Here is February Word Play by With Thy Needle and Thread.  It was fun to stitch but did'nt stitch up as fast as I thought it would.  I used a khaki lugana for it.  More HDF silks.

I probably won't stitch anything today. I just don't seem to do anything on the weekends. I would think that I would be more productive but I'm not.  Then again, I'm not all that productive during the week either......

I just got done putting this together. The design is by Danybrod and its called Comme un Air de Printemps.  I used HDF silks and cashel linen for this one. You should probably take a picture of this one because I RARELY use linen.  I must admit I liked stitching on it this time. Maybe I'm changing, doubtful but maybe. I was going to make it into a pincushion but decided to make it into a pillow instead.  I used an off white venise lace across the front and added the buttons. Then I crocheted the edging for it .  I crocheted beads into the last row of the edging. I've never done that before. It was'nt too hard to do, it was a little awkward at first but got better as I went along.

This is my best high school French transalation of the saying:

March laughs in spite of the downpours spring secretly prepares.......remember French class what  a million years ago.

All in all I like the way it turned out. I really like Danybrod designs. She has a boutique on her website  www.danybrod.com .  She sends her charts in email files so you get them in just a few hours or less. More instant gratification, who in their right mind does'nt love that!!!!

In case you were wondering what the naughtiest dog in the world looks like, this is her.....

I know, I know. You are thinking "but she looks so innocent".  Well at the moment I snapped this picture she was innocent but.........this little 16 pound bundle of naughty can cause more destruction in 15 minutes than just about anything I know.

Seriously though, I love her to death.  Sophie is just a little over a year old now and she is not nearly as naughty as she used to be.  She no longer drags in plants from the yard to destroy in the house, she no longer chews up the living room carpet, she no longers gets up on the kitchen chairs and then on to the kitchen table, yes she used to do that.  She does still have a slight love affair with the kitchen garbage can but I never leave without putting it up......maybe she isnt so much less naughty, maybe I'm just trained better. lol.

This was a very fast and fun stitch for me. Its Quaker Egg by Bent Creek. I used a white lugana and I bought this stuff that  you spray on it to make it opalescent. At first I did'nt like it because the sparkly stuff would come off but I discovered that if you follow the directions and wait 24 hours before  you use the fabric its pretty much on there for life. Amazing what directions can teach you. lol. 
Another thing I was'nt crazy about with the spray on opalescent stuff was that  the spray was'nt always uniform. I did a couple pieces that were blotchy. I don't know if that was just me or the spray.

I changed the colors of course, mine are brighter than the chart calls for. I do like the colors on this one though, a lot.  I wanted to add a ribbon bow at the bottom but I did'nt want to hide the stitching so I decided against the bow.

No pictures today of Valentine Pincushion by Victoria Sampler. One because my batteries are dead in my camera, two because I'm not done. I did get the front of the pincushion stitched. It took forever and I changed colors and I'm not really sure I like them. I know I don't like them as much as the cover of the chart.  Also I am very intimidated with the finishing for this item. I just have this feeling that when I start to put it together its not going to be right. It goes together like a biscornu but I'm worried about the stitch count etc because of the side gusset.......Time will tell.

So heres the deal, guess what I really hate???? The BULLION KNOT stitch. Yep thats it. Wow what a pain in the.... I bought Valentine Pincushion by Victoria Sampler and I have been sitting here and trying and trying to do the bullion knot stitch. I do one right and then can't do any more right. AARRGGGH!!! I am determined to get it down though or throw the chart away. Hopefully I will get it right.

That is the picture of the set, its very very pretty and I thought, remember I said thought, it looked pretty easy. Thats what I get for thinking.

Honestly I've bought several Victorian Sampler charts over the years and I'm never very happy with them. I see the finished product and they are gorgeous but for some reason I don't really like their charts much........so why did I order this one??? Please don't ask me that question. I have no answers that make sense.

I guess I'm done complaining, for the moment anyway.  I will go back and attempt more bullion stitches.

I thought this design was very springy, is that a word, it should be if it isnt. I stitched it in HDF silks in any color I wanted.  I like designs like that.  I made a cording to go around it and finished it into a door knob hanger.

Remember if you click on the pictures the pictures will enlarge so you can see the detail better.

 

I have no idea what to stitch today. I think I want to do something I can finish into a pincushion or pinkeep.  Ok, I'm off to find something to stitch or start. Did I mention I'm a serial starter? I love to start and start and start. I love to finish too but I'm easily distracted by something shiney. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm off to stitch.

