The Return of the Fair & Square Exchange

After an extended hiatus, the Fair and Square exchange is back, and the latest round was a Patriotic theme. I was paired up with Rebecca (no blog... yet!) who is new to the exchange, and these are the lovely squares she stitched for me.

 Land that I Love by Lizzie*Kate

This is a "Now and Then" version of the chart.  The one Rebecca stitched is the updated version, so she included the chart so I could stitch the older version of it as well.  Thank you so much, Rebecca!

This is what I stitched for Rebecca... 

Happy Independence Day by Bent Creek

(city blanked out intentionally)

I took a slightly more colorful approach than the original, and use some metallic threads for the fireworks.  I also added in an extra star where the snap was charted in.

Rebecca mentioned she's been following my blog and was excited to be paired up with me.  I can totally relate - I've been paired up with fellow stitchers I've followed and it's so nice to "meet" and get to know them.  Hopefully Rebecca will start a blog soon, too!

Late for St. Patrick's Day

Luck by Bent Creek

I have a fondness for Bent Creek pieces, especially their alphabet pieces like this one.  I started around St. Patrick's Day last year and finished it up sometime in November or December.  It was one of those pieces that I started for myself, then had other things I needed to work on intervene.  Since St. Patrick's Day (or HAPPY PATRICK'S DAY as Little Dude calls it) is my second favorite holiday (after Christmas), I've started working on Irish or shamrock themed pieces around that time of year.

I think this one may be destined for our guest room, as I'm considering doing a sort of Irish theme in there.  The walls are green and the bedding and curtains are black and white, and the current artwork hanging in there is framed notecards featuing pen and ink drawings of covered bridges.

If you'd like to see the other Bent Creek pieces I've stitched, you can find them here, here and here.  Oh, and here, where I did Wedding Row for my favorite cousin.

A gift for newlyweds

I've mentioned before that my cousin was married this summer, and I've shown the Pinterest inspired wedding invitation ornament I made. I also did two other stitchy gifts for the bride and groom.

The first one, another ornament, had already been selected, purchased and started before the Pinterest idea came into being, so I ended up giving the bride and groom TWO ornaments for a non-existent tree. Yep. They had no tree this year, mostly due to a new puppy with a penchant for chewing. They figured it wasn't worth the potential damage to the tree or the pup to risk putting one up this year. Next year, hopefully. Anyway, this is the ornament I stitched for my cousin and her husband:

All Hearts Come Home for Christmas by Historic Stitches
Stitched over 1 on 25 ct. Ivory with CC Ribbon Red

So pretty! Finishing it was a little bit of a challenge with the heart shape - the center part wasn't very deep and the angles made getting the fabric wrapped neatly a little bit of a challenge but at least it didn't suffer the fate of another ornament I attempted to finish the same day. I might have clipped an angle a little too close on a butterfly and ended up having to restitch it, but that's a story for another day.

I also stitched a wedding record that my cousin herself chose. She had asked me to stitch a piece as a gift for a wedding she was in, and while she was looking through charts, she spotted this one for herself.

Wedding Row by Bent Creek
Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Belfast Linen in Flax
with recommended colors

Overall, I am pleased with how it came out, though if I stitch it again, I would probably make a change or two, notably the hearts. They looked red in the original pattern, but called for a more brownish thread. While it doesn't look bad, especially with the other muted colors, I would probably pick something a little more distinctly red for the hearts next time.

The frame was again ordered from American Frame, and I chose it to match their new bedroom furniture. Yes, I went back on my computer and looked at photos my cousin had sent me from when their furniture was delivered, and I tried to pick something that would work well with the simple Craftsman style of their bedroom. Mission accomplished, I think. Framing was a little tricky to get lined up correctly because the names stitched underneath throw the piece a little off center, or at least makes it look slightly off center when you first start figuring out how to place things. My husband ended up going back to the chart itself to find the middle point and working from there. I really should have him write a post on how he frames things - he has a patience with it that I completely lack.

In the end though, it all came out beautifully and my cousin and her husband LOVED it! (they almost didn't love it because I forgot that it was sitting on top of a cabinet at my ILs house and I had to run back in and get it before we left to meet up with the rest of the family.)

