Friday, February 1, 2013

Of Babies, Frogs, & Beads

The best news first: Debi M sent me the loveliest piece of stitching!


I saw this piece in her photo album, and when she said she would send it to me, I thought she meant the pattern. So I was quite surprised when the finished piece arrived!

I was drawn to it because I don't see many patterns related to the theme of stitching, and this one is really cute. Thank you so much, Debi!

Two baby carriages finished this month! I started the pink one in...*cue blushing*...2009!

My friend's favorite color is silver, which was a difficult color to match to fabric. I started on black, but it seemed very doom & gloom and required a change.


 I ended up with the pink & white striped aida out of sheer desperation. I simply couldn't think of another fabric to use.






The backing fabric, on the other hand, was a breeze! Perfect for any baby, don't you think?



Another friend of mine had her baby at the beginning of January. French Country Baby Carriage is the only baby pattern I have, so I made another! Plus it's cute. I used Carrie's Creation silk in Aurora.


I've started my Around the World in 80 Stitches SAL, and (so far!) I love it. The Lindisfarne stitch- the orange flowers- was a real joy; the Lazy Daisy flowers...well, they're stitched.

I did the second heart first because I'm a left to right stitcher.

The fabric is 28ct. Mushroom lugana, and I'm using these flosses: WDW Moss, Grasshopper, Guacamole, Cayenne, Aztec Red, Sweet Potato, Autumn Leaves, Marigold, Squash, Chestnut, & Hazelnut; GAST Chalk; & Rainbow Gallery PB49.

I'm contemplating changing the beads; while the blue is a lovely shade and I like the gold beads, I don't feel confident in this choice. I have some frosted beads in gold and purple that I am going to try out on the first heart. Compare the hearts; make a decision; live with it!

There is one small mistake- one flower is a half of a stitch off.

Can you see it?  
I CAN!

It will have to be changed. I just can't stand it!


If you do find it, email me (Anne.Sans.Tete@gmail.com), and I'll give you an extra entry in the giveaway [see below].

While planning this piece, I've relied on Ruth's sound advice about fabric count and arranging the color palette; while stitching, Carole's close-up photos of the various stitches have been of invaluable assistance!

At the moment, I am stuck on the Berwick stitch.  I find it, um, frustrating, to say the least.

I was on a frogging needle/scissor fob roll for the last part of the month. It was all set in motion by Jane, who saw my needle/fob offer and asked me to make her one.


She likes blues and seashells, so I created a beach themed needle for her: brown for the sand, blue for the water, and white for calm & simplicity. The beads are rather sparkly, which really adds to the feel in person.

Since I had all of my tools out, I decided to play around a bit, and these were the results:



I wanted something a little more fun & festive for the reindeer than the usual straight line, and I added the jingle bell for a little lightheartedness.

Definitely keeping these!


I made this needle as an extra, just in case the ladybug needle gets lost. Since I had a needle, I had to make a matching fob!





 
 
I made this chatêlaine last month, but I needed a scissor fob to go with it. After hemming & hawing about what to do, I finally settled on the grey squirrel with a mini jingle bell.

You may have noticed there are jingle bells in all of the pictures- I love the mini jingle bells!







To celebrate Valentine's Day, I'm giving away this needle & fob set to one lucky winner!


Just leave a comment with a way to contact you, and I will put your name in the drawing. International entries are more than welcome.







The giveaway will end on Valentine's Day, and I will announce the winner on 15 February.



Good luck to everyone, and thanks, once again, for reading my blog!




Best Stitches & Wishes,

23 comments:

  1. Anne, you ATW colours choice are stunning. I have just finished part 9 and im enjoying this sooo much. The backing fabric used on the baby carriage is very cute. Well done on your finishes. Thanks for the oportunity with your give-away.
    Camila - www.stitchingnbits.blogspot.ie

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  2. Your frogging needles and scissor fobs are gorgeous and I love the addition of the jingle bell. The carriages are beautiful. I have never seen that pattern before but will now be on the lookout for it! Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
    Debi
    debi.murray@gmail.com

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  3. I love your finishes! I am very intrigued by how you make the boxes. Do you put cardboard inside or something else? Please forgive my ignorance but what are needle and scissor fobs? Do you use them to hold your needles and scissors when not in use?
    Mair in NV mairmom2boys@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. On the right side of my blog is a list of Recommended Tutorials. Look for the link to the No-Sew Cube; they're basically, your embroidered piece, some backing fabric, styrofoam, quilt batting, and glue. Oh, and ribbon & pins.

