Finished Project of the Week – The Mittens

This is a series of posts where I feature projects finished long before I ever had a blog to post them on.  In looking through all of the finished cross stitch pictures on my webshots page, I realize that this might be one of the last FPOTW posts I’ll ever do!

The following are pictures of some Mill Hill Charmed Mitten Kits that I stitched a few years ago.  They are so cute and I love the way they look on my Christmas Tree!  I never really finished the back of them, but someday I might stick some sort of felt or fabric to the back….

I modified the designs slightly to make a beaded hanger with the leftover beads instead of using just plain embroidery floss.  These were fun, quick stitches!

I actually have more of these patterns in my stash, but I haven’t really been inspired to work on them.  Maybe I feel like I have enough mittens on my smallish Christmas Tree as it is??

Finished Project of the Week – Friendship Collaboration

This is a series of posts where I put up pics and talk about projects that I finished long before I ever had a blog to share them on.

I stitched this beautiful pattern for a friend of mine waaaaay back in 2001!  It is a collaboration project between Shepherd’s Bush, Charland Designs, and Just Nan.  I just love the colors!

Considering how bad my finishing skills were back then (virtually non-existant!) I’m surprised at how good this turned out!  Probably the key reason was that I stitched it on fabric banding, so no need to finish up the edges.  I had just learned hardanger so added that to the pattern at the bottom and I don’t even remember how I managed to tuck under the ends so that they looked this nice!

Apologies for the picture quality.. it appears that I scanned it in multiple sections then fitted the scans together!  🙂

The quote, in case you can’t read it, says “Though Far Apart, Still Close in Heart, Friends We’ll Ever Be.”  I stitched this for my best friend and roommate from college, Cori.

I love going back and looking at old project finsihes.  It makes me remember what was going on when I stitched them.  I remember stitching this one in Spokane, Washington, shortly after my former husband had been transferred to Northern Idaho for work.  We were living in an apartment  for the summer while our house there was being built. That was a oh-so-interesting time of my life!

Finished Project of the Week- Just Nan

This is the latest in a long running series of projects  I’ve finished before I started a blog.  This week is a couple of Just Nan designs…  the first two of which are languishing in my Finished But Not Finished bag…  These are so pretty and I think will become pinkeeps to give as holiday gifts.. someday.

Amethyst Snowflake:

Snow Business:

The next pic is a cute little design that I saw somewhere online a long time ago, decided I had to have it, found that it had been a special edition design, and was no longer in print!  I searched the web far and wide, found the kit, then finished it and gave it as an ornament to my sister.

Fairy Violets:

I have a few more Just Nan Designs in my stash… the Floral 15 biscornu and one of her Over The Top Tins.  I’m eyeing the new Twilight Pearls Leaf Ball… love it but think it might be beyond my finishing skills… it might be a mute point though as it is already sold out!

Finished Project of the Week – TW Smalls

Another post in my continuing (but long neglected) series of posts of projects finished before I started a blog!  This week I’m featuring a few of the smaller Teresa Wentzler designs I’ve completed, but not shown on my blog yet…

Think Snow:

Delft Flowers:

Square Mosaic:

Modified Square Mosaic finished as an ornament:

Finished Project of the Week – VS Freebie

The “Finished Project of the Week” series of posts is for showing and talking about cross stitch finishes I had before I had I started my blog a little over two years ago.  I have neglected posting about my previous finishes, so here I go again!

Victoria Sampler Sea Shells:

This is a free pattern offered on the Victoria Sampler website and is based on her larger “Seaside Sampler.”  I edited the original pattern to take out the words “She Sells Sea Shells Down By The Sea Shore” and put in a little blue and white filling stitches instead.  I framed this myself with a frame I found at House of Stitches.  Its so cute!

