A Few Stitches...

cross stitch pieces

walnut stained and dried

ready to be finished...

designs by

Betty Dekat

Stacy Nash

Lori Brechlin

another stitchery

from an old pattern

Melrose

wondering why

my stuff is in his way...

that's the

bunny watching bench

next to the clover patch outside

~~~

Olivia?

she's hiding under the bench

afraid I'll snag her up

and

take her to the vet again

This & That

~Oh Lucky Me~

A huge thank you

to my friend Lori

for the wonderful birthday

package...

the little quilt of a house

so perfectly prim

I adore it!

plus the best

brown and blue Spring pinkeep

and a bundle of wool worms

for hooking

*****

I'll be 50 next week

watching Olivia
run around with her
little mouse

she's disturbing his nap time

worried about Chester
sneaking up to steal the mouse

finally got around

to stitching this

Stacy Nash design

changed the colors

from the original

going to attempt to frame it

not one of my many skills

at this point

Joy in Thread

~Stitched up this piece last week~

I love how it's so very uneven

I just put a piece of cloth in the frame

and started stitching

with no plan in mind

...this is where

the thread took me

... going to have to start looking

for some old wood frames

and start finishing some of my stitcheries~

It's supposed to be in the high 50s today

so I'll be opening windows

and heading outside

to drag the junk to the curb

for Spring Cleanup

and rake up all the leftover leaves

from last fall...

Some Spring Items

This little mat looks so old in person...

I hooked it mostly from my worm basket and reverse hooking of two rugs...one I'm tired of and the other I've never liked the background on so am changing it!

still have to wool bind it...

A couple rabbit stitcheries

that need to be made into pinkeeps/cupboard hangers...

Little chick...another pinkeep in the making...

Stitching and More Stitching

poor Chester...peacefully resting on the bed next to the computer...shortly after this photo I attempted to give him his liquid antibiotic ...

today we are switching to his third antibiotic in three days...

the first one made him vomit,

the second one he refused to swallow and merely drooled it out of his mouth...

today we're switching to a pill...

and I'm buying the expensive antibiotic/hormone free

boneless chicken breast to cook and hide it in...

Olivia...looks like a mug shot...

she was checking out my current piece of needlework...

she's such a little pistol...always on the go go go

and usually jumping on Chester

every chance she gets

I did this piece last week...will soon be a pinkeep...my design, using rabbits from an antique sampler...

A Stacy Nash design with some variation, using birds from an

Exemplars From the Heart chart

...there will be a piece of calico in the center and this will become a sewing roll...

My design using alphabets and motifs from antique samplers....I call it The Pansy Sampler in honor of my maternal grandmother...she was born in 1884 and loved to make quilts, doll clothes...any type of sewing...I am blessed to have inherited her love of handwork...

Another of my designs using the alphabets from an old sampler and motifs from my imagination...

I've been drawing up lots of designs for hooking, but the needle feels most comfortable in my hand right now...

Pinkeeps for Lori

here are a few pinkeeps I made for my friend Lori...

one was for the BLESTB Valentine Chocolate Swap

and one was a prize for

hooking a gorgeous rug for Maria's Challenge on PRHG...

Lori and her husband recently brought home a new puppy

the most darling little girl named Zoe

that's why no "Z"

on the front of the long pinkeep...

these were such fun to do!

~~~

the little quilt they are displayed on

is a beautiful piece

the very same Lori surprised me with

so lucky to have such friends~

new pinkeeps

some new pinkeeps I've just finished up...

they'll be starting on eBay later tonight~

can't wait to see what the other

ladies from BLESTB have to list

Though the poll is still open

I've already made my decision

which was stay with I'd intended to do all along...

I'll be going back to kanknchester ASAP

and won't fiddle with my eBay ID ever again

~I'll always be kanknchester from here on in~

Pinkeeps Finally Finished

had to take the photos at night...

so the flash doesn't show the true prim look of these pieces

the Merrie Wynter pinkeep is especially dull and drab...

the Joy pinkeep turned out just perfect...love the variegated blacks and browns of the cats body...

and Blessed Be was just fun to do...these were all stitched by eye on prairie cloth and then walnut stained...

all my original work...listing will show up on eBay later tonight...starting them all at $9.99...

Latest eBay Listings...Works in Progress

these are my stitcheries in progress

time has been flying this week

so they won't be up on eBay until Tuesday night...

they are farther along than this

just need to sew on the rusty bells

and sign my name...

Olivia was helping me get ready to list some wool today...

oatmeal and natural from Dorr Woolens

of course, she and Chester want me to wash it all up

and make them a big nest out of it!

*****

Tomorrow I go pick up my new vehicle...

first one in 11 years

and when I think of the changes in my life over those years...

I am amazed and grateful

for all the wonderful and horrible

days that have made me who I am today...

if anyone is struggling through the bad times right now

hang on...

This Too Shall Pass

I know those words sound trite and worn

but truth is truth!

Be Ye Merrie

Finally finished my item for the BLESTB

Colonial Yuletide launch...

just a few days late...

one-of-a-kind

designed and stitched by me...

