Free pattern from My Aunt’s Attic
Antique white linen (32 count)
Stitched with Gentle Art Sampler Threads “Crystal Lake”
This birthday request was a great excuse to stitch up one of the many lovely (and all free!) patterns that can be found on the My Aunt’s Attic site. I added Rhodes stitches in squares and diamonds for texture and variety.
Thanks for visiting!
Long time, no post! I’ve been stitching away for the past month, but nothing is ready to show off yet.
First, an “interspecies” thread exchange. My pal Knitika agreed to knit a pair of her lovely handwarmers for me. In exchange, I’m giving her a completely useless Hardanger centerpiece. I think I’m getting the better part of the bargain in this exchange.
It’s a simple pattern, but the edge proved to be a little tricky. Working on it caused my fingers to stiffen and become sore, so I could only stitch on it just a little, every other day or so. That slowed the progress down considerably, much to my frustration. But I finally finished the edge on Monday, and the rest of the surface stitches are flying along painlessly, so I hope I can have this finished soon.
While I was picking away at the centerpiece edge, my materials kit arrived for the class I’m taking from the Northwest Sampler Guild. This is the Blue Ribbon Sewing Box, taught by Sherri Jones of Patrick’s Woods. Here’s a photo from the class page:
Isn’t it gorgeous? Hopefully mine will look something like it. We’ll get the cherry wood box and scrimshaw pieces at the class. Meanwhile I’m doing my homework and stitching up the slip pockets and smalls:
Last, my brother mentioned that his wife “really likes those pincushion things you make” and suggested that I make her one for her upcoming birthday. I’ll show it off properly next week, but for now here’s a glimpse at the birthday biscornu:
Other bits and pieces include: amusing Thing Two with more Button-up Birdies (stitched, not finished), Crazy January Challenge projects (but nothing significant to show yet) and another pair of peacocks is almost complete. Lots of nearlys and almosts!
Bird of Colour sewing clamp by The Heart’s Content
Hand-dyed linen (40 count)
Stitched with DMC
Here’s a tiny but unusual project: a replica of an antique sewing clamp. The top is a pincushion. Not much stitching involved, but it is 40 count linen stitched over one (what was I thinking?), and we’ll see how complicated it is to finish.
After two not-so-great stitching days, yesterday was much better and I was able to make great progress on the biscornu:
This was a lot of fun; a pretty design and it stitched up very quickly. The first side is about half done, and then the second side of the biscornu will be stitched identically.
D7 Vario biscornu by GPA
Cream linen (28 count)
Stitched with Gentle Art Sampler Threads
These majolica-inspired biscornus with matching beads are one of my favorite splurges at the Silver Needle New Year’s Eve sale.
Looking back at day 3′s progress, I debated whether to include the Rodeo pillow in my challenge list, because I knew it would take a long time, and I was worried that I might lose interest in it before finishing. Yesterday I found stitching on the tapestry canvas slow going; hopefully it will move along more quickly as I get used to it.
I still think it’s a fun design and I’m pleased with the little I was able to do. The nice thing about this challenge is being able to put aside a project like this after one day without feeling required to work on it constantly until it’s done. I think the short work periods combined with guilt-free breaks will keep the project interesting enough to see it through.
Anniversary biscornu by Just Nan
Opal Rainbow Dreams Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC
Which is sweeter: an anniversary box of gray and smoked salt caramels, or this anniversary biscornu? Both are intricate confections in miniature, finished far too soon.
Floral Fifteen by Just Nan
Antique White and Mint Green Cashel linen (28ct)
Stitched with DMC
I don’t suppose anybody will believe I was waiting for the lilacs to bloom to finish this biscornu, will they? Oh, well. This was a fun project and ought to have been fairly quick: the panels are small, and the assembly instructions are excellent. But all sorts of other must-do activities around the house converged (The Gimlet’s WoodBadge training, Thing One’s school musical, and the stove had to be replaced, to name a few), with the result that the fifteen stitched panels sat on the table, marked and in order, for most of the week.
One of the most enjoyable parts of Floral Fifteen was the variety of floral motifs that could be created within the same size of square, using the same color scheme. The roses are my favorite, but all the panels are pretty. As with a standard biscornu, it’s very easy to assemble. For instructions on creating a 15-sided biscornu, see Tintock Tap’s Snowflakes in the Snow tutorial.
