Happy "Last Sunday of June"

It is a beautiful summer day in mid-Michigan: sunny and warm with a good breeze. We turned off the air and opened all the windows this morning. DH is working outside, filling in a few cracks in our driveway with cement, the cats are all lounging in the windows, and I've put a roast on for dinner. Life is good!

Last year, Craig (DH) gave me a miter saw for my birthday, something I wanted so I could make my own picture frames. I also brought a framing joiner which is a great tool to put the frames together with (fairly) professional results. So when Craig had a few spare minutes last night, I asked him to cut glass for a few frames. Bless him, he cut 9 pieces with only one mis-cut. The mis-cut glass couldn't be used for the intended large piece, but it worked out for several smaller pieces. The stitched pieces are already laced so final finishes should be happening very soon!

The large piece I spoke of is "Why Teddy Bears Are A Cross Stitcher's Best Friend Sampler" designed by Sandy Orton. Sandy is one of my all-time favorite designers. I have loved her stuff before I even knew that she was the designer. She used to design many things for the old Cross Stitch and Country Crafts magazine, which in my humble opinion was one of the best cross stitch magazines of all time. Anyway, I think this is such a cute design! Back in the 80’s when I first saw the pattern I knew I had to stitch to go with my teddy bear collection. I framed it way back when but didn't use glass. (What was I thinking!) Recently, I decided to take it apart, wash it, re-lace it over acid-free foamcore, and reframe it with glass. I just propped it in the frame to take a few pictures so it looks a bit crooked but really is straight for the most part.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

June Finishes

I finished my two current projects this week. Woo hoo! First up is Elizabethan Biscornu and scrissor fob. This was a fantastic blackwork design by Nancy Pederson. I used the middle motif to make the scissor fob. For my first (and second) biscornu, I am very pleased with the results. I'm sure that I'll be making more. It was a bit tricky around the corners, but by the last one I was feeling like I knew what I was doing. I really would like know how to pronounce biscornu". I tried to tell my husband what it was (bless him, he tried to act like he cared) and I ended up saying, "I think it's French". LOL! I wish I remembered where I saw it spelled phonetically. My second finish is the Sally Spencer Sampler from Birds of a Feather. Love the warm colors and the saying, "Sooner begun, sooner done." She'll hang in my kitchen once she is framed.

Almost Ready for Finishing: Elizabethan Biscornu

I am also working on a blackwork design from Nancy Pederson, Elizabethan Biscornu from the Jan. 08 issue of The Gift of Stitching online magazine. It is my first blackwork piece and it will be my first time putting together a biscornu. I'm also making a scissor fob using the center design. It is stitched on a scrap of cream 32 ct. linen with black DMC floss. I am amazed at how beautiful and intricate the design looks on the linen!

What I'm Working On Now...Sally Spencer

I usually always have more than one project going at one time, however as I near the end of one I tend to focus on it until it is done (unless something new calls to me). I fell in love with Sally Spencer from Birds of a Feather the first moment I saw her. It took me many years to finally get to her. I started her last summer and am very near the finish now. (Yes, I have worked on other projects along the way.) I only have to finish a bit of the vine on the left, the numbers at the top, and then add my families initials here and there. I had initially stitched Sally's name, but I frogged it out and added my name. She is stitched on 32 ct. Lakeside "Exampler" over two with most of the called for threads. I did change a couple of colors so they would show up better on the fabric.

Sophie

I have had cats as long as I can remember. I love them. Currently we have four cats. The oldest is Sophie. We adopted her from the Humane Society 14 years ago. Actually, she adopted us. As we walked around looking at the kittens, she climbed the cage that she was in, reached her little paw out towards us, and practically begged us to pay attention to her. We couldn't leave without her. Her favorite past-time (besides eating) is to sit on the arm of my stitching chair and keep me company while I stitch. Oh, she also loves a belly rub.

In the beginning...

This is a good place to begin my first blog. This is a sampler that I stitched (that is finished stitching) in 1984. It is a Merrily Beams design that I found in a magazine. It definitely wasn't my first cross stitch project but it has always been one of my favorites. Of course, the name of the pattern is "I Love Apples". I stitched it on hardanger with Anchor floss. At the time I hadn't been introduced to linen yet and as there were a few over one sections I couldn't use aida.