Bonnet Lady Pillowcases

Well, I was all excited about sharing some photos with you this week but photography isn't my medium! I should have taken everything outside and layed them out on the table on the deck because my outside photos are usually much better than my inside photos. I suppose I could have re-taken them but with so many things to stitch, I kind of think what came out is enough for you to see.

So, I'll start with this set of Bonnet Lady pillowcases that my mom made for me awhile back. The skirts are crocheted and the ladies are embroidered. I'm not sure if this is from a vintage pattern that mom has or maybe she purchased a reproduction pattern. Anyway, here is the photo:



We don't use these to sleep on but rather, I display them on the bed as pillowshams. I only handwash them.

And here is a photo of them on the bed:



The bed is an antique from the late 1800's. I believe it's Walnut. I bought the silk floral garland and added the ribbon bows to it. My mother made both the quilt on the bed and the one at the foot of the bed. I stitched the bird pillow back in the 80's, long before I got married and only sewed it into a pillow a few years ago.

Quick Update

Well, I don't have any photos for you at the moment. I didn't quite finish my vintage style apron yet. I still have 1 more motif stitch and I'll do that this afternoon while watching my Cubs Baseball game.

I do have a nice visual treat for you this coming week! I had my digi camera out earlier and I've taken some photos of......well, I guess you'll all have to check back to find out what I have to share! For those of you who are into aprons, linens, embroidery, cross stitch.....like I said, you'll have to stay tuned!

The Moonlit Peacock

BluePeacockBlock
Originally uploaded by Kitty And Me.

Well, while I was working on the Pink Peacock block, I started to feel as if the blue peacock block needed just a little more embellishing. While playing with my buttons for the pink one, I also layed a few buttons out on this block. The button I used just happened to land where it is now next to the peacock and instantly, it looked like the moon to me! It even has a "glow" to it! I knew then that my blue peacock was now enjoying a moonlit evening!

Also, I liked the way my tatted flowers looked on my pink peacock block so I did a few for this block as well.

My biggest challenge with these is to not cover my brocades too much. I love the brocades and I always and them to show up well. Anyway, I think the tatted flowers worked out well so look for more of them in upcoming blocks!

The Pink Peacock Is Now Complete!

Brown Block8
Originally uploaded by Kitty And Me.

Well, I'm actually a little sad that I've completed this block. I have so much enjoyed working on it. I trimmed the bottom right brown velvet patch with some metallic gold braid. It's sort of an antique gold. Very pretty. I embellished that a bit with some gold beads and some embroidery.

I went back to the top right patch and embellished the rose applique with some flower beads, then added some more flower beads to the seam above the feather.

I added a small filagree charm to the patch on the right of the peacock and that left me with white patch at the top left.

I tried various buttons and charms and nothing seemed to work. Then I had the idea to do a few little tatted flowers. Perfect! I worked those up, sewed them down, stitched a few leaves and added some seed beads and guess what? It's complete. I can't tell you how much I love this block! It sure looks different than it did before I started doesn't it?

Creative Finishing

JanetsSmokeyJoeFramed
Originally uploaded by Kitty And Me.

Many cross stitchers are not ready or willing to move beyond the grid. Some stitchers simply enjoy stitching from a chart and just don't care to try anything else and that's understandable. Cross stitch is easy to do and easy to take along and goodness knows there are so many wonderful charts available these days!

So how does one add their own personal touch of creativity to counted cross stitch? Through the finishing of course!

This is my Smokey Joe Mystery Stitch-Along project. I offered this stitch-along to my cross stitch followers earlier this year. I wanted to share this photo with you because I love how Janet and her husband finished it.

Janet's husband stitched this piece. I thought the addition of the silk ivy & floral garland along with the butterfly was a perfect example of creative finishing! It goes to show that anything can be embellished!

I'd like to thank Janet for not only sharing her photo with me, but also for graciously allowing me to share this photo with my readers. Thank you Janet!