No....no....not the designer! ;) Another Shepherds Bush finish!! Hard to believe...no finishes for so long...and now all these little ones right in a row! I finished up the specialty stitches this morning for Quaker Heart. I have been in a "Shepherds Bush" mood lately. I do have a few more smaller kits...but I think my Vintage Christmas quilt, block #1 is calling me!
This was a small kit I just purchased a short time ago when Finch Song was released. It does have some words that are to be stitched, which I decided to leave off this time. I may add another Quaker-type motif in the empty area on the bottom right.
Have you noticed that the little "pudgies" from Shepherds Bush are "losing weight?" They are definitely getting much slimmer in the later releases. They are still "pudgy", just not as much. ;)
I finished my little sheep from Shepherds Bush, "Home". But when I went to attach the little hat button....my button did not have any holes drilled into it. I guess I could try to do it myself, but knowing me....I am sure the button will be destroyed. I'll try and give Shepherds Bush Shop a call later today and see if I can get a replacement.
And the other half? I finished by second Blackbird stocking. :) Very "Halloweeny" with the rusts and black.
Thanks to all of you who continue to stop by and visit. I love reading your comments and following all the links to your blogs.
Yep...one and a half. Stockings...Blackbird Designs. I had such a difficult time deciding which one to do, I finally just started with the very first one in the book. Once I finished that one, I was still undecided...so started the second one. Hence....one and a half. One full stocking finished and a half one, too!
I am using the recommended fabrics...but did change up a thread or two (already!). I really like Crescent Colours threads, so pulled all the oranges and rusts that I had to see what would work and was similar to the pictures in the book.
I attached the final rust border the other night (I forgot to take a picture yesterday to post it). This isn't the greatest picture, but the bunnies are done their run...:) Now the quilt top will have to be quilted. Maybe a nice test for my new sewing machine.:)
It's done! It's done! I love how crisp the colors look against the natural fabric on this one.
If you are anything like me when you check your "regular" blogs...if there is nothing new for several days...you start checking back and checking back...thinking...there has to be something new today. Well...it has been several days. But I have been busy....appliqueing again! This time it is another Bunny Hill Designs pattern called Bunny Run. Now the original design is very pretty with nice pinks and lavenders and purples. I tried - I really tried to make those colors work for me. I bought pinks and lavenders and purples....Laid them out...rearranged them. Waited a few days and tried again. I just could not get a nice combination to work for me. So it got put away for a few weeks.
Then Friday a week ago, I woke up and said...I am going to work on Bunny Run, but with "my" colors. I traced and cut, measured and sewed. I actually finished the majority of the piecing on Friday. Very different from the original...but so far, I'm happy with it. There will be one more larger outer rust border with the four-patch squares in the check and black print. I still have to applique the flower vine with the birds in the top cream- colored border.
Oh, and my bunny will get a very pretty little rose-colored heart button (thanks, Isabelle!) for her eye. The little bird's eye is going to be a small black bead or French knot with little stem stitch legs.
I finished this one the other day. It is supposed to be stitched in red and blue threads (red, white, blue for July...)...but I changed the blue to green. I'm really happy with the change, especially since the Avocado thread by GAST has quite some variations in it.
My Blackbird Design stocking for June is the Honeysuckle Vine. These little stockings are just so darn cute!
Did I say that Tuesday was a GREAT mail day? Well, I should have. First...my new scroll rods came. Second, the kit for Judy Odell's Lady's Cabinet was there, too. As if getting new stash and new project materials wasn't enough....this (I should say - all) came, too.
Margit had told me she was sending me a little extra something for my birthday. Now she had already joined with Anne Marieke to send me a beautiful McKenna Ryan quilt pattern and kit. So...a little something???
First there's the book...in German--but Margit can always translate for me, right?;) Gorgeous sewing, stitching and finishing projects. The little heart ornament was attached to the package--too cute, isn't it? But...look at those fabrics and threads!! But you have to understand, Margit dyed these herself! Aren't they wonderful?
You know...I haven't started my Nora Corbett Sunflower Fairy yet...I wonder how her threads would look on that gorgeous green fabric? And the blue....hmmm...Maybe my Mermaid Sampler.....lots of ideas going through my head for these two gorgeous fabrics.
Many, many thanks go out to you Margit....you know the way to a stitcher's heart!
(Only problem is, I love looking at the fabrics so much that I don't want to stitch on them!)
Every year when the new Prairie Schooler Santa kit comes out, I want to start it right away. So far, I have never started one...that is until this year. Don't ask me why...I do like all the others just as much as this one. Here is my little bit of progress on the 2009 Santa.
The kit includes all the Crescent Colour threads, fabric and chart to stitch this one.
I am also trying something totally new for me:
scroll rods. I have never been able to use them before this. I could never get the fabric attached to the rods the way I liked...the fabric wasn't taut enough, the rods were too cumbersome....I just could never get the hang of it. On Down Sunshine Lane's website, Amy showed a picture of these scroll rods from Rolaframe. Easy to attach (new sewing, no stapling, etc.), easy to tighten, easy to scroll. Plus I can either leave it really, really tight or loosen it enough to still be able to "sew" my stitches as I have always done.
The Santa is my test piece to try and see how much I like/dislike the rods. So far, so good. It does take some getting accustomed to stitching on the frame. However, I did buy the smallest ones that were available, which I think makes a big difference for me. I don't think I will ever stitch a large project on a scroll rod, but something about the size of this Santa kit is good.
WooHoo!! Two finishes! I haven't finished any of my many (ahem) WIP's in a while, so to have two at once is great! :)
The first, of course, is Sail Away by Shepherds Bush.
Second....Queen Sheep. Now she is a funny little lamb....stripes like a bumblee, but with a very ornate crown indeed. Check her out....she even has a stinger!
....sort of...."sailing along" on my WIP from Shepherds Bush, that is. ;)
I have been working on my Sail Away piece from Shepherds Bush. Not too much more to do. Finish up the rest of the over one letters and complete the open areas in the two hills. Oh, and my initials and date in the quaker circle.
I know, I know...where have I been? Well, I have been stitching...just on so many different projects that there is not much progress worth showing. But here is a little bit of progress on my Plymouth Sampler by Brenda Keyes.
A lot of skipping around on this one. I also need to pull a better flesh tone thread than the one I had originally. It is too light to show on the fabric I chose.
I guess all the talk of the different Christmas in July sales and projects put me in the Christmas mood. Here's Needle Nick, a Limited Edition Lizzie Kate kit from a couple of years ago.
Alongside him is my progress on the new Merry Christmas Flip-its from Lizzie Kate.
Still a way to go on Needle Nick...lots of filling in....that beard is all Wisper thread.....The kind of stitching that goes well with a DVD. :)