I said I would stitch something yesterday and I did!!! I finished it this morning. This is by The Drawn Thread and its the ornament included with the chart The Holly and the Ivy. 

I used a pretty, not quite white, opalescent lugana by Silkweaver Fabrics for it and then just plain old DMC for the stitching. 

I usually make my own cording but I had bought this one after Christmas and I think it worked really well with the fabric. What I didnt like about this cording is that it was very stiff to sew on.  I like the way this one turned out, feels much better than yesterdays bunny/dog/seal failure.

If you like quick stitches this design is it. I think it took a little less than 2 hours to stitch, which means my short attention span was made for this little darling.

I guess I will go and find something else to stitch, maybe I will have another to post tomorrow, maybe not. I never know from day to day.

Ugh, ok, I got to thinking about it and I decided I'm being a coward by not posting a picture of the bunny/seal, dog thing I made.  I figure that maybe I should post the failures too.  So now is the last chance for you to back out before you will forever have the bunny/seal/dog thing image burned into your brain.

AAAHHHHHH, there is it!!! Now that I look at it here it looks more like a dog to me. Ok, next time I try this I will make the head larger and rounder along the nose. I will not add the part on the back that is supposed to look like his tail, mine doesnt and I will just flatten that part out.  You get the idea?? I do think the stitching is pretty and this fabric is one of the kitchen towels I got at TJMAXX. 

One would never recognize it but its a design by With Thy Needle and Thread and its calling Hopping Along Sampler, maybe its  Hoppin Along.

Anyway I'm sorry to the designer and I will try to do better next time.  I'm off to find something to stitch, not sure what. I got a new Just Nan Nan called Hoppington Hill.  I'm sure you are wondering if I finished Flowering Crown, well of course I did.....  Well  not totally finished. Ok, its in the WIP barrel. Someday I will finish it.

Are you ready for the picture of the cute thing I made this weekend? Well you don't get to see it unless you sneak into my house and find my "drawer of shame", sigh. Sadly it turned out less than good, less than ok, just all around less. Lets say it was supposed to be a bunny and it looks more like a seal, maybe a seal with an illness of some kind.  I just hate it when that happens but it happens fairly often so I just need to suck it up and move on.  Soooo.........

I'm not sure what I'm going to stitch today. Something that I KNOW will turn out for sure. Hopefully a picture tomorrow. One that wont scare anyone......

Its finally looking like it might be nice outside today. Not really nice but not snowing or pouring rain.  That means no stitching for the weekend probably. I dont usually stitch much on the weekend anyway and this coming week is spring break so I will have all the daycare kids and not much stitching gets done then for sure,lol.

This biscornu is from Just Nan and it is her Anniversay Biscornu. Both sides are supposed to be stitched but I got tired and lazy and only did the one side. I'm bad about that and biscornus.

I put the beads on when I stitch it together and I place a bead every other stitch. It works out perfect when you do that. Thats a little hint I got from the girls over at the 123 message board. Someone there always knows something about whatever kind of help you need.

Before I was stitching it together and going back and adding the beads and the spacing was far from perfect. I think it was harder that way too. I love biscornus. I really like making them too except, the part I hate the most is stitching around the design with the stitches you will use to sew it together, weird huh?  It goes fast and  its easy and I hate it........I'm strange.

I'm stitching on something that I hope turns out really cute. I'll post a picture next week hopefully.  Well, unless it turns out terrible and then I will just hide in my drawer of shame. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a great weekend.

I bought the cutest cotton Easter napkins and kitchen towels at TJ MAXX.  They are a very nice evenweave and I thought they would be neat to stitch on. I'm guessing they are about a 40 count so I put this Happy Easter design by Shepherd's Bush on one but I did it over 4 so that the design was larger.

Doing one over on 40 count would make me more insane than I already am. That would not be a pretty sight. 

I don't think I'm going to get anything new stitched this weekend, it feels like a lazy stitching weekend to me.

I finished up stitching a design by Danybrod today called Le bonheur est dans le pre'.  I made it into a small pillow, its probably 7 1/2 inches by a little over 6 inches.

I should have made a larger border at the top so the words showed better, sigh.  I mean, I can see them fine holding it but when I took the picture they just dont show very well.
I still think its a really cute design and I loooove getting patterns from Danybrod because she sends them in an email file, no waiting by the mailbox.  Who doesnt love instant gratification????  I actually have one waiting for me right now. I better go check this out.

