Peaceful Silhouette

Peaceful Silhouette by Dimensions

stitched from a kit with included threads and fabrics

I'll be back in a few days with some pics from a recent Fair & Square exchange, but I am going through my draft posts trying to breathe some life into this blog.  Meanwhile, enjoy this piece from Mr. SweetPea, something he stitched up a few years ago and gifted to his brother (another one we failed to take a photo of once it was framed).

Mr. SweetPea doesn't fool around and often takes on more ambitious projects (and still manages to finish a few of them before I get through some of my smaller projects!).  To be honest, all these shades of brown and tan probably would have driven me batty, but he seemed to enjoy the process.  It is indeed a peaceful scene, though!

As for me, I've been very busy with Little Dude back in preschool and going back to work myself.  We're on the go all week, and try to do fun things with Little Dude on the weekends.  It's our favorite time of year to be out and about and we've been very fortunate to have some beautiful weather in the northeastern US.  Sadly, my stitching time has diminished.  I've been going to bed earlier (5:30 am comes quick!) and I'm a lot more tired at night, so I limit how much time I spend on my pieces because I'd rather not be endlessly ripping out mistakes.

But as I mentioned, I do have a F&S exchange to post, so you'll be seeing that soon.

To the Queen

To the Queen by JBW Designs

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White with Recommended threads

 I've had this chart in my stash for a while.  I picked it up on sale at my LNS becasue the moment I saw it, I knew it was destined to be for my friend Kim.  I met Kim YEARS ago at work, and we ended up in facing cubes.  Since Kim has a long standing fondness for the color pink and queens, this is utterly perfect for her.

The original chart calls for a tiny crown charm, but I substituted a K for Kim instead.  I debated whether or not to use the glass (normally I'd frame it without since I wasn't using a mat) but I didn't want the charm to tarnish, so I went ahead and put the glass back in.  I gave it to her last weekend, and she LOVED it.  She's a bit of a stitcher herself, though she hasn't done it in years (she crochets more now), so she knew the work that went into it and appreciated it all the more.

And no, my framing isn't quite as wonky as it appears in the photo.  I swear I do this all the time - I never notice how weird my framing looks in the photo for an item I've already gifted until I go and write the blog post about it!

A token of my affection

While I had my beading supplies out, I ran across a frog charm I had and knew that it was destined for a special home with my dear friend Dianne.  Dianne and I met through stitching several years back, and she is one of the sweetest, kindest and loveliest women I've ever met.  (and as the mom of a boy, albeit a much more grown up boy than mine, she's particularly sweet on Little Dude, and she spoils us both!)

Along her many stitching and paper craft interests, Dianne is a lover of gardening and flowers and spends as much time as she can tending to her own gardens and flower beds.  She has a pretty little pond in her garden, and when spring rolls around, so do her croaking buddies out by the water. I thought she might like one she could keep in the house with her, and chose some pretty green flowered beads and some tulip shaped pink ones for this fob.

Now I know we all like to keep the frogs AWAY from our stitching, but perhaps this harmless little fellow will convince the other frogs that Dianne has enough to keep her company, and they'll hop away from her stitching??

Springtime Exchange with Robin

A few months ago when I started blogging again, a fellow stitcher named Robin (no blog... yet!) started commenting on my posts.  Through a series of emails, we started developing a friendship, and when I mentioned the Fair & Square exchange, she asked me a few quesitons about it, then suggested we do our own private exchange.

I thought that was a great idea, and we decided on a spring theme, following the F&S guidelines for size and a signature square.  These are Robin's squares - Mini Spring by The Sunflower Seed.

Aren't they just lovely?  Robin's stitching is so pretty and delicate!  Allergies be damned, I do love spring flowers and tulips are among my favorites.  I think these squares are going to make a wonderful no-sew cube, perhaps with a pretty spring colored plaid ribbon around the edges, depending on what I can find.

Robin also hit up my wish list and very generously included these two appropriately spring-y charts and some gorgeous silk threads from Dinky Dyes and Vicki Clayton.  Bent Creek's Shamrock Row will mean a trip to the LNS for a special cut of fabric, but Allesandra Adelaide's Little Blue will most likely be bumping some other pieces in the queue because I'm pretty sure there's a suitable piece of fabric in my stash.

Thank you, Robin, for your beautiful squares and generous gifts, but mostly for your friendship.  I so enjoy our emails!
 
And now on to what I stitched for Robin.  When she mentioned "springtime", I immediately thought of this one from Les Grilles des Liselotte, Amitie Brodee.  

