To the Queen

To the Queen by JBW Designs

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White with Recommended threads

 I've had this chart in my stash for a while.  I picked it up on sale at my LNS becasue the moment I saw it, I knew it was destined to be for my friend Kim.  I met Kim YEARS ago at work, and we ended up in facing cubes.  Since Kim has a long standing fondness for the color pink and queens, this is utterly perfect for her.

The original chart calls for a tiny crown charm, but I substituted a K for Kim instead.  I debated whether or not to use the glass (normally I'd frame it without since I wasn't using a mat) but I didn't want the charm to tarnish, so I went ahead and put the glass back in.  I gave it to her last weekend, and she LOVED it.  She's a bit of a stitcher herself, though she hasn't done it in years (she crochets more now), so she knew the work that went into it and appreciated it all the more.

And no, my framing isn't quite as wonky as it appears in the photo.  I swear I do this all the time - I never notice how weird my framing looks in the photo for an item I've already gifted until I go and write the blog post about it!

French Country Bunny Ornament

So it may have taken me a few years, but I did get another F&S piece finished up!  This one probably shouldn't have taken me so long since the cardboard for the inside has been cut to shape and covered with the batting for ages now.  But I struggled with getting the shape of the bunny done neatly, so it ended up in a drawer for quite a while out of frustration.  I don't know that I would do a shaped finish like this again - I might go with an easier to manage oval instead.

It actually made it to our tree this past Christmas, and I forgot to put it on the blog, though I did share the finished picture with the original stitcher!

This was my very first F&S Exchange with Michele.  (It's JBW Designs French Country Bunny)

I'm a little bit (French) country

Well, well, well.  With this post, I officially surpassed my post count for the ENTIRE year last year, and it's only March.  I mean April!  What?  Where did the time go?

I finished stitching on this piece a little earlier this year.  It's JBW Designs French Country Rooster, done up over 2 on 32 ct. linen with Crescent Colors Chili Pepper.  It's been sitting in my stitching box for a while, and then I got on a finishing kick.  It has yet to be framed, so into the Drawer of Unframed Pieces to wait for who knows how long.

I'm thinking about framing him for somewhere in our kitchen.  I have a ceramic rooster that my husband bought at an antique store for me because it looked exactly like one of the ceramic roosters my grandmother had in her kitchen, on a little shelf above the sink.  I'm not really a country person, and I'm not a huge fan of chickens, but I do love me the occasional rooster, probably because of that ceramic rooster of my grandmother's.

Also, because of this story.  WARNING - it does contain some NSFW language and some people may be offended by it, but it is still one of the most hilarious things I have ever read in my whole life.  Seriously.  My whole life.  Just thinking about it makes me laugh, and you can bet if I ever find a 5-foot tall metal chicken, I am going to bring it home with me.  (My husband lives in fear that this will actually happen.  This fear is not unfounded).  You know, now that I am thinking about it, I am thinking it would be HILARIOUS (to me, anyway) to pick out the word "chanticleer" and replace it with "Beyonce". (And if you want a smaller version of Beyonce, like the one hanging on my refrigerator that my 4 year old knows is Beyonce), you can get it here.

As long as we're on JBW Designs, I don't think I've ever shared this one that I finished about 5 years ago.  Yep.  5 years.  I bought the chart when found out I was pregnant with Little Dude, and finished it up right before he was born.  I had intended to turn it into a door hanger for the nursery, but I was young and naive and childless when I came up with that plan.

French Country Baby Sampler by JBW Designs

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. white even weave

with Dinky Dyes silk in Midnight

Pretty, isn't it?  I think this is the first JBW Design I stitched, and I LOVED the Dinky Dyes silk.  It was just lovely to stitch with, and the blue-black color of Midnight is pretty.  I might have to look for some sort of coordinating fabric and get around to finishing this into something that can be displayed before my son is a teenager.

A pink butterfly for a sweet baby girl

JBW French Country Butterfly for Kayla
Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. Antique White
with Crescent Colors Cherry Tomato

Whenever I stitch a birth record for a newborn (or a 1 year old, as is usually the case by the time I get it done...) I like to include a Christmas ornament for families that celebrate Christmas. I've mentioned before how ridiculously sentimental I am about Christmas ornaments, so this should come as no surprise to you. It should also come as no surprise that I like to coordinate the ornament to the nursery theme whenever possible.

Almost four years ago, Mr. Sweet Pea and I attended the wedding of his cousin Christoper in NY, and last October, Chris and his wife were overjoyed to add baby girl Kayla to their family. Kayla's nursery theme butterflies in pink and brown, and I chose JBW's French Country Butterfly for her. The lettering was borrowed from another JBW French Country chart - French Country Bunny, I believe.

