Bouquet from Our Farm

I thought I'd share a photo of flowers.  They all grow on our farm -

Happy Spring!

I'd also like to add - I have 23 official followers so far!  Spread the word - once the magic "25" followers hits, I will have a fabulous give away.  The more followers after "25", the more give aways.

Happy Stitching -

Fleur-de-lis

It's been a long and crazy week and it should be another roller coaster ride this coming week - lots going on.

I wanted to share some of my needlepoint pieces with you.  I love Fleur-de-lis designs and jump at the chance to stitch one when I can.  Here are three - all completely different.

This is a purse done in Paternayan wool and Kreinik metallic threads.  The band at the top is a gorgeous silk ribbon.  I don't know the name of the designer who painted the canvas.

Here is an eyeglass case in all Paternayan wool.  The name of the designer for this also escapes me.

These are a pair of mules I designed and stitched.  Background is done in Paternayan wool and the fleur-de-lis

are done in Kreinik gold metallic.  They are so comfortable, I wear them around the house as often as I can - at least in the fall and winter.  

More stitching news later this week.

Through the Looking Glass

I've always had a fascination with miniatures.  I paint miniature portraits on porcelain. When I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum  seven years ago, thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  There, on display, were some of Hilliard's magnificent miniatures of Queen Elizabeth I.

All that being said, I discovered the most delightful blog, The World's Largest Collection of Smalls TOO (http://theworldslargestcollectionofsmallstoo.blogspot.com).  Everything is so beautiful and, well, small.  It fascinated me.  In the blog, I found the Mad Hatter and was immediately smitten.  I just HAD to create one. The hat was a bit of a challenge - after making three different prototypes, I found one that fit.  The Mad Hatter stands a stately 3.5 inches tall.  Click here to go to living-on-the-rainbow blog if you'd like to make one for yourself.  He was FUN!!!

Hmmmm......maybe I should design Alice, or The Queen of Hearts to go with him? ;)

P.S.  I now have 20 followers!!  Five more to go - spread the word - more freebies and stitching stuff to come. - Happy stitching - Cheers!

May Freebie

Here's my May Freebie for you.  Something quick and easy - and cute.  Click here to download the free design.

I'll work on stitching it up this weekend and post.  Happy stitching - Enjoy!

It's May, It's May.....

It's May, it's May - that lusty month of May.  Ah, yes - Camelot.  One of my very favorite movies and stories. The sun is finally shining, the windows are open to let in the breeze and the birds are every where.  I love it.

We've been so busy here - finally finished painting and have the house back together.  Well, except for the pictures and wall hangings - I'm giving great thought to where they should go (much to Hubby's chagrin). Honestly, when I saw first wall in the sunroom painted the yellow I had chosen, I thought I was going to have a panic attack - ICK!  However, now that it's all done, it looks great.

I reupholstered the two chairs in our kitchen.  Wow. What a job.  I have a whole new respect for people who reupholster  professionally.  The chairs turned out well - but I will never do that again. (Now I think we need a new rug to better match the chairs - HA!).

Also been working on finishing some cross stitch pieces.  Here are two from Stitchy Kitty -
(www.stitchykitty.com).

This one is from http://chezmounette.blogspot.com.  The design had a cat - I changed it to a dog.

I have a phobia of learning to sew in zippers.  Well, I put on my Big Girl Panties and decided to give it a whirl.  I thought if I started with a small project, it would be easier, so I took a stab at a small cosmetic bag.  It was a bit of a struggle, but got it done.  However, there was one small catch - I could zip the thing closed, but couldn't get it open.  SHEESH.  Apparently I'd sewn the zipper too close to the lining.  Chalk that up to experience.

I was bound and determined not to let this task beat me.  My girlfriend had told me "Zippers are SOOOO easy!"  humph - if she can sew in a zipper, <I> can certainly sew a zipper.  Here is my second attempt -

Good news:  the zipper works - it opens AND closes ;).  This was a lot of fun to make and  it feels kind of like leather or oil cloth.  I used my printer and transfer paper to create the fabric.  The instructions and graphics for the pouch are available at The Graphics Fairy.

HOLY COW!  Take a peek at  Lynn B's new give away.  It is amazing.

Speaking of give aways, I have a goal - when I reach 25 followers, I would like to celebrate by having a give away.  Right now I have 18.....seven to go.  I promise it will be awesome.

More next week -
Happy stitching -