"Sew" Lucky

A while back, Anita and I made a date to spend the day together at her house finishing some of my cross stitch pieces.  Years ago, I had made a cross stitch for Halloween and put it together as a small hanging to put on my front door.  I liked it so much, that I recently thought- why not stitch a bunch of different pieces to change up with each season?  (I have more details about it here in this post.)

Now, I could have attempted this finishing on my own; but between my ancient, finicky sewing machine, and my limited sewing skills it would have taken me forever.  Anita has the most perfect sewing/craft room- not to mention amazing sewing skills- plus all the right gadgets to get the job done.

I also had a couple of Christmas ornaments to finish, so we thought that would be a good place to start.  No sewing involved with these ones... so even I was able to help!  We headed over to Vonna's blog, where she has a list of  tutorials for numerous finishing ideas.  We decided on the flat ornament and with the easy to follow instructions we had these done in no time at all.

Time to get busy with the wall hangings!  Now, I did bring some fabric to use, but Anita insisted I go through her fabric stash to see if there was anything different I would like to use.  What fun going through all the drawers of fabric...there was every colour of the rainbow!

What a lucky lady to have this view while sewing!

We Anita had a very productive day, and I was more than thrilled how everything turned out!  I am "sew" lucky to have such a special friend that is more than willing to help me out when I come begging calling.

The next week, I was hosting cross stitch night and Anita was the first to arrive.  We lined up all of the finishes so we could show Bonnie and Jody when they came over... Anita even brought 2 of her own pretties to share!

Notice the bit of sparkle I added to my ornaments?  I added old buttons from my Nana's button tin.  They both have a clear crystal in the centre.

I love how Anita changed up the colours of Lizzie Kate's "One Hundred Years From Now".  The recommended threads didn't quite work with the rustic fabric that she chose.  Here's a closer look:

Another by Lizzie Kate... don't you just love the frame she picked for the "ABC's Of Parenting"?

After seeing all of our finishes, Jody said that she can't wait to gather up her own cross stitch pieces and have her own "sewing day" at Anita's! :-)

Tracey

Some Spookiness and a Bit of Fall

Time to share some finishes!!  I was on a roll, and I managed to get some seasonal pieces framed and ready to add to my autumn decor for this year.  I didn't get these 3 finished in time to share with everyone in 2011 (far as having them framed), so when the mood struck this week, I got busy!

The first I'd like to share is a DMC Freebie called "Falling Leaves".  If you'd like to find out the details about it, you can have a look at this post here from last year.  The little wooden frame I've had sitting around for many moons, and it was the perfect fit!

Now on to the spooky...

"Fright Night" is a cute little pattern by Lizzie Kate.  The frame for it was picked up at a second hand store for next to nothing, and I actually tweaked the pattern by adding a border to accommodate the frame (you can read about it here).  I also switched out the recommended beads for french knots.  I didn't have on hand the petite beads they asked for, and I was too cheap  frugal to buy a whole pack for just 8 beads, so french knots it was.  I dry brushed a bit of black paint on to the frame, and it was good to go!

Last but not least, we have "Witches Stitch Too!" (Here's the info for it in this post here.)  It was so much fun to stitch and put together!!  I really think that it is one of my all time favourite pieces... not just as far as Halloween goes, but maybe of all I've ever stitched. Well, for the time being, anyway... :-)

It's amazing what a little black paint can do to transform a $2.00 frame from hunter green and honey to black and primitive.  Gotta love it!!

Can't wait to show you what I'm stitching now to add to my Halloween collection... you'll just have to wait until next time to see!

Tracey

Bliss

My favourite Summertime place...

The shores of Lake Huron

To sit and do this...

A Little Love by Lizzie Kate

Hope you got to spend some time this weekend, stitching at your favourite place.

Tracey

Gotta love S.E.X. !!

 Bet that got your attention!! LOL         

S=(stash)  E=(enhancement)  X=(experience)

Since going back to work this past January, and now having a little extra money in my pocket,  I find that I've been "treating" myself quite a bit lately with new stash.  There is so much out there that seems to catch my eye and say "hello".  Maybe it's from reading so many different blogs and seeing all the beautiful patterns that everyone is stitching.