Previously Finished Projects – VS Hearts of America

I just love these little kits…. quick, pretty, and a “featured” stitch in each one.  I’d like to apologize in advance for the fact that these were taken with different cameras, scanners, and lighting conditions, so it’s not a “pretty” post. The finished ornaments were early on in my finishing days and not exactly something that I’d be proud of now, but I was proud of them when I did them…. Hopefully the designs and stitching make up for all that!

I had a goal of stitching one for every state that I’ve lived in… then making ornaments out of them…  I actually did this for my parents – Maine, NY, and Oklahoma.  I still have to finish the Oklahoma ornament for them.

I also stitched Florida as an ornament for my grandparents:

For myself, I need, to restitch NY and Oklahoma, but I’ve stitched the others…  Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Indiana.  I lived in Colorado for one summer while doing an internship and am trying to decide if that counts….

Finished Project of the Week – VS Noel

Another beautiful Victoria Sampler finished project of the week.  This series of posts is where I show pictures of projects I finished before I started a blog.

I joined a cyberclass for this one before it was released as a leaflet and thought it was appropriate to post a holiday-ish finished project:

Victoria Sampler Noel Bellpull

The finishing on this one was really simple and fun… I gave it to my grandmother, then did it again for my other grandmother the following year.

Finished Project of the Week – Victoria Sampler Virtues Ornaments

This is the next installment of the Finished Project of the Week posts!  In this series of posts, I feature a project that was finished prior to when I started blogging earlier this year.  To see all Finished Project of the Week posts, you can click on the category in the links on the side of the page.

These are the Victoria Sampler Virtues Ornaments.  I’ve stitched exactly 20 of these ornaments over the last few years, but changed the “virtues” to people’s names.  What I love about these is that they are quick to stitch and I can give them to a whole family as a set, with their names, but each ornament is a little different.

I only took pictures the first full sets that I stitched.  My favorites have been used several times and given to different families.

The pictures are a little misleading, but I promise that all of theses are centered.  I usually put batting underneath the stitched side of the ornament and this, plus the angle of the camera make these look off-center.

These are finished using ornament forms that I purchased from the Silver Needle (click link, then scroll down). The forms make finishing easy and quick and the edges look so nice that I didn’t really feel the need to use any cording and just slip ribbon between the pieces when glueing the front and the back of the form together.  The back of the ornaments are covered with printed fabric – usually green.

This could be the first year that I don’t stitch any of these for friends or family… I thought about it, but after 20 of them, I might be a little burned out!

Finished Project of the Week – VS Heirloom Anniversary Sampler

This is a continuing series of posts dedicated to stitching projects that were finished prior to my starting a blog in April.

This is Victoria Sampler’s Heirloom Anniversary Sampler, stitched in 2002, for my parents’ 35th anniversary.  I really love the colors in this one and the framing recommendations were from my most favorite framer ever in Coeur d’Alene, ID, Rockebys.

Victoria Sampler Heirloom Anniversary Sampler

Even though this is a relatively long sampler, its only maybe 3-4″ wide, so it went pretty quickly.  I think I finished it in a month.  It has lots of sparkle in real life, and I love that little oblong bead at the very bottom of the hardanger.  There are also four mother of pearl hearts in the satin stitched border.

Thanks for all of your comments – I love reading all of them!

Finished Project of the Week – The Cherubs

This series of posts called “Finished Project of the Week” is meant to highlight stitching I’ve finished prior to creating a blog.  I also like to have plenty of stitching for my readers to look at while I’m making progress on my current projects.

I just love stitching these….  they are a nice break from blended thread and confetti, and they are beautiful when finished.  Here are the Mirabilia Freebie Cherubs I’ve stitched so far:

My LNS, House of Stitches has all of these finished and hanging as shop models and I’m inspired every time I visit to print off another pattern and get started on a new Cherub.  I’m sure that I’ll stitch all of them some day.

I do have an update on Victoria Sampler’s Where Stitchers Gather, but I’ll probably post that after I get back from The Celebration of Needlework in Louisville!