My First Pillow

After threatening to make a pillow for months, I finally did it, using Netherfield Park by The Sampler Girl. It's hard to see the fabric colors - the background is green and the flowers are gold, picking up the colors in the pattern. In the picture the linen doesn't look quite even with the fabric at the top of the pillow, but in "real life" it looks pretty straight.

Pear Tree Ornament
Little House Needleworks
Cream Belfast linen and DMC

My other March finish is this LHN ornament (I haven't put the beads on yet). Now that I know how to make a pillow that may be what it ends up as; it's rather large for an ornament. I'm working on something else but it's a gift so I can't show it yet. In the pipeline are Carol R.'s Sew Peacock and Shakespeare's Peddler's Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler; Anita at Little Stitches had a sale on the chart and floss for Jenny Bean and I couldn't resist. It's so nice to have projects lined up! (I have no idea why the font size in this paragraph is so small - another Blogger mystery).

Pillow Help Please

I am trying to make Netherfield Park into a pillow, and right at the get-go I am in need of assistance. Should I wash the pillow fabric before I sew it to my stitched piece? I'm going to "frame" the pillow with fabric rather than using it just as backing. And any tips on cutting the fabric straight would be most appreciated. I pulled threads in the stitched piece to get a straight cutting line, but that doesn't seem to be possible with my fabric. Thank you to any more experienced soul who can point me in the right direction. I was not a seamstress in a previous life!

A Finish, and a Finished Finish

Necessities Sampler
Little House Needleworks
Unknown 28 count linen
DMC Threads

Here's my latest project - this was an easy and pleasant piece to stitch. I haven't decided what to do with it yet - it might make a very pretty little pillow. I went to JoAnn Fabrics to look for material, but couldn't find anything I liked. JoAnn's is the only fabric store around here - the wonderful quilt shop I used to patronize years ago in Cambridge is no more. I find JoAnn's fabric selection to be rather disappointing in general. I'd like to try buying online but I'm concerned that the colors on my monitor may not be the same as the actual fabric colors. If you order fabric online, are you happy with your choices?

Victorian Christmas Motif
Joan Elliott
The World of Cross Stitching Issue 158

This is my first ornament! Remember when I was asking how you adhere stitching to felt when it's fringed? I was stumped until I saw a fringed piece in CrossStitch and Needlework magazine - they suggested using acid-free double-sided tape (scrapbooking tape). It works like a charm! My fringe isn't totally straight but for a first effort I'm pleased with it. (The top doesn't seem to show the pinked edges but they are there. It was my first time using pinking shears too). Thanks to Michele for her encouragement in trying this finishing method.

My husband and son went to Florida for a few days to visit DH's mother, and they left me behind to have some "mommy time." I have a meatloaf in the oven (they hate meatloaf and I love it) and an evening of stitching and movie-watching planned. What could be more perfect?