Shepherd’s Bush finishes: something old, something new

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

Another Crazy January Challenge finish:  the Shepherd’s Purse by Shepherd’s Bush.   This is a beautiful little purse with a few rows of specialty stitches to keep it interesting, and it finishes up very quickly.

The purse is folded in thirds, and the ribbon ties around the flower button to hold the purse shut.  Lining fabric isn’t included in the kit, but this pattern from Moda’s A Morris Tapestry was a lucky find on the remnant table at the fabric store.  I’ll have to look for more A Morris Tapestry fabric; the small scale designs and color palette are perfect for finishing stitching projects, especially Shepherd’s Bush.

While I was working on the purse, the mail brought the new companion to the Take Joy box top I stitched during the holidays.

Warm Heart by Shepherd’s Bush
Dove WDW linen (30 count)
Stitched with WDW and Threadgatherer Silk ‘N Colors

Warm Heart is just beginning to be available in shops and can also be purchased directly from Shepherd’s Bush.  It’s matched with an antiqued white box (purchased separately) and the pair will make a nice set on my mantle next Christmas.

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Take Joy

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Take Joy by Shepherd’s Bush
Parchment linen (30 count)
Stitched with Soie d’Alger and hand-dyed silk

The goal is to be good and wait for my LNS to receive the latest Shepherd’s Bush holiday smalls, but I wanted to be sure I got one of these boxes, so I ordered it directly from Shepherd’s Bush.   Thing Two was fascinated with the idea that the box lid could be taken apart to put stitching inside, and is of the opinion that we need more such boxes.   I’m also working on a few older SB Christmas designs, but haven’t chosen a way to finish them yet.

Have a great week!

Posted in christmas, smalls | 2 Comments »

Butterflies, Blossoms, and Bees

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Butterflies, Blossoms, and Bees by Just Nan
Lilac Cashel linen (28 ct)
Stitched with DMC

My exchange partner received my package today, so now I can show it off!

My partner’s wish list favorites included purple, flowers, and butterflies, so Butterflies, Blossoms, and Bees seemed like a good fit.  This design is full of specialty stitches, which made it more challenging than I expected, but the chart comes with easy-to-follow diagrams for each new stitch.

After dithering between a few different finishing possibilities, I decided on a box lid, using Blackbird Designs’ tutorial for fabric covered boxes (part one and part two of the tutorial can be found on the BBD blog).

This was a fun project!  I liked learning the new stitches, and the end result was so pretty.  (I want to make one for myself now!)  I’m so glad to hear that my partner likes it, too.  Thanks to Zeb for setting up this exchange on the Just Nan Junction blog; it was a great way to start out 2010.

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