Comfort Food

Can you tell by my post yesterday that I desperately need some sunshine? I can't remember the last time we had a sunny day.

I did manage to get to the grocery store and WalMart for supplies yesterday. Which was good because I needed some "comfort food". Now, I don't actually comfort myself with anything edible. Instead, I add to my "already more than I need" stash!

While wandering around the craft department in WalMart, I found these beautiful Brocades and Satins:



I was good, I only bought 1/4 yard pieces! And now, I can't wait to sew up some new blocks with them!

While walking past the jewelry department, I noticed a rack with some "sale" items on it so I went over to look at that and found these earrings:



These were only $3.00! I didn't buy them to wear them. They're a bit longer than what I like in earrings but they were purple and kind of look Victorian so I thought I could use them on a crazyquilt. And the cool thing is, there's 2 of them!

I then remembered that the new Quilting Arts magazine usually comes out on March 1st so I hopped in my Hotrod Lincoln (that's the term that Scott uses to refer to my car.) and headed over to Borders bookstore where I found not only the new Quilting Arts magazine but also the new Bead & Button magazine:



The bracelets on the cover of the Bead & Button magazine are gorgeous! I wish I could figure out how to make one. But I have a terrible time trying to comprehend beading without a foundation to sew them onto! I do however think, that those bracelet designs would make for some interesting crazyquilt seam treatments! Hmmmmmm......

Cellphone Pouches

I thought I'd go ahead and post now since I'm waiting for the slop outside to dry up a bit. In the past 12 hours, we've had snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, iceballs....I have so had my fill of having to rearrange my schedule due to weather conditions! I need to get groceries and I'm hoping to go do that soon!

The robin birds are usually back here by now but I haven't seen or heard any yet. I wouldn't want to come back to this mess either!

Ok, onto stitching!

I completed the stitching last night on the Breast Cancer Awareness cellphone pouch:



It's much lighter than it looks here. I should have used the camera since I had it out rather than the scanner.

I added some Swarovski crystals to the SRE roses. The little hummingbird charm came from the bead store in Galena, Illinois. That's the only place I'm able to find those. I kind of ration them because they're expensive at $2.00 a piece. I usually don't use them on cellphone pouches but this one is special.

This pouch is already spoken for. I will be donating $25.00 from the sale of this pouch to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

I'll do the finishing next week so I'll post a final update for you then.

I also completed the finishing on these 2 pouches:





These are ready now for their new owners.

I was asked if anyone actually uses these mini works of art. Yes, I know for a fact that Scott's step-mom uses hers all the time. These are great because they're big enough for a cellphone, cash & credit card. I believe MP3 Players will fit in these too. They can be worn around the neck for hands free shopping, gardening (if Spring ever gets here) and other activities where you don't want to carry a purse!

Ok, I plan to start on the Autism Awareness pouch later today. I'll have photos of that for you tomorrow.

I'm off now for groceries, if I can get my car out of the driveway!

TAST - The Cross Stitch

Sharon, who's a bit under the weather at the moment, has chosen the Cross Stitch as this week's focus for TAST. As you know, the Cross Stitch is my specialty! I've worked it into my current project:



Now this certainly is not one of the defining patterns in my designing career but it sure makes for a pretty seam treatment!

Here's how it looks on the block:



As I mentioned yesterday, this is a Breast Cancer Awareness Charity design. I still have a few more do-dads to add but plan to complete this later today.

For now, I'll be finishing the Blue Butterfly pouch, the Teddy Bear pouch and then piecing the Autism Awareness Charity pouch. I should have loads to share with you tomorrow!

If you like my Cross Stitch seam treatment and would like to try it on your projects, here is the charted pattern:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger version of the pattern. I used 8.5 count Waste Canvas to for perfect spacing.

Red Hat Society Lady Purse Complete!

I have alot to share with you today! I thought I'd start my post today with some finishes. The Red Hat Society Lady purse is complete now:



I love this one so much! It came out so beautiful and perfect! I've added this to my Etsy shop. If you would like to see more photos of it, hop over there and take a peek.

My next finish is this little Spring Chick cellphone pouch:



The beaded crocheted edging at the bottom was made by my mom. I think it looks so pretty! She's made several of these edgings for me as a thankyou for selling some of her things for her.

