Christmas in July Giveaway

So many shops run Christmas in July sales, that I thought I'd run a giveaway on the same theme.  I think the whole Christmas in July thing started with the Broadway musical Mame.  Do you remember the lyrics "We need  a little Christmas, right this very moment..."?

This giveaway will be a bit different than the previous ones.  The postage costs are mounting up so I am going to start bundling my excess charts into groups that would appeal to a single winner.  In the long run, it will be less expensive to mail 5 charts in one envelope than 6 envelopes containing one chart each.

The first giveaway under the new system will be for Heartstrings fans:

The Sugarplum Season [a tall narrow Christmas sampler]  

The Wreath Santa [2005]

The Santa Factory [April]

The Candy Cane Santa,

The Feathered Friends Santa, 

The last four charts are ornaments, either complimentary charts from shops or tear outs from the older JCS Christmas issues.  I thoroughly enjoyed stitching these charts because they had lots of interesting details and specialty stitches ... definitely not your generic ho-hum stuff.

If you wish to enter, please leave a comment.  If clicking on your name will not bring me to a profile with your e-mail address, please include your e-mail address in the comment.  I have had issues with contacting winners in the past, all for lack of an e-mail address.

I also ask that the winner agrees to PIF these charts.  An unenforceable request, but a request nonetheless.

First Giveaway of the Year

The theme is witches.  These ladies are a favorite stitching motif of mine.  Indeed, I have always enjoyed reading about witches and witchcraft, either fact or fiction.  The history of persecuting wise women and healers is an abiding interest.  I suppose it strikes a feminist chord deep within me: the way men have always feared the power of the feminine and found ways throughout history to deny or neutralize it.

With a mailing date in mid-January, this giveaway will give the winners nine full months to stitch these very interesting ladies, well in time for Halloween.

In order to help folks get a more realistic sense of these charts, I am posting my own finishes.  I find that trying to photograph the leaflets always ends up with wonky photos marred by glare spots.  Just be aware that I don't always do the final finish as suggested by the designer.  I've neither the room nor the budget to frame all my work.

These first two photos show a pair of projects from The Primitive Needle's Salem Witch.  The model photo shows them framed in interesting little tin frames from Twisted Threads.  The first is in the Star  Frame and the second is in a tin necklace frame.  As you can see I finished mine differently: as a mini wall hanging and as an ornament.  The leaflet called for both designs to be stitched over one on 36 ct. linen.  I stitched mine on 32 ct. [1692] and 36 ct. [witch] linens over two with the result that I needed to come up with an alternative finish for each.

Then, there is this very special piece from Notforgotten Farms The Giving Sisters.  Though, I have yet to decide on a finish for this, it is one of my very favorite pieces.  It reminds me of the woodcut illustrations one finds in very old books.  I had a lot of fun stitching this piece.  I think I keep holding off on a finish for this because I would really like a Jill Rensel frame for it.  I think the piece deserves a very unique and distinguished finish!

Finally, I have this whimsical entry from Twisted Threads, Man Into a Credit Card.  This very cartoonish  piece appealed to my warped sense of humor.  I plan to hang it in the half bath of the main floor of my townhouse during the appropriate season in 2015.  Something this silly just cries out to be hung in a restroom, sort of like elegant grafitti.

Although not in keeping with the witch theme, I will also offer Cross My Heart's Sampling of Herbs, now that I am done with it.  In this case, I'll have to photograph the leaflet since I only stitched four of the many designs included in the leaflet.  My own versions were stitched on huck towels I had in stash which were exactly the right size for the taller and narrower charts.  I understand, though, that today's huck towels have a smaller stitching area, something to do with changes in the formatting of the manufacturer's looms.. In any case, these charts were really designed for linen.  The many fractional stitches made stitching on Aida inserts a bit fussy but the final product was quite lovely.

