Wicked by primitivebetty

I’ve stitched this wee freebie from Betty Dukat as charted, using one strand of OWS Quaker Medallion Black over one square of 32 ct lambswool linen. After the stitching was done, I distressed it for a more prim look, using a fresh (= wet) coffee filte dabbed onto the design side of the linen, and then dribbling a couple of drops of coffee onto the design. I ironed it immediately with a super-hot iron to set the drips before they could simply spread out uniformly over the linen. Finally, I finished it using a bit  of gorgeous overdyed silk dupion in a coordinating deep slate shade (shown in background) and some vintage lace, because anything truly wicked has to involve a touch of decadence, a flash of luxury, doesn’t it? It’s hand sewn and stuffed with wool rovings.

Friendship

A little design of my own that I’ve finished as a pillow stuffed with chamomile blossoms for a sweet scent. Stitched using all HDF supplies: 35 ct Peach Butter linen, Primitive Black, Legacy Blue, BeBopped, Black Cherry, Examplar Black Iris, Examplar Miligrubs, Bock, Bole, Castory, and Ginger. A note on the skin tone – for the bottom stitch I used Bole one-over-two and for the top stitch I used it two-over-two. It kept the skin from looking too intensely colored. One-over-one for both top and bottom stitch made her look like she had some unpleasant skin condition. LOL. Must ask Vikki’s advice regarding skin tones, but I thought this turned out well. A bit of vintage lace and some deep purple twill-like finishing fabric that matched the Examplar Black Iris finish it off.

Pointy Kitty by Wee Wonderfuls

I  just love the Wee Wonderfuls creations, and her patterns are clear enough for even a fumblethumbs like me to create something sweet. I changed the look of Pointy Kitty, giving her some vintage flair by using a Moda historic fabric “Kansas City Star” and adorning her with vintage lace and buttons. Her wings are some stiffened lace thingies that I bought intending to use for floss holders (as in a needlebook) but the floss catches too much on them. They made great wings though!

Some notes about this pattern. I should’ve printed out the page with the ‘underbelly’ (C, I think) twice rather than cut it out from the body, simply for ease. And really, there’s no reason the underbelly couldn’t have been a single piece rather than two pieces – it would’ve been that much less fiddling. The fabric, especially something lightweight like I used, should’ve been backed with interfacing first – I had a lot of problems with seams bursting because this little darling has got to be stuffed tight. The head should not be ‘closed’ until after the face is done – that was a PITA and I’m not happy with the security of my buttons, but I did the best I could. The head was a bugaboo to get on, but I don’t have any labor saving ideas of how to do it better. In the end, it came out quite fine and I like the little tilt to it, like she’s listening to you or is about to speak.

Ackworth Friendship Book

I haven’t posted each round as I’ve finished, but here’s Nicki Lampon’s RR. It’s great being in a group with these stitchers (this is the second RR we’ve done together) but for some reason, I can’t seem to count straight with Quakers. LOL! My contribution are the two left, lower blocks.

January prim floss tag by The Needle’s Content

I just love how this turned out. The yellow is mellower IRL and the colors really work well together for a prim look. Most of the fibers are limited editions from GAST - only the Oatmeal is from their regular line. The other colors are Caramel, California Gold Rush, Bangor Autumn, LA Haze, Appalachian Trail and Seattle Sky. It’s stitched on 35 ct. Old Gray Mare from Vikki Clayton.

Hope by Carriage House Samplings

I have changed this to read “Love” (another in the Virtue Series) because it’s a gift for Rowen’s teacher. Her daughter recently died after a long illness, and I thought “Hope” was inappropriate. I’ve finished this as a tiny box (smaller than palm size) to keep special tiny treasures from her daughter in.

Just as a note to myself, the cartonnage works much better with something of a heavier weight. This manilla-style folder wouldn’t hold its shape very well. Could also be because it is so tiny. But there’s nothing to pin to, to get the linen on absolutely straight, and this one has gone off sideways a bit. Also, beware of using ‘disappearing’ pen with glue – it causes the ink to remain visible rather than disappearing. In short, I found the heavier cardboard (which I then covered with paper) easier to work with.

The design uses the called-for Crescent Colours with the exception of the dark brown (the suggested DMC alternative) and I used the house color rather than the door color for the dress trim because it showed up better.

Autumn Sampler by Prairie Schooler

An over-one excerpt from the OOP Prairie Schooler leaflet, finished with a bit of vintage lace and a leaf button. I made the box myself! This is an exchange for a partner that I really wanted to do something special for – knowing that she loves autumn and colorful leaves and such, this seemed like the perfect choice. I used the suggested DMC on 32 linen that I’m pretty sure is the suggested lambswool. (Note that the box is covered using some paper gifted to me by Stitch Bitch for my birthday.)

Aurora Whittier 1827 … my own design

First in a series! This is only a teaser shot till the real thing goes public.

May your joys … by The Sampler Girl

I stitched this wonderful freebie from The Sampler Girl on a piece of 28 or 32 ct linen banding using HDF silks in my choice of colors. Although I stitched it as a gift, I’m having a hard time letting it go!

In God We Trust by Plum Street Samplers

Gorgeous design (a freebie available from her blog), gorgeous silks from HDF … it was maybe a little bit hard to send away, but when I saw the design I thought immediately of the friend I made it for. To keep it would’ve been like stealing. :0 Stitched on 35 ct Bunny Brown linen from HDF, stuffed with wool rovings and backed with fabulous Moda fabric.