Papillon Creations SAL , Part 3

I have some pictures to show of what I have done. I was working on Part 3 of "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Speciality stitch version by Papillon Creation. The square in the centre is the part on which I was working. Oh, I enjoyed stitching this project, it is like a treat for me.

I made some changes in colors. Instead of making each coner in different floral color I decided to add more greenary and to use the same colors of the purple palette in all corners. I think I avoided a little motley effect and made a more organized garden.
















I am pleased with how the Garden is turning out. I wonder what else is going to grow in the garden.

I also wanted to show you the little box in which I keep floss and other necessary things for the project. On the top of the box there is "Pearl Angel" by Just Nan, the design is so delicate here!






















Thank you for stopping by.
Happy Stitching !

I Was Pinkeep'd

Yesterday I got a package from Deanne, my HOE partner. She made a very nice pinkeep for me! It is stitched on a Silkweaver's handdyed fabric ( very pretty) with Stranded by the Sea thread. In her card she said that the design is a freebie which she found on the Internet. Deanne also sent some extras: two skeins of DMC Variations floss, ribbons and a note pad.

Thank you very much Deanne, I love everything and will try to make a good use of the floss and ribbons. Here are some pictures of what I got:

While walking in the garden I again took some pictures. I know in some places it is still cool - spring has not arrived yet. The weather here is very changeable - during the day it is rather hot and at night - almost freezing temperatures. I am afraid that my flowers might be killed by frost but so far they are fine.

I like Columbines very much. From the whole package of seeds I got only three plants but they are in different colors! Because of their exotic look my husband called them "aliens". Here are my beauties:

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you have enjoyed your visit.

EMS "Rose Sampler" Update

I'd like to thank everybody who stopped by and left a comment on my mattress pincushion. Thank you for your time and kind friendly words.

Today I have finished Part 3 and Part 4 of "Rose Sampler" by Ellen Maurer-Stroh.

I like the pattern alright, it is very pretty. But, I don't know why, I can't make myself stitch it. Maybe because it is mainly in one solid color and solid crosses - very monotonous for me. I get tired of it so fast, just after a few stitches! Maybe it is because of my injured foot : I can't find a comfortable position to stitch this big project.

I do hope next month I find stitching it more enjoyable. And I still like how it turns out.

Enjoyable stitching to everybody and take care!

A Little Walk And A Finish

After long heavy flooding rains we are having nice weather again. While walking in the garden I took some pictures.

This year a couple of hawks made a nest in our front yard. At first I did not like that because our little pretty birds are afraid of them. But what can you do? We began to watch our new birds. It is interesting to see how they communicate with each other without any cell phones. When it gets rather hot they leave the nest but one of them is always somewhere around, they never leave their "kids" unattended.

More and more flowers and shrubs begin to bloom. The bees are working very hard these days. I tried to take pictures of the butterflies but they are so fast that the camera can't take a good picture of them.

I can't make myseft stitch my SALs projects, a little boring. But I enjoyed stitching a little mattress pincushion. I took the design "Peace" by Nikki Leeman, Country Cottage Needleworks from JCS magazine 2007 Ornament issue. I modified the design and made it a little smaller. It is stitched on 28ct. Glass Blue Monaco one over one with DMC floss. As it is my first mattress pincushion I decided to make the sides with the pulled threads which I liked so much. Here are some pictures of what I have done:


I stitched the boarder with some flowers for the back of the pincushion and

made some flower pins to dress up the back, or the front; they look great on both sides. The last picture shows the actual size of the pincushion.

I am pleased with how the pincushion turned out, it was a treat for me - now back to SALs stitching.
Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your visit.
Take care!

My Pinkeep Reached Its New Home

I am happy to learn that my partner, Janaina, has received the HOE pinkeep exchange package and she likes her pinkeep. I did not expect the package to arrive so fast - it was a pleasant surprise.
Now I can show you the pictures of what I sent to Janaina. Here is the pinkeep, its close up, back and other goodies:































In the post card I wrote to Janaina that I had been stitching the piece in four countries and she did not understand that.

