Prep, Stitch, Prep, Stitch

I'm back to hand stitching some wool pieces.  I thought I better get back to getting ready for my craft fairs which are happening in the fall.  I like to cut out a bunch of backgrounds at one time, finish them off and start all over again.  

I know I told you these pieces were for my craft fairs but I just might have to keep this one.  It looks so springy looking and I have the perfect spot for it. 

I'm not finished yet it still needs the backing.

It's hard to tell but this piece is a wine color.  

I just love the color.  I wish I had more of this wool.

I always like having hand stitching projects around. 

I usually do a little stitching every night.  

It's so calming and the perfect thing to do while watching tv.

I think I'm stitching this mat in black. I love scrappy....penny rugs and quilts. 

 If you knew me you would be laughing because I am such a matchy matchy person but I just love scrappy.  It's the perfect way to use up the small pieces of wool. I am so frugal with hand dyed wool. If a piece of wool is 1 inch by 1 inch I save it.  I even save pieces smaller than that for stuffing certain pieces. I hate to see any of the wool go to waste.

I just love the flowers on this runner and the lace edging is the perfect way to finish it off.

I have this runner on Ebay right now.  Click here to see more pictures and more offerings.

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful sunny day.

Happy stitching,

Leanne 

Back In Time...,

I'm done!  I just finished this "Back In Time" quilt.  It's a pattern from Primitive Gatherings. This is another small quilt 16 x 18.  I have to say I'm a little addicted to doing these small quilts.  They are challenging ( which I love) yet you can see them up pretty quick.  Since I got the courage to try machine quilting I want to do more. I can't believe I was so afraid of trying this and now I love it!

Now there are a few mistakes maybe more than a few. 

Can you find them?

The little four patches are sewn with the red squares up except for two of them. I wish I could say that I planned it that way but I didn't. The four patches are supposed to float on the background but not all of them do. 

I am the type of person who learns from her mistakes so if I were to make this quilt again I'm sure I wouldn't make those mistakes.... Ha ha.

I'm currently working on this table runner "Pine and Holly" by Timeless Tradition. 

I also received two new blocks in the mail.  I'll be prepping them today.

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

It's Snowing again.....

I thought it was time to put all the snowmen away

but NO

it's snowing again!

I made this runner using a pattern from Primitive Pieces by Lynda.
I had to give it my own touches of course.


 So I'll just start...

thinking spring and keep stitching.
This runner is made from a Country Stitches pattern.

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

I listed these table runners and a few more

on ebay.

Click here to see them.

Happy Winter....

I have been taking full advantage of the cold winter to work on some cross stitch, wool projects and unfinished projects.

I started this before Christmas and just finished the cross stitch portion a couple of weeks ago. I just love the frame around Santa with the snowman, trees and houses.

The above is a pattern from Brenda Gervis of With Thy Needle and Thread. 

I'm almost finished with this table topper. I just love all the scrappy pennies....it's a great way to use up all those little pieces of wool. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish the edges yet.

This is a pattern by Lynda Hall of Primitive Pieces by Lynda.

I also tried my hand at quilting. This was a kit I bought many years ago. I had everything cut and marked but that was as far as I got. So one very cold day I finished piecing and hand quilted it.  I really haven't done much quilting but I hope to do more.

Don't look to closely because some of my points are gone.

 Now to bind it and I'm done.  It will be great to finish this off.

I love this penny rug!

It's a pattern from Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.

All ready to be stitched. I'll start this tonight.

I listed a few things on eBay...

You see my offerings by clicking here eBay.

Have a great day,

Leanne

Just Sharing....

Some Photos of Finished Projects.

 I've been working on some cross stitch and punchneedle for my fall fairs.

 The stitching was done in February but I just wasn't sure how to finish them off. 

 So searched my favorite site....

Pintrest 

(you can follow me just click here)

for Inspiration and Ideas.

Well did that get my mind going.

 It was a lot of fun searching for unusual frames and trimming and old buttons.

I painted the frames black and aged them. The backgrounds are wool some hand dyed wools.

See I'm trying to get ready for my fairs.

I feel like I'm running behind.
You can check out my facebook page for more pictures of
what I've been working on.

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

Happy Mother's Day....

The perfect Mother's Day present....

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

My son Brian brought this wonderful treat for me today.

Not only did he buy these for me but he made them too!

Many mom's will be enjoying these because he made about 300 of them

today at work...who knew he was so talented.

I did receive 4 but I ate two of them before I thought of taking a picture.

These are all mine, 

I don't even have to share....