I can never say enough how much more work it is

to stitch a design than to hook it...

but I love how it turned out

The semi-firmly stuffed cupboard hanger is

8" x 6"

plus double wool strap for hanging

hand dyed wool strips make up the hanging strap

hand stitched together with a nubby prim thread...

stitched on Prairie Cloth

them walnut dye washed and

rubbed with cinnamon...

7 rusty JinGle BeLLs hand stitched on...

primstitch signature and date on the back...

here's a closeup of the kitty...sure looks like my Miss Olivia...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Be-Ye-Merrie-stitchery-Christmas-Cat-BLESTB_W0QQitemZ130171317133QQihZ003QQcategoryZ1217QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

be sure to check out all the fabulous work of the other

gals in BLESTB...

on eBay this week

The Boys of Autumn

OOAK

hand hooked rug

one of my favorite new designs...

can't get enough of these bouncy cats

and light backgrounds

Harvest Moon pinkeep

...another of my designs

prim stitched on prairie cloth

walnut stained

rusty pins and bells

backed with wool

not a good picture

much more prim in person...

the pumpkins are such fun to stitch

think this would be a good name for a shop

1784 Harvest Woolens

published in 1996

hard to find

great for machine piecers...

only looked through this a few times...

I hand piece and sometimes think about using the machine more

nah, it's not going to happen....

getting the finishing touches on my upcoming

*Merrie Wynter*

booklet

then I'm done with booklets until later next year...

need time to hook and punch

and quilt that quilt top Mom has ready for me...

you will not believe how gorgeous it is!

BLESTB Launch

11 3/4" x 10 1/4" approx

A wonderful and favorite design by Lori Brechlin...

just a few little variations because I stitched this on prarie cloth

not even weave and sort of paid 0nly 95% attention to the chart...

It looks much more grubby in person...

the edges are folded back and stitched with two rows of thread pulled from the praire cloth...very thifty and looks great...

I was going to use linen thread but this was even better...

will be listed on ebay later today...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130149430221&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=003

28 1/2" x 23" approx

Here it is...my own design that hooked up exactly as I pictured it in my mind...maybe even a little better! Livvie is checking this one out...

Chester was busy sitting on the counter top crying for some chow...LOL...he's sort of gotten his way the last week or so since he's been so stressed by his new pal...

today it's back to normal since he's been spotted grooming her and they both slept with me last night...

50* and open windows did the trick...

Hand drawn on Wendy's premium linen,

this rug is available as a pattern for $75 plus shipping...

I'll be listing it later today for the BLESTB Launch...

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLESTB-Autumn-Joy-Sampler-pumpkins-cats-sunflower-PRHG_W0QQitemZ130149436201QQihZ003QQcategoryZ1217QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

now, if you're interested in purchasing the finished rug

(it's not bound yet but will be over the next few days...just got finished hooking it this morning...)

give me an email...

I must warn you ahead of time this rug will come at a very dear price as I love it!

I consider my work pieces of art and price accordingly...

In the past I have sold my rugs based on their size but have stopped doing that and now base it on their worthiness as a piece of art...

Well, unless you're one of my sisters...

then you get the big discount...

or Mom, who just has to ask and it's free!

Close up of the upper right corner...the background was hooked with one as-is piece and a few overdyed mottles...of course the alphabet is all wonky...left out a few letters too and used a symbol instead...Cat...Flower...

Lower right corner...these pumpkins crack me up...little bitty...the date, 1884 was the year my Grandmother Pansy was born...and it is from her I inherited the best gift of all...the love of doing handwork...

Thanks again for all the comments...

I'm glad Chester and Olivia have adoring such fans...

if you knew them in person you'd love them too...

Flag Day

A few more prim stitcheries from last summer...no patterns, I just put a backing in the hoop and stitch away making it up as I go...these end up being some of my favorite pieces...really OOAK...

Stitches and Punches

Forgot all about this one and unearthed it while moving fabric...a Lori Brechlin counted thread design..changed it a bit as I am known to do...still needs to be walnut stained and finished as a pinkeep...

Never ending May Day launch project...just cannot get a background I like so missed the deadline...using previously cut pieces of red from my scrappy thread basket...yes, I know floss is only 24c a skein at wally world but I am being "make-do" and love using bit and pieces...

Another one that needs finishing...based on an antique hooked rug...

This one cracks me up...based on both a Madhen and Veena's Merchantile snowman...I need a magic wand to start finishing all my pinkeeps for me...

A few Prim Stitcheries

Stitched these last year when I couldn't get motivated to hook...sort of eyeballed them on prairie cloth...cross stitched but not counted and not even...love the way they turned out and sold them on eBay...have an Olde Woolens rug drawn up but haven't gotten around to hooking it yet...

Americana Stitcheries...

Last summer I was in a very low point creatively and fell back on some old favorites...prim stitching on prairie cloth...didn't use a chart or draw anything out...just made it up as I went along...these are just of a few of the many small pieces I did...have to make little pinkeeps from the rest...are perfect for tucking in bowls or on doll laps...

They are all walnut stained, backed with plaid wool and stuffed with snippets and scraps of wool...keeps pins and needles from rusting and give a nice heavy, lumpy feel to finished piece.