Stitching Friends Forever

June Birds and Bees
Week three 

Before we get started with our stitches, we want to say thank you for the tremendous response to our give away.  We are happy you like it and want to be included.  If you have not signed up yet, there is still time ... the sign up will continue until July 13 th! Requirements are simple: just be a sidebar follower and leave a comment where you are from so we can put you in the correct drawing.  If you forgot to let us know which drawing you need to be in there is still plenty of time to let us know.  Details of the give away can be found in the June 16th Grab Bag post.

Something Old Made New

We have some old stitches that we have been working on this week to add a little something extra to their original finish.   For June we picked two of our favorite oldies.

RJ - I picked Sleigh bird by Little by Little.   I saw this stitch on Twisted Stitcher one afternoon and had to find the pattern.   I totally fell in love with it.   I searched the title on google but did not have a lot of luck until one day I found it on an online source called Stitching Bits and Pieces.  It was a tricky one to stitch but it really caught my attention and so I made two of them.  The first one I stitched on 30 ct linen and it was nice but bigger than I like so I stitched the second one on 35 ct. cocoa linen and liked it much better.  I decided to stitch the word Noel instead of the called for year because it would be going on my little French tree.   

Before:

I love this stitch but it needed a little more!

After: When I think of those old sleighs, bells come to mind.  So that is what I did.  I added some bells to the sleigh rim. At the top, I put a bow and a few larger bells.  Luckily, Mary had the perfect sized bells for the sleigh bird ornament. It was a simple addition but just enough to make a difference. 

Closeup of Sleigh bird

Sitting under some lights in the bookcase and next to a vintage birdcage

Mary sent me this adorable little stand which worked perfectly for this ornament

Sleigh Bird
 Little by Little Designs
35 ct. Weeks Cocoa Linen one over two
Called for over dyed threads

                                                                                💙


Mary - Little House Needleworks "Seven Pines" is my old ornament that I have updated with a new look.  This was a fast and easy update since all I had to do was add a bell charm, a small heart button and a cording bow.  You can find the bell charm at A.C. Moore.

This was a complimentary chart from LHN that can be found here.

I used the called for threads with the exception of Crescent Colors English Ivy for the trees.

Before:

I added a red border around the stitch.

After:

You can see I added a red heart, a twine bow and a bell charm.

Here's a closeup of the bell charm.

Seven Pines
Little House Needlworks
30 ct. linen
called for threads
charm is from AC Moore

                                                              June Freebie 
Here is our June freebie from With Thy Needle and Thread.   Love the birds on top of the basket and the alphabet that is surrounding it.   You can find this chart here.

Next week we will be back with our new stitches for June.   Hope to see you then.
                                                                   RJ and Mary

                             Bee yourself because everyone else is taken.

                                                     author unknown