Bent Creek's I Do in Miniature

It's almost like I'm obsessed with ornaments lately, isn't it? I know I've posted quite a few, and there's more to come. Somehow they all just seemed to come together at the end up the year. Mind you, it could have been that pre-Christmas push to get some gifts done, but then again, some of these ornaments were quite overdue, so who knows? Anyway, next up is something I stitched for one of my best friends and her new husband:

I Do by Bent Creek

Stitched 1 over 1 on Vintage Light Exemplar

I'd like to make a shameless plug for my pal Julie, the recipient of this ornament. Julie's an amazing friend, a wonderful cook, and one of the most fun, generous, big hearted and free spirited people I know. Julie is also a published author, and you can buy her book, The Hard Way, online or at your bookstore of choice. If they don't have it in stock, ask them to get it for you. Oh, and while you're at it... check out her website http://www.julieluongo.com

Julie and I have been friends since grad school, and I don't even want to tell you how long ago that was! She just got married this fall, and having been with her through many ups and downs, highs and lows when it came to relationships, I have to say I am grateful every day that she is now married to someone that loves her and recognizes her for the fantastic, amazing, stupendous, and all around awesome person that she is. And her husband's not too shabby himself. I have a larger piece in the works as a wedding gift for them, but I wanted to give them a small token to tide them over.

This was my inspiration for this ornament. I saved the photo in my idea file, knowing at some point I would come back to it. Scroll down to see the ornament Joan did last year for her daughter and new husband.

My color conversion for this piece is as follows: GAST Dark Chocolate (vines) and Maple Syrup (letter), CC Cupid (heart and initials) and Blacksmith Blue (I Do), and WDW Cognac (leaves) and Whitewash (accents). I also used a silver DMC Metallic for the rings as the actual wedding bands were white gold.

Housewarming gift for a friend

I Do by Bent Creek
Stitched 2 over 2 on Cream Sienna Linen

with recommended threads

I just got word that the package arrived, so I can share this with you. This is something I stitched up for my friend and her husband, who just finished building their home in Ohio. They've moved around a bit during their marriage, from PA to Montana, to New York to Ohio, but this is the first time they've moved AND built the house and the process was more than a little stressful. I wanted to send something pretty for them to hang in the new place, and this seemed to fit the bill.

It's the second time I've stitched this piece - I also did it as a wedding gift for another friend - and it won't be the last. It's a fairly quick stitch and frames up nicely. Last time I stitched it though, a regular 8x10 frame and a 5x7 mat worked fine. This time, however, the 5x7 mat didn't work quite as well, perhaps because of a difference in the fabrics I used. They were both 32 ct, though, so who knows? Anyway, the mat didn't look quite as nice, so I came up with what I thought was an INGENIOUS solution - ordering a custom cut mat to fit in an 8x10 frame that I had already purchased.

I had to do a little fuzzy math and work out the measurements so the mat would still fit in the 8x10 frame. I obsess about this part, measuring and remeasuring, making my husband measure it, then going back and remeasuring a day or two later. Don't ask. I know it's noticeable in the picture but you can't really tell in person that the mat has slightly different dimensions on the sides and top. If you weren't looking for it, you'd never know, and if you did happen to notice it, you'd have the good manners not to say anything about it. :-)

Next time I stitch it though, I am totally going to do this. (Scroll down to see the ornament Joan made for her daughter and new husband)

Autumn Fair and Square Exchange with Daniela

Autumn 2009 Round to Daniela T (http://myneedleart.blogspot.com/)
Bent Creek's Snapper Sampler
Stitched with WDW Cognac and GAST Mulberry
on Wichelt Copper Penny 32 ct. Fabric
Accented with Copper seed beads

This was one the the last pieces I stitched while pregnant, as I wanted to get it out before I went into the hospital. I absolutely LOVE how this came out - it was hard to part with! And the Wichelt fabric was very nice to stitch on. I had been admiring the color for a while now, and jumped at the chance to use it.

The original pattern called for cross stitches where the beads are, but I thought some copper colored beads from my stash would add a little something extra to the piece.

I also included a skein of my own handyed threads for Daniela in an autumn color.

Bent Creek's I Do.... I'm DONE!

This is the piece that everyone voted on for the wedding we're going to on Friday. I'm SO pleased with how it came out, but I'm frustrated by the frame because I can't get the back in with the double mat and the mounting board. I'll have to have DH work on it a little. I guess that will teach me to buy pre-made frames that are really just meant for photos!

Bent Creek's "I Do"
stitched over 2 on 28 ct. Navy Bean linen with DMC, GAST and WDW Threads

I decided I liked the look of their names better than their initials, so I was glad their names were relatively short. I also went darker with the leaf and letter colors, and if I were to stitch it again, I might have chosen a brighter green color for the "I Do" instead of the blue, but I think it looks nice this way as well. It was definitely a fun and easy stitch, and I'd stitch it again if the occasion called for it. Since it goes together so quickly, it's a nice chart to keep on hand for future gifts.