My Loose Feathers Progress

My 2011 Loose Feathers project has been pulled out of the mothballs (not really).  It's time to get some work done on Autumn, since the Winter (and final) design is right around the corner.

I have bounced this project up to the first two to work on from my WIPocalypse 2012 list.  I really would like to be able to finish Autumn by next week some time.

Can't wait to see what BBD has in store for 2012!

Loose Feathers 2011 - Summer, Autumn, (and Winter to come) BBD
Fabric - off white 45 count
Fibers - cotton overdyes specified

New Loose Feathers and a New Year Coming

As the days are winding down for 2011,

I am thinking of several things I need to do better,

two of which are the subject of this post.

One...I hope to do a better job of keeping current on my blogs next year,

especially this one.

Two...I hope to do a better job of finishing some of my WIPs...

lots of nice designs, too wonderful to be kept hiding in bags or on scroll frames,

left unfinished.  One of these is my BBD Loose Feathers. 

I stitched Spring in no time; have only stitched about one third of Autumn,

and now with Winter right around the corner (in more ways than one) 

it's time to get stitchin'! 

In case you haven't seen it,

Alma posted the Winter design to her blog this morning;

it should be in shops in a week or so.

I must get stitching on Autumn,

so that in the not too distant future my 2011 Loose Feathers project can look like this:

See Alma's blog for more photos and news
about Loose Feathers 2012.

This project is one of my items on my WIPocalypse 2012 with Measi list. 

(see my WIP 2012 list on http://moonbeam-mostlystitching.blogspot.com )

The soon to be available Winter will spur me on to work on this again. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone.
This vintage postcard is from GraphicsFairy.com

P.S.  I really will be back here with some BBD posts soon!
Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

They Fooled Me!

I was certain that the next installment of Loose Feathers would be Summer, Part 2. Well, now I see on Alma's blog that it is Autumn. I'm confused...three seasons? I will have to look tomorrow, but I believe that Part 1 said there would be three designs. That's what my fabric has been cut for. OK, I am officially mixed up, confused, and hoping that my fabric is the right size. Anyone else wondering, too?

Anyway, if you haven't seen the photo, pop over to the BBD blog. I can hardly wait.

Now This is Different

If you haven't seen them, check out Vonna's new creations on the October 4th post on her blog, The Twisted Stitcher, which I have linked to on my blog list below. Really quite cute. I definitely see a run on wooden hoops coming!

Woodland Berries

This is my BBD Woodland Berries framed out in shabby chic. 

It reminds me of one night when we stayed in New Hampshire...

or maybe Maine...many years ago,

and there was a place across the lake from our B&B

with a sign that read, "Antiques Made While You Wait".

The frame was my choice,

although I auditioned a wine colored one

and a black one.

They both looked nice, but felt too formal.

I guess I'm happy with my choice

Sorry about the flash reflection.

I'll try again another day.

Oops!

Thanks for the nice comments on Woodland Berries. I wasn't even looking at the piece, and it popped into my head that I put 2002 on the piece instead of 2011. Will have to change that this afternoon, as I am going frame shopping later. Good thing there's some extra room!

Senior moment, or whatever the term is today.

Woodland Berries



Woodland Berries - From LF Summer Part 1

I ignored all housework this morning so I could finally finish Woodland Berries. 

I really like this little piece. 

I might just stitch the berry part again some day for a tiny something or other.

As you can see, I made a few changed to the design.

I stitched this on 40 count Lakeside Linens Vintage Bittersweet.

I used most of the Belle Soies called for with a couple of exceptions:

I used CC BS Berry Cobbler for the berries.

I used Silk N Colors Rose Blush for the light color in the tulip.

I used CC BS Tortoise Shell in place of the DD black color.

I also moved some of the small motifs and added the

Roman Numeral date at the bottom.

It was a fun little project.

I hope I can find just the right off white frame for it.

We'll see.



Time

Where does time go?  How can it possibly be almost the end of August already?

Winter certainly doesn't seem like the proverbial "yesterday",

but it is hard to believe that in just over a week it will be September.

I'm not complaining...September is one of my favorite months.

July and August are not.

I'm just thinking about what I have accomplished this year...or not.

I have stitched many of the pieces in BBD's

A Stitcher's Journey.

How many of them are finished off?  One.

I did finish Part One of the Summer Loose Feathers,

and am waiting patiently for Parts Two and Three.

I'm almost finished with Woodland Berries

from the Summer LF booklet.

But I'm really feeling like there are too many things...

stitching and otherwise...

that aren't complete.

Luckily I usually get remotivated in the fall.

Let's hope that helps put things in the "finished" column.

I wish the same to all of you.