Mystic Giveaway Winners

They are:

Victoria Sampler's: Maine Heart:   Mary

GPA Stocking #1 Cottage:  Laura

S & S Acorn Tin Topper:  Dian

S & S Snowflake Tin Topper: Laura

Beary Merry Christmas:  No takers

Stitching Friends: Melody

Brightneedle's Esmerelda's House:  Erin

Homespun Elegance Pumpkin: Melody.

Thank you for participating.  I'll be e-mailing you all shortly to ask for mailing addresses.  I am so glad these great charts are going to people who will enjoy them

Back From Mystic

Every year since 2006, I have attended one of Sue Donnelly's fantastic Stitcher's Hideaways and this last was the best yet.  I will be writing about it for the next few days but today's post will be devoted totally to stash: what I was given as door prizes, what I bought from Chris from Chris' Collection and what I will be passing on to you all as giveaways.  I do like to share the wealth and some of these shiny new charts are simply things I will never stitch or have stitched already.  My one regret is that I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures as I usually do.

First, the Giveaways:  All you need to do is leave a comment naming the chart or charts for which you would like to compete. I'll do random drawings next Monday.

Victoria's Sampler Hearts of America series: Maine.  I stitched this on the way home in the car.  Maine means a lot to our family.  My husband's family used to run hotels and motels in Boothbay Harbor and he spent most of his childhood summers there.  He introduced me to Maine on our delayed honeymoon and we have been going back every few years since we were married.

This is GPA's Wood Stocking Collection's #1 Cottage

This Samples and Such's Tin Toppers, Tin of the Month: November - Antique Acorns.  This is really lovely and I do like acorns but I already have so many charts for both acorns and small stitching accessories that I know I will never stitch this.  Better to pass it on to someone who will actually enjoy it.

Also from Samplers and Such Round Topper Snowflake.

Rosewood Manor's Deep Roots.  There is no cover photo for this particular chart and photographing the interior of the leaflet to give you a sense of the design would violate copyright laws.  Suffice it to say the design is of a stylized basket of flowers surrounded by a simple border with the saying "Deep in their roots all flowers keep the light."

Beary Merry Christmas 2013

Elizabeth's Needle Designs' Stitchin' Friends

Brightneedle's Esmeralda's House:  I have already stitched this witty and clever chart.  In fact, my copy is autographed by Ann.  So I am happy to give this duplicate a new home with someone who will enjoy it as much as I did.

This isn't actually from the Hideaway but when I tried to give this Homespun Elegance chart away last June there were mo takers.  I figured this close to Halloween, someone might be in the mood to stitch it.

Well that's it for the giveaways.  Feel free to ask for as many charts as you like.  I'll do a random drawing for each of the above.

Now I'll move on to the door prizes, stash bag and other gifts and goodies that I will be keeping.

This is Rosewood Manor's Past and Present Sampler,  This chart is very much my style and I can't wait to get started on this using some of the Glorianna silks that I scored at 50% discount from Chris at the 2014 Hideaway. I'll use some of the linen I picked up this year [see below].

This Victoria Sampler's Christmas Cardinal Stocking with thread and accessory pack.  Suffice it to say that I love all Thea's designs. So this is clearly a keeper.

I mentioned in the giveaway section of this post that acorns are a favorite motif of mine so how could I resust this Hillside Samplings' A is For Acorn that I found in the Free Charts box.

Also from the Free Charts Box: Barrick Samplers' Lady's Garden.  I love this designer's style and have stitched a number of her charts.

The very generous Ann from Brightneedle also put out a number of charts for us to browse through and take home as gifts.  I chose The Covered Bridge Sampler.

