Back again

Remember me? It's been a slow few months, with a family crisis thrown in for good measure (my mother was in a serious car accident but she has turned a corner and is now recovering). My stitching output has been minimal, but I do have a few things to show.

iStitch charts have become my "waiting for DS at swimming lessons" projects- the little motifs and alphabets are perfect for short stitching stints. I fell in love with Sew Peacock when I saw it, and GAST Peacock thread just begged to be used for it. Sew Nautical is next on the launching pad.
LHN's Pear Tree was my first foray into adding beads - there weren't many so it was a good piece to try it on. I quickly learned that my beading needles weren't big enough for floss to pass through; thanks to Staci I discovered Piecemaker size 28 needles worked like a charm. The beads are on the branches - they are kind of hard to see, but they're there!

I had a few things framed recently - I love how Primitive Wizard of Oz turned out. This is my mother's birthday present and I'm so glad I'll be able to give it to her.

I had a ready-made frame that was perfect for Have You Any Wool. There's one place where I didn't snip off the thread very well and it kind of shows through - I guess if it really bothers me I can always take it apart and have them redo it.

So that's the latest from me - I'm working on a small project which I hope to be able to post soon. Have a very happy Memorial Day weekend!

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?

Some Unfinished Finishes

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite novels, so when I saw Netherfield Park by The Sampler Girl it called my name. I stitched some of this while watching Lost in Austen, which is a miniseries about a contemporary young woman who finds herself in the midst of the P & P story and affects the events therein. If you are an Austen-lover I highly recommend it. I made a few changes to NP - I swapped the called-for DMC for Crescent Colours (I used Queen Bee, Bean Sprout, Whatley Woodlands and Wavy Navy), changed the tail feathers slightly, and instead of stitching the year 1813 I substituted Elizabeth's and Darcy's initials. If I ever get my sewing machine tension fixed it will (hopefully) become a pillow, upon which I can rest my head and dream about Colin Firth (don't tell my husband!)

Netherfield Park
The Sampler Girl
Unknown 28 count linen
Crescent Colours threads

Thanks to her nice comment on one of my posts, I discovered Ma Teakettle's blog, which I am enjoying wandering through. A project of hers grabbed my attention and this is the result:

My Little Heart - February
Sylvia K. Hessen
Freebie found here

Belfast Linen
DMC threads

Isn't it adorable? It's one part of a SAL that will encompass 12 designs, which can be stitched separately, or together with a border. Please pay close attention to the birds' eyes; they are - drumroll, please - french knots! Thanks to this tutorial they came out okay, I think. I would like to make this into a floss tag but I have to get one of those gizmos that set the grommets. I have seen a rather unwieldy one at Joann's - does anyone have any recommendations for this type of tool?

That's all I have to show right now - so it's on to the next project, when I figure out what it is!

Sew Fun to Stitch

Sew Animalistic
Carol R.
30 count parchment linen
DMC 4130

After Wizard of Oz I missed doing little motifs, so this was the perfect next project. I chose one of DMC's variegated threads because it seemed to go so nicely with the squirrel and the fox. I finished this in just a few days and I miss it already. This is the second of Carol's charts I've stitched, and it won't be the last.

I'm still mulling over what will be next. My LNS just sent me an email that tomorrow everything is 20% off, and I think that compels a trip, don't you?

Wizard of Oz Finished

Primitive Wizard of Oz
Midsummer Night Designs
Antique Ivory Belfast Linen
Crescent Colors and DMC Threads

With mixed feelings I put the final stitches into this last night. This has been such a fun project and I'm going to miss it a lot. Each little character has a neat little touch; the witch with her green skin,, the scarecrow with his straw stuffing escaping, the Flying Monkey standing between the F and the M - I can't wait to give it to my mom for her birthday once it's framed.

Yesterday I had some coffee left over in the pot, and I decided to do a test run of coffee dyeing on a little piece of fabric. I looked at Staci's tutorial and Vonna's basting and baking method. With these two wonderful ladies holding my hand, this is what I came up with:

Next time I'll use a bigger piece of linen now that I've gotten my feet wet, and maybe let it soak a little longer. But for a first try, I'm happy. Now I have to figure out what to stitch on it!