Monday, March 30, 2009

Needleroll for Ronel

Over the weekend I shared with you the beautiful stumpwork bag, nametag, and scissor fob that I received from Ronel. Today, Ronel emailed to tell me that the exchange package I sent to her arrived! I stitched this Minnesota needleroll for her -- I thought it would be something she would remember me by!


Here's close-up picture of the nametag and the scissor fob. Please visit Ronel's blog for better pictures, plus she just posted a picture of a beautiful scissor pocket that she recently finished!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Finished! Finito! Fertig!

Will you dance with me? I put the final stitches in BOAF Red Reindeer last night and it is now finished!


Birds of a Feather - Red Reindeer
36 Count Meadowlark Linen
Weeks Dye Works Fibers

Then I must also share with you my Hello Neighbor Round Robin. This little beauty started circulating in July of 2007. I asked each stitcher to incorporate something significant to where they live into their square. My square is in the middle and I thought the LHN Lakeside Lodge design reminded me of Minnesota (10,000 lakes). Over the past almost two years it traveled to Carol in New Hampshire, Michelle in Texas, Katrina in Colorado, Judith in the Netherlands, Kathy in Arizona (and Ontario!), Erin in New York State, and Annemarie in the Netherlands. We had one problem stitcher in our group so when my RR came home to me late last year, I had one empty square. Dear Vonna kindly offered to stitch it for me, and so the final square is from Vonna in Indiana!


Hello Neighbor Round Robin
32 count Vintage Light Examplar

I intend to stitch a simple border in between the squares and around the entire piece. When I get that done, I'll share one more photo with you! Isn't it gorgeous? I'm grateful to all my online stitching friends who stitched on this beauty!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

So Much to Share...

Yes, the letter carrier has been busy this week. Lot's of packages arriving at this house! Hmmm....where shall I begin?

Let's start with this beautiful biscornu that I received from Candace as part of the exchange organized on the Tiny Treasures blog. Candace studied my blog and tried to find a biscornu pattern from one of my favorite designers. She couldn't find anything that was exactly right, so she just took the bunny and the grass motifs from LHN's Nature's Beauty and adpated them into this design on one side of the biscornu.
The other side of the biscornu is a design from Teresa Wentzler called English Cottage Sampler. The two sides complement each other nicely.
Finally, check out these cool pins that Candace made. She used seed beads and insect beads to make them herself. Cool, huh? Thanks Candace! The biscornu that I stitched and finished for this exchange was mailed today, so stay tuned for a post in a week or so.

Next up, is a beautiful set of needlework smalls that I received from Ronel in South Africa. A couple months ago, Ronel and I decided to do an exchange with each other. We decided that we could stitch anything that we wanted and then finish as we wished. We both mailed our packages on March 16 and my package from Ronel arrived today.

Ronel told me that she enjoys ribbon embroidery and stumpwork in addition to cross stitch. She stitched this beautiful stumpwork set for me. The bag has a beautiful dragonfly on it. His tail and his eyes are beaded. Then notice the berries on stem - these are stitched and beaded too. You can't see it, but on the backside of this bag, Ronel stitched my initials and there's another stem with a small berry attached. The bag is lined with some coordinating fabric; it has a drawstring closure and there are beads at the end of the cording.

Now, look at the gorgeous nametag. More embroidery and beading. Can you see the little spider? You probably can't see it in the photo, but he is starting to spin a web! One the back side of the nametag, Ronel stitched her name, South Africa, and the year. There are also some cute little bees stitched on the backside!

Finally, a coordinating scissor fob. The little ladybug on this fob is so cute. Ronel is definitely an expert needleworker! In the package she also enclosed some threads from South Africa and a cross stitch chart from a South African designer. I am so glad to have a new friend - it was such fun exchanging emails and getting to know Ronel throughout this process. Now, I hope my package to her arrives soon!