I said I was going to try and stitch something yesterday and I did. I stitched one by Tra La La, its called Duo Noel Mouton.  I stitched it on bone lugana and used Carries Creations and HDF silks on it.  

I really love Carries silks, I love Hdf too, Waterlilies too, ok, I love silks.

I was going to finish it into a pinkeep but decided to leave off the pins and just put it on a little easel that I had.  I am really starting to like French designers.  Tra La La, Jardin Prive etc. they do some really great stuff. I have to say I loooove the little sheep in the Tra La La designs.  Ok, that goes back to me loving to stitch bunnies and sheep.

I've had some people interested in a pattern for my button leg sheep. I tried to find the blog where I first found it but I just cant find it anywhere. I stumbled upon it when looking at blogs one day.

What you will need to make your own button leg sheep-

1. A stitched piece for the front of your sheep, although you could just use felt or fabric I would  
    think.
2. Felt for the back, head, ears and tail.  You could use fabric but I like the felt and its very forgiving
     if you are off just a little bit.
3. Lots of buttons, all sizes, colors, anything works
4. Anything you want to embellish the sheep. I've used ribbon roses, ribbon bows, buttons, raffia etc. 
    Again, anything you would like would work.
5. 2 round rings.  I used little white ones I found in the sewing section at Joann Fabric. These are used to hang the sheep.

So here is my drawn pattern.  If you click on the pattern it will enlarge, then just right click and save it to your desktop etc. to be able to print it. The body is approx. 5 3/4 inches across at the widest. Now I have made this smaller and larger depending on the size of my stitched piece. I dont add seam allowances, I just place my stiched piece on the pattern and see if I like the size.

1. First you sew the stitched piece to the back fabric, turn it and stuff it. Then sew the front and back of the head together and stuff them.

The ears and tail are just folded in half and sewn in place. You can make the ears and tail shorter if you want just by trimming the ends.

I suppose the right way to sew the ears and tail would be to pin them inside the head  and body and do the sewing all at once when  you stitch the head but I would have ears that were lopsided and I'm afraid to think where the tail would be located if I tried. So I just sew the ears and tail in place with matching thread after I have sewn the head and body and stuffed them.  You cant see the threads and I always use embellishments on the ears and tail anyway.

2. The eyes are just round beads that are whatever size works for you. I use white ones on the dark color sheep and I paint them dark for the lighter colored sheep. I just sew them in place, where ever it looks right to you.  You can knot them on the back or run your thread back and forth through the fabric and stuffing to secure it if you don't want knots.

3. Next I hot glue the head to the body. Sometimes I put it on straight sometimes I tilt it a little, I kind of like them tilted but again, that is up to you and what you like.

So now you should have the basic sheep together, head, body, ears and tail.

4. Next are the button legs. I found the easiest way to do them is to use 2 needles. You take a piece of string, perle cotton or floss at least 2 times the length you will want the legs to be and  you thread a needle onto each end. So you will have a very long piece of string, floss, cotton with a needle on each end. Then  you start stringing buttons. They have to be flat buttons without a shank. You string one needle through one hole in the button and the other needle through the other hole in the button.  You keep adding buttons until the legs are how long you want them. I just look at them and stop when I like the length. 

When the legs are the length I want I tie the ends of the floss fairly close to the last button. Do not cut the excess thread. Then I look at my sheep body and decide where I want the legs to be. Thats up to you. Then I just tack the legs on with 3 or 4 stitches and tie them off with at least a couple knots on the front of the sheep, remember you will cover the knots with some embellishment.

5. Next are the embellishments. I put something at each ear, each leg and at the tail. That hides any stitches that could be seen and it really dresses them up. I've used buttons with bows, ribbon roses, bows etc. It doesnt matter, use whatever you like.

6. To hang the sheep I took a small white ring I had and sewed it to the sheeps back. Take a piece of ribbon twice the length you want it to be and put the ribbon through the ring. Slip the second  ring on the ribbon and then sew the ribbon ends together to join them.  Then pull the second ring up to the top of the joined ribbon and stitch just under it to hold it in place. You could just use hot glue. I then make a bow out of more ribbon and glue it just under the botton of the second ring. That way the ring sticks up just a little so you can hang your sheep. 

Now your sheep should be finished unless you want to do a little more decorating. I hope this is does'nt sound too complicated. It is super easy. I think with the pattern and just looking at my sheep I posted earlier you can easliy make your own. Have fun!!!!

I love making these little button leg sheep.  I made this one a while back. I dont remember who the designer of the stitched part is, I do remember its a french designer.......Ok, I dont remember that for sure but I'm pretty sure. 

