More Finishes!

Here is a floss tag I stitched using patterns from Blackbirds newest book. I decided to use it as a bag tag for the floss I am using to stitch up their little stockings.
















Now, I don't know what came over me, but I actually did the finishing on this needle book all by myself! I usually avoid any machine sewing unless it is for an exchange and that is because I put it off until the last minute and end up having to do it myself, lol! This time I was blog surfing and saw this free pattern and thought, I might be able to do this one. And sew I did. I am sew pleased with how it turned out. Mind you, it isn't perfect, but then again, neither am I =)

Now, keep checking back. I will be having a give-away for my Blogaversary, which will be April 3rd, of something I stitched. No, not the needle book. It's mine too, lol. I will give a hint though. It's a little something from Blackbirds new book. I had to stitch two so I could keep one for myself. My goodness I am a greedy girl this year! And I love it...

Have a great day!

Please, don't faint!

Woohoo! I am finally stitching again! The photo above is the January pin cushion challenge piece from my LNS. Each month we will receive a pattern that is charted with only one symbol. The challenge is to stitch it how we "see" it using whatever threads and fabric we wish. By December we should have them all finished into some sort of pin holding small and there will be a drawing for a prize =) It is a really fun challenge and I am actually keeping up with it so far. I saw a delft pattern in an older issue of JCS magazine and thought it would be neat to stitch my challenge piece like a delft tile.

Here is the February challenge piece. I used a piece of 28 count Daily Grind linen and some threads I had left from the tulip and star pin keep (Blackbird Designs) I made for my friend Kim. I think we get the March pattern this weekend and I can hardly wait to start it!

Here is my very first Mystery SAL. It is "Alla Turca" by Pelin Tezer and you can find the info on it here . I am using Lakeside Linen Chantilly Creme and GAST Simply Shaker Weathered Barn. I am so loving this piece! Any other time I have tried to start a mystery sampler, I have ended up waiting until all the parts are out and then decided it is too big and don't do it. I even started one with my LNS and then stopped working on it before I even finished part one.

I am also working on several other projects which I will try to photograph and post about over the next few days. I signed up for another finishing class which is next month at my LNS. We will make a fob/ornament and learn to do ruched ribbon on the edge, and a tri-fold. I am doing the pre-stitching on those now.

I have updated my beaded creations album, see the link in the side bar.

Those PIF's I owe are in the works too! I will post again once they are mailed. I do still need to hear from Sharon so I can get your address. Please email me if you read this. I tried posting to your blog but haven't heard back from you. I hope everything is okay.

Have a great day!

Finishing Class Projects & Gift for Hubby

My husband received his birthday package and now I can show you what I stitched for him to hang in his office. This is Pirate's Creed by Sue Hillis Designs. I framed it myself. See, you have to learn how to do these things yourself if you are one of those right up to the last minutes kind of stitchers like me ;)

Here are the projects from the finishing class I took at my LNS on Saturday. The charts are Shepherd's Bush freebies and we made a flat fold (or easel), and a Christmas ornament with a beaded edge. Absolutely NO GLUE was used in the process and I am very excited to have learned how to hand sew the cording on. Now I am busy stitching on the pieces for the next class which is November 1st. We will learn to finish a hockey puck shaped pin cushion and a biscornu with tassels.

Now I am off to do more laundry and stitch on my Quaker frog that I started some time ago. Have a great day!

Ornaments, Exchanges, & "Let's Stitch"

I am finally getting around to making myself do some finishing work. I think the exchanges really help because it forces me to try new techniques and to get things done because I HAVE to get them into the mail. Now, above you see one Halloween ornament and one Christmas ornament. There is one more Christmas ornament that I finished but it is in the mail ;)

I heard from Joan that she received the HOE Prairie Schooler exchange from me. I stitched the "stick it here" freebie and made it into a pin keep for her. It was a fun stitch and I am sure that I will stitch it again!

