An older finish

A friend reminded me that I hadn't posted a picture of the finish "Morning Berries" by LHN. Sorry about that. I got finished and immediately started working on learning how to do ring tags. And look, my picture is crooked. I take terrible photos, and this one had to be taken while the stitching was hanging over the side of my bed, it's so long. I really enjoyed stitching this one, and the recommended fabric was the greatest to work on but I'm not totally pleased with how it turned out. Second guessing myself on my choices of silk colors. I used Belle Soie, for any new readers.

The ring tags are addictive--I'm doing the finishing today on number 3 and 4, with one more that I want to do. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the stitching for number 5 first, and then finish all of them at the same time. On a recent trip to Wal Mart's, I found more grommets--I used that in the first finish--and found that they come in a host of sizes. Very surprising. Could have used that on my first one--the grommets I had here are very small, and didn't go through my piece all the way. So, you get to only see the front of my piece, LOL.

As soon as I'm finished with the others, I'll scan and post them. I have to say that these are really fun to do--you can choose anything you want to stitch, in any color, with any fabric, or just a lovely motif that you are fond of, and make it into a ring tag. And it's nice to have that little decoration hanging with your threads. Hmmm, perhaps a ring tag exchange is in order. Anyone up for that?

Happy stitching, everyone. Thanks for stopping by.

LHN Progress: two projects

First up is Morning Berries. I really adore this piece, it's so calming to work on. I think it's the fabric, 28 Natural Pearl. It's really dense and holds the stitches quite nicely. This is coming along, slower than I had imagined but it's nearly done. Tonight or tomorrow should see it completed. I'm not really happy with all the silk choices that I made, the rabbits don't show up real well, and the urn with the vine isn't quite the correct color, but it has a soft look that I do like. But, the reason it isn't quite done yet? I started another project.

Quilting, by LHN. It came in the mail on Monday and I just had to start it. First, I was only going to do the top row of the border, then the sides. I just couldn't put it down and ended up doing all of the one color, Joshua Tree, that was in the border. So, I'm thinking an hour for Quilting and the rest of the time trying to get Morning Berries finished up would work. After that, I can finish up this small piece and on to another project. Maybe their new projects will be out by then, the Neighborhood piece is really cute. Have you seen it?

It is odd, working with the cottons first and then the silks. I'm using two strands on both pieces, but the way they lay, and feel, and the look of the pieces are so different.

Happy stitching all of you, thanks for stopping by. I have to make this post a short one because we have storms going by, and have already lost power three times. Looks like I might be stitching by candlelight tonight. Already have several candles lit, just in case.

A Small Start and an Even Smaller Finish

Here is my small start. It's Morning Berries by LHN, and it is indeed a very small start. I'm working this on the recommended fabric, 28 count Natural Pearl Linen by Zweigart. I'm really loving the look of this linen and it's wonderful to work on. I am not using the recommended threads. I have substituted Belle Soie silk for the Crescent Colours overdyes. Of course, the substitution isn't a perfect one. For example, the berries are supposed to be done in Blue Moon, a lovely periwinkle, sort of lavender blue color, and I just couldn't find the perfect blue to use. Instead, I used Spring Violets, a more lavender color. I'm also using: Icing, Tumbleweed, Cinnamon Stick, Lily Pad, and Sandy Beach. Some are very good matches, some not quite so good. But I'm happy with how it's turning out. I've stitched the entire border, though it doesn't show in the picture, and have a pretty good start on the top part. I did realize something important when I started stitching the berries at the top; the Belle Soie made the stitches look soft and full, while the Crescent Colours overdyed cottons look crisp and full. I wanted the soft look for this lovely piece. Oh, and if you look very closely, you can see that I'm frogging the row beneath the bunnies because I blended two "v's" into one large one right at the beginning. So, that's what I'm doing tonight, reworking that row.
Next up is my small finish. And it is truly small. This is a piece that is going to Laura, for our Smalls RR. It is Drawn Thread's Holiday Halloween and I used the silks that came with the kit. This was the second time I've stitched this, so I was lucky to have enough thread. The big change is that I stitched this one over one, and it came out really small. I didn't have enough black to work the words so I used the dark olive green. The little buttons that came with the kit were just too big for this tiny piece so I worked tiny spider web rosettes in the corners instead. And just how small is this piece?
This small. I don't think it even measures 3 inches square. I love the detail which seems to show up more on the over one than the regular stitching. Had a great time working those spiderwebs. So, what do you think? Laura wanted Halloween, and I think this is small enough for a scissor fob, or ornament, right?

On the home front, the truck is back on the road, my house is clean again, and I really miss my dh. That's always the problem of having him home for long periods of time. I get so used to him being here, even when he annoys me, that it's twice as hard when he leaves again. And to those inquiring minds who want to know, YES, I did help him with taking out the radiator, and putting the new one back in. (Oh, and that baby weighed like 300 pounds!)I took him up to the truck parts store to pick up special anti-freeze. And I cooked for him. Can you imagine, the man wanted three square meals every day! Big departure from being home alone, and grabbing whatever is available. He's planning on working the weekend through, and won't be home until next Wednesday night so keep a watch for me--I'll be wandering through all of your blogs, trying to keep busy.

Until next time, happy stitching and I hope you all keep cool.