Another post, two days in a row. I'm on a roll.  So this is a little design from Danybrod called Printemps des Lapins.  I used the smaller of the two designs to make this little needlebook. You really can't see it from the picture but it is stitched on a very pretty light yellow hand-dyed lugana from Fabric Flair.

I used HDF silk floss and apparently some of my Sophies hair for the fibers. I didn't notice Sophies hair until I posted the pictures. That's what happens when you live in a house with 3 dogs, lol. 

On the inside I cut two pieces of felt for the needles and added a cute little bee button. Then I used some cream satin ribbon to tie the needlebook shut.

I haven't been stitching today but the day isn't completely over, so, maybe later this evening????

Thanks for visiting...........

This is the first thing I have stitched in many many days. I am just in dark place with my stitching, lol. I just don't want to stitch. Actually I really hate it when I get like this. It seems to happen every few months and makes me crazy. I like to be doing something but when I get like this I become a serial starter and start and start and start and finish nothing. This though, I managed to finish. Probably because the little stitched portion took about an hour. It's done in one over which I really dislike doing. This tiny thing is about as much one over as I can do at one time. 

The little bird and hearts are from a Tra La La design, I added a couple more hearts to even the design out for this little finial pincushion.  The fabric is a very light green hand-dyed 28 count lugana from Silkweavers, it's very pretty. The threads are HDF silks, I love using those.

The finial is wooden and my friend Wendy picked them up for me at Lowes. I painted it blue to match the little bird and then just added some pink gimp around the edges along with a cream colored embossed satin ribbon.

All in all I think it turned out pretty darn cute and it was super fast. The finishing was maybe 1/2 hour including the painting of the finial. You can't beat that. 

Now, my plan for today is to try and stitch another small something and finish it and try and get back into the stitching. sigh......

I haven't touched And a Garden Grew and I'm very disgusted with myself over that. I think one of the main reasons I haven't stitched on it is I don't like the arbor and I think I'm talking myself into frogging it all out and just filling that space with flowers etc.  Now I'm thinking of not even adding the verse I had decided on. I'm not sure how I would put it in without the arbor to frame it.

I know I said I would try and post everyday and I didn't follow through but I will try and post at least every couple days.......I WILL TRY!!!! Hopefully!!

Thanks to everyone that stops by to look. See you tomorrow or the next day.

I finally finished something but its crochet. I found a very pretty pattern called Spring Flowers Crochet Doily.  Here is a link to the pattern for the flower portion http://www.crochetdoilies.com/crochet_spring_flower.html . The flower portion is free and if you want directions for the center etc you have to pay. The pattern is PDF and is wonderful instant gratification because if you are like me, waiting for the mail to bring the pattern is dangerous to say the least. I would crochet the flowers and either lose them or lose insterest in finishing it before the pattern would come in the mail. This way, I did the flowers and the directions were in my inbox and I managed to finish it, ha.

I like mine but I like the colors of the original better. I didn't have those colors though and couldn't buy them locally.

I took the picture on a white towel so it doesn't show up as well as I would like but I tried to take the picture on the table and just couldn't get a decent one. As you can see I still don't know how to set the date on the camera correctly, I can live with that.


I just can't get myself to stitch anything, I pick it up and set it down. Start something and put it away. It's just best that I leave it for a little while. Hopefully I will want to stitch again next week.

For all of you that are still visiting, thank you for not giving up on me,lol.   Hope to see you tomorrow.

So I just got the mail and Carrie of Carries Threads sent me a skein of the HDF Irish Moss that is discontinued and now I can finish the Tra La La design. Carrie is such a nice person. If you have never tried her threads, you should. Here is a link to her threads.....http://www.carriesthreads.com/

I loooooove her silks. They are so soft and are a very good price. 8 yards, 6 stranded and $2 a skein, gorgeous colors too.......Check them out:)

Wow, I've been sidetracked and I have  not stitched one thing. Honesty that is very strange for me. I didn't work on any BAP or little WIP........I'm ashamed of myself. Well, I'm really not ashamed of myself. The weather has been wonderful and I've just been busy. Soon school will be out and the daycare kids will be here during the days and I will be lucky if I get to stitch at all. UGH, summers.

