Sharon's Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge Has Begun!

Good Morning everyone! I am still a bit under the weather here. Well, actually more than a bit! Today I will be parking myself on my sofa, stitching and watching movies. I am hoping by tomorrow, the worst of this will have passed and I can get on with my usual routine of buzzing around the house and doing my thing. I'm not one to sit still for long periods of time but I guess that's how today will have to be.

Sharon started off her "Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge" with the Herringbone stitch. I'll admit, this has never been one of my favorites. I'm not sure why I never really liked it. I use it on occasion but it always looks too straight to me. I think I like stitches that have a scallop to them.

I gathered a bit of strength a few minutes ago and dug through my stash in search of a piece of 14 count Aida. I decided to actually play with this stitch a bit and see if I can't make the Herringbone into something that I do like.

I'm really not a formal person and would prefer not to keep a stitch dictionary or start a journal on this. I just thought I'd work these stitches like a sampler on fabric and see what I come up with. So please check back tomorrow to see what I do with this.

Also, stop back shortly for Part 1 of the Dryer Sheet Pansy tutorial. I'll have that ready and published in a few minutes. First, I need to drag myself into my kitchen and get some juice!

Happy New Year!

First, I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a healthy, prosperous and happy New Year! May we all have loads and loads of stitching and sewing time!

I spent most of yesterday stitching on the pansy purse:



The white fabric that you see to the left is the excess foundation fabric. I fold it up and pin it so it doesn't get in my way.

Anyway, I've started the beading on this which is my favorite part of crazyquilting. The stitching is always fun and wonderful but the beads enhance the stitching and add light,depth and dimension to the project.

Tomorrow marks the start date of Sharon's "Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge". For those of who read Sharon's blog regularly, you probably already know that she's had tons of spam issues. If you don't read Sharon's blog on a regular basis, hop over and bookmark her alternate blog site which she set up just in case her regular blog goes down again.

As I've been mentioning over the past few weeks, I will be offering you the tutorial for making Dryer Sheet Pansies. I will publish Part 1 tomorrow.

Until then everyone, have a safe and Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve

I woke up yesterday morning with a bit of a chest cold. Nothing terrible but by the time we got back from running errands, I was tired and didn't have the energy to do much other than stitch and watch movies.

I so much wanted to sew up a new block but instead, pulled one already sewn from my stash:



Yes, this will be another purse. I love the colors in this! I plan to stitch on this most of today, once I complete my end of year paperwork and finish up writing the tutorial for the Dryer Sheet Pansies which is coming on Tuesday.

I'm really looking forward to Sharon's "Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge" project. I have loads of fun ideas and will probably get in sync with what Sharon's doing once things get rolling. Since I needed time to write the tutorial (and make a sample) I thought I would start with the Pansy project as I know I have many readers waiting for that.

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to offer their suggestions on how to clean that beautiful vintage collar that I found at the antique mall. Special thanks to Lynne for doing a bit of research on the store! It didn't occur to me that they might still exist!

I sent a photo over to my mom and she said it can safely be dry cleaned so that's most likely what I'll do. The foundation and backing fabric are satin.

I hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve. We aren't planning to go anywhere. Instead, we'll make some shrimp cocktail, a Pina Colada and watch television.

Vintage Collar

Again, I don't have any stitching to share today. I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms! I've had a little trouble deciding on what I want to start on. Sometimes, it's not good to have so many ideas!

Today, I thought you would enjoy seeing this beautiful vintage collar that I found last weekend at the antique mall:



It needs to be washed but I'm a little afraid to do that. I thought about having it dry-cleaned but I have reservations about that as well. I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure how old it is but I'm assuming it's from the 40's or 50's based on the style. What are you're thoughts? Do any of my readers have experience with cleaning something like this? Can anyone confirm the 40's/50's era for me?

There is a tag on the back that says, "Made In India" - Baar & Beards Inc N.Y.

I'm sure it won't be any surprise to you that I plan to use it to make a purse. I can see this along the edge of a purse flap, with crazyquilting in the center.

So this is what I really want to start on but until I can determine if I can clean it or not, I'll put that idea on hold and do something else instead. As soon as I can decide on what the "something" else will be!

We Have A Winner!

Congradulations to Lynne Gabbe-Harkcom for being the first person to post the correct answer to the question, "What was my first published design?".

The name of the design is technically, "Mr. Snowman" but the information online states it as "Snowman On A Blanket" so Lynne, you are the winner!

I sold this design to Leisure Arts in 1989 and it wasn't published until 1993! Talk about having to have patience!

Yes, the name of the magazine is Celebrations To Cross Stitch And Crafts, the Winter 1993 issue:



And here is a photo of the design:



I don't know if this was too easy or too hard! But I enjoy having contests and am already planning on another one!

Lynne, when you have a free moment, I need you to send me your snail mail address so I can mail your prize to you!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to search for the answer.