I found a little sheep like this on a blog and I cant remember where. I wish I could so I could give her credit for the idea.   I really need to make one of these for me. It would be so cute in my kitchen.

If you didnt know it already if you click on the pictures makes them larger.

I plan on stitching something today, I havent for a couple days.  Maybe a Christmas ornament. Thanks for stopping by.

Another Just Nan.  This one is the spring section from her Harmony Sampler. The instructions for that sampler had each season done in a single color of floss. I just wasnt into doing that so I stitched mine in lots of colors and really like it.

I totally love the way this one turned out. The little chicks and the baby birds in the nest are done in one over and of course, I love the little bunnies.  I used a gold tone butterfly charm for the embellishment. I think it was one I had left over from a Lorrie Birmingham design.

This is a small design out of Just Nans Spring leaflet. I'm not sure this little design has a name of its own.  I used a hand-dyed lugana that is a very pale green to stitch this one. I used plain old DMC floss for it too and I think ts pretty cute. I sent this to my daughter in Texas last week.

Here is Poor Robins Pincushion by The Shepherds Bush. I did go ahead and make into a pincushion although its about 7 1/2 inches square with the edging so maybe thats a little big for a pincushion.  I crocheted the edging for it and then added the little pink buttons that have bows in the middle of them. The bows are made of a pink satin ribbon with tiny white polka dots on it. The fabric is a hand dyed sparkley lugana and I used some of the silk from the kit and other silks that I had to stitch it.

I had a lot of fun stitching this little guy.  I think I'm on a Shepherd's Bush kick right now.  Not sure it will go away anytime soon either.

I just finished up stitching Poor Robins Pincushion by Shepherds Bush. I changed the fabric to a sparkly blue lugana and I changed some of the colors again.  I'm not sure how I will do the finishing on it.  I will make it into a pincushion but I cant decide if  I will put a ruched ribbon around it or crochet an edging for it in white. Right now I'm thinking I will go with crocheting a white edging that ruffles.

There really isnt any blue under the button nose. Its just the shawdows showing.  I'm off to work on finishing him. Can't wait to see it done.

This is the first biscornu I've ever made that I used cotton fabric on the underside instead of more of the lugana.  I'm not totally sure that I like it a lot. I dont dislike it but it didnt turn out like I thought it would when I viewed it in my mind. Still its sorta ok. 

The design is Charm Garden by Just Nan, its an old freebie of hers. I changed the colors etc and in each of the little squares there is supposed to be a charm, a butterfly, bee, ladybug etc. I've done it that way before but didnt really care for it when I finished so this time I just stitched little butterflies. I do like it better that way. 

I suppose I should get back to Flowering Crown by Just Nan. I'm not really sure that I will though. 

When I left here yesterday I started another Eden's Lament Pincushion that was ordered. I finished it up last night, the stitching part anyway.  This morning I crocheted the edging for it and then put it together. I hope she likes it.

It was such a fun and fast stitch.  Funny if you like stitching a design it just doesnt take any time to get them done, lol. 

Here is a picture of one I stitched a while back. Its called Clover Sheep and its by Island Cottage Needlearts. Its a very quick stitch and the finish is pretty fast too.  I used  hand-dyed lugana by Silkweaver fabrics  and  HDF silk floss.  The kit came with fabric for the sheep but it frayed terribly and was just barely enough so fraying was a really bad thing. Since the fabric was a mess I just used ordinary felt and I really like the finished product.

Around the sheeps neck I  put a little venise lace with roses and leaves and I used pink ribbon to tie the blanket on the sheep.  The eyes are just little white pearl beads.

Please excuse the date in the bottom corner, I dont know how to change it on my camera and dont know how to edit it out of my pictures, sigh.

Well I had to put up Just Nans Flowering Crown for a couple days.  I have an order for another of the Edens Lament Pincushions by Shepherd's Bush. That works for me. Edens Lament is such a fun stitch and for some reason I'm having a terrible time and  I am just struggling through Flowering Crown.  Maybe when I get back to it I will just whiz through it. No promises though.

I love Tra La La designs and this is one of the new ones. Its called Carre' de Printemps. I just love the colors of this, of course. I love the little rabbit too, of course.  I finished it into a needlebook/scissor case and think it turned out pretty.

I used a pretty white venise lace for the scissor pocket.  I like the look of it. 

