Sad News 26 Apr 2013 11:52 PM (11 years ago)

... Four months  have already passed since my dearest Mother died. Her death left a huge hole in my heart which is badly bleeding and aching. There are no proper words to fully express my grief, and I feel that time does not heal anything at all ...
My Mother, sweet, caring, understanding, was talented in so many ways. What I can do now and what I am  - I mainly owe to my Mother.  I do not remember a moment when her hands were idle. She used to watch TV and either sew or knit or crochet. Now she is in so many things around me that I can still feel the warmth of her hands.
Mother was an amazing gardener, it seemed she could make a stick bloom, and she passed her love to flowers to me. This spring my garden is doing so well that it looks like it pays tribute to the memory of my Mother.
This post I'd like to devote to my Mother and to show some of her works and her favorite flowers to my friends and readers of my blog.






















I love you, Mother, and I am missing you so very much.....

Back To Stitching, Another Try 4 Nov 2012 1:43 AM (12 years ago)

 I have not blogged for such a long time that now I do not know what to begin with. 
Well, life has been a little too tough here. My husband is now recovering from his third operation this year. It's needless to say how much I worried  him. I do not know  if it was because of these worries or of stitching on the high count fabric during my trips and of spending too much time at the computer but my eyesight worsened very much. I  reconsidered my hobbies when I had to change my prescription glasses twice within 10 days. I put my cross stitching aside and spend more time walking, gardening, listening to music and learning a new hobby. The break,  that I got, was really necessary,  it is not bad, you know,  sometimes to stop "to smell roses" and to think where you are going to. Now I think I can try to start stitching a little and see how it goes. I have a couple of my own designs ready for stitching and 2 WIPs.  It is a little scary to resume stitching these two pieces, I already do not remember where the charts and needles and floss are - of course, it is a joke, I know where everything is, I just need a little time to get everything ready. I showed pictures of one of my WIPs, "M'Lady's Chateau" before. I added just a few stitches to it :

Another WIP is a beautiful "Futurecast" By Teresa Wentzler.

I wanted to finish this work this year but I guess it can wait.

You might wonder what my new hobby is. Those, who knows me a little, must know that I have always liked beads, metallic floss. And my new hobby is closely connected with my long time favorites.
I have started making jewelry, I made some jewelry before but it was just amateur stringing. Now I am learning different techniques on a more serious level. I enjoy my new hobby enormously! It is easier on my eyes and jewelry making has so many ways to express yourself. In cross stitch I often wanted to make the design look lacy and air-y and I got often upset when I could not reach  the lacy look. In jewelry making I think I  have found what I wanted. I've tried many techniques and think wire wrapping, weaving and sculpturing will be my favorites. I like to make necklaces most of all:
  This dark blue stone is called Blue Sandstone, it is very attractive due to the great amount of Quartz grains in it. Its numerous sparkles create 3 D effect. In the second picture you can see these sparkles better.
 My husband shares my hobby with me and he is very happy that I came to it. It turned out that we both have liked rocks. Our love for rocks is a little different: my husband likes to collect the rocks, tumble and drill them and I like making jewelry with his rocks.
These two pendants are made from the stones my husband tumbled and polished for me:

















 When I first started making the jewelry I thought I would never make earrings and rings, it looked absolutely not interesting for me. But when I tried to make the first pair of earrings, I hooked on them, the same was with the rings:


























Some time ago I was asked to show my jewelry and I started a new blog which I called My Jewelry Box  .  Welcome to my new blog! There you can see more of my works and read about them a little. The blog does not have many posts yet, I will be working on the new blog little by little.

 If you are interested in buying my jewelry or cross stitch designs, please, e-mail me. My e-mail address is in my profile.
 My garden was doing much better this season mostly thanks to the good rains which we luckily had during the hottest months. Now most of my Azaleas got a little crazy : they are blooming! I do not know if they will be able to bloom another time in spring.
Here are some pictures from my garden, hope you enjoy them:
                   Thank you for coming! Your comments are always treasured.
Happy stitching to every one!

Back To Stitching 18 Oct 2011 12:02 AM (13 years ago)

 Dear readers of my blog,
I know the break was a little too long but it was so much needed. When you come back home after a long trip, you need some time to readjusted to a new pace of life. It is not a simple thing I should say. Those of you who went through this once will understand me better. It is really a strange feeling: you are happy to come back home but there is a lot of sadness in your heart that you have left your family and friends...
It was a very nice visit with my family, which was so nicely extended lately. Catching up with my friends and colleagues was also in my plans but I spent most of the time with my mother and, of course, with my granddaughter Julia. The sweet little girl is happily spoiled by her parents and numerous grandparents and grand-grandparents. My DIL and I took  lots of pictures of Julia and when I came back home my husband and I spend 4 hours seeing all the pictures and short videos we had taken. 
Julia has already made some achievements, her photo won first place in a photo contest among kids of her age and she was awarded with a toy giraffe - the ugliest thing! - my DIL says :-)) .
When Julia was sleeping, DIL and I did some crafting. My DIL taught me macrame knotting and I taught her to sew and knit, and together we made quite a few  little things for Julia.

Before I left for home, I made this box for Julia, it is kind of a memory box, where her parents will keep her bracelets from the hospital, her first shirt, her fist toy, something which she likes now and later it will be interesting for both her parents and her to look through these things and remember the time when Julia was a baby.

              Olenka's Stitches Designs "Birth Record Sampler"
Julia was born in the year of Rabbit so I put a rabbit in her sampler. It took me a lot of time to find a pretty silver spoon and when I saw this spoon I thought it was just what I wanted.

When I came back home I finished Ellen Maurer-Stroh "Rose Sampler", one of my oldest UFO-s. It was stitched 1x1 on 22 ct. Hardanger. I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

I always place a few rocks inside the bowls for small birds.  In spite of the still continuous drought there appeared some flowers in my garden and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:                                       

Happy stitching to everyone and take care!

Exciting News 19 Apr 2011 1:08 PM (13 years ago)

Merry Christmas Designs 16 Dec 2010 12:51 AM (14 years ago)

 Knowing how busy you can be now, I'd like to thank everyone who left comments on my previous post.
I will try to be short today. First I will show you my new designs.
For a long time I have wanted to make a design with lots of snow in it. Why? Because for me it's hard to imagine winter holidays without snow?  When it snows,  everything is so beautiful, quiet and romantic. Did you notice that even in a blizzard people walk and smile? Well, you might think I love snow too much. :-)) OK, put on a broad smile on your face and let's take a look at what I've done.

