ohmydoodle: I think I need a Margareta!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

I think I need a Margareta!

A November trip to IKEA yielded this cool piece of fabric.

It's called Margareta. But what to do with it? I went to Pinterest for inspiration. I saw that Apartment Therapy had just written a post on it.

Some had attached it to a board or made a rod pocket to hang it from. I decided just to pin it to the textured wallpaper in my entryway. I smoothed it with an iron.

I liked the exposed salvage edge.

But what to decorate it with?

I used the biggest circle paper punch I had. If you turned it upside-down, you could position it just right.

Cards and photos printed on heavier papers got stuck in my cutter.

This is a sticker i found on the back of an envelope.

Many cards have tiny art on the back side.

I also cropped out signatures, too. Some are from relatives that are no longer with us. Now how should I attach to the tree?

I decided to make a crocheted garland. I punched holes and found some green yarn to use. It's just a simple chain stitch. Chain 8, add a circle with a double crochet, chain 8. Repeat. I tried 10 stitches but that was too spacey.

Here is my first test. Dang...half of the circles are backward! Good thing I caught that early.

Here's another attempt:

You can see it's still not right. But their position on the branches is right and I now have the correct counts for adding circles (except for the last 2 rows).

When you start your chain, you add 6 circles right side up(?), and then you have to add the next set upside down(?) so it all faces up. Knitting or crocheting is not really my thing, so consult better sources if you need instructions.

By now it was after New Year's. For the 3rd time, I unraveled it all and stuck my yarn, circles and numbered sketch in a Ziploc till next year.

So now it's February. Or FebruANY? Most of the decorations inside of our house are put away. The bear and penguin? Still outside. That's wintry. If it were a baby Jesus scene, that would be different.

MARGARETA was still bare and needed a new look:

These are hearts I made in the 90s from an unfinished quilt top my grandma had made that didn't lie flat.

Just sandwich hearts with batting and hand stitch around the edges. The less perfect the better. Add some bent wire for hanging. I used to give them away for teacher's gifts. The kids would write a message on the back.