Not only did the chart fit the springtime theme, but it expressed a sentiment that was especially appropriate.  Amitie brodee is French for "friendship embroidered" and I thought it was fitting to honor this new friendship that came about through a mutual love of stitching.

The original chart is done in purple, but I had a multicolor version of it saved in my stitching ideas file (I can't track down the original).  Since Robin prefers brighter colors to pastels, I chose a more vibrant palette, using WDW in Begonia, Sunset, Crepe Myrtle and Sally's Sunshine plus Carrie's Creations Purple for the flowers, WDW Meadow for the green, and WDW Heatherleigh for the butterflies.

I added a little bling with some copper color beads for the flower stamens, and hematite beads for the butterflies.

As I was stitching the piece, I kept second guessing myself and very nearly abandoned it in favor of another pattern, but I kept on with it, and it turned out exactly like I wanted.


I also hauled out my beading supplies and made this scissor fob featuring a butterfly charm and glass millefiori and iridescent beads.  I hadn't done any beading in a while, so it was fun to dig through my bead stash and play around with different colors and shapes.
 

How Pinteresting... Part 3

One of the wedding pieces I blogged about used a printed velum paper overlay on a mat to bring in another aspect of the wedding theme. I used this same technique again to create a gift for my cousin's first anniversary.  Coincidentally, paper is both the traditional and modern gift for a first anniversary.

Their first dance was to a song called Then by Brad Paisley.  The photo is from their first dance, and the lyrics are around the outside.  Sorry for the flash, but it's hard to get a decent picture

The original idea came from a blog called Sparkle & Hay, but the post I pinned the picture from no longer exists, and I can't seem to find it anywhere.  (The blog seems to be out of commission)  I do remember that the project was hand lettered directly onto the mat.  I wasn't comfortable doing that, but if you want instructions, you can see how to do it here.  (And another tutorial for handwriting the lyrics)

I am far too much of a perfectionist AND I like to make things difficult, so I opted to do mine in Word.  I used the same font that my cousin used on her wedding invitations, Tiriani, but you can find hundreds of free handwriting fonts here.  I purchased the mat and frame first - the frame came from AC Moore and everything is inserted from the front.  There's just a thin border around the edge holding the glass in so I could use more of the mat (almost none of it is covered over by the edges of the frame).  This is an 8x10 frame.

Then I measured the exact dimensions and set up a document in Word.  It was a lot of adjusting, tweaking and playing around with sizing and spacing to get the song lyrics to fit and look evenly spaced.  Then I printed it on plain paper, lined it up against the mat, tweaked some more, printed again, and so on and so forth.  I needed to fill in a little space at the end, so I included not only the name of the song and the artist, but their names, their wedding date, and the town they were married in.

Once everything was perfect, I printed the final copy on velum paper and used an exacto knife and paper trimmer to cut it to shape, then adhered it with spray adhesive.  It was a bit tedious and time consuming, but the end result was TOTALLY worth it.

This method looks much easier! http://www.homevolution.co/2012/09/first-dance-frame.html

Or you could use a mat with two openings - one for your photo, one for a printed copy of your lyrics

You could also do the lyrics directly on a photo, then put it on a canvas, like this blogger did here.

And if all else fails, you can pay someone on Etsy to do it for you!

Wedding and Anniversary Gifts

Last week, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and wedding and anniversary pieces have been on my mind.  My in-laws' 50th anniversary will be coming up in the not too distant future, so I've been thinking about something we could stitch for them.  It's also traditional wedding season - June is still big for weddings, right?  (Although it seems like October is pulling ahead in terms of popularity.)  

I've already shown you some of the Bent Creek pieces I've done for weddings in a previous post.  I thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of the pieces I've stitched as wedding gifts, or on occasion, anniversary gifts because I can't get my act together in time for the wedding.  And in the case of this first piece, a Christmas gift because we didn't even stitch at the time the wedding took place.

I like to tie what I stitch into the event whenever possible.  With weddings that don't have a specific theme, I look to the the time of year, location, even a special reading or a song from the ceremony for inspiration. 

This is a piece I modified from a Leisure Arts leaflet called Marriage Keepsakes.  I had stitched the pattern once before, as designed.  This time, I changed the text to a poem my BIL and SIL used on the bookmark favors for their wedding.  They didn't have a theme for their wedding, so I drew on the colors they used, blue and silver.

Another couple I stitched a gift for also didn't really use a theme for their wedding, so I used this Bucilla kit, "To Love and To Cherish" as a gift for my far away friend.  She and I met online while we were planning our weddings, and have remained close ever since.

I changed the pink flowers to a peachy color so they would look more like the peach colored carnations that the bride chose for her bouquet and their decor.