Here are a few more small gifts that I came home with.  Starting in the lower right: the thread winders from Rosewood Manor were a door prize, the charming little ornament was a stitched model from Brightneedle [Ann is downsizing and she gave everyone at the retreat a small stitched model]; the green wool felt pin cushion was also a gift from Ann as were the memo pads and post-it pad.  Like I said, she is a very generous lady

And, as if it that wasn't enough, I actually bought some more stash.  Chris of Chris' Collection closed her shop last year and retired.  But she still has enough merchandise to set up shop for us and all at 50% off.  I swore and vowed that I would not buy a single chart or anymore floss or fiber.  I promised myself that I would concentrate on linen this year and for the most part I did just that.

First, I indulged myself with some badly needed neutrals.  The first three pieces are Lakeside linens in various creams and greys.  But the bottom piece really intrigued me.  It is a 21" x 27" piece of WDW Tin Roof Gingham linen.  I just fell in love with it.  I see it as a bib apron stitched in Halloween motifs or a large Halloween sampler finished as a wall hanging or made up into three matching Halloween Trick or Treat bags for my grandchildren, using smaller Halloween designs.  I can't make up my mind.  I will have to mull for a while.

It's hard to tell in this photo but one shade of blue is very muted and another is quite bright.  The grey blue will be used for a Dragon Dreams piece, The rtagon of the Summer Sky and the brighter blue will be used for a Sunflower sampler I have in stash.

This two ornament sized pieces of Antique Rose Lakeside Linen will be used to make ornaments for my Granddaughter who is the diva of all things pink.

Chris was also selling charms: I picked up some brass pumpkins and two pewter fairies for just $1 each.  I have plans for one of the fairies already.  She'll sit atop Whimzy Rose stitched in a variegated Glorianna pink of one the pieces of pink linen above and will be stitched as a gift tote for the granddaughter.

As my nieces and nephews are marrying at the rate of two or three a year [I have 16 all told] and are starting families, I seem to be crocheting crib blankets and stitching bibs frequently.  I figured these four bibs would be a welcome addition to my stash, being suitable for either sex.

I know I said I wouldn't buy anymore floss but seeing these Thread Gatherer Silk'n'Colors had me weakening.  At least I limited myself to just six skeins instead of buying one of every color available like I did last year with the Glorianna!

Well, this has been a long and photo heavy post so I will quit while I am ahead.  Tomorrow, I will post about the class and the project, show you my progress on the two stitched pieces from Brightneedle as well as my little Maine heart finish.  And Wednesday, I will talk about the exchanges and Show and Tell as well as the very special project of her own design that Sue always.creates around the theme of the retreat.  

A Few More Giveaways

I had planned to take my Mom out to an early dinner to celebrate Mother's Day but she wasn't feeling so well and we cancelled our reservations.  Basically, that left most of the day free for stitching  with my only commitment being the 9:30am Mass and the May Crowning.  Quite a lot of stitching got done Sunday with this result..

And I just can't seem to resist new starts.  Once I finished The Pirate's Creed, I kitted up and started Dragon Dreams' A Dragon Tea Party, instead of getting back to The English Band Sampler.  I have every intention of spending two days this week on the sampler but I am really loving all the new stuff I have been doing in recent weeks.  Hence the new start.  I'll show a photo as soon as I have made enough progress to warrant one.

I am in the process of de-cluttering my stash.  Part of that process consists of giving away charts that I have stitched and will not stitch again.  There are only two or three designers whose charts I collect and even fewer charts that I stitch over and over again.  Mostly the do-overs are small ornament charts that make excellent gifts or exchange pieces.

So the end result is that most of the finishes you read about in this blog will soon be followed by a giveaway of that chart.  This week, I will be offering the following charts to my readers;

Elizabeth's Needlework Designs' A is for Autumn.  See the May 5 post for a photo of this sampler finish.

Sue Hillis' The Pirate's Creed.  Note: Since I have used the charm in my own finish, this will be a chart only giveaway.  I expect the charm can be ordered from any shop that carries Sue Hillis charts or from the designer herself.  See above for a photo of my finish.

Homespun Elegance's Owls Night Out.  Note: this is from The Halloween Year series but stands alone as a lovely little Halloween ornament.  See the May 7 post for a photo of this finish.