Last picture to share today -- Jill is the recipient of the monthly ornament exchange this month. I happened to see her last night and so I hand delivered my ornament to her. Jill wanted a design that included a pine tree; this is one of the Prairie Schooler santas and he's holding the pine tree!
I'll have more pictures to share tomorrow - another special box arrived today and I'm almost finished with Red Reindeer.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Drawn Thread Exchange

Recently, a small group of us decided to do an exchange with the theme of "The Drawn Thread." Today, a wonderful package from Suzanne was waiting for me when I arrived home from work. In it was this beautiful fob created especially for me! Suzanne used motifs from Tocatta Number II to create this beauty! Her stitches are so delicate; there are some beads added to embellish her stitching. It's really a stunning piece!

Here's the front:


Here's the back (my initials!):


Suzanne included a chart from Thistle Threads "How Doth the Busy Bee" - it's a design to be stitched on a band for a basket - as well as some other goodies, needlework themed fabric, ribbon, beads, and some metallic thread. I'm quite delighted with her thoughtful package. Thank you Suzanne!

Hazel also sent me a note today indicating that my package to her had arrived. I decided to stitch the Little Spot Sampler and finished it into a small pillow for her. I thought it turned out nicely! Hazel has some nice photos here of the entire package.

I feel like I've been running in circles lately and going nowhere! Red Reindeer is waiting to be finished (haven't touched it since my last post!) I did stitch and finish a biscornu and it's ready to be mailed. Tonight I started working on an ornament for Jill as it's her turn to receive in March (and there are only 7 days left! Yikes!)

Until next time...

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Red Reindeer Update

If you guessed BOAF Red Reindeer, you were correct! Here's an updated photo for you. As you can see, I've made great progress. I just have two more rows plus two motifs in the third row to stitch and then it will be finished.

I finished up some exchanges this past weekend; they are going in the mail tomorrow. Two more exchanges to stitch yet this month. Busy, busy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, March 09, 2009

New Project and a Better Photo

Tonight I started a new project. This has been in my stash waiting to be stitched for at least 2 or 3 years. Can you guess which design I'm stitching? It's going to be a quick finish; I'm about a third of the way done. Lots of counting with this one!


And, please allow me to post one more photo of "Lo" - I finally figured out what I needed to do to get a better photo that more accurately portrays the color of the linen.


Big winter storm expected to slam into Minnesota tomorrow. We're supposed to get 3 - 6 inches of snow in the metro; some places in the state may see as much as 8 inches. I am so ready for winter to go away! Spring, where are you?

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Lo - Finished

It's finished! This is one of the most satisfying designs I have stitched in a long time! My camera doesn't seem to want to accurately capture the color of the linen; it's rich and warm. You may recall that I followed Vonna's "basted and baked" instructions. This is a 28 ct Cashel fabric stitched with DMC fibers over two. It's really a beautiful design and finish (if I may say so myself!)





Edited to add: This design "Lo, How a Rose Sampler" from Brightneedle, can be found in the Better Homes and Gardens A Cross-Stitch Christmas - Celebrations in Stitches. It looks like it was published in 2001. My pattern has already been promised to another stitcher (Jill!) I found my copy on Amazon.com a few weeks ago.

Busy week -- not much other time for stitching. DD's basketball team is in sectional playoffs trying to earn a berth to the state tournament; I was in Seattle on Thu and Fri for work; and amidst all of this I've been fighting a bugger of a cold!

Working on exchanges this weekend -- will have more to show you soon! Take care!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Ornament from Amy

A small group of us have been exchanging ornaments every month; January was my month to receive. Amy was quite busy and got a little behind (I can totally relate!) but her ornament for me arrived this weekend. It was worth the wait; it's so sweet - this is one of the new patterns from Blackbird Designs.

Here's the basket with all of the ornaments that I received from this special group of friends. It will be great fun decorating the tree at Christmas with all of these beautiful ornaments!


It's cold here today. I've been busy with laundry, dusting, and vacuuming -- doesn't that sound like fun?