I was doing quite well resisting the allure of the Charm Garden Pins until the Grow tin arrived with its pretty leaf pin, and then the Anniversary Biscornu package included the hummingbird pin. It was looking lonely, so I gave in to temptation and bought the rabbit and frog pins. Thing Two likes the ladybug and bee pins, which I haven’t bought … yet … and now The Silver Needle has two new pins coming in June, available for pre-order: a butterfly and a hedgehog. Luckily there’s plenty of room on this biscornu for more pins.
First, here’s a peek at Floral Fifteen. The five green panels are complete, and I’ve stiched nine out of the ten white borders.
Not as far along as I’d hoped, but I thought it might take a long time to stitch all these panels, even if they are very small. (The arrival of two new Just Nan kits, Grow and the Anniversary biscornu, were also distracting.) This darling felt pincushion, and many more like it, can be found at the The Daily Pincushion on Etsy. I have a poinsettia one for Christmas and a few other flower/color combinations; they brighten up my stitching area. Most pincushion designs are available in two sizes and a matching emery can also be made to order.
Last week Bestemor, Thing Two, and I went to Ballard in search of this year’s Syttende Mai pins and discovered a sort-of-new (well, new to us) quilting shop! The Quilting Loft is small, but it’s packed with beautiful, top-quality fabrics. We are fond of backing quilts with flannel, and were happy to see a good selection of pretty flannels in patterns suitable for baby quilts or more grown-up projects. Thing Two was intrigued by the antique sewing machine on display. There weren’t very many notions or books, but what they had was very good; I found a lovely pattern book which I’m looking forward to using. We’ll definitely be back!
Inspired by our visit, Thing Two made a set of rotary cutters for himself out of his construction set:
He’s hard at work on the Petits Fours table runner, and eager to get started on a quilt kit just for him which is on its way in the mail. I had hoped to keep it a surprise for his birthday later this year, but he’s too excited about the quilt; it will be much more fun to make it with his help. Stay tuned …
After a snowy start to April and a few frosty mornings, the camellia has bloomed! Hooray!
And what could that be on the blossoms and leaves? It’s so shiny … so bright … is it … sunshine?
To commemorate the return of flowers and sunshine, I started stitching Just Nan’s Floral Fifteen biscornu this weekend:
It’s a fifteen-sided (!) biscornu; I’ve started with the five green panels, then I’ll do the ten white panels. Other springy goodies from Just Nan: a new limited edition biscornu and a peek at the upcoming Grow! tin.
The wonderful hand embroidery blog Needle’nThread is featuring an April sale by The French Needle! April isn’t over yet, so don’t miss out; head on over to Needle’nThread for all the details. The French Needle features beautiful French needlework books, charts and kits, and accessories. I picked up some Rouge du Rhin charts that have been on my wish list for some time. Now if only those gorgeous scissors would go on sale; you know, the ones that cost more than the first Gimletmobile …
After all that shopping and stitching, the most rewarding stitching I did over the weekend was repairing Thing Two’s blankie. Blankie is an old receiving blanket dating from Thing One’s baby days, but afghans were more Thing One’s style. Thing Two, on the other hand, showed a preference for receiving blankets almost immediately. Luckily there are two of them, and even more luckily, Thing Two likes to have them washed. Both blankets are starting to fray at the edges, so after an especially big adventure, repairs are occasionally needed.
Over the Top/In the Tin 2009 series: Snow by Just Nan
Sky Weeks Dye Works linen (30ct)
Stitched with DMC
Last week’s snow seemed like an appropriate backdrop for the first Just Nan tin of the year. Thing Two loves the cardinals and has been eager for me to stitch this; he was so pleased when it was done. These stitch up quickly, but I fell behind last fall while making Christmas gifts. The Snow kit arrived in January, but it’s taken until now for me to get around to stitching it. Here are the 2008 tins and accessories, finally completed:
Hop (needlebook/scissor fob), Sizzle (pin wheel), Boo (needlebook), and Jingle (biscornu)
Looks like I caught up just in time: a bonus tin, Harmony, should be arriving in the mail late this week or early next week. After that, the next tin in the regular series is Grow, which will be shipped in April — hopefully we’ll be done with snow by then! Spooky and Glow will follow later in the year.
D2 biscornu by Giulia Punti Antichi
Clay Belfast linen (32ct) and silk dupioni
Stitched with GAST
I just love biscornus: they’re cute and quirky, easy to make, and are full of design possibilities. The Gimlet is significantly less enthusiastic about each new arrival, referring to them as “Tribbles“. This biscornu is especially neat; part of a series by Giulia Punti Antichi, each design is inspired by antique Deruta designs and paired with a matching majolica button and bead.
After being forced to admire it, The Gimlet suggested that it could be worn as a hat, then quickly added, “but please don’t!”
