TUSAL and Stash...

Hello All and Happy Thursday!
As always, thanks for all your very kind and sweet comments, particularly about the little necklace piece! I am so glad that you like it too! In all honestly, it is not a piece that I will ever wear to work, but I can't wait to show it off this weekend. Just out of curiosity, is this type of jewellery something that any of you would wear to work? I will try to make sure that I have some photos to show you of how it looks while worn.
As I mentioned in the last post, I did have a bunch of fun working on it, so please don't worry about the missing finishing instructions (I hope that I didn't scare anyone off!!!) - if you love it, get it or at least add it to your wish list! You can always send me a row and ask how I finished it and I will be more than happy to try to show you.

Can you believe that it is that time again - the time for our monthly TUSAL updates? This is how my container looks now. I have started to "compress" the orts lightly on to have more room to play with. I can not believe how much scrap I have created! ow I am starting to think crazy things, like "what can I make with these things once the TUSAL is over?".

Other updates: the last few days I have been getting lots of new fabric to fondle. I tend to keep an ever growing wish-lists in my head and every other month or so, I hit Etsy and gather up most of the fabrics that I simply can not live without. This time, it was mostly Heather Ross - both her Far far Away 1 (and some larger Snow-white cuts from FFA3) and her Mendocino line - and also a few fun Alexander Henry prints.

Aren't the mermaids too cute!? I know that I have said it before; the only thing that is missing now is my ability to sew and motivation to get going on it...

I am aware of the fact that you have probably had it with the Hare Pyns shots just about now - will she stop posting pics of that thing already!? - but this is the last one before finishing, I promise!
Class starts early Sunday and I am thrilled that all the stitching is complete! As you can see, every single linen thread is covered and the piece can not be more ready for assembly. Sherri and I e-mailed each other a bit last week and she mentioned that she hopes that we will leave with a finished project - that would be fabulous. I also know that there is a tiny companion piece that we can purchase in class, so there will be more stitching on this project. One day....

Before Hare Pyns, on Saturday, L-Bug and I will drive up to mid-Ohio together to take the Lucet class. I can not wait!!! I am so excited and I am still doing all kinds of prep-work here at home. I have completed all my stitching, so now I am cutting lining pieces, basting interfacing and reading instructions like a mad-woman. It is a lot of fun!
Tomorrow is pretty much the last day I have to get ready. L-Bug lives 2 hrs from my house and I am going up to stay with her, so I will likely leave directly from work on Friday - I need to be packed and ready (I have been asked to bring sewing machine, cut-mat and rotary cutter, iron, ironing board etc, so I'd better make sure that I have all my ducks in a row before long...).
Anyway, L-Bug and I will have so much fun! Dinner, gossip, tea, stitching - I hope that we can get a lot of things crammed in just the two of us before the classes start.

Well, I am late getting to bed - as usual!
Take care and Sweet Dreams about Stithing,

Recess!

Thanks so much for all the cheers and kind words about Hare Pyns. As you saw, I still have hours left of back-ground stitches to do, but I am at the point where I do believe that it is possible. I do also have to finally finish up the lucet piece - I can't fathom that the classes are to be given next weekend!

Well, after focusing on one project for a couple of weeks, I simply had to switch gears for a while. I decided to take yesterday evening off and stitched a little gem; "initial needle kit" by Rovaris (I bought my kit from Silverneedle).
The kit contains everything but the floss and the finishing instructions, so do not invest in it unless you have some basic confidence in finishing work.

I decided to stitch both a front and a back for my necklace. There were a few small charts for motifs other than initials and I decided to stitch up the bird. After thinking about the fit, I decided to go to Echevette's blog and look at her tiny freebie animals. The bunny was perfect and I added the heart and the checkered floor just for fun. Since I could not make up my mind whether I wanted a red or a purple necklace, I decided to use a Thread Gathered over-dyed silk (Berry Spritz, SNC 042) which has both colors.
I kept the finishing as simple as possible by simply creating squares from the stitched pieces, making sure that they matched very well in size. Then I added a couple of linen pieces on the inside of the mitered corners and I used a cardboard piece sandwiched inside the frame to give the piece more stability. I whip-stitched the front and back onto the frame using a neutral sewing tread. After the stitched pieces were secured to the frame, I added some RG Very Velvet cord (color V213) that I got in a grab-bag years ago (I love stash!) by simply weaving the cord through the frame holes. (RG is an Italian product and is distributed by Rainbow Gallery here in the US) The piece was finished off with some purple beads covering the frame holes. I had a lot of fun being all kinds of creative with this one!
Besides missing finishing instructions, I would also like to point out that the jump-rings that were included for all the charms seem very weak, so that is something that I will likely exchange in the near future.

