Stitching Friends Forever

September Friendship
Postcard Hop
Winner of stitching shirt
Styling with Stitches
SAL update

In this past year we have had the privilege to get to know so many of you and you have become a part of our "stitching friends" family.   Right now one of our dearest stitching friends is going through a very rough time.   If you have read Vickie's post, you know that Jenny's husband Scott's cancer has spread.  We need prayers, lots and lots of prayers for this very kind and loving family.

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Postcard Hop

Jo has started this enjoyable hop where you send a summer cross stitch postcard to an online stitching friend.  We received a beautiful card from lovely Kaye in Australia  She wrote: "Dreaming of summer on a freezing winter day Downunder"

Isn't it a great summer stitch?   We love the colors and the pretty house and of course the big flag.  Thank you so much Kaye for thinking of us.  We enjoyed receiving your wonderful postcard

You can visit Kaye and see more of her lovely stitches at http://kittenstitching.blogspot.com/

You can read more about this fun hop at Jo's blog at www.serendipitousstitchingblogspot.co.uk

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Winner

Congratulations Vickie on winning the sweet cross stitch shirt that Mary brought home from her favorite cross stitch store in Florida.



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Styling with Stitches

This is our friendship month so our stitches today are ones we have made for each other. Having a best friend to stitch for is more fun than even stitching for yourself.   And when you hear they love it, it makes all of the hard work worth it.  So we thought you would enjoy seeing two of the gifts we sent to each other that made us both very happy.


RJ's
For my gift to Mary, I chose the pattern Mary Valentine's Handework.   Mary loves birds and WTNT designs so I thought she would like this one a lot.  I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.   My favorite part is how the wing of the bird is satin stitched and how that makes it stand out.   I also like the urn and pretty flowers.

To finish I used the perfect fabric that Mary found at a quilt show (she didn't know that she was contributing to her gift)   It blended so well with the thread colors and mimics the flowers in the stitch.  I did a herringbone stitch between the cross stitch and the fabric and then added a basket charm.

This is the first door hanging I did with the closing in the back and I'll be doing them that way from now on.   It gives such a nice look and sits on the bottom perfectly.  This is one I'll be making for myself too!

I love the beautiful setting Mary used to photograph my stitched gift to her

The gorgeous vase came from Mary's Aunt.  It was a gift Mary's parents gave her Grandmother when they were dating.  Mary admired it while visiting her Aunt in Florida and weeks later it arrived in the mail to her home.  She does such wonderful flower displays and this beautiful vase is the perfect accompaniment 

Closeup of my favorite parts: the satin wing, the basket charm and the herrringbone stitch

Mary Valentine's Handework
by With thy Needle and Thread
40 ct. country mocha linen
over dyed threads from my stash
charm from Bohemian Findings at Etsy

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Mary's
For RJ's gift I chose Button Button! from With thy Needle and Thread by Brenda Gervais.  I could not go wrong selecting a pattern by Brenda as RJ loves her designs and if you haven't realized already, Brenda is my favorite designer.

The pretty blue birds are what originally attracted me to this stitch but I had an idea of another use for this pattern.  If you are not familiar with this pattern it is shown with rows of buttons in the blank space under the birds. Instead of sewing on the buttons and having it as a solely decorative piece, I thought that area would be perfect to hold your threaded needles when stitching.

So, I enlisted the talented Faye Riggsbee of Carolina Stitcher blog to fulfill my vision. ( I wanted a standing flat fold for this project and my sewing skills were not up to the task.)

Faye exceeded my expectations!! I love how she added the pretty blue wool fabric to line the back and layered it to hold the needles.  The standing flat fold is so practical and yet decorative.  I was thrilled with her finishing and I know RJ was too!!  

RJ styled such a pretty vignette! 

I hope RJ enjoys many years of use! 

 Cording and pretty little beaded pins on the sides

Buttons Buttons!
by With Thy Needle and Thread
32 ct. linen
called for threads
Finishing by Carolina Stitcher

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SAL update
We are so close to being finished! This has been such a pleasure to stitch   Here is our newest progress.

RJ's SAL

It's almost done!!!

Closeup of the new stitches

Mary's SAL

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We love having you stop by for a visit.  Next post is our grab bag and it will be fun.   We love visiting your blogs too so let us know if we don't know about you yet so we can add you to our sidebar.   And, thank you so much for becoming "Stitching Friends".  You all are much appreciated.


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        Friends are God's way of taking care of us.