As with all my giveaways, I ask people to pay it forward by passing the chart to another stitcher once the winner has stitched the piece.  I know I can't enforce that provision but I like to think the honor system works.  To win one of the above charts, leave a comment stating which one you want and why.  If clicking on your user name won't bring me to a profile with your current e-mail address, please leave an e-mail address in the comment itself.  If I can't reach you, I can't send you your chart.  I will choose a winner on Sunday.  Good luck to all who enter.

Pineberry Lane Pin Pillows

In this day and age of separating sets to make individually priced charts, it was a surprise to find these three pin keep charts included with the sampler design.  [My finished sampler may be seen in the previous post]  At $10.79 from 123stitch, an online needlework shop, this was quite a bargain.  

Pineberry Lane's Tansy Pin Keep

Pineberry Lane's Yarrow Pin Keep

Pineberry Lane's Rue Pin Keep

And now, to share the wealth, I thought I'd offer the Tansy -Yarrow - Rue chart to one lucky reader.  Just post a comment explaining why you like primitive designs in general and/or why this design appeals to you in particular.  I'll select a winner over the weekend.  Good luck to all who enter.

And, since there was room on the linen I used to stitch the pin pillows, I used the space to start Elizabeth Designs' A is for Autumn.  I expect that will be another quick and easy stitch.

1000th Post: A small celebration and a giveaway

I began blogging on 8/24/07.  That means it's taken me a little over 6 years to reach this landmark 1,000th post.  Incidentally, I passed the 100,000th page view mark earlier this month which means I have been averaging 100 page views per post.  Of course, early on, the page views were in the very low numbers but lately they have been averaging between 120-130 per post.  I am something of a statistics junkie and I like to compete with myself.  So the growth of my blog has been one of my minor pleasures.  I know there are other far more popular stitching blogs with far more followers but I am content with what I have accomplished.

So, I thought I would celebrate by having one of those companies that prints and binds blog entries into an actual book make one of my blog for me.  Basically, this blog is a better version of my old hand-written stitching journals since I can now incorporate photos in the entries.  So it would be logical to have it available in book form as well ... just to page through whenever I want a trip down memory lane without tying up a shared computer for hours.  It would also serve as a nice back-up.

As to the giveaway, I thought I'd spread a little stitching joy around by offering a $25 gift certificate to www.123stitch.com to one of my readers.  Just post your answer to the following question in the comments section:

Which of my own personal favorites would you select as best post of the lot?  Why?

1.  Dec. 20, 21, 24, 27, 2011: Santas on Parade, Santas on Parade the Ornaments, Santas on Parade: the Sue Hillis Collection, Santas on Parade Fini.  I consider this one post in four parts since it covers just one topic.

2.  Nov. 13, 2010:  The Design Process

3.  Oct. 6, 2012: All Hallow's Eve Stitchery

4.  Nov. 3, 2012: Thanksgiving Stitching

5.  Apr. 9, 2010: Some Thoughts on Pricing Trends in Stitching
6.  Jul. 7, 2011:  Totems and Talismans


Please note that the second part of the question, "Why?" will be used to select the winner of the gift certificate.   I'll pick a winner on Dec. 6 which will give folks a week to enter.

Door Prize Giveaways

Having reached SABLE [Stash Above and Beyond Life Expectancy] or as near as makes no difference, I find that I can give away door prizes and other goodies without the slightest twinge of regret.  I know that the charts listed below, however lovely, will never be stitched by me.  They are simply not my style.  So I offer them to you, my readers.  In the comments below choose one chart you would like to stitch and tell me why.  I'll choose the winners on Halloween: a treat instead of a trick.  I apologize for the bit of glare on the photos.  I snapped all these shots under my stitching lamp and did my best to position the lamp so the bright spot didn't obscure the design but so that the photo was still light enough to give a faithful photo of the design itself.