When I showed this design to my friend  Olga  she wondered what I was going to make it into. The easiest way is  make an ornament or to frame it. The design fits well a usual photo frame.
 But my initial plan was to make a drawstring bag which can be used either for packing a gift or keeping tools and floss necessary for a project.
                                  "Merry Christmas" Drawstring Bag

The bag is reversible without raw edges. If you can see in the picture, there are no seams on the top and bottom of the bag. It took me a little while to figure out how to do it but I am happy  with how it turned out.
I also made two ornaments  based on this design to show what the design will look like in other classical combination of colors:
                

                             








                                        
 "Merry Christmas" Ornaments

 If you are interested in buying my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
* * * * * * 
A few days ago I got a Christmas gift from my dear friend Olga from UK. I told her that this is the most beautiful gift I have ever received. Just take a look at these beauties:

Olga stitched and finished the set so beautifully - I just love every little detail! And look, she sent me 2 baby booties!
She knows I will become a grandmother soon and will need lots of booties and blankets... oh my...
Olga, thank you very much  for your generous gift, you have spoiled me so much. Hugs!!!
* * * * * *
Thank you for stopping by and take care.

Gracious Era and more 25 Nov 2010 12:21 AM (14 years ago)

Hello my dear friends and readers of my blog, thank you for being patient.
Again it has been a long time since my last post. You are probably tired of reading about my Internet problems and can you imagine how much tired, upset and angry I am because of these never ending problems? A couple of hours ago a cable technician left, they have not replaced the main cable as they had intended to and I am not sure if their "patch work" has fixed the problems. Well, I'd better  start writing  about my cross stitch finishes while the Internet is still working.
"Gracious Era" is finished and is waiting for the frame work now. 

I must say that I've made a few mistakes. You know, I stitched the piece during my trip to Russia and due to poor light on board the planes, in airports and hospitals I mixed up 4 colors, Dark Yellow - Yellow Orange which were used in the big windows on the left, and Pale Yellow - Cream in the cloud to the right from the tree. I noticed this when the picture was almost finished, it was not a great deal to restitch the places but I decided first to complete the picture and then to decide what to do with the mistake. With this kind of pictures it is better to look at them from a distance and when I did this I liked what I saw. My DH, my main critic, said that it is even better , more colors give some more depth to the picture.
One more little thing, I made the picture a little wider. Do you see two little women figures on the left? I kind of like them but they are so close to the edge that they would be covered by a mat.
While stitching faces, some clothes, horses I added some fractional stitches and instead of Back Stitches I mostly used Couching. The most enjoyable part for me was to "make these snowflakes" as I do not mind French Knots, that was something I was looking forward to while stitching the picture.
I have missed my favorite smalls so much that I first treated myself to a little needle book by Just Nan:





After this treat I continued working on my Girly Pincushions.
If you remember I promised to show you one. Well, I've made more than one, some of them will be presented to my friends for their birthdays and Christmas.
When making the pincushions I wanted to check if I still remember how to make roses. My mother taught me to make them years ago.
The last piece of this pretty vintage lace was used for one more round pincushion:
 I over-dyed the ribbon for the rose and made a strawberry scissor fob to match the pincushion.
One more set of pincushions:











I liked the two color scheme, it reminds me of bridal decorations.
I already do not remember who gave me a little vintage doily and said to throw it away if I did not like it. Well, to throw away is very simple, how about to give it a second life?  For the pincushion I used the fabric which can hardly be called traditional for this kind of craft.

Some vintage buttons were used for the pins to embellish the pincushion. I liked how the pincushion turned out and added one more strawberry which looks more girly.
And here is the last pincushion which I want to show to you. Isn't it funny? I have not finished it yet because I am still looking for a better fabric for it. If I do not find what I want, I will leave it as it is.
* * * * *
To thank my customers and followers of the blog for staying with me, I offer you a complimentary  design which is called "A Russian Motif, Autumn". It is in soft autumn colors and can be used for making different smalls of your choice. It would be nice if you send me pictures of your finished pieces.
The offer will last till November 25. In order to get the design, please e-mail me. My address is in my Profile.Happy Stitching to everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Elegant In Blue Biscornu 13 Oct 2010 3:03 PM (14 years ago)

It has been long since my lat post and I want to thank you for your patience. My Internet was down all summer and TV signal was scrambled too because our provider is working on high speed Internet in our area.  Some of our neighbors have changed the provider but we still think that when the work is done, we will get the best possible Internet. Yesterday the Internet was down only a couple of times, I could not post but I already could visit a few blogs. :-)
 On the stitching front I have a few finishes to show to you.
 First goes a biscornu which I called "Elegant In Blue".

 A slightly asymmetrical intricate design makes the biscornu corners look different. A few beads and pins embellish the biscornu so nicely.

I really love the result: the biscornu looks pretty and elegant.

    The next design is "Sunflower" Scissor Stand, which is a little addition to "Sunflower" Collection. The stitched band decorates the wood reel and can also be used for parking needles.

I did not feel good in August, you can't do too much while you have to stay in bed. I read a few novels and was making pincushions: you never have enough pincushions! The Girly Pincushions I created  look great on my stitching table and as well as on the dressing table if I forget them there. Now I am working on one more pincushion in this style, I will show it in the next post.

 And some detail:

I "planted" some tiny flowers in the most modest colors around the windmill and was allowed to leave them there. ;-)
   "Gracious Era" is also almost finished : now I am working on the Back Stitches. I need a couple of days more to finish them and to make a snow storm  with French Knots.
 * * * * * *
On another note... If I ask you if you know what  Easter Bunny is. You will, of course, say that it is the character... but I am speaking of other bunnies. These are the bunnies which appear in your yard a little after Easter. You know, people buy a bunny for their kids for fun but after the holiday nobody wants to take care of it and people let the bunny go. You must have heard such stories too.
A little after Easter there appeared a little black and white rabbit in our back yard. We worried about the little creature because we have hawks and owls in our back yard and the rabbit's coat is so well seen from a long distance. Very soon "our" rabbit brought a friend to our yard and they began to eat my plants and brake flowers in beds. I "arrested" the little fellows and put them into a pen till we found a good family to adopt them. Before we found such a family "our" rabbit gave birth to babies.
That is when all my trouble began. Mother-rabbit was a baby herself and she had not gotten enough food and water during her pregnancy so her babies were born very weak and one by one she refused to feed the little ones. I had to become a baby-rabbits sitter and a nurse. Believe me,  it was a heart breaking experience to see the babies gone... And that was when I really got sick because of all the stress...
But I have some pictures for you to show. These are my sweet survivors:
 They are about 2 months old. The rabbit on the other side of the pen is not the mother - she never comes close to babies. That is Daddy-rabbit, he likes to watch his babies.
I told you this story to ask you for one thing: next time when you or you friends  want to buy an Easter Bunny for the kids, consider of buying a toy, please.
* * * * * *
I also want to show you a little gift I got from my dear friend Mylene. 
She knows how to make your day! Mylene, thank you so much for the gift, it is so pretty, I just love it!
 A few pictures from my garden - enjoy!
 Thank you for visiting my blog and staying with me. I enjoy reading your comments and do appreciate your time and effort to do this.
Tonight I am going to visit your blogs - I've missed this a lot!
Happy stitching!