Here is the finished piece (photos are clickable, so that you can see the details better):

This is a very pretty piece and well worth the $32 I paid for it. I am looking forward to wearing it on the next stitch-meet I go to! :-)

Well, time to run. The birds are already driving me batty and DH is due home in just a couple of hours. Showers need to be taken, pets need to get fed and then it's out to find some birthday gifts! Hop, Hop!
Talk with you in a bit and Happy Stitching,

Sneaky Bunny

The main stitching on Hare Pyns is finally completed. The hardest part was to try to find all the floss that I apparently dropped all over the house... LOL

Her he is, the Hare Pyn Hare! It cracks me up; he looks so sneaky. You just know that as soon as you turn your head away, he will start munching on all the tulips!
Below you can see the extra bunny that I added to the inside pocket panel.

One of these days, I'll show you a photo of the entire piece, but that means that I have to vacuum the floor first...

The birds are taking back the web - look at us, we are at least as adorable and interesting as that ole' bunny... Here they are taking a ride on the fan (it is not running, but if you flap your wings just a little, it will start spinning slightly, which is great fun. Plus, it is really hard for mommy to get us down...)

Bubba is not impressed!

I leave you with some summer pictures from our town. Isn't it pretty?
As I am writing this, it is clear that winter is coming; it is cool in the mornings, the cars windows are wet with heavy morning dew, and it is already dark in the mornings when the alarm clock goes off.

I wish you all a wonderful Friday and Happy Weekend Stitching,

Bees, Bugs, and Bunnies (and other critters...)

Happy Monday everyone!
It has been a while since I posted - I have been pretty busy with my new job-position. I have wanted to do something new and more challenging at work for a long time now, but I have a feeling that it will take a few weeks to get back up to 110 mph. I am most happy at work when I am really busy, so I am sure that even happier days lie ahead. Since the weeks will be a lot more packed (did I tell you that your truly was voted in as president of the local Scandinavian Heritage society? Yup, I am big time now... LOL), I am hoping that I won't be neglecting all your blogs or my own.
As always, thanks so much for all your comments. It is great to hear from all my cyber-peeps! I have not been as good about commenting on all your blogs lately, but I have been reading them and enjoyed every minute!

This weekend was interesting. We went hashing on Saturday and had a nice time. Before the running and beer drinking, DH and I had time to go and check out a hous with the realtor. This is the time to buy - 3.5% interest! I mean, can it get better than that!? On the other hand - it may be a bit harder to sell, so it all evens out at the end of the day, right? LOL
We saw another house on Sunday. Both of them were "interesting"... say no more. The Saturday house was definitely the better one and it is apparent that DH is in love with that particular house. The Sunday-house must have been built by very short folks. Nothing wrong with that, but I did tell DH that if we buy that house, he will have to sit down during #1 because the WC is so incredibly far away (as in very, very low)... On the other hand, the garden was fantastic! I am hoping that we eventually will find a house that has it all...

Well, on to the more exciting stuff.

Bees and Bugs!
With a special *hello* to my buddy Bzz*Bzz*Bee! After about 1 whole week of solid rain, we got some wonderful Saturday sun. The bees were very excited about being dry and fed. I love this first pic. If you click on it, you can see that a bee was caught mid-air in the lower right corner. I am amazed at the capacity of my camera!

I also like that these two share the same sunflower. The little yellow bug has the exact same color as the flower has.

Bunnies!!!
Here is the progress on Hare Pyns. Two out of the three panels on the main part are now done. The first photo shows the "invisible stitching" on the part that will be the inside of the purse. Thank goodness that I am done with that part! I did decide to add an additional bunny in the second zero. That bunny is facing the first bunny and I like how it turned out.
The photo below that shows the progress on the last panel. It is actually working up much more quickly than I thought (tent-stitch). I ran out of floss while stitching the outlines, but found a good substitute among my Sailors Huswif leftover silks (plus - of course - I used the wrong color... I would have run out of the other color too though). This panel has a completely filled in background too, which I must admit that I am dreading a bit... The upper left corner has already been filled in, but as you can see, it is another page taken from the book of "invisible stitching".

Here is DH and Bubba saying hi!

Is that a bunny under your jacket, or are you just happy to see me? (Sorry, it's past 10 PM and I guess that I am slap-happy over here...)
I have been meaning to share a couple of interesting videos with you. If you are under the impression that bunnies are shy and very timid animals, these movies are for you (no bunnies got harmed during the making of these films...)


(I love birds, so I do feel bad about the poor crow in the second movie. If you have a heart that bleeds for feathery friends, you should probably not click on the second link. It is not a funny movie, just showing that bunnies can be super-dangerous!)

