A Winner and some updates

First off I want to thank all you beautiful stitchers out there that read my blog.  I've been doing it for quite some now but it's always nice to hear from you.  We have a winner for the DMC floss and it's

Rose Heck

I used the number generator and the winner was number 4.  Rose, please email me with your shipping information so I can get these in the mail to you asap.

For you that are wondering if I've heard anything from DMC about my tin, the answer is no.  I'm very disappointed in them  and will think twice before purchasing anything else from them in the future.  I'm going to post a picture of the damage to Facebook so that other's are aware of this.  I guess in this case it was buyer beware.

I do have a finish to show you.  Do you have finished stitching and you just don't know what to do with it?  Well I had one of The Primitive Hare's designs and I found the cutest fabric to go with it.  I used the name of the fabric collection to add a label to my finished project bag.

Also, I've been working hard on my Lizzie Kate Christmas Mystery SAL so I'll give you a glimpse of what it looks like.

I was up at Needle Orts and picked up a new sampler by Nicky's Creation called Alphabet Garden.  I'm going to be changing the colors to more of a primitive look but I love the alphabet.

That's all for now.  I hope everyone has had a peaceful weekend and you have lots of "ME" time this upcoming week.  We all need that sometimes.

Blessings, Barbara

A New Start

Hello my fellow stitcher's.  Here it is Sunday afternoon and we are enjoying a peaceful afternoon after a chaotic morning.  Today we celebrated Little John's second birthday....a few days early.  Here are 2 pictures of our big boy blowing out his candle on his dinosaur cupcake.  He was really quite proud of himself.

It was a houseful over at Peyton's and John's and we had a lot of fun helping him celebrate.  He's becoming such a big boy it's funny calling him "Little John".

I made a Halloween display for him over at our house of my fall and Halloween creations.  He loves looking at it when he comes over.  Halloween is such a fun time of year.

I started two new projects.  One is a shawl for myself out of the softest yarn I have ever worked with.  It's alpaca, cashmere and silk and it is yummy.  The color is a beautiful silver that will go with anything.  I have 4 skeins of this beautiful yarn and I plan on using it all on this shawl.  I want it big so I can snuggle in it.   That's 1,740 yards so I know I'll be working on this for a while but it will be worth it.  As you can see, Vallie agrees with me about how soft the yarn is.  If I put it down, she's on it immediately.

The other start is a SAL by Lizzie Kate called "Spirit of Christmas".  I'm chugging right along on it and so far so good.  Since it's a mystery sal, I don't want to give away what the finish project looks like but I think it's okay to show you what I have done so far.  I was going to change the colors (Weeks Dye Works) to more primitive colors, but now I'm glad I didn't.  Loving them!

Well that's what I've been up to this week.  I hope yours has been just as enjoyable.  You all have a great week.

Blessings, Barbara

On a brighter note.....

.....I finished the Lizzie Kate!!!!  Yeah!!!!!  I never had a small design take so long to stitch but I guess that's what happens when you do too many things at one time.  I am certainly happy that this is now off of my frame and ready to be framed.  I think I'll wait until after the holidays to look for a frame....I'm hoping for some good sales.

 I stitched the design on 32ct. Cream Belfast using DMC floss.  It called for some overdyeds but I decided against them.  I really and truly dislike stitching with the cotton overdyeds.....Weeks, Sampler, Crescent....it doesn't matter which one.....I dislike them all.  I have quite a few of them and they will be going on the selling blog shortly.  

Now I want to tell you about the pincushion you see in the upper left hand corner of the above picture.  This was very simple to make and it actually has a double purpose.  I took a canning lid and glued the two pieces together and sat them aside.  Then I made a regular old tomato pincushion and stuffed it really tightly.  I then glued the pincushion inside the lid with some strong glue.  I placed rubber bands up and over and all around it to keep the pincushion tightly inside the lid.  I left this dry overnight and the next morning I glued a magnet in the center of the bottom lid.  Why did I do that?  I use magnets to hold my pattern to my fabric in the frame when I am stitching and this gives me a nice strong magnet to hold my pattern...but also gives me a really pretty pincushion that will hold my needle when I'm not using it.

This is a very simple to make so try it and send me a pic of what yours looks like.  I would love to see different interpretations.

That's all for now.....back to Christmas stitching and until we talk again, have a Blessed day,

Barbara

Lizzie Kate Not All of Us

This design by Lizzie Kate is one of her "boxer" series and it was alot of fun to stitch.  In the kit you had the 32ct. Flax Linen, the little red flower buttons and a brass heart for the bonus chart of a pincushion.  I haven't stitched that yet but I will at a future date.  I guess you can call this my first finish for 2012.  I just hope all the remaining projects are this much fun to stitch and to finish.  

I hope your first day of the new year is going well.  I'm planning on having sauerkraut for dinner tonite.  My mother insisted on having this every new year's day to insure good luck for the rest of the year.  Does your family have any traditions that you are continuing?  We would all love to hear about them.  Until later.....

Blessings as always, 

Barbara

Lizzie Kate Glass Jar finish

I was at my LNS the other day and came across one of Lizzie Kate's new designs called Inspiration Boxer and it had this cute little design as an extra.  I don't usually do LK's but this one intrigued me and I couldn't put it down.  It turned into a pretty expensive project because I had to purchase the Crescent Colors, Weeks Dye Works and Sampler Threads to stitch it with.  I stitched it on 32ct. Flax Belfast linen and then mounted it into one of these glass jars.  There are two little pink flower buttons that really set off the design.  I loved stitching it but it's really not something that I would keep so I'm offering it up for sale in my store.  If you are interested in it, you'll find it there.

I've started a rather large design that is from Marjorie Massey called Inspiration Quaker III that has 3 designs in it and I'm doing the one with the owl in the middle.  You'll find it here.

I hope to have this finished by the end of the week and who knows what will be next.

Blessings as always,

Barbara