Christmas is right around the corner

Tomorrow is September 1st and that means Christmas will be right around the corner very soon. I've already started my Christmas ornaments and other items that I love to stitch. This one is a JBW Design and I stitched it on 28ct. Grazino tan and white linen and finished it into a cute little shopping tote. I used HDF silk and itis a beautiful red. In case you can't make out the words, it says "I love to go Christmas shopping". The bag is completely lined and made using a 100% premium cotton. If you are interested in purchasing it, you will find it in my store.

As always, Barbara

Some Very Interesting Pictures

Look very closely at these pictures.....can you figure out what they are?

Well if you said they are made up of pictures of the human body you would be right. I received these in an email from a friend and I thought they were just too wonderful not to share them with you. I have no idea who the artist/photographer is but they have a talent like no other.

All of you please have a great Tuesday and may all you stitches be good ones.

As always, Barbara

Fragrance Keepers?

I'm not sure what I want to call these. What they are, are little fabric envelopes that button close and inside is a small pouch that holds the fragrance. What makes these so nice is that you can change the pouch inside to hold whatever fragrance you like.....maybe even some pine needles, cinnamon sticks or whole cloves. The ideas are endless.

This one has a pouch with bath crystals inside that have the scent of roses.

I will have several more fabric choices in the next few days and you will find these for sale in my store.

As always, Barbara

And the Winner is.....

.....and she's going to have a new biscornu for her decorations. Congratulations Kathy!!!! I will be emailing you for your information so I can mail this to you.

The next giveaway will be in September for a cute Little House Needleworks Christmas ornament so stay tuned.

Have a great Monday, As always, Barbara

Giveaway in honor of Jenn's Birthday!!!

Jenn's Birthday is coming up on the 28th of August and I made this Halloween Biscornu as a giveaway in honor of her birthday. I stitched it on a hand dyed black 32ct fabric from Picture This Plus and I used HDF silks in all the stitching. The design is a sweet design from "The Floss Box" who if you have never visited her website, you are missing out on some very sweet patterns. I finished the edge with a tulle ribbon and then tied it into a bow. The center is decorated with a cute little pumpkin button. This would make a great addition to your Halloween decorations so post your name and email address in the comments section and we will have a drawing next monday night.

Good luck to all.

As always, Barbara

P.S. I forgot to mention that this is available to anyone who is a follower of my blog.

I Love Trying Different Things.....

...so I thought I would try something new in my finishing of this pincushion. I came across this beautiful quilting fabric that looks like cross stitched roses a few weeks ago. For this pincushion I covered a large button and used that for the center. I also used the same fabric for the bottom. The stitching I did with Waterlillies called Cherry Cordial. Doesn't that sound great??? For some reason I'm always drawn to fibers that are named after candy or food. I'm beginning to think I have a problem. LOL

Anyways, here it is and if you are interested in purchasing it, it's in my store.

As always, Barbara

Very Proud News to Announce

My very talented daughter entered a contest that a major quilting magazine was having. You were to design and make a Mojo Doll. Well she did and came away with 4th Prize. I think this is great for a nationwide contest and I am extremely proud of her. Below is her entry:

The big Mojo Reveal will be in the October/November 2010 Quilter's Home, which it hits the newsstands starting mid-September. Please join me in congratulating her on her win.

As always, Barbara

A Spoonful of Sugar........

.....makes the medicine go down.....and this little pillow from Just Another Button Co is just as sweet. It was so much fun to stitch and I can't wait to see and stitch some more of these monthly teaspoons. I took a green and white checked ribbon and ruched that around the outside and added a bow with pink, green and pale yellow ribbons. You will find this in my "store" for sale.

I received so many emails about the soxs my daughter designed that I thought I would share another of her knits. She did this shawl last year and if you look up close, you will see that the yarn is a kettle dyed with varying shades of yellow and that there are thousands of white beads knitted right in to the pattern. This shawl is as light as a spider web to wear and the reason I have it is to store it. Four boys under the age of 11 are bound to get into trouble now and then and she would rather have this shawl out of hands reach. Can't say I blame her....there are hundreds of hours of work involved here.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday and has plenty of time to sit and stitch in this hot weather in the nice cool air conditioning.
As always, Barbara

Knitting with Double Pointed Needles

I'm not sure how many of you knit, but this weekend I knitted my first thing with double pointed needles. I picked something very easy like a hat that was done on large needles. What made this one so easy is that you started at the brim with the k1, p1 ribbing and work towards the crown. I actually only had to do 6 rows with the dp's and that was fine with me. Below you will see the finished item. It's called "merinque" and I think it looks very french with the ribbon laced thru the yo's and tied into a bow.

One of the reasons I was determined to learns this was my daughter, Jenn. She is a wonder when it comes to knitting and I can't let her get ahead of me.....especially since I taught her to knit. :o)

Below you will see a halloween sock pattern that she designed and is selling on Ravelry. You can find her selling page at this link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/just-batty-socks

if you are interested in purchasing the pattern. Aren't they adorable??? Can't you see yourself wearing them this Halloween while you're giving out candy to the little ones that come for treats?

.

