Week four
Something New
Spring has sprung and the weather has been beautiful. Hope you are enjoying great days by you too. This is our week for sharing new ornaments with a garden/flower theme. Hope you like the two we picked to stitch.
RJ - I chose Sweet Violet by With Thy Needle and Thread. The pattern was much too big for an ornament so I made some changes. I only stitched Violet, her sheep and the flowers to the right of her. Everything on her left I did not stitch. I also left off the pretty checkerboard lawn and the top border. By subtracting parts of the stitch, it brought it down to ornament size. I added Fleurs to the top right side because she would be going on my French tree.
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| Here you can see the cute purple buttons and the watering can charm plus the great little fabric patches |
The purple wool for the flowers was not available any longer on Country Stitches so I found these really cute purple flower buttons and they did the trick. Mary sent me small pieces of three coordinating fabrics that worked perfectly at the bottom. The fabric all the way to the right is seersucker and too cute for words. There was not enough for the back so I used a purple polka dot fabric and then chose a polka dot ribbon up at the top for the bow. I used over dyed threads I already had from another project to stitch Violet because I don't use purples very often. They worked out well.
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| Here's a closeup of the three fabrics that go so well together. I just put a X stitch between the seams and added a small silver watering can just like the can Violet is holding. |
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| Sweet Violet by With Thy Needle And Thread 40 ct. flax linen over dyed threads I had on hand buttons and charm |
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Mary - Garden Pleasures by Little House Needleworks is my new stitch for June. It was a pleasure stitching this for my sister who is a wonderful gardener. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of trying to frame it myself. I measured twice and still made a mistake! I cut the right side too short for the frame and the fabric barely fits and it pulls unevenly. So, I am on a quest for a new frame that is smaller in size so I can re-frame it. Has this happened to anyone else?
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| She is such a sweet gardener who grows such lovely plants. This was a enjoyable stitch! |
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| Garden Pleasures by Little House Needleworks 30 ct. linen called for threads |
Have a great stitching week. Hope to see you next week for our June Styling with Stitches project. Mary and RJ
Where flowers bloom so does hope
Lady Bird Johnson
Two really gorgeous finishes, ladies - I love them both (although as purple is one of my very favourite colours, I am drawn to Sweet Violet).
ReplyDeleteHi Kaye,thank you and so happy you came for a visit. I love Sweet Violet too, a perfect stitch for Spring. Mary
DeleteHi Kaye! We are so happy you stopped by to see us. I was not a fan of purple but after this stitch I will be stitching with this color more often. RJ
DeleteGorgeous finishes ladies! RJ I love purple and green together so your latest finish is right up my street, plus the little details you used to finish are really cute.
ReplyDeleteMary - I think you are very brave even attempting to frame yourself! I have stitched Garden Pleasures but I'm afraid it's stuffed away in a drawer somewhere...
Hi Justine! We are always happy to see you. I really fell in love with those fabrics Mary sent me which gave me the idea to do a patchwork. You have to pull out Garden Pleasures. It's too pretty to sit in a drawer. RJ
DeleteJustine, you need to get your Garden Pleasures out of that drawer!! The joy for me is in the stitching, not the finishing. I think that is true of many stitchers. Thanks for visiting. Mary
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Ladies! What beautiful stitching and finishing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Mii, enjoy the rest of your week. Mary
DeleteThank you Mii! I love your new stitch too and hope I can win that pretty pattern. RJ
DeleteHi Mary and RJ--you both stitched up some adorable spring garden themed ladies! Just love the colors you chose for the fabrics for the violet piece--how nice that Mary sent them to you, RJ. That makes the piece even more special! Your little watering can charm is so perfect--do you have a special place where you buy your charms. I had a nice stash of charms that I purchased on Ebay years ago, but it is starting to dwindle...
ReplyDeleteLuckily, it looks like you have plenty of fabric to re-frame it in a smaller size, Mary. I am not a great do-it-yourself framer, but I try on the smaller things. It's just too expensive to send everything to a pro!
Happy June to you!
Hi Carol, https://www.etsy.com/shop/BohemianFindings?ref=l2-shopheader-name, this is the link to where RJ and I purchased quite a lot of charms, they are very nicely made and quick shipping. I was thrilled that I could send RJ fabrics that went so well with her pretty stitch. I love how she added the little crosses on the seams, I'm going to steal that idea! Carol, you would not want to see the back of this piece, any big projects in the future will go to a framer! so glad you stopped by for a visit. Mary
DeleteHi Carol! We are so glad you came by to see us. Mary gave you a good link for where we bought a ton of cute charms but the little water can came from Joann's. They put them half price a lot. RJ
DeleteBoth pieces are so sweet--love them both! I'm not a "purple" person, but the coordinating fabrics on Sweet Violet are perfect and really "make" the piece--good collaboration there ladies.
ReplyDeleteMary, another solution to your framing issue is to sew a strip of muslin to the edge of your linen and use that to wrap around the back of your mounting board. Thanks for sharing!
Stasi, that is a great suggestion and I'm going to do exactly that!! Thanks for the great idea, Mary
DeleteHi Stasi...you gave Mary some great advice for helping her fix her stitch. I'm not usually a purple person either but that big watering can was calling my name. I loved the fabrics Mary sent me too and was so happy to receive them. RJ
DeleteLove the details on Sweet Violet RJ. I am glad you have nice borders to work with Mary. It looks like you will be able to go down just a bit on a frame and be fine.
