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I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Sunday, March 29, 2020

Stitching While S.I.P.

Hello, My Fellow Shut-Ins!

Of course, the S.I.P. in the title refers to sheltering in place, which most of us are doing right now.  So while I have a captive audience, I'll take this opportunity to show you some finishes and also what I've been working on lately.  Let's start with the finishes...

I love the robins on this pillow.
March is the month when you start to see them again
around these parts.
From Heart in Hand's Square Dance series.

Jeanette Douglas taught this class last year
at a retreat in Bloomington, Indiana.
I just recently got these two pieces back from the finisher.

About five years ago, Plum Street Samplers 
came out with a series of Sampler Lesson bowl fillers.
I, of course, bought all the charts (with thread).
This is the second one that's completed.

And yet another March pillow.
This is from the Little Dove's Year leaflet.
In the chart, the fourth sheep was on a hill
that was floating above the ground.
I decided to extend the hill downward
and backstitch the month over the cross stitching.


Now for the WIPs...

I'm close to a finish on this Charley Harper piece.
Just a couple of sections on the large bird and
a small piece of the background need to be stitched.
The name of the piece is Rainforest Birds.

I'm getting close on this one as well.
This is a freebie (!) from Blackwork Journey
entitled Pandora's Box.
In addition to the blackwork motifs,
there are boxes with cross stitch,
pulled work and pattern darning.

This book is from 1995,
and I came across the cover piece on Instagram.
It was love at first sight.
There are a lot of enablers on Instagram!
I found the book for sale on Etsy,
and started kitting it up right away.

Here is my start.
It was somewhat of a challenge.
The book was in perfect condition,
but the printed chart was so small
as to be unreadable.
So I enlarged it on my copier/printer.
The model was stitched with Anchor yarn,
which doesn't necessarily correspond to DMC colors.
I matched colors from my fairly large stash
of DMC floss to the photo as best I could.
Finally, the chart did not have every tenth
line bolded, and no stitch count was given.
So, after manually counting and
marking every tenth line, I was ready to go.
I know that two empty boxes
are not very exciting, but just wait.

Here is my final WIP, Spring Robin
from Widgets and Wool Primitives.
The chart was gifted to me by Averyclaire
a couple of years ago.  Thanks, K!
The fabric is 20-count "Summer Sunset" Lugana.

So what is on my staying-at-home horizon?
More small pillows, of course.
I have a very fun painted canvas
that I plan on starting when
Rainforest Birds is completed.
And after that, who knows?

Thanks, as always, for visiting.
Stay well.

7 comments:

Donna G. said...

Hey Pat, You’ve been busy. Lots of pretties. I think the Plum Street is my fave.

Rita said...

Oh, my! Pandora´s Box and all the birds! Wonderful!

Carol said...

You have the most variety of pieces of any stitcher I know, Pat! Absolutely love that Charley Harper piece--such vibrant colors and bold lines. And your Plum Street Sampler finish is darling and offers wise words for all of us at this time of sheltering in place. Take care now!

Julie said...

A lovely bright and colourful post, just what we need to see right now. Lots of lovely things you've shared with us.
Thank you, stay safe x

butterfly said...

Lovely stitching some lovely designs .
I have this book upstairs in my book shelve .
I must take another look.
Stay safe.

Astrids dragon said...

So many beautifully stitched and finished pieces! I like the March sheep the best, so cute.
Pandora's Box looks so lovely, those colours look great together.

LindaLee said...

You certainly have been busy, and all the beautiful pieces, both finished and WIP's are beautiful. We are indeed sheltered at this time. We wander out in our yard and I go for my walk each day. Other than that, we try going just once a week to the grocery store. You stay well Pat and be safe.