I am the only one in the family that likes strawberries.

 I thought I would show you what I've been working on.

These are wood and papier mache boxes.  

I was cleaning out some of my craft stuff and came across these.

I painted the boxes black and aged them with some shoe polish.

 The tops are all applique on black wool with hand dyed wool pieces.  

All hand stitched with blanket stitch with

a few french knots, lazy daisy and feather stitches.

I lined the bottom with black wool and I stitched a hand dyed heart in the middle.

I just love how these turned out and they were so much fun to make.

I might have to look for more boxes because I have a few more designs in mind.

I think I need to do some fall ones...sunflowers, pumpkins.

Just getting ready for my fall fairs!

These will not be on ebay but if you are interested in purchasing just email me and 

I can tell you a little more about them.

You can check what I have for sale on ebay just click here.

Happy Stitching

and 

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mom's!

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

It's Finished....

With all this cold weather I've been stitching like crazy.

I just finished this table mat.

It's a pattern from Primitive Gatherings. 

The pattern has the alphabet on it but I wanted something plain. 

I just love the bird!

Enjoy your day,

Leanne

Organizing and a Tip....

If you do any stitching you know how hard it is to keep your threads neat and organized.

I've tried so many things but nothing has worked. I always end up with a pile that looks like this.

I don't know what colors I have and what I need to buy.

 

Well I found the solution!

This has changed my life...no really!

It's called Floss-away.

Little zip lock bags with a hole punched in the top left corner and a metal ring.  They also have a place where you can write the color number.

I found these on the JoAnn's website,



 

See how nice the floss fits in. I feel so much better when things are organized.

I don't have to take time to unknot the floss before I stitch.

 TIP: This is a good one if I do say so myself.  I do this to a lot of my bags holding crafty things. 

I cut into the bag about 1/4 of in inch to let all the air out when the bag is zip locked.

This way the bag lays flat.

 See how nice a neat they all look.

It's so easy to see the colors you have.

I have a ring for hand dyed floss, one for DMC floss and one for variegated floss.

 



 

 I've been doing a little cross stitching, crocheting and stitching penny rugs.

I finished these shamrock penny rugs for St. Patty's day.

I just love the hand dyed wool shamrocks on the black wool. I think it gives the piece a lot of interest.

 

I try to think spring but with temps in the teens and snow falling every other day it's hard to imagine.

So when the snow starts to fall I start working on snowmen...just getting ready for the fall craft fairs,

 

 

 

I posted these on ebay.  I have Valentine Penny Rugs there too.

Click here if you are interested,

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend,

Leanne

Raggedy Dolls and Valentine Hearts...

Well, another cold spell....

and the best way to spend the time is by sewing.

 

I just wanted to share some pictures of some Annie's I made.

 

 I love picking out the fabric for their dresses.

 I'm always on the search for good yarn to use for Annie's hair.

I also have been working on Valentine penny rugs. 

Stitching is a great way to keep your fingers warm on a really cold day.



The hearts in this penny rug are  made with hand dyed reds...I love the way it looks.

 

I have these items up for sale on ebay.  Click here to see all I have listed.

If you want to purchase these from me directly just email me.

 

 

Enjoy your day and stay warm,

Leanne

 

 



20 Years in the Making...

As I was putting away my Christmas things I had to take pictures of some of the new things I made this year.

 

See this cute Santa on wheels? 

He was a little painting project I started 20 years ago...yes 20 years.

My girlfriend Barb and I took painting classes when our children were in grade school and continued to paint together for many years.

We had this Santa that was almost done but needed a little something here and there.

Every holiday we would talk about finishing them but never did.

This year we finished them!

 As we were painting we wondered how long it had been since we started.  Looking at the pattern packet it was copyrighted in 1993. Back then we painted new patterns that would come out so I know we started them in 1993, It's amazing that we still had the pieces and knew where they were.

I even moved since we stared Santa.

The paints were dried up but we found replacements...can't believe they still had the colors.

I'd like to share with you 20 Years in the Making Santa on Wheels.

Another thing I finished this holiday was this cross stitch Santa pocket. I haven't cross stitched in about 25 years.  My eyes aren't as good as back then but I found a light with a magnifying glass on it.  It works great! I started this last year and love how it turned out.

 I also made this cross stitch snowman...love him too!

 

 

 Both patterns are from Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread.

St Noel is the Santa pocket and Oh Christmas Tree is the snowman.

 I also added some penny rugs on ebay

 Wool Snowman Penny Rug

Wool Mitten Penny Rug

 

Stay warm and healthy,

Leanne