My free Christmas ornament to you.....

The other day I posted about the colors that are used for Christmas ornaments and asked what everyone prefers.  I received some wonderful comments on this and it got me thinking about designing a Christmas ornament pattern that you could possible do in just about any color combination.....I think I came up with it.  Several ladies posted about using light pink and silver, light blue and silver.....well this is my version of those combinations.  In the picture, you will see all the fibers I used in the stitching of this ornament.  I hope you will stitch this in the colors you love and please don't forget to send me a picture so that I can share with the others.

I stitched mine on the palest of grey 28ct. Jobelan and I used Anchor Pearl Cotton for the kloster blocks.  All the other stitching was done in Anchor floss and Rainbow Gallery Treasure Braid.  The little snowflakes I bought at my local LNS, Needle Orts, which you can find in my list of "places I love to visit".  Of course you don't really need to use these if you don't wish, I just saw them and fell in love.

 The twisted braid around the outside was made using 1 skein of the pink and 1 skein of the green Anchor floss.  I then used straight pins with a bead on it, dipped in a tiny amount of glue to anchor the floss to the ornament.

You can find the pattern here and if you do stitch this and post the finished ornament on your blog, would you please make a link to this posting and give me credit for the designing.  I would greatly appreciate it.

I am hoping I receive alot of pictures showing all different kinds of color combinations....please don't disappoint me.  Thanks and have fun with it.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

New Free Halloween Design

Has anyone else gotten into the Halloween spirit yet?  Well I have and I came up with this free design that I thought might give everyone a smile.  It has alot of specialty stitches and you can use whatever threads you have handy.  I'm stitching this at the moment and I'll share it with you all when I'm done.  You can either click on the picture to get a larger graph or go to the pdf file here.  If you have any trouble just drop me an email and I'll be glad to send it your way.  Sometimes the Google Docs thingy just doesn't want to cooperate with me.  I know I can't be doing anything wrong.  LOL  Anyways, have fun with it and if you decide to stitch it, be sure to drop me a picture so I can share with others.  

Blessings as always,

Barbara

A Florida freebie pattern....

I made mention before that I was going to try and come up with a pattern that showed the colors of Florida....well here it is.  You can download the pattern here.  Just click on "File" over on the left hand side and it will (at least it should if this old woman did it right) have a drop down where you can click on Print.  If this doesn't work for you, please let me know so I can fix it.

I haven't stitched this design yet because I'm working on other things but it kept bugging me.....and I'm easily bugged if you know me LOL....so I stopped what I was doing to design this.  I'd appreciate a picture from someone who decides to stitch this so I can post a finished pic.

Enjoy!!!

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Ruth's Biscornu

 I received an email from Ruth today and she sent me these pictures of a biscornu she stitched using one of my free patterns.  Isn't it great!!!!!   I love her color choice - you can never go wrong with red.

On the bottom, she repeated the border and the very center of the design.  She also told me that she had never stitched a Rhodes Stitch and that she learned something new while doing this.  I love learning new stitches and I'm glad I was of some use to Ruth in teaching her something new.

Please, if you have stitched one of my designs, send me a picture and I will be glad to share with the other ladies.  Ruth, you did an awesome job and I'm thrilled that you enjoyed stitching one of my designs.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

May Flowers....

I came up with this design tonite and I thought I'd share it with you.  I had purchased two new colors of Crescent Colors Belle Soie at my LNS....Attic Tea and Sweet Lavender....and I couldn't find anything that interested me to stitch in these two colors.  I thought you might want to stitch it at the same time I do so that we can compare the end results.  I haven't decided what fabric I'm using yet but I'm sure it will be a neutral.  If you want to download the complete pdf, you will find it here.

If you finish it and would like to share, send me a photo so I can post it here so we all can enjoy it.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Thistledown freebie pattern....

 Is all finished and just waiting for you to download and stitch.  I will give you this bit of information....I used an entire new skein of Dinky Dye Silks to stitch mine so it does use alot of floss.  I recommend stitching yours with a new skein of whatever you choose.  The finishing is done like Cynthia of the Drawn Threads little scissor keepers.  You can find the instructions in the freebie section of her website.  If you would rather purchase it already stitched, you'll find this in my store for sale.

I stitched mine on 28ct. hand dyed Jobelan called Carnival and I used the Dinky Dye Mountain Mist.  After all the finishing was done, mine turned out about 2 inches square.  To add a little extra to mine, I filled it with bath salts that smell like lavender.  I use bath salts because they add a nice fragrance and they give it weight.  You, of course, do not have to use this....use whatever you wish.

