A few finishes

A lovely weekend here, a little rainy and cold so I pulled out the sewing machine to do a little finishing.  First is my favorite, a needlepoint pincushion.  This is a Carriage House Samplings Cross Stitch design that I stitched on 18 count canvas (I changed a few colors).  I edged it with cording that I made using the thinnest hand dyed chenille from The Victorian Motto Samplar Shoppe.  Nancy sells handdyed threads, chenille trims, rick rack, vintage seam binding and even handdyed buttons as well as her own victorian inspired designs.  I filled the pincushion with crushed walnut shells and it will sit by my stitching chair.

Next, a little pillow with a Christmas design from Sheepish Designs.  I've had the design stitched for years and finally got around to finishing it.  I've seen quite a few Sheepish Designs on blogs lately and have a huge stash of charts so I am inspired to get stitching.   

This design is a freebie from My Aunt's Attic.  I stitched it using a lovely overdyed floss from Nina.  I ordered some of her beautiful threads when she first offered them and the color combos are so exquisite that I can't bring myself to stitch with them.  Silly, I know but that's the way it is.  I finished it with a piece of Blackbird Designs fabric and used a bit of antique lace trim to complement the design.

That's it for finishing.  I've barely made a dent in the to do pile, but I have been checking out all of the lovely finishing on the many stitching blogs that I follow and am going to try a few new things.  I'll keep you posted of my progress.  Until then, thanks for stopping by and happy stitching!!  

Spring is here!

It's a beautiful Spring day here in TN and Spring cleaning is in full swing around the Turley household.  My Spring cleaning motto is "Less is more" and I have been repeating it over and over as I sort through cupboards and closets.  I have even ventured into my stitching stash and will be posting lots of things on my ebay and etsy pages over the next several days.  

Colt and Di had their first Trap Shooting tournament of the year on Saturday.  Dale managed a good pic of Di, above (so not looking like my girly girl with her jean mini, black leggings and combat boots) but the camera wouldn't cooperate for a Colt pic so I snatched a recent one from his facebook.  Beautiful weather and everyone had a good time. 

On the stitching front, I finished the barn canvas by Workbasket.  It was a really fun stitch, I went very nontraditional with the background, using a lovely varigated silk, which gives it a patchwork feel.  I plan to finish it as a pillow. 

Then, I started on this lovely rose.  Hard to tell from the pic, but the entire rose is stitched, just the background and the leaves to do.  There is a tiny row of metallic gold to be stitched between the blue and the tan of the background, which should make the golds in the rose pop a bit.  This one will be one of a pair for my mom who loves roses and dislikes anything too fussy.  

In sorting through my stash, I've come across a few things that must get some stitching time, so, I feel a serious case of startitus coming on.  New project pics coming soon.

Hope that you are enjoying the sunshine where you are, thanks for stopping by! 

Something new...

I don't know if you've seen the latest Just Crossstitch Magazine, but I have a couple of new designs featured in it.  Spring Garden and Bloom Pincushion are bright, happy designs, perfect if you are itching to stitch for Spring.  There are several nice designs in this issue and I always feel like I am getting a bargain when the magazine I purchase is filled with "must stitch" designs.

In other stitching news, I have been on a needlepoint bender again, I have an almost finish and a couple of new starts which I'll take pics of as soon as I am home long enough to pick up a camera.  We have been running like crazy with Colt and Di's activities. 

 Last weekend was spent in Chattanooga, Colton had a East Tenn String Orchestra Clinic and Performance.  Wonderful performance, really talented 6th thru 9th graders from the eastern side of TN performed.  It's a yearly thing, you have to audition to get invited, I'm so proud of Colt for working hard his first year and getting selected to the advanced orchestra.  Colt plays the concert bass and Di has just started violin lessons and hopes to join Colt in our local string orchestra in the fall.  Solo and Ensemble is next, with Di's Spring dnace performance to follow and a couple of trap shooting tournaments as well. 

While Colt was at his workshop, Di and I got to do a little exploring in Chattanooga.  We had so much fun.  Chattanooga is a college community, with a really outdoorsy vibe.  We were surprised at how many joggers, walkers, bikers, etc. were out and about in the downtown.  It's a very foot friendly place, parks, walking bridges, etc., with lots of wonderful restaurants and neat places to visit.  The people are friendly and nearly everyone we passed said hello or gave us a nod.  We visited a lovely antique mall that made me wish for a bigger house, a needlepoint shop, a funky used book store with tons of modern folk art for sale, a mongholian buffet, a cupcake shop (heaven!) and a fantastic ice cream shop (it's a good thing we were walking).  Colt felt a little left out when Di told him of our adventures (mostly the food part) so we will be scheduling another Chattanooga weekend soon. 

Time for me to get to work, my studio needs a serious spring cleaning, ugh!!!  Have a wonderful weekend, maybe do something fun with someone you love. :)