Thursday, January 28, 2010

Beautiful exchange received, more 2009 finishes, and my WIP

I received an absolute treasure in the mail yesterday from Sharlotte as part of the Ties That Bind Exchange.  Look at this beauty!





This was Sharlotte's first bourse finish, if you can believe it.  Didn't she do a fabulous job?!?  The design is exerpted from Blackbird Designs' Be Kind and True, and she stitched it on evenweave that she dyed herself.  The exterior fabric is a lovely sage moire and, you can't see them here, but she used pretty mother of pearl buttons at the corners.  I absolutely LOVE everything about it!  Thank you again, Sharlotte! 

By the way, Sharlotte is hosting a giveaway on her blog that ends January 31st.  Hurry on over there for a chance to win - or not, because if you DON'T enter, I have a better chance of winning! LOL

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Below are the only Christmas items that I finish-finished in 2009.


stitched on 14 ct dark green aida
Ecru DMC
Mill Hill beads



stitched on 26 ct cream Shannon linen by Zweigart (discontinued color), 1 over 1
DMC floss

Download this one before it goes away.  There are charts with "Merry Christmas" in English, French, Italian, and Spanish.  Many stitchers participated in this SAL.  There are pictures on this blog of it stitched in a lot of different ways.  So many creative stitchers!

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This is the bane of my existence my current WIP.



Love:
  • how this looks
  • the design 
  • how sparkly this will be when I finally get to the beading
Don't love:
  • perforated paper
  • sorting floss in kits - especially trying to tell DMC 3756 from white
  • sorting itty-bitty beads
  • stitching with three threads
  • that this is taking sooooooooooooo long to stitch
  • that it looks like I'm going to be short several lengths of 3756 (I haven't had to restitch anything, so whoever kitted it miscalculated.)
Started just before Christmas.  Will it ever end?????

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

2010 Finishes to Date and Welcome Followers (whoever you are)


Snug as a Bug
26 ct cream Shannon linen by Zweigart (discontinued color)
DMC conversion
Siena Alphabet from Stitchpoint.com


Stitched for Sharlotte in the Ties That Bind Exchange.
More photos on Sharlotte's blog here.


Finished as mattress pincushion.  New to me finish and/or technique #1 for 2010.



Primitive Bettys
40 ct vintage light exemplar
Anchor Bates threads from ollllllld stash


Stitched for Brides Tree SAL January 2010


Edge finished with hemstitch.  New to me finish and/or technique #2 for 2010.




Welcome, followers!  We have a computer shortage at home, and by the time one's free I usually am too tired to go online, so I do the vast majority of my blog reading between phone calls at work.  I would love to be able to greet you individually, but apparently you are "inappropriate".  The followers feature (on every blog I look at, including my own) shows this lovely message on the work computers:

ATTENTION

AN ACCESS RESTRICTION HAS BEEN PLACED ON THIS SITE BY STATE FARM

Our filtering software has indicated that the site you are attempting to access contains information or material which may be inappropriate for use or viewing by State Farm agents or their staff.

This event has been entered into the access logs.

Isn't that nice?  Um, yeah...NO!  So pardon me if I don't greet you all individually, and I hope you'll understand why I won't be following your blogs using this feature.  Chances are good, though, that yours is probably already among the 878 (yes, eight hundred seventy-eight) blogs and counting that I try to keep up with in Google reader. 


And finally, just because it makes me smile, here is our feline trio in a rare moment of harmony (even though Hope's eyes make her look like she's possessed and Shia says the picture makes his butt look fat). ;)

Monkey, Shia, & Hope

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

More 2009 Finishes that need to be framed or ornamentified - with birds




Bent Creek
Redbird Sampler
unknown linen
threads as charted

Knotted Tree NeedleArt
Red Bird Fraktur
unknown linen, tea-dyed by me
threads as charted


Blackbird Designs
Christmas Ornament 2004 (JCS ornament issue)
40 ct vintage light exemplar
silk conversion from stash
(modified the sentiment on the one on the right at the request of my daughter)

Angel Stitchin'
JCS ornament issue 2003
32 ct country mocha
threads from stash

More to come....

Thursday, January 21, 2010

A few 2009 finishes

Mini biscornu fob
14 ct fiddlers cloth
mystery vintage floss
Floss tag
My own "design"
Pinkeep
Alphabet from 1989 Craftways Keepsake Calendar (May), designer uncredited
Fob
Mini biscornu design from The Floss Box
All stitched on unknown 32 ct linen
DMC floss

Sisters & Best Friends
Yellow 28 ct Cashel
Gentle Arts Sampler Threads as charted

Fob
Mini biscornu design from The Floss Box
32 ct R&R Reproductions Creek Bed Brown linen
DMC floss


Scissorskeep and Pinkeep

"Red Motifs" by Carole Rodgers-Simply Cross Stitch magazine J/A 1994
Mini Biscornu Fob
Origami Orts Box and Floss Tag
Combination of designs from The Floss Box and my own design
All stitched on 32 ct Permin lambswool
DMC linen floss