Now, for the goal setting part of this message. I have joined up with Becky at her "Let's Stitch" blog and am looking forward to being motivated to work on my UFO's and stash collection. I am just getting started on the organization of the kitted up projects. Here is my pink plastic tote filled with my needlework smalls projects (the ones I have found so far, that is).

• A Secret Garden Needlework Necessary (from a class I took long ago)
• Just Nan - Common Ground Accessories
• Just Nan - Miss Kitty's Dragons Needle case
• Just Nan - Octagonal Peacock Pocket
• Just Nan - Dragonfly Scissor Purse
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - Big Heart Paperweight (mine will be a pin cushion)
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - St. Nick Scissor Companion
• Ewe & Eye & Friends - Polka Dot Scissor Companion
• Heartland Needleworks - Rosey Tote, scissor sheath, needle case & biscornu set
• From the Heart - Sewing Pocket and Pocket Smalls
• Periwinkle Promises - "United We Stand" Sampler Accent
• Periwinkle Promises - "Hope" Sampler Accent
• Shepherd's Bush - Tiny Flag
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Scissor Fob
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Shepherd's Purse
• Shepherd's Bush - Stitcher's Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Snow Fall Roll
• Shepherd's Bush - Millennium Roll (yep, I'm embarrassed that this is not done)
• Shepherd's Bush - Glory Fob
• Shepherd's Bush - Christmas Treat Bag
• LHN - Wool Needlebook and Scissor Fob
• LHN - Schoolgirl Samplings - make a fob from pattern
• With My Needle - smalls from JCS Ornament Issues 2003-06
  

Next week I will purchase a couple more containers for organizing more of the stash. I plan to have one container for samplers, one (I hope just one) of the miscellaneous kits I have, one for UFO's, and we'll see what other categories I think of. I am really excited about this!!!

I mailed out a few more exchanges today and when they arrive, I will post their photos. I think I am comfortably caught up with this now. Just need to do one more finishing on something so I can mail it out this week.

Have a great day!

My latest projects

This is Night Owl from the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch. I stitched it on a hand-dyed lugana from my stash and used GAST Butternut Squash, WDW Sweet Potato, and GAST Ltd Edition Witches Brew. I love how the black has the blue in it. It makes be think of a cold foggy evening. I have not decided how I will finish it yet. I'm thinking maybe a pin keep. I bought the RIT dye in black and orange and some pins to dye. I hope to try that later this week when it is cooler.

Here is my Christmas hat and scarf I knit about two weeks ago when it was much cooler. Can you tell I am ready for Fall and Winter? I am just not a fan of the hot weather.
Here is the needlepoint project we started Saturday at the SFNG (Spokane Falls Needlework Guild) meeting. It will be a frame weight. The background is the brown but will be stitched over with the watercolors. I haven't decided if I like needlepoint yet but I am very glad that I get to try it. I love trying new things because you can always learn something!!! We have until the next quarterly meeting, which is in November, to finish the stitching so we can learn how to put it together.
I'm afraid I can't show you the rest of what I have been stitching because they are for exchanges. I can say that there are three Christmas projects I need to do the finishing on. When it gets cooler later in the week.
Have a great day!

Birthday Stitching

Here is a photo of the Tulip & Star Pinkeep I stitched for my dear friend Kim. I should have taken a better photo so you could see what a lovely job the finisher did. She used the most beautiful burgundy fabric for the outside.
Here are two biscornus I stitched last week. The one on the left was a birthday gift for my friend Barbara and I stitched the one on the right for myself. The pattern is the Debbie Drapper designs called, Love. It was a very quick stitch and I really love to put these little guys together! See, I can do the simpler things but it's the really detailed finishing I have trouble with. I gave my needlebook to the finisher on Wednesday. I don't know when she will have it ready for me, but I do know that it will look spectacular when it is done and the fact that I can just stitch like crazy now will be worth every penny when I get the bill. This Fall she is teaching classes for eight different finishes and I am really looking forward to that! I already know how to do a couple of the techniques but I think you can always learn something so I will most likely take all of the classes. Now I had better get back to stitching since I have three exchanges that need to go out fairly soon. Have a great day!

