every color of floss.

There are 86 skeins of floss in the photo above ($8.60 in floss!  So cheap!).  I really wanted to do a Moonstitches on them, but I have neither the time nor gumption today for such an undertaking.  Plus, it looks like I'd been skipping a lot of the greens, so it wouldn't make for a pretty rainbow anyway. :)

I'm not just churning out overly-serious posts about lists over here ...

This handbag is ready to travel to it's final destination.  I added some leaves to the tulip label and whipped up a new one for Germany.  I love the little beer stein on the Germany label - it even has a hinged lid.  Just in time for Oktoberfest!

Here you can see the world map fabric Elizabeth picked out for the lining.

When you read this tutorial, my instructions might seem terribly obvious.  But if you look at the stitching on my first stuffie, you'd see it wasn't obvious to me. :)  Now that I've worked out a system, I'm able to jump right into my felt projects without having to labor over, and struggle with, the stitching.

For other options to hand sew felt see my blanket stitch tutorial and my post about choosing between whip stitch and blanket stitch.

	(1) Place the wrong-sides of the felt layers together and pin or baste them together. Note One: All stitches should go in and come out about an eighth of an inch back from the edge of the felt. Note Two: I used to struggle with knotting my floss, but Heather Bailey's Best Knot Ever Tutorial changed my hand sewing and embroidery forever.  Seriously. On the right-hand side, take your knotted floss and go from the inside of the bottom layer through to the outside. The knot should be sandwiched between the two layers with your floss coming out of the bottom layer.
	(2) Put the needle through the top layer exactly above where the floss is coming out of the bottom layer.  Push the needle through the original hole in the bottom layer.  Pull through both layers. This stitch will help anchor the two layers of felt together to minimize slipping as you sew.
	(3) Put the needle through existing hole in the top layer.  Put  the needle in at an angle so the point comes out of the bottom layer about an eighth of an inch to the left of the first stitch. Pull through both layers. This stitch will cover the first stitch.
	(4) Put the needle through the top layer above where the floss is coming out of the bottom layer. Put the needle in at an angle so the point comes out of the bottom layer about and eighth of an inch to the left of the previous stitch. Pull through both layers.
	(5) Repeat across.
	(6) When you make your last stitch, put the needle through the top layer above where the floss is coming out of the bottom layer. Push the needle through the last hole in the bottom layer.  Pull through both layers.
	(7) Put your needle through the last hole in the top layer so the needle point is between the two layers of felt. Pull through.  This stitch will cover the last stitch you made. [FOR A CLOSED SHAPE - Put your needle in through the last hole in the top layer so the needle point comes out of the seam between the two layers next to the last stitch.  Pull the needle through to the outside of the piece.]
	(8) On the inside of the two layers of felt, put your needle under the last stitch. [FOR A CLOSED SHAPE - Put your needle's point back through the seam and catch an inside diagonal stitch.  Sometimes I leave the last inside diagonal stitch a little loose so it's easy to catch. If you can't catch an inside diagonal stitch, you can put your needle under one of the outside stitches.]
	(9) Wrap the floss around the tip of your needle two times, and pull the needle through to create a knot on the inside of the two layers. [FOR A CLOSED SHAPE - Whether you caught an inside stitch or an outside stitch, after you make your knot, put the needle in through the seam and pull it out somewhere else on the piece.  Tug on the floss a little to pull the knot through the seam to hide it. ]
	(10) Pull the pieces apart to flatten the stitches. When making a stuffie, put about 2 times the amount of stuffing that you think will fit in your piece.  As long as you aren't misshaping your stuffie, keep adding stuffing. Tightly packed stuffing pulls the pieces apart so the stitches will lay flat.  Also, the tighter you stuff your piece, the less lumpy it will look.