      I use frogging needles to frog stitches when I can't pull them out by hand and also for counting. The scissor fobs are attached to scissors just to make them pretty. :)

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  4. Love the colors your using in ATW. I love love love the needle & scissor fobs. Nice job!

    Diana-Indiana
    dianabrindley@yahoo.com

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  5. The stitching piece is so neat. love it. Love the baby items.

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  6. I just love all of your finishes and especially that orange flower heart piece. It makes me want to find the pattern just so I can give it a shot too... I really love your pin and fob too and I don't like too may of the beaded ones I have seen, they are usually too large or gawdy for my taste but yours is sublime and streamlined, lovely colors too. Beautiful work. InkkFreakk - inkkfreakk@gmail.com
    www.kolorscapez.com/daily-mumbles

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  7. I love the colors in both the baby carriage and the 80 stitches.And no, I can't find the mistake *giggles*.

    Your froggers and fobs are lovely!!

    Tazzy
    ladynero@woh.rr.com

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  8. Hi, I love the frogging needles & the scissor fobs. Your stitching is beautiful! I love the baby carriages.
    Pam

    nunnysstitches@yahoo.com

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  9. The carriages are beautiful! And I couldn't find the mistake with the flowers. It all looks wonderful to me. When I make a mistake it glares at me, too, but no one else ever seems to notice! LOL Love your fobs!
    Tracy
    tracyj1127@yahoo.com

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  10. Your carriages are beautiful! And no, I couldn't find your mistake. When I make a mistake it glares at me, too, but no one else seems to notice. Love the fobs.
    Tracy
    tracyj1127@yahoo.com

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  11. I too have noticed that there aren't that many patterns about stitching. Plenty about quilts and sewing, but not specifically stitching.

    If you hadn't have said the flower was off, I would not have noticed, and I'm still not sure I see it. I myself have been frustrated by that more than once. It doesn't matter if no one else sees it, I know it's there! LOL

    The baby carriage pattern is simply beautiful! I am going to try to find it to buy for myself.

    Love, love, love the frog frogging needle and fob!
    Definitely put me in for the giveaway!

    beeler.mcclanahan@gmail.com

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  12. (Freaking Google, go to login and my comment disappears. So let's try this again!)

    I too, have found that there aren't that many patterns about stitching. Many about quilting and sewing, but not just stitching. Such a cute little pattern!

    I think I found the mistake, but am not sure. I definitely wouldn't have noticed anything if you hadn't have said something.

    The baby carriage pattern is adorable, especially in that hand dyed silk. I think the pink & white Aida works really well with the silver.

    The frogs are cute!

    beeler.mcclanahan@gmail.com

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  13. What a great post, beautiful finishes and oh i so love your fobs.
    Mylene(mboekel@yahoo.com)

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  14. Your around the World is looking lovely. I do like your colour choices.

    Thanks for the link to my blog and I'm glad that my close-ups have been of help :)
    That blog is being taken down in a few weeks though and everything has now been transferred to my new blog at Wordpress. http://aslightobsessionwithbooks.wordpress.com/category/cross-stitch/around-the-world-sal/

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  15. all those lovely pics :) you're very talented... would love a chance in your giveaway

    biekedhondt(a)yahoo.com

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  16. Very nice post! Your fobs are beautiful, and I'd love to win the Valentine needle and fob set! Thanks for the opportunity.

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  17. Hi Lisa, bounced off your welcome to StitchMap to see your blog. Love your work. I'm glad you explained the needle fob as I had no idea what it was either. Again, lovely work.
    hollie
    poley.family(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  18. How sweet of Debi to send you the stitchy gift! :)

    Beautiful stitchy finishes as well as fob/frogger sets!

    I'd love to be included in your giveaway.

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  19. First, your stitching is beautiful! No, I can't find the flower that's a half stitch off, even after hunting for it, lol. After seeing your heart stitched, I might just pull that part of the pattern to make a little gift for my mom.

    Your scissor fob and frogging needle sets are lovely. Please include me in your give-away.

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  20. Love the surprise you got from Debi M!!
    Your stitching is looking Ab Fab :)
    I would love to be entered into your giveaway. If I don't win, how much will it cost to have you make them again (gift for a dear friend).

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  21. Lisa, I just can't say enough about how much I enjoy looking at your stitching. You have talent, girl! I was looking at the wrong flowers to find the mistake..when I did see it, I understood why you frogged :) Some designs need to be perfect and that's the way it is!! I have always wanted to do a needle roll, yours is wonderful.

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