quick-stitch, part II

I'm back again with another quick-stitch weekend piece called Simple Joys. This design is complimentary at Tanya's website so go check it out and stitch it. I picked the design, floss and fabric on Friday. I stitched the piece and then reflected on its finishing Saturday. Sunday I was able to dye the fabric and assemble my piece with store bought supplies. This piece was fun to stitch because of its size. I've decided its life will be that of a Christmas ornament, but you can finish it any ole' way you like.

Simple Joys
designer: Tanya Marie Anderson of The Sampler Girl
stitched by: Julie (me)
DMC Floss used
32 count Antique linen ~ coffee-dyed for aged look
Specifics: The cording is hemp cord. Poly-fil as cushion. I hand-sewed this together and then covered the seams with a free-handed cross stitch to give it that "not-so-perfect" appearance. Lastly, I initialed the back and included "08.

What I love about the backing fabric is that it is folk art which compliments the intention of the design. Ironically it has a tree and snowflake (also, but not shown on this fabric swatch, are holly and barns - all set in wintertime) which match the design motifs. And as it says, Simple Joys, it was to stitch and finish.

quick-stitch

Every weekend starting Fridays, the SNG (you can join too!) I belong to pick out any "quickie" and get it all stitched over the weekend. The rule is it has to be primitive and/or antique at least (hence the Stacy Nash Group - primitive designs). Afterwards, we share it with the group, admire each other's work through photographs, and chat. So far so good... I've managed to complete both of mine. We just started the quick-stitch weekend 2 weeks ago and we're all lookin' good. I am happy to report that I'm on track. Yay!!!

I have finally finish-finished my first quick-stitch piece from the previous weekend. As a refresher, it was Tanya's Prim Friends Gather design. I decided to make it into a floss tag. In fact, I had never heard of a floss tag or seen one since before blogging in October. Now, here I am ~ waiting to stitch up a ton of those little thingies. I got to use my Crop-A-Dile for the first time too and I was really excited about using it.

Just as a reminder, here is what my "prim" piece looked like before finishing, all stitched up, and coffee-dyed.

As of today, here is my finished "prim" piece without the floss attached. Check out my brass eyelets ~ first time too. :-)

When I saw this red toile fabric at Michael's I had to get it. I instantly thought of my Prim Friends Gather piece I had stitched and thought it would compliment the fabric. Even though the lady is alone, she is plucking fruit from the tree to "gather" for a feast, I bet! I also choose this fabric because of its depiction of life once primitive. If you could see the rest of the fabric...ummmm; it is just gorgeous...and surprisingly so - it did come from Michael's. (I still need to go to a quilt/fabric store. Grrrrrrrr)

Lastly, here is the completely finished Prim Friends Gather with floss attached. I am quite proud of this piece too. I was really happy with my whip stitch and that I was able to make all four corners neat and round...and I was really pleased!

Prim Friends Gather
designer: Tanya Marie Anderson of The Sampler Girl
stitched by: Julie (me)
DMC Floss used
32 count Antique linen ~ then coffee-dyed for aged look

stitching weekend

This weekend is going to be a busy stitching weekend, hopefully. This weekend at my LNS there is a Moonlight Stitching Saturday night. They only have these evenings quarterly and are from 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (I wished they were every month). There is all kinds of food, giggles, good company and we get a make-it and take-it. I can't wait! This would be an excellent time to stitch on my QSW piece ~ I may even get it completed with 6 hours of uninterrupted time. Hmmmmmmm...

Also this weekend, a local area near my home called the Berry Hill District is having a Holiday Happenings with almost 20 businesses of various sorts participating. In addition, there is a wonderful charity called Soles 4 Souls that the local businesses are collecting for. I wished I had known this earlier because I donated over a dozen shoes to Goodwill...shucks!!! The Berry Hill Community is about 4-5 blocks of close-knit shop owners and small restaurants. It's a great little place to walk around and shop. In addition to the Holiday Happenings, my LNS is also having a local crafter in-store displaying and selling her craft-wares. I'll have to check this out though as I have no idea what type of craft this lady brings. This happens from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in Berry Hill. Immediately afterwards, Moonlight Stitching starts. This is going to be quite the Saturday in Berry Hill and at the shop.

I have finally picked which piece to stitch for the QSW and have gathered my floss and fabric for the occasion. Since I'm new to primitive stitching and have very little quick stitch pieces I have decided to stitch one of the freebies I received from The Sampler Girl through our Stacy Nash Group at Yahoo! (SNG at Yahoo!). The freebie is called Prim Friends Gather. I figured since this is our SNG's first QSW, I find it appropriate to stitch this piece since we're friends getting together and stitching our quick stitches. Tanya is such a gifted designer and generous with her work. Check out Tanya's blog as well. She always has something going on and she's definitely worth reading.

Prim Friends Gather
by The Sampler Girl
stitched by Linda in VA