That's all for now. I've been working on the BBD Berry Time design and it's coming along slowly. I was at my local shop yesterday and came away with a couple of new things. I purchased on of the Just Another Button Cos. new teaspoon patterns. I'm working on that too and it's turning out adorable. I do love their patterns and I have 4 of their teapots to stitch yet. So many patterns....so little time. I have decided that I could get alot more stitching done if 3 things did not interfere. 1. Eating 2. Sleeping 3. Bathroom.....am I right or what??? :o) Everyone have a blessed Sunday, As always Barbara

Trying to Stay out of Trouble is Hard

It's been awhile since I posted and I thought I would catch up with what's been happening around here. First off, I've been working on a Blackbird Design called It's Berry Time and I'm loving it. I'm using one of HDF's silks and as usual, I'm enthralled with them. The pattern called for it to be stitched on a creamy fabric but I decided to go with a gold one with a red silk and it's stunning. If you haven't stitched this piece yet I recommend you look it up.

I never thought I would fall in love with monotone designs but I have. If I come across a pattern that has more than 1 color, it depresses me so much that most of the time, I don't stitch it. What are your feelings on this? Maybe that's why quakers are so popular right now....we get to stitch some beautiful designs with just one color and the design turns out stunning.

The staying out of trouble is hard part, is not starting another project till I get this one finished....I'm not sure if I'll make it or not.

Now for the strange thing that has happened. My hubby turned 61 this past August 4th and for his birthday he decided to buy the sports car pictured below. Granted it is fun to drive....ya know I had to try it....but is it really practical? He's been talking about getting one of these for about a year now and this past saturday we found this one locally and it went home with us. If you know anything about cars, it's a BMW Z3 and when I drove it, I felt like I was driving a toy. Oh well....he works hard and deserves a new play thing I guess.

I will keep you updated on my progress on It's Berry Time and hopefully have it finished in about a week. Everyone have a terrific Wednesday and the upcoming weekend.

As always, Barbara

Stacey Nash Biscornu

This is the second one of her biscornu patterns and I thought I better get it stitched. I did something different with this one. I tea dyed the cotton lace and the silk ribbon I used to finish it with. It doesn't show up in the photo very well but it did turn out very complimentary to the design.

I see we aren't getting much response to the idea of a bookmark exchange and I've been told that it might be due to the time of the year. Everyone is in a tizzy to get their kids back to school and maybe some are on vacations. We will try this again sometime this fall and maybe we'll get a better response.

I have a confession to make. I am an addict!!!! I can't stop ordering HDF silks!!! Vikki is coming out with some stunning "rubbed" colors and I just can't resist them. I have an entire hank of her one color "Dragon Droppings" which I ordered to do all these quakers with and I haven't even started that yet. I wonder if there is a 12 step program to get over an addiction to silk? If anyone hears of any, please let me and my cc know.....it's getting tired. LOL

So here it is friday and another weekend is in sight. My hubby had to take my suv to work today because something is wrong with his car. I hate it when he drives my vehicle!!! When I get back in it, I discover he has moved the seat and all the mirrors and it takes me a week to get it back the way it was. Also tomorrow is yard working day. Now that's something I really hate. It is so hot down here right now that all you have to do is step outside and stand still and you start sweating buckets and it's worse when you work. I'm hoping we can get most of it done before it gets too hot but then that means getting up earlier. Have I told you I hate yard work? LOL

Well you ladies have a great weekend...As always, Barbara

Anybody Interested In an Exchange???

I've never done an exchange before and I thought if there were enough of you ladies interested, we could try one. I've seen all kinds of exchanges but I thought we would do a "Bookmark" exchange. My reasons for this is that you can use all kinds of different needlework and the finished product can be mailed in an ordinary envelope because I would like this to be available to the oversea ladies.

The rules would be simple. Make a bookmark out of just about anything but it has to involve a needle of some sort. Tatting, crocheting, knitting, cross stitch, needlepoint, needlepunch....the possibilities are endless.

So ladies, if you are interested in this type of exchange, please post your name and comments on this post and we'll see about getting this going.

As always, Barbara

What to do.....what to do.....

Yep I'm bored again. I went back and looked in my sewing room and thought "there's nothing I want to do". That's sick!!!! I have fabric, patterns and fibers that most stitchers would envy but I just can't get in the mood to use any of it. I've been telling my daughter, Jenn, that I'm going to box it all up and mail it to her but she doesn't have room for it.

I've been in the knitting mood and I thought about knitting a sweater for one of my grandsons in Colorado where it would be useful, but even that idea has left me down.

I have tons of quaker samplers that I would love to get stitched but even they don't interest me. Has anybody else been where I am? What helped you get over it? This has been happening more and more to me as I get older and I just wondered if that is usual.

Maybe I need to stitch something over 1. I love doing this with two strands in a tent stitch but I'm not sure a sampler would look okay with that. What do you think?

HELP!!!!!

As always....Bored Barbara

Crazy Quilted Blue Rose

I'm not too great at crazy quilting but I did have fun doing this. The rose has been cross stitched and I used 5 different coordinating cotton fabrics to surround it with. I've added some pearls, buttons, silver heart charms, pewter butterfly charms, swarovski crystals, an applique, and a pretty bow to set everything off. The finished size is approx. 6 inches across and you will find this in my store for sale if you are interested.

Everyone please have a Blessed Sunday.

As always, Barbara