Happy Birthday, Everybody!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Also, 'cause I know y'all will ask:

Pie recipe here

Cookie recipe here

Halloween finish is Happy Halloween by Silver Creek Samplers (more on that later)

Fabric for Halloween WIP is 28 ct. Murky linen by PTP (more on that later, too) (yes, it's spooky and awesome)

Hope y'all have a safe and wonderful Independence Day!

Summer in the Sewing Room

Summer Dollhouse

I had to skip displaying my spring dollhouse because of moving preparations, so I was anxious to get my summer dollhouse up as soon as possible, if a tiny bit early. These are all my little Texas finishes (if you remember the Texas basket I did a couple of years ago). If you'd like to see my other seasonal dollhouses, just click on the label at the end of this post.

Saturday Sampler: Fresh Air Edition

I have a summery finish! This sweet freebie--which is available here--has been in my stash for a while, and so has the honeycomb fabric. I finally got them together!

Fabric: 28 ct. Berkshire Hive from Fabric Flair
My thread choices (Classic Colorworks):

bee skep: Bramble Bush, Sassy Brass
bees: Blackbird, Queen Bee, DMC B5200
flowers: Plum Paisley, Purple Aster
vines: Weeping Willow
border: Bramble Bush
"BEE": Purple Aster

Note: the top wing of the bee on the right is slightly different from the others. If you want them all to be symmetrical, add another row of four stitches to the top wing.

We had torrential rain and a cold front yesterday, and today is glorious. It's the end of July and it's 64 degrees. I have all the windows open. My absolute favorite smell in the whole world is the smell of fresh air wafting through the house. Unless we'll freeze or swelter, I have the windows open, and it's a rare treat to be able to open them in the middle of the summer. Tiger Lily is enjoying the fresh air.

Snackage!

Upcoming projects!

Fresh air, a finish, snacks, a new project, a happy kitty... what could be better? Happy Saturday!

Summer in a Jar

I don't like stitching on deadlines, even though I occasionally impose them on myself, so after the rush of finishing my Texas basket, I wanted to just relax with a quick and easy stitch. The current CEC freebie, which you can find here, caught my eye. It reminded me of that childhood summer activity: catching lightning bugs in a jar, putting the jar beside the bed, and watching their lazy flickering while drifting off to sleep (and dutifully setting them free in the morning). I saw a dialect map today that showed that "lightning bugs" is the preferred terminology in Texas and throughout the south, while the rest of the country calls them "fireflies." I suppose "lightning bugs" would've been too long to fit in the design, but it doesn't matter. Those adorable little bug buttons spoke to me, and I had to stitch it. I immediately ordered the buttons from JABCO, and when they arrived I was delighted to discover they really are fluorescent! (They don't glow in the dark, but they're very bright.)

The chart suggests a cream colored fabric, but I chose 28 ct. denim Jobelan. I wanted my jar to look like dusk, when the lightning bugs rise out of the grass and begin to sparkle. I also wanted them to really "glow" against the darker fabric. I changed every other color, too, and also pared down the number of colors for a more simplified look. Here are my choices, all DMC:

jar: 3753
jar lid: 318, 415
"Sweet Tea": 3826
"&": 415
"Fireflies": 907
flowers: B5200, 744 (Rhodes stitch)
leaves and stems: 3348
attach buttons with 907
***both trims used are from Hobby Lobby

Since this is an unusual shape, I thought I'd include a few finishing pictures. For more detailed descriptions of what's going on in these pictures, see these posts:

How to make rounded corners

How to make a template

The joy of light boxes

Determine the size you want. Mine is 5" x 6".

The bottom corners of the jar can be shaped using the quarter trick.

You'll need a template for the top of the jar. Use your working copy to find the center line of the design and sketch it onto your template paper.

My preferred border of fabric between the edge of the design and the edge of the finish is about 1/4". I measured 1/4" from the side of the jar lid and around the corner of the jar, to make sure my border would be even...

...then I sketched through the measurement marks to get a nice, even border.

Check your template against the design to make sure you've got the shape you want.

And there you have it!

If you want this freebie, go get it and save it now. CEC changes their freebies seasonally and they don't archive old ones.

Now go catch some lightning bugs!

Summer Texas Basket

Thanks so much to all of you who have been cheering me on in this project! In a couple of days, I'll post close-ups of the finishes and share design info and a couple of new finishing ideas.

If you'd like to see my other baskets, click on the "seasonal baskets" label.

Honeybee

This is a very small section of Antique Bee Sampler by Elizabeth's Designs. It's stitched with Caron Wildflowers Tiffany Rose, Weeks Squash and Whitewash, and DMC 310 on 32 ct. mint green Belfast.

I need to have a very productive May, stitching-wise. I'm a little behind on the Advent Animals. I'm about halfway through #13 and #15 just came out. As I confessed yesterday, I didn't get all the bands done on Snowfire Christmas that I wanted to. And there's other stuff I want to be stitching on. I need more hands. 

Independence Day

(Brooke's Books Spirit of America Angel)

Summer Stuff

Just back from a week's vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine, with lots of hiking in Acadia National Park. Spectacular. A few pictures coming soon.

We rolled in at 1 a.m. Saturday morning after a four-hour flight delay due to weather, but I actually managed to get a little finishing done when I regained conciousness.

Here's a little freebie from The Little Stitcher. It's stitched on 28 ct. dirty Cashel linen with DMC Color Variations.

And here's my little summer freebie (posted below) finished.

So. I have a functioning computer, a new camera, I'm back from vacation, and I have some time to stitch. Stand by to be astounded.