I'm still working on the new Just Nan Flowering Crown. Usually I whip right through them but I'm not really enjoying this one much, not sure why. I've already stitched the bunnies and they are my favorite of course, maybe I should have saved them for last.......

This is a Just Nan design called Stars in Bloom.  I think its a very pretty stitched up. I mostly stuck to the colors on this one. I usually do on Just Nans.  I added a visions charm to it and finished it into a fob.

Here is another cute design by Shepherd's Bush called My Hearts Garden. I, of course, changed the colors again, I do that an awful lot. 

I really enjoy stitching Shepherd's Bush designs. Some times I will start something and I have to force my way through it or worse, it becomes a UFO and it is  never seen or heard from again. Never a Shepherd's Bush though.

Well I finished Eden's Lament into a pincushion after all. I used some lace that my great grandmother crocheted.  When my mom passed away I took all the stitched items that mom, my grandmother and greatgrandmother made and made them into  remembrance quilt. This lace is one of the small pieces that were left that I saved.

 

I like the way it looks. I love that I used the edging that has been in a bag for the last several years.....

I'm not sure what I'm going to stitch next. I have been thinking about The Trilogys Easter Lineup.  Hmmm.......

Ok, I just finished Shepherd's Bush Edens Lament.  It turned out very pretty I think. I changed up the colors a little. Used white lugana instead of the overdyed fabric, it was darker than I wanted it to be.

I'm still not sure how I'm going to finish it. It turned out not too large for a pincushion so I may decide to go ahead and do that. I won't know until I do it I suppose. My plan is to finish it tomorrow, lets see if I stick with that.

I absolutely love this little design. I think Snoopy is so cute anyway but in a bunny costume, how could that not be over the top when it comes to adorable? 

I stitched him on a 28 count bone lugana with silk floss from Hand-dyed fibers. I really like her silks.  They are one of my favorites. I think this is so cute for Easter.

Well I'm working on the Shepherd's Bush Edens Lament Pincushion today and I'm hoping I will finish it later this evening.  Its going to be bigger than I thought. I changed the fabric and that changed the size of it. I'm not sure if I will make it into a pincushion or not.  I'll figure that out later.

Here is a picture of The Trilogys Secret Egg Hunt that I stitched. I love this design. I love all their "secret" designs. 

I changed the colors in this one too.  I also changed the fabric. The kit came with linen and I'm really not all that fond of stitching on linen.  I wish I liked it more but I prefer to stitch on evenweaves such as lugana.  I think it turned out nice.

I just got a couple of new charts from the Nashville Show that closed recently. The first one is Shepherd's Bush Eden's Lament Pincushion. Shpeherd's Bush is one of my (many) favorite designers. I think I would be hard pressed to find many of their designs that I don't love.

Once again the sheep thing. I do enjoy stitching sheep. 


The other one I got is Just Nans Flowering Crown, Just Nan is another of my favorites, not a great picture of it, sorry. I could not resist the bunnies.......Ok, I have a thing for stitching bunnies too. You will probably see that over and over in the days to come.

I can't wait to start the Shepherd's Bush one. In fact I think I'm going to go and start it now!

This is one from Little House Needlework called Wool Needlebook and Fob. I changed the colors on it. I do that alot but this time I'm not totally thrilled with the results. I do think its nice but not what I was going for.

This is  a picture of the inside of the needlebook, I do like the way the inside turned out. I did'nt make the fob to go with it, maybe I should have.

This is Peek a Boo Pincushion by Indigo Rose. I changed the colors and I just love the way it turned out.  I crochet the edging and liked it when I finished too.  I love things with alphabets on them. 

I love working on little things I can finish in a day. I guess I love the big stuff too but just don't seem to stick with them, I sure love starting them though :)

So here is a picture of a Shepherd's Bush design called Scatter Eggs. I stitched it on the cutest towels that I found at store in Coeur D Alene.  They are cotton and have a perfect evenweave to stitch on. I would guess they are maybe 36 count.  Anyway, I stitched the design over four so that it was larger and I love the way it turned out. The colors in the towel are perfect.

I made all the little buttons. Don't look too close they are far from perfect. I wish I knew how to make polymer clay buttons like the ones  you see in the kits but I don't. I do think they turned out pretty good though. 

I thought I would post a picture of my little sheep I made today. I found a sheep similar to this on a blog last year, I wish I could remember the name of the blog but I dont, anyway I love making these little sheep. Someday I'm going to make one for myself. I've been saying that for a while.

I just love all the little buttons, I love sheep too and did I mention I love pink?  That will probably show alot in the days to come....