Struggle?

On a recent business trip I took along a small project to stitch on the airplane.  It is a kit called "God Bless Those" and was designed by Theresa at Shakespeare's Peddler.  I like to start stitching in the center of a piece and I did just that with this piece.  Well, I noticed after a couple letters what I would end up with and it made me laugh so I snapped a quick photo and am sharing it here for your enjoyment!  Maybe you have to "get" my sense of humor, but seeing this stitch up the way it did, it gave me a good laugh when I really needed it!

Here's the finished piece: 

Elizabeth Sheffield

I mentioned awhile ago that I had plans to start Elizabeth Sheffield.  Well, she's started!  I'm stitching her on 35 count WDW Straw linen with DMC floss.  This chart was created by The Scarlet Letter and had both a cotton and a silk conversion.  I am stitching all the over one in full cross stitch as charted but I think that if I had stitched in silk it would have either needed to be tent stitched or stitched on a different count of fabric.  Even with all of the over one stitching I am enjoying this stitch immensely!

I'm a bit farther along than this now but stopped to take a few photos.  I'm so ready to stitch the band with the people in it, but decided to jump down and do some words since that tends to be a bit boring.  I did however stitch in the people's shoes so I know where to begin when I get back to the people , aren't they cute? 

I have a bunch more over one to stitch, including the light blue alphabet above the verse, several more blue flowers and the plants and animals in the bottom of the center section.  However, even with all the over one, I'm really enjoying stitching it and it looks so cute to have all those teeny tiny stitches. 

In fact, when I purchased the supplies for this, one of the women working at Lynn's told me that the blue bird in the top right corner is just spectacular.  I didn't doubt that so I couldn't wait to start stitching.  Well, I started with the darkest blue to outline the bird, continued with the medium blue and it wasn't until I got to the lightest blue that I could really appreciate how wonderful this blue bird really is.  What do you think? 

New Year's Start

OK, OK, I know that it's not the new year yet.  But, I've heard of a tradition of stitchers starting a new project for the new year.  Now, I am a one project at a time kind of girl but I'm thinking of partaking in this tradition.  I'd start a new project and work on it for a bit and then go back to Elizabeth Sheffield and then finish the new start.  Boy, I don't know that's kind of stressing me out just thinking about that!  But, I want to give it a try and who knows, maybe I'll have Elizabeth done by then, she's been going quick anyway! 

These are the two options I have ready to go, one is "Paradise Lost" by Plum Street Samplers and the other is "Ann Grant" by Shakespeare's Peddler.  Both are kitted up with linens and silks and I'm leaning toward Paradise Lost since it's been next on my list for some time and keeps getting bumped out for other projects like Frances Eden and Elizabeth Sheffield.  But, I also really like Ann and am considering stitching several Ann's and doing a whole wall of Ann Samplers.  Others on that list include Ann Smith and Ann Dale. 

So, what do you think?  Before anyone gets the funny idea that I should start both let me remind you that I'm a stitchin one at a time girl and I think it would stress me out to no end to have three projects going!  But, I might be able to start the second one here after Elizabeth is done... Hmm, I'll think about that! 

My First Quilt

In a much earlier post I showed you the fabrics that I had picked out for a quilt class that I had signed up to take.  Well, here's the finished quilt!  I actually had everything done on this except for the hand stitched binding (and even that was half done) and I wanted to finish it up for Thanksgiving so one day I sat down to watch a Packer game and whip stitch the binding on.  I just love how it turned out!  The fabric is Fandango by Kate Spain (Moda) and I love these bright colors! 

This is actually the second quilt that I finished even though it was the first that I started.  The other quilt that I've completed start to finish is a baby quilt for my friends Kristin and Jon for the birth of their baby daughter.  I'll see if I can find a photo of that quilt too. 

This quilt is machine quilted and pieced and I've flipped a corner over so you can see the backing fabric.  I also think it looks fabulous in my guest room which is decorated in some of these same colors! 

Frances Eden

As promised, here is my finish of Frances Eden.  I finished her last summer and got her into her frame this fall.  Isn't she pretty?  I stitched her on 36 count Forest Haven linen by Zweigart.  For threads I did a conversion to Anchor.  This pattern is charted for either silks or DMC but I wanted the slightly softer colors of Anchor.  I love how this fabric is a pale blue/green and that with all the greens in the piece the ground fabric appears more blue.  I purchased the chart, linen and threads from Lynns of Madison, if you contact them please tell them I sent you! 

The frame is also from Lynn's shop and I love the way it looks!  Here's a close up view:

Isn't it neat?  I just love the way that a cool frame really sets off a piece!  I struggled with this piece a bit since it's a reproduction.  I wanted to keep the personalization true to the original stitcher but also wanted to include my information.  I ended up stitching my initials, JB and the year toward the bottom.  I'm currently stitching Elizabeth Sheffield and think that I'll add "Reproduction Stitched by... " at the bottom in over one lettering.  What do others of you do? 

Thankful

Wow, I'm so thankful for being able to spend a long weekend with my family, it was wonderful to spend the time together and to be here in Colorado for the holiday!  We had my parents, Grandfather and Aunt all here plus some of my neighbors joined us for dinner so all in all we had 8 adults, 1 baby, 4 dogs and 2 cats in my house for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was great! 

If you've stuck with me all this time, you know that I've been working to finish a bunch of projects by the end of this year.  And, since I was expecting company I was very busy for a week or so before the holiday weekend framing projects, putting the binding on my first quilt, cleaning and organizing the guest bedrooms.  It feels great to have all of that completed and I'm happy to say that I have a few more finished stitched projects hanging on my walls now!  Photos soon! 

The card pictured here is one that I designed for a card swap earlier this fall.  It uses three stamp sets.  The words are from Thank You Kindly (111700) which is one of my favorite Thank you sets.  The frame around the sentiment is Elizabeth (117120) and the Acorn is from Gently Falling (123802) from the Holiday Mini.  I've also used Spice Cake DSP (124003), the Lace Ribbon Border Punch (122362), Crumb Cake seam binding (122332) and the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder (119277). 

The Holiday Mini Catalog is Here!

The Holiday Mini Catalog is here and it's packed with lots and lots of cool products for your holiday crafting and shopping needs!  From the new stocking punch and die to new fabrics, ribbons and of course, stamps it has everything you need for a fun fall lineup!   If you haven't received your copy yet just email me and I'll send you one!