I've also designed pieces completely from scratch by using motifs from several books I own.    This is where cross stitch software comes in VERY handy.  I have used PC Stitch for several years with great results, though I must admit that once I upgraded, some of the functions I could do quickly and easily became more complicated, and I am still muddling my way through some of the software.  (I want to go back to the old way of doing things for some functions, and it's just not possible.

For my friend Kelly (also a fellow wedding planning site buddy), I created a piece using the Song of Solomon quote they used for their invitations.  Red roses were a big part of their fall wedding, so I incorporated that into the piece as well.  The rose motif in the middle was tricky - I wanted something symmetrical - and ended up playing with a charted rose and its mirror image to get the look I was going for.  (Names are intentionally blurred for privacy)






One of the more unusual pieces I've done was for a couple that had marigolds and cicadas for their wedding theme.  Definitely not your typical wedding theme!  In 2004, the cicadas of Brood X (the largest group of periodical cicadas that emerge every 17 years) were coming out.  The marigold part was easy - I tapped the same flower book I used for the roses in the previous piece, but the cicadas proved to be a challenge.

I ended up stitching a simple piece, and worked the cicadas into the framing.  I found some line art drawings and printed them on velum paper, then used an Exacto knife to trim away the excess and cut out the middle.  I mounted the paper to a store bought mat with spray adhesive.  It turned out better that I expected and made for a very interesting wedding record.  Working with printed velum and a store bought mat can be tedious, but it adds a whole new level of versatility and flexibility to framing pieces.


On a much more traditional note, I used a reading that was very important to the couple to stitch this Book of Ruth Sampler by Design Connection (now OOP).  The names were charted out on paper, pre-stitching software, and I would definitely move some things around were I to stitch it again.

And the last piece I have for today should be familiar to many of you, as it's Blackbird Designs I Thee Wed.  It was a commissioned piece, stitched for my cousin to gift to a friend.  You can find the details on the piece here.

 Do you stitch gifts for weddings, anniversaries or other significant life events?  How do you choose what you will stitch?  Do you have any go to designers or charts that you've stitched more than once (like my fondness for Bent Creek's I Do)?

What our stitching means

Just recently, I read a post by my friend Rachel, talking about her stash and how she regrets the amount of money she spent on it, needs vs. wants, and emotional shopping.  I think at some point, we've all been there - maybe about our stash, maybe about other things like clothes or shoes or kitchen gadgets.  In my case, as a parent, I'm trying to be more aware of money I spend on *stuff* my son thinks he wants, but doesn't really need, like all the little doo dads in the Target Dollar Spot.  Sure, it's a thrill for him to get something, and I love to see a smile on his face, but does he NEED another plastic car or novelty?  And more importantly, will those trinkets matter in the years to come?  Probably not, nor do I want to get my son in the habit of spending money on momentary rewards that are tossed aside almost as soon as we get home.

The following day, I came across this post on Positively Splendid.  In the post, Amy talks about this beautiful pillow her mom made for her, all by hand.  She says, "This pillow will always be a tangible reminder of her love for me, something that can eventually be passed on to future generations."

She also talks about the very special quilts her grandmother created for her grandchildren, and what they mean to her, and I think we as crafters need to know exactly what Amy says, "Your creativity matters."

It's really a beautiful post and a wonderful tribute to the creative women in Amy's life, and her post is well worth reading.

I also think it puts a lot in perspective.  While I can see where Rachel is coming from, and I can definitely relate to regrets about spending money on certain things (like the Dollar Spot nonsense), I think Amy really nails it.  Obviously, the greatest investment in our stitching is our time, but the materials aren't cheap either.  The cost of the floss, fabrics, embellishments, charts and finishing materials can really add up, but I can't say I regret these purchases, or the time spent stitching.

I've been asked why I don't sell my stitched pieces.  Sometimes the easy answer is "copyright issues", but usually I respond that I will never recover monetarily what I put into it, so I only stitch for gifts, for people I genuinely care about.  My time and effort is as much a gift to them as the finished piece.  Years from now, my niece, nephew and son will be able to look at the birth records that were stitched for them and know they were done with love.  Someday when my son is an adult and decorating his own Christmas tree, I hope that the ornaments I made for him will be another reminder of how much I love him.  When our friends see the wedding records we've stitched and framed for them, I hope it's a joyful reminder of their wedding day, and of our love and support for them as well.

As Amy summed up, we "use our own two hands to create a lasting legacy with those we love, both near and from afar."

Variation on a theme

A few years ago, I stitched Gabrielle Rose by La D Da as a gift for a friend's little girl.  It's pretty, with lovely muted pastel colors and an old fashioned feel.

