Country Garden Stitchery

I went internet shopping last week for fabric and bought a couple patterns too so I've been inspired to sew. It is cold and cloudy outside again so might as well pretty up the house... I had a great collection of pink rose fabrics so I made some placemats for our table to go with all the other Valentine colored things I've made this month. The green strip is one of my new fabrics, all the others were from my collection. I really like the comfort of internet shopping... My bedroom needed a little new splash of color and I really stepped out of my comfortable pink habit and used these colors, maybe cabin colors? Now just need a cabin...wouldn't that be fun? The other side has a spring green fabric where the brown floral is and I can switch sometimes. Like that. My daughter gets inspired to sew now and then and she is really likes french so she embroidered this phrase which means "love my life" and made a patchwork pillow. I played around with my collect...

I am almost finished with a nine patch quilt block, although a cross stitched one... I think quilt blocks look great in cross stitch especially with variegated fibers. I've seen some neat designs featuring quilt blocks. There is a designer on Etsy who has quilt block type patterns with a black cat and I love those. I used some of my favorite colors from The Gentle Art in this one, I liked the green and purple combination. I am excited about my progress with my letter C from Nora. I have one arm left on the little fairy (lots of little petite stitches so I have to be in the mood with good lighting to work on her) but otherwise the design stitches up fairly quickly. This is the first fairy I've ever done and I'm already thinking of more I'd like to do.

I was very excited to receive a box in the mail from DMC yesterday that was filled with samples of their new flosses. Lovely shimmering satin floss in great colors. I am excited to try them blended with the cotton or linen flosses for some sparkle in my designs. The other is a memory thread called "Color Infusions" and it should be a lot of fun to play with. It holds its shape and it can be used to embellish projects to give it another dimension. Very fun. Most of the time I embroider my designs and then wait a while to see what I want to finish them in. With Easter coming up I decided to make a quilted table runner, they are easier to store than pillows. I have a closet full of pillows and more pillows here and there, but they are cozy and colorful. These are a couple things (among several others :) that are in the "sale bin" in my Etsy Store. A little quilted swing purse with zipper closure and my last red needlecase. I love a needlecase for putt...

After looking at the huge pile of snow in my front yard this morning and as the sun started to become brighter I was inspired to paint some roses. I used a very deep sanguine red, which is a color full of emotion I think. From Victorian times, in the language of flowers, the deep red roses represent bashful shame. I love studying the meaning of flowers. I treated myself to a shopping trip to our local quilt shop and found some new fabrics. I was wanting to make something Sunday, but didn't want to follow a pattern so I just starting putting things together and this is what I came up with for Valentine's Day. I've never quite been inspired by Valentine's Day like this before. My house ought to look very interesting. These are some of the treasures I found at the quilt shop. A charm pack called "Sultry" and two tiny charm packs called "Frolic" and "Whimsy" that are so tiny. I made myself buy something other than pink, I always b...

This little circles flower design reminds me of Valentine's Day too so I wanted to put it out and add a little more color to my house during these very foggy and cold days. Feels like we are in a Sherlock Holmes setting in London with all the fog and damp. BTW the new Sherlock Holmes movie was very good, except I didn't like the way they portrayed him as a reclusive slob when not doing a case, I've never gotten that feeling about him in the Sherlock Holmes stories I've read. Great special effects anyway. And while we were in the city we visited an antique shop that has a great selection of books. I found another Rachel Ashwell book to add to my collection and I think this is my favorite of all I have. It is the "Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide" and I love it. I love the illustrations, the tips and the photos. OH, I am very excited to have been invited to be involved in the "Stitch Your Heart Out" SYHO campaign. Have you heard of it? Learn ...

I finally finished my little table top quilt I made from the Moda Aviary Charm pack. Very small squares and a few triangles. It had piping on the outside before the border was added and I liked that feature of the quilt. I put it on top of a box my son made in his woodshop class at school. Love handmade things! Valentine Scottie is finished too. This is my second little scottie dog I've put into a needlework design and I really like Scottie Dogs now, but I won't let my cat know. I've always had cats, I like their independence. Using some more of my fabric scraps I made a wall hanging for Valentine's Day. I've been wanting more decorations for my home for that holiday. I liked the Debbie Mumm frog fabric, full of character. Sweet treats are good for Valentine's day too and this is a bowl full of truffles. Dark chocolate truffles are the best, especially with a cup of black coffee. And a trio of swirly hearts in Chablis shades of pink from Weeks Dye W...