The Liberty Trio

Hey Blog Buddies,

How's June going for you?  It's been so chilly here that we've had to turn on the furnace once again, but they promise it will start warming up today.

I've been in a patriotic mood stitch-wise lately, and I have three finishes to show you!  First up, one of my Turtle Trot stitch-along pieces that is refusing to wait until the update on the 10th.

Plum Street Samplers' Liberty Inn.

This was a workshop hosted by my LNS, 

Inspired Needle, last June.

It was a wonderful chance to meet Paulette Stewart,

who was just delightful.

I made several changes to the pattern along the way,

and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

This is Liberty Starlet by Summer House Stitche Workes.

It's a limited edition kit from last summer.

The kit contained the linen

(which is WDW Confederate Gray), the threads,

a Mason jar lid for the base and the tiny ball fringe.

It was fun to stitch, but not fun (for me) to finish.

I looked at the finishing instructions and thought,

"How hard can it be?"

Well.

I cut the piece out in the recommended 6.5" circle,

then I cut a 6" circle of muslin for the lining.

I had decided to use some of my walnut shells

for the stuffing.

Did the running stitch on the edge of the muslin 

to create a pouch,

overfilled it with the walnut shells, 

had to dump some out,

tried pulling my double thread tight to close it and--

the thread broke!

What to do?  Hmmmm.

I thought about putting the pouch into a plastic bag

(most of the walnut shells, miraculously, were still in it)

but I didn't have any bags that small.

So I took a couple of narrow strips of Saran Wrap

and wrapped it!

I know all of you skilled finishers

are rolling your eyes right about now.

I put all that into the pouch made from the actual piece,

crossed my fingers, and glued it into the jar lid.

I hope it doesn't fall out, but gravity alone should keep it in,

because I don't plan on displaying it upside down.

Oh yes, gluing the tiny ball fringe

to the jar lid was very fiddly, too.

Last but certainly not least,

the third Liberty,

my Prairie School Liberty Bell.

 This was fun for me to stitch and finish

because I didn't do the finish-finishing!

Isn't it just darling?

My GF, Averyclaire, is starting

her own finishing business,

and I was her lucky first customer!

Let's face it, a lot of Prairie Schooler designs

(and I have plenty of them)

are fun and fast to do,

but they can be a little plain,

and just need some "tarting up."

I love this piece because

it's not only beautifully finished

but so unique, too.

 If you're like me and hate to do

your own finishing,

click here to see 

Averyclaire's new Finishing Services page.

That's it from here.

Have a stitchy day,

and thanks for visiting.