Summer Motifs Block

I posted about one of these I did for Halloween on October 13, 2010.

It was a monthly kit I purchased from Fireside Stitchery in 2003. A painted canvas by Kathy Schenkel. For more information, you can click on the October 13, 2010 link above to the previous post.

This is how it looks when stitched.

This is it finished as a cube. Kind of pain to finish, but I managed. 

Happy Stitching!!

 

Roses...in a Country Garden

I picked up this cute little kit during my trip to Scotland in 1995. It came with a presentation folder to create a small greeting card, which is 3 5/8" x 4 5/8". 

I thought it would make a nice example of the importance of backstitching (BS). The first photo below shows it with the back stitch barely started at top right (because I forgot to take the photo before I got started on the BS). The second one is the finished project (before ironing and placing in the card). 

 

This was an interesting project to stitch because it wanted me to start at the bottom right and it worked the actual cross stitch the opposite way I make it. I make my crosses with the first leg from bottom left to upper right and the second leg is from lower right to upper left. They showed it with the first leg from lower right to upper left and the second leg from lower left. to upper right. Either way, when you start at the bottom of the chart, you come up in a dirty hole. 

I stitched my usual cross and started at the place they indicated. Time to stitch was about 9 hours and 33 minutes. It worked out. Plus, how can it be bad when it is in my favorite color - peach!!

Have a GREAT day!!

Brite Eyes

This is a design by Margaret Bendig called Brite Eyes. I plan a trip to Hobby Lobby for some pins, beads, ribbon and items for feet for the finish finishing.

I used glow in the dark DMC floss, but it was not super vibrant, so I added some glow in the dark Kreinik blending filament to it. It called for glow in the dark Kreinik braid for the yellow eyes and green collars on the cats, so lots of glow in the dark!!

Recently, I started a stitching journal of sorts.  So far, I am enjoying it. I can get a rough guide on how long I stitched on a project. So, this one took me about 13 hours and 35 minutes. Now that I know this, no one will ask me how long it took to make!

 HAPPY STITCHING!!

Ribbon Embroidery

 For the June Festival Stitchers program, I designed and taught this 5"x 7" greeting card. 

I designed it a bit on the fly, and I was not sure what I was going to turn it into. When I finished it, I thought about putting it in premade card blanks. But my design was a bit too wide. Since I also dabble in paper crafts, I had an oval die cut and cardstock I could use to make my sample above, but I needed something for class. So, I went back to the drawing board and made a few adjustments, so I could teach it to fit into premade card blanks with the oval already cut out. 

I gave everyone an option of Ivory or white cards and aida cloth. We use ribbon from the club's stash. We sometimes get donations from people who no longer stitch or have passed away, and one of these included a bunch of silk ribbon.

I used my book An Encyclopedia of Ribbon Embroidery Flowers 121 designs by Deanna Hall West, American School of Needlework (1995), to decide on the flowers.

Have a great day!!

Kreinik Braid & Storage

 When I took the Purple Hearts class, it used quite a bit of #8 Kreinik braid, so the instructor gave us a 50M cone! Now that Rainbow Gallery owns and manufactures the braid, it is on a card. Below is a photo of these three styles, which need to be stored somewhere!

I store my Rainbow Gallery thread in 12"x 12" drawers in a setup for paper crafts. I converted the top two drawers from paper to Rainbow Gallery Threads. I made dividers and so far, it is working out great!

I store my metallics in a floss bobbin case, which is inside a 12" x12" scrapbook paper box with a lid. I labeled this box metallics, and luckily, there is room for the cone. But I don't want the same thread in two places, so for now I am just going to lay the one card I have so far on top of the spools and call it good. I will revisit it if (who am I kidding, when) I get more cards. 

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The fun fact about the new cards from Rainbow Gallery is that they hold 11M, while the spools only hold 10M. 

HAPPY STITCHING!

Purple Hearts Continued from 2010

I last talked to you about this project on July 11, 2010.

I picked it back up on June 27 and have been working on it almost every night since. 

It is on 24 count black congress cloth and has been a challenge in places, but I have tons of light working and magnification. I have only ripped out stitches a few times! I am now going back to section 8, which is black on black. UGH!

Here are some photos of my progress.

How it looked when I picked it up on June 27. If you compare it to the July 11, 2010 post, you will see it is exactly the same!

Here I finished the center and cleaned up all the "spaghetti" left over from class.