It's a chart I really like for its simplicty, and it works really well for a little girl when the theme is more of a color scheme than a concrete theme (like butterflies or fuzzy sheep).


Since it's a versatile chart, I knew I would stitch it again, but this time I wanted to do something a little different.  Another friend of mine was having a baby, and they were going all out girly in pinks and greens for the nursery, but in more vivid hues than pastels.  They chose a bedding set from Pottery Barn called Petite Paisley for the nursery. Working from those colors, I went to my LNS and started to pull some brightly colored threads.  The owner thought I might be a little crazy, but I went for it, and it turned out even better than I hoped.  (Excuse the lines in the fabric - I know it will be almost a year, but I haven't framed it yet.  oops)

Gabrielle Rose by La D Da

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. white evenweave

with my own color selection

While I think the original is quite pretty, I'm also a little in love with the bolder colors! It's not as vibrant as the Pottery Barn bedding, but it still echos the fabrics nicely.  (The bluebirds might be my favorite part!)  The last name on the banner is blurred for privacy, but I used a lighter thread this time and it pops a little more than the grey thread I used the first time around.

If you're interested in the colors, I used GAST Dark Chocolate for the border, Presidential Blue and Fragrant Cloves for the birds, WDW Begonia, Saffron, Crepe Myrtle and Sunset for the flowers, and Meadow for the leaves and stems, CC House Wine for the banner and Magnolia Blossom for the banner lettering and white band on the birds.

Hopefully I will get this framed up soon, and perhaps gifted in its final format before the young miss turns one later this year!  (I've already shown the finished stitching to my friend and she loves it)  The plan is to frame it in a dark wood frame (to coordinate with the dark nursery furniture) so I'll update the blog once I get it framed.

A Very Grumpy Christmas

Merry Christmas Grumpy Kitty

Brooke's Books Publishing

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. unknown green evenweave with recommended colors

Continuing on with our theme of "Pieces I stitched AND finished in 2013", (Which is mostly ornaments since it's a fairly quick process and I don't have to obsess about frames) here's a little something I whipped up for a friend of mine.  She adores Grumpy Cat, and when I discovered him making the rounds on the blogs,  I knew this would be for her.  The original was stitched on a pale blue fabric, but I think the green gives it an extra pop.  This was a super quick stitch, and I got it out in time for her to put it on her tree.

I did substitute a gold metallic thread for the star and some fuzzy white Wisper thread for the trim and pom pom on the hat.  The gold metallic is prettier in person, but I did not get the effect from the Wisper thread that I had hoped for, even using one thread.

I used the same red plaid background fabric that I used for Little Dude's ornament.  It has a little bit of metallic shine to it, and metallic gold threads running through it, so it was a nice compliment to the gold star.  My friend loves anything glittery and shiny, so I went with a sparkly red tinsel-like cording for the trim (from the $1 at Joann's).  It was slightly tricky getting that glued into place without melting the bits of tinsel onto the hot glue gun, but I love how it turned out.

A thoughtful gift from Marie

The other day, this very sweet gift arrived from Marie. She treated me to a wonderful project bag made from a tea towel (I'm prone to using plastic ziploc bags for many of my projects, so this will class it up a little).  And the little teapot embroidery reminds me so much of the iron on Aunt Martha's transfers (remember those?)  I used to do when I was younger.

Marie also included two locally handmade cutting boards, with holes drilled by one of her sons to form thread holders.  When I opened the box, my husband said, "Oh good!  One for me too!"  I'll have to find something special for these - I'm thinking some sort of PA Dutch pattern would be perfect.  And I also received my very first flower frog, something that comes in handy for many stitchers for holding their scissor collections.  This pretty clear glass one happens to fit perfectly on one of the glass bowls we inherited from my husband's grandmother.  But as pretty and as useful as it is, it will most likely live in a china cabinet for a few years, as there is a curious and not so careful preschooler in the house.  Better safe than sorry for a bit, right?

Thank you, Marie, not only for the beautiful, thoughtful gifts, but for your friendship as well!

Marie's blog is one of the very first I came across, and over the years I've gotten to know this lovely woman.  My blogging may be spotty, but we stay in touch regularly via email.  If you visit her blog, you will see that she has created some gorgeous ornaments, many of which have been gifted to others.  She also has a special talent combining her stitching with one of her other passions, quilting.  I am in awe of her talent with quilting - just look at her lovely treat bags and candle mats.  And did you know Marie is a prize winning quilter?  It's no wonder her blog is so fun to read!

