Stitching Friends Forever

August Sunflowers
week one

When we think of August, our thoughts go to beautiful sunflowers standing tall and following the sun.   We both love sunflowers so we really liked finding patterns to follow this month's theme.

STYLING WITH STITCHES

We have two special projects to share.  For quite awhile, we have been thinking of new ways to use larger stitches and our favorite way is making pillow pinafores. We thought we could make a new one for each month and special holidays.

They would be easier to make than a pillow and would store flat so we could have lots of them.  Plus you only need to buy one pillow.  We chose to use a nice rectangle down filled pillow from Ballards Design during a great sale.   And that means lots of uses for big stitches!

We will make two pinafores a year and every time one of us makes a pinafore the other will make a word play.   We immediately fell in love with the monthly word plays from With Thy Needle and Thread and decided to make them all.


RJ's pinafore -  I chose the pattern Sunflower House by Plum Street Samplers.   There were so many details on this stitch that I loved like the horse and buggy, the sunflowers, the barn and of course the great American flag.

I changed it up quite a bit because I wanted it to be longer for a pinafore.  So instead of stitching the random Shaker signs, I decided to add a whole row of them across the lower section of the stitch.  Then I took a song line from the Beatles "I'll Follow the Sun" for my next added row.   I finished it with a long row of tall sunflowers.   I used the sunflower design from the August word play to make them.  I kept the border going around the whole stitch.  This was my first Plum Street Sampler cross stitch but it definitely will not be my last.  In fact we have purchased quite a few more for the coming months.  I loved this pattern because it took on so much personality with each completed section.   When I got to the end, I was sorry there was no more to stitch.

Well here it is ... my first cross stitched pillow pinafore!

Tried it out on another chair for better light.   Forget "sunny Florida"...we have only had rain!!!

The pattern ended where the horse and buggy are.  So I added a row of Shaker signs, a line from a Beatles song and a long row of tall sunflowers to make it longer.

I used black ticking, black gingham ribbon and black buttons.

Sorry I cut off the flowers and the border but I wanted you to see the details.  The border is black and the red like the barn.  

Sunflower House
by Plum Street Samplers
40 ct. flax Newcastle linen
over dyed threads

                                                        ❤❤❤

Mary's word play -  When I found out that RJ was using Sunflower House for her August pinafore, I was thrilled because it meant a "no work" post for me!  She had sent me this beautiful Word Play as a birthday gift in 2014.  This is such a delightful series and my favorite month is August.  Not only is it my birthday month, but I love the garden theme which included sunflowers, tiny bees, a hive and a sweet girl holding a watering can. It is such a charming stitch and you can see why we were both smitten with the whole series.

I loved the finish of this pretty stitch which included hanging vintage buttons, the perfect coordinating fabric and the sweet addition of a stitched sunflower on the back with a running stitch.

But, the best part of this gift is it was stitched with love.  I am so fortunate to have RJ as a dear friend and my blogging partner.  One could not ask for a more generous, kinder soul and I'm blessed to have her in my life.

I display my word plays on my curio cabinet

Close up of the stitch and the hanging buttons

I love the backing fabric RJ chose

Such a sweet additon

August Word Play
by With Thy Needle and Thread
35 ct. Abecedarian linen
called for over dyed threads

Have a great week of stitching.  Next week we have a really neat grab bag post and also our stitching challenges to share. Hope to see you then.   RJ and Mary

                              Tomorrow may rain so I’ll follow the sun

                                                       The Beatles