Well, I am originally from Russia and recently we, my husband and I, made a trip to my home country to see my family and friends. I took a few charts with me so I could rotate them and kill the time during the trip. You know, when the flight lasts 13-18 hours you need a variety of activities not to get bored. So I stitched on board the planes, in between the flights, in the airports and hotels. I started ( just marked and kitted) the piece here in Keithville, Louisiana then stitched a little in Chicago; a little inTokyo, Japan; then in Seoul, Korea; in Russia at home then again in Korea, in Los Angeles and finished it here at home for this exchange. I thought a piece with such history will be interesting for Janaina. Besides I stitched this pattern before and I knew it is pretty. Here are some more pictures of other things with the same design:

a box, a biscornu - my first one,

















that is its back, and a little ring pincushion - hard to take a good picture of it but a very convenient thing.

















Everything can fit inside the box.

I modified the design a little in the corners so it can sit better on the top of the box and added some more beads. I stitched all pieces on 28 ct Antique Evenweave which I coffee dyed a little.

If you have not recognized the design yet, it is Just Nan " Spring Fantazy".

Happy stitching to everybody!

Some New Finish

After a bad spell of weather last week here the Interner connection was acting up. I had to wait for about three hours to publish the previous post. Such waste of time! So I waited till they have fixed everything.

I had "A Lady's Heart" by Just Nan framed and wanted to show you some pictures. It was not so easy to get it framed: the quality of work was very poor, I even had to ask the manager of the store for help. Now you still can see some wrinkles on the fabric but with our humidity I hope they soon must be gone.

I was busy making some more "smalls", thread keeps. For them I used the pieces recently stitched and the pieces which were done about a year ago. They all are stitched on 28 ct Evenweave with DMC floss.

The first one is my "quaker inspired", one of my favorites. It is a motif from "Diminutive Dutch Sampler", Carriage House Samplings.

The second one is also very nice. I took the design for it from The Prairie Schooler Designer Series booklet "Spring Miniatures". I changed the colors in the design and now they perfectly match the color of my Azaleas .

The design for the third one is called "Reprise d'un motif ancien Coeur Muguet", a freebie from a French site. I like the design but I am not so happy with the result, tried different finishes - nothing helped so I decided to leave it as it is. Here is my the least favorite:

Anyway, I like to use them when I go to stitch outside , they can be hung on the arm of the swing or kept on a bigger ring together so the wind does not blow away my flosses.

Happy stitching and take care.

My First Hardanger Experience

At first I want to thank all the cross stitchers who stopped by and left their warm birthday greetings and nice comments on my work. I appreciate this and am looking forward to meeting you at my blog again.

It was really hard to find some time for stitching these few days - my birthday, my foot ( I am not so fast now), great weather outside. Walking in the garden I took some pictures of my flowers and some wild ones. I asked my husband if he knows their names and he only could say - "Weeds". Great! I am just preparing to stitch " Don't Let The Weeds" by Fabienne Reilly and I can keep them in mind while working on the project.

I also tried to learn the ABC of Hardanger and for the first project I chose "Be Mine...Valentine" by The Victoria Sampler, a very bright design with sparkling gold and sharp contrast of white and red, and lots of beads.

I used the stitched piece for making a little wood jewel box. While travelling last summer I realized how handy these boxes can be: they do not take much space but help you keep the jewelry or stitching tools well organized.

I think I found a good companion for the box.

That is Just Nan " Christmas Rose", I made it last December.

And this is how the box looks inside.

I think I can show you some more things tomorrow.

Happy stitching to everybody and take care.

Some Birthday Presents

Oh, yes, one year older...
Happy Stitching to everyone!

A Little Creature

I finished stitching "Hedgehog Quaker" by The Workbasket a long time ago and since then I have been thinking how to finish it. I used 22 ct. white fabric ( of unknown origin) and got such a cute tiny creature so I wanted to find something special for its embellishment.

When yesterday in the store I saw bright rings made of glass I said - "Eureka! They are just for my hedgehog."
Now the thread keeper is already in use and I am thinking of making a couple of them more.

Happy stitching to everybody!