I've also been paired up with Marie for the Fair and Square Exchange twice, and have actually finished both pieces into objects on display.   She knows my fondness for lighthouses, so for the first one, she stitched me this Prairie Schooler piece. Which just happens to still be in the living room on the shelf because I cannot get my act together long enough to come up with a decorating plan for our family room mantel, unless you count my Pinterest boards, and then I'm an EXPERT at decorating.

The second piece set a landspeed record for finishing because it happened to arrive as I was in the middle of finishing several other ornaments, so the squares went right into the pile and were also finished into an ornament right away so they could join the 50 or so other lighthouses on our Christmas tree.

Speaking of the Fair & Square Exchange, is anyone else interested in continuing it?  it's been dormant for over a year now, and perhaps if there's enough interest, we can convince Jill to get it going again.  I miss it - sometimes it was the only thing that kept me going with stitching because it was a small, manageable piece with a specific deadline, and it was so much fun meeting other stitching and choosing what to stitch for them.  I've made some truly wonderful friends through the exchange and I'd hate to see it die off.

Ornaments for Little Dude and his Preschool Teacher

Speaking of Little Dude's yearly ornaments, here's the one for 2013...

Little House Needleworks' Main Street Station
Hometown Holiday Series
Stitched over 1 on 32 ct. Linen with recommended threads
Backed with plaid fabric shown in background

Little Dude is train obsessed.  OBSESSED.  A few months before he was born, a friend of mine was cleaning out her basement and wanted to give us her sons' Thomas the Train table.  I turned it down, not knowing whether or not my child would be interested in trains.  It's a decision that I kick myself for on a regular basis.

All is not lost though - he has a very talented dad who hacked an IKEA coffee table and built him his very own train table.  We were also gifted with piles of wooden train tracks, trains and accessories from my BIL and SIL, who passed them on from my SIL's sister's son.  We added a few more accessories and trains for him, and they are by far his favorite toy.   He's gotten hours of enjoyment out of them.  He started playing with them when he was just over 2 years old, and it's been fun to watch how the way he plays with them has changed and developed.

And it's not just Thomas that holds his interest, although I am certain we've seen every single episode of Thomas, read all the books, and own most of the trains.  He's obsessed with all kinds of trains - real ones, wooden ones, model trains, books about trains, videos about trains, etc.  We've taken him to Day out with Thomas twice, on at least a dozen train rides around the area, museums, model train displays, you name it, we've done it.  Two weeks ago, we took him to the Railroad Museum in Strasburg for the second time.  We spent four hours there, exploring the actual restored trains (engines, cars and cabooses) and playing with the various set ups and displays they had for the kids.  He begged for a ride on the Strasburg Railroad across the street, but we told him another time as he was already getting crabby.  Never in a million years did I think I'd get a kid as crazy about trains as this one, but it's been interesting.  I've certainly learned way more about trains than I ever thought I would.  (And if you find yourself in the Lancaster area, I highly recommend a visit to the Railroad Museum)

The other Little Dude related ornament is the one I stitched up for his preschool teacher.  He started preschool in September, three days a week, and he LOVES it.  I was a little nervous at first, but he is still excited to go and very much enjoys it.   He's (so far) an only child and most of the kids in our neighborhood are middle school or older, so he's been making friends at school.

I wasn't quite sure what to do for his teacher for Christmas.  My husband and I bake a tremendous amount of cookies (usually 12 different kinds, plus several kinds of candy), so we hand out cookie platters to neighbors, family and friends.  I was already planning on giving his teacher some baked goodies, but I wanted to do something extra for her as she's been really wonderful with Little Dude.  My MIL is a former preschool teacher herself, and she said the gifts she treasured the most were handmade ones.  Perfect, right?  So I flipped through some of my JCS Ornament issues and this one popped out at me.

The Decorator by Full Circle Designs
JCS 2007 Ornament Issue
Stitched on 32 ct. grey linen with recommended threads

I lucked out and had two matching pieces of grey linen in my stash, so I stitched his name and the year on the back so she would always remember him.  I had a strand of red, green and pearl seed beads in my trim stash, and that finished it up nicely.  His teacher loved it, and told me that snowmen were one of her favorite winter / Christmas themes.  Score!

A wedding gift for a happy couple

Sew Blue by iStitchaholic 

1 over 1 on 28 ct. evenweave
with Belle Soie Peacock

Personalized as a gift

This was a freebie pattern offered by Carol of iStitchaholic.  The original pattern has an alphabet across the top of the design, but I wanted to personalize it for a wedding gift, so I used the alphabet for  their names and wedding date, and charted out my own ampersand.

