Eye Candy...

In the past, I've shared that I love to look at (or read) needlework books when I'm away from stitching. It's almost as nice as the actual process. Yesterday, I added this beauty to my library. It's Trish Burr's "The Kew Book of Nature Samplers" (in case you hadn't noticed from the photograph  lol).

There's actually an outside hard cover that has pockets to hold the transfer images, and to protect the book within. I paged through it last night, and can see using it as major inspiration for future ideas.

There are butterflies, bugs, bunnies, flowers and even a beautiful owl. I learned the "long and short stitch" technique from Owen (RSN tutor) when I made the butterfly in his class, but refreshers never hurt. Practice makes perfect!

I'll definitely be pulling this one out from time to time, as I work toward needlework mastery. I'm going to work on the tote today, but will be bringing out the bluebirds again by the weekend. In the meantime, I'm learning more about stretcher bars and tools I hadn't seen before (if you can believe that!) and other things. This book - in my humble opinion - is worth every penny.

I don't work again until Friday, so I have lots of time for studio things in between caring for the girls. They always remind me when it's time to take a break. I'll take care of them first this morning, and then I'm off to my happy place.

New In My Library...

I just received two new books for my needlework library. They're both Elisabetta Sforza books, and wow! Talk about eye candy. These are the sorts of books you reach for for instruction and inspiration. They're filled with gorgeous examples of her handwork, and every single page is a treat.

Sea to Stitch is a guide to creating beautiful ocean-themed alphabet letters. There are waves and seashells of all sorts. I'm looking forward to practicing new techniques and trying to equal her impeccable skills.

A Flower Alphabet is even more wonderful than the first book of hers I own (In A Wheat Field), and I can't wait to create a few of these stunning floral alphabets. I'll definitely be attempting one soon. When I do, you know you'll be the first to know.

I'm making a special handbag for a little girl turning five this weekend. I'll be attending her Birthday party on Sunday, so today I sew. (Nothing like last minute, right? sigh) So, I guess I'd better close and get started. 

I hope you'll drop in for my Sunday Scripture tomorrow, and then I'll be back to chat on Monday. Happy Weekend!

Faerie Garden Strawberry Sachet...

It's Finished!

It's always satisfying to finish something I so enjoyed creating. I took longer to complete this one, simply because life knocked me off course a bit, but I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

I always ask Handsome for input when I choose the wool for the leaves on top of the strawberry. I had leaned toward something completely different, but he made a suggestion that I keep the leaves more subtle to enhance, rather than overpower, the flowers. He was so right! I love the final wool used to crown this strawberry.

If you'd like to see a short video I recorded of the Faerie Garden Strawberry Sachet, you can click HERE. It shows all the colors more accurately in indirect daylight. Be sure to turn on your sound if you'd also like to hear the music I selected for the recording. 

Faerie Garden will be available later today in my Etsy shop. 

Faerie Garden...

I've completed the embroidery for my current Strawberry Sachet. I'm calling this one "Faerie Garden". I've tucked a lovely winged sprite amid the flourishes.

I'd hoped to be able to share this one as a finish, but I was too tired to do that after work yesterday. I'll assemble the strawberry today, and I'll be back tomorrow to share the completed piece. 

Saturday Silliness...

I certainly can relate to Steve these days! I did manage to do more embroidery on my Strawberry Sachet before work, though, and that's a good thing.

Turns out, I didn't have to work a long shift yesterday, so I'm on my way to Craft Day with my girlfriends in Portage this morning! I'll share what we create on Monday. Have a great weekend!

And Still It Waits...

All the "busy-ness" of this week, and I still haven't picked up my Strawberry Sachet Project to complete the embroidery. I'm hoping to get to it soon, so I'll avoid making promises I apparently can't keep.

My boss has been frustrated to tears that the young people she's hired have disappointed her so much lately. No calls. No real explanations. They just don't show up at all, and then come back to work a few days later like nothing happened. Because we're short-staffed, they feel invincible. They don't even consider that someone else has to step up to fill their hours, and it's usually my boss, who ends up pulling two or three shifts in a row. She's exhausted.

She found out that one of the kids is just skipping out on their hours today, so after talking with her, I agreed to respond to her plea by agreeing to work 4-10 pm to cover a shift. She's so grateful, and as a result, she's informed the offenders that the next time they just don't show up when they're scheduled, they'll be terminated. At least that way, she knows which shifts need to be filled ahead of time, instead of last minute.

