Country Garden Stitchery

I finished my little cross stitch dress form pattern. I used thin 1" strips of fabric to frame it and make a little wall banner out of it. It has little black ribbons on top to tie in a bow and hang. I have been wanting to use additional stitches in my cross stitch designs for more variety and interest - especially French knots. I love French knots. I used to use a lot of beads, but find I just like working with the floss - a textile thing I guess. This little pattern will be released tomorrow in my Artfire and Etsy shops. New for February! I thought I'd share some glimpses of my studio corner with you. I don't have a studio currently so I use a corner of our living room, which is good size, and I don't interfere with anything. It is bright with sunlight in the afternoon and I have all my inspiring books there. I have a little narrow book shelf to put my things on. I always have a designing journal/sketchbook going to play around in. I love magazines and will kee...

I've been setting up shop at Artfire. It is an online marketplace a lot like Etsy, but you don't need to be a member to purchase items from there which makes it really nice. I have been putting my needlework patterns in my store the last few days and getting to know the site and learn about it. I almost have all of my Valentine related designs on there. Very excited about it! If you have a minute please stop by and I'd love to know how you like it. http:// countrygarden.artfire.com This is Ellie Cat that I talked about last post. I've almost completed her, just a little more color and her whiskers. I made her a calico cat. I've never had a calico cat, but I'd like to someday. She'll do for now. She will be sitting in the garden when I finish stitching the pattern. A few weeks ago I talked about stitching on some linen cloths I bought and this is the first one I've designed on the linen cloths. I love this cloth. I really like linen. ...