"Three"

Finally!  Those "three" little French hens seemed to take me forever!  Presenting, Nora Corbett's Three French Hens from her Twelve Days of Christmas series.

It is really surprising how heavy this and the first two finished "days" are!  Lots of beads!

OK

This one is a bit more "me."  I'll leave it for a few days and see how I feel then. :)

Shoot....

Hmmppffhh!!  I just could not find a background I really, really liked.  So, back to the plain Jane variety for a while.

Hmmmmm.....

Well, I was just playing around with a new background....
Now I have changed the background at least four times now from the first one.

Still playing. :))  I do like this one better than the first one I had.

Opinions, anyone? :))

Yahoo!!

Check it out!  It is done!  My Wiehenburg Contest SAL Sampler is complete!

I  really like how it came together.  I know these type colors are not for everyone...but I am happy with  how they work together.

Here's a closer look at the central flower, as well as a few of the smaller ones.This is one of the 'medium' sized motifs...another one of my favorites of this design.

Birds

Here is Block #6 for Le Jardin from Bunny Hill Designs.
 Cute little birdies flying above.:)

Eureka!

Something new....it is called an Autocollage.  Pretty easy to use.  I needed at least seven photos from one folder to create it.  I decided to try it with my Weihenburg Contest SAL Sampler.  Fun to try.  Just not sure I like it.  You can go back and adjust sizes and such...which I have to figure out how to do.  Just thought I would create a small grouping as a test run.  Here's my progress on the sampler as of last night.  Halfway!! Woohoo!!  I am going to move the initial's placement to a more centered one.

Hens

But only two at this point....the third one will be started later today. :)  The corners are a bit blurry, but that is because I used my new scanner for this picture.  The beads just sit up too high for it to get all the details.


I haven't said this in a while, but I do appreciate everyone who stops by to check things out around here.  Thanks!

A couple more motifs on my Weihenburg piece.  Not too much more until it is halfway!  I am enjoying working on this one, more than likely because it has so few colors!

Corner

I made it back over to the corner where I had originally started this sampler with the Rose of Sharon thread.  This is half the width of the entire design.  A picture of the central bottom portion  with the new little motifs on the sides of the central flower:I am really happy with how this one is shaping up! 

Rolling!

Rolling along, that is!  I got inspired for some reason to continue to work on my Snowbound quilt.  I joined the first two rows of snowmen with their Irish Chain blocks, and Voila!

Now the outer red border is attached on three sides already.  You just can't tell because of the new slipcover I recently bought for my sofa.  I laid the completed rows out on the back of the sofa.  The red border matches the color of the sofa!  There will be another wider blue border that I will attach later, after we receive some applique portions for that one.

Snowbound

...and Block #5.  This one really went together fast.
A cute little crown for the snow princess!  I love the heart button wand (thanks, Isabelle!) that has been waiting in my stash for just the perfect place. :)

Now I have just enough snowmen blocks to complete two whole rows along with the Irish Chain blocks on the quilt....hmmmm....should I do it....or wait?

Birdhouse

Block #5 of Le Jardin by Bunny Hill Designs is done!  And just in time, too!  I received my notification e-mail that the next blockis on its way! I just have to attach the little bows on each of the dresses,  I am going to wait to do that so that they do not get squished when I fold the block up to put away.  I'll be adding those at the end, when the quilt blocks are all together.

Now I am off to trace and cut the pieces for the next Snowbound block!

Progress

I made quite a bit of progress on my Weihenbug Contest Sampler.  I really like how this is coming together.  This portion is the very central section, complete from top to bottom.  Now I will not have to worry about the middle section where the motifs were incomplete and I had to match up all the lines correctly! 

A little close-up of the central large flower. I think this is the biggest motif in the sampler.

And just for fun...my niece's wedding was Saturday.  My sons, Mike and Sam were groomsmen.  The bridesmaids wore deep purple gowns, so the guys all wore purple vests and ties.  A bit unusual, I guess, but everyone looked nice.

Weihenburg

Hi, Ineke....here's the link to the Weihenburg Designs group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wiehenburg-samplers/
Joining the group is free, as is signing up for the contest sampler SAL.  You have to request the chart, however, and one with your name is sent directly to you.

Again

A new start on my Weihenburg Contest SAL Sampler.  New color linen....new threads...three this time.  Hickory Sticks from Crescent Colours, Mudpie from Threadgathers Silk'n Color and Crimson Wood from Gloriana.  The Crijmson Wood is to be used sparingly throughout the sampler.  This is the very central portion (top center and down).

Rats!

:((   :((   :((    That's me...pouting.  On my Weihenburg contest sampler...I am just not happy with the Belle Soie Rose of Sharon thread.  Don't get me wrong~I think it looks fine when it is stitched.  However....there are these "shadows" that are beginning to show up on the darkest portion of the red where it is stitched.  Almost like a halo effect...or as if I had stitched it once and removed the stitching....those kind of shadows.  I think the thread is bleeding into my fabric from me handling it while I stitch.  Not a good thing, since there are only two motifs stitched and a lot more to go.  It will look like a total blur by the time I am done.  (I know it doesn't show well on this photo, but believe me..it's there, and I think it will just get worse as I go along.)

  So decision time last night.  I almost finished the second motif when I finally just said "not gonna happen...". 

A few years ago I stitched Carriage House Samplings Quaker Motif stocking.  I really like the colors I had used for that one.  With stocking in hand I went to my various threads (since I didn't remember the color numbers).  I picked some threads that were similar, but not the exact ones.  Here's my little test sample...using Crescent Colours Hickory Sticks, Silk 'n Colors Mudpie and Cherrywood (just the more brick colored portions of the thread), stitched on Legacy Linen 34 count Wren Wing. (sorry...it's a bit blurry...but you get the idea.) 

:)) :)) :))  I'm happy now that I can continue with the sampler without having to constantly worry about the red thread.

See?

Told ya....Here is my progress on Nora Corbett's Three French Hens.  Only one little hen, so far.   This one has been fun to stitch....now - two more hens to go!

Yikes!

It's official....yep....spring has definitely sprung around here.  I have some serious spring fever.  Don't get me wrong...I'm stitching..I'm quilting...but for some odd reason...I have not been on the computer much at all.  Doing a few "spring cleaning" type things around the house....new curtains for the bedroom...a new shelf for the bathroom.  That kind of stuff.  Hopefully, I will feel like taking a few pictures of some of my progress on a few different projects....like:  Three French Hens by Nora Corbett....the Weihenburg SAL Contest sampler..a few blocks for my All Cooped Up quilt....See?  I have been busy...just haven't felt like blogging lately.  Back (hopefully) with some pictures soon.  :)