Cheerful Daisies Collection 27 Jul 2010 11:32 PM (14 years ago)

 Today I am going to break a bloggers' tradition and to tell you about the gifts of my giveaway before one package is received. I have waited long enough but it seems the post office is not in a great hurry to deliver the package. I do hope the package will be received tomorrow or the next day... I do not even want to imagine that it can be lost, I can deal with this later, am I right?
I will tell you about the stitched gifts without saying to which of my winners the gift was sent to. Does it make any sense? I hope it does. Here is the picture of Cheerful Daisies Collection:

 Well, there must be one more piece in the picture because the collection actually started from this:

 But you might remember in spring I sent this Scissor and Floss Fob to my friend Yoyo who once called yellow daisies "cheerful" ( I know this is also a phrase from a movie). When I was working on the gift, I thought this could be a good name for a collection. Later I asked you about the color of your cheerful daisies. You named blue and pink and red but nobody mentioned my favorite color of the daisies. Maybe that is why I  gave away all the stitched models - they are not in my favorite daisies color.
In the pictures you can see that the design changed  from piece to piece, so did the colors of the daisies and the fabric on which I stitched them. But one thing remained unchanged : all the pieces are stitched one over one.
Besides the Scissor and Floss Fob the collection has  Box Top:
Pincushion:

Needle Book:















  And Altoids Tin Top:
 When I was stitching these pieces I saw some pretty fabric in the store and made these pincushions for my giveaway winners . I just love these sewing notions!
 I also send RAK to one of my friends. I know she stitched "My Rose Garden" Biscornu. This was my first cross stitch design which I created on June 16 two years ago. So I have been designing for two years! To commemorate this date and to make something for my friend I added one more design to My Rose Garden Collection, A Token Of Friendship:

 It can also be finished into a bookmark or a floss tag. I turned a pencil box into a sewing notions box:
 If you are interested in buying my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
I also made some progress on my  WIPs.
One of them is The Windmill. I've got a few questions on it. The original design 'Windmill And Poppies' by Durene Jones was published in The World Of Cross Stitching # 141. How am I going to get rid of poppies? Well, have a look, I've almost finished this part.
My other WIP is Gracious Era which I stitch for Christmas SAL which is run by Yoyo.
Before showing the picture of the progress I want to tell the participants of this SAL that I have some news about Yoyo. She is ill at the moment and she is recovering from a disease. I hope she will be back with us soon. Let us continue stitching the projects, she will be happy to see our progress. 
 And, of course, the picture of my TU SAL:
Some of my friends asked me to show where and how I keep the floss. In the previous post I wrote that I am making some renovation in my stitching room because I got tired of some of the things. Lately I was making floss organizers for projects. I bought one from an Internet store before but I do not quite like it, it takes time to put the floss through the holes. I made a more convenient (for me!) floss organizer :
It can be placed either on the floor at the chair or on the table. I was thinking if to attach a pincushion on it or not and then decided to make another more complicated organizer.
I started with a pincushion, embroidered it
 and then added some places to keep a thimble, scissors, laying tools, pins and there is even some place left for a frog - let it rest here and I will be keeping an eye on it ;-)) .
 I love how this organizer turned out, it looks like a portable work station.
* * * * * *
 I 'd like to thank Smily for an award and traditionally to pass it to all my readers. Come visit Smily's blog, you'll find a lot of interesting things there.
Thank you very much for your visits and your comments, they are all treasured by me.
Happy stitching to everyone!

The Winner(s) Of The Giveaway 24 Jun 2010 10:25 PM (14 years ago)

Good morning my dear readers!

It's time to name the winner, rather winners of my Cheerful Daisies giveaway.
But first I want to thank everyone who is the follower of my blog and who entered the giveaway. I was pleased to get to know new stitchers and it was interesting to visit your blogs.
I guess you are eager to learn the result.
Well, I put 41 names in the List Randomizer ( those of you who fulfilled three requirements got three entries and those who did not - got two entries). And the winners are:
1. Mylene
2. Patty
3. Jules.
   Ladies I need your addresses, please. You can find my e-mail in Profile.
Besides, two more ladies from the list will get RAK from me. One package is already on the way to its new home, let it be a little surprise for her.
Patti, your comment is so touching that I just can't leave you without a little prize - I need your address too.
Let's hope the rest of my dear readers are lucky next time. :-)
Happy stitching to everyone!

Redwork Scissor Pocket And More 14 Jun 2010 12:42 AM (14 years ago)

