Coffee and Cross Stitch

Another Ornament! | Cross Stitch

I love stitching smalls, such as ornaments, for the sheer fact that they give me a sense of instant gratification.  

I mean, let's be serious.  When you're working on something of the magnitude of Quaker Christmas II (on 40 ct., no less, because that's how I roll), you need something here and there to make you feel like you've accomplished something.

Ornaments are the perfect way to give youself this sense of accomplishment, and it's even better when you get to make it personalized for an adorable baby's first Christmas!

Last year, I offered Amy Green, owner of Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (for my newer followers, this crazy Philly girl needs to steer clear of gluten.  and grains.  and well, pretty much anything fun, except maple syrup, which i tend to put on more things than should be legal, just so i don't binge on an entire box of gluten free cereal.  ahem.), to do a personalized Baby's First ornament for her little guy, Nate.  

This year, she put in her order for her newest baby, Luke, and I couldn't wait to get started.

I chose another adorable Lizzie Kate pattern, which seems to be pretty fitting, since we've already had quite a bunch of that white nonsense falling from the sky this year.

The white pom-pom for a snowball!  I die. 

It's tough to tell, but I used a 32 count opalescent for the stitching, just to keep it interesting and not bland Light Mocha or white.  Blah.  Plus, it adds sparkle for the sparkly time of year!!  

Doing the same thing as last year - using letters from various Lizzie Kate projects to personalize this ornament, I stitched Luke's name and year on the back.

And there you have it!  Thank you again, Amy, for trusting me with this keepsake for your sweet Luke!  I had so much fun stitching it for him!!

Live Simply | Sewing | Cross Stitch

Last night started out with a great idea.  I mean, a great idea.  I was dreaming all day about sitting behind my sewing machine and finally doing the finish work on a needlebook I've been putting off for, oh....aroundabout a year now.  Yep.  A full year.  Whatever.  Don't judge.  

I came home from work, inhaled dinner, then ran upstairs to gather my sewing accoutrement (such a great word) and get to work.

But, I encountered a problem.

The cross stitch piece I needed to make the needlebook was nowhere to be found.

Nowhere.  I tore apart my sewing room looking for it.  Nowhere.  Went up to the third floor to my project table, thinking it somehow ended up staying behind when I brought all my unfinished pieces down to my sewing room.  Nothing.  Went into my den where I do all my stitching (which, incidentally, looks like a thread bomb exploded in there. seriously. i have no idea how all that damn thread ended up all over the place, but it's a gd mess in there. ok. rant over.), thinking I hid it in my table (the coffee table slides open, and i hide all my random stitching stuff in there...).  Nope.  Nothing.  Went back upstairs to rip through my sewing room again.  Nothing.

Now.  I know what you're all thinking.  Jack...seriously....it has to be there.

Yah.  I know.  I just don't know where "there" is.  I found a really, really safe place for it, apparently.  So safe, that now I can't find it.

Enter: Annoyed Jack.  So annoyed, but still determined to bond with her sewing machine, she found another project to finish.

A word to the wise:  don't sew when you're annoyed.  Just...don't.  You end up sewing sh-- upside down and backwards, and your seam ripper becomes your best friend for the night.

ugh.

 Good news, though, peeps.  

It all worked out.

 Lizzie Kate.  Gotta love her words of wisdom.  

I used a strip of a Moda jelly roll that I have leftover from this pillow project I did a while back (which may not be available anymore, for which i apologize in advance if you search & search & can't find it...), and with the brown/yellow/pink theme, I thought it fit well with the stitched piece on front.

I stuffed it, but still have to close off the bottom, which is why the seam looks all bunched.

Whatever.  It was a long night with the seam ripper and pink thread.  You're over it.

Crazy part of all this?  Simply by using my left brain all night, I felt better about the day in general.  Now, today's a different story, but I'll worry about that as the day drags on...

Much love ~~~

A Very Special Christmas Ornament | Cross Stitch

Today I have a very special little piece to show you :-)

For those of you lovely readers who don't know, I have a very sensitive gluten intolerance, and have to eat gluten-free.   Ten  years ago, when I found out I had to live the GF lifestyle, there was virtually nothing out there in terms of information, foods, or resources for those of us searching about how to adjust to this lifestyle change.

Now, information is everywhere, and I'm eternally grateful for people like Amy at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free who have complied easy, healthy recipes, and shared them with the gluten-free world.  I've been following Amy's website for a few years now, and when I saw that she and her husband recently had an adorable baby boy, I offered to make a personalized baby's first Christmas ornament for him.

She graciously accepted my offer, and I couldn't believe I'd be making something so personal as this keepsake for her little boy to hang on the tree every year :-)

This adorable little polar bear is the Lizzie Kate design I chose to stitch --

Using letters from various Lizzie Kate projects, I graphed the name and date on the back --

I sewed the piping in between the layers, grabbed a pretty red ribbon for the hook, and voila!  A personalized, handmade baby's first Christmas ornament :-)

If you're a gluten-freebie like me (or need to be sugar-free, since her recipes are free of that, too!), please please please go visit Amy's site - she has wonderfully tasty easy recipes.  I guarantee you'll be bookmarking her page!

Thanks for visiting today, everyone!  I hope you enjoyed my little Christmas ornament anecdote!  

Thank you, again, Amy, for allowing me to stitch this for you!  I so enjoyed making every stitch :-)

Have any of you made a special keepsake for Christmas that you treasure every year?

