The Simple Things

Well thanks to all your good vibes and encouragement I have completed The Simple Things by Blackbird designs. I love this design-however Le Frog really liked it too and I made many an error. Some corrected and some not so much. It is uniquely mine! I opted not to do the chain stitch and ended up back stitching which took me forever. One of those sweet little stars you see there took me three times to get right only because I didn't read the color code correctly.

I have been admiring many sampler walls-I thought this one would start me out. Of course, at the rate I am stitching perhaps I should put it up now and enjoy it now~LOL. I stitched Simple Things on the recommended fabric 30 count Marva's Blend by R & R Reproductions, using Week's and GAST threads. Now on to some ornament stitching. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week.

Hocus Pocus Pin Keep

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Halloween night. Both my older kids were out and the youngest and I were in Jo-Ann's and Books a Million. It was a pleasant night. So, while we were lazing around the house I finished this little pin keep. I have been wanting to start a basket of Halloween pin keeps and this will qualify as the first. I guess better late than never! This is hocus pocus by Lizzie Kate. The name of the linen escapes me and I used the recommended WDW threads. I used an orange batik fabric for the backing as I couldn't find a Halloween fabric that I liked. I really like the little beads.

As for Simple Things I am about ready to make frog fricassee! I keep having errors and so I have a little ripping to do and then hopefully I will be on the right track and finished soon. Thanks for all the stitchy vibes and I appreciate all your comments on my framed work. Tonight we fall back on the clock and though I love the fall time of the year, I hate when it gets dark so early. Meh! Anyway, I hope the rest of your night is a great one!

Some Framed Finishes

Here are a couple of finishes recently framed. First up is African Beauties by Bleu de Soie. They were stitched on 30 count WDW straw linen with dmc variations thread. I narrowly escaped disaster on this piece because I wanted to make it a hardanger piece by cutting a thread! But I managed to save it!

Below is Daydream by My Mark Designs . It was stitched on a piece of Silkweaver solo fabric that I just loved. I used the recommended threads except for one. It is hanging in my boys room. I actually have had this one framed for awhile. I just have been lazy about photographing it.



Otherwise there is not much going on here. I am trying to finish Simple Things by Blackbird. It is taking me way too long to complete that one and I want to finish it as I am afraid it will turn into a UFO! I am very close to finishing, so send me good stitchy vibes. Thanks for your comments on Moon Witch-she is one of my favorite little finishes! Have a great week!

Moon Witch Finish

I finished Moon Witch by The Primitive Needle today. She is too cute IMHO! I changed her face to WDW Butter bean instead of Belle Soie Shepherd's Pasture and I used WDW Curry instead of Belle Soie Mango for the moon and stars, I used WDW Mocha for her nose and mouth. Stitch count is 46w x 81h. I am thinking of having her framed. Now I want to get Simple Things finished and I also plan to start Witches Hollow this coming week. That is going to be my big project to work on.

Yesterday, I went through some of my cross stitch and ruthlessly got rid of some things I was not going to finish or did not need. I am now trying to get my projects organized because next Friday my annual retreat I go to starts! I just can't take one project-I must take many! Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Moon Witch WIP

This is Moon Witch a free design from The Primitive Needle. Isn't she adorable? I was hoping to get her finished but I keep working extra and so the stitching is taking a hit. I have made a couple of color changes to use what I have on hand and I will post those when I am done. She is being stitched on 30 count Carol's Butter crunch linen. Sounds yummy doesn't it? My goal is to have her completed by the end of the week! Thanks for your kind words and support. I appreciate them all!

A Little Progress......

I find it hard to believe that I haven't posted here in two months! Anyone miss me? LOL Life has been busy, getting the kids ready for school. Very little stitching has went on-I have been distracted with all the kid related stuff and reading more. Now that's not to say I haven't been stashing some because I can not tell a lie-LOL

I am working slowly on The Simple Things by Blackbird Designs. So you can see a little more progress now. You can see previous progress if you scroll down this page a bit. Sorry about the wrinkles. I have also spent some time going through my stash and thinking about what I really want to stitch. I don't have any concrete ideas-but at least my stuff is a bit better organized. I am also excited because there is a market this month and that means lots of new stuff! Also, the new Gingher scissors come out and not to forget the ornament magazine too!

