Snowy Delight

For all my snowbound friends out there . . .

Winter Wonderland by Little House Needleworks (Chart No. 32)

28ct Natural Raw Linen

DMC cotton floss and Crescent Colours

We haven't experienced any snow here but lots and lots of rain .

Stay warm, my friends - feathered and otherwise!

Alphabet

Our holidays were wonderful - hope yours were, too. Lots of family, food & friends!

I did find time to start a new project before the year ended (oh no, not another one!!!) I just couldn't resist. When Vonna (The Twisted Stitcher) posted a flickr picture on her blog showing this completed design I new I had to do it. Just had to! SOOOOOOO

I finished 2009 and started 2010 stitching on this project:

M*N*O by The Prairie Schooler

25ct (over 1) Fairy Dust evenweave

DMC cotton floss

This alphabet is a series of 9 leaflets with 3 letters charted in each. For inspiration and encouragement I joined the Prairie Schooler ABC Stitching Bee blog here. I hope to stitch at least 1 block a month. It's rather slow going, I must admit, but I'm determined to finish it.

M is for Mermaid

N is for Nest

O is for Owl

Ornaments

Snowflake Ornament

I gave this snowflake ornament to my mother last year. She especially liked the shine of the beads and the metallics.

Small Octagon Snowflake by xstitchhappy
32 ct white linen (over 2)
DMC rayon, cotton, metallic floss
Beads

Since she liked it so much I decided to stitch a companion piece and she LOVED it! (Yes, I gave it to her a couple of weeks ago.)

Let It Snow by Olenka’s Stitches Designs
14ct light blue Aida
DMC cotton and metallic floss
Beads

I prefer working on linen but since I needed to get this stitched and delivered in a hurry, I had to work with fabric that I had. In this case, it was Aida 14 – the only blue fabric in my stash. I’m not crazy about Aida and I had to adapt stitches for this fabric. I also added beads & metallics (Mom loves glitz). HMMM – is that where I get that from?? Anyhow, I stitched seed beads across the top, dangled seed bead ‘icicles’ across the bottom, and knotted larger beads randomly in the fringe. I was going for an ‘icy’ look. Metallic snowflakes are scattered in the background.

I finished this as a hanging ornament. You can find this and other beautiful designs on Olenka’s blog. There you will see her beautiful “Let It Snow” stitched on linen and completed as a pinkeep.

And for my knitting friend . . .

2007 Santa by Prairie Schooler
14ct natural Aida
DMC cotton floss

I'll be away for awhile - back after the holidays.

Hope yours are WONDERFUL, meRrY and BriGHt!!

I don’t seem to be a very good blogger. Of all of life’s 'things to do', blogging is the first thing to get relegated to the back seat to be done ‘whenever’ I can get around to it. I do apologize.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time but with a note of sadness. My father passed away 3 years ago on Thanksgiving Day. He is in my thoughts constantly this time of year. (He loved my turkey sandwiches and I loved making them for him.)

On an up note - it was all you can eat at my house - and they did!

All You Can Eat by The Prairie Schooler (Book No. 97)

36ct Irish Linen Tea (over 2)

DMC cotton floss

Before I forget, the crockpot dressing turned out pretty tasty. I did, however, transfer it to a casserole dish and stick it in the oven to brown the top toward the end. Not sure if I’ll prepare it that way again. I missed piling all that stuffing into the turkey.

The leaves are just starting to turn here (go figure, it's winter now). Some gorgeous fall colors are rolled up into this little humbug .

Who's lookin' at ya'????

Hootzi Humbug by Just Nan
28ct golden sand cashel linen by Zweigart
Gentle Art Sampler Threads & DMC cotton floss
Beads


I’ve been busy stitching gifts.

Thanks for your wonderful comments!

Another Pumpkin

The photo doesn't do this justice

Pumpkin Keeper by The Drawn Thread
36ct linen
DMC cotton floss, seed & leaf beads


I have this hanging as an ornament reminding me that I better start thinking TURKEY. This year I’m going to try something new and different. Dressing in a crockpot!

Autumn Inspiration

Fall colors and specialty stitches

Cutwork borders and shiny beads

Beautiful shading

A masterpiece in miniature (about 6 ½" by 4 ½")

Miniature Autumn Sampler by TW Designworks (Teresa Wentzler)
28ct ivory Jobelin by Zweigart
DMC cotton floss, Gloriana Silk
Mill Hill Beads

It took me a year to finally sit down and stitch this and I’m not disappointed. But I’ve delayed the finishing because I want to do it justice and am just not sure what to do -frame it or hemstitch the borders. Maybe I’ll stitch the Miniature Winter Sampler and then decide. Hmmmmm, I’m thinkin’ . . .

Pumpkin Envy

Well, I guess we know who owns this pumpkin!

Love this design! It's a free chart generously provided by With Thy Needle and Thread and found on Brenda's website here.

An alternative to a wooden frame is a fabric one. Here's how I do it - backing fabric, batting, and finished stitched design . . .

Batting was sandwiched between the orange fabric and the cross stitched design. The backing fabric was then pulled around to the front and stitched down to frame the piece. (Make certain the backing is cut larger than the stitched design so you can fold the edges over. I cut this one inch larger on all 4 sides.)

Indian Summer by With They Needle and Thread
18ct ivory evenweave
DMC cotton floss
Seed beads

The batting was used to create puffiness when quilting the three layers together - just like making a quilt. To create that puffiness I quilted around the bird and the pumpkin and inside the zigzag border to add depth. I also quilted inside the fabric border to help stabilize it.

Here’s a closer picture of the pumpkin . . .

It’s been a while since I’ve done any quilting. As you can see, the stitches on the back are not as neat as I would like but, hey, who’s going to see the back, right?? Right??

And I just couldn’t leave well enough alone so I had to add some beads to the ‘frame’ - not too glitzy, not too bright. In fact, they can’t even be seen from a distance. Hmmm, maybe I should take them off and replace them with buttons. I even thought about embroidering a green vine crawling up the orange border. Is more better? There’s only so much you can do to one piece!!! The hanger is cord I found in the scrapbook section of the craft store.



I can't wait to do Brenda's May Day Sampler and am already thinking of ways to finish it.