Tis the season....

The Christmas season is upon us as we

begin the wave goodbye to fall.

I had a pretty good stitchy autumn since

last we spoke.

October's installment of the

Prairie Schooler Alphabet

was a mermaid.

Prairie Schooler "M is for Mermaid"

stitched on 40ct linen with DMC

Honestly I was not looking forward to

this block due to the large

chunks of color.  I was surprised to

find the blues and greens were a

nice change of pace from 3371. 

This is one of my favorites thus far.

Yes...November is over and I should

have the next installment, N is for Nest,

finished but I am can't find my

motivation to stitch finish it. 

Good thing about being an adult is

I can stitch a little bit at a time

until it is done.  My goal is to finish

N and O is for Owl by December's end.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *  ~

A favorite finish in the month of October

was Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 8:11".

This is a three-part series and I stitched

the other two parts in 2015 and decided I

really wanted to finish this one this year also.

 

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 8:11"

stitched on PTP 40ct Legacy with recommended hand-dyed threads

I loved this series from the first time I saw

them not only for the messages but for

the softness and beauty of the designs.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I decided to throw in two more Christmas ornaments too.

Summer House Stitche Workes "Barn Star Ornaments"

stitched on PTP 40ct Ale with Victorian Motto Red and WDW Bark

I love these little ornaments and hope

to finish as bowl fillers.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Who doesn't love Lizzie Kate and I was

gobsmacked as soon as I saw her

"String" snippets.  Is this not the cutest?

Lizzie Kate "Merry String"

stitched on 28ct over one with DMC

I wanted to one to be small for an ornament

and I envisioned this one to be in a drum fashion. 

It turned out to be the size of a

Christmas tree ball which was perfect.

Oh my.... cuteness overload!

~    *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As Thanksgiving neared I couldn't

resist these two cute designs any longer.

Homespun Elegance "Turkey Tyme"

stitched on 40ct mystery linen with recommended threads

Lizzie Kate "Sampling Thanksgiving"

stitched on WDW 30ct Straw with my own thread conversion

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Holding on to fall a little longer, I stitched

this Blackbird Design from last year. 

 BBD "Bittersweet September"

stitched on 40ct mystery linen with Victorian Motto threads

I just love the burst of orange on this

design....the over one stitching

for the alphabet not so much.

My friend Charlene shared a tip to

use a #10 beading needle for the over

one and I will say it did go a lot quicker.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Thanks for visiting today and

happy stitches....

November update.....

Time has flown by again but I have been stitching.

Might want to grab a cup of coffee...

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I attended the Pals Stitching at the Beach in

mid-October and had just started this

BBD design.  I have had the design for

years in my stash and it hit me one day

that I had the perfect PTP fabric in my

stash and so a start was warranted.

I finished it at the retreat and can say

this one was a fun stitch. 

BBD "Sunflower House" stitched on

40ct PTP Dwarf linen with Victorian Motto threads

A few of my favorite elements from this design....

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I decided to stitch another part of these

design and I will have to say it

seemed to take forever.

There aren't too many elements in this

design so I'm not sure why it was

such a slow stitch.

I still have the last part to stitch and

hope to finish before year end.

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 17:17" from

"Three Little Proverbs" stitched on 40ct PTP Wren with

Victorian Motto and recommended threads

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I found this old design in my stash.   

It was a very quick stitch and hopefully

I can get it finished before Christmas.

Drawn Thread "Peace" stitched on 32ct Summer Khaki

with Victorian Motto threads

I didn't realize this ornament was full of

specialty stitches until after I started but

will say they weren't that difficult.  My favorite

was this little corner stitch, the Boucle stitch,

and will file that away for future use.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I also stitched another in the

"A Most Notable Name"

series from Jeannette Douglass.   I just

love these quick stitches and only

have one left to complete.   I hope she

will continue this series with a few more. 

I love the sewing themed designs and hope

to have these finished into cross stitch

 project bags so I can enjoy them all of the time.

Jeannette Douglas Designs "Button Betty"

stitched on 40ct PTP Legacy with recommended threads

As is the norm, the design looked so much

better stitched than the model picture.

My favorite part was the little row of buttons. 

These will definitely be stitched again as

I add them to a future project.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Lastly, I stitched these

Hands On Designs Chalk ornaments.

I just love these on this PTP fabric

but will say they were are difficult

without good lighting. 

Hands On Designs "Peace"

2015 JCS Ornament Issue

stitched on 32ct PTP Shadow with

Victorian Motto threads

The only thing I wasn't too happy with

was the white stitches.

