New Stash and Debating……

I ordered some new charts and threads a few weeks ago and the package had arrived last Friday!!! I’m so excited to open it up~~ I’ve always wanted to get these LHN charts the moment I saw them. Aren’t they just adorable?! Originally I only wanted to order the LHN charts, but while I was surfing the web that day, I came across these Rosewood Manor charts and just had to add them to the cart~~ They are just too cute to pass over!!! It’s actually a set of four but I will get the other two later. I thought if I buy them at two different times maybe I can pretend I REALLY didn’t spend that much on stash?? ;-)

After going back and forth on what kind of thread and fabric I wanted to use on the lovely Mary Wigham sampler, I finally made up my mind on using the hand dyed silks from Hand Dyed Fibers. I’ve never tried this type of threads before, and thought this might be a good opportunity to try. Besides, the colors Vikki picked out for us already looks really pretty!!!! I love how the silk floss feels~~~

The one thing I’m still debating on is the fabric. After a long consideration, I feel like I want to do this piece over one, cause the finished size will be more my liking. Right now I have a 28ct evenweave (left in photo) and a 32ct lambswool belfast linen (right in photo) in stash. I like the color better of the 32ct fabric, but I’ve never tried stitching over one on a 32ct fabric, and the thought kind of scares me… I also noticed that this fabric is rather stiff. I’ve heard that someone had tried soften it by soaking it in water for a day, but it didn’t work… Has anyone used this fabric before and can you tell me if it will soften after soaking? The 28ct fabric isn’t too bad, but it is lighter and I’m afraid some of the white thread won’t show up as well. Hum… Still a lot to think of… (Or am I thinking too much??)

Something sad had happened to one of my tomato… The fruit was getting too heavy so the stem was bent from the base… sign… I was so upset when I saw that… I did gave it some support but I guess it wasn't enough. I tried saving it by wrapping the bent stem with potting soil and plastic wrap, but I don’t know if this will work… My tomato has just beginning to turn red, I hope I still can salvage some of them… Lesson learned!! Must use better support next year!!!

Wish you all have a great week ahead!!!

A New Start and My Stitching Place…

I know, I know, I should be focusing on finishing my Wisteria house, but who can resist a new start?! Plus this is a wedding gift, so I better get it done before my friend’s big day!!!

I choose a 32ct Belfast linen in color Flay and DMC cotton floss for this project. I did changed out some of the colors to match the photo better. This is what I’ve done so far…

Susan has been asking about suggestions on setting up a stitching room. Well, when living in an one bedroom apartment, I don’t have the luxury of having a room just for stitching, but I would love to have that some day… (A girl can always dream, right?)

I do most of my stitching on the sofa in front of the TV, cause I usually stitch and watching TV at the same time. The one thing I love about our little apartment is that it has lots of bright light, so it’s actually quite nice for stitching~~ But most of the time after finishing all my house duties, it’s night time already so I really don’t have a lot of chance taking advantages of the sunlight…

Sometimes when I get a moment during the day, I would go sit on my patio and stitch!! The one good thing about southern California is the nice weather, and I really enjoy taking advantage of this~~ Now if I can only sit here and stitch all day long, that would be just perfect!!!!!

Well, that’s it for today!!! Happy stitching~~

First Robin of Spring Finished!!

Thank you all for your warm encouragements about finishing my Wisteria House~~ Before working on the big finish, I thought maybe I should warm up first and try finishing a small project…… I’ve always wanted to try making a pinkeep, so I went through my finished stitches and saw this little robin has been waiting since February!!!! Now it is way pass spring already so I thought I better wrap this one up!! Besides, it’s a perfect size for a pinkeep~~

I followed Vonna’s instructions and was pretty pleased with my very first attempt making a pinkeep~~ It’s actually easier then I thought!!! I absolutely love this design, and also found a perfect backing fabric for it in my stash~~

Pattern: Elizabeth's Designs "First Robin of Spring"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 28ct antique white evenweave fabric
Pinkeep Size: 3.25” x 3”
Finishing Date: 06-18-2009

I first thought the ribbon was a little bit wide for the pinkeep, but it wasn't too bad…… I also put gold and red pearlized pins around the whole thing~ I really love how this one turned out!!!

Sorry about the dark photos…… It was a very cloudy day when I took these photos…… Have a great week, everyone~~

Floss Ring Tag Exchange and Wisteria House Update

Nicole has informed me that the floss ring tag I made for her for the Tiny Treasures Exchange has safely made its way to her mailbox~~ I’m glad to hear that she liked what I’ve made for her~

Pattern: Windy Willows “ Early Summer”
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Linen in Bluish Gray Color
Size: 2.5" x 2"
Finishing Date: 06-03-2009

I’ve always wanted to stitch Windy Willows designs and thought this would be an appropriate time since this design is called “Early Summer”~~ I had a little trouble when I got to the whipstitch again, I don’t know if it’s because I pulled the backstitches too tight so it was a bit more difficult to do the whipstitch…… But I think the end result doesn’t look too bad~

As for my little Wisteria House, I finally finished all the stitching!!! I love how it looks already~ Now if I can just put it all together without ruining it…… We’ll see how that goes~

Pattern: from book 3D Cross Stitch“ Wisteria House”
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 22ct Hardanger in white
Size: 6.5" x 3"
Finishing Date: 06-16-2009

Lookidy Look!!!

I was out all day yesterday so I forgot to check my mailbox when I got home. But when I opened it this morning, I found that there was a package waiting for me~~~ It was from my TTE partner Lesley, and I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw what was in the package!!!

Just look at this fabulous floss tag Lesley made and all these beautiful floss she included!!!! I am so spoiled!!!

This is not all!!!! Also included in the package was this cutie that Lesley made!!! You can imagine my joy when I saw this little thing jumping out of the package~~ I decide to name it Lu Lu, and she is standing by my monitor right now as I type~

Thank you sooooo much, Lesley!!! I love and cherish them very very much!!!

It’s Growing~

Yup, my little Wisteria House is definitely growing~ Although it was almost a week late, I’ve finally finished panel 3 and moving on to the final panel!!! All the backstitching is really a lot of work, but I’m loving how it turned out~ Now here is a front door you can knock on!!

Another thing that is growing right now is the tomato plant on my patio~ This is my first time ever trying to grow tomato and I have to say the weather here in southern California is just too perfect, plants just grow like crazy even with little care!!! Here is the very first tomato that appeared about a month ago -

And here it is a month later -

It like doubled in size!!! For a while I was quite worried that I would only have that one fruit, but this past week it suddenly is popping up little fruits everywhere!!! Now I think I have like 10 tomato on this plant, and 10 more on the other plant. So happy~

Now if they could just turn red……

If you haven’t noticed, there are some wonderful giveaways going around. First off, Yuko is giving away two fabulous pinkeeps, and then Melissa is giving away a bundle of stash~~ These giveaways will go on till the end of next week, so be sure to hop over and enter before it ends!!

I’m sure most of you have already know about the fabulous Mary Wigham SAL that is going on all over the world!!! I just love this sampler and is thinking about stitching it. But I want to finish what I have on hand first plus I need some time to think about what fabric and threads I want to use, so I’ll just sit back for a while and watch what different versions all you wonderful stitchers have come up with to help me make my decision.

Well, that’s it for now~~ Wish you all have a wonderful weekend!!!