Gina is a dear friend of my husband's from college, and we wanted to send her and her new husband something personal since we could not make it to their wedding.  This is actually the first of two pieces I stitched - the other is a framed piece for their walls that has yet to be framed.  At least this one got out in time to hang on their Christmas tree this year! (And you'll see the framed piece later, once it's finished up)

So I changed the pattern to personalize the piece, and I took the ribbon from their invitations to my LNS and found a perfect match in the Belle Soie Peacock silk.  Gina also had a bit of a lace motif throughout her wedding plans, so I picked up on that with the trim around the edges, and found some teal blue fabric (what you see in the background) for the back of the piece.  The lace is actually much nicer in person.  I didn't realize it looked off in the picture until after I had mailed it out.  But rest assured I didn't send out a wonky ornament.

I've been on a bit of an over 1 stitching kick, and I never fail to be thrilled with how the tiny little stitches come out, especially with silks.

On Safari

I keep meaning to check if these gifts have made it to their intended recipient, and it keeps slipping my mind. That happens sometimes.

So these are two pieces I stitched up for my friend's son.  We meant to get together over Christmas so I could give them to her, but between family obligations and illnesses, it just didn't happen. I left the pieces with my mother-in-law, since she is good friends with little Mitchell's grandma.

Animal Alphabet Birth Sampler
by The Historical Sampler Company Limited
Stitched 2 over 2 on 36 ct Edinburgh Linen
Personalized as a gift

This is a piece I modified from the original.  Whenever I stitch a birth sampler, I like to include as much of the information as possible.  The original didn't leave room for the weight, length or time, so I added in a box under the last row of letters and extended the border.  Luckily, this worked out perfectly.

I also changed out the original panda bear for an elephant.  The panda bear was very cute, but the elephant was better suited to the "vintage safari" theme used for the nursery.  Once again, my husband did the framing (with a frame from American Frame).  I'm not sure if I've shared this tip before, but I always give him the chart I've stitched from with the rest of the framing materials.  He uses the chart to find the center of the stitched piece, and pins through the center gently into the backer board, then works out from the center to stretch the fabric over the edges.  He finds this especially helpful when framing something with a stitched border such as this.  Once he's done, or has enough of the piece pinned to hold it in place, he removes the center pin.

In addition to the framed piece, I also stitched up an ornament for Mitchell, keeping with the vintage safari theme.  As soon as I spotted this piece at my LNS, I knew it would be the one I did.  This one was done as charted, except I left out the bird charm (the original has a tiny bird perched on the back of the giraffe) and stitched in the birth year instead.

Zoo Line Up by The Trilogy

Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. fabric

I'm super happy with how both pieces came out.  They're very different, yet have a similar feel to the pieces I stitched for Mitchell's older brother, Mason.  You can see them here.

Gift for a baby girl

Gabrielle Rose by La D Da
Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White
Name intentionally blurred for privacy

Here's another piece that I finally finished up and framed, and delivered.

Kelly is the daughter of a childhood friend of mine and I wanted to make something special for her nursery. Since the parents didn't go with a specific theme for her room, I chose this piece from my stash.  It's pretty and feminine without being overly girly and I think it will be something pretty for her room for a long time to come.

I used the recommended colors for the piece, but left out the initials in the corners, and changed the wording on the banner to Kelly's last name.  In hindsight, I might have used a lighter color thread for her name, since the grey does seem to blend in, but I like the subtleness of the grey.

You may remember the piece I stitched up for Kelly's brother Ryan.  They went with a jungle theme, so I stitched Safari Birth Sampler by Mary Stickley for The Coleshill Collection.  Since the furniture in the nursery remained the same, I ordered a similar frame for both pieces.

Birth Record for a Baby Girl

Way back in June, I showed you the ornament I stitched up for a new family member, and I am now getting around to posting her birth record.

Inspirational Scripture - Faith (with thread) by Little House Needleworks
Stitched 2 over 2 on 28 ct. Sandcastle with included thread
Modified for personal use

Once again, I modified a chart to suit my needs because I couldn't really find a birth record chart that worked for what I wanted.  I took out the wording that was in place and charted in my own.  I ended up extending the flower stem to accommodate all the birth information, but I love how it turned out.  

If the parents choose a theme for the nursery, I like to match or coordinate as closely as possible, and this was the bedding they picked for their baby girl:

CoCaLo Baby Mia Rose

I've had the piece finished for a while (oh, maybe since December of last year), but framing is another story, especially with a stitched border in the piece.  Getting the border lined up and straight before framing isn't hard, but it is tedious and time consuming, and not my husband's favorite job, so sometimes it does take a little convincing.  I also had a small hiccup with this piece by not starting it where I should have.  Somehow I managed to mess up centering the piece and by the time I figured it out, I was too far into stitching it to rip it all out.  The piece still fit on the fabric, but there wasn't quite enough room to securely wrap the edge around the mounting board.