Chart #1  Lavender Wings' Santa's Helper, a reproduction of the art work of Stewart Sherwood.  I do stitch Santas but I tend to prefer the Prairie Schooler and Homespun Elegance style Santas to the more usual depictions of St. Nicholas.  Any traditionalists itching to stitch this Santa?

Chart #2:  Calico Crossroads' Share Your Heart Christmas Stocking.  Again, I do stitch stockings, as anyone who has been following this blog recently knows quite well.  Just not this sort of stocking.  However, I am sure someone out there would enjoy this one.  Any Band Sampler and specialty stitch fans out there?

Chart #3:  Giana Punti Antichi Wood Stockings Collection #1 Cottage.  Even though this piece was designed to be finished on the wooden stocking shaped floss sorter, I am sure this could easily be finished as a mini-stocking or as a Christmas Tree ornament.  Is there a stitcher interested in giving this little cottage a home?




Chart #4:  Rosewood Manor's Snowflake Trees.  There is no photo of this one.  Anyone familiar with this designer knows that photos of a stitched model just aren't to be found on her card shaped charts.  This lovely little chart could easily be finished as a biscornu or as a Christmas Tree ornament.

Chart #5:And another Christmas Tree ornament: this one is Beary Merry Christmas 2013.  I no longer stitch teddy bears having overdosed on them during my daughter's childhood.  She collected teddy bears, loved them to death and asked for many stitched items with that theme.  Once she grew out of teddy bear mania, I swore off them for life, thank you very much.  Still he is a sweet little guy and if you haven't been traumatized by over-bear-ing as I have been, you may enjoy stitching this ornament.

Chart # 6: Lavendar Wings' Littl Bitz series: Stacked Pumpkins: Switching gears, I have this little Halloween chart to offer.  Pumpkin  and black cat lovers might want to stitch this one.  Any takers?







Good luck to all who enter my little giveaway!

Blogiversary Giveaway Winner

It's been a week since my blogiversary post and its promise of a giveaway.  It is time to select a winner.  But before I do so, I thought I'd answer the poll questions myself.

1.  Who are your five favorite designers?

My five favorite designers in no particular order are Teresa Wentzler, Victoria Sampler, Blackbird Designs, Homespun Elegance and Prairie Schooler.  There are, of course, others that I enjoy very nearly as much but those are the top five.

2.  Name your five favorite LNS/ONS.

I order most frequently from 123stitch [ONS] and from the following brick and mortar shops: The Stitchery Row [Endicott,  NY], The Needle in a Haystack [Alameda, Ca], The Silver Needle [Tulsa, Ok] and The Corner Shop [whenever I make it up to Wiscasset, Maine ... it's been a while so I don't know if this shop still exists]

3.  Name your five favorite stitching themes.

Again these are listed in no particular order: Quakers, dragons, samplers [vintage and contemporary], Autumn, Christmas.

4.  Other then mine, of course [she said with tongue firmly in cheek], name your five favorite stitching blogs.

Blacksheep's Bit of the Web, Dani: Black Belt Stitching Wizard, Stitch Bitch, Mainely Stitching, and Karen's Handiwork.  Of course, I enjoy reading all the blogs on the reading list sidebar but if I had to pare it down to just five, these would be it ... though I might cheat a bit and add Stitching the Night Away in Illinois to make it six.

5. Name your five favorite stitching websites: these could be shops, designers, fiber/fabric/tools manufacturers, etc.
I enjoy visiting these sites: Caron, which has wonderful free charts and lots of interesting information on the fibers it manufactures; The Rainbow Gallery, also a good source of free charts and information about fibers; Kreinik, again another good source for free charts and interesting fibers; Monica Ferris, an author who writes about the owner of a stitchery shop; and finally, EGA.  I have an individual membership in the EGA and I enjoy browsing their site for useful information [tutorials and such] and their course listings ... one of these days I am going to sign up for one of the online classes.

