• BYOF,  New Designs,  Serial Bowl Collection,  Stitching

    Summertime

    The loveliest rain just fell after a very hot morning, and now the sun is back out again from its siesta. I can't remember the last time our day had a sudden break in it like this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! (My family and I still talk about how interesting the weather pattern was in Florida, when we were visiting Disney World in 2001. Every single day, at 4:00 pm, it would suddenly pour for about 1o or 15 minutes, and everyone would scramble out of the open and inside the nearest souvenir shops. After the third day, we stopped being worried about our vacation being hampered and just enjoyed it! We would always laugh at the people who wore the plastic yellow ponchos to keep the rain off, thinking that they looked like a bunch of rubber ducks walking the park. But on the last day, the deluge was so great, guess what we ended up buying? I should post a picture here some time.. we still have those plastic yellow ponchos, and still laugh at the "karma" of it all.)

    It's been a very busy and enjoyable summer here at Plum Street, and if you haven't seen them by now, I'll show you my three releases from earlier in the month.

    As you may know, last year I released the very first "BYOF" (Bring Your Own Fabric) kit, also known as the Serial Bowl Collection, called Sampler Lesson One. I've decided to release it as a chart only, for those who missed out on the kit!

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    Sampler Lesson One
    Stitch count: 144w x 69h
    Classic Colorworks floss in Barn Door, Cherry Cobbler, Cinnamon Toast (one of my favorite CC colors!), Pea Pod, Sunkissed, and Timber.
    Linen used: 36 ct. Olde Towne Blend by R&R Reproductions
    Trim used is cream chenille that has been coffee-dyed.

    The threads that went into the kits were so beautiful, I just had to post their photo again!

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    My second July release introduces Miss Babushka, tending to her pumpkin blossoms. I originally had a Mr. Babushka designed in the piece, but as I stated on Facebook earlier, he was a doppelganger for Willie Nelson, so I removed him and gave him his own blank canvas, possibly to be revisited some day.

    Babushka's Blossoms Cover

    Babushka's Blossoms
    Stitch count: 139w x 130h
    Classic Colorworks floss in Rose Petal (very few stitches in this color), Brown Sugar, Ye Olde Gold, Bean Sprout, Just Rust, Hickory Sticks, and Colonial Copper.
    Gentle Art in Gold Leaf, Oatmeal, Heirloom Gold, Lambswool (very few stitches), Espresso Bean, and Wood Trail.
    Linen used: 36 ct. Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linens.
    Framed by Sherri Berkman of Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia.
    Thank you, Jean Hohulin, for stitching the model, and restitching my error!

    Lastly, I have a brand new Serial Bowl Collection to introduce! It's an autumn-and-Halloween-themed one, and I hope you like the first design in the series!

    Scary One Cover

    Scary One
    Stitch count: 124w x 71h
    The kit contains threads and chenille to complete the project once on 28, 32, 36, or 40 ct. linen or Aida.
    Threads included in the kit are by Weeks Dye Works, and the chenille is by Lady Dot Creates, in the color Vintage.
    The model was stitched in Pat Ryan's usual light-speed style. Thank you, Pat!

    These kits are only shipped to shops that request them, so if you're interested in purchasing one, let your local or online shop know!

    Thank you so much for stopping by my oft-neglected blog. Every time I vow to do better, my time gets absorbed by other things, and I really miss blogging! Here is a picture of Sophie and I from the Fourth of July.. I miss her so much! She's in Texas right now, visiting her sister Sabrina, and she comes home tomorrow. I can't wait!

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    Enjoy your day, and I'll see you soon!

     

  • BYOF,  New Designs,  Serial Bowl Collection,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    Sampler Lesson Five

    We made it! We are at the final release in the Sampler Lessons series of the Serial Bowl Collection. I've really enjoyed this series, and have had fun looking for interesting admonitions from old samplers to use; there were an awful lot of words of wisdom among those young stitchers!

    As with the other kits, this will come with plenty of floss for you to stitch your project once, using one strand of floss over two linen threads, as the model is stitched. Have fun with your fabric – choose whatever you'd like to use!

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    Sampler Lesson 5 COVER

    Thank you so much to Pat Ryan for stitching this model for me! She used 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions.

    Thank you once again for stopping by my blog.. it's been very busy around here (as I'm sure it is at your house too!), and I've got a few different models in the works right now. I've got fall fever! What on earth is wrong with me? I just can't help myself. 🙂

  • New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    Release Number Two

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    This is American Sampler, which was a class piece I taught at the Dyeing to Stitch retreat in Virginia Beach last year. The information for it is below, and if you'd like to order it, just let your shop owner know, as I'll be shipping out next week!

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    Stitch count: 227w x 189h

    Linen used: 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions

    Threads used: Classic Colorworks in Calico Kitty, Antique Lace, Cayenne, and Red Currant;
    Weeks Dye Works in Pelican Gray;
    The Gentle Art in Uniform Blue, Black Licorice, Soot, Parchment, Piney Woods, Linen, Endive, Brandy, and Wood Trail.

    The frame was done by the lovely and talented Sherri Berkman at Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia! Thank you, Sherri!

    Thank you for stopping by my blog today… I've got the last Sampler Lesson to show you, and I'll be back soon to do just that! Enjoy your Tuesday!

  • New Designs,  Sneak Peeks,  Stitching

    A New Release

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    Here is one of three new releases mailing out very soon to your local or online needlework shop!