After some discussion, I took the piece to my LNS to ask for the owner's advice as she also offers framing services.  She suggested stitching a piece of muslin on the short edge, since the seam would be hidden by the matting and no one would be the wiser.  One, two, three - she stitched a spare piece of fabric on and we were ready to go.  (On a side note, this above and beyond type of customer service is one of the many reasons I continue to shop there.  Please patronize small businesses, especially niche businesses like LNSes, whenever you can, or we risk losing them all together.)

Now that the edge wrapped around the mounting board, it was much easier to frame.  Getting a decent photo with the glass was another issue, though, but this one did come out.  Finally, I was able to send this, the butterfly ornament, and the other Bride's Tree Ornaments we still owed the parents from their wedding (4 years ago) off to the family where they were greatly appreciated and able to be enjoyed for years to come.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Snowmen, Snow women, and Snowboys!

Every single time I stitch a snowman (or snow-person), I think about how much I dislike stitching with white thread, especially large swaths of white. You know, the kind you'd see when you're stitching a snowman. And every single time I see a cute snowman ornament, I forget how much I dislike it and decide I am going to stitch it. It's a vicious cycle, but I do it for love.

These next two ornaments will be going to good friends of ours, Jenn and Marc, who just had their second son in May. Jenn and I were pregnant at the same time with our firstborn sons and bonded over the experience. Shortly after Jenn told me she was pregnant with her second, the JCS ornament issue came out and lo and behold, a pregnant snow-woman ornament!

Snowflake By SamSarah Design Studio
JCS ornament Issue 2011
WDW Blue Jean 30 ct. 2 over 3
with my own thread selections

This ornament is GIGANTIC. Okay, gigantic for me. It ended up being something like 4"x4". If I stitch it again, it will be over 1, but this is very cute anyway. I will most likely include a small easel with it though, in case they want to put it on a shelf or the mantle instead of hanging it on the tree. I also left the hanging loop long enough to fit over a doorknob if they so choose.

And I can't forget Nick's friend, Mason (Jenn and Marc's son) I stitched a photo ornament the year he was born, and plan to continue the tradition of stitching something for him every year. This one ended up being perfect for him.

Just a Little Flaky - Val's Stuff
JCS Ornament issue 2011
WDW Blue Jean 30 ct 2 over 2
With my own thread selections

I made some modifications to the design, taking out the wording and substituting Mason's name and the year, as well as adding some tiny iridescent white beads for snowflakes.


You can see the detail on the snowflakes here.

I ended up stitching both pieces on the same fabric and tried to coordinate some of the other colors so the pieces "go" together. Now I'll need to figure out what to stitch for Mason and his new little brother for this year, once the new JCS issue comes out.

A Basket of Apples

In the continuing saga of stitching and finishing ornaments for a Bride's Tree for not-so-newlyweds comes this next piece. Here representing the "basket of fruit" component is this lovely basket of apples:

Basket of Apples
Better Homes & Gardens 2001 Cross Stitch Designs
Stitched over 1 on 22 ct. aida

(Please note my finishing isn't quite as, ummm, crappy, as it looks. It's much nicer in person.)

This has also been completely assembled for at least 2 years, just waiting for some appropriate cording / trim.

A pink butterfly for a sweet baby girl

JBW French Country Butterfly for Kayla
Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. Antique White
with Crescent Colors Cherry Tomato

Whenever I stitch a birth record for a newborn (or a 1 year old, as is usually the case by the time I get it done...) I like to include a Christmas ornament for families that celebrate Christmas. I've mentioned before how ridiculously sentimental I am about Christmas ornaments, so this should come as no surprise to you. It should also come as no surprise that I like to coordinate the ornament to the nursery theme whenever possible.

Almost four years ago, Mr. Sweet Pea and I attended the wedding of his cousin Christoper in NY, and last October, Chris and his wife were overjoyed to add baby girl Kayla to their family. Kayla's nursery theme butterflies in pink and brown, and I chose JBW's French Country Butterfly for her. The lettering was borrowed from another JBW French Country chart - French Country Bunny, I believe.

This is actually the second time I stitched the piece. Originally, I had stitched it 2 over 2 on 32 ct. It was nice, but not exactly what I had pictured. I went ahead and finished it anyway, or rather, attempted to finish it. We won't talk about exactly what happened, but let's just say a butterfly shape is not the easiest to cut out and stretch neatly around a cardboard template. A snip too far, a few curses and some grumblings of frustration and the 2 over 2 butterfly went in a drawer because I cannot bear to throw out any bit of stitching, even if it is ruined beyond repair. (I will ask my husband to make it disappear without my knowledge at some point.)

