My First Christmas (part 2) by Praiseworthy Stitches

This will be Arden’s ornament for 2009. I made some slight changes to the pattern and stitched it in my choice of overdyed floss (but followed the original color scheme). I stitched it over one on 36 ct cream linen ffrom Vikki Clayton using GAST and WDW. I’d like to get my hands on part one and three so I could make the complete piece, but they’re OOP and I have yet to see them for resale anywhere.

This is the 2nd time I’ve stitched this – I also made it as a gift for Martine of Chatelaine Designs when her marriage ended. It seemed appropriate…. At that point, I also made changes to the design and I think I also stitched it over one.

My True Love Gave to Me by The Sampler Girl

I’ve altered this freebie design from Tanya, and it’s not actually 100% done because I’ll add either the date or initials in that blank corner, but I’m impatient to get it posted. LOL. Stitched on 36 ct cream from Vikki Clayton using GAST Pomegranate and Pine and WDW Whiskey. (Christmas ball frame from picnik.com) This will be my ornament for Niek this year.

Lighthouse by Dimensions

The design is from a kit given to me by Gaby. I really didn’t care for the design as shown on the kit – it was stitched on 14 ct. white Aida with generic cotton floss – but then I looked at the chart itself and thought, “Hmmm. That might actually come out looking pretty good on a higher count linen with some overdyed thread.” So I gave it a go, and voila.

This is stitched on a scrap of what I’m pretty sure is the same linen I stitched Dirk and Jiske’s wedding gift on. I used all GAST fibers: Blackboard, Soot, Banker’s Gray, Harvest Basket, Old Blue Paint, Blue Spruce, Kale, School House Red, and Pomegranate.

I’ll be finishing this into an ornament or wee pillow for Aunt Kathy, who loves lighthouses. Max has told me I have to stitch another one to keep.

Curious as a Cat by Birds of a Feather

Again, the photo stinks – nighttime pics just do not work out for me, even though I took it under the Daylight lamp. I used the suggested fibers on 35 ct linen from Vikki Clayton, but I did the wording in red instead of the called-for blue because I was having trouble reading the chart. Old age, go figure …

Busy as a Bee by Birds of a Feather

This is a shamefully bad photo, but it’ll have to suffice for now. Stitched with the called-for fibers (although I did the wording in black because I misread the chart, LOL).

Primitive Valentine Cupboard Sampler by The Sampler Girl

Here’s my version of Tanya’s wee Valentine design. I’ve made lots of little changes because it’s going to be my gift to Niek for our 6th wedding anniversary. I’m so glad Tanya’s a designer who welcomes the personalizations that people make to her designs! I was mentioning to her in an email how funny it is that whenever I’m stuck for the perfect gift, her designs just jump out at me.

I’ve stitched this using Vikki Clayton’s silks: Bear Brown, BeGrimed, Gandy Tango, Indigo Ocean, Milligrubs; and Snow Creme by The Thread Gatherer. The linen is 30 count Parchment by Weeks Dye Works. Just as a note, this stitches like a 32 ct rather than a 30 count. Lovely stuff. I bought the linen from Mary Kathryn some time ago when she was having a sale.

Wee Wonderful bunnies

For Easter this year, I’ve made the three younger kids bunnies from a free pattern by Wee Wonderfuls. The bunnies are very easy to make (I made three in one afternoon!) and can be embellished in any number of ways – they’re far from “just” an Easter toy. Best of all, Rowen and Arden have been playing with theirs all morning!

cottontail bunny

This bunny literally is a cottontail! I’d originally planned to make these to sell in my etsy shop, but the cottonball is more fragile than it looks and I worried that the bunnies wouldn’t make it through the post in goo shape. So this little fella will spend Easter with us – and we’re glad of it! He’s been grunged up a bit with some walnut stain. Stuffed with wool rovings. Wooden button eyes. All in all, pretty darn cute.

1916 crochet bunny

I’ve taken part of an old crochet pattern and adapted it to make this scissor for Max’s birthday. Stitched in Colonial Teal (HDF Silk) on Vikki Clayton’s 35 ct Cream and hand stitched closed. Filled with lentils and dabbed with essential lavender oil. The cording is also Colonial Teal silk. The backside says, “Happy 11th birthday, Max!” The scissors are part of the gift.

March Prim Floss Tag from The Needle’s Content

I’ve stitched Annemiek’s March Prim floss tag (from her year-long group) for Max’s birthday. It still needs to be finish-finished this week. I’ve stitched it on 35 ct Cream HDF linen using HDF silks Haystacks 3451, Spinach Delight, and Examplar Wood Louse (the red is a bit from my orts pile). The satin-stitched heart is my change – it’s graphed for 1801 or something, but I knew Max wouldn’t be into that kind of prim detail so I added a heart. I used a French knot for the eye, hoping it would show up better than a black cross stitch there. I also only used 2 of his initials on the back rather than MMP.

3 April: Edited to add
Here’s the finish-finish. I’m not 100% satisfied – I tried to machine stitch it, but it came out lumpy and I wound up going over it all with a blind stitch to make it a bit smoother. I’ll finish these entirely by hand in the future.