Bird Purse Continued

The bird purse is coming along nicely! I did some beading on it yesterday:



The bird pin is now permanently attached. Because the pin is in mint condition, I didn't want to alter it in anyway. I pinned it in place and then added a few tack stitches here and there to make sure it wouldn't go anywhere.

You might be wondering what the glittery green spray is to the right of the bird. Does anyone want to take a guess as to what that is? I'll reveal my secret tomorrow!

Google AdSense

Because I put so much time and energy into my blog posts everyday, I've decided to add Google AdSense to help generate a bit of income for my efforts.

It'll be in the sidebar and not right in the middle of each daily post. That way, if it bothers you, my readers, it should be easy to ignore and if anyone is interested in one of the ads, clicking on it will help to support this blog.

Since I'm HTML challenged, my friend Chris will be adding the code when he has a few free moments. It should be there in the next few days.

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!