Speaking of Bubba, he is even more world famous now! Check out the post on Beth Twist's blog (Heartstring Samplery)! Bubba got us a wonderful freebie for posing for this pic; the wonderful I Sew'd My Heart design.

All right, Henny is seriously starting to get jealous, so I have to pay more attention to her for a while. It is always an adjustment to get a new sibling. LOL

Other Critters
Speaking about feathery friends, check out what we had hanging out in out tiny hanging Japanese cherry tree:

Doesn't this put you in the Halloween mood? I love it!

And finally, a bunch of gifts from all over the world! Check out this super-cute strainer from Little Sis back in Stockholm. Littlest Sis showed Little Sis what she was sending me fro my birthday and Little Sis decided to send a matching piece. Love it! And I got more tea - yay!!!! But, best of all, the Godparent Certificate for the baby-boy. DH and I have 4 God-children now, which we are thrilled about - what an honor. (Brag, brag, I know that I am pitiful... LOL)

During the retreat the weekend before last, my best stitching buddy L-Bug gave me these wonderful gifts. L-Bug is a very talented seamstress and made these wonderful stitching pockets for a bunch of her friends. She made sure that the one she made for me matches with the tote-bags that we made a couple of years ago. It is simply gorgeous!

The contents; a wonderful sampler book, a sweet book-mark, a beautiful (really gorgeous!) slide-lid magnetic needle box, and...

...this fantastic pin-cushion. Both L-Bug and I are die-hard Prairies Schooler fans and as many of you probably know, this design is taken from the "Forget Me Nots" chart. Isn't is just the prettiest thing you ever saw!?

L-Bug and I were especially thrilled about the photo below, Berthe Dupont. The book does only contain charts for some of the samples presented, but I found a Berthe Dupont SAL on this French blog: BD Sampler. Isn't she a beauty!? This blog has a lot of free vintage/antique charts; a real gold-mine.

L-Bug and I have decided to start a SAL sometime after our Patricks Woods class/es are over with. This link (same blog) shows a few other samplers that are also displayed in the book.

I am also super excited about another upcoming SAL. Valerie of A Shenandoah Sampler and I are planning on stitching Shores of Hawk Run Hollow together. She is already ahead; everything is kitted up and ready to go. I have some serious shopping ahead of me... ;-) My sweet MIL sent me a gift-card for $50, so I know exactly what I will invest all those dollars in. I am planning on stitching it on silk-gauze, which I think will be a lot of fun!

Finally, here is a photo showing a very tired stitcher wearing some very cool earrings. Froggie gave me these peacock inspired earrings during the retreat. Don't they look glam!?

Well, if I want to avoid looking that rough tomorrow, I'd better get to bed!
Take care, Happy Stitching , and talk with you in a bit!

What a Weekend! (very picture heavy)

As always, I want to thank all of you so much for all the kind and fun comments on my last couple of posts. It means so much to hear from you and get to know you better. And I would never have guessed that all of you would gather up to be such a motivating Hare Pyns cheer leading squad - the internet is too cool! :-)

Today I wanted to share a bunch of photos from our weekend retreat. If you have already visited L-bug's and Bzz*Bzz*Bee's blogs, you have already gotten to see a bunch of pics and read stories about the retreat, but here are some more! :-) Bzz*Bzz*Bee's header pic is worth a visit in itself - isn't is just a gorgeous photo!?

The retreat was packed! We were 40 girls stitching away, talking, laughing and showing off finishes.
Here is a photo showing our stitching center - note that an "island" had to be added in the center of our regular set-up to accommodate everyone.

sopme of us stayed up and stitched into the early hours in the mornings (yep, I was a bad girl and left last both nights...)

And L-bug and I were the last ones out on Sunday when the party was over (sniffle):

We did so may cool things.

Each and everyone of us got a hand-stitched name tag - how awesome is that!?

We got massages outdoors in the beautiful weather

We had a really wonderful tea party (which I was too excited over to remember to take any photos of...)

We had stacks and stacks of "free to a new home" stash that many of us looked through more than once

We had a display tables showing off our stitchers' wonderful finishes

... and WIPs (Ollie found a friend!)

We got fed over and over and over... (as you can see, that made us very happy)

We had way too much fun

(Even though these ladies did not have quite as much fun as last time we had a retreat together, when they were giggling very frequently while watching "The Tudors"...)

We got some serious stitching done!

We got spoiled by our peeps for our birthdays (yes, I know that is totally over the top now... LOL)

We had a White Elephant smalls exchange

And then it was time to leave. Goodbye... same time next year?

Happy Stitching,