    John & Abigail Cover

    The model, stitched by my good friend Pat Ryan, was done on 36 ct. Stars Hollow Blend (stitch count: 122w x 74h). The threads used are by The Gentle Art in Grecian Gold, Old Red Paint, Oatmeal, Cameo Pink, Piney Woods, Heirloom Gold, Island Blue, Endive, Garden Gate, Wood Trail, Uniform Blue, Cherry Bark, and Lambswool. A DMC conversion is provided in the chart, but you may wish to note that Cameo Pink is used very little in this chart, so if you find that inconvenient, you may want to use the DMC equivalent (3779), or perhaps find something that's a good substitute! (Only John and Abigail's cheeks are blushed with this color.)

    As for the trims, I used Lady Dot Creates' pom trim in Mossy along the bottom edge of the finished cushion, and pom trim in Vintage along the other three sides. To finish it off, I used silk ribbon trim in Vintage to form a bow, which I then sewed into place using a tiny button.

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    I hope you like my followup to last year's George & Martha! I'll be back soon with my other two new releases!

  • A Colonial Gathering Club,  Needlework Shops,  New Designs,  Stitching

    Pennsylvania Fraktur

    Hello again!

    I just wanted to share with you the newest Colonial Gathering Club piece that will soon be shipping from Dyeing to Stitch!

    I love fraktur art, and it was the inspiration for this piece. You'll find the Pennsylvania state motto along the bottom of the piece, as Pennsylvania Germans (also called Pennsylvania Dutch) were the ones to introduce this beautiful art form to America.  And of course, PA was one of the original thirteen colonies!

    PA Fraktur COVER 1500

    If you're interested, you'll find all the shop info if you click on their website link above. Thank you to everyone who has participated in Pat and Ann's shop clubs! They are so much fun!

  • Friends,  Needlework Shops,  Stitching

    Reflections

    Happy Monday Morning to you!

    I recently visited my local cross stitch shop, Reflections Framing and Stitching, which was re-opened a short time ago after moving locations. What a lovely shop it is! Julie and her crew have done an outstanding job of creating a bright and airy-yet-cozy stitching place for anyone in need of a handwork respite. I took my camera along, and here are some things I loved from around the shop…

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    Julie not only frames her customers' stitched pieces, but is quite creative and talented for those who need different types of framing done..

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    Here's a closer look at Julie's beautiful arrangement of Little House Needleworks' Little Sheep Virtues…

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    A different view of what's in the case in the first photo…

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    As I looked around the shop, my eyes beheld the most beautiful sight.. as a matter of fact, everything else melted away when I saw it…

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    Ahhh… the magical marriage of stitching and coffee… do you know how much stitching I've gotten done on that combination?

    Not a whole lot, because I have difficulty sitting still, but that's beside the point.

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    I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Reflections. If you're ever in the Omaha area, stop by! The door is almost always open, and there are always new stitching friends to be made. And if you aren't in the area, check out their gorgeous website!

    Thank you so much for visiting, and I hope you all have a fantastic day! It's sunny and bright outside, albeit chilly, but Martha and I will head to the lake anyway. The success of my magical combination is in peril if Miss Mary-pants doesn't get her daily sniffy field trip.

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  • Family,  Home

    Rainy Saturday

    I'm so happy to see the rain, instead of just the gloomy, dry grey that we usually get around this time of year. All of the trees are starting to get their little baby leaves on them, the grass is greening in spots here and there, and this "little" one (who is just up and eating her breakfast) is just as ready as I am for spring to be well underway…

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    I hope you all are having a lovely weekend. I've made cinnamon rolls and am ready to do a little cleaning and stitching. Tomorrow is Easter!

     

  • Critters,  Home

    Beautiful Sunday

    What a lovely day it's been so far. After church, we headed to a favorite little restaurant for chicken crepes benedict, and then home to walk Miss Martha. The sun doesn't want to make up its mind about whether or not to shine, but regardless, I love good-mood-days like today.

    Here is Martha, always by her favorite window…

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    And here is sweet little Kamaji (or Maji, as we call him), who is usually very hard to get a picture of! Maji is Sabrina's little baby, and I don't think I've ever met a cat that loves dogs as much as this little boy. He and Martha are the best of friends.

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    One of these days, I may actually get a picture of them together!

    Back to my Sunday.. I hope you're enjoying yours as well. I'm off to stitch!

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  • Market,  Stitching,  Travel

    Nasvhille Market, Part 3

    And here are the rest of the market pics! If you see something you would love to stitch for yourself, please contact your shop owner, and she/he will be very happy to help you! 🙂

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    The next reproduction was fascinating to me.. the colors were so vibrant, compared to the original, which is pictured just below it. It's called "Sisters," reproduced by Cherished Stitches, and the initials are so funny to me!

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    And last, but not least, one of Sophie's favorites, by La D Da… I don't know if it's brand new, but she fell in love with it!

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    Thank you again for stopping by my blog to take a look. There are so few blog visitors these days, it seems, because everything has moved to the insta-age – which is another reason I'm not on here as often as I used to be! But when I do take the time to post the photos I take, I always leave feeling satisfied that I was able to enjoy again the moment in which I took the picture in the first place.

    It's not a fast process, but it is much cozier. So thank you for slowing down to visit, even as the rest of the world flies by.

    I hope to "see" you soon!

  • Market,  Stitching,  Travel

    Nashville Market 2016, Part 2

    Welcome back!

    Thank you so much to those of you who wished Sabrina a speedy recovery.. she is doing much better today! 🙂

    And now on to the second batch of pictures from market.. again, if you see something you'd like to order, contact your shop owner, and it will soon be on its way to you!

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    Pat Ryan and I decided to exchange samplers at market this year, and it was so much fun getting to bring this beauty home! (I stitched Shakespeare's Peddler's Hannah Carter for Pat, but if you can believe it, I didn't get a photo of it!)

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    The photo below shows the collaboration Jeannette Douglas and I did for the Tomorrow's Heirlooms retreat last July…

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    I hope you enjoyed Part 2 of the virtual market tour! I'll be back soon with the next set!  🙂