A pincushion finish

This was such a sweet design I just couldn't resist stitching it.  It's been stitched on 32ct. Cream Belfast linen using the most beautiful pink silk.  It's a Silk N Colors and the name......I know you you'll love this name as much as I did.....Camelot's Lady.  Isn't that the greatest!!!!  I finished it into one of my soft sided pincushions.  On the bottom (which I forgot to take a picture of) is a cream with pink and blue flowers and then around the side is a striped that coordinates with it perfectly.  I then added heirloom lace around the top and a very thin chenille cording around the bottom.  It's been topped off with one of my signature bows in pink.  This turned out so feminine looking and I'm going to offer this up for sale in my store.  You can find it there if you are interested.

Updated to give you the French blog where I found this design:  http://www.mamiloucreations.com/categorie-12390071.html

Well I've restarted my Strawberry Hill Sampler on a piece of 32ct. hand dyed linen from Nina.  I'm going to use the same Sampler Threads that Brenda calls for but I will have to make the design on the box top smaller.  This will probably mean leaving out some of the design elements which I don't want to do but I have no other choice.  

I want to thank everyone who commented on my having to do away with my smaller count linens.  I have tried magnification in the past with terrible results.  I usually end up with a terrible headache and very queasy in the stomach after using one.....so that's not a solution.  I have resigned myself to this and understand that it's a part of getting older.....which stinks by the way!!!

I hope everyone has had a terrific weekend with tons of time to do all kinds of stitchie things.  I know for us here in the U.S., Wednesday is the 4th of July (sorry Brits!) and we really haven't anything special planned.  Whatever you plan on doing, please have a wonderful time and enjoy the 4th!

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Some finishes

 Well I finally finished my shawl I was working on.  It was knitted with 3 different brands of yarn....Berrocco, Bernat and Katia Ribbon.  I love the weight of it which is a little heavy and will keep me nice and warm down here this coming winter.  I hate wearing coats and I find shawls are a great addition to my wardrobe.  It's most knitted but the ruffle at the bottom is crocheted.  I made a shawl like this for a friend's mother and I loved how it turned out so I thought I'd finish this one that way.

Then when I had my crochet hooks out, I thought I'd make some washcloths to sell in my store.  This set was made using a cotton/acrylic yarn that has been recycled so you might want to say these are "green".  There are three washcloths that finished out about 8 inches square and a round scrubby which I love to use to remove makeup.  They are all tied up with a red and white ribbon with my "Blessings".  You will find this set for sale in my store.

I came across some unusual jars the other day and I'm working on coming up with something involving them.  They are a great size for holding pins and such and would look beautiful sitting on your sewing table.  I hope to have these finished sometime next week so stay tuned for that.

I hope everyone has a blessed weekend with absolutely nothing to do but stitch....

Blessings as always,

Barbara

Christmas Shawlette for Sale

I knitted this shawl with a beautiful acrylic/wool yarn that has a lovely drape to it and just lays gently around your shoulders. I wanted a soft ruffle along the edge and so I decided to crochet that part and it turned out just how I imagined it would. This would make a beautiful gift for someone who has a chilly office or home and just wants a little something around the shoulders to help keep warm.

The above picture shows the knitted part with a design of yarn overs and garter ridges with the crocheted ruffle. You will find this item in my store for sale.

Now unto Christmas shopping. Would you believe hubby and I went yesterday and have just about all the grand children done!!! I've always been more comfortable shopping for girls since that's what we had, but I must admit I had alot of fun shopping for those 4 grandsons. We started at Costco and found a K-nex (sp?) roller coaster that is almost 4 feet tall. Now this comes with hundreds of little pieces and I know the boys will love it, but Jenn is another story. I can hear her now complaining about the parts laying around on the floor waiting to be picked up by the vacuum. LOL It's a lot of fun being a grandparent!!! Next we went to Target and they got quite a bit of our money but we did great there. Wyatt the smallest one has been watching the Fisher Price IXL book on tv so that's what we decided to get for his large present. It looks like he's gonna have a ball with this one and it's educational so that's always a bonus. The two middle ones, Cauy and Dakota are into the Halo toys (please don't ask me to explain because I have no idea what these are) but bought some great pieces for them between Target and ToysRUs. The oldest boy Dalton, is really into camo gear. Well the next stop was the Army/Navy store and we got some things there he's gonna love...including his own set of dog tags. All in all it was alot of fun shopping for them and I still have to get a few odds and ends for them and they are finished. Peyton our grand daughter is graduating this year so we've decided to get her a laptop for her Christmas/graduation present combined. She needs one (her old one died) and I'm sure alot of stores are going to have some good sales from now till Christmas.

So today I'm recuperating and doing some sit down work. I'm still working on the gifts for my Christmas giveaway which will be posted the day after Thanksgiving.....Black Friday so keep checking back. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

As always, Barbara

Christmas Kitchen Set for Sale

This was done using a 100% cotton worsted weight yarn in Christmas reds and greens. There are 3 parts to this set: First is the dishcloth and scrubbie, Second is the trivet and Third is the bag holding 2 satin napkins. This would make someone a very nice and practical Christmas gift. This can be found in my store for sale.

As always, 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

The "ABC's" of dealing with crude people

I had placed an order two weeks ago with a store in New Hampshire (it's a famous one with a large website) and never received confirmation or anything from them. I went to my local LNS yesterday and was able to purchase all 3 of the patterns I wanted. Well yesterday afternoon I emailed the store to cancel the order was blasted by the owner Marie. She was the crudest, rudest woman I have ever had the misfortune to deal with.

On Jan 10 I placed an order for 1 yard of linen. Again, I never received a word from them concerning this order. Yesterday when I mentioned this to her, her reply was that it was on backorder from the company. Now I ask you....if you were selling items on a website, would you picture them and sell them when you don't have them in stock? To me this is just stupid.

All I can say is if you deal with this woman Marie, I hope you have a better experience than I did and I can guarantee I will never be dealing with the cross stitch store again. I would rather do without something then ask her for it.

As always,
Barbara