Finished Sampler

All done!  Here's the finished sampler.  I'm so pleased with it, but I'm kinda sad that the project has ended.  I think I'm going to continue something like this on my own, because I enjoyed it so much.

Happy Friday!

Shhhhhh! Secret Garden Swap Sneak Peek

I finished my Secret Garden swap project and it is in the mail!  I had a lot of fun with this project; the theme really captured my imagination.  I don't want to ruin the surprise for my swap partner, so these are a few tiny sneak peeks.  Once she receives her box, I'll reveal all.

I've got 2 squares left to go on my 39 Squares project (I'm doing 40 squares).  And, I think I've come up with a new stitching project for myself that I'm excited about.  More on that later.  So, here are a few more peeks:

Square 38

Here's my next square, which I stitched yesterday while sitting in a hospital waiting room. That's a story for another time, but I will say that it was calming to me to be able to stitch while I waited.

Meanwhile, my daughter Chloe is on fire with her stitching!  Last night she came up with this mixed media creation:

Today I'm mailing off my Secret Garden swap box to my swap partner -- all the way in Malaysia!  Stay tuned tomorrow for a few sneak peaks of that fun project.

Square 37, a Guest Artist, and an Ode to Cath Kidston

So here's my next square.  I was inspired by my favorite Spode Mayflower dishes.  I've really been enjoying this project so much, I'm sad that we're nearing the end!

Remember when I said that one of my daughters was really taken with my stitching?  Well, I gave both girls an embroidery starter kit for Easter, and here's what my older daughter came up with on her first try:

I think it's so cute and wonderful!  I can't wait to see what she does next!

Lastly, my Cath Kidston order has arrived!  I didn't have time today to artfully arrange and photograph everything, so excuse the photos, but here's my loot:

And here's the inside of the sewing basket -- darling!  I also ordered the cute Union Jack needlepoint pincushion.  Now I just need to get all my stitching stuff organized....

Squares 34 - 36

Square 33

The Plunge

So, for years I've had this thing about Cath Kidston.  I study her catalogs, and I went nuts over her line at Ikea (I'm still kicking myself all these years later that I didn't buy more of her line when it was available at Ikea prices)!  Every now and then I've ordered something, all the way from the UK, like my strawberry oilcloth bookbag, that is currently home to my 39 squares project:

But I haven't ordered anything from her in years, mainly because of the shipping cost.  I keep filling up my online shopping cart, only to change my mind because of the shipping.

Well, last week I reached a huge personal milestone -- I went over 1000 sales in my Etsy shop (something that last year at this time I thought was impossible).  I decided that this big achievement deserved a little Cath Kidston!!  So, I took the plunge, and finally completed an order!  I'll take pics and show you all of it when it arrives, but one of the items I bought is the darling cottage sewing basket shown above.  LOVE IT!

Below is my latest square:

Hope you have a happy Thursday!

Square 31 and My Most Recent Obsession

Here's square 31 -- more of an assemblage of things than an embroidered square.

In keeping with my recent (and still somewhat surprising) focus on embroidery, I wanted to share with you my latest obsession: vintage embroidery transfer patterns.  Not too long ago I bought a box of these, not exactly sure what I would find, or even what I would do with them.  This week I took the time to go through the box, and here's just a little sample of what I found:

Seriously -- could these be any cuter?  The tea set with faces?  The dancing cutlery?  The basket full of hearts? The love birds?!  I just can't believe how awesome these are!  I'm still not exactly sure how I'll use them.  I think they are too fragile to try to use them as intended (iron-on transfers).  Instead, I may use tracing paper to transfer the designs onto embroidery projects.  Anyway, lots of fun to come, I think!

Happy stitching, everyone!

39 Squares: Square 30

Here's my latest square, a strawberry.  This darn thing drove me to distraction last night!  I had the most exciting idea for this square, but it did not pan out.   I have these wonderful antique beads left over from (long ago) when I bought a bunch of old beads for my wedding dress.  Some of these tiny old beads have a slightly silver sheen, and they were perfect -- PERFECT -- for the seeds on my strawberry.  Only one problem: I don't have a needle that is small enough to fit through the bead!!  Ugh!  I tried 4 different needles, and finally had to give up and resort to French knots.  I looks okay, I guess, but it wasn't the grand plan that I had in my head.  Well, you know what they say about best laid plans....   :)
On to the next square!

39 Squares: Sampler Update

 

Here's an update on my sampler progress so far, along with a picture of squares 28 and 29.  I like how it's all coming together -- and I can't believe I'm almost out of squares! 

Square 27 and Warrenton/Round Top Antiques Fair, Part 1

Yesterday was our twice-a-year trek to Warrenton, Texas, just outside of Round Top, for Texas Antiques Week. We arrived early at about 8:30, and left at 5. We sat down once for a quick lunch, but otherwise, it was all shopping! We found some fabulous loot -- FABULOUS! -- which I will share more about tomorrow, but for today, here are some pics to give you the flavor of the show, as well as the ever-popular weirdest item of the day.

I loved these little Easter chicks:

This booth was so fun -- bins and bins of charms of all kinds, which you could mix and match into bracelets and necklaces. Sadly, by the time we found this place, we were both out of money. I plan to start there early next time!

A pretty display:

One of my favorite pics from yesterday -- this wonderful group of vintage wedding cake toppers. I wanted to buy one, but Kari talked me out of it. Dang it! Should've bought one (or two....).

Below is a pic of the most clever display idea -- this lady draped vintage lace to create an "umbrella." It was charming!

We saw so many fantastic vintage foofy dresses yesterday. I wish I had taken more pictures of the dresses!

Wish I had a perfect spot for this dreamy couch:

And finally, without further delay, the weirdest item of the day! A stuffed wallaby! (And yes, it had a plaque on it that identified it as a wallaby.) There were a few other odd things, including one item that was so disturbing that we decided not to even photograph it), but truly, the wallaby won the prize yesterday!

Stay tuned: can't wait to show you some of the great treasures that I brought home!