So I stewed about the mishap for a while, then finally decided to restitch the piece, this time 1 over 1. MUCH better. So much so that when I took it into my LNS, the owner asked if I'd mind stitching it again for the shop in purple. You'll be seeing this again (twice) actually in 2 different shades of purple (one for the shop, one for another of my nieces).

I finished this piece using a metal needlework form which ended up being the perfect size for this pattern and eliminated the need to cut my own templates. After the initial mishap, there was NO WAY I was messing with a butterfly shaped template, and I'm quite pleased with how this round shape looks anyway.

This can't possibly be my first finish for 2012... can it??

One that hasn't been motivated by a Fair & Square Exchange? Really? Huh. Imagine that. As I was writing this post, I kept trying to think of what else I've actually finished that wasn't done for a F&S, and I can't think of anything... Maybe I should stitch more and goof less.

Pumpkins by Little House Needleworks

Stitched 2 over 2 with included threads on 32 ct. linen
(personalization stitched over 1)
accented with copper seed beads

Does it matter that I've stitched this before for a F&S exchange? No? Good.

This piece was stitched as a gift for a friend I met through my cousin. I've known her for a long time, and we were bridesmaids together in my cousin's wedding last summer. I had such a good time with her at the shower and wedding and other wedding-related activities that I wanted to stitch a little something to honor her own wedding. Since they used pumpkins throughout their wedding materials and as decoration for their reception, I thought this was most appropriate.

I would like to have stitched it over 1 and made it slightly smaller (I favor smaller ornaments), but it would have been impossible to stitch in the personalization, so I opted for the over 2. It's still not *too* big, and it's quite pretty in person.

What held me back the most though was finding a trim that I liked for the edge. I thought I wasn't a fan of making cording and tried to find a store bought one, but nothing seemed to look quite right. Speaking of which, does anyone have ideas on where to find good cording and trims? I've had my best luck at JoAnn fabric, and even they have a limited selection. Am I just not looking in the right places?

Anyway, since I'm not usually a fan of making cording if I don't have to, I thought it would be easier to do some ruched ribbon. Clearly I forgot the LAST time I did my own ruched ribbon and it took me weeks of working on it little by little to get this orange stuff done. But done it is, and the ornament is all finished up. And yes, my finishing work is nicer than my second rate photography and positioning skills would lead you to believe (that bottom right corner isn't as lopsided as it looks). I was uncertain about the orange ribbon at first, but it's really grown on me and I can't wait to give it to the newlyweds (they're newlyweds for at least the first year, right?)

A sentimental gift

Remember Me by My Big Toe Designs
Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Fog
With Crescent Colors Blacksmith Blue and Raspberry Parfait
Accented with antique buttons

I spotted this design early in 2011, after my husband's beloved grandmother passed away just days after her 99th birthday. I knew it was something we had to stitch in her honor for his mom. He agreed, and I picked up the chart and threads. I originally wanted to do it in two shades of pink (Grandma's favorite color) but he thought it would be too much pink and chose a darker blue accented by pink.

I picked this raspberry shade of pink for a particular reason. Right after Grandma passed away, I sent out an email to the extended family and cousins to let them know what happened and what the funeral arrangements were. (I stay in regular touch with most of the cousins via email and Facebook and it was my way of helping my MIL, who was feeling overwhelmed at the time.) As the response emails started coming back, I noticed a consistent theme in what people were saying they'd most remember about Grandma - her welcoming kitchen and delicious food, specifically her homemade raspberry jelly. My husband has mentioned this himself numerous times, and it seems he's not the only one it had an impact on. It's a little thing, but I am very sentimental like that, and I think my husband appreciated it as well.

What is obvious in the piece are the antique buttons used in place of some of the specialty stitches. I've mentioned the button collection we inherited from Grandma before, and these are some of the buttons from that collection. Just before he framed it, Mr. Sweet Pea picked out some of his favorites and stitched them onto the piece.

This is another American Frame, with a twist, as it's not the original frame I selected. Right after I placed the order, I got an email saying there was a mistake on the website and the frame I ordered was not in stock. Ugh. I hate it when that happens, but I went back to the drawing board and picked another frame. As it turns out, I like this one better than the first one I chose, and it works beautifully with the furniture in my IL's dining room, where it now hangs. I should also mention that Mr. Sweet Pea used acrylic on this piece (which is why you can see the glare) and some clear spacers to leave enough clearance for the raised buttons.

My MIL absolutely loved the piece and was deeply touched by the time and care her son put into stitching and framing the piece. She says she walks by it every day and it makes her smile to see it.