Valentine - maybe next year

I've been wanting to post this for awhile and I now have the opportunity. This was the first design I was going to use for the Valentine swap. I think it's really cute, however the backstitching was taking way too long and I abandoned this design after finishing two of them. The balloon is from a Tatty Teddy design and I designed the "love" string.

I wasn't thrilled with the hoops and I was unwilling to get my sewing machine out to make little pillow-type ornaments out of them. I'm keeping the one in the oval hoop and I'm thinking about doing a giveaway for the one in the round hoop (it's a 5 inch hoop), but it's not perfect.

Do you like them? Should I use this design next year if there is a Valentine ornament exchange? How would you finish it? Should I do a giveaway for the round one? The fabric isn't as tight in the hoop as I like it to be but I've already glued it in place!

More playing around with small motifs

Before the threads came for Cherry Hill, I was playing around again with creating my own designs. I had so much fun with the last umbrella I did, I quickly charted a couple of other umbrella layouts (it's an easy design to figure out). I did two in red and then tried one in a varigated blue. Loved the red ones, hated the blue one and threw it away (do cross stitchers really throw things away? Yes!). Here are the two red ones.

Here's the first design:

And here's the second:

Both of these are on their way to two people who have no idea they are about to receive them. I hope they can find a little space in their craft areas to hang them up and I hope they enjoy them.

My last exchange before I get back to my WIPs

I have one last exchange commitment that is due in mid-March. It's a birthday cross stitch exchange. I don't know who has me, so I'm assuming my person doesn't know I have them (huh?). Anyway, as I mentioned, I was waiting on some threads awhile ago and they showed up last week. I started working on the piece that I'll be sending her and thought I would share it with you. It's just adorable and I may have to make another one for myself. Since I signed up for this exchange (back in November), I've been collecting little surprises to include in the package. Once I have this piece finished, I'll take a picture of everything I'll be sending. This is definitely an exchange I'll sign up for again.

I haven't decided on how I will finish it, but you will definitely see it when it's complete. After this, I'll be working on one of my WIPs so that I can enter it into the county fair (it's all about the ribbons!). I'm thinking the multiplication sampler. Even though it's a really large piece, I think I can finish it by the end of May (entries are submitted at the end of June).

Finally, a reason for mice to live...

Using mice to spell out names is quite addictive! Give it a try. You can do it yourself here.





I was really hoping to do "heidistitches" but it was one letter too long...darn it! Have fun. I'm actually looking forward to seeing this movie.

Cross Stitch projects

I've been waiting for some special thread to arrive for another swap I'm participating in, so while I was waiting, I used up some scrap cloth and did a couple of pieces. I really like them and think I'll do some other motifs in different colors. For anyone that's interested, send me an email and we can always swap for one of these or for anything else I've made (snowflake, crane, heart). These are larger (4 inch hoops) than the normal size ornaments I do (3 inch hoops). They would be cute hanging in someone's craft area.

Part of my blog is supposed to always show the back of my work. I've gotten away from that, so I'm trying to remember to start showing the backs again. Here you go.

I'm curious about your opinion on the backing. I like covering the back with a nice piece of felt. I feel it gives it a more finished look. I've seen others just leave the stitching exposed. What do you think? Do you like a finished back? Or do you like seeing the stitching?

Valentine Ornament Winner

Well, my son and I folded everyone's name up and mixed them around. He then closed his eyes and picked...

Congratulations, Muriel! I laughed when he picked your name since we've done previous swaps together. You must be destined to have the whole collection of my cross stitch ornaments!

Thanks to everyone for playing along. I think I've decided I'll be doing more giveaways. They are quite fun and I'm meeting people from all over the world. I think my next one will be an Easter ornament. I'll keep you posted.

For those of you that mentioned you would be interested in side swaps, I'll send you a separate email and we can start chatting.

Thanks to everyone for playing along!

Valentine Giveaway

I was part of a Handmade Valentine Ornament Swap and I decided to make an extra ornament to giveaway. You can see what everyone created in our Flickr group. This time I'm only giving away one (I wish I could giveaway another five!). So, please leave a comment and I will randomly pick a winner on Friday, February 6 at 5:00p (Pacific). Wouldn't you just love to have one of these hanging in your home?

Also, if anyone is ever interested in doing a side swap for one of the ornaments I have done (snowflake, heart, or crane), please let me know - maybe we can work out a nice trade!