And now, for the winner, selected using the online randomizer: #7 Calamity Jr.  I want to thank everyone for participating in my little survey,  I will be spending some pleasant hours exploring the sites that have been shared in the comments.  I hope all the participants in this very unscientific survey will also be visiting some "new-to-them"  sites.

Blogiversary Poll and Giveaway

This marks my fifth anniversary as a blogger: August 24, 2007 - August 24, 2012. I would have let it pass unnoticed had I not seen Stitch Bitch's blogiversary post a few days ago.

I liked Anna's recap of vital statistics concerning her blog and will do the same thing here.  In the past five years:
* I have written 805 posts.
* Blogger has recorded 56,291 Pageviews.
* Readers have left 2,385 Comments.
Which works out to approximately 3 comments per post or 1 comment for every 24 pageviews.  Clearly, I don't evoke much of a response from my readers.

Nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of blogging, both as writer and reader.  I have certainly learned a lot from comments left on my own blog and from reading the stitching  blogs of others.

I thought I'd mark my anniversary with a five question poll with the theme of, what else, five!  And I will also offer an appropriate prize,  a $5 gift certificate to the 123stitch ONS.  All you need to do is answer the questions using the comments option.  I will use the online randomizer to choose  one of  the respondents to my little poll as winner of the gift certificate.

1.  Who are your five favorite designers?

2.  Name your five favorite LNS/ONS.

3.  Name your five favorite stitching themes.

4.  Other then mine, of course [she said with tongue firmly in cheek], name your five favorite stitching blogs.

5. Name your five favorite stitching websites: these could be shops, designers, fiber/fabric/tools manufacturers, etc.

It is my hope, that in reading the comments, I will learn about a lot of new-to-me designers, shops, blogs and websites.  So URL addresses for any of the above would be appreciated.  I always enjoy broadening my horizons.

Winner of the 2012 Halloween JCS issue

There were quite a few entries for this giveaway so I have to conclude that my negative review of this particular issue is definitely a minority opinion.  But my opinion, for what it is worth, remains that previous issues were much better, e.g.: the 2010 issue had splendid designs like Ink Circles' Full Moon and Plum Street Sampler's Halloween Greetings, among others.  If one can apply the word elegant to Halloween ornaments, those earlier designs deserve the adjective.  And previous issues had lovely designs from The Sweetheart Tree and Prairie Schooler and cleverly whimsical designs from La-D-Da and Monsterbubbles.  The new stuff just doesn't seem to compare favorably with the old.  I do believe I am becoming one of those old cranks that begins every other sentence with phrases like "In the good old days..." or, worse yet, "In my day ...".

I suppose the ornaments in the current issue are more kid-friendly [indeed, the inspiration for many of them seems to have been derived from the costume section of your local Toys'R'Us] and I expect they will stitch up rather quickly, but I still haven't the slightest desire to stitch a single one ... but then my distaste is someone else's good fortune: the winner of this issue is Monica.  I used the on line Randomizer  and her number came up.  I will be e-mailing her later today.  Thanks to everyone who entered, I enjoyed reading your comments.

Re-Starting My New Start - And Another Giveaway

The discarded 32 ct fabric

Replaced by this lighter 28ct linen

Usually my instincts are pretty good when I exchange the recommended fabric for something I already have in my stash, but not this time.  I had chosen a 32ct deep green mystery linen for my TW Woodland Angel Christmas Stocking and the two strands of blended floss just weren't laying properly.  The overall effect was just plain messy ... I can think of no better way to describe it.  Now, usually I like the look of two strands of DMC on 32 ct but this particular linen is even more irregular than some, with some extremely thin threads and some very nubby fat ones and everything in between.  It also has an unusually soft drape in the hand.  Even with the softest of tensions, some of the stitches look fat and some look like they were stuffed into threads too thin to hold them.  Rather like a size 18 woman squeezing into a size 12 dress.  I still wanted a bit of color in the background rather than the recommended ivory so I have started over again on a 28ct Silkweaver Cashel linen.  The color is called Castle View, a very pale misty dawn sort of blue-grey.  Since the color is more of a neutral [rather like the recommended Ivory] I expect the DMC colors in this project will show to better effect.  And the floss is laying better on the 28ct.  The stocking will be a bit larger than I had wanted but I am sure the end product will look a whole lot better.  