More Photos & PIF Update

I saw on the Quaker Inspired blog that my exchange was received all the way in Scotland so here is the picture of what I stitched. It is the Quaker turtle from The Workbasket and I finished it as a cube. I really enjoyed stitching it and hope to stitch the cat, mouse, and a frog some time in the future.

Here is a photo of my first floss ring tag. I used Little House Needleworks new Neighborhood chart which comes with an alphabet that I used to stitch the back piece shown below. Talk about EASY! I know I will be making plenty of these. I have already stitched another one and started gathering charts to stitch more. I used the tutorial on Staci's blog and it was very easy to follow! Maybe it's just me, but I think every stitcher should have a dish of these by their stitching chair just waiting to be kitted up with new projects!
Dani has asked to be my third PIF recipient so now I need to get to work and stitch something lovely for my three. If you are still interested in signing up for one, please check out their blogs. The other two are linked in previous posts.
Have a great day!

Resistance is futile!

I was at my LNS for the stitch-in Friday night and there was talk of a "mystery" sampler. Blackbird is doing a mystery? Yes, you have to have all the charts from this years Loose Feathers program and at the end there will be a diagram for a seventh sampler using parts from the six charts in this years program. Key words, "mystery", "must have all the charts".....I was thinking, I don't have those yet, and I sure as heck don't want to miss anything. So, here are the first two charts, AND I decided I had to have this book. I have seen way to many cool things made from the charts in this book so I had to have it too! Can I please buy more time to stitch? PLEASE? I am supposed to be doing the yard work since dear hubby is gone for a year. I keep thinking, I wonder if it would be worth the money to pay someone to do it for me so I can stitch. How much stash money would I be giving up? It's just not fair to have to make that kind of decision, I tell you! I mean, check out the additional stash that came in the mail this week! I love clearance sales.

I did manage to get some stitching done this week, too. Three small projects. The "Grow Old With Me" design will go on the cover of a small scrapbook and become a gift to my hubby for our anniversary next month. The other two are LK freebies that I just felt like stitching. I have tons of small pieces of linen and I thought it would be fun to match them up with some small freebies and see how many I can get used up and stitched this year. I am also challenging myself to do the finishing work. I have been reading BeckyBee's blog and WOW!!! What an inspiration she is!

There is also a contest for you to check out on the Stitch Pink blog. All you have to do is leave a comment, but please take a minute to read about all of the great pink things you can stitch and support Breast Cancer Awareness.

Have a great day!

Needles & Hooks

Still no paperback books, but then I wouldn't have these lovely finishes to show you! The Rose Sampler is by LHN and part of a SAL for the group I am in. The knit dishcloths and a couple of the crocheted scrubbers are for my hubby. The rest of the scrubbers will be set aside to be given away some time. I love to have a stash of handmade goodies for thank you gifts and such. The little "Peep" fob is from a Prairie Schooler freebie and I put that together last week, too! Have a great day!

Stashy Goodness & A Finish

Yesterday I received my order from Handcrafts Online and not a moment too soon because the pattern for my next project was in there! That next project will be the Rose Sampler which I have already kitted it up.



I finished stitching the Cottage Garden thread pack yesterday! I love those thread packs and order one or two whenever I get the chance (have the money). They are a great way to collect the Crescent Colours threads and one of the thread packs in this latest order has the silks in it which I have not yet had the chance to try. I am looking forward to that! If only there were more hours in the day...

The wool fabric behind the Cottage Garden is what I think I will use for the Wool Needlecase and fob pattern. I still need to pull the threads and have a better look. Tomorrow I plan to spend the day at my LNS and get lots of stitching done before going to the guild meeting in the evening. It is going to be a fun day and if I want to be out of bed before noon, I had better get to sleep! Have a great day!