I still want to finish And a Garden Grew. I need to take it out and just set it on the endtable.  I'm going to do that today, I swear.

The Tra La La design, hmmm. I made a mistake with the green of course. I don't have enough to finish the design now that I've had to take the floss out.........I think I will just stitch sections of the vines and leaves with what I have left and find a coordinating color to fill in with, since its overdyed I may be able to get away with cheating.

I had forgotten all about the little punch needle sheep too. I was scrolling through the blog pictures and saw him..........I tell you I am easily distracted to the point of insanity.  Maybe I will drag him out........maybe.

Here is a new design I may have to get, its by Island Cottage Needlearts and its called Spring Heart Hop. I love bunnies and I love finishing things into heart shapes. That makes this a win win.

Heres another one by Acorn House called Stubborn Bunnies. I think this one is great. I love the bunny that is stuffed.........so cute.

These two are going into my definete maybe pile........for sure, probably.




So I'm off to do something, drag out the sheep and the BAP.  Hopefully I will put in at least a few stitches. I must say my 100 stitches a day didn't last long. I'm nothing if I'm not consistent.

Thanks for stopping by, sorry to have been neglecting the blog. I'll try and post daily. 

I did not stitch one thing yesterday. I spent the majority of my day trying to figure out how to post a flickr slideshow to my blog. Do you like it??? Ok, as you can see I was less than successful in that attempt.  I managed to make a flickr slide show and when I try and add it to my blog, it says it's there but it isn't.......AARGH!!

I'm going to try and stitch on the Tra La La today though and maybe finish it.  That is probably wishful thinking and it just dawned on me I have not taken out And a Garden Grew this week, shame on me.

I wish I could say that I'm done with the slideshow thing but it's eating at me so I know I will be back googling how to do it right................

See you tomorrow!

I've gotten a tiny bit more done on the Tra La La design.   Finished the cage, stitched two more birds. Now I'm getting really nervous because I don't think I have enough of the green to finish, go figure.  If you remember it is a discontinued color and from way back when the skeins of HDF were stapled.

I didn't get much stitched, the weather is just so nice and it has rained for so long. Maybe the nice weather will help with my funky mood. I'm going to try harder too. Maybe that will help, I hope.

As I look at this picture I'm thinking I really like this design. More than I thought.  Karen told me in the comments section that Diane at LHN had done a very neat finishing of a cross stitch on a "book box". I went to the website and I think I would like to finish this that way. I think I can get a box that is a book at Michaels. Thats on my list for the next trip to the "big" city.  Thanks Karen!!

That's it for today. I'm off to do a few more stitches. When this is done I will drag out And a Garden Grew again.......Will try and finish the sheep punch needle this weekend.......Wow, I sound busy:)

Stop by again!

Its seems something shiny got in my way again. I put down the Tra La La and started a small punch needle design. A friend sent me some great punch needle stuff and I got it Friday in the mail so.........that began my downward spiral of "serial starting".  I love that I can blame someone else:)

I'm more than 1/2 way through it and it's kind of fun. I'm getting better about not making loops on the back of the fabric.  As you can see from the picture the back is very very messy. I tried taking the looped part out but found out quickly that once you do that, the thread won't hold in the same spot so I decided to leave the loops and try to do better. I think it will just take practice

Hmmm, just noticed the "black something" in the picture of the sheep, its not supposed to be there.  Lo and behold in the second picture there is a piece of Sophie hair, sigh. Life with three dogs.

I understand why these are small designs, it takes a long time to make much headway. Still its something new and I love new.