Here is the pattern that you can click on and enlarge and then print it out or you can download the pdf here.

If you decide to stitch it, please send me a picture so I can post it here.  I love to see how others have stitched and finished my patterns.

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Let's Start the New Year with a New Freebie....

I thought if would be great fun to start out the new year with a new free pattern. I haven't even stitched it yet so we'll all see how it turns out together. I have charted it in 4 colors of the same family but you do what you want with it. If and when you stitch it, please send me a pic so we can all enjoy them.

Here's the.... pattern. If you have any problems downloading it, just email me for the pattern.

As always, Barbara

Free Flag Pattern

I forgot to post the pattern for the flag that I used on the tin that I am giving away. This is a very simple pattern that uses only 2 different stitches and it really doesn't need to be stitched on a linen or even weave fabric. Please enjoy this pattern and if you would like to post this on your blog, please contact me. Pattern can be found here.

As always, Barbara

P.S. I have fixed the link to the pattern. One of these days I will remember how to do this and not cause you sweet ladies problems. Also I would love to see what you ladies do with this after you have stitched it. Let's share!!!

Circle of Life Free Pattern

Brenda has done it again!!! She made a beautiful pinkeep out of my next free pattern and it's just adorable. She changed the french knots to beads so you might want to try this also and don't be afraid to change the colors. You can find the pattern here.

Have fun and as always, Barbara

Summer Diamond Free Pattern

This beautiful finish was done by Brenda and I can't thank her enough for stitching this wonderful interpretation of my design....Summer Diamond. She used a new fiber Threadworx and matched DMC to the colors in the varigated. I think it turned out just sweet. Thank you Brenda for making my work look good. You can find the free pattern here.

As always, I'd love to see others interpretations of the design.

Barbara

A Freebie Humbug

Notice something wrong? Yep it's not pink like I said it was going to be. I decided on lavender, green and yellow instead. What happened was I have some spools of Sulky No.12 thread and I fell in love with this one. It's a beautiful varigated that works up nicely. I did the stitching on 32ct. Magnolia linen so it turned out pretty small so I used it as a scissor fob.
You can find the pattern here.

Have fun and don't forget to show me pics if you stitch it.

As always, Barbara

P.S. I was requested by a friend to give these patterns names so it makes it easier for her to file them. LOL Ok she asked for it. The first one which is the pink and green one is now named "Pinkies Garden". The second one which is the blue and yellow is now named "Bluebells Pins" and the last one I just posted above is now named "Queen's Humbug".

Free Pattern Number Two

So here is the next free pattern I was talking about. This one is stitched in blues and yellows and the pattern gives you the DMC numbers. But, I stitched mine in Waterlillies silks and here are the ones I used:

Banana

Polar Ice

Ice

Moss

and one Dinky Dye....Sunflower

You will find the pattern here

Have fun and let me know if you stitch it.

As always, Barbara

P.S. My next one will be a pink Humbug.

Brenda's Finish

When I checked my email this morning, I found this beautiful picture of a finish that Brenda had done of my free pattern. I absolutely never thought I would see one of my designs stitched by another stitcher and this just gave me chills when I saw it. Isn't Brenda's finish beautiful? I love it and will cherish the thought that someone liked my design enough to stitch it.

If any other stitchers out there end up stitching one of my designs, please email me the picture....it just makes my day. :o) A big thank you goes to Brenda for allowing me to share this picture with you.

Everyone have a Blessed Sunday.

As always, Barbara

My First Free Pattern

I have always wanted to start designing and this one is the first I have posted on here. I have it transferred to a PDF file but I have no idea how to post the pattern on my blog. If anyone can help, please contact me. This has been stitched on an olive green evenweave with DMC floss in several different stitches. I have it patterned that you can do this in one color or pick several colors you like. Around the outside there is twisted braid which was attached with the matching straight pins and then tied into a bow. The bottom of the pincushion is a matching pink cotton fabric or you can do another piece out of the same linen with just the outside backstitching and finish it the way you would a biscornu. The button in the center is a covered button with the same fabric as the bottom.

So please, if you can help me post the PDF file, contact me. I think I have come up with a temporary solution of posting this pattern. Here is a link to a server who has made the pattern into a pdf document and you are able to print from there. Please bear with me while I learn all these things any normal person knows how to do. LOL

Pattern here

As always, Barbara