Mary's Sampler

I hope all my American blog readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did!  We had Thanksgiving and Christmas on the same day with my in-laws this year. I gave them 'Mary's Sampler'.


 I participated in the Mystery stitch along called 'Mary's Sampler' over on Plum Street Samplers blog. She is a wonderful designer and I love your work. I also took another finishing class last week at my local quilt shop and finished my piece in a flatfold... I love how it turned out! My in-laws loved it too. :)

Funny story~ When I showed the finished piece to my husband he asked me why I had fling Princess Leias in the sampler. I turned it around and looked at it again... and laughed so hard. My angles do look like little fling Princess Leias. Super Cute!!

Happy Stitching Everyone!!

What's NOT In My Hoop

Santa's Village

Santa's Village is complete!
Super Adorable.
Stitched on 32ct lambswool linen.
I've changed a few things like adding a dove to month 3 and making my elf look like 'Buddy' from the movie "Elf" in month 11.
But mostly I used the recommended threads.



The design /pattern is from Country Cottage Needleworks.
There is a new series coming the end of this month and I can't wait..."Frosty Forest".
I'm an animal lover and I can't wait to stitch up cute little woodland creatures.
I am secretly wishing / hoping for lots birds and a frog,
but I'm not holding my breath on the frog since it is called 'FROSTY Forest'... the frogs are probably hibernating.
Until it comes out I'll be stitching up some Christmas gifts. I'll post photos of those after they've been given out.  I am working on an adorable gift for my daughter and I don't think she reads my blog... so in a few days I will post pictures of that.

Happy Stitching


From my kitchen window...

Do you do this too?

While I was stitching on my Mary's Sampler last week my husband and  I watched 'The Seven Year Itch'. This week when I started stitching on it again my brain immediately thinks of that movie.

 

My husband says it happens to him too. When he works on a metal piece that he has worked on in the past he'll think about what ever he was watching or hearing from way back when.

Every time I stitch on my Hocus Pocus Ville I think of Sherlock Holmes because a while back we watched that movie while I was stitching on Hocus Pocus Ville. 

Do you do this too?

Grateful For...

My goal was to finish my 'Grateful For' table runner by the beginning of November and I did it! And I love it! Here is a quick but picture heavy post of my finished table runner....

Machine stitching the binding while watching 'The Sound of Music'...

Outside on a gorgeous day (Oct 31st) hand stitching the binding on..

And here it is finished by November 1st.


I didn't have a plan for the pattern and no measuring was done while I was making it so I was shocked when I laid it on the table and it fit perfectly.
Some close ups..

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I added Alvin, the chipmunk that lives in our yard.

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And my son has named all the squirrels in our yard Jeffrey .. so I added them too.


My label on the cutest pumpkin fabric..surrounded by bees.



If you don't know the story behind my runner... last year I had my little family list a few things that they were grateful or thankful for. I wrote them on muslin and hand embroidered them. I was hoping to make them into a table runner last year for Thanksgiving but they sat in my sewing bag for a year.  So this year I was determined to get my table runner done by the 1st of November.
Done!
And I'm in love with it!


I may even keep it on the table year round. 

Buddy the Elf

Yesterday I finished up "Elves' Workshop' which is block / month #11 of Santa's Village.

 
Just in time for November and our last month.
BUT... while stitching my Elf  all I could think of was Buddy the Elf from the movie "Elf".
I LOVE that movie.
So, after I was finished I stepped back and decided I had to change him.  Call me crazy but I love him.


Yes, I frogged some of the stitches out of my elf and changed him.



Here's a photo of my whole Santa's Village so far...

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I am pretty excited about the next series called 'Frosty Forest'. 

An Autumn Ornament

I love this time of year... I love the pumpkins, colorful leaves and cooling down of the temperature. I love bats, spiders, the moon and the color orange. I think this is why I am drawn to many of the Halloween designs / patterns.  Do you remember I stitched up "Autumn Witch"? (the design is by Maja over at 'The Snowflower Diaries')  I fell in love with the pumpkin riding on the back of the witch's broom.  ... And do you remember me telling you there was going to be an ornament finishing class at my LQS?!   Well, it was wonderful!  I learned so much and had a blast with my girlfriends.   And here she is... my little witch and her sweet little pumpkin made into the cutest little ornament.

I am so pleased with how she / it turned out.It makes me want to stitch up tons of 'smalls' so I can make lots of ornaments.

~~ here is a group shot... Aren't they great!  There is another finishing class coming up to make your piece into a cube...so I need to get stitching. I think once I finish my 'Mary's Sampler', the cube would make a great finish for it.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Two photos from this week that I love... My children in the pumpkin patch hunting for pumpkins.

( my son, daughter and my daughter's boyfriend)

And the geese crossing the road as we head out for the evening...

(I'm in love)

Loving October

I got my Ghoul Tidings up by the beginning of October. I found this frame in the sale pile at Micheal's and thought it would do. It was a little too big so I added some ric rac and Halloween fabric that Barb from The Wicked Stitcher sent me. Vonna from the Twisted Stitcher (both of these ladies are amazingly talented and sweet) messaged me about trying another finish but I was too scared. I am hoping to improve my finishing skills one day. My local quilt shop is having a few classes on finishing techniques and one of them is at the end of this week... I am so excited! ~~~Here is a peak at week 4 of Mary's Sampler ... The design is from Plum Street Samplers and can be found on her blog.  I am doing both Sampler I and II.   I do love stitching this little bits every week!