Daisy Lane in progress

It's kind of springy, but I love it and couldn't wait any longer to stitch it! I chose a 32 ct. fabric in my stash that I think is summer khaki or clay, and the roof kind of blends in, but I'm going ahead with it-I still like it. I finished another zipper project bag too that is my favorite so far. It has a 16" zipper so it can hold a big project.
Does anybody else have a DOG who loves string?? My dog has somewhat of an obsession with string and likes to eat it. He's pretty smart, but I can't figure that one out. I thought cats were the string lovers! Last night, I had just separated 2 plies of thread to begin stitching with, and Beacon grabbed it. It was coated in his slobber before I could take it away, so it went in the trash. He is always eye-balling my DMC threads and once ate 3 entire skeins of it- they were wrapped on the floss cards and he just swallowed the string, not the card. Weird dog, huh? Yes, I called the vet and they said to take him in if he began vomitting. He was o.k.
It finally has cooled off a bit here, a cold front moved in yesterday afternoon and the temp dropped below 90 degrees! And after the sun went down, it felt downright chilly outside! Wahoo!!
Here's another link to view some Bareroots patterns. The pictures on her patterns can't do justice to just how cute the projects are in person!

More pictures

I finally remembered to snap a picture of my 'Alphabet Acorn' that was finished 2 or 3 weeks ago. I plan to finish it into a pillow. On Saturday I finished Little House Needleworks 'ABC 123', and today I finished the Brittercup ornament from the new JCS ornament issue, it's so cute!
My next start will most likely be 'Daisy Lane Cottage' by Little House Needleworks or 'Season Petites' by Brightneedle (just the autumn square). Of course, that is certainly subject to change! Lots of things are screaming for me to start them. ;-)

Stitchery & creativity

My love for needlework began as a child, when my grandmother taught me to do embroidery on a preprinted dresser scarf. She taught me how to do the (I believe it's called) stem stitch, lazy daisies, satin and french knots. Boy, did I hate those french knots though! It was only 2 or 3 years ago that I sorta got the hang of doing them! Anyway, when I was 18, my best friend introduced me to counted cross stitch....and I was hooked. I've always loved both kinds of stitching though, and often look at primitive stitching patterns online, usually at quilt shops. My very most favorite stitchery designer is Bareroots and I own a few, though I have a long wish list of her patterns. A newly discovered by me, and just awesome, IMO is Crabapple Hill . If you enjoy doing some primitive stitchery and sewing, you definitely need to check them out! And if you just need some cool ideas for finishing your own cross stitch, you can be inspired.
My grandmother also taught me to crochet when I was really young, and I followed instructions in a knitting magazine as a teenager to create an ugly green knitted scarf. The lovely and fun yarns available today are mouth watering, but I am determined to only purchase what I can crochet on to flip-flops. Another hobby obsession I do not need (knitting)! I bartered with a friend last winter to have a scarf knitted out of some wonderful, soft red yarn-I sewed her a project case, she made me the scarf. Well, I have some sewing projects on my weekend to-do list. Zipper bags, here I come. Yesterday, I started Little House Needleworks 'ABC 123' and hope to make good progress on that this weekend as well. I could blow all my time online reading blogs and looking at bb's and online shops, but am determined to accomplish some things on my goals list this month! Thanks to everybody who visits my blog, and I will be reading yours soon too! :-) Happy Stitching

Recent Stitching

Gosh, I can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog! The 'Thankful' piece is now finished into a candle wrapper, the ribbon I found matches the thread exactly and the fabric on the back is a lovely moda marble in the same color that I happened to have in the stash! Next is a snowman from Heart In Hand's 'Winter Fobs' leaflet. I actually bought this tiny piece of raw belfast from the remnant basket at my LNS (28 cents), and the gals there were making fun of me, as they couldn't imagine what I could do with such a small piece of linen. HA! Perfect for this snowman! ;-) And next is 'Bloom' by Birds of a Feather, stitched on 32 count linen I dyed myself by spraying Rit dye in 'tan' on it (before stitching). Just finished today (happy dance!!) is 'November's Offering' by Blackbird Designs. The chart for this sampler is from their book 'A Fine Collection'. The model was stitched on R&R dark chino, but I stitched it on 28 ct. raw linen instead, because I didn't want to wait to order it before stitching. Besides, I have soooo much linen in the stash, it makes sense to substitute with things on hand more often....even though I do love those yummy hand dyed linens! I did use the threads called for and love the colors. I hope the pics are better than my last batch, it's sometimes difficult for me to get the right kind of light so the colors look right with my camera.