Firstly, I'd like to thank those of you who comes to my blog and leaves comments, they all are so precious for me. Secondly, my mother is feeling better , a little bit better but it is so good to have some good news from her - thank you very much for your good wishes.
I have been very busy lately: we were preparing for our wedding anniversary and I have started some renovation of my stitching room - I got tired of looking at the same things from day to day and want some changes. And one more piece of good news - my son is getting married in a few days, I spoke with him yesterday, he sounds very happy.
I have been working hard on the stitching front too. Look what I have prepared for you.
 I continued working on Redwork collection and made 3 more designs .
Here is Redwork Scissor Pocket, front and back:
 Then goes Redwork Scissor Fob:
 And the third item is Redwork Altoids Top:
I set myself the task to make the designs look lacy, I hope I have reached the goal.
   If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
I also made some more designs in  Cheerful Daisies. Today I am presenting Cheerful Pink Daisies. I stitched the pattern one over one and decided to finish it into a box:
I am very happy with the result: the box turned out rather cute.
* * * * * * 
I also want to ask you what is the color of  your cheerful daisies or what flower is cheerful for you.
There have happened so many good events in my life lately that we need to be celebrate them. There is nothing  better in the Blogland than a giveaway. So I'd like to invite you to take part in my giveaway. The winner will get Cheerful Daisies in her/his favorite color stitched and finished by me, and some more stitching goodies.
Does this sound good to you? Let's have fun!
     In order to participate in this giveaway you must:
1. be the follower of my blog,
2. tell about this giveaway on your blog,
3. leave a comment after this post.
The giveaway will be closed at 12:00 CT, June 24 and the winner will be announced shortly after that.
* * * * * * *
  Oh I almost forgot about my SALs.
Here is my TUSAL box, it's growing!
I enjoyed working on my Christmas SAL piece and even thought to stop other projects and to finish it. But my husband told me (again!) how much he would like to have a picture of a windmill. And I really stopped everything and started a windmill for my husband. It would have been great to finish the picture for our anniversary but no way: I had too little time at my disposal and  besides the windmill design which I have is not exactly what my husband wants.
As you can see the original is very feminine, I am very sorry but I have to delete these pretty flowers, though I might leave some. But I was asked to make the windmill more prominent.
I will leave you with some more pictures that I took in the Rose center, enjoy them.
Happy stitching to everyone!

"Spring" Pillow 13 May 2010 4:03 PM (14 years ago)

 It's again been awhile since I posted last. My only excuse is that worrying about my mother makes me feel low. Her new problem is kidney stones and if her health condition allows,  she might have an operation soon. There are a lot of telephone calls, e-mails so it's hard to concentrate on stitching. There were days when I could make just a couple of stitches.  I mostly worked in the garden and did some other crafts, new stuff challenges me more and helps a little forget my problems.
Well, I worked a little more on my "Spring" designs. Here is what I added to the collection:

 I've made a pillow which can be used like a season decoration or a pin pillow for the big projects - that is what I need right now for my Christmas SAL.
"Spring" Pillow:
To match the pillow I've also made two pincushions .
The first one if I am not mistaken is called a flower pincushion:
 And the second one is a sun flower pincushion:
 There is a little story behind the pincushion. About two years ago when Olga and I had a private SAL, Olga suggested that we should make a sunflower pincushion. ( By the way, Olga is very good at making them and has a tutorial on her blog).  I was busy doing something and promised my friend  to make the pincushion later. OLGA, I did it!!! It only took me 2 years to do this but I've kept my word.
My pincushion is not an exact copy of the sunflower one.  I used "Japanese" petals for my pincushion . Some time ago there were many tutorials in the Internet on making these petals. In Japan  this is kind of folk art, they make amazing things with these petals.  I used my own way to assemble the pincushion. Besides, I could not find a lid at home that can be used for the pincushion :-( . A small plastic cup was used instead.
I think my pincushion looks more like Dahlia rather than Sunflower, does it?
To embellish the pillow and the pincushions I used some vintage buttons and made some pins.
Another project was "Spring" necklace, the picture does not do justice to it. In real life the beads are more beautiful .
 I also made some seasonal flower arrangements:
and made some coasters:

* * * * * * *
I worked a little on my Christmas SAL project too:
 I really enjoy stitching it , especially after your lovely comments on my work. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
I've never spoken on cooking before. But today I'd like to tell you about the little kitchen tool we bought that we enjoy so much. About a month ago we bought Ninja Master Prep which blends, chops, mixes. I use it to make kind of fruit drinks or desserts. In the heat that we are already having our "drinks" are indispensable. They are really delicious and help me make my husband to eat more fruit - he's already lost some weight.  I took a picture of one of our drinks. It's made of an orange, apple, some strawberries, cranberries,  cubes of ice  and a little of ice-cream. I sometimes add a carrot - you will never taste it in the drink, some honey or cream. I've  tried different combination of fruit and berries, my favorite is pineapple + orange, my husband loves banana + strawberries. In the picture the straw in the glass is blue - that was my husband's drink.
We have discovered another park here, it is Rose Center, they say the biggest in the USA. It is huge, about 114 acres, to see it all will probably take us some days. We spent about 2 hours there and I took some picture for you.
The roses are just gorgeous, there are so many different colors, sizes, shapes. Next time I will show some more pictures from the park.
Enjoy the pictures:
Thank you for stopping by. Special thank you for those who takes time and leaves me comments - I highly appreciate this.
Have a lovely weekend!

Redwork Biscornu and more 21 Apr 2010 2:11 AM (14 years ago)

The weather stays very nice here and I enjoy seeing the flowers blooming in my garden. Every morning I take a cup of tea and go to the swing to enjoy watching the birds and listening to their beautiful songs. Everything is so pretty now... And cross stitch ? - you ask. Well, I stitch but not as much as I would like to.
Today I will show you two new designs, I  finished working on them about a week ago but could not find time to post about them.
I got the idea for the Redwork Biscornu in Russia when my friend Natasha and I were in a fabric store. There I saw pretty buttons and thought I must create a design with these buttons. Here is Redwork Biscornu, pretty in red and white:

I will probably keep my Redwork Biscornu with the collection of my red plates, they look great together.
I also made some counting pins and a scissor fob to match Redwork Biscornu:

Another design is called Cheerful Daisies . I wanted to make something for one of my friends to cheer her up a little. She once told me that yellow daisies looked so cheerful... Well, I made Cheerful Daisies Scissor and Floss Fob for her:
After the previous post I was asked to share a secret of  sewing up my scissor fobs. I am afraid there is no secret, it's just practice: I have been sewing since I was about 5 years old.  If I saw your fob or pillow, I would probably understand better what your problem is. I can give you some tips:
1.  your seams must be straight, 2. clip corners before turning the pillow inside out,
3. do not be in a hurry and enjoy what you are doing. :-)
In the picture above I show a side and a corner of the fob. I first Back stitched and then Whip stitched  it using one strand of DMC floss.
* * * * * * * *
My Gracious Era has grown a little more:
This is a pretty piece and I enjoy stitching it.
I am a little late for TUSAL report but I want to show my box anyway. I have a good progress on the SAL thanks to making tassels for the biscornu. 
I do not know which birds had used my floss spinets but yesterday I found a nest of Cardinals in my Holy bush which I wanted to trim a little. I saw three tiny chicks inside  the nest and thought I'd better work on the bush later. Today I noticed Father-bird and Mother - bird come to feed the babies. I was especially happy to see that father-bird also participates in raising the "kids". :-)
* * * * * * * *
I want to thank Holly  for passing me two Blog awards. It's a great honor to get them from such a good stitcher. If you have not visited her blog yet, go and have a look at her amazing works http://indystitch.wordpress.com/.
Last week my husband and I twice visited Norton Art Gallery Park. Just a few days ago we found out that we have a rather pretty park not too far from us. At first we dropped at the park to see if it was worth visiting and in a day we came there again armed with two cameras and spent about 4 hours there. On the way back we also " ran" through the gallery just to have an idea of its exhibits, we will sure visit it again later.
I will leave you with the pictures we took in the park, enjoy them.