Much love ~~~

A Christmas WIP | Cross Stitch

Hello all you lovely readers :-)

I have missed my blog oh-so much.  I miss connecting with all of you.  I miss inspiring and being inspired.  But I'm back now, and hope to keep you close all through Christmas.

In my absence, I've been working on a few Christmas cross stitch projects.  I, like one of my fellow stitching buddies at my LNS, am a "seasonal stitcher" -- meaning I like to stitch projects of the season.  Example:  I stitch  Christmas projects during the Christmas season, spring projects during the spring, Halloween projects during the fall...you get the picture.

This Christmas, I pulled out a project I've had kitted for quite some time, and decided just to get to it.  

 

graph by Lizzie Kate

 

This is called "Christmas Rules" (obvi) and is by one of my fav designers, Lizzie Kate.  I love all her cute and whimsical designs.  Her seasonal pieces are some of my favorites.  This, like her "double flip" chart packs (Christmas and Halloween), can be stitched as one long piece, or each one can be stitched individually.

The below pic shows a snippet of each of the "rules" I've completed so far --

I apologize if they're a little dark -- the lighting in my den where I stitch isn't the greatest.

Cute, right?!  :-)  I love Christmas designs.  They make me happy.  

Stay tuned, kids.  I have plenty more Christmas WIPs to share....but I'll show you more tomorrow ;-)

Are any of you doing any holiday specific stitching right now??

Much love ~~~~

Vintage Christmas

If you're anything like me, the title of this post makes you think of Ol' Time Kris Kringle, rich reds, greens and golds in decorations, silver and gold balls on trees, and most of all, "A Miracle on 34th Street".  

Recently, however, I've noticed that this "vintage" look has taken on the pinks, blues, and yellows of more "mod" decorations from the 60's.  Not really my stizzy, BUT, some super-cute things have come out this year with this color scheme, and I have to admit, it's kinda growing on me.

Country Cottage Needleworks has a really cute pattern out that I would actually consider doing, despite the pinks and blues.  Lizzie Kate also jumped on that wagon and has a new release called "Be Jolly" which, although cute, will most likely stay at my LNS.  I don't think it's a "must-have" for me.

Those of you who know me are probably struggling to pick yourselves up off the floor right now, since I just said I would be foregoing the latest LK pattern.  I know.  I can't even believe it myself.  Her designs are so cute and quick to finish, but it's just not jumping off the screen at me.  She also still has this ridiculous love affair with Light Mocha linen.  I can't freaking take it anymore.   And she uses 28 count.  Um....that's freaking HUGE to me right now, since I've been doing everything on 40 count lately (yes, I am that crazy).  Although, 28 count is good for stitching over 1.  I'm getting ahead of myself and way off the topic I really wanted to share.

I decided last night, since it's been hellish at work for me lately, that even though I really needed to get out in the cold air and run it out, I needed quality time in my craft room even more.  So, up to the third floor I went, and made a few Christmas cards that have this 60's vintage flair.

Cute, right?!???  The cards were on sale at Paper Source (seriously one of the best places to get lost for hours besides a cross stitch store and a library), and I decided to just go for it when I saw them.  I have an entire stack of cards in the traditional red and green ready to embellish, but these really jumped out at me.

One of the best purchases I've made this year is the envelope liner template that I got from Paper Source.  It makes your cards that much more personal when you can match the INSIDE of the envelope to the card!!  I didn't have paper that matched perfectly (again...traditional Christmas colors in my craft room....), so instead, I tried to pick ones that would be funky and fun to match the pink snowflakes.

I think they turned out fabooo :-)  Stay tuned for more on these cards....it involves my Cricut.....

Do something creative today! 

EEK!!

I'm finally able to post these and have them be seasonally appropriate! 

These are from Lizzie Kate and the chart is called "Eek Boo Hiss!" 

I finished "Eek" and "Boo" on 28 count Monster Mash from Picture this Plus.  It's a GREAT Halloween green, and with the bright colors that Linda uses in her pieces, they just pop off the fabric!

Look at the tiny white buttons for eyes!  Love!

More spooky eyes!!  Love it! (That witch isn't all that scary, though, is she?  She kinda looks like the witch from Looney Tunes, the one whose house Bugs ends up at trick-or-treating, and she wants to throw him into a stew...and I think there's one with her and Sylvester....please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers these!! View this photo) 

Ok now this one might be my favorite.  Reasons?  1) I'm partial to purple, and this has it all over the place, including in the fabric a little.  I chose 28 count Stormy Grey for this, and I love how it turned out.  All of the colors just jump off at you!  2) This is my cat.  I'm serious.  Ok not really, but it sure as heckfire could be!  This is the look my slick black cat gives me as I'm walking through the living room, the dining room, MY bedroom...just about anywhere that she thinks I should be avoiding because she's there.  Pain.  In.  The.  Rear.

This is right before she jumped LITERALLY straight up into the air, landed on all fours, back arched, tail puffed, and instead of scaring ME, scared herself, and ran into the other part of the third floor.

Please ignore the hideous 80's carpet and purple and yellow sponge paint on the walls that hurts my entire face.  I have the previous owners to thank for that shenanigans.

Ahem.

Moving on.

That's pretty much all the Halloweeny I have going on in Philly at the moment.  I have a few things I'll be working on as the days go by and the nights start getting cooler and longer, so keep an eye out for some more Halloween/fall things to pop up around here!

Love and stitches :-)