Needless to say, once I saw these 2 patterns I knew I just had to have them.

This first little kit is a newer one by Lizzie Kate called "A Little Love" that I bought from Joanne over at 1-2-3 Stitch.  The kit didn't come with floss, but I was very happy to see that the fabric, button and beads were included at a very reasonable price.

 

Look at those teeny-tiny little beads!

Such pretty colours!

The 2nd pattern I fell in love with is by Citrouille's Designs called "Garden of Love".  I ordered this one from Inspired Needle Ltd., and they sold it as a kit with the pattern, fabric and the silk floss (the amount needed to complete the pattern).

Ahhh... colours of spring

First peek

"Love"  the bag  :^)

Ooooo... look at the pretty silk floss!

It's the attention to detail that really makes a difference; like the finished edges on the fabric.

 I'm sure that all my fellow stitchers can relate... I have no idea when I will start either one of these.

At least I will have everything ready to go when I get the urge...

Tracey

Falling Leaves on Fright Night

Before Halloween slips away, I wanted to show you two of my recent finishes for the season... Falling Leaves and Fright Night.

 Well, if you want to get technical, they're really not finished finished.  They both need to be put in their frames yet, plus the cat and the 3 little bats all need eyes (which I will do when I get the gold beads that I have on order).

 You've seen me post my progress on Falling Leaves before, but for some reason I never showed Fright Night as I was working on it.  I have many Halloween patterns that I want to stitch in my lifetime, so why did I pick this one you ask?  Well, it all started with a frame.  An old frame that I bought at a thrift store for next to nothing... I just couldn't leave it there!  When I went through my patterns, I thought this one would be the perfect fit for that particular frame- with a bit of "tweaking" of course. 

If you look at the pattern here and compare it to the finished piece, you will notice that in order to accommodate the size of this frame, I added the black and orange border (plus the cute little green buttons in the corners!)

Since I am still feeling in the Halloween mood, a couple of days ago I just had to start something new from my stack of spooky patterns.

I'll wait and show you that one another day...

Tracey

Finally In The Mood

To frame a couple of finishes!

You may remember this finish from April 6th.  I bought this frame a few weeks back, but it was black... the only one I could find that was ready made in a 5"X5" size.  So first of all, I had to wait for a nice day weather-wise to get out my trusty spray paint and head outside.  Then, all of those little pink buttons had to be sewn on.

Now, I have to admit, framing is not my favourite thing to do, so when the mood strikes I dig right in!  So I thought I may as well get my snowman in his frame too; since I had all my supplies sitting out anyway.

I had Neale from the Thread & Eye make me this distressed, painted frame to tie in with the vintage look of the piece.  I'm really happy how it turned out!  He'll now be packed away (the snowman, not Neale!) until that nasty weather returns... many, many months from now!!

Tracey

Now That Puts A Spring In My Step

I was craving to work with some yummy sherbert-like colours last week, so I stitched up this Lizzie Kate freebie for Springtime.  Now I'm on the lookout for a cute little frame to finish it off (and I have a few buttons to add to it too!). 

Perhaps Bonnie and I will have luck finding the perfect one during our shopping excursion this Friday...

Stay tuned!  :^)

Tracey

Some New Stitchy Pics To Share.

This past Wednesday we had our monthly "cross stitch meeting" at my house. As we were talking and sharing, Anita pulled these finished pieces out of her bag. Boy, has she been busy!

This first one called Peace, Love and a Cure is by Lizzie Kate. Love the colours in this one, but more importantly the message.

How cute are these? They are both from Bent Creek's the "Snappers" series. Can't wait to see Anita stitch more of these :^) 

Done just in time to have sitting out to enjoy for the rest of this month. I can't believe how fast July is flying by!

Anita did a beautiful job as usual... not just on the stitching part but also the framing. She got these frames pre-made and finished them up herself.

I'm already looking forward to our get together next month to see if anyone has any more new finishes to share!

Tracey