An Avalanche of Acorns

It is finally starting to feel like fall here in the Midwest. What better time for an avalanche of acorns?

I finished stitching "Acorns" by Little House Needleworks and Crescent Colours. This project was a gift from Sharon, who hit me with a giant RAK of stash back in December. "Acorns" has been in Diane's care and was liberated just last week. I used Toasted Almond Belfast and it really pops the threads.

I thought it would stitch up more quickly than it did. Isn't that the way it always goes? I had to restitch Mr. Squirrel several times. The first time around he was so distinctly striped that all I could think was ZEBRA. I ended up using the loop method with the floss and skipped around a little bit with my stitches to achieve the look I was going for. I also ended up substituting Gentle Art Sampler Thread Cidermill Brown for the nut portion of the acorns. The recommended CC Old Oak Tree floss was too similar to the acorn cap color, Roasted Chestnut. It's overdyed thread; these things happen. Overall it was a fun project and I think it turned out great! Thanks Sharon! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I'm thinking of finishing this design as a bourse. The background fabric in the first photo is the fabric I'll be using for the outside. I have a few acorn buttons around here somewhere...

Now please strap yourself into the time machine, because we're going back to June. When I went to Rockome I stopped in Mattoon to visit Stitcher's Express and see Susie. Susie had several surprises for me. The first was a precious acorn magnet that she stitched. LOVE it! The second surprise was the chart for Eileen Bennett's class project "Perfect That Queen Stitch - A Pyn-Pillow." I didn't have a lot of experience with queen stitches, so this was a wonderful gift. The model for the project was stitched on 32 ct Belfast, but I wanted to SEE what I was doing so I selected 18 ct Cork.

It was a fun, fantastic project. I enjoyed the queen stitches, but the buttonhole bar stitches (same as the detached buttonhole stitch here) that are used for the acorn stem were the most fun. I think I'll make this acorn project into a pillow. Thanks a bunch, Susie!

In several of the above pictures you might have noticed the gorgeous acorn-shaped thread holder. Ginger bought it for me during her trip to California in June. Isn't it incredible? I absolutely love it! Thanks Ginger!

Jeanne recently did a little traveling too and snagged these lovelies from a 40% off sale bin. Wahoo, life is good!

I had to snap one more picture of the acorn magnet Susie made. It is so petite, it doesn't show up well in the above picture. Sorry for the flash. I would like to continue the spirit of generosity that is so common among stitchers. Please leave a comment if you would like to stitch either LHN "Acorns" or Eileen Bennett's "Pyn-Pillow." With the "Acorns" chart I will also include the left-over CC threads, a few lengths of the Cindermill Brown I used, and a piece of Toasted Almond Belfast. The "Pyn-Pillow" project will be just the chart. At 5:00pm on Wednesday, October 17th I'll have Mark draw two names from a hat. That's 5:00pm CDT in the US. (Same as Chicago, if that helps.) I hope I can find a wonderful new home for both of these projects.

And finally...

I found these little guys in my front yard. Happy Fall!