Archive for the ‘Smalls’ Category
Strawberry Season
The sun is shining, the breeze is soft and lovely, and these are growing at my house:
Design: Goode Huswife
Pattern: Dutch Strawberries
(Stitched with 1 thread over 2 threads using recommended Needlepoint Inc. silk floss on miscellaneous 40-count linen)
Yes, they may be wrinkly and poorly lit strawberries, but they’re thriving nonetheless. Don’t you love stitching time?
Is it Valentine’s Day yet?
OK, OK, I’m a bit behind the times. But considering that I started stitching this a day or two before Valentine’s Day, I finished it up pretty quickly. For me, that is.
Designer: Ruth Ann Russell, Just Cross Stitch magazine, Feb 2001 issue
Pattern: ABC, I Love Thee
(Stitched with 1 strand of Caron Waterlilies Cherry silk thread over one thread on 36-count white linen)
Around Valentine’s Day, I always get the urge to stitch something red, pink, or heart-shaped. And the timing couldn’t have been better after all of the brown I stitched on “I Wait for the Lord.”
When I went stash diving, I quickly put my hand on this pattern. Why? Well, because the very wonderful Barbara of Mainely Stitching went stash diving back in January and turned up a lovely collection of magazine patterns, which she blogged about here. Well, that sent me looking to see how many of those were hiding in the deep, dark recesses of my stash, and along the way I rediscovered some patterns I had forgotten about, including this one.
The model shows it on red linen, but since I had none (and wasn’t up to a red-fabric dyeing session), I decided to do red thread on white linen. Fortunately, this also accomplished my goal of stitching more red-on-white projects. (Spend some time cruising French needlework blogs, and you’ll understand.)
So this is the first entry in what I envision to be a primitive wooden tray filled to the brim with red-and-white smalls. Stay tuned here (for a very long time) and I’ll be sure to share pictures. Eventually. 🙂
A-DOR-A-BLE!!!
Recently, I entered the Rudolph’s Ornie Giveaway offered by Kim at Stitchful Thinking. She stitched up these adorable reindeer ornaments—one of which was Rudolph—and wrapped the packages to “hide” him. Then she drew three names, with each participant choosing a numbered package as their prize.
I was THRILLED when my name was chosen second because I thought these ornaments were adorable AND because it was such fun, wondering which one held Rudolph. The package from Kim arrived almost immediately. I opened the envelope, reached in, and pulled out this:
Well, I restrained myself from ripping the package open and instead ran to get my camera. (You knew I’d blog about this, didn’t you?) I slowly opened the package, savoring every second, and found this:
And I thought, WHAT??!?!?! You see, I was completely expecting to find a reindeer ornament, not this! I stood there completely confused for several seconds, and then I realized (yes, I’m a bit slow) that Kim had sent this treat along WITH the ornament. Isn’t she thoughtful?? As if the ornament wasn’t enough, she sent this little needle slide, too!
How great is THAT???!?!?
Fortunately, a few moments later, I overcame my shock and regained my bearings enough to look in the envelope again . . . and pulled out this:
Woo-hoo! Now **this** I recognized from the picture on Kim’s blog. (Yep, I chose good ol’ number one.) Once again, I opened the package slowly, enjoying every second, and eventually I found this:
And in a remarkable show of self-restraint, I even stopped and took a picture of this adorable backing fabric BEFORE I turned it over to look at the front. But do you blame me? It’s so cute!!
OK, OK, so then I finally flipped it over to the front to find this little darling:
Woo-hoo!! I chose Rudolph!! (And now you understand my post title, don’t you??)
A-DOR-A-BLE!!!
What a sweet gift and a wonderful giveaway. Thanks so much, Kim, for brightening my holidays!! I absolutely love Rudolph and the needle slide!! In fact, they have taken up a place of honor in my sewing caddy, which is a tray that I bought at an antique store:
(And no, it’s not always this neat. I cleaned it up for “company,” a.k.a. you guys.)
The stitched items in back are (from left to right) my needlecase, a vintage pincushion that I bought at a garage sale, Rudolph(!!!), and a tree ornament that I stitched a few years back.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Kim! What a thoughtful gift, one that I will always treasure.
(P.S. I need to add that when my 13-year-old son saw Rudolph, he assumed I was going to hang him on our tree, but I told him Rudolph was going to sit in a place of honor with my needlework next to my stitching chair. He’s still insisting that Rudolph belongs on our tree . . . )
Pocketful of Posies
Here’s a brief post to prove that I’m still stitching:
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Pattern: Book 13, A Prairie Year, May block
(Stitched on 32-count natural linen using recommended DMC threads)
Started:Â January 27
Finished:Â February 15
Yeah, I know. I got sidetracked with my framing projects.
And then I got sidetracked by life.
But then I got unsidetracked again:
Designer: Prairie Schooler
Pattern: Book 13, A Prairie Year, June block
(Stitched on 32-count natural linen using recommended DMC threads)
Started:Â February 19
Finished:Â February 21
A bit more respectable, but then that could also explain why I haven’t finished framing anything lately.
[sigh]
Here’s the progress for my halfway point:
If there were just six months per year, I’d be done now. But there aren’t, and I’m not, so I’ll press onward, ever onward . . .
Progress, Plus My New Finish
Filed under: Finishes, Smalls, Theron Traditions, With My Needle |
Comments (7) I had some stitching time this weekend (hooray!) and manage to inch a little further along on WMN “Quaker Samplings I.” I like the way it’s shaping up. Here’s my progress picture:
Let’s see, I did the fly in the upper left corner, the acorn and some hearts in the upper right corner, the rest of the motif at the lower left, and the beginning of the main motif in the center. Whew!
I’m still loving this pattern and the color I chose for it. I’m waiting to stitch the alphabet border till last because I may leave it off. As much as I love it, I may need a smaller finished size to display this one the way I’d like, so I’m going to stitch all of the center before I add the alphabet.
I also took a little time out this evening to try out a new finish on a small design I completed not too long ago. I think I’ll have to call this one my Pin Tin:
Designer: Theron Traditions
Pattern: Stray Pins (& Mom’s Scissors)
Stitched 2/2 on 32-count linen using overdyed flosses that were similar to the recommended ones.
I decided to try out a new finish on this project (at least, I’ve never seen one done like this before). I wanted a pincushion, but I wanted it to be flat on the bottom. I have a round pillow-type pincushion now, but I don’t like it that much. I was going to try out a mattress finish—and I still plan to attempt that type of finishing—but for this one, I had a tin that was the perfect size to “frame” this design.
I ended up wrapping the tin in a coordinating fabric, folding the ends up as if I were wrapping a present, then gluing the fabric down inside. Next, using the same fabric, I sewed a small pillow. I inserted a piece of acid-free foam board to create a flat bottom, then I used batting to stuff the top.
After I hand-sewed the last side closed, I glued the pillow into the covered tin to complete the finish.
It was a learning process, since I was making it up as I went along. My pillow was just a little too big for the tin (which means I’ll need to measure better next time). But I’m happy with the outcome. Hope you like it, too!