How is it that today's young employees are so irresponsible? I would never have dreamed of just blowing off my work schedule when I was their age. (I know I wouldn't have gotten away with it either.) It puts all the other employees on the spot, and they're not even considering how it affects their coworkers. They don't care. 

Well, I've blown off a little steam on behalf of my boss (who I've known since she was about seven). I called her after she put out the request for a volunteer, and listened to her cry in frustration. Truthfully, I wanted to take someone out behind the wood shed!

So, I'll get home tasks done during the day today, and work my extended shift tonight. Craft Day is tomorrow, but I already know I won't make it.  That's a disappointment, but I know my limitations, so I won't try getting up extra early to drive over and back. I'm going to hang out here and maybe I'll get some stitching done. Either way, I know I'm doing something good for someone I really love. That's good enough for me.

Adding Leaves and Buds...

Di showed up yesterday with one of her granddaughters, so I didn't stitch as long as I'd planned. I did get started with the buds and leaves, though. I'll definitely add more the next time I work on it. (As I posted my progress from the weekend in my last post, you'll be able to scroll up and down to compare the two to see the differences.)

Our neighbor contacted me to let me know he has sweet corn now, so I met him at his house to get three dozen to pressure can. I'd planned to do that yesterday afternoon before Di drove in, so now it will have to wait until Wednesday, as I work today. 

Three dozen ears will hold us over until next season, but he offered more when the next crop matures. I've already accepted that offer, so the second batch will be the prep for creamed corn. I don't add dairy to my preserved foods for safety reasons, so I call the creamed corn "prep" because I add cream and butter when I use it, rather than in the canning stage.

Handsome and I already discussed what we'll be canning this year...tomatoes (of course), carrots, corn, tomato basil soup, and jalapeño jelly. I'll also be canning more beef tallow, and meat, to round out the pantry. 

While I'm processing the corn, I'll also be packaging more brownie mix, corn muffin mix, and some seasonings. We'll roll into winter this year fully stocked.

So, I'm off to work today, and I'll be back tomorrow with the news of the day. Happy Tuesday, dears. I hope you have a wonderful day.

A Few More Flowers...

I accomplished quite a bit this weekend, but not much in the way of stitching. I added a few more blue buds, and started the lavender ones. I'll still have leaves and a few other blossoms and the ribbon "flourishes" to add, but then I'll be able to assemble the sachet. 

Should I add lavender to the wool stuffing when I assemble this one? I'm contemplating that as I stitch. I'll find a fun wool to use for the leaves, too. Perhaps by Thursday I'll have it done. 

I think the heat is finally on the way out, so we've opened the windows again. It's nice to hear what's going on outside, instead of listening to the constant whirrrrr of the window air conditioners (to say nothing of the electric meter!). 

I hope you have a wonderful week this week. 

Laundry Day Stitching...

It was laundry day (actually most of this week...sigh), but I did manage to get in a little stitching amid the sorting, washing, drying, and folding. I'm adding new colors into the mix, so we'll see where this goes from here.

Laundry was (understandably) neglected over the past few weeks, so it's time to catch up. I'm glad there's not a lot of ironing to do, but if I decide to tackle Handsome's white formal band shirts, I'll be doing that in the basement where it's considerably cooler.

With a little help from #2 son, we got the window air conditioner down from the attic and installed on Tuesday. The larger of the three is now installed in the kitchen, too, so we have cooler air downstairs for as long as we need it for this current heat wave. People and pets are all much happier. Of course, we prefer the birdsong during the day and yips and howls of the coyotes at night, so as soon as the heat breaks, we'll be back to open windows around the farmhouse.

Di will be back in Wisconsin this weekend, so I'll work to a deadline to get her patriotic tote sewn together so I can give it to her when I see her. I'll share the finished project with you first. It should be an interesting day. Laundry in the basement, and sewing on the second floor. I see a lot of ups and downs in my immediate future. 

And then there's this (already)...

 

Finally!...

It rained most of the day, but it was still nice to be on our farmhouse porch. Late day, the clouds moved off and the sun came out. I started this piece in the parking lot at the clinic while Handsome was in the clinic for his physical therapy appointment. I had all my supplies in my needlework tote, ready to go.

When we got back home, I did a few things around the house, and then grabbed my supplies. I stitched while I listened to the Baltimore oriole's four noisy kids sharing grape jelly from the feeder, and the Bee Gees on my iPhone in speaker mode (The Still Waters album). I listened to other music, too.