I always find the white DMC difficult

to stitch as my stitches done seem to lay flat.

I do love the results though.

 Hands On Designs "Plenty"

2015 JCS Ornament Issue

stitched on 32ct PTP Shadow with

Victorian Motto threads

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

If you made it this far...thanks for visiting.

Hope you have enjoying some good

stitching time during this holiday

season.  Happy stitching...

Flosstube....

 

My. new. addiction.

 

Flosstube.

 

I can't even recall how I discovered Flosstube

but I have been watching for a few months now

and I am amazed how addicting it is.

Are you familiar with Flosstube?

In a nutshell it is stitchers making videos

talking about and showing their WIPS,

hauls, FFO's, UFOS.......

it is just fascinating!

 

I have been wondering for weeks why I find this

so interesting.  It is just another social media

outlet for stitchers to share.  I know Facebook

groups seem to be all the rage now but it

isn't my thing.  Like many I too find

Instagram the easiest way

to share my stitching and finishes.

 

Flosstube (a.k.a Youtube) is different. 

Although I don't know

any of the Flosstubers, I find it a nice distraction

at night while stitching.  It is almost like

having someone sitting with me as

I stitch and talking about stitching.

Granted it is a one-way conversation

it is amazing how much you can learn about

a person you have never met.  Even now

as I write this it still boggles my mind

why I like it so much.

 

I have learned a lot about myself too

from Flosstube.

 

I am very judgmental.

As Flosstubers share their stash and haul,

I often roll my eyes commenting that they

will never stitch all they have accumulated.

I know they will never stitch all they

have in this lifetime.

 

I am a hypocrite.

As I judge others about their stash

and inability to stitch it all in this lifetime,

I continuously add to my voluminous

stash that I will never stitch

 in two lifetimes. Bless my heart!

 

I obviously don't know the most

popular designers.

This could be a drinking game as you watch a

video.  It is almost with certainly that you will

find a flosstuber stitch at least one if not all

of these designs/designers:

 

HAED

Mirabilia

Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Storytime Sampler

Box of Delights

Save the Stitches

Twisted Band Sampler

Rainbow Band Sampler

 

If you are unfamiliar with any of these

designers or designs, head on over to

Flosstube and you will soon be educated.

 

I am amazed that I don't find more Flosstubers

showing designers and designs that I

like to stitch.  I guess that is one reason

I am so amazed at my fascination.

I may see the occasional Lizzie Kate but

surprised you don't see a lot Blackbird

Designs or Plum Street Samplers to

name a few being stitched.

Even though I have no interest in these

particular types of designs, I still have this

feeling I am missing out....am I?????

 

Great source for new techniques/designers/supplies.

I have gotten some great tips and techniques

to make stitching easier.  I love exploring

new to me designers, fabrics, threads

and other stitching accessories. 

 

I am motivated to stitch.

Although I will never join the Flosstube

community, I do find it motivating and

have noticed my stitching during the

week has picked up considerably.

I found it a chore to stitch after work but

there is something relaxing about stitching as

I listen to others talk about their stitching.

I will take it...any stitching is good.

 

So....if you haven't checked out Flosstube,

give it a try.  I do warn you, though,

that it can be addictive.

 

*   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

I do have some stitching to share...

told you I was motivated!

 

I just love the A Most Suitable Name series

from Jeannette Douglas Designs. 

This is my fourth finish and I still have four

more to go and hope to start another this month.

 

Jeannette Douglas Designs "Alphabet Annie"

from A Most Suitable Name series

stitched on 40ct PTP Legacy with recommended thread

 

 

I love the little motifs on this one and

would be cute on a little pincushion.

 

*   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *

 

I decided late Friday night to get a start on

Heartstring Samplery's Three Little Proverbs,

which has been kitted since last year.  

There are three designs and I decided to

put in a few stitches on the first one in hopes

I could stitch on it this upcoming week.

 

 

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 15:1"

from Three Little Proverbs

stitched on 40ct PTP Wren with Victorian Motto,

WDW and Sampler threads

 

Not sure how this happened but I couldn't stop

and put in the last stitch this afternoon.

 

 

I don't know what it was about this design

but I couldn't put it down. I just love all of

the little motifs and the color combos

are just so pretty and pleasing.

 

I love the message also and am anxious

to move on to the next one.

 

*   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Well...if you stayed with me this long,

thanks for visiting my small corner

of the web.  Happy stitching.....