Saturday, March 29, 2008

Two More Finishes


As the title reads, I have two more finishes to share with you. The first is Frappuccino, by Little House Needleworks. Its the last of their coffee series of kitlets, all done on Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linens, with Belle Soie silk floss. I think these three are adorable and I plan to frame them the same and hang them in the kitchen. One might even look good framed in a Sudberry House tray. Might just have to do one of them over again. I really liked how Diane changed the colors of the borders for each one.




My other finish is one I've been talking about for a month, the box for my daughter in law. I stitched Four Little Ladybugs by Indigo Rose. Had to stitch the design twice, side by side, to fit into the top opening. I think it turned out well. I lined the top inside, and padded the bottom inside with suede cloth, and added a hasp so she can lock little fingers out. I think I have a tiny padlock too, for luggage that would work well with this. Oh, and I stitched the design on fabric I call Summer sky (because I dyed it myself) with 'Creamsicle' silk by Threadgatherer and Soie d'alger by Kreinik. I'm considering also doing a biscornu to match, as I have enough of the fabric left.

So, what's up next? I'm thinking either My Needle's Work by LHN, or Soft Spring by Shepherd's Bush. It just depends on if I have all the Belle Soie needed for the LHN project.

Thanks for stopping by and for all the comments you leave. I've been very encouraged by those comments during this, our times of trial. And let me tell you, I've about had it with these trials. It does look as though we've weathered the worst. Only time will tell.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Twilight Biscornu




Our Yahoo group has been doing a Round Robin, a very unusual one. Everyone stitches up something to be used as a "small" but not the finishing. This time around, Laura stitched me Twilight by Indigo Rose. This was something I had stitched and made into a Biscornu for my daughter in law but had not had the time to stitch one for myself. It's a gorgeous pattern and stitches up so pretty. Laura chose some very interesting colors, and even sent along floss to finish it up. She used: Barrier Reef by Dinky Dyes (the spot in the middle), Twilight by Gloriana, and Red Plum by GAST. She sent a button that I used for the bottom. I used a bead for the top and filled it with pellets for weight. Didn't it turn out great? She did a perfect job with the stitching, and I love the colors she used.

I'm in the middle of stitching Frappuccino by LHN and will post a picture when I've gotten it finished. I also have the stitching done on my daughter in law's boxtop but haven't had the time to get it finished up with Easter. Will try to remember to take a picture before I give it to her.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter and that you didn't get too much snow or rain. Our Easter started out really nice, but cold. Nice and sunny, until mid-afternoon when we got an inch of snow which is already melted. YES! No shoveling this time.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Caffe Latte, Oooh, la la


I finished this last night, Caffe Latte, by Little House Needlework. Worked with Belle Soie silks, I dyed my white Belfast to a color that matched the first piece, Cappuccino. I'm planning on doing the last one and framing them all the same for my kitchen. I'd like to do all of LHN's coffee themed pieces but I don't know if there is enough wall space in the kitchen. I suppose I could hang the larger samplers in the dining room.


I do a lot of thinking while I'm stitching, and last night, the thought popped into my head, "when did stitching go from a hobby to an obsession?" And that is what its become. A glorious obsession. My walls are crowded with framed pieces, so much so that you can barely see the walls themselves. I have two baskets of needlerolls, racks of scissors and fobs and several sewing boxes filled with needle books and biscornus. I even have a room dedicated to my stitching stash, with cabinets full of fabric, boxes full of threads, and shelves full of leaflets. I even have a small armoire dedicated to kits. Such a change from 26, 27 years ago. Seems like forever, way back then.


I taught myself to stitch, to be able to get a job in a stitching store. Back then, it was changing over from a needlepoint store to cross stitch. The owner was retiring and her daughter was taking over, Susan Greening (who later became Susan Greening-Davis). I had never heard of cross stitch but had embroidered since I was a child, so I figured, how hard can that be? I talked my dh (dratted, soon to be ex husband) into letting me purchase a leaflet, fabric and DMC to do a project. (He quickly let me know that I'd best be doing all the projects in that particular leaflet before he'd let me buy another one.) I couldn't even read the chart. I understood that all the symbols meant different colors but I found it difficult to follow and stitch. For this first project, he read the chart and I did the stitching. About half way through that project, I got the hang of following along, line by line, row by row, and a cross stitcher was born.


Took me nearly two years to collect all the DMC colors. For the first year, I bought new skeins for each project. When I finally sat down to organize, and started checking off color numbers, I think I had something like 12 skeins of 930, country blue dark. From then on, I always checked my list before buying new colors. Then came Ginnie Thompson Flower thread, learning to do waste canvas, stitching on linen, doing samplers, buying my first Shepherd's Bush kit, and working with silks for the first time. By this time, my first marriage had ended in divorce, I'd met and married my real dh (darling hubby) and his encouragement had allowed me to blossom. He also encouraged my obsession for needlework and supported financially my never ending need for new stash. He wants me to keep busy while he's out on the road.


This man is a gem that I wish all stitchers had one of--he's so considerate about my love of stitching, and keeping busy, that one time he talked me into going with him on a run--and our first stop was House of Stitches so I could get a few projects suitable for working on in the truck.


DH number one came back into our lives a few years ago, when he (newly divorced from wife number 3) moved in with our youngest son and his family. The first time he visited our home for a holiday, he just about fell on the floor in shock at the stitchings on the walls. His only comment, "you've improved greatly". Understatement of the year!!


So how many obsessive stitchers are there out there? And you know who I mean. And how many of you stitch in a hoop, on stretcher bars, or forms and how many stitch "in hand"? That's me, the last one, in hand. Have never been able to get the hang of using roller bars or scroll frames.


Wow, three posts in three days, my best yet. Thank you for all your encouraging comments, they've been a ray of sunshine in this dreary winter.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Scissor and Fob Exchange


Last week I received my package for the scissor and fob exchange that our Yahoo group did. My partner was my friend Beth, and she stitched me the prettiest fob by Blackbird Designs. Isn't this the cutest thing? And she sent along with the fob, a pair of scissors that I didn't have yet, the newest Kelmscott ones called Love Scissors. I love them. Thanks Beth, you did a perfect job and I love this set.

I've been tagged, too!

I was tagged by Deb and Kathy to share 7 weird or random things about myself.

THE RULES:

Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

Post the Rules on your blog.

Post 7 weird or random things about yourself on your blog.

Tag 7 people and link to them.

Comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.


My 7 weird things that most people don't know.

1. I was born in a little town in Michigan that no longer exists but went to High School in NJ.

2. I had my bellybutton pierced on a dare, three years ago.

3. I learned to cross stitch to be able to work in a cross stitch store.

4. My hair is long enough to sit on.

5. I collect tea pots, scissors, Boyd's Bears and Treasure boxes, and silk flosses.

6. I've traveled with my dh in the semi all over the country and made him stop at most of the stitching stores we've passed.

7. I love a good, noisy thunderstorm.

I'm tagging the following ladies, hopefully for the first time:


Nicole

Peg

Cici

Leigh

Anita

Gaby

Adana


I hope you will all play with me, and I've got my fingers crossed that my links work. This is pretty much a first time for me, doing this.