Wednesday, September 30, 2015

In a La D Da State of Mind

I just can't help myself! I think this is the last La D Da kit that I had in my stash. It's the Birdy Stitching Roll. I'm off to a good start I think.

 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

A Little More La D Da

This stitched up,quickly! It's the front and the back of a La D Da design called Basket Weave Needle-Keep. It was a limited edition kit at one of the Nashville Markets either this year or last.

My finishing pile is growing!

 

Ukrainian Eggs

Another project from the August retreat that I haven't shared with you...Ukrainian Eggs by Michele Roberts. Now, don't for a minute think that I have crossed over to the "dark side". I just dipped my toes in the pool for a little bit! Truthfully, I just couldn't resist this project. The vibrant thread colors against the black congress cloth called my name. It was also a history lesson. Michele shared a lot of information with us about the symbolism of the colors and the designs.

It was a great class and I look forward to working on this again real soon!

 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Scissor Fobs!

Happy Saturday all! It's a beautiful day in the northland. I've been doing laundry and trying to clean up my craft room.

Can't remember if I shared a picture of these scissor fobs with you. At retreat in August, we had a class where one of our members walked us through how to make them step-by-step. I'm not a beader, so this was all new to me, but I think mine turned out quite nice. Some of the other stitchers made some pretty elaborate fobs with beautiful beads; I took the more simplistic route!

Can only clean for about another hour; we have a wedding to go to this afternoon. The bride and groom have some beautiful weather for their special day.

 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Stitching On...

Horrible photo, but just wanted to let you know that I'm still working on the stitching for another small project from Jackie du Plessis. Little more to go on this one yet!

 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Randje Week 36

Have you missed me? Not as much time for stitching this week, but I did finally finish stitching the two Randje bands from week 36. I'm still two weeks behind.

 

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Garden Maiden

She's finally finished. Never expected this piece to be such a challenge. I keep saying that it was the 30 count linen, because I'm always stitching on larger counts. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Despite a lot of frogging, she looks pretty good. She's going to reside in the finishing bin for awhile.

Garden Maiden from La D Da.

 

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Great Mail Day!

A wonderful package arrived in the mail today. I enjoy finishing my own stitching and I think I am fairly good at it, but sometimes even I struggle with finishing certain pieces. Thank goodness for excellent finishers who are willing to take our finished stitching and create magic.

Faye, aka Carolina Stitcher, recently accepted two of my stitched pieces for finishing. The first piece, is one of the La D Da name tags. Faye had finished this name tag for someone else and did such a nice job, so I was happy to send this one to her.

One of Faye's trademarks is extra little touches that she adds, like this little spool wrapped with coordinating thread.

And a collection of charms...

I look forward to wearing this name tag at my next stitching event!

I also sent Faye this petite huswife; the design is from Primitive Traditions. As you can tell, I finished the stitching back in 2014. It had been languishing in my finishing pile all this time. Faye to the rescue!

Three pockets on the inside to hold scissors, thread winders, and other stitching necessities. Note the pieces of wool at top and bottom for pins and needles.

And here's the outside. Faye added a button and a cord to hold it closed.

I'm very happy with Faye's work and would not hesitate sending her additional pieces in the future.

I'm a happy girl today!

 

Friday, September 11, 2015

Miss America

This was a quick stitch. You'll have to check back later this weekend to see how this one gets finished!

 

 

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Attic of Dreams Souvenir Sampler

You might remember this finish from last year...

It's the Attic of Dreams Sampler designed by Jackie du Plessis.

Jackie also designed a teeny, tiny sampler called Attic of Dreams Souvenir Sampler. It fits inside this little metal locket-like metal box...

And inside, a little surprise...

When unfolded, it's a little sampler...about 3/4 inch wide by 4 1/2 inches long.

I just love it!

 

 

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Jackie Piece #3

Not "finished" finished, but the front is done. I still need to nun stitch a similar sized piece of linen for the back side.

This tiny sampler is just an inch wide and about five inches tall.

 

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Not Quite

I took Randje with me to the Needlework Guild meeting tonight. Easy to work on especially when there is lots of good conversation! This week's assignment has quite a bit of stitching to it. I'm not quite finished...

 

 

Monday, September 07, 2015

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Today was a beautiful day and I decided to spend it at the fair!

My first stop and most favorite place to visit is the Creative Activities building. Are you ready for your picture tour of some of the highlights?

There was tatting...

Loved this quilt; the Plum Street Sampler design was stitched by Mama Joan.

This pillow was gorgeous. Wool applique...

This crocheted tablecloth reminded me of my Auntie Betty. She did beautiful work just like this.

Lots of Hardanger. Here in Minnesota we have lots of Norwegians don'tcha know.

Ukrainian Whitework...

Quilt Blocks on a stick (just about everything is on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair!)

This beautifully embroidered tablecloth was made by a friend of mine.

Another friend of mine took a Sweepstakes award for this counted cross stitch piece (I think there are specialty stitches in it too.)

Lots of beautiful needlework!

The Mad Tatter was at the fair too. She went to the Fair 9 out of 12 of the days. She loves talking to people and sharing her love of tatting.

So that does it. Another Minnesota State Fair is in the history books.

 

Sunday, September 06, 2015

Shaker Carrier and Counting Pins

Hurrah! Another small piece from Jackie du Plessis is done! The green vine that you saw in an earlier post became a band of flowers and it fit just inside this tiny shaker carrier made of cherry wood.

The design is repeated on the counting pins. They are stuck into a silk covered pincushion that fits snugly into the base of the carrier.

My banding was a wee bit short once I got it in place, so I stitched a small square with my initial on it. It finishes off the inside perfectly.

Now I need to decide which Jackie piece I will stitch and finish next!