Another Loose Feather

Here is Linda's Summer Loose Feathers.  She stitched hers on the recommended Irish Cream linen over one.
Another cute little petite one.  Too bad part 2 isn't due for a while.  We really jumped on this one.

Will have some pictures of the finished tulip (Woodland Berries, I think it's called) next week.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Linda's Summer Loose Feathers, Part 1

Summer Loose Feathers, Part 1

After some unstitching

and compensating for bad counting

and using wrong colors,

I finished Loose Feathers - Summer, Part 1.

This wasn't nearly as difficult as I made it.

It was actually a fun stitch.

I can hardly wait to see what comes next.

I stitched this on 45 count linen,

using the specified colors...

just not necessarily in the specified places!

Check Out Alma's Blog

For those who haven't seen it, check out Alma's BBD blog, which is linked on this blog. She tells a little about the new big book, due to be published in two weeks. She also talks about new designs to be released in Baltimore, shows a photo of another beautiful Anniversaries finish, and charts out the correction for a minor error in the Summer Loose Feathers design.

Happy weekend!

Loose Feathers Envy !

Rose and I picked up our Loose Feathers - Summer patterns together last week.  After looking at various fabs, we both bought 32 count Lakeside pear to do the three LF designs on, as I may have told you.  Then I changed back to my original thought and Rose continued on with the teeny, tiny over-one stitches on the 32 count.  (I meant to include a quarter in the photo to give you a perspective of how small and cute this is.)

Of course Rose has just about finished her part 1.  I have done almost as much unstitching on mine as stitching.  I guess the heat is affecting my ability to count properly.  Anyway, here is a photo of Rose's absolutely darling piece.  I'll publish a photo of mine next week when I have more stitched and have brushed away all the signs of unstitching with Carol's boo boo brush!

Keep cool, everyone.

Too cute for words!

Loose Feathers Are In!

The summer Loose Feathers booklets have arrived, along with the fabrics and fibers for those who ordered them. It's kind of confusing at first. The fabric called for on the actual LF pieces is the usual 30 count R & R...ho hum. The fab called for on the two extra designs (tulip and partridge) is Lakeside!!! Yes.

Rose and I went together to pick up our patterns, ended up like two kids in a candy store, and came home with a little more than our LF patterns!

I'll try to post a photo later or tomorrow. I'm off to get my haircut now.

Enjoy the day...

Lots of BlackBird Sightings

Carol, Linda, and I went up to the Kindred Spirits meeting yesterday.  Some members of the group stitched Blackbird Design projects for display.  Those who completed their projects received a certificate and silver needle charm.  Really nice. 



The above might have been Debbie's. 
I don't remember for sure.



Congratulations to all who completed these designs.  A few of the finishes are shown below.  Please excuse the glare from the overhead lights in some of the pictures.  Also, I cut the names off a couple of them where full names were shown, and I didn't ask permission to publish that.

It was a fun afternoon.  As usual, lots of good food, with a nice Americana display on the table.

It was good to see Debbie again.

Loose Feathers, Continued

Have you seen the sneak peeks of the new Loose Feathers series? Really nice looking. After having stitched so many of the smalls from A Stitcher's Journey, I was starting to think that all the BBD patterns were running together. The two designs that I have seen from the new LF series have a fresh look.

There will be only three releases in this series. Each segment has one main chart and two smalls, I believe. The three main designs can be stitched on one piece of fabric. Be sure to check out Alma's blog for the tease. The first one is due in 2 to 3 weeks. Better give your LNS a call to order yours.

Alma had a nice fabric give away with ten winners, but, alas, I was not chosen as one of the ten. This was to promote the fall release of their new fabric line, Blueberry Crumb Cake, which looks and sounds delicious.

Finished Anniversaries - Not Mine!

Already I have seen two completed Anniversaries of the Heart samplers.  The stitched pieces are beautiful, as well as the stories behind how these gals decided to dedicate their individual blocks.

Take a peek and share your comments.

http://bluehenhollow.blogspot.com/

http://theneedlespromise.blogspot.com/

I'm itching to get back to mine now.  I was thinking there was no way I could finish it by the end of the year...but I could if I applied myself!  Now....why did I choose three contract pieces for sampler guild???

Happy Mother's Day

Stitching Other Than BlackBird

I have decided not to continue to limit this blog to BlackBird Designs projects,

in part because I have started,
or am about to start a couple of projects from Brenda Gervais...

With thy Needle and Thread

http://withthyneedleandthread.blogspot.com

I have started the cross stitched version of Bunny & Company. 

Unfortunately I have no chance of finishing this by Easter.  Oh well.

