I have to start by saying I had a GREAT shopping day Saturday! We were going down to Ogden and DH said he'd take me to Shepherd's Bush, even though I have SOOOOO many unfinished projects (which I agree with ) and I don't really need any more (which, unfortunately, I agree with too). So I started thinking, maybe I should be buying FRAMES instead of more stuff to stitch - Gee, what a novel concept! LOL
So I went through a pile of finished stitching and picked out 12 of them I wanted frames for and DH and I took them to a local frame shop that makes frames from leftover molding and sells them for great prices. Most of my local stitching group goes there, and I'd never been before - I had no idea what I was missing! LOL
I got 8 frames for $53 and picked out molding and got pricing information for 3 more pieces that will need a custom size so I can get them on subsequent paydays. The 12th piece DH decided would look better as a bellpull (which surprised the heck out of me! LOL). SO, now I've got some framing to do!
I also pulled out a bunch of fobs & ornaments that need hand finishing . I think I have my work cut out for me!! The saddest one is the 2006 Shepherd's Bush fob for the matching Gingher scissors which is 1/2 stitched together! I'm going to start on the fobs first.
We did actually go to Shepherd's Bush because I wanted to pick up a chart for the Halloween/Autumn exchange in my Yahoo group. Unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for in stock, but they're ordering it for me. I DID end up getting a new chart, which I thought was TOO cute to pass up: Witches Stitch Too!! by Homespun Elegance. I figure it won't take me too long to stitch, and I know where to get a great frame for it when it's done! LOL
So, speaking of exchanges, I had Donna for the Birthday exchange in our Yahoo group in July. I made her some fun things.
I knit a nice wide scarf made with Sensations Rainbow Boucle in Black perfect for those cold Canadian winters.
I stitched a chart from Donna's wish list (I love it when I can fine something on a wish list to stitch) by Plum Pudding Designs called Stitched With Love. I used threads we dyed at out GTG in Wisconsin a few years ago and made it into a pinkeep and scissor fob. The backing fabric was muslin dyed that day as well, so it was a perfect match!
And the really fun piece was a little beaded teapot! Donna collects miniature teapots and I thought this would be so cool to try to make. The pattern is from the December 2008 issue of Bead & Button magazine. The pattern is by Diane Fitzgerald, who always has such beautiful designs! There were a few false starts, but I was pretty proud of it when it was finished.
Before the birthday goodies, I was working on my part of Summer Flowers Sewing Set by Lody that my local stitching group was making for Cindy, one of our members who is suffering from breast cancer.
I stitched and assembled the biscornu (my favorite thing to finish!) and I assembled the little scissor keeper. You can read more about the set on Loraine's blog and see the wonderful bag that Melanie made to match the set.
And something I stitched back in January and never talked about because it was for an April birthday surprise was the little butterfly I stitched for Isle's 50th birthday quilt that Dane organized and put together. It's also one my hand-dyed flosses and the chart is from the French book Repetoire des Motifs by Valerie Lejeune.
You can see the beautifully finished quilt on Dane's Blog post.
I doesn't seem I have much to show for how busy I've felt lately!!
I finished Welcome to Cupid's Garden by A Kitty Kats Originals, again using some of my hand-dyed threads. This is one of the pieces I got a frame for, so hopefully it'll be up on my wall soon!!
I've also been plugging away on my Little House Needlework's American Sampling, and I'm fairly close to finishing.
Almost half of my local stitching group is part of a SAL for Shepherd's Bush Sail Away. I was REALLY tempted to join this one, but I truly have SO much stash (and WIPs and UFOs!), I just couldn't justify it. But it prompted me to pull out another larger Shepherd's Bush kit that I bought years ago called Thoughtful Heart. I'm so enjoying stitching it, just like all their samplers!
The other thing I've been working on is a color exchange - my favorite type of exchange to do! This one is for Lody - can you guess what color she picked? LOL
