Patriotic Pillows

Hello friends!  I know I said in my last post that I had some new starts, which I do (and these are not them.)  I'm actually back today with some finishes!  I stitched Old Glory last year, but never got around to sewing it up.  And I started the Quaker heart last year too, but abandoned it halfway through.  And since June is the month that I normally stitch patriotic stuff, I thought it was high time to get them finish~finished  :) 

4th of July--Quaker Style

freebie pattern by Aury found here

fabric:  28ct "staci-dyed" evenweave

fibers:  WDW Garnet and Navy, and my own coffee-dyed DMC

Independence Day Roundabout kit

by Heart in Hand

Backing fabrics from my stash.

I'm thinking that these will be the start of basket #2  :)  Happy Stitching everyone!  And as always, thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods!

Briar Rabbit

What a quick stitch this was! I think he's so cute :)

Briar Rabbit by La-D-Da

fabric: 32ct Queen Anne's Lace

fibers: DMC

frame from Hobby Lobby

I chose a much lighter fabric. I think the darker fabric of the model masks the sweetness of the design. I've put the pattern on my de-stash blog if anyone is interested. **edited** this chart has been sold, thank you for your interest!

And now a question dear friends. These are the two bunnies I've stitched for Easter (the BBD bunny is from last year.) I'd like to stitch another one. Something sweet, but not too cutesy (and definitely not cartoonish.) Prim or vintage looking would be good too. Any suggestions???

Thank you everyone for all the love-ly comments on my Valentine basket...they sure warmed my heart :)

And for Corinne from Paris: these are the patterns from my patriotic basket...

**Liberty and Justice by Little House Needleworks

**Stars and Stripes by Little House Needleworks

**USA Squared by Lizzie Kate

**God Bless America by Lizzie Kate

**SnapHappy Independence Day by Bent Creek

**4th of July Bird by Heart in Hand

**Glory by The Trilogy

**Sailing Sloop freebie by Rainbow Gallery

**Patriotic Garden by Waxing Moon (LNS freebie)

**Freedom by Lizzie Kate (LNS freebie)

Alrighty, I think that's all for me folks! Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods!!!

I'm not nearly as industrious

as this post is going to appear. Actually I've been sick for almost two weeks, so my only recent finish is the first pair of socks. Everything else has been waiting since spring for me to take pics.

So, without further ado, first up: Youngest's "red,white, and blue" socks. These were really fun to knit, and because I'm such a nerd, I wonder if they make sock yarn in other countries' flag colors???

48 stitch basic stockinette sock

size: child's large

needles: size 2 dpn's

yarn: Fortissima Colori Socka Color by Schoeller Stahl, color #1776 (how fitting!)

The next two pairs are anklets knit out of miscellaneous sock yarn from my stash. No idea where the ball bands disappeared to.

both pairs are 56 stitch basic stockinette socks

size: women's sm/med

needles: size 2 dpn's

(I think the plum/burgundy pair might be Koigu KPPPM.)

I love how this shawl turned out. It's soft and cozy and drapes just right. It's actually darker and not as bright as my pictures appear.

Lace Throw/#s495 by Plymouth Yarn Design Studio

yarn: Country by Naturally Caron, color #0017 Claret

needles: size 9

(I only cast on 69 stitches and then worked the pattern as written,

ending when it was as long as I wanted.)

finished and blocked size: 17 1/2 in wide by 62 in long

And last but not least, a beanie for Oldest...

Bias Hat from the book

Not Just More Socks by Sandi Rosner

yarn: Austermann Step, color #04

needles: 16in circular size 2 and size 2 dpn's

Phew! Well that's all for me folks, seems like enough doesn't it? Thank you for your continued visits and sweet comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by my little piece of cyberspace. I've been silently visiting your blogs and keeping up on all your wonderful projects and activities. I'm feeling better, so let the silence end, LOL!!!

Prim Pinkeeps

I've never made pinkeeps with my embroidery before, but that's exactly how I pictured these little patterns when I first laid eyes on them. I used muslin fabric and DMC 498, and then they had a dunk in some coffee.


The backing fabric reminds me of old-fashioned ticking :)


I used a red grosgrain ribbon and natural jute twine. And straight pins with some cream-colored beads.

The embroidery patterns came from a book I found at my favorite quilt shop: "Timeless Toile" by Roxanne Rentzel.

Julie and I did a patriotic pattern swap; trading patterns that we've stitched and some freebies that we had. This was a lot of fun and now I have some great "new" patterns to stitch up! Thanks Julie!!!

Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments. Wishing all of my American friends a very Happy and Safe 4th of July! And to all of my friends elsewhere in the world, I hope you have a wonderful summer weekend!!!

My basket runneth over...

This year, I opted for a bigger basket than last year's. I love the patriotic bounty of it!

I sewed 4 of my 5 recent finishes to add to the basket. Did any of you keen observers notice in my last post, I had forgotten to stitch the hands of the little girl holding the flag? I think she now finds it easier to wave her flag, lol ;)

And the backs. I ADORE patriotic fabrics and just can't help adding to my collection when I see them! And how fortuitous that I happened to have that God Bless America fabric, I love it when that happens (it makes me feel like such a smart planner, lol!)