I had considered not blogging anymore but I can't as blogging has been a beautiful source of friendship, fun and inspiration! Thank you all for your continued support, friendship and visits! Below is a wonderful ceramic teapot that I bought from Etsy. It is by a lovely artist called Karin and you can find out more about her at Karin's Art. It is such a fun piece that I thought I would show it to you! Anyway, I have yakked enough! I am going to run for now! Have a great holiday weekend!

Summer Exchange for Myrna

Myrna has let me know that she has received her last seasonal exchange so I can safely post now. This is Hide and Seek by Brittercup Designs made into a flat fold. I left off the words and the backing fabric is red and white gingham. I decided just to keep it very simple and added just a bow to the side. I think watermelons are very much a part of summer and thought this was really cute especially since Myrna has a trio of black cats. The second picture is the rest of the exchange. I went with a little patriotic theme. I hope you will enjoy it Myrna!

How was every one's holiday? Mine was pretty good-spent the day with the kids and and took them to the movies to see Transformers 2. It's back to work for me today-though only for one day and then off for three!

Finally, a couple of Christmas Ornament Finishes

Well, finally I sat down and finished finished a couple of ornaments that I had stitched. These have actually been finished for a little while but I have been trying to decide whether to send them off to be finished or do them myself. Today, I decided to do them myself. I think I did okay here. The one on the left is Poinsettia by Brittercup Designs-I believe it's from the 2007 JCS ornament issue. I gave it a little ethnic flair with this African print fabric I found. The fabric had so much red and green in it-that Christmas just popped into my head when I saw it. I think it goes well with design. The second one is by Lizzie Kate and it is from Tiny Tidings 13 and is called Jolly Holiday and I backed it with some appropriate holly flavored fabric.

I am woefully behind on ornaments but now that I am finished with my last exchange-the selfish stitching will commence. That sounds terrible doesn't it? I tend to have guilt working on my projects when I have an exchange to go out. I have some more ornaments to finish-but finishing is a time consuming little business. I hope to get them done prior to Christmas. I would love to have a tree with nothing but my stitched ornaments on it.

Up next, that last exchange I have been talking about-it's so cute(at least to me) That I will have a hard time parting with it. But, alas it will be going out soon-so no picture until it's received. I have worked on Simple Things and made some progress-those over one words are a headache especially when you have bad eyes like me. A picture of that coming soon too. Thanks for stopping by!

An EBay find....

Found this little finished cross stitch piece on EBay aka The Bay of Evil. I only paid about eight dollars for it and that included shipping from the United Kingdom. These dancing ladies make me laugh every time I see them. I have no idea who the designer is or what the piece is called. They are done on Aida and the stitching was super neat on the back. I had them framed and here they are!(the picture is clickable) I don't think if I were selling any cross stitch that it would leave me for so little. Especially when you put so much of your time in it.

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post-especially my son! I appreciate them! I have worked a little more on that piece but I am trying to finish up an exchange and therefore I have not worked on my own stitching. I also have been working on some home improvements and that is cutting into the stitching time too. Anyway, hopefully some stitching pictures the next post! Have a fantastic day and thanks as always for stopping by!

A new wip and a proud mama moment....

First up, I couldn't resist starting The Simple Things by Blackbird Designs. It is just so pretty to me and I love the colors. I am using the recommended fabric and threads. It has been very enjoyable thus far to stitch! The flowers and leaves are outlined by a chain stitch-I hope when I get that point that I will be able to master that stitch. Because I am terrible at specialty stitches! I did pull out Quaker Garden but alas I am distracted again!



Now, the proud mama moment comes in regard to my oldest son Brandon. This is him right getting ready to go to his eighth grade dance. He completes middle school in a couple of days and then it is off to high school. Really, where does the time go? He has really evolved to me over the last year. He is interested in learning the Japanese language and has been studying himself via CD at home. He is actually pretty good at it. He has become very health conscious and has increased his exercise by running, skateboarding(something else new) and playing basketball. He has lost at least 30 pounds over the last year. He is forever researching something on the Internet! He is just an all around great kid! Don't get me wrong. We have our struggles-(math comes to mind) but days like today and seeing him look so happy just make things like that melt away.

I appreciate all your comments on African Beauties! Have a great week! Coming up next I will have to show you a cute little find from the bay of evil....