A Wedding

I’m finally back to California~ I had an awesome time with my family, but it sure feels great to come home!! My sister’s wedding was a great success, even the weather cooperated. We were a bit worried cause it rained the previous days, but not a drop came down that day during the ceremony, so the newly weds could hop in the convertible as planned when they were leaving~~

The church was so beautiful itself, so we didn’t have to do too much decorating. My sister found those flower balls online and they were a perfect fit!! Can you tell they are made of wood shavings?

In fact my sister did a lot all by herself, she sew all the table runners, putting together all the wedding favors, punched all the little decorative flowers, and made that gift box – well, I kind of helped her a little bit with that. But  I was so amazed with all the work she had done, not to mention she has a full time job as a professor!!! The one thing I love most are the wedding favors, I think it’s totally her~ She is a scientist, hence the test tubes and flasks!! Isn’t it cool?!

My wedding gift for her almost didn’t make it on time, it was finished just days before her wedding!!! I used two full skeins the red threads on this one!! I think it turned out beautifully~

Pattern: Plum Street Samplers “Beloved” 
Thread: Gentle Art and DMC Cotton Floss
Fabric: 36 ct Linen color Tea  
Stitched Size: 8” x 8”   
Completion Date: 05-25-2012

The back stitch is what threw me off. I did not think it would take me that long to work on them!!! But I think they were totally worth the time!!! I just love all the little details on this design, did you notice the two Cupids were actually a couple? How cute!!!

I did messed up the fabric sized, though… Didn’t know what I was thinking cutting it so small. The stitched area is 8x8 and the fabric is only 10x10!!!! Luckily I found a 10x10 frame that worked, couldn’t do any lacing on the back though, but I think it looked alright!!

Since my sister took care of most of the projects for the wedding, I had time for some small projects. Annabelle needed a hairband for her cute little outfit, so I made one for her -  it was so simple it only took me like 10 minutes!!! I just hand sew some pretty elastics together and made clips out of the premade flowers I found at the craft store!!! She can change out the flower part according to her outfits~ Isn’t Annabelle the cutest little model?!

Inspired by my sister’s shoe piece, I decided to make a hair piece for myself~I found the perfect feather at Michaels, got the button at Joann’s, attached them to a clip and here it is!!! You can’t really tell by the photo, but the green matched perfectly with my dress~

It took her a while, but I’m so glad that my sister found her happiness. I love seeing her smile, and I can see that she is really happy – and that, makes me happy!!!

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 Ever PIF Gift~

Look what came through the mail during the weekend!!!! It's a PIF gift from Elisa!!!!! I was soooo excited to receive this cause this is my first ever PIF gift~

It's a pin pillow with floss rings on 2 ends, and this is a Calico Cat design called Hearts & flowers. It is stitched with Victoria Clayton silks!! Isn't it just lovely? The fabric itself actually has a pink hue to it, but it doesn't show through very well on the photos....

PIF gift from Elisa
Calico Cat design "Hearts & flowers"
Thread: Victoria Clayton silks
Received: 02-07-2009

And here is the whole package!!! The lavender soap smells sooooo good!!! It made the whole package smells good. It fact that is the first thing I noticed before I even opened the package~ Thank you so much Elisa!!!!!

I also got the Heart and Hand framed last Friday~ I went to Michaels and sat on the floor with several frames in front of me for hours and this is my final decision!! I think it fits the design quite well~

Pattern: Willow Hill Samplings "Heart and Hand"
Thread: Recommended cotton floss
Fabric: 28ct DMC linen
Size: 8.25" x 5.25"
Beginning Date: 10-09-2008
Completion Date: 01-30-2009

Thank you all for visiting~ I hope you all will have a wonderful week to come~

Happy Dance~~

I've just finished stitching Willow Hill Samplings "Heart and Hand"~~ So happy!!!! And how appropriate to show this to you all in the month of Valentine~ This is actually a wedding gift for a dear friend, and now I'll have to go find a perfect frame for it!! That means a trip to the craft store~ Happy~

Pattern: Willow Hill Samplings "Heart and Hand"
Thread: Recommended cotton floss
Fabric: 28ct DMC linen
Size: 8.25" x 5.25"
Beginning Date: 10-09-2008
Completion Date: 01-30-2009

I enjoyed stitching this very much!!! Loved the colors and design, especially the border!! I've also learned how to stitch a Lazy Daisy, which I think turned out really cute!!

This is my first time using hand dyed threads, and I have to say they do add a little something to the whole picture. I'll definitely try them out again in the future~

Now the question is, which new project should I start with? :-)

Making Progress...

I had a lot going on this weekend and didn't get as much stitching done as I've liked, but here is my progress on the Lizzie Kate Christmas and Heart and Hand projects I've been working on~

The Christmas one is going well now that I'm used to the fabric, and I just love how the Heart and Hand one turned out~ This girl reminds me of Cinderella or someone just out of the fairy tales!! She is just gorgeous~ I'm so excited now to see it come together!!

Thank you for your great advise on using linen and hand dyed floss, it helped me a lot!! Now I'm going back to more stitching!!

A Few New Starts

I've started some new projects today. One is Heart and Hand from Willow Hill Samplings and the others are some Christmas designs from Lizzie Kate.

I debated awhile on the choices of fabrics and finally decided to use a 32ct Belgium linen on the Lizzie Kate designs and a 28ct DMC linen on the Heart and Hand project. This is my first time stitching on linen fabrics (can you believe that?!) and so far the DMC one gave me no trouble but the Belgium linen was a bit of a challenge. I realized that the weaves of this fabric is kind of uneven so it is harder for me to find the right spot to stitch in. It takes a while to get use to, but I do like it with all the floss colors I chose.

As for the Hear and Hand design, I used the recommended flosses. This is also my first time using hand dyed floss and I'm not sure if I know how to handle it right. Can anyone tell me if I can wash the stitched piece after I finish? I'm worried that the colors will run since hand dyed flosses are usually not colorfast...  If I can't wash it, can I at least iron it to get the wrinkles out? I really don't want to ruin it after all the hard work.....

Nevertheless, hand dyed threads do have their charm, and I look forward to see how it will turn out when I am done~

A Wedding Blessing

My little sister Eliza just got married this pass June, and I was so lucky to start cross stitching just in time to make her a wedding gift. I picked this wedding sampler cause I think it is cute and sweet just like my little sister!!

Pattern: Bent Creek "I Do"
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 18ct oatmeal aida by Regency Mills
Size: 4" x 6"
Completion Date: 05-05-2008

I changed out the wedding ring design and replaced it with a diamond ring in order to fit their name in. This was actually Sam's idea and I think it was a great one!! I also added in a giraffe so they will remember whom this gift was from~ I would have arranged it a little differently if it was not such an after thought, but I think it turned out ok.

I also decorated some potted plants with little mushrooms and ladybugs for the bride and groom to give away on their wedding. They also served as table arrangements with digital photo frames provided by the groom's brother, and I think they looked cute!! I even wanted to keep one for myself, but it was all gone before the party ended!! I'm glad that they were so popular, though~

I'm so happy for Eliza and Yi-Chen that after 10 long years of dating and half of it being a long distance relationship, they finally got married. I'm sure if this didn't stop them from being together, nothing can separate them!!