I (and a couple hundred thousand others) have been following

the eagle nest cam from Iowa for the past month,

http://www.farmyou.com/falcon_cams/index.html

thanks to the heads up on Brenda's blog.

A little group of eaglet follows have formed on her blog
and as a result Brenda quickly designed a cute little primitive sampler
entitled "Soar"
depicting the nest in the tree, the farm location,
the parents and three chicks, etc.
$5 from the sale of each sampler goes to
the Raptor Research group who is 

hosting this nest cam and many other projects. 
It has been so much fun watching this nest. 

Today, unfortunately, the eagle family's nest was covered in snow
for the second time in a week.

Anyway, the StitchALong for the Soar sampler officially started yesterday,
so I will be posting some photos of my progress on this project as I go. 
(Haven't started it yet.)

Also, a bunch of friends and I will be receiving the first of three patterns

for Brenda's Mystery Birds of a Feather in about three weeks.

Look for different photos of this once we get started on that fun project.

BlackBird Designs and Beyond!

Anniversaries - Heart

I am excited to see that the last monthly design and the big bonus block will be available in a week or so....this said from someone who is 6 months behind in stitching Anniversaries of the Heart!  Oh well, the mood will hit again soon.  I've seen some nice Anniversaries in progress online that should inspire me.

I have worked on a couple more little projects from A Stitcher's Journey.  Soon I will have to apply myself and finish the stitched pieces into actual items!  Oh dear.

Have a wonderful Sunday.  I'm going to sneak in some stitching time this afternoon.

Happy Dance !

I am doing the happy dance this morning.  My circular piece stitched from A Stitcher's Journey, which BBD calls Thistle House Sewing Box, has found its home.  Since the beautiful embossed round box in the book is no longer available, I decided to have my stitching put into one of the little round boxes that are available now.  Not big enough to be called a sewing box - I guess I'll call it a treasure box.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

Special thanks to Carol and Katie at Crafty Ewe

who worked and fought
to get the mat and everything in this little box,

breaking finger nails in the process,
and getting a very pleasing result.

A Stitcher's Journey

I have fallen in love with A Stitcher's Journey.  Not a surprise, as that usually happens around here when BBD comes out with something new.

I have definitely been ready for some quick and easy projects.  Here is what I've worked on over the past week or so.  Now, to turn these into something besides flat pieces of fabric with stitching on.  That's the hard part!

Anybody else stitched on anything from this book yet?

Birds and Berries Pinbox top



Thistle House Sewing Box top -
if only the box BBD used was available!



Oh, My Stars! Pinkeep (when completed)



Little Pin Pillow

I started stitching this BBD pattern to be a needles & pins book, but, as usual, didn't center it properly.  (How hard can that be?  I did well in math in school!)

Anyway, it turned into a little pin cushion.  I'm working on the second start of the needles & pins book.

Looks like February, don't you think?

Pin Pillows

Here are a couple of pin pillows from our secret exchange last fall.  Also a photo of one that I made in 2009, which has appeared here before.  Twenty days until our second secret exchange.  I hope everyone has been working on their heart pin cushion. 

This is the pin pillow I was lucky enough to receive in our exchange, expertly made by Linda (LZ).



Here is the one I made, which Carol chose (sight unseen) in the exchange.




This is one I made in autumn of 2009, which I have shown here before.  Fun!



Anniversaries of the Heart Update

At long last, I have a few photos to show of my Anniversaries of the Heart sampler.  I'm getting further behind on this, and hope to get at least the June block finished before the pumpkin one is in the stores soon.

Most of top row and what I have finished thus far on row 2.



May block - dedicated to my Monday stitching group; I met these gals in May 2006.




What I have finished so far for June.  This will be titled Mothers & Daughters.



Projects for 2011

I joined on online challenge group that started 1/1/11 (not too late to get in on it, though).  You are to list 15 (more or less) WIPs that you have and try to get some of those finished this year.  It is an excellent way to motivate yourself to work on projects around the house...maybe even some long, lost ones...instead of bringing more new stuff into your homes.

I haven't done much of anything yet, and haven't posted any photos.  Just coming off a six week, off and on, sinus battle, and haven't felt like doing any stitching so far this year.  I have great hope of doing some work on Anniversaries of the Heart tonight.  I am about three months behind, and can hardly wait to see the October design, due out in a couple of weeks.  Love the pumpkin and vine.

The challenge website is:  http://up4achallenge.blogspot.com/  Would love to see some of my friends on there.  Already some projects have been finished up (not by me).  Also, I've seen some of my WIPs that I wish I had included on my list...like Open Hearts from Drawn Thread.  That is a beautiful piece.  Must finish some day. 

Back soon.