Good Tuesday morning to you. Today I’m explaining how I finish a piece with a frame. Awhile back I attempted to video my process, but that didn’t work too well. So I’m just going to write it out. Supplies you need include 1/4 inch foamboard, quilt batt, brown shipping paper, screw eyes, double sided scotch tape and double sided acid free tape, a point pusher and waxed jewelry string. I purchased the Stitchery Tape probably 8 years ago and haven’t used it up yet. You measure the foamboard to fit snug on the inside of the frame. I glue a piece of quilt batt to the foam board which puffs the punch needle slightly out from the frame. Place the finished piece on top of the batt and test it inside the frame. Often you will need to go back and punch a little more on the outside edges. You don’t want the white weavers cloth showing.

Once you are satisfied with how the piece fits in the frame, run a strip of the stitchery tape on each side of the foam board. When you take off the top protective layer you can press a little of the weavers cloth onto the tape and check the placement in the front. If you need to adjust the placement you can pull the weavers cloth back from the tape to move it around without losing the stickiness.

Once the punched area is positioned in the frame, press down all the excess weavers cloth onto the tape. You can fold the corners in and use the point pusher to hold it all in place.

I use double sided scotch tape applied to the frame and cut a piece of brown wrapping paper to cover the entire back. I use an exacto blade to cut the paper even with the sides. Measure 1/3 of the distance down the sides and drill tiny holes to screw in the screw eyes. Finally, I use the waxed jewelry string to make a hanger. Reading over all I’ve written it seems like a lot of directions, but I like to be thorough. The next picture shows the finished back and the jewelry string. (Worst case scenerio, if you still see a bit of the white weavers cloth on the front you can carefully use a colored marker and stain the cloth.)

This Father Christmas holding a lamb is from a Christmas issue of Punch Needle Primitive Stitcher. I hope you found it informative.

Good morning All. My folks used to say “Daylight in the swamp.” or “Wake up Jacob’ Father shot a bear.” Nobody had to call out anything to me this morning. The house never got below 72 degrees overnight and I think it was too hot to sleep.

Just a short note to say I hope I see you Saturday the the Early Homestead. 10a-3p 111 College Ave. Holly, MI 48442

Greetings Friends, on this Monday morning. I have a happy little piece to share with you today. Be strong and safe and joyful.

Hello Friends. It is Friday, which was always cleaning day at my mom’s house. I had a little talk with Mitsy the Cat and she decided to move to higher ground as I took out the vacuum. My house is as clean as it has been EVER, and nobody gets to see it. Oh well, I’m sure Mom is looking down and smiling.

Julie Thomas from The Old Tattered Flag offered a freebie doodle. Thanks Julie. I enjoyed working on this. I made a few changes, which is allowed with doodles and this is what I came up with. I stayed pretty much with pastels and used ecru for the background. I’m not crazy about bright, so when I was done I antiqued the piece with walnut crystals. This is us, staying together while staying apart. Peace to you all, my friends.

This little guy sends a whale of a welcome.  He is hand-drawn by me and done completely with Valdani #12 perle cotton. The first picture shows how I finished the punch needle before attaching it to the plaque. Some people like to fold over the raw edge and glue it down. I find it just as easy to sew a fabric backing. I left a small opening to invert the piece and then hand stitched the opening shut. Sometimes I’ll sew it completely around and then cut a slit in the middle of the backing.  You just need to be certain you are going to mount it on something if you do it that way.

Hello Everyone. Today is Tuesday, April 14, in case you wondered. No big rush for your taxes if they aren’t already completed. In keeping with my hope to post on a more regular basis, I have one photo for you today. This is my own drawing. I’ve had this frame for a long time. I really like it and have wanted to use it for a punched piece.  I did the painting/antiquing. The back of frame gave me a bit of trouble because it doesn’t have a flat edge next to the opening and it also slants forward towards the front of the frame.  So, even though my bunny has been finished for weeks, he is a little late for Easter.  But we both still say welcome to spring. Better days are coming.

Here in Michigan we are bounding like a herd of turtles towards fifty degrees.  I happily turned the calendar to April this morning indicating nice weather is getting closer and closer.