June 28 working on area 5.

July 8, 2025, Areas 1 - 7 completed. 

The close-up below shows a little bit of the black on black I did back in 2010 (lower left of the center square). It is the next area to complete. UGH. 

After this area, I go back to area 4 & 10 to add beads. 

I am working on reducing my WIIPs and this one was the one I pulled out of my WIP cupboard. I have 31 projects in the cupboard (including Purple Hearts). It does make me wonder when a WIP (Work in Progress) becomes a UFO (UnFinished Object) or visa versa. 

HAPPY STITCHING!!

Happy Fourth of July

In the United States, we are celebrating 249 years of Independence on July 4. So, while I wish everyone everywhere a happy fourth, it means a bit more here. 

I have a display of Red, White, and Blue I put out in May (for Memorial Day), June (for Flag Day) and July (for Independence Day). It is a mix of stitching and papercrafts, plus a table runner I received as a Christmas gift one year. 

Happy Day, Wherever You Are!!

States Completed

I finished the last three states from the Statehood Splendor series from Thead Milk Designs. I posted about the other states here.  Fairly self-explanatory what they are!

For Arizona, I used Weeks Dye Works Lancaster Red instead of the Gloriana silk it called for. This was a stash reduction project.

Here is the final grouping and I guess now you know all the places I have lived! Next in this project is either the Victoria Sampler set or the Janlynn Designs set (mentioned in previous blog post linked to above), time will tell.

HAPPY STITCHING!

Some Framing

I decided to go with the frame I found on Amazon that said it had a 5"x5" opening. That sounded fine since the finished size was 4.5" x 4.5". I was surprised when it came with a double mat (glued to the first mat) that made the actual opening 4.5" x 4.5". Luck was on my side this time.

I also had a frame with a funny dog saying that I was not crazy about the ceramic dog that was inside, so I found a dog design on page 43 in 365 Tiny Cross Stitch Designs by Kooler Design Studio published in 2000 by American School of Needlework. I added the hearts to fill in the space above.

On a side note, I really like the book I mentioned above, it has a lot of nice designs. I am not sure if it is still available, but worth a hunt, at least in my opinion.

Happy Stitching!

State Charts

Over the years, I have collected various kits or charts for the states we have lived in. I have Hearts of America by Victoria Sampler, America the Beautiful by Janlynn and Statehood Splendor by Thread Milk Design

This past week I picked up the charts for Statehood Splendor by Thread Milk Designs. I changed a few of the threads using what I had on hand and I did order some as well.

My grand plan is to stitch everything from all the designers and sew them together into a quilt or wall hanging. So, I wanted the ones from the Statehood Splendor group to be on the same fabric. It calls for 36 count, but I am attempting to work from stash, so I am using some 25 count Laguna in the color bone. They end up about 4 inches square.

First is California, I used Gentle Arts Country Redwood, the design called for Valdani Old Brick, which I did not have on hand, but I did have the Gentle Arts.

California is followed by Nebraska.

It called for Weeks Dyeworks (WDW) Cayenne, which I did not have.  I used WDW Louisiana Hot Sauce. I also had to sub out the black. It called for Valdani Khaki Black. I used WDW Charcoal.

Which is followed by Iowa

It also called for Valdani Old Brick, which I subbed out like I did for California.

The designer worked it as red, white and blue top to bottom. But the center white area of the state motto did not show up well on the bone fabric. So, I outlined the words in DMC #03 a medium grey. The photo below shows the back stitch in progress and last photo shows the finished piece.

I have three more states to go! They work up fairly quickly and the designer includes a half-page of information about each state, which has been interesting too.

Happy Stitching!

Quilt Sqaure II Finished

This is Quilt Square II by Gail Stafford in the Green/Violet colorway. It was a one-day class I took at the American Needlepoint Guild's (ANG) 2022 National Seminar. I talked a bit about it here.

I am trying to figure out how to finish, finish it. I know it will fit in a Sudberry box, but I really have enough boxes at this point. I do have a frame on my Amazon wish list that might work. It was a fun stitch!

Happy Stitching!!

 

Some Finish-Finishes

I showed you these in recent posts, Cactus and Navajo Blanket. I finish finished them!

I had enough fabric around the stitching to fold around it and sew it together and turn it inside out. After fringing the ends, I had this. It is about 4" x 6" plus 1.5" fringe on each end. I told you about this Fireside Originals project here. 