I treasure your comments, thank you for stopping by.
Happy stitching to everyone!

"Spring" Pinkeep and more 31 Mar 2010 6:50 PM (14 years ago)

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to show you my new designs which I gave a very simple name "Spring". The story of the design is simple too. For a new project I needed a pincushion which I wanted to put inside the wood box to keep the threaded needles safe, organized and ready for work. Not a bad idea, isn't it? But when I finished stitching the design I did not want to hide it inside the box and made it into a pinkeep, then followed a Berlingot and a Scissor fob. Now I'd like to present you "Spring" sewing set:

Here is "Spring" Pinkeep:
Its pattern can also be finished into a pincushion or an ornament or a framed picture.
"Spring" Berlingot:


I wanted to make a berlingot a long time ago but I did not like the look of its back, I tried to sew it up in a new way and like the back much better now:
"Spring" Scissor Fob finishes the set now but some more designs from this collection will follow:
If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
Last November I joined Christmas SAL which was initiated and organized by Yoyo . I liked the idea to stitch something from the stash and set myself a task to finish "Gracious Era" from Dimensions by December this year. I started stitching it in January and this is where I am now:
I must also report on another SAL organized by Yoyo - TUSAL:
My box is almost empty, it's not because I stitched so little. It is because I gave my snippets to wrens who are building nests now. They are so hard working birds and I love to watch them!
Since I posted last I have been awarded Beautiful Blogger Award by
Carol , Michelle, Jules (Julie) and Sunshine Award by Jules (Julie)again. Thank you very much dear ladies, it's a great honor to get awards from you. As I got 4 awards I can nominate about 50 bloggers, right? It's not hard to do. On the right hand side I have a list of my favorite Blogs and I am passing the awards to all of you - you have deserved it! Your blogs are a great course of inspiration for me.
And to finish this post I've got some pictures from my garden.
Firstly, I wanted to show you a picture of a four-petal shamrock. I noticed it while weeding a flower bed. Does this mean that I am lucky or that I must weed my flower beds more often?
Some wild spring flowers for you
Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog - I appreciate this.
Happy stitching to everyone!

Lucky Shamrock Biscornu and more 15 Mar 2010 7:14 PM (14 years ago)

It's been awhile (again) since my last post... Thank you for still staying with me. I really appreciate your understanding and your patience. I am still getting lots of questions about my mother's state. I am happy to say she is much better now, she can't walk yet but she is exercising hard to strengthen her legs to be able to walk again. We've made lots of changes in our home so as mother can roll her wheel-chair everywhere and can reach the things she needs from the chair. Our biggest remodeling was in the bathroom, we had to widen the doorway and to install a bath tub with a door in it.
I was already back home when this project was finished, my son sent me some pictures to have a look at the new bathroom.
My journey back home was the worst I've ever had - I got a bad food poisoning and still feel not very well. The air fares are rocketing up and the service - down...
Well, on the stitching front... :-)
In Russia I saw an interesting TV show about Ireland and got an idea of designing Shamrock biscornu, "Lucky Shamrock" Biscornu - everybody needs luck nowadays!


While creating the biscornu I also took the inspiration from my old and very attractive plant - Oxalis Triangularis - a "relative " of Shamrock.
I continued working on "Snowflakes" Collection and added 4 more "smalls" to it. These "Snowflakes are a little brighter - spring is already in the air! and just a few beads add some glitter to them. Here is "Snowflakes" Biscornu:
My friend Natasha and I looked for old big wood spools in all the cross stitch stores, and we asked all our friends to help us in our search but with no results unfortunately. Natasha, I made this scissor stand from the spool that I bought in Hobby Lobby:

Next goes "Snowflakes" Tape Measure Cover:

"Snowflakes" Ornament finishes the collection:
"Snowflakes" Sewing Set:

If you are interested in buying my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.

I also want to introduce you to my cross stitch assistant, this is my Man'ka, turning 20 this spring. Of course, she is a member of our family but she is sure she is the head of it. Man'ka was stealing my stitching chair all the time!
When mother got better and I could leave home for a couple of hours my friends took me out, to some exhibitions, shopping and just for walks. Sveta and Natasha, Irina, Al'bina and Nina thank you for your support, your friendly "shoulders", which pushed me to life.
Thanks to you I saw the most beautiful ice sculptures. Our city hosted an International Ice Figure Contest. In the picture you can see artists at work:
In the Art gallery there was an antique exhibition from private collections. This fabulous picture is made of semi-precious stone tiles.
We were allowed to look inside the storage room and there we saw this huge Matryoshka, isn't it pretty!
Thank you for visiting my blog, your comments are always treasured.
Happy stitching and take care!

"Holly" Biscornu And Back To Russia 17 Jan 2010 11:42 PM (15 years ago)

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all readers of my blog!

So much has happened since my previous post... My mother broke her hip and I had to go back to Russia to take care of her. From the airport I went straight to hospital and since that time I have not had a proper rest yet. I brought mother home from hospital on the third day after the operation. Mother was in a lot of pain before and after the operation and I spent all the time at mother's bed. Now mother is much better though we still have bad days now and then. The way to recovery at her age is going to be very slow and long…

I want to thank all my friends who have supported my family at this difficult time. I do not know what I would do without you.

I have not been blogging for about 2 months, and have been missing it so much. I am looking forward to reading your blogs and seeing your pretty projects. Since next week I hope I am able to visit your blogs on a more regular basis.

Now I will show you my last creations which I did not have time to post about. I started “Holly” collection way back in November and finished two items: biscornu and bourse before I had to leave for Russia.

