This is my main stitching position... feet up in the recliner and lap stand at the ready. I think I'm going to have to figure out a better position though... this one makes for pretty slow beading... also, too many spilled beads!
Actually, I was able to do quite a bit of beading last week; however, I seem to have lost my picture taking mojo because the closeups I took were pretty crappy. Even the regular picture isn't that great. See?
You can sort of get an idea of what I've been up to. I'll try and get some decent closeups in the next day or so. There are a couple of areas that came out pretty good.
This weekend we worked on finishing up the display case project. Glenn stained and finished some new shelves for it and I washed all the pottery (by hand... no dishwashers for this stuff!) and when we were done it looks verra nice!
We'll put the glass top on it tonight. We wanted to make sure the stain and finish had quit releasing fumes, etc.
*******HEREWITH A REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK********
Coming back around to the working arrangements for embroidery and beading. I would like to know how each of you (lurkers, too!!!) do your embroidery and/or beading. By that I mean, do you work on your lap or at a table? Do you use individual pots of beads or do you mix them all together? I have probably a whole year of working on this project and I want to get a good system going so it saves me time and effort. I like to be efficient in everything I do and working this way is starting to bug me. So, please comment and tell me what your setup for working on your crazy quilting, embroidery and beading looks like. Even better, show me (and others) on YOUR blog and leave a comment here so we can follow. Pretty please? With pink and purple and green sprinkles on top of massive amounts of whipped cream and toasted coconut? ;0)
10 comments:
Enquiring minds want to know: How do you photograph with your teeth?
I am not an embroiderer, but when I was giving it a go, I used a 6" high block of polyurethane foam to put on my lap and bring my work closer to my eyes.
I work at my worktable, sitting on a high drafting chair. I have all my beads in those divided containers - you know, about legal pad size with one big lid that snaps shut over all the beads.
I use small pieces of leather to put out the beads I'm using so they don't roll around.
I don't think I could do beading on my lap at all. Oh, I shine my Ott light right on my work also. Sometimes I use a hoop, and sometimes not.
Don't know about efficient - that is never an aim of mine. Relaxation is!
I sit on the couch, with my feet up, and my work beside me, and just enjoy working on my lap. Good light behind me is essential.
I keep all my beads in little bags, and put each colour out on a bottletop and pick it up (and sometimes spill them between cushions), as I need them.
When I bead, I sit at the dining table which is right by the huge patio doors, so the light is good. I keep the beads in their little containers-bags, tubes or whatever and arrange them by colour in a plastic lidded box with small sections. I use a beading mat on the dining table- a soft cloth pad with a surface that allows the beads to be picked up easily but doesn't allow them to roll.I tend to work on a cushion on my lap, so it's all a little higher.
I usually work at the breakfast bar. Occassionally, I'll embroider in my glider, but I don't bead there. I use beads one group at a time, which is usually one color, but sometimes a mix. I put a couple of layers of felt in the bottom of an Altoids fruit tin, and that's what I use to hold the beads with which I'm working.
Marty as a tip if you put your work in the hoop wrong way around ie upside down then turn the hoop so that the hoop upsidedown so it forms a sort of dish you will not lose so many beads as the 'dish' created by the hoop catches them
Also i work at a table as I find I sit up straighter and can work longer
I do it whatever way feels good. I have a bead tray attachment for both my table stand and my floor stand. Something I just pile things up next me. Sometimes I collect my beads in a big organizer for one project, something I pour out what I need and turn left over into bead soup. In other words, I don't do it the same every time! LOL Boy, I know how unhelpful that was. hehehe
The only stitching I do in my recliner is redwork/outline embroidery. CQ stitching I usually do at my worktable in my studio or at the dining table. When beading I always sit at the work or dining table. All my beads are in those screw-together bead towers. I have a couple extra lids for those in my workbox and tip out the beads I need into one of those lids. I have a desk-type Ott light AND a floor lamp for evenings or when the day is cloudy.
I bead at a table too. I usually have piles of beads and trims or buttons out in front of me that I can audition for certain spaces. When I am done, I tend to put the misc leftover beads in a bead soup.
For embroidery I use a large plastic serving tray (like for patio events). I put all my immediate supplies on it (I line it with a napkin) & then can move from the patio to the couch to the sewing room by picking up the tray and taking it with me. I use a narrow width hoop so it's not very bulky. I decide ahead of time what threads I will use, load them onto the tray and go stitch. When I am done with that block, I change colored threads on the tray. I have really found the tray idea works well for traveling around the house to various spots.
When I was working on the big Orange CQ and made the mistake of sewing all the blocks together first, I felt tied to the table and that made me crazy. Most of the time I do like a table surface but the tray on my lap or nearby on the couch works too.
Great ideas here.
I, too, bead at a table. I pour out what I think will be the quantity of beads I will need for the seam or motif I am working on in little piles onto a piece of suede that I place on a plate. The suede holds the beads nicely. I usually try to put the leftover beads back in their separate containers, rather than adding to "soup".
I love it when I pour out exactly the correct number of beads I need!
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