Friday Flowers: Chrysanthemums

I have resisted buying flowers this summer. What's the point, when it gets so hot you have to water every day and they wilt anyway? So I was really, really good this year until now. It's officially Autumn and suddenly I'm craving the smell of chrysanthemums. Just. Had. To. Have. Some.

So I got three blooming pots, intending to transplant them into larger pots,




and then I got some pumpkins at Granny's Pumpkin Patch


and when I made a grouping beside my front steps, everything looked so nice, I thought I'd just keep them this way.


So There.... I'm done. (And I can still enjoy looking and smelling them everyday.)

Have a beautiful October weekend...
(I hope you're all stitching on Halloween projects!)

A Few Impulse Buys...ahem

Last weekend I attended a needlework auction put on by the Mt. Tam Canvas Workers ANG group. They hold this fun event every two years (which gives them time to accumulate lots of yummy stuff). Anyway, the ANG ladies spend lots of time gathering, sorting, and pricing all the items - some go into the "live auction" event, and others go onto the "silent auction" table.

When I arrived, I checked out the silent auction items. There is an assortment of projects, some just canvases, some with threads, and some already started but donated by their owners. On each item there's a minimum bid, and then space for any interested stitcher to write their bid and their name. Not until the end of the meeting, when bidding is closed, do you know if you've won the item/s you bidded on. Anyway, I always enjoy finding an unexpected canvas or two, so it's very fun to splurge with a bid or two! (The Home on the Range canvas above just made me grin - but apparently no one else, so I won it with a very low bid.)

The MAIN EVENT is the live auction, where all sorts of canvases are held up for stitchers to vie for in a lively bidding war. There were so many lovely canvases (some complete with stretcher bars, threads and stitch guides) that it was hard to decide what to bid on. Each canvas has a minimum bid on it, so the bidder has some idea of the retail cost. There were several fantastic Pat Thode Santa canvases (but the bidding went beyond my budget, so I didn't win any of those)... But I did bid on and win a couple of interesting canvases that were total impulse buys. And I'm tickled pink with them! (One of them is a Sandra Gilmore canvas of pink hydrangeas in a watering can; you can just see a peek of the pink checked background in the photo above.)

They also had a few piles of assorted threads - and silk ribbons, as shown above. I bought some (not knowing what I'd use them for), but after I won the pink hydrangea canvas, I got to thinking maybe I'll try some silk ribbon flowers on top of the tent-stitched canvas....who knows! We'll just have to see how playful I get with that canvas...

By the end of the meeting, practically every stitcher had bid on something, and as they were leaving, everyone was pleased as punch to have snagged a bargain or two.I think I can safely say that a fun time was had by ALL the stitchers in attendance!

Post Script to Monday's Posting

If you're having trouble getting to Barbara Elmore's blogsite, STITCHPOGRAPHY,
you'll have to "google" it from your main internet page. Barbara's URL is a long one and it doesn't seem to recognize my link. RATS. But please perservere and visit her blog for lots of intriguing stitching inspiration.

A Few New Blog Treats

Every so often, when I have a bit of free computer time, I go looking to see if I can find some more stitchery blogs to add to my list over on the righthand side there. One can never have enough creative inspiration and stitching motivation, right?!?

So here are a few more blogs for you to check out:

STITCHPOGRAPHY by designer Barbara Elmore. I am soooo tickled to see that Barbara has made the plunge into blogging. Barbara and I have become BBDF (Best Blogging Designer Friends) ever since meeting at a TNNA show in Long Beach, lo these many years ago. When she couldn't decide whether to start a blog, I urged her to give it a go.... (Rather selfishly actually, because I, for one, wanted to hear her thoughts and creative processes for creating her wildly colorful and fun canvases.)

So please hurry over to her blog and check out her postings. Barbara is really the Diva of Dimensional Stitching, and if you want to see what I mean, just go read her postings about adding dimension to your canvas...and then hop over to her website where you'll see her fabulous canvases. AND YOU MUST SEE HER NEW SERIES OF NEEDLEPOINT SHOES! REALLY, REALLY, REALLY.(I'm rather gaga over her May shoes, in particular...)

THREAD MEDLEY, by Jan Fitzpatrick is a geometric stitcher's paradise. You can watch her create geometric pieces step-by-step, based on her collection and love of Moroccan rugs and designs. Lots of terrific inspiration here for counted canvas lovers!

NEEDLEART & OTHER MUSINGS is another stitcher's blogging adventure in the land of canvas and thread....something we can ALL relate to, I have no doubt.

RITTENHOUSE NEEDLEPOINT is a fun blog to visit because it's like stepping into a hip stitchery shop from the comfort of your home. Lots of neato new canvases and products are showcased here, and now and then photos of the trendy shop in Philadelphia, PA. And they're also sharing photos and information about different types of stitches that are fun to look at and definitely get the ol' creative juices flowing....

And speaking of boundless creativity, check out FREEBIES, ETC.! where the designer who brings you POSSIBILITIES, ETC.! has another blog about the nitty gritty of creating canvases. If you're itching to get out your paintbrushes and pens and dabble on canvas, this is the blogsite for you!

I'll end this post on a serene note, by directing you to a bit of stitching surrounded by lovely photography. For a special treat, please look at ALLTHEBEAUTIFULTHINGS. It will surely make you sigh a bit in appreciation of such lovely photos....(and you'll probably start thinking to yourself,"Why can't I take photographs of my work like that?")

Friday Flowers: Raindrops

Raindrops on roses...


on hydrangeas...


on anemones...


on fuchsias....


These are a few of my favorite things!

Happy Friday... and I hope you have
a stitch-filled weekend!

Rainy Day Blues

Katie has the rainy day blues......


'cuz she hates the raindrops getting on her coat,
hates that we can't go out and play fetch,
hates that I'm happily stitching away and can't be bothered,
and especially hates that the squirrels won't come out and play.

Sigh.
What's a dog to do but sleep, and dream,
and wait for sunny days again...

Just a Little Nuts

I'm a big fan of PRAIRIE SCHOOLER designs. I love just about every single design they've published, and as you might guess, have quite a few of their patterns. (I'm guessing you have a lot of them, too!)

Recently, I needed a small portable project to take in my project bag. I chose the latest fall series from PRAIRIE SCHOOLER, called "Fall Fields".


And per my love of all things miniature, I decided to work them on lt. caramel 24 ct. Congress Cloth so they would fit in the lovely little frames I have with small 2" x 2" openings. Here's the first one I've finished - the squirrel:


As you might have noticed by comparing with the leaflet above, the original pattern is rectangular in size, but my frame opening was square. So I thought I'd slightly enlarge the stitched area by adding more nuts in the lower left corner, to make it more squareish in appearance. I also added a simple backstitched outline around the image, to take up more of the frame space and give it a faux matted look.

Now that I have the squirrel done, I've started on the pheasant. These little designs are so fast and easy to work up, I'll probably do most (if not all) of them this fall. And I was pleasantly surprised to see that it only took two afternoons to finish the squirrel and also start on the pheasant.

And no, I'm not stitching these in full cross stitches. I prefer to use half cross stitches (or Tent or Basketweave Stitches) with 2 ply of DMC floss when I work on the finer 24 ct. Congress Cloth. It works up much faster than regular cross stitch, and I especially enjoy the quick results.

I really can't wait to get more of these little gems stitched... I'm definitely planning on having a turkey for Thanksgiving!