Here is “Holly” Biscornu , front:
and its back:

I have long wanted to make a biscornu with some Hardanger . In this design the Hardanger stitches help create delicate frost around the Holly and make the biscornu look so festive.
I had to help my customer to make a bourse (you will see her picture a little later) and I made a "Holly" pattern to match the print which I used for lining the bourse:










If you are interested in buying my designs, please send an e-mail to me. My address is in Profile.
* * * * * *
I also wanted to show my Mary Wigham Sampler. Before I left for Russia it looked like this:
Mary has been such a great companion for me during my long flights and during sleepless nights. This is how it looks now:
The Sampler is stitched on 26 count Evenweave , one over one, with DMC floss.
I've made some changes in the pattern and substituted some floss. I stitched initials of my husband and me , and arranged them in the way the Russian women stitched marriage projects in old times ( birds facing each other, a crown, initials).
Before I left for Russia I finished the third ornament for Find The Cure Auction and mailed the ornaments. Unfortunately, I have not heard if my ornaments reached the destination, I can only hope that they did.
My customers finished some of my designs and I'd like to share their pictures with you.
Brenda from London ( no blog) finished "My Rose Garden" Biscornu and she said she enjoyed working on this project. She's done a great job on the biscornu, hasn't she?
Martina made the "Snowflakes" bourse. You can see more pictures on her blog. She was very creative and made a lovely bourse.
She also asked me to invite the readers of my blog to take part in her PIF. I would take part in it myself, if I had less problems with my mother's health. If you have time, please, visit Martina's blog, a young blogger and a young mother. You might find a good friend there!
Brenda and Martina , thank you very much for your pretty pictures and your pretty work.
Before my rip I got some surprise from my dear friends.
First arrived a package from Olga (UK). She stitched an Angel-Stitcher for me! Olga chose a great pattern for me, it has everything that I love in cross stitch and she finished it so nicely! I just love the ruched edge! The Angel will always sit on my stitching table. Thank you very much for your gift Olga!

The second package was from Mylene, another very pleasant surprise!
I have never seen a more pretty design with Russian dolls Matryoshkas. They are so cheerful, I always smile when look at them. Mylene is so good at making pinkeeps!
I am very happy to have this wonderful gift from you Mylene.
Sorry, no flowers' pictures for you today. I want to show some landscape pictures:
of my home when I left it:
and pictures of my home in Russia when I came here:

I hope you stay safe and warm in these cold winter days.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Your comments are always treasured by me.
Happy Stitching to everyone!

Let It Snow! 23 Nov 2009 11:16 PM (15 years ago)

It is getting rather cool here, of course, not so cool as it might snow but cool enough to realize that soon we will celebrate Christmas and New Year and we must be ready for these holidays.
I made some winter designs and you will see some of them today.
One of my new designs is called "Let It Snow!" I finished it off as a pinkeep, the design will also look nice as an ornament or a pincushion:One more finish is this Bourse. I have wanted to make a bourse in winter colors for a long time, when I saw this fabric in the store I thought that was just what I needed. The bourse looks full, doesn't it? Let's open it and see what is there inside .
This is a new Sewing Set called "Snowflakes", it is not complete yet, two more items will be added soon. Today I present you 4 items from the set:
This is what "Snowflake" Bourse looks like inside:Next goes "Snowflakes" Scissor Fob, front:and back:
This is "Snowflakes" Floss Fob or Tag, front:
and back:And this is a little "Snoflakes" Needlework Case, front:
back:
And this is what the needlework case looks like when it is open:
I also made a beaded Scissor fob which I called "First Frost":

If you are interested in buying any of my designs , please contact me through an e-mail. My address is in the profile.
* * * * * *
Last month I did not posted a picture of ORT jar for TUSAL. I just came home from my trip and did not do much stitching. Now I can see that pretty many new snips were added and my jar or box is almost full.
In the previous post I showed you some pictures from my trip and a picture of an ancient cross stitch from the museum. And I also told you that I saw some items there and could not figure out the technique in which they were made. Michelle supposed that it could be Ukrainean Merezhkas. I guess this is something different, have a look at these pictures:
Do you have any idea about the techniques?
I also promise to show the pictures of the kittens who frequent our yard. We call them Tiger and Panther. Mother cat doesn't visit them but she taught them not to trust people. When they are hungry they come to us to beg for food but they do not allow to pat them. :-(It's very Halloween-ish, isn't it?

I made them a little tassel to play with, they tore it to pieces in no time!
Some autumn flowers for you:

Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. I appreciate this , read all your comments with great interest and try to visit your blogs too.
Happy stitching to everyone!

"Pumpkins" Needlework Case, Biscornu and Fob 5 Nov 2009 7:40 PM (15 years ago)

Oh, it has been so long since I posted last. It's really hard to go back to every day routine, it just takes some time to get used to things which we normally do not notice. And one more important thing happened during this long time of silence - I became a multi-kid-ttens mom. I will tell you about them next time and will take some pictures of my kid-ttens, could not take a single good picture of them because they are wild!
If I did not post, that does not mean that I did not work. I've prepared something to show to you today.
I continued working on "Pumpkins" designs and created the needlework case, scissor fob. I also made some changes in the biscornu pattern and made the back side for it.
Here is "Pumpkins" collection I have been working on.
It looks like a pumpkin patch, doesn't it? I do not know how about you but I love pumpkins! No, not to eat! I love to look at them. No matter how big or small they are - they always make me smile - so cheerful they are! Oh, well, back to "Pumpkins" collection.
This is how "Pumpkins" Biscornu look now:It has two sides and I made a few pins to embellish the biscornu.
Then goes "Pumpkins" Scissor Fob:
Last but not least - "Pumpkins"Needlework Case, its front:
and its back:
It took me a long time to finish it because I could not find the right fabric, ribbon, buttons. After lots of thinking I made the best with what I had. This is the inside of the case:
"Pumpkins" Set includes everything a stitcher needs to work on a project:
If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
* * * * * *
If you remember in my previous post I promised a prize for a stitcher who first sends me pictures of the finished "Pumpkins" biscornu. A few days ago Mylene sent me pictures of her work. She made a wonderful job on it, didn't she?
I sent "Pumpkins" beaded fob to Mylene and I also made these pins for her biscornu. Thank you for your pretty work, Mylene!* ** * * *
I made some new beaded scissor fobs, from left to right:
Black Cat, Black Sheep and Frog scissor fobs.
You can also place an order for fobs with me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
* * * * * *
Last time I promised to show you some picture from my trip.
In my town people like to go for walks. The next day when I arrived home my son and his girl friend took me to the Central Park. Here are some pictures from the park. Water always attracts people, it is so tranquil to walk and to look at the water waves and listen to their soft sound.