At least I haven't wasted too much time on the dark green fabric, only an hour or two.  I know what my next waiting room task will be: frogging the 32ct fabric.  Aside from Christmas ornaments or a sunflower sampler, I can'r think of many ways to use this color linen.  But I expect I will find some other use for it that will involve stitching over two threads with one strand of silk floss.  Silk tends to have more of a loft than DMC cotton so one strand of a Belle Soie is thicker than one strand of DMC but thinner than two strands and ought to work well on this fabric.  As I said, I have very few ideas as to what sort of project would work on that deep  green color [see the first photo].  So, I invite my readers to make suggestions.  If I use a suggestion, I will send the reader who offered it a small gift of some of my favorite green flosses from Thread Gatherer or GAST or WDW.

Stitching on Goal

Monday afternoon, I resumed frogging and stitching on my Holly and Hearts Sampler. I managed to complete all but a tiny bit of the bottom row of tracery ... just a bit of the upper right corner of the row needs stitching. The first photo shows progress made on Monday and the second photo shows progress made on Tuesday morning. It is my habit to start my day on a relaxed note with an hour of stitching before getting ready for work. I am almost done with the beading. Then, it will just be a matter of completing the three specialty stitches and, voila, my first class project finish for the year! I am hoping to finish this piece by Wednesday.

I have also enrolled in a Scissor/Scissor Keep exchange and have been checking out the scissors available at 123stitch and The Silver Needle. I have a $45 gc from 123stitch coming my way in payment for a chart I sold and I am planning on buying fabric for a band sampler [from SANQ] that I wish to stitch and perhaps the scissors, as well. But first, I'll have to check the Stitchery Row website. So far, The Silver Needle seems to have the most interesting collection of scissors though some of their more appealing selections are way above the suggested price range. It seems only sensible to buy the scissors first so that I might then design a scissor keep the right size and with an appropriate theme and colorway. Most of the participants seem to like dragon designs, clearly not a hardship for me to stitch given my abiding love for dragons. I already have a few ideas in mind but shall wait to finalize them once I have been matched with a partner.

Blogaversary Giveaway

Barbara, who writes a lovely blog called mainely stitching , won my blogaversary giveaway back in September and requested a patriotic piece. It took me a while, but this is what I came up with using Glory Bee's complimentary chart, Liberty, which I converted to Belle Soie silks. I kept to the same muted palette as in the charted GAST overdyes for two reasons. First, that palette worked so well with my chosen backing fabric and chenille trim. [I have photographed the pillow against the backing fabric, one of three coordinated fabrics of which I bought 1/2 yard each some time ago. There is a print and a larger plaid in the same colorway. Wonderful stuff.] Second, I remember one of Barbara's posts in which she stated that she thought Buckeye Scarlet was one of the ugliest reds imaginable ... so I figured I'd better steer away from the traditional bright red-white-blue. I chose the finish of a small pillow lined with muslin and filled with ground walnut shells so that it could be used either as a pin pillow in her craft room or a bean bag toy for her children's indoor winter amusement ... it can get pretty cold on the Maine coast during the long winters and a variety of indoor games are a maternal survival technique! I added a little brass charm of the Liberty Bell that has been kicking around in my stash for nearly a decade. Until this piece, I had never found just the right project for it ... but it works perfectly here. I am pleased with the result and hope Barbara enjoys the piece as much as I enjoyed making it.