SNOW!!

The first obligatory snow covered patio furniture picture for the season!

2 inches taken at 6:30 am

 

Roads were ok -  just a bit wet and splashy, but grassy and elevated surfaces collected the snow that fell for about 2 hours in the wee hours of the morn.

First Christmas Ornament of the Year!

It is a birthday present for my husband which was yesterday. I was at the needlework shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming called EWE COUNT when I saw this cute ornament designed by Sam Sarah Design Studio especially for Ewe Count called Ewe Count Christmas in July Ornament (c) 2009. It was all kitted up with chart,  backing fabric, stitching fabric, buttons and floss. The design calls for 30 count Tiger's Eye Linen WDW-L30-1225 using Weeks Dye Works (WDW) and Gentle Art floss.

First the front:

Then the back:

Now for one of the sides:

In keeping with the western theme, I used some thin leather found in the beading section at JoAnns that was a perfect color for the project and then I took some brown #8 perle cotton and stitched over it to give it a little oomph!

Hubby was very pleased with his western Christmas ornament and we have it well in advance to put on the tree all season (once it gets here)!

Monday is Quote Day

Here is this weeks quote:

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a great day!!

Sashiko Progress and Drawstring Bags

As I told you here, I received this great gift of Sashiko supplies from my friend who now lives in Japan. She also has a GREAT blog on her life there which includes stitching.  Well I have been working on it and thought I'd show you some pictures.

First an overall of my progress:


Then a close up of my stitching.
I did a little bit of searching on google and I think this is the Asa-no-ha, Hemp leaf pattern.

Also last weekend I made 10 drawstring bags for Sampler Guild of the Rockies. I volunteered to make 10 and glad I did not volunteer to make more! I have never made them before, but following the directions that came with the fabric worked out fine. I do not have to put in the drawstring, just make the bag and here they are! I had to make two bags (2nd and 4th from the left) with fabric from my stash, but that is ok because I have plenty of Christmas fabric!

They are roughly 8 1/2 inches wide and maybe 14 inches tall.

That about covers it for now!!

Monday is Quote Day

This week's quote:

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." --Robert Louis Steveson

Have a nice day and go plant some good seeds!!

Birthdays are fun....

.....especially when spent with friends. I took yesterday off for my birthday and had lunch with 8 of my stitching friends - who even brought gifts! A great time was had by all! Then I went to my LNS and discovered you get 15% off on your birthday - nice. I then wandered around the antique shops, visited See's Candy shop and stopped at Kohls. Basically had a nice time.

But it all started off on Saturday when I received my Mail Art!!! It is a project being done though my Sampler Guild of the Rockies. Last spring if we wanted to participate, we filled out a form that had our interests, favorite colors, favorite designers, etc. along with the month and day of our birthday. The forms were then folded and we picked by the month we wanted to do the art. I picked a March birthday, and have until next March to get it done. My good friend Jean happened to pick my form and she mailed it and I got it on Saturday! Then, I could not decide if I should call her straight away, or just thank her in person when I saw her at lunch. So I waited until lunch and brought my beautiful mail art to show everyone.

Now I will show you all too!

Here is the front (name and address covered). Note the pretty stamp and hand cancellation by the post office. It was great fun hearing Jean tell us the reaction of the postal clerk that she wanted the stamp put there, then hand cancelled and then put in another envelope to mail. The scary part is she used the same post office I will to mail mine!

 Now the back (again address covered). Didn't she do a nice job with the angles and the motifs that show when closed??

Here it is opened, you can see the beautiful lining fabric and the pocket which had some packets of needles inside.

 

I am so pleased with my mail art there are no words to describe!!

Monday is Quote Day

This week’s quote:

“Art includes everything that stimulates the desire to live.” – Remy de Gourmont

 So…who was Remy de Gourmont you may ask?

 

The online Encyclopedia Britannica says he was a French novelist, poet, playright and philosopher who lived from 1858 to 1915.