This is actually the second time I stitched the piece. Originally, I had stitched it 2 over 2 on 32 ct. It was nice, but not exactly what I had pictured. I went ahead and finished it anyway, or rather, attempted to finish it. We won't talk about exactly what happened, but let's just say a butterfly shape is not the easiest to cut out and stretch neatly around a cardboard template. A snip too far, a few curses and some grumblings of frustration and the 2 over 2 butterfly went in a drawer because I cannot bear to throw out any bit of stitching, even if it is ruined beyond repair. (I will ask my husband to make it disappear without my knowledge at some point.)

So I stewed about the mishap for a while, then finally decided to restitch the piece, this time 1 over 1. MUCH better. So much so that when I took it into my LNS, the owner asked if I'd mind stitching it again for the shop in purple. You'll be seeing this again (twice) actually in 2 different shades of purple (one for the shop, one for another of my nieces).

I finished this piece using a metal needlework form which ended up being the perfect size for this pattern and eliminated the need to cut my own templates. After the initial mishap, there was NO WAY I was messing with a butterfly shaped template, and I'm quite pleased with how this round shape looks anyway.

Mama needs a new pair of shoes

Well, *I* don't actually need a new pair of shoes, and I'm not really a high heel kind of girl. At 5'10", I already tower over a lot of people. Plus, I have a terrible time walking in them - I never really learned how. And although I can appreciate a beautiful shoe, sadly, when you wear a size 10, it's hard to find really cute shoes. Instead, I live vicariously though two of my friends who are confirmed "shoe-a-holics" and absolutely adore shoes. (And can walk in ridiculously high heels)

This first one is for one of my closest friends. We've known each other since I was 8 and she was 3, and she loves, loves, loves shoes. When she was moving to her apartment, her dad was helping and as shoe box after shoe box appeared, he started to wonder out loud just how many pairs of shoes one person needed. For that matter, how many pairs of *black* shoes? All explanations of flats, heels, casual, dress, and seasonal shoes went out the window - a foreign language to a man who owned sneakers, black dress shoes, brown dress shoes and winter boots.

But back to my friend. For as long as I can remember, blue has been her favorite color. She wasn't digging the pink when I showed her the original chart, and I assured her it didn't have to be pink at all. This is what I came up with:

The Shoe Shopper by JBW Designs
Stitched on 32 ct. Antique White with
WDW Americana (dark blue) and Morris Blue (light blue)

I am so excited with how it came out, and how COOL is that frame? I loved it so much I ordered it for another piece I want to frame up for my husband. I like the black on black detailing - it makes the frame a little more special without being over the top.

The frame came from American Frame, and I must say, I HIGHLY recommend them. Their service was excellent, the shipping was FREE and you can preview what your pieces will look like online by uploading a photo.

They will even send you samples of mat board and frame pieces ahead of time, though you are limited to five total samples before ordering. You can order additional samples when you place an order. I do have a teeny tiny complaint that if you want a complete set of mat samples at once, you do have to purchase them. Another framing company I use will send you a complete set for free, but it's not the same brand of mat. (These are Crescent mats) I figure there must be tons of scraps from mats they cut - surely they can send out free sample sets, but the savings on shipping makes up for it. I ended up not matting this piece anyway, but I do suggest (strongly) that if you are ordering mat online to order from an actual sample, NOT from your monitor color. The color on your monitor can give you the general idea, but when you're trying to match colors, an actual sample is the way to go.

For a relatively inexpensive price, the quality of these frames is excellent - very sturdy and well made, and impeccably packed. All my pieces were neatly and securely packed in the box - not a scratch, dent or ding. You can also order acrylic and backer board, and they offer an acid free foam core CUT TO SIZE for each frame. YAY!!! You have no idea how happy this made my husband (my chief framer and often disgusted with my cutting jobs).

And I did say PAIR of shoes. This is a second version of the same piece, for another shoe-a-holic friend, done in colors to match her apartment.

Stitched on 32 ct. Vintage Buttercream with
WDW Straw (tan), Crescent Colors Cupid (red) and GAST Dark Chocolate (brown)

She was absolutely thrilled when she got it, even if it was almost a year after I told her I wanted to stitch something for her. To be fair, it had been STITCHED since about March, but it sat around waiting to be framed. With the free labor I get, I can't be too demanding when it comes to getting things without a specific deadline framed.

Wow, I am on a ROLL!!! And there's still more to come. At this rate, I should surpass my posts total from 2011 by the end of February 2012. Or not, especially if Pinterest gets involved. Which it very well might.

Fair & Square Exchange

I have been stitching. Really I have! (Yes, I know I start out most of my bi-monthly posts with this claim). Sometimes I do put down the laptop and tear myself off Pinterest and pick up a needle and thread. Staying involved in the Fair and Square Exchange is a good way to get motivated to stitch.