Next up is the DMC kit - CACTUS, which I showed you here. I made it into a flat fold. The photo below shows the fabric I used for backing and the ribbon used to keep it from laying flat when opened. The ribbon is one sided, so I cut a longer piece than needed and folded it in half and glued it together so it is now double sided.  

Here it is finished as a flat fold. I want to get some perle cotton in one of the greens to make cording to go around it, otherwise it is done.

While I stitch, I use a needle minder on my needlepoint projects but on my cross stitch or projects I work in hand I have a pin cushion nearby to put my needle in while not in use. It is very handy and helps me keep track of my needle. It was a table favor I got at one of my Quilting Bees holiday dinners, not sure which year. 

I sometimes feel guilty when I stick a needle in its snout, however, and I tell it "sorry" as I stick it in!

In a Cactus Frame of Mind

 Living in Arizona is it a surprise that I have cactus on my mind??

First, I modified a pattern from a Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine date unknown. When I moved to AZ, I downsized and instead of whole magazines, I took out patterns I liked. I can tell you it is called A Taste of the Southwest, designed by Laurel Blake and is designed to stitch onto towels (one for each day of the week) and bread cloths. I used just a portion of one design (Saturday) so it would fit in the 3.5" x 3.5" space of a coaster form I have. I also stitched it on perforated paper for ease of finishing into the coaster. 

Here it is in progress, it looked goofy and I was going to have you guess what it is, but I kind of already spilled the beans.

Here is the finished project in the coaster that I plan to sell at our fall EXPO.

This was a fun stitch, and I may make some others in the set. Time will tell.

Second, I found this WIP (work in progress) and started it again. It is a DMC kit called CACTUS that I purchased at Hobby Lobby a while back.  It is 52 stitches wide by 69 stitches high and made to go into a hoop but I will probably finish-finish it differently. Here is my progress after a few nights of stitching.

HAPPY STITCHING!!

Quilting Bees 2025 Summer Retreat

 This past weekend I attended a very fun quilting retreat put on by my local Quilting Bees Club. 

This is my third retreat. The last two times I worked on Halloween and then Christmas placemats. I decided to do something different this round and used up extra Cake Recipe 2 sheets and 10"x10" fabric from when I made this quilt March 3, 2021.

When I used these sheets for my quilt, I made block 3. This past weekend I went for block 2 and used up the fabric and sheets = stash reduced, yippee.

I don't have the sheets anymore, but the idea is you place a 10" square print fabric on top of a 10" square solid, then you place the Cake Mix Recipe sheet on top. Pin together and sew on the dotted line in numerical order and cut on the solid lines. For this particular recipe, you end up with ten small half-square tringles and two larger ones. You use these to create the suggested blocks on the cover, or you can do your own thing. 

Here is what half of the grouping looks like when squared up and ironed. You end up with two sets from each print. I used the leftover fabric from when I made my quilt, which is Moda Layer Cake Farmhouse II. Those who know me will see a lot of variations of my favorite color - peach.

It is rather tedious - paper removal, squaring up, etc. But I worked on it during the retreat and a bit at home while watching baseball (Diamondbacks).

But, I did manage to finish 12 squares - below. I still have 12 sets to square up and 9 ready to sew into the blocks below. 

I am thinking of laying them out in this pattern, but I am waiting to get them all done and play with combinations before I sew them together. 

The retreat was fun and it puts me out of my comfort zone, I am much more comfortable with stitching and beading.

Day one everyone received a clear zipper bag (not shown) with colored zippers and the pretty fabric flower pin below, along with a post-it note holder with our initial embroidered on it.  I thought the pin looked good on my notions bag that my friend Sandra made me, I pinned it on it.

Also inside the clear zipper bag with colored zipper (mine was orange) were two cuts of fabric. We met in groups with matching zipper colors and changed out one of the fabrics in our bags and then used them to make pillow cases for charity. 

We each got our own 6' long table to work at and could leave our stuff in the room overnight. Here is an area of my set up with my scraps (orts) for the day in a cute bag I got at another retreat. 

That is about all for now!!

What to Work on Next?

I have been working on this project at my local Stitch Club, Festival Stitchers. We meet every Tuesday afternoon at our recreation center/clubhouse.

It is Navajo Blanket by Fireside Originals (GHO 46). I have been working on it only at my Tuesday meetings for a while. It is 4" x 6.25" on 14 count aida and uses Gentle Arts and Weeks Dye Works threads. I did change one of the greys because they look alike side by side. It has a copyright date of 2015, so probably a dyelot issue.

