Sunday, October 26, 2014

A cloud of blackbirds.....

 
(Thanks to Google for my title....
glad to offer a little knowledge here too!)
 
Now on to the stitching....
 
I have been absent from my blog but
 stitching has been happening.
 
I have been in a Blackbird Designs mood this
month and stitch a few that have been
patiently waiting in my stash.
 
I picked up "Country Garden" from a clearance
bin while travelling in Virginia this summer. 
I don't why I love this design...
probably the olive green/pink combo....
so I decided to stitch it.
 
 
Once I decided to stitch it I wondered
what I would do with it.  Something
about this design whispered it would
be a great embellishment on a
stitching bag.   I stitched all but the
house and made the decision to stitch
my initials with some smaller motifs.
 
BBD Country Garden
stitched on 32ct hand dyed linen with
Victorian Motto/WDW threads
 
You can't tell from the photo but I stitched
it on 32 ct. linen dyed with onion skins. 
I loved the yellowish/pinkish hue
this gave the linen and will definitely
do this again.  Best part is it took a small
amount of onion skins to get a good color.
 
My sewing skills are very limited so I
decided to make a little "envelope" type
project bag to accommodate a small project.
 
 
I am so happy with this lovely little design
and the colors are just so pleasant.  
Definitely puts me in a happy mood
when I am sitting down to stitch.
 
~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *  
 
I have wanted to stitch BBD "New Love"
forever but just couldn't find the right
red/light red combo to stitch.  Thanks to
Victorian Motto, I had two wonderful
shades of red that were just perfect.
 
BBD "New Love"
stitched on 32ct hand dyed linen
with Victorian Motto threads
 
I thought this would make a great
embellishment for another project bag
and I had a fabric I just loved so back to
the sewing machine I went.
 
 
This bag measures about 12 x 15 which is
perfect for larger projects.   I decided to
stitch hubby's initials as well as my own and
not sure why I chose to date it "2014". 
Hmmmm...at least I will always
remember when it was stitched.
 
~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~
 
I just love this little sampler from BBD
"Agnes Platt's Strawberry Sampler" booklet.
 
BBD "The Bee Skep"
Loose Feathers Spring 2013
stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linen
with Victorian Motto threads
 
Thanks to the recent Pals "Stitching at the Beach"
retreat I was able to crank this one out in
a few days.   It was a very easy stitch and
I can't believe I waited so long to stitch it!
 
 
Victorian Motto's 1795 Faded Sampler Red Light
had the perfect variation to stitch most
of the bricks in the little house. 
 
 
My other favorite part is the beehive using
the satin stitch.  My gold I chose is a
little bright but I am still very happy
with how this one finished.   This
one is destined to reside on my
"wall of bees" in the kitchen someday.
 
~   *    ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~
 
I am now stitching the 'Fragments of Time'
series from Summer House Stitche Works
and loving them.   She was one of the
vendors at the Pals Retreat and such a
nice lady.  I just love her designs so you
will probably see some more of these soon.
 
Thanks for visiting and I hope to be back
soon with some more finishes! 
Happy stitching.


27 comments:

  1. Love all you finishes!! It is always fun to go on a single designer binge!! Laura

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  2. Dear Karen,
    as I am an avid BBD lover, I love each and every of your BBD finishes in this post. Your bags turned out wonderfully and I really really love the Strawberry Sampler. It is one of my favorites!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Hugs
    Hilda

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  3. Love your finishes and your project bags are lovely.

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  4. What lovely stitched finishes you have created, Karen? I am interested in the pair of reds that you used for the New Love piece. Looking forward to seeing your Fragments of Time piece!

    Robin in Virginia

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  5. oh Karen what great finishes. I loved seeing BBD "The Bee Skep" work up. It turned out great.

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  6. Beautiful work Karen! Nice to hear from you.

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  7. Your finishes are all wonderful! Love your new project bags, and the piece from Agnes Platt is lovely!

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  8. How did you finish the scalloped edges to keep them from fraying? Lovely pieces!

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  9. What lovely finishes! They all look amazing!

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  10. Wonderful stitching and finishing!

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  11. Absolutely beautiful stitching and finishes :)

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  12. Those are beautiful pieces! How did you get the scalloped edge on your stitching fabric and how is it not fraying? Curious minds want to know!!!

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  13. Beautiful job on all of these and I love how you turned the two into stitching bags! Very inspiring!

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  14. Beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL! Love your cloud of blackbirds :)

    And, I'm with Dani-- how do you get the edges not to fray -- your finishing looks sooooo cool.

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  15. Congrats on all the gorgeous finishes Karen. The bags turned out great.

    Linda

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  16. So nice to get caught up with your stitching, Karen--love the bags so much!

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  17. Great finishes Karen! I'm curious about the scalloped edge too. Fray Check?

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  18. Karen you have been busy. One of the ladies in my stitching group went to pals stitching at he beach also. You have really done some wonderful stitching. How did you do the scalloped edging? I haven't seen that before.

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  19. I love everything Karen! Wonderful finishes :)

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  20. Cute projects Karen!! I love your finishes. How did you finish your linen edge for the scallop? It's a great idea. I have to get the strawberry sampler now. It's adorable!!

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  21. Great stitching Karen - you've been busy. Can't wait to see what's next...

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  22. All are wonderful finishes, love the scalloped edges.

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  23. Wonderful finishes Karen! Your project bags are superb!

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  24. Hello! Wish I could have gone to MB this year... but it was not in the cards! Maybe next year! Your stitching projects are terrific! Love each one! And the finishing touches plus putting them on bags--really great! I look forward to seeing what ELSE you stitch! Hugs!

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  25. All of your finishes are beautiful Karen :)

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  26. Great to see all your projects finished up! Beautiful stitching, as always. Still loving that red brick house!

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Who doesn't love a good comment....or a bad one for that matter! Thanks a bunch for visiting my little piece of the stitching universe! If you're new, I will be sure to visit you too.