I also like pretty clouds, especially at sunset...
In the Central Park there is our local History Museum. I took very many pictures of needlework exhibits, so many that I had to change the batteries in my camera.
Most of the works exhibited there are cross stitch, some works have some specialty stitches or crochet lace. But there were some needlework pieces made in the technique unknown for me. They might be kind of hand weaving.
For today I chose a picture of a cross stitch work, I guess it is about 200 years old. What is interesting about these old pieces is that the crosses are rather big and they were not crossed in the same direction.
If this kind of pictures are of any interest for you, let me know please and I will show you some more pictures next time.
Traditionally I finish the post with a flower picture, I took it during the walk in the Central Park.
I want to thank everyone who leaves comments and sends e-mails to me, thank you for your time and kind words. This kind of feedback is so important for me.
Hugs and Happy stitching to you!

Home Sweet Home 10 Oct 2009 12:59 PM (15 years ago)

Home sweet home... Well, it's almost two weeks since I came back home and have been fighting jet lag since then. I think most of you will agree with me that when you go back home, the trips do not seem so long and boring especially if you meet pleasant people. Talks helped to make long flights shorter but they did not put too much stitches into Mary Wigham sampler. Next time I will show you my progress on the sampler, now I have so many other things to blog about.
* * * * *
During my stay with the family I could find some time for meeting with my friends, cross stitching, designing and even for blogging a little. If you remember in my first post from Russia, I posted some pictures of my home town and asked you if you could say what part of Russia I am from. I got only one answer to my question. But what an answer it was!
It turned out that H. ( she does not have a blog yet) lives in my home town! And, of course we met ( not once) and exchanged e-mails and telephone calls. We used to live so close to each other for such a long time, we have so much in common but our lives were going parallel to each other. Thanks to my blog we met, at last!
The new designs "Sunflowers" were inspired by H. 's personality.There are already three items in this collection but I can't show them all in one picture because two first items I gave as tokens of our friendship to my new friend. The collection started with this pinkeep:
then followed the Zigouigoui:
and the scissor fob:All three "smalls" can be used as seasonal ornaments, place them somewhere at your computer table, in the kitchen or in your car - they will sure bring a smile on your face.

The camera does not do justice to the pieces - the weather has been so rainy here. The colors are more true to life in the scissor fob pictures. I will replace the pictures when I get better light conditions.

The design for this ornament was inspired by Quaker patterns. At first I wanted to make it blue to match the "Snowflake" ornaments which I had made before but being so far from my stitching room I could not find the right shade of Blue and stitched the ornament in Red. To my mind it looks very festive in this color:
All the "smalls" that I designed and stitched in Russia stayed there. I gave them to my friends; and my mother loved this ornament - now it is in her room.
If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me.
My e-mail address is in my Profile.
* * * * *
Lately I've made some beaded Scissor Fobs and matching Count Needles. The fob collection which you see in the picture is called Autumn Colors. It includes (from left to right):
"Autumn Leaves" - first two fobs; "Autumn Colors" - next three fobs; "Pumpkin" -the sixth fob; "Halloween" - last two fobs.
You can place an order the fobs and count needles with me. Send an e-mail to me please.
* * * * *
Now to the fun part :-)....
My little frog Froggy is willingly helping me with some more designs.
I'd like to thank my customers and followers of my blog for staying with me.
This is also a good chance for the followers to come out of hiding and say "Hi" :-) . This "Halloween" design is a gift for you. The offer will last till October 24.

The first stitcher who will finish the design as charted and send me pictures of the completely finished project (an ornament, flatfold, pillow, etc.), will get a beaded scissor fob as a reward from me.
In order to get "Halloween" design e-mail me, my address is in my Profile.

* * * * *
"Pumpkins" Biscornu is a complimentary design with purchasing any of my designs in October. The first stitcher, who will finish the design as charted and send me pictures of the complete biscornu, will get a beaded scissor fob as a reward from me.
* * * * *
I also want to show a gift which I recieved from hohla , Olga . Back in April she had a Blogaoniversary give away and I was one of the lucky winners. Look at what I got.
Olga designed and made this very pretty scissor pocket. She is very talented!
The fabric which you see in the picture is hand dyed by her too. I am going to stitch something very special on it.
In the pictures you can see the extras which hohla also sent for me.
Olga, thank you very much for your generous gift, I love them all!

I'd also want to thank Violette for passing me an award. It's a great honor to receive it from this amazing stitcher and such a great artist. I love Violette 's
water-colors very much.
Oh, I know, this is a long post. here are some wild flowers for you to enjoy.
I will show you pictures from my trip in my next post.
Stay tuned!Happy stitching to everyone!

Back Home!!! 29 Sep 2009 4:17 PM (15 years ago)

Today I am taking a trip back home. Time flies and two months have passed like one day.
This time was filled with with so many wonderful and unforgotable meetings with my family, friends and colleagues.
I am bringing lots of pictures, new designs and, of course, a lot of pleasant impressions. I will show you pictures and designs later, when I come back home.
Today just a few pictures, I hope you enjoy them.
My Marry grew a little more. You can see that she had been studying Russian crafts and here she is posing with her new friends.My TUSAL jar got some more stuff and looks pretty, doesn't it?I'd like to thank all my readers and followers who still keep coming to my blog. I miss "real blogging" very much and I know I have a lot to catch up with and I am looking forward to visiting your blogs again.
Happy stitching to everyone!
My next post will already be from home :-) .

My First Post From Russia 29 Aug 2009 5:59 PM (15 years ago)

My dear friends and readers of my blog,
I want to thank you for the good wishes you sent to me and my mother. We both appreciate this. I promise to answer all e-mails I got from you in a couple of days.