I also stitch at home, and I picked up Holiday Patches by Susan T. Kerndt to work on next. It is on 15" x 15" stretcher bars. I started it in January of 2014 with my Foothills EGA canvas group when I lived in Colorado, so it is an older UFO (but not my oldest)!

Here are some past blog posts about it.

Under a Copper Moon Finish & Holiday Patches July 15, 2021

Holiday Patches - Feb. 21, 2015

I have a tight area in my studio for larger pieces and if I stitch larger pieces on the couch in our great room, I clunk the dog on the head when I turn it over. She likes to sleep next to me on the couch against my leg. So, I purchased a rolling bag to take projects to club meetings on Tuesdays. It holds my tabletop stand and scuba weight (to keep the stand from tipping). I bought it on Amazon and do not receive any kickbacks for sharing this link to it. 

So, I still need to find something to stitch on at home. Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem!

Happy Stitching!!

Western Stitching For My Hubby

 I made this for my hubby, who is known for his cowboy hats here in Arizona. He does want me to let people know he does not wear those spangly colored cowboy boots - just the basics!

This is two Mill Hill kits, framed in a Mill Hill frame (GBFRM9, matte red). In the frame is On the Range (MH14-7106) and the photo on the chart had the boot on the outside of the frame, so I bought that too it is Western Boot (MH18-7106) from their Spring Bouquet Collection.

It was fun, although for the bigger piece I spilled my bead cups and had to hunt for beads on the floor more times than I want to admit. I am still fining stray beads on my work surface or the floor!!

Happy Stitching!

Merry

 This is Merry by Toni Gerdes. I ghosted this class she taught on Oct. 26, 2024. Kits to ghosts were sent a few weeks later and I started it then but put it down.

Well, now that I am on a stitching roll, I picked it up last week and below is my progress, Friday, Saturday and I finished it Sunday. Sadly, I did not take a picture of how little I had done when I first stitched it last November. 

It was a fun stitch with lots of different threads and stitches along with embellishments. My design is 7"x 9" (this varies depending on the snowflake placement).

Progress 6.6.25

 Progress 6.7.25

 Finished!! 6.8.25

Now to decide how to finish finish it!

Happy, Merry Stitching!!

A Small Southwest Design

This is a project for my local stitching club, Festival Stitchers. Members can volunteer to stitch a design on a provided piece of aida, and one of our members is going to stitch it on fabric and make pouches/wallets to sell at the Club Expo our HOA puts on twice a year (spring and fall). All proceeds from the sale of these wallets go back to the club.  Here is one I stitched. 

I found this design from my stash of Cross Stitch & Country Crafts magazine. This was in the May/June 1990 issue, pages 16 & 17. It was two stitches too tall and wide, so I just did not stitch those!

That's all for this week folks! 

Happy Stitching. 

Blackwork In Red & Green

 

I last told you about this on  April 12, 2024

I finished it on May 13. It was a Group Correspondence course through EGA. Designed by Ginger Gouger  Miller (Copyright 1997 and re-written in 2000). I believe it may be a retired project.

I worked on it off and on. It was a fun stitch. Now I just need to figure out what to finish-finish it as!

HAPPY STITCHINIG!!

Some Stitching

This Easter Egg, I believe, was a project with the Columbine Chapter of ANG in Denver. I finished it March 7, 2016. I wanted to turn it into a 3D egg and have been looking for the correct-sized Styrofoam egg. But I was not having much luck and wanted it done! So, I got my oval dies out, cut some mat board and finished it as a flat ornament. I used a purple velvet fabric to cover the back mat board, and  wahla (sp?) an ornament I can hang! Which I did for Easter this year.

This is a project called Bless Our Home. It is snippet #S47 by Lizzie n Kate. It is about 3.5 x 6"

This is Arizona, part of the America the Beautiful Series by Janlynn Corp and designed by Betty Haddad Shelton. I have one for every state we have lived in and plan to stitch them all and work them into a quilt/wall hanging.

I did modify it a bit. In mine, the Saguaro under Phoenix was originally in the Painted Desert square, but Saguaro do not grow in the Painted Desert. Since AZ needs to have a Saguaro, I put it under Phoenix. That is where they grow anyway (the Sonoran Desert).

HAPPY STITCHING!!