Update On Bird Purse

I had every intention of doing the Palestrina Stitch on here. The Palestrina Stitch is of course Sharon's pick for this week's TAST Challenge. You may have noticed, that I haven't participated in TAST for the past couple of weeks. That's because I honestly don't care for some of the more complicated stitches. For me, I find the simple, basic stitches quite functional and attractive and they serve their purpose well for me.

I love the way the Palestrina Stitch looked on Sharon's example so I was determined to do it here on my Bird Purse. After 1/2 an hour of staring at the stitch diagram, not being able to figure out how do that knot, I gave up and opted for the Buttonhole Stitch instead. That produced a similar effect, so I accomplished the look I was going for but it doesn't have that cool knot along the edge:



I have a terrible time figuring out how to do stitches that have a knot involved! I will attempt this again sometime but I'll admit, I was getting annoyed last night because I wanted to stitch, not stare at a diagram. Call me "Complicated Stitch Challenged"! Remember my struggle with the Cast-On Stitch? I mastered it, but I find them fussy and time consuming. I've found that it's easier for me to do tatted circles and then sew them on rather than working the Cast-On Stitch directly on my block.

The point that I'm trying to make here, is that stitching should be fun, not a chore. If your goal is to learn and master stitches that are new to you, then stick with it. You'll get the hang of them.

If your goal is to stitch for the sake of relaxing or to make something beautiful, then I say follow your bliss and do what you love. Stitch! That's what I do. I follow my bliss. There is nothing that I enjoy doing more than stitching and creating. It's what drives me. It's what guides my focus and gives me purpose.

Ok everyone, have a great day and follow your bliss! Go Stitch!!!

New Design Release

My newest design appears in the June 2007 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine:



Designed for a Showcase Huck Towel from Charles Craft, this vintage inspired "Basket Of Posies" design can be found on page 52:

Vogart Fruit Pattern For Custom Apron

Just a quick update on this project today:



I completed the stitching last night during the ballgame. I just love these old patterns! So next week, I'll take a day and sew it into the apron.

I didn't have time to start on my bird purse:



I'll begin stitching on this later today.

I was asked awhile back about how and when to sew lace and trim on. Well, normally, I sew it on after the block is pieced. I simply decide what I want to use, open the seam, tuck the lace or trim in and close the seam with a couple of blind stitches. The fancy stitches will hold it in place.

On occasion, I sew the lace in when I piece the block. That's what I did with the bird block. I knew when I pieced it that I wanted to use the aqua blue lace so I did it when I was sewing.

I'm off to Richmond to take my Ocean Garden Cellphone Pouch to my showcase.

Have a great day everyone! See ya tomorrow!

Silk Rods Are Back At Larkspur Funny Farm!

If you were interested in the hand dyed Silk Rods that I mentioned in my April 12th post, they're back in loads of gorgeous colors!



You can find them here at Larkspur Funny Farm Etsy shop!

I asked Grace for a couple of custom packs with a variety of colors. If you're interested in something like, drop Grace a message. She replies very quickly!!!

Vintage Style Apron Embroidery

I didn't quite finish the stitching on this last night:



I expect to complete this later today and then next week, I'll take a day and sew the apron together.

For some reason, I prefer to sew during the day. It's probably the natural daylight that makes me feel more comfortable with sewing. I prefer to work on the computer during the day as well. Now for stitching, I can do that anytime!

When I finish stitching up the fruit design, I'll be starting on my next crazy quilt purse project:



Again I'll be using one of my vintage pins from my flea market trip last weekend. I love this little birdie and I love the way he looks on this block. My plan is to give this a very vintage look but sometimes, the block takes over and just tells me what it wants. Many times, they just turn out however they turn out. It's a "go with the flow thing" for me. There are some pieces that although I have a plan for them, I'm not completely set on it having to turn out that way. So stop by again to see what direction this takes!