Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!


These kitty jack o'lanterns are my sister's creation, and I think they are pretty cute! She gets quite a few trick-or-treaters at her house, so her work should be widely admired. Our house is more isolated, and rain is predicted for this evening, so we will be lucky to see 10 kids, if that. Our local weatherman warned us to make sure we buy treats we like, since we may well have to eat them all ourselves!

In any case, here's to a safe and fun Hallowe'en for all!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

A Start on Christmas

Ever since the deluge of "Christmas in July" marketing emails, and many blog posts too, I've been completely off the idea of Christmas. I understand that the fabric companies need to give you lead time to make your Christmas projects, but I just can't think about Christmas when it's hot and sunny outside. It's my conditioning. But, now that we've had a couple of cold and rainy days, suddenly, a cozy Christmas project seems just the thing!


So, this is a new-ish cross stitch project, "A Kiss For Snowman" from Dimensions Gold Petites. I say new-ish because I actually started it last year, but it was so similar to my Lima Beans project that I put it away again. It is stitched on 18 ct aida in crosses and half-crosses with varying weights of thread, similar to other Dimensions Gold Petites projects that I have done. The stitching will finish at 6" square, and the piece is destined for the centre of a Christmas pillow. The last Dimensions Gold project took me 5 months, so I'm not sure that I'll finish this by Christmas, but at least it gets me in the right mood!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

BFF Month 2.1 Stitching

With the Thanksgiving holiday last weekend, there has been very little stitching going on around here. Instead, I had a full week of Thanksgiving planning, shopping, cleaning, baking and cooking. So much production for one meal! But, I have realized that I think I enjoyed the meal a lot more than those who just sat down and ate it, lol. You appreciate the details more when you understand what was involved!

It's been a little challenging to get back to business as usual, but last night I did manage to finish the first motif for Month 2 of Best Friends Forever:


This is probably the least interesting motif in the Month 2 set, but at least it was fast. And I did manage to squeeze in one new element:


These little purple buds are just circles, but I stitched them in blanket stitch to give them a little more presence and tie them together with the flowers from last month.

The next motif will be the apple tree. I decided to try out the apples in padded satin stitch:


In the lower left corner you can see the remains of a failed attempt at this! But, I secured the thread so firmly that it is melded with the fabric. So, like it or not, I am now committed to satin stitch for the apples! But, I did find that the padding acts as a stabilizer and the fabric didn't pucker, so I think it will work out ok. Stay tuned!

And, today I have managed to link up again with all the Canadian blogs for WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network. There's lots to see this week!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Free Fabric for Life


Wouldn't that be nice? I got this notice in my email today, and if you already haven't seen it yourself, I thought it was too good not to share it. "Free fabric for life" means 52 yards of fabric per year for 20 years, supplied by Keepsake Quilting. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, and no purchase is required. Click here to enter the contest!

Good luck to us all!
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