Well, my trip was rather long, about 40 long hours, with three connection flights. One hour delay due to technical reasons was such "a sweet addition" to all the worries I had. The only entertainment I had during the trip was Mary Wigham's Sampler. Mary behaved very well, no frogs visited us! You can see the progress on the sampler a little below.
My mother is doing much better now, actually she already felt better when she learned that I was coming. :-) We had appointments with some doctors and changed her medications - all these brought some good results. I also want to thank my friends who gave me geat advice on taking care of elderly people.
It took me some time to get my laptop hooked up here. I have to share the Internet with my son that is why I can visit only 2-3 blogs a day.
On the stitching front:I made a birthday gift for one of my friends and colleagues. She visited my blog and among the designs she loved was "Hearts" Sewing Set. I bought a box for her and embellished its top with "Hearts" design which includes some specialty stitches and beads. ( If you do not like specialty stitches and beads, there is always an option to put simple crosses instead).
This design can also be made into an ornament.
If you are interested in buying my designs, please contact me. My e-mail is in my Profile.
* * * * *And here is my progress on M. Wigham's Sampler:I enjoy stitching it very much. And while I am here, so far from home and my stitching room this kind of stitching is just what I can do best. Cross stitch is not so popular in Russia. And though there are many cross stitch stores here they mostly sell charts of pictures and cross stitch kits with Aida.
Two years ago I bought a kit here and when my husband had to leave for home and I had to stay here for some more time to finish our paper work, I stitched this still life twice: the first picture went to my father - I never thought my father would like a cross stitch picture but he did! I stitched one more picture and my friend asked for it. It took me 15 days to stitch them both and every time I intended to present it to my husband but it never happened. Maybe one day I will stitch it again :-)) .I am very late with my TUSAL report - I am so sorry. Here is my new container for this important SAL:I also want to show some pictures which I took during walks in my native town:
This is one of the needlework exhibits in our History museum. I took some more pictures of cross stitch, crochet and needlework exhibits. But maybe it's better to show them in my next post.

The museum also has a rich collection of butterflies, crystals, animals and fish, etc.
Traditionally I finish the post with a flower picture. I took a picture of these wild flowers during a walk in the forest last Friday.

I wonder if you can guess which part of Russia I am from.
Happy stitching to everyone!

"Strawberries" Biscornu and more... 30 Jul 2009 5:05 PM (15 years ago)

I promised to make "Strawberries " Biscornu design a little while ago and I also intended to try different styles in my "Strawberries" Collection.
Today I am ready to show two designs, they again look like a little set:"Strawberries" Biscornu:And "Strawberries" Scissor Fob. I thought it is a good idea to make the fob in the form of a strawberry:Some more items in this style will follow later.
If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me.
My e-mail is in my Profile.
* * * * * *
One more finish, this is "Flowers Of Olde" by "With My Needle". I stitched it last summer and remember I enjoyed working on it very much. The design has some specialty stitches and over one stitching. Now I finished it into a pinkeep - I needed a birthday gift for someone :-).

Now on a different note...
My mother is not feeling well and is missing me badly so this coming Monday I am flying to Russia. I do not know yet how long I am going to stay there, it can be two months or more...
I am taking a laptop with me, though I do not like laptops, but it will help me to stay connected with all of you and I can continue working with my customers and visiting your Blogs.
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments are always appreciated.
Stay well and happy stitching to everyone.
Some pictures of the flowers for you and I am back to packing.

Strawberries, Queens Of Berries Huck Towel 23 Jul 2009 10:40 PM (15 years ago)

I made "Strawberries" design for Huck towels produced by Charles Craft. The idea to stitches strawberries on this kind of towels belongs to Yoyo, she loves to stitch towels for herself and as Christmas presents for her loved ones.
I quite agree with her and Carla that a stitched towel or a jar cover or something else useful can be a great gift.I've already made some more designs for towels with another topic ( guess what?) because I really like how my kitchen and dining room look now with just a few stitchy things from my "Strawberries" Kitchen Set.
Back to the towel, here is a picture of it hanging on the stove:
I finished the towel with some checkered fabric and lace to make it look part of the Kitchen Set (2 towels, a bread cover, a jar cover):
If you are interested in buying any of my designs, please contact me.

I stitched some more on MW sampler, I enjoy working on this sampler so much!
I try not to think about the mistakes in the pattern, I more think how the young girl managed to make up this big sampler without a computer or any cross stitch software - it's just amazing!
I joined one more SAL, this new SAL does not have any dead lines - it is stress free. The head girl is very hospitable and the SAL group is so pleasant. Well, I am speaking of TUSAL . Once a little glass box appeared on my stitching table and I thought that then I had to join that fun SAL and put my first floss snippets into the box. Here is what I created during the past month:
After the heat which we had this summer there are not many blooming flowers in the garden. I will show you only one flower picture, I love its color.
Today I saw a very big turtle in the garden, it was hot and the turtle was breathing so heavily. I gave her some cucumber and water and she drank some water! I've never seen them drinking before. I went home to take a camera and when I came back - there was no turtle anywhere! And we always think that turtles are very slow - mine was not!
And still I have some more pictures from the garden, look who visited us tonight:She was not alone, there was a baby raccoon with her! Look how shy it is!
Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are always appreciated!
Happy stitching to everyone!

"Strawberries, Queens Of Berries" Breadcover and More 11 Jul 2009 10:07 PM (15 years ago)

Today I'd like to show you some more "Strawberries, Queens Of Berries" designs.
I promissed to show some new finishes for me. They are not new for you, many of you like to stitch these things and some of you are stitching them now.
I made a"Strawberries, Queens Of Berries" Kitchen Set which includes a jar cover, towel and breadcover.
For a long time I've wanted to make a jam jar cover. I remember my grandmother's jars looked so lovely with the white caps on them. My jar cover is a little more complicated than my grandmother's but I used almost the same kind of cord to wrap around the jar neck. :-)


Last year I bought several grab bags and in one of them there was a Charles Craft towel. I can't say that I was happy to see the towel in the grab bag and was thinking how to get rid of it.
The towel a year later:

Well, I love it now!

It took a little longer to stitch and finish the towel and the breadcover because they must have a neat back and must able to withstand multiple washing.
The back is not perfect but very close to it. If you want to see a perfect back, you must go to blogs of Brazilian girls, they are so good at stitching towels!

"Strawberries, Queens Of Berries" Collection 23 Jun 2009 8:24 AM (15 years ago)

I love all kinds of berries but strawberries have always been my favorites, they are like queens of berries for me. Today I will show you my new collection which is called "Strawberries, Queens Of Berries".I finished my "Strawberries" into a pinkeep and a framed picture:
After taking pictures the pinkeep was put into an envelope and now it is on its way to a new home. The framed picture is in my stitching room.
I plan to continue working on this collection and try to make "Strawberries" designs in different styles and I will make a biscornu and also try some new (for me) finishes. Some of the designs are already done, I only have to stitch them.
If you are interested in buying my designs, please, contact me.
My e-mail is in my Profile.
Now have a look at what I made for my husband for Father's Day. Not long ago my dear friend Mylene sent me Cross Stitcher # 212. When I was first browsing it I knew that one design was a must for me.

My Wedding Sampler 6 Jun 2009 3:21 PM (15 years ago)