My latest partner in Round # 26 was Milly D (http://stitchingobsessionii.blogspot.com/). Milly and her husband Patrick celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in July, so that gave me the inspiration for these squares. In her list of likes, Milly listed hearts and folksy designs, and also mentioned that her favorite color was red. Once I picked the heart, I thought it would make a lovely ornament, so I asked Milly if she'd mind if I did a slightly non-traditional signature square. Typically, the signature square includes the stitcher's name or initials, their location and the date. Since I was stitching it in honor of their anniversary, I wanted to do something a little different. I didn't tell Milly exactly what I wanted to do, but she gave me the go ahead to change it up.

The design is also slightly larger than the F&S guidelines, so I stitched it over 1 on 32 ct. Antique White, which brought the size in line and ended up being perfect for an ornament. And did I mention I continued the love theme by choosing Crescent Color's Cupid for the thread? If it's at all possible, I like to tie in the name of the thread with the piece I'm stitching. It's a little "secret" thing for me, and it helps narrow down color choices (something I can struggle with when presented with SO MANY great thread colors!).

The chart is a freebie I've had for a while, but it is available here: http://gazette94.blogspot.com/2009/01/grille-gratuite-73.html, along with dozens of other beautiful charts.

And these are the beautiful squares I received from Milly in return. Milly chose JBW Designs A Very Merry Autumn to stitch for me - a wise choice. Autumn is my favorite season. I love all the beautiful fall colors, and always look forward to the end of summer heat.

Milly's stitching is lovely, and I will be finishing this up as a no sew cube to put on display in our living room. For as much as I love the fall season, we don't have much in the way of seasonal decor and this will be a most welcome addition. I have to hit up the craft stores before all the fall goodies are gone, as I'm thinking an orange / brown / red plaid ribbon would be perfect for this piece.

Fair and Square Exchange with April K

Why yes, it HAS taken me almost 5 months to post these pictures - from an exchange back in FEBRUARY. I'm not even going to make an excuse about it took me so long or why my blog posting in general is sporadic at best. Otherwise, it would be much like my last several posts.

Moving on....

These are the very pretty squares I received from April:

JBW Designs French Country Amour

Once again, I forsee something destined for a no sew cube, perhaps with a pretty red velvet ribbon and some silver / crystal embellishments.

As to my contribution to the exchange, when I read that April is a huge fan of Halloween, I knew I had the perfect design in mind. I have already stitched the butterflies from the Tantes Zolder website, and this was the motivation I needed to stitch the bats. Mind you, I am not a fan of Halloween, so I'd never stitch them for myself, but after seeing them stitched up at my LNS (Just Cross Stitch in Lederach), I knew I wanted to stitch them. (Speaking of Just Cross Stitch, I wonder if I can pester Carolyn to post a photo on her blog of her VERY cool version of this pattern, stitched on purple fabric and turned into a pillow with an awesomely fluffly black fringe trim....)

Bat Freebie from Tantes Zolder
Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. Antique White with GAST Raven 

NOTE: Above link updated March 2013 as original blog no longer online

You can't tell from the photos, but the Raven thread is a deep black color with hints of green in it. Perfect for these bats. And this is my attempt at being all fancy like and taking a closeup photo...

My very first Fair & Square Exchange

French Country Bunny by JBW Designs
Stitched by Michele with Sugar Maple Floss in Candy Floss
Fair & Square Exchange, Round #9
Isn't he adorable? Michele stitched this for me for my very first F&S Exchange and he arrived yesterday. I LOVE it - and I already know what I'll be doing with these squares. They'll be made into an ornament for my Bride's Tree collection that I am technically working on (but the project has fallen a bit by the wayside.) This fulfills the rabbit ornament, and it's even more special having been stitched by my new friend Michele.

Michele also included a cute little tin of mints featuring photos of the Seattle area. I've never visited the West Coast, but it's definitely on my list of places to see (do you know how many lighthouses are out there? LOTS!) and I hope to include Seattle in my journies some day. The mint tin will be perfect as a needle case once the mints are gone and a bit of sticky back magnetic sheet is installed. I think it will fit neatly into one of the mesh pockets in my traveling stitching bag.

I also finished up the stitching on Michele's squares, and photographed them this morning, so they'll be going out in the mail tomorrow. I am absolutely thrilled with them and I can't wait to share pictures, but of course, Michele gets to see them first.

As for me today, it's Sunday, and you know what that means. Football. Plus my beloved Dallas Cowboys are the Sunday Night game, so I'm excited about that. Can I tell you how absolutely annoyed and disappointed I was that they had to play on Monday night? I cannot STAND the crew that does the MNF broadcast on ESPN and I was happy to see we only had one Monday Night game this season. Tony Kornheiser annoys me in ways I can't even describe, and I'm not a big Jaws fan, although he's tolerable when Kornheiser is not around. Kornheiser is just awful - he's not funny, he knows very little about football and he NEVER SHUTS UP. Ugh. It's enough to make me insane. I even prefer John Madden to Kornheiser. It will be a happy day for football fans everywhere when they fire him from the MNF broadcast.