Happy Father's Day

 Hope you all have a great Father's Day today. And, if you still are fortunate enough to have your Dad in your life...please give him an extra hug...and be thankful he is still there.

My dad was not one to give advice in a kind and gentle manner...as Jesus would do. He was more like John Wayne...direct and to the point...with a kind of "in your face" approach.

He only said things once...Once was plenty enough for you to get the point.

Miss you Dad!

French Script Saturday - O

Time for another monogram!

Brazilian Embroidery is Back Home!

Thank you to Deloris, Diane, Karrin, and Rebecca for doing such beautiful stitching on my block! I just love it! Want to see some closeups? Of course you do!Here is Rebecca's work...

and Deloris's work...

and Diane's work...

and Karrin's work...

and, I'm not sure which lady stitched this motif...as it was not "claimed" in the attached booklet to the square. So hopefully, one of these folks will chime and and let me know who stitched this lovely floral group!

But, I do know that the block is gorgeous! And I'm a happy owner of this great stitching! All that is left is for me to add my own brazilian embroidery to it...and create a lovely pillow!

Flashback Friday

Fashion from 1881, makes me so glad to have my bluejeans and scrub tops!

 But, I enjoy looking at the designs and these ladies are SO MUCH MORE fashionable than I!

Secret Pal Giftee

I belong to the message board at HGTV.com; specifically the Quilting/Needlework group of that board. They are a great bunch of folks...and keep coming up with great events and swaps. One of the activities is to sign up for a yearly swap...with a "Secret Sister" You are given a person's name/address and some general information about things they like...and you send them a little gift each month (anonymously of course...hence the "secret" part). At the end of the year, you find out who has been gifting you the entire year. I signed up this year...and my Big Secret Sister (BSS) often sends along a little something for my grand-daughter Aidan in my monthly package. So often in fact, that Aidan says "We" have a secret sister. This month, she included some plastic canvas pieces in the surprise...of various shapes. I asked Aidan if she wanted to learn how to stitch these up...and she is working on a set of coasters for her Aunt. She has finished one (the one in the photo) and is steadily working on number 2 right now. Her goal is to complete four. Just thought ya'll might like to see a young stitcher at work...she is 7 years old.

Free Turtles...to a Good Home!

Look at this cute Turtle pattern at Make-It-And-Love-It blog! (photo posted with Ashley's permission). Wouldn't it be great done as a CRAZY quilt style! I'm loving it for sure and will be trying it soon!So, 'crawl on over' to Ashley's blog and get her free pattern and tutorial for making this little turtle! Okay, I could not wait...so here is my version in CQ!

 The embellishment was done AFTER the turtle was made.  A little tricky, but not impossible.

 ..but, I'm not going to add beads...thinking I might use it as a pin cushion...or a gift?

The Cutest!

I was doing a little cyber surfing this morning, and look at the cutest photo ever! I just love the smile on these faces! It's like they are sharing a secret!Isn't life grand!The OrkutGallery has other wonderful photography too!

Stitching Buddy

Here's my stitching "Buddy". Apparently life can be rough, when you have to stand guard over me all day!

Marvelous Monday Motifs - 6/13/2011

You can read all about my idea for Marvelous Monday Motifs here. Today we have pages 15-16 of the J. F. Ingalls Company, 1886 Catalog of Perforated Parchment Stamping Patterns. 

Please NOTE: This catalog is not under copyright any longer; but the scanned version released to the public domain on 17 July 2007 (the source of my information) does come with restrictions. None of these designs can be sold. They are for your individual use.

SRE Basket

Silk Ribbon Basket done with simple Lasy Daisy flowerheads and Straight Stitch leaves. The embroidery work is also simple...French knots, chain stitch, back stitch, stem stitch, and straight stitch. Here is the chart, and I'll include photos of my progress.

First, I wanted to print this on fabric...and started to do muslin on freezer paper. But, then I decided on a piece of moire...however, it was too thick to run through the printer. I removed the paper...and just ran the fabric through. It slipped and slid...and I do not recommend doing that. I lucked out and still got a usable image, so I'm stitching over it. But, I was so scared when it started to shift going through the printer rollers! So, don't try this at home. Here is the chart printed on the moire. 

The basket began with the long straight stitches for the vertical basket lines. Then the horizontal lines were another long straight stitch, woven under/over the previous vertical lines stitched.

The last basket layer was the same process as above, but for the diagonal lines. Next the bottom was chain stitched and the sides were back-stitched.

The top and handle of the basket was four pieces of size 8 perle cotton, lain along the shape of the basket and couched in place with a single strand of the same perle. I used two needles...one really large one to hold the 4-strands...needle up at the start and down at the end. In between...I couched with the second needle.

Then came the French Knot flowers and stem stitch vines

Lastly, the bow. I thought I'd tie a simple bow of silk ribbon and couch it down with some beads...but, then I remembers that I have some really bright blue fiber. So, I couched it in place instead. 

This completed the embroidery portion. The silk ribbon work was easy to do, and is seen in the first photo.I think this design could just as easily be done in satin stitch work too.

French Script Saturday-M

 

Flashback Friday 6-10-11

Seriously? The child in this photo is less than waist high...so she would be around 3 or 4 years old. And, all those layers! And those shoes! And how long would it take to get your hair in these curls and up-do's without curling irons or hot rollers? Just imagine!1836 was a booming year for the fabric folks...check out all the layers! 

Woo Hoo! It's Raining and we have squash!

We got a nice little shower this afternoon! And the garden really needed it. I also picked my first few summer squash afterwards too!

Can't wait to get this cooked up! Yummy!

Flower Patch

Here's a little embroidery and ribbon motif you might enjoy stitching.

I added a few blades of grass to my stitched sample.