I think I got quite a bit done, but this is going to be another strawberry, so there's a lot more to do yet. I'll work on it more this week when Handsome goes to his other appointments, but I'm liking what I've got so far.

Today I'll be up at the station for my shift. No time to dally. I'd better get going. See you tomorrow!

Tiny Ideas...

 

One of my co-workers had a sad event in their life Wednesday afternoon, so I was called in last minute to cover hours for the gal who works the register so she could work in the kitchen for my co-worker. She and her family were outside when her husband was leaving in their truck. She told the dog to stay on the porch, but as is usually the case, the dog didn't listen. Her husband accidentally ran over the dog and killed it. My co-worker is understandably devastated and will not be to work for a while.

So, I got up a 4:30 yesterday morning, and was at work by 5:30 to work the opening shift. The sun was coming up, and there was a thick haze in the lowland areas on my drive. It was actually quite beautiful. In some areas the chickory is already blooming along the shoulders of the road, so the Queen Anne's Lace won't be far behind. 

The little time I did have to stitch, I pulled a few tiny frames and experimented with what I might like to put into them. Of course, my favorite wildflower - the Queen Anne's Lace - was my first choice.

I work late afternoon again today, so I'm planning to stitch a bit more during the day today. I've got something special I'm going to be working on over the weekend, so I'll let you know about that tomorrow.

I hope you all had a restful holiday, celebrating with friends and family. Handsome and I got the grill out for the first time this year and enjoyed burgers together - grilled - as they always should be. It was perfect.

I'm going to have my morning cuppa and pull out my needlework supplies. Today, I shall simply follow my muse. How about you?

Ta Daaa!...

I want to begin this post by sharing the photograph I received of the bride's bouquet. My niece told me that the bouquet will look exactly like this one. It's silks, so I trusted her assessment. Isn't it gorgeous? My task was to try to create a finished embroidery equal to this bouquet. As you know, that bit hanging from the bottom was a bit vexing, but I think MA and I came up with the solution.

 

I took this photograph in daylight once it was complete and framed.  I stretched into a new hoop and then secured the back, covering it with a beautiful blue felt and the frame backer. This is a closeup of all my stitches.

 

 

This is the photograph I'll be using as one of the images for a listing in my etsy shop for future embroideries. It also shows you just how perfect the frame is for the monogram. 

I sure hope my nephew and his bride love the finished piece. I'll get photos of the newlyweds later today to share next week. Time to go. I'm off to a wedding!

 

Making Templates...

 

Something else I've been doing.  I shared the source for my floral alphabet letters before, but I can tell you again. The book/leaflet is is printed in Italian and English, called "In A Wheat Field" by Elisabetta Sforza.

I've been tracing the letters onto vellum to use later. I don't copy the designs as traced, but they serve as a starting point, as you'll see tomorrow when I share my recently completed wedding piece. These letters are approximately 5" tall, but they're wonderfully lush when complete.

I can't wait to share the finished wedding monogram with you tomorrow. It's going to be a fun weekend for our family. See you tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Monogram Embroidery Complete...

I worked on this all day Sunday and finally completed it. There are no fewer than 24 hours of embroidery time into this monogram, and I did make adjustments along the way. (That means there was some frogging involved in the process.)

MA - I had the same issues with that green, as it did seem out of place for the rest of the colors, so I took your advice. Even though it has a larger roll in the actual bouquet, I only used the yellow/green for French knots (seen here in the curve on the lower right side) for the upper right and lower left curves.

I'm going to frame it today, and then I'll be in the kitchen baking bread. I'll share the photograph of the actual bouquet and the framed wedding monogram on Saturday (their wedding day), so I don't spill the entire surprise before their big day.

I'll be adding listings for "Something Blue" brooches to my Etsy shop this week, and I'm hoping to begin embroidery on a new goldwork piece. I've designed two different Corgi brooches, and am anxious to see if my needlework measures up to my vision.

As I said, it's baking day today, but I'll begin work on something new while Handsome is at rehearsal. Yes, it's Monday, so I know I've got that right this week. lol

Monogram Embroidery Day Three...

Day Three began by removing the vines from the top of the "N". Straight away I knew I'd made the right decision. I reworked it into the lower right side of the monogram below the roses, using a single thread. Much better.

