A Perfect Day to Stitch

It is a chilly, rainy day here. Perfect for curling up with a cup of coffee and a stitching project! That is my plan for later today.

I am almost finished with Part 13 of Terre de France. Part 13 won't be perfect when I am finished with it. All of the motifs in the left half of this section are one stitch lower than they should be. Insert a heavy sigh here. It isn't the end of the world and it certainly isn't noticeable but I know it isn't perfect. At the moment I am more horrified at the idea of ripping it out than I am at leaving it in, so in it stays. I have the cross stitching finished and need to do the backstitching for it to count as a finish today. Then it is on to Part 14. I'd like to be caught up when Part 15 is released in December.

I am still stalking my letter carrier, waiting for my redwork exchange piece to arrive. Today is 2 weeks since the mail date, so I'm sure it will arrive soon. I can't wait to see who it is from and what it is! Helene received the redwork piece I stitched for her, so I can share a picture. Remember Oven Mit?? Well, here it is! Pardon my crazy photography. Yes, it is hanging on a light switch!




















This is a Blackbird Designs freebie called Thistle Manor. You can download it here. (Click on the Bird-Brained Ideas button on the left, then scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says Even More Bird-Brained Ideas. Click the link and the design is on that page.) I stitched it on 32 ct Country French Cafe Mocha with Glorianna Poinsetta silk thread. I machine quilted a piece of fabric for the back and finished the project as a small wall hanging. I used two pieces of batting when I quilted the back, so the piece is quite stiff, very much like an oven mit! The next time I make a wall hanging of this size, I think one piece of batting will be plenty. I'm so happy that Helene likes it! She has a much better picture of it on her blog.

My next SBE BB project is for the Garden Exchange. I have my recipient's name and can't wait to get started - everything is ready to go. Should be fun!

As usual, thanks to everyone for your comments on my blog. I really appreciate hearing from you!

Vero I was going to let you know my stitching nest pictures were up, but I wanted to wait until Part 2 was finished. You beat me to it by finding them on your own. I just checked your blog and it looks like you had a fantastic time in Arizona. Welcome home!

Lelia thanks for the tip about leaving the floss tails until the end when using my new stand. I'll have to give it a try. I had no idea I was such a "flipper" with my needlework! It wasn't until I had my q-snap clamped onto the stand that I realized how often I turn my needlework over. In fact I flip it around in all directions, hold it over my head to let the needle dangle and all sorts of craziness. I must look ridiculous when I stitch! How funny is that?

My little sentimental footstool was very popular with you all! It is one of my favorite things. Would you believe I bought it at Walmart for just $15?

Missy I am going to blog tomorrow about Miss Mary Mack. (I made notes about the fabric, design size, etc. and now I can't find them! Ugh!) This is going to be a fun SAL! Does anyone else want to join us?

That wraps things up for today. Tomorrow I'll write about the Miss Mary SAL. I'm also several weeks behind with the SBQ and I have many more pictures to share from the Lebanon cross stitch show. So much stitching to discuss and so little time!