Stitching Friends Forever

May flowers
Week two

RJ's Grab Bag

Here is my newest stitch that I have been working on for grab bag week.   It is a baby sampler by Lizzie Kate called Welcome Baby.  I love LK patterns because they are easy, quick stitches and fun to do.   It is a gift for one my close friend’s new little granddaughter, Amelia.

PHOTO

My tip on framing

If you are like me, custom framing has gotten so expensive that I hardly ever use it.   But I love to make stitches for other people and frame them.   So I have been changing the pattern a tiny bit to make them fit a store bought frame perfectly.   The Lizzie Kate baby sampler was stitched on 40ct. flax and it came out to be 2  ½ by 3 ½. The width was perfect but the length of the stitch needed to be an inch longer for a perfect fit.  It needed to be 2 ½ by 4 ½ to fit my 4 by 6 frame.  So this is what I did.   I stitched the sampler to the birth date and stopped.   Then I measured down from the top of the stitch 4 ½ inches and marked it.   I then stitched the bottom border up from the marked spot.  This left just about an inch of linen space to stitch.

Disclaimer:   these are just examples of things you can use to add to your stitch to make it longer.   They are not perfectly centered yet or in the perfect colors for this stitch (just tucked in).  The last photo will be the real gift with the right colors and alignment.   

Here it is with the extra space to make the stitch fit the frame.

Now I had to fill that extra inch of linen with something.   Lots of things came to mind… like how about a strip of lace?   Wouldn’t that be pretty for a little girl?

  Just added for display purposes. 

Or maybe some large rick rack?

If this was the real finish I would have used a different color rick rack.

Or how about ribbon and buttons?

Would have used a more delicate ribbon and little vintage white buttons if it was to stay.

How about a strip of ribbon?

Definitely would have used a wider ribbon the color of the border if it was staying.  But I like the polka dot for a little girl.

Or you could stitch a cute little saying like:

                                                               SUGAR AND SPICE

                                                      AND EVERYTHING NICE

Here is my finished baby sampler.  I chose to make 10 long stem tulips to fill in the empty space.  It also has an attached heart button.  But you can see there are lots of choices to pick from to add to the empty space and I'm sure you will come up with even more.

I made up the tulips so I hope you can tell that is what they are!

closeup of the 10 added tulips to the stitch

Welcome Baby
by Lizzie Kate
40 ct. flax linen
over dyed threads
Kohl's frame

I can’t wait to buy a pretty little outfit and wrap it all up and take to little Amelia Faye.

Side note:

In the past I have bought all of my frames at craft stores like Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Joann’s.  But I found they had so little depth, it was hard to close them in the back after putting a finished cross stitch in.   Then I discovered these great frames at Kohl’s.   The line is called Maison and they have enough depth to fit your stitch even with buttons and charms attached.   And the back closes easily.   They list at $15.99 but they are on sale all the time for half price and then if you have a 30% off coupon too you can get them for $5.60.   Now that’s pretty good for a well made frame with lots of room for your stitches.   I always stock up when the deal is that good.


Stitching Challenge

We made a small change and moved our stitching challenge to week two to join our grab bag week.  I was able to get another Santa stitched and Mary stitched her Christmas ornament and now they are just waiting to be finished. Come join us and make a challenge for yourself?   

                                                           RJ's Santa challenge

I was able to get my second Santa stitched this week.  This is a Prairie Schooler design from the booklet Santas Revisited III.   I love gardening themes so I especially enjoyed stitching this one.   I used all over dyed threads that I had and am pleased with the choices.   Well two down and lets hope many, many more to come!

I collect vintage water cans and can't resist stitches that they are in.

Cayenne, Cidermill Brown, Wood Trail, Wisper White, DMC 950, Antique Rose, Otter Creek, Wheat Fields and Tomato over dyed threads were used

Prairie Schooler Garden Santa
Santas Revisited III
32 ct. raw linen
over dyed threads

                                                           🔻

                                                   Mary's ornament challenge

My challenge is to alternate months between Prairie Schooler Barnyard Christmas and the LHN Christmas ornaments.  I have a precious 3 year old nephew that I'm making the animal ornaments for.  I look forward to selecting from my large LHN stash next month.  With this challenge, I may finally get them all finished.

Here are all of the Barnyard Christmas ornaments.   I think my nephew will love them.

The PS horse was stitched with called for DMC colors with the exception of Weeks Red Rocks and Crescent Colors English Ivy.  This is my fabric choice for the ornament.

Prairie Schooler Barnyard Christmas
32 ct. beige linen with a distinctive green tint
DMC and over dyed threads

Looking forward to seeing you next week with our old stitches dressed up.  And we will be sharing our cute freebie find on the third week too.    Keep on stitching!!!   Mary and RJ


                              You are as welcome as the flowers in May
                                                          Charles Maclin