This is how far I progressed before I had to get ready to leave for work. There's more to do, but I won't get back to it until Sunday as I work again today. I'm looking forward to getting back to it on our day of rest. 

I hope you're having a nice weekend. The weather is supposed to be beautiful around here. In fact, customers came in last night who said they were heading to the campground to open up their camper for the first weekend getaway of the season. Made me miss having our Airstream...a lot!

I'll be back with more progress on Monday. Who knows how far I'll get by then? What do you think of the change I made? Better?

Monogram Embroidery Day Two ...

I actually like photographing my embroidery progress because I can better assess things than when I'm holding it in my hand.

This is where I am so far, and I'm thinking the vine-y bits at the top of the monogram are too heavy-handed, so I'm going to remove those today and re-do them. At this point, they draw my eye away from the more delicate florals and leaves below them. They're not the stars of this piece, so I have to take them down a peg or two.

This represents about twelve hours of embroidering, and I know I have more than a few hours left. I'll frog the vines first, and then proceed with more of my design. 

I work this evening, so my stitching will be done during the day today. I'll share updated progress photos tomorrow. What do you think so far?

Getting Started...

I contacted my niece (mom of the groom-to-be) to see if she knew what the colors would be in the bride's bouquet. She actually sent a photograph of what they've chosen, so I could pull colors to begin my embroidery. Some of these threads are silks, and the rest are cotton. There are also some embellishments I may or may not use. I'll decide once I get the needlework finished. 

I'd love to show you the photograph of the bouquet, but I can't do that at this point. I don't want to ruin the surprise for the wedding couple. I will share it with you later, after the piece is done - or after the wedding. Wouldn't it be best to show the bride carrying it? I think so, too.

After all the colors were selected, I pulled a beautiful piece of white linen as my ground fabric. It's actually a tight weave, but I've enlarged this to show the beginning of my embroidery work, so it looks more open than it actually is.

You know what I'll be doing all day today (while I also run back and forth to the washing machine and dryer...laundry day). We'll see just how much progress I can make. I don't work again until Friday evening, so I have a lot of time to sit and stitch. I want to make some good headway so you can get a feel for the finished piece. I'll have more to show you tomorrow.

Ellie and Queen...

 

I managed a little slow stitching today, finishing the embroideries on these two Palmer pieces. I'm calling them "Ellie" and "Queen". I'm choosing less embroidery rather than more to highlight the drawings, to keep them simple.

I'll assemble the bags once I complete the other pieces I have, so I'll likely create the project bags early next week. Today I'm going to make the Shop Hop Crossbody Bag so I can send it out to my client ahead of schedule.

It's really nice to get a needle and thread back in my hand and just get lost in the process. I'll finish these and then it will be time to work on a few more goldwork frogs on my list. I haven't forgotten those who are still waiting. Soon, dears. Very soon.

Now, Where Was I?...

When last I was involved in a creative pursuit, I was working on the first of these Palmer art pieces to create new zippered pouches. Then The Crud hit and everything was put on hold. 

I pulled these out of my embroidery box to review what I'd wanted to embroidery on them, and I'll get back to needle and thread today. I want these finished and in my shop in time for Valentine's Day.

I also have a Shop Hop Crossbody Bag to create for a custom order I received while I was laid up. That will be ready to ship by Monday to my client. It really is time for me to gently return to my needle dancing. I'll just have to pace myself so I don't relapse.

Thanks for all your care and concern for me. I really felt all your good wishes and prayers. I know my return was faster because of you. I missed you too much to stay away longer.

Royal Squirrel...

Today I thought I'd share a little peek of the project I'm working with right now. I'm calling Michelle Palmer's drawing "Royal Squirrel", and it will become a project bag with a Valentine's Day theme. 

I'm still pondering how much to stitch, though. Musical notes? Little Bird? Acorns? Oak Leaves? Crown? Collar? So many options, but I don't want to overdo embellishing Michelle's already perfect artwork. So, for now, I'm working around the edges.

What are you working on right now? Distract me a little, please. I know I should be busy in the studio, but work kept me out of my creative space yesterday, and will again today for the dinner hour. I'm planning to have my nose to the grindstone all weekend and at least the first half of next week. I should consider a "Help Wanted - Studio Elves" poster. lol

Happy Friday! I hope you have something fun planned for the weekend. The weather is supposed to be a little nicer, but if it's still crazy cold where you are, please stay warm and safe. I'll be back tomorrow.