ReplyDeleteHi Vickie, RJ is a great "detail" person, I'm learning lots from her. I learned to measure more than once from this project! Mary
DeleteThank you Vickie. Sweet Violet was fun to work on. I was a little bummed when I couldn't get the wool to make her flowers but delighted when I found those buttons to fill in. Another great solution for Mary on her frame. RJ
DeleteWhat super flower/gardening designs you both selected for May! RJ, I love the additions to yours -- the purple flower buttons, the little stitches in the fabric seams, and the watering can charm. Mary, I like how you framed yours for your gardening sister. Some people have attached a coordinating fabric around the sides of a design if their frame is bigger than their fabric.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing what you both come up with during June.
Hi Robin, another great idea on how to fix this! Everyone has been so helpful. Looking forward to your visit next week,it's hard to believe June is hear already, especially with the dreary weather in NY. Mary
DeleteThank you Robin! I enjoyed working on this ornament because of all of the details it had. I'm so grateful to Mary for sending me the perfect fabrics which got the whole idea started. You have given Mary the perfect solution for her framed piece. Have a great week. RJ
DeleteRJ, I love to pick some large designs and stitch small parts of it! ;) Another fantastic piece!
ReplyDeleteMary, your piece is gorgeous! I like the idea of Robin, a beautiful frabric on the sides!
Hugs,
Lili
Hi Lili! You are a girl after my own heart. I'm always choosing larger patterns and cutting things out so they can still be made into ornament size. Glad you like Violet. I agree I like Robin's advice for the framing too. RJ
DeleteHi Lili, Thank you, I think the quest is on for the perfect fabric to add to the sides, I like that idea a lot. Have a great week! Mary
DeleteGreat stitching Ladies!
ReplyDeleteMary, I think your piece looks fine just the way it is.
It was stitched and framed with love and I am sure your sister will not even notice!
RJ, your piece looks adorable!! Love the colors and the perfect picks of fabrics used to make it into an ornament!
Thank you Faith! So happy you stopped by to see us. Those fabrics that Mary sent really made the piece come alive. It was a fun one to work on. I love Mary's framed piece too...beautiful colors. RJ
DeleteThank you Faith, It will bug me to no end though!! I would love to find a framer that doesn't charge too much, it's certainly a skill to frame well. Have a great week, Mary
DeleteLove the X stitches between the seams! Such a clever idea.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried to frame anything! Getting everything centered and laced tightly enough would be nerve racking for me.
Jackie, I think I'll leave the framing to the professional's in the future. I agree, I had a nerve wracking time of it! Mary
DeleteHi Jackie! I was just looking online at fabrics at Cinnamons...now that is a coincidence. So glad you like the stitches between the seams. Framing is tricky for sure. RJ
ReplyDeleteRJ and Mary...I LOVE Sweet Violet as an ornament...the coordinating fabric and accessories are perfect! Did you use your sewing machine to attach the fabric and add the cross stitches after? What a great effect the cross stitches have!
ReplyDeleteMary...I really can't see any problem in your framing! We are always more aware of our own boo-boos. I just finished a piece where the width is greater than the length and the fabric was cut for that, but I turned it the wrong way to stitch it...leaving myself short of fabric on the length...I'm getting ready to frame it and I think the left margin will be shorter than the right...Aaaack!
Hi Susan! We are always happy to see you. Yes I sewed the three little patchwork fabric pieces together with the sewing machine and then I just did regular cross stitches at the seams before I sewed the back on.
DeleteDid you read Robin suggestion for adding fabric to the stitch to give you a bigger piece to frame? RJ
Susan, I agree, we are much more aware of our errors than others are, at least I hope so! Can you use a mat to hide the shortage? I also love the idea of adding fabric, it's so frustrating when we make an error like that. Good luck with your framing!! Mary
DeleteTwo more lovely finishes. I really like the purple patchwork pillow, I'm quite a fan of purple!
ReplyDeleteFor the frame you could get a mount and attach the stitching to the back of the mount using doublesided tape. I am very mean with my margins so do that quite often!
Thanks Jo, another great suggestion. I love RJ's stitch too, perfect for Spring. Happy Stitching, Mary
DeleteHi Jo! Thanks for the kind words. Great to have you here. RJ
DeleteBeautiful needlework. I love all of the projects. I'm so glad you stopped in at my blog Mary. I may not ever have found this lovely one. I'm a for sure follower!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you visited our blog and thrilled your following! Mary
DeleteWelcome Linda! So happy to have you following our blog. Mary and I will definitely be following you too. Have a great week. RJ
DeleteDear Mary,
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful things can make the hands of a beautiful and warm person! I appreciate very much everything I can see with you here. I delight my heart and my eye.
Hot hugs, Mia
Hello Mia,
DeleteWelcome to stitching friends forever. So happy Mary found you and told you about our blog. It is good to meet a new friend. RJ
Mia, so glad you came by to visit our blog. Thank you for your sweet compliments. Mary
ReplyDeleteI love the buttons and fabrics on Violet. What a pretty finish. I have never framed any of my cross-stitch myself, but the current cost of having even something small framed is making me reconsider. I will have to remember to measure twice and cut once. I hope you find a smaller frame. That piece is quite pretty.
ReplyDeleteHi Cathie, I framed just a few myself and you would not want to see the back of them! I'M looking forward to seeing your Baker Bridge framed. Have a great week, Mary
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathie for stopping by. The cost is so high these days it makes you try framing yourself. I probably wouldn't do a bit one but I do all my small stitches. I was lucky to find those buttons after the wool was gone. RJ
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ReplyDeleteThese are two wonderful pincushions, and with birds, which is always an extra plus for me. I love to see cross stitched birds and I love to stitch them myself. And of course I love to watch the birds in our garden :)
ReplyDeleteThe finishing of both pincushions is fantastic.
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