The Tour De France begins on Saturday, so I'll be glued to the tv for 3 weeks of cycling ups and downs throughout the beautiful French countryside. I've pulled out a ball of patriotic sock yarn to knit Youngest some socks. He's only been asking for them for 4(?) years! And I've got my iced tea. I'm all set, bring on the 4th of July!

Friday Freedom

Happy Friday Everyone! Thank you all for your sweet comments on my patriotic finishes. And thanks for your patience at letting me harass you again today with another one...

Liberty and Justice by

Little House Needleworks

fabric: 32ct lambswool linen

fibers: DMC

I've been having so much fun stitching these up! They go so fast that I don't get bored, lol. I've already finish~finished some of them, so I'll be back to show you those.

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine :)

Patriotism, Pinball, and Pizza

I really like the way this finish turned out. I used a piece of my own gold-colored hand-dyed linen (it's just a bit darker IRL than in my photos.) And then I had to substitute DMC 780 for the stars so that they'd show up properly. The charm isn't the one called for in the pattern, I found it in my stash~~but I think it's just the bling this little piece needed :)

God Bless America

by Lizzie Kate

fabric: misc "staci-dyed" linen remnant

fibers: WDW and DMC

Here are some final pictures from our little road trip. After Ghost Town, we went to Manitou Springs where we walked the shops and then headed to Arcade Amusements, "The West's Oldest Arcade". Home to hundreds of vintage pinball machines...

Then we headed north to Woody's Woodfired Pizza and home......a delicious end to a fun-filled day!

Snap Happy!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, this might look familiar to you. I stitched this pattern last year for a 4th of July Fair and Square exchange. And this year, I've re-stitched it for myself ;) See those Pop-Its? We've gotta buy them every year, my boys love them. And sparklers. Gotta buy sparklers too, cuz it's just not 4th of July without sparklers ;)

Snap Happy Independence Day

by Bent Creek

fabric: 32ct lambswool linen

fibers: DMC

Have you seen this cute 4th of July Quaker Heart freebie by Aury? I hope to get it stitched this year too :)

I had a couple inquiries about my scissors in the last two posts. I bought them a few years ago as part of a set off ebay. I don't know if they're still available, but you can always search "embroidery scissors" on ebay to see what comes up.

Thanks for all of your sweet comments on my patriotic stitching and our recent road trip (I still have a few more pics of that.) Sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine...

Old Glory

I finally got around to stitching this little kit that's been in my stash for 5 (or is it 6) years. Lovin' the patriotic bicycle bells I found in the Target $1 area for the boys ;)

Independence Day Roundabout

kit by Heart in Hand

fabric: 32ct Natural Belfast linen (incl)

fibers: WDW and GAST (incl)

HIH charm (incl)

We left Colorado Springs and strolled and lunched in Old Colorado City. Then it was on to Ghost Town Museum. Here the kiddos watched movies the old-fashioned way...

And we panned for gold...

But since this is all we found, we left to find our riches elsewhere ;)

Hoist Your Colors!

It's that time of year folks......that time when I abandon everything for some patriotic stitching :) And what a fun little stitch this was...

Sailing Sloop freebie

from Rainbow Gallery

fabric: 32ct raw linen

fibers: my own selection

We took a short road trip this past weekend, and our first stop was the Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs. It's one of 3 training facilities; the others are in Lake Placid, NY and California.

I took a bunch of photos, and it's always difficult to choose just a few. If you have a chance, stop by and take the free tour :) It makes you proud to be an American and appreciate the dedication it takes to be an Olympic Athlete.

Countdown...

Reconnected

Hello Dear Friends! My computer crashed shortly after my last post.......we now have a new hard drive and I'm getting things reloaded (a rather inconvenient process, sigh.) Thankfully, we haven't lost too much! I never realized how addicted I am to the computer, LOL ;) Nor did I realize exactly how much email has become the primary form of contact. Especially with the kiddos...school updates and newsletters, activity schedules, etc. All email, all the time. So, I've felt quite disconnected the last two weeks. Oh, hubby's been checking the email at work and I've been stopping by the library every few days to check it there~~but it's really not the same.

But I tell you, I sure can get a lot of other stuff done without the computer to distract me, LOL!!! I stitched this little floss tag, not quite sure who I was going to send it to. Then it came to me that Carolyn could use a little "pick-me-up".

motif taken from Heart of America

by Little House Needleworks

fabric: 32ct "staci-dyed" linen

fibers: Crescent Colours

The first photo is a little closer to the actual linen color, but it's still a bit darker IRL. I have much to catch up on and am having trouble with my google reader (hopefully I can get that straightened out soon!) I've been left a few bloggy questions that I'll try to get to next time around. Thank you to everyone who checked in to make sure I was ok~~didn't think anyone would even notice I was offline! Hugs everyone :)