I was asked what the size is of my cellphone pieces. The actual stitched area is 4 inches wide X 5 inches high. When finished, they measure 4 inches wide X 5 1/2 inches high. I allow an extra 1/2 inch at the bottom for trim.

If anyone wants the Spring pouch, please drop me an email. I'm planning on taking it up to my showcase in Richmond later this week.

Also completed, is the stitching on this pouch:



If you remember, I was asked to make a cellphone pouch without an image on it. I'll do the machine finishing on this tomorrow along with the finishing on the teddy bear pouch and should have a final update on those by the end of the week.

Many of my long time cross stitch followers know that I have several charity organizations that I support. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Our Children's Circle - Autism Awareness and Pet's In Need, my local no-kill animal shelter.

I've decided to do several charity pieces and donate a portion of the selling price to those charities. The first will be the Breast Cancer Awareness Pouch:



I have a vintage rhinestone pin in the shape of a ribbon. I'll be using that as a focal point on this piece. I plan to do the embroidery and embellishing with pinks & greens. I'll be starting the stitching later today.

Tomorrow, since I'll have my sewing machine out, I'll piece the Autism pouch. Kim, my long-time friend and model stitcher was kind enough to stitch up a cross stitch puzzle piece for me which I designed specifically for the Autism Pouch. The puzzle piece is the symbol for Autism.

My Pets In Need pouch is all sewn up but I'll share that when I get to it.

Once these are all complete, I'll get back to some more purses. And that embroidered peacock piece that I've been wanting to do!

I'm off to do some design work. Check back tomorrow for an update on the Breast Cancer Awareness Cellphone Pouch!

TAST - The Fly Stitch

I was glad to know I didn't bore you all too much yesterday with my Living Room drama! It's been quite stressful for me. I like neatness, order, no clutter, "a place for everything and everything in it's place". And I like beauty. But this room is anything but beautiful at the moment!

I kind of have to have "tunnel vision" to deal with it. I set some rules for the space in which I stitch. No clutter on the coffee table, the TV cabinet or the DVD cupboard. This is what's in my range of view and thankfully, my husband has been respectful of that.

When all is said and done, it will be decorated with a Cottage Victorian feel. I'll be sponge painting the walls with an icy aqua glaze. The trim will be white and then I'll be stenciling little bits of ivy here and there. Not all the way around the room, just a bit here and there. I want it to look like a Victorian Sunroom. Eventually, I want white wicker furniture in there but for the moment, I'll have to live with what I have so I'll get some pretty covers for our sofa and chair. When it's done, which probably won't be for another couple of months, I'll share some before and after photos. You really won't believe the difference.

Onto stitching! I completed the handwork on the Red Hat Lady Society Purse yesterday along with the little Spring Cellphone Pouch. My husband took the camera today so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to share photos of those with you. Oh, but just wait until you see them! Esp. that Red Hat Lady!

Once those were complete, I started on this little pouch:



When I started on this, I had no clue about what to do. I wasn't thrilled with how it pieced up. The corners of the black velveteen were too harsh. I found the little butterfly applique in my stash but it was lost in that large space. I decided to try working with it but held off on sewing it down until I had some of the seams covered.

While digging though my "way more than I need" lace stash, I found the blue floral trim that I used to the left of the butterfly. I loved the way it looked and decided to stay with a blue and white color scheme.

If you're new to crazyquilting, that's a really good way to start. Pick one thing that you want to use, and work off of that.

I started with my beloved Feather Stitch on the top seam. I then wanted to work this week's TAST Fly Stitch into this so I covered the bottom seam with that. I of course, can never leave anything as intended so I added what I call "small fan" stitches to the bottom of the Fly Stitch.

That still left way too much space for the butterfly so I moved him up a bit and started my vine (which I use to add movement and soften harsh corners) at the bottom of the black velveteen patch. As you can see, it filled in that excess space! I simply did a stem stitch vine and added the SRE leaves. I was going to do the flowers in SRE too. But I didn't have any icy blue ribbons. In fact, my stash of blue ribbons is very limited so I'll be emailing Pat Winter and asking her if she might be able to put together a small custom pack of blues for me.

I have some design work to do now, so I'll leave you with the charted versions of the traditional Fly Stitch and then my own variation:





Click on one of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger versions of the patterns.

I'll have another update for you tomorrow!