Last week I posted a picture of a work in progress on an unfinished hornbook. I was debating whether to stain or paint it. Decisions these days are influenced by the stay at home measures we are all taking.  Engaging in the 6 foot distance, my neighbor offered me a gel stain called Antique Maple. I was hoping to get a stain to pick up the color of the blankets on the ewe. This was my first time using a gel stain.  It has the consistency of pudding. The directions say to apply heavily with a cloth and let sit for 3 minutes before wiping off the excess stain. I didn’t like working with the gel, however, the color turned out well. I then used Briwax to seal the hornbook, which darkened the stain slightly.  This pattern is from Doreen Frost. Doreen creates such lovely things. The little red berries are French knots added once the punching is complete. I got the hornbook from Tara Guernsey at Perfect Prim. Well, that’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Hello Friends. I had such a productive day today. I’m excited to share my latest finish. This is a design from Yvonne Buus that she calls ‘Joseph.’ I’m calling it ‘Happier Times’ since that is what is brings to mind and what we are all awaiting.

I thought I’d share with you my method for finishing. This first picture shows the materials I used. The foam board is cut so it fits into the back of the frame. Using quilt batt glued to the board gives the piece nice dimension. The Stitchery Tape is double sided and acid free.

I steam pressed the piece, checked for any punches that needed trimming and cut the excess weaver’s cloth to two inches around the piece.

Position your piece with the foam board in the center. Place this into the back of the frame and check the front side to make sure no weaver’s cloth shows around the side. Attach the cloth in the center of each side. Check the front again. You might need to reposition the piece. You can remove the cloth from the initial attached area once or twice without compromising the tape.

After making sure the cloth is pulled tight and attached to the tape I used a point pusher to keep it all in place in the frame.

Then I used regular scotch tape (double sided) on the frame back and covered it with brown paper. I usually use screw eyes, but didn’t have any in the house. There is no running to the hardware store these days, so plan B is using a ‘make do.’ I had some upholstery tacks and actually really like how it turned out.

 So, here’s the finished product

I hope I had some good tips for you. If my stain and wax is dry I’ll have my two sheep ready to post tomorrow. I stained it today and added MinWax. Now it just needs to dry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Be safe.

Hello Friends.  I find myself with plenty of time on my hands these days. Perhaps I can provide a diversion with a visit to my blog. So, what good things can I share? It has been so nice to be wakened these mornings by the chirping of birds outside. I see the beginning of buds on trees. I took a walk the other night and saw a lovely  bed of little yellow flowers, not sure what they were. All these signs mean spring is near.

Our sweet baby Claudia is almost 18 months old and Grandma has to share one picture.

I’ve been keeping busy and finishing works in progress. Here is a four square runner I started before Christmas. (I see my photo includes the messy lower part of the desk.)

I had a show planned for April 5 at the Eastern Market, which of course now has been postponed. Hopefully the May 31 date they chose will find us in better days. Meanwhile, I thought I’d post a picture each day of pieces I have been punching. This one is called Faded Flowers and is from a pattern by Julie Thomas at The Old Tattered Flag.

I am posting two photos today. This one is from Doreen Frost, one of my favorite designers. I haven’t decided if I should stain this hornbook, or if I should paint it. And if I paint it, what color shall I chose. What are your thoughts?

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave a comment and we can share some conversation. Be well and stay positive.

I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and friends and I hope the weather has been gentle with you. I just did a quick check at pasty.com and I see that the Yoopers already had 59.1 inches of snow to date. Dreaming of a white Christmas is not often necessary in northern Michigan

Despite my great intentions of posting daily, I keep getting thwarted by life events. I have been preparing for the Magical Early Homestead Christmas, which will happen this coming Saturday. This is at the Old School on 111 College Street in Holly, Mi. That is December 7 from 10 am until 3 pm.  Holly is also celebrating their Dickens Festival this week through Saturday. St Dominic’s choir will be performing at the show. Carriage rides through Holly will also be available. I hope you can join us in picturesque Holly.

This will probably be my last post until next week. Thank you for visiting Yooper Trails.