I have a confession, sigh. I did NOT stitch on And a Garden Grew yesterday after I took the picture.  I started something small. I was going to stitch on it yesterday and today but.......something shiny got in my way.  I will start on it again come Monday though. That WIP will be finished!!!


The good news is that I started Tra La La's C'est Lete'.  I love Tra La La designs. I have another Tra La La I want to make that is called La Maison Bleue.

I changed the colors on it and I'm hoping I have enough of the green to finish it. It's HDF Irish Moss and its one of the old ones. The ones that were stapled. The color is also discontinued now.....I think there will be enough though.


Not sure what I will make this one into. Its working up a little larger than I thought. Maybe a hanging something, maybe a sewing book.  Any ideas out there?? I'm always looking for something different to finish stuff into or different ways of finishing.

If any of you out there know any terrific blogs that have wonderful, different finishing ideas I would love to know about them, just drop me a message in the comments section:)  I'd like to look at your blogs too!

I'm off to stitch or maybe go outside for  a little while, there is a break in the rain. FINALLY!!

These are some of the Just Nan's I stitched in November and December of 2011.

This one is Christmas Wallet. I had never finished a hanging ornament this way before but I liked the way it turned out.

These 2 are  Rudy Reindeer, as a standup and ornament.

Rudy Reindeer is a companion piece to Blitzen Glistens. They are both very fast and fun stitches. Other than the one over in the designs. Its about as much one over as I can do without losing what is left of my mind :)

I think this one is a portion of Christmas Memories but I could be wrong about the name.

I like to take her samplers and make them into ornaments by using the lines in the designs I like the most and just mixing them up.  It makes them unique, more fun to stitch too.

I made a lot more than this but I don't think I have too many more of the pictures saved. I normally delete them pretty quick.

Ok,  I have procrastinated enough..........its back to the sampler.

Here is the progress on And a Garden Grew. I have gotten quite a bit done on it but I'm feeling the need to make something small. I'm going to try and stitch on this through tomorrow though and maybe make a little thing this weekend.

So, I finished up the left side, all the designs above the arbor and I have stitched the right side all the way to the bottom. 

This weekend I will try and figure out which alphabet I'm going to use. I want something very similar to the one in the design if I can find it. Then I get to center it. It would be great if I got it right the first time but I'm guessing that won't be the case.

Thanks for coming to back.

I don't have a lot more done on And a Garden Grew.  A few flowers, bugs, birds etc.  Still,  I have started the arbor and I have decided on the saying. I'm going with the third one "There are always flowers for those who want to see them" by Henri Matisse.  It will probably take me a whole day to figure out how to center it, ugh. That is a whole new problem all its own. I'm sure I can do it though, I've done it before.  Sometimes I've done it right:)


I won't even start to do that until I finish along both sides, the center top and the arbor. There is plenty of time to worry about the saying later.

Honestly I've done a lot on this since I took it out and started again. I'm pretty happy with myself for not putting back in the drawer. I just keep thinking it will look great in the living room when I repaint.

I plan on stitching on it all day today and tomorrow. The forcast is for rain so I better take advantage of the stitching weather. 

Thanks for visiting. See you tomorrow.

Here is a picture of my tree I planted this weekend. I'm sure you were all dying to see it.......well maybe not.  A tree is a tree I suppose to most people  Still, it is the only tree in my yard and I think its great. Its a flowering crab apple and its about 4 feet tall or a little more. Some day it will be huge.

Lots of weeds beyond my fence. The place next door doesn't really care about weeds.  I will throw weed killer on them soon.  The picket fence in the back ground I'm going to paint and try to train cucumbers up it this summer. Not sure it will work though.

So the saying for And a Garden Grew, I think I'm leaning towards the third one. I am over number 2 for sure. I kind of liked it last night but today I dont. 

Well its back to stitching for me............

Come back again. I plan on posting a picture of my progress tomorrow, its not a lot but its progress.

Thanks for coming by.