Remember me mentioning the Sal that Nathalie was having....well this is the first part I have stitched.  I'm doing it in colors that I usually wouldn't pick and I think that's good.  The fibers are Au Ver A Soie 100/3 and it's being stitched on 32ct. Queen Anne's Lace Jobelan.  I love how this turned out and I'm impatiently awaiting the next part which will be released on Oct. 1 or 2....I can't remember.

Oh here's an interesting question.....if you were to stitch a sampler that represented black and white television from the 50's what color fabric and threads would you use?

B

Remember me posting about a challenge that Lori over at Notforgotten Farms was having....well here's my entry.  I stitched her design on light olive green 32ct. linen using a HDF silk that was varigated with black and dark olive green.  I love this color!  Then I started playing around and did some of the stitching types I like to do best.  There's quilting with the hexagon in upper right hand corner.....applique with the bat and machine embroidery with the spooky house and the cobweb.  The ribbon was torn and then burnt to give it a primitive look about it.  

I really enjoyed stitching this little design as I have all of Lori's.  I'm still plucking away on my hexagon quilt that's in shades of indigo blues.  I don't have that much more to do but I'm starting to get the knitting bug and crocheting bug again.  I can tell fall is coming.

I would like to share a story with you that means alot to me.  When I was a kid, my Uncle Roy and Aunt Helen lived on a farm that was only about 3 miles from our home.  We visited almost every weekend and I loved them dearly.  One of my favorite memories from my childhood happened there....well I should say 3 of them happened there.  My Aunt Helen churned her own butter and it was so sweet I swear I can still taste it.  She always gave me butter crackers when we visited and I loved them.  The second was my Uncle Roy.  He use to let me sit on his lap and take very small sips from his beer.  I think that's why I like beer even to this day.  The third was my cat Smokey.  Their cat had kittens and me and my younger brother were allowed to bring one home.  Smokey was the runt of the litter and we loved him so much.  I still think of him often.  

By now you are wondering what this has to do with the above picture.  Well when Uncle Roy retired from the farming, they moved into a much smaller home and I stitched this for them as a remembrance.  That was about 40 years ago.  It's a Told In The Garden design and I stitched it over one thread on 28ct natural linen so that it would fit in the frame.  I remember when I gave it to them that Uncle Roy had a funny look on his face.  I asked him what was wrong and his reply was, "but we're not Amish".  :o)

My Uncle Roy passed away about 10 years ago and he was in his 90's and had led a very full like.  This past August 6 I lost my Aunt Helen and she lived to be 102 years old.  She lived in a nursing home for the past few years and she always had this picture on her wall.  Well when she passed on, one of my cousins... her daughter...contacted me and asked if I would like to have the picture back.  Of course I said yes and it is now hanging in my kitchen and it's a sweet reminder of my childhood and my wonderful Uncle Roy and Aunt Helen.   I miss them dearly.

This table mat was so much fun to stitch and plan out.  It was stitched on a sage colored linen and then I added the leaf up in the corner with a bow.  This would look great on a dining table this Halloween or maybe you'd want it for a wall hanging.  It's in my store if you're interested.

Blessings, Barbara

Halloween is coming soon and I wanted to show you what Jenn and I have been working on.  This is a machine embroidery pattern that we both fell in love with and just had to do.  It took us 3 days to do all the stitching.  The purple fabric is cotton and the doors and windows are silk.  The first picture I took with no flash to show you how it lights up.  The light comes from a battery operated tea light that sits in the botton of the house and it even flickers.  

The next pictures are of the house in light so you can see the detail of all the stitching.  This stands approx. 9 inches tall and about 7 inches wide.  There are a total of over 350,000 stitches....that's alot of thread!!!!!

 This one we are keeping but if you would like to order one, just contact me at grammy5@cfl.rr.com.

I haven't been stitching too much but I did start the new SAL by Nathalie.  You can find it here if you are interested:  http://lesmarottesdenath.free.fr/index.php?article=1377900000

I've finished the latest Eugenia option - pinkeep.  The directions are usually pretty good but for this pinkeep I had the dangest time figuring out what they meant.  If it's not done right...oh well.

Then there's this little lady.  She's actually about 7 x 9 and I did her on my embroidery machine.  Since I don't really have time to do anything with her, I'm offering her up for sale in my shop.  She is stitched on a piece of off white linen using Sulky threads.

For those that are interested in some silks and other types of fibers, I just placed a list on Never Enough Stash.  I have them grouped by fiber and how many skeins and how full they are. 

Take all of them off my hand and I'll pay for the shipping. :o)