Tidying A Bit

A bit of tidying here and there, this time the box of no.8 perlé cotton needed it urgently. Much nicer now than how it was (below).

Need to go now, there are so many other things that need tidying around here but those require a bit more muscle than a box of thread. Chiropractic adjustments tomorrow. Until next time!

Block No.4 Heart

This block was easy to stitch, the cute factor was motivational! It was completed a week ago.

The above picture shows my work area just 2 pieces away for the Heart block to be completed. (Really liking the Kai Scissors, especially the patchwork and sewing ones!!! More on them later.)

Now there was a little hiccup after hand piecing that middle triangle piece. The right corner was off, so out came my handy seam ripper. 

New piece was cut, pinned and hand pieced in place (by the way these Clover Extra-Fine Patchwork pins are much better than regular pins, in my opinion).

Et voilá, magnifique! Like nothing ever happened ;-). 

Completed the hand piecing, and finger pressed. Lesson learned, won't be cutting my triangles' corners until done with hand piecing the entire block.

Not bad (if I may say so myself)... for a beginner like me!

A truly enjoyable hand piecing journey with Block No.4 Heart.
My needlework is serving as much needed therapy! Moderate costochondritis... not fun, just hopping it doesn't progress to severe as it has in the past.

PS: Just today I was able to completed another block.... can you guess which?

Notes: Non-affiliated links, just for sharing. Pattern draft and tutorial are kindly provided by Wynn at Zakka Art as part of her Hand Sew Along #handsewpatchwork. Inspiration and guidance from Japanese Patchwork book ISBN: 9784863224421.

Miss Sunbonnet Duck

Such a fun design to stitch! Miss Sunbonnet Duck was started while we were on our mini getaway, worked on it on our way back home, and completed yesterday.

Using bright cheery colors was a nice treat. I wonder how the two upcoming seasons will influence my choice of colors for any upcoming embroidery project.

DMC embroidery thread was used through out the design. It was stitched onto a flour sack towel. The design is one from Aunt Martha's hot iron transfer no.3979 under the Traditional & Vintage category. The perlé cotton shown was used only for photo prop purpose ;-).

Miss Sunbonnet Duck surely enjoyed her flower picking walk!

A trip to a Pick-Your-Own Flower Farm sounds like a fun thing to do! Maybe sometime, hopefully soon.
Until next time!

Hand Piecing Block #3 Bow Tie

While we were on vacation this little guy up there was born. I took all the things needed and while the rest of the family slept, this was taking place on the kitchen's counter overhang.

This time I followed the suggestions given for making templates. Pasted pattern pieces to a sturdier material. Only two templates were needed for this block. No hiccups along the way, thankfully. A very nice hand piecing experience!

Wondering where is Block #2? Well, let me just say that I am not ready yet to tackle it. I will be moving along to Block #4 which is super cute and not that many pieces, perhaps afterwards I will be ready for Block #2.

The fact that this one came together nicely on the first try makes me happy! Maybe the next blog post will be on hand embroidery ;-). Until next time!

Notes: Hand Sew Along hosted by Wynn at Zakka Art.

Mini Getaway

This mini getaway has become part of our family tradition. We try to go there almost every year. Even if we have other travels this particular one is the one I always look forward to (perhaps the fact that an airplane is not necessary makes it ideal for me). I'm glad I wasn't having a FMS flare, very thankful for that! We did a bit of everything and our little ones loved it,... so happy they did!

After last year's lesson, this time I was prepared with a few stitchy projects and was able to do the 3rd hand pieced block, started hand embroidering another Aunt Martha's design (more on this two stitchy projects later), and was able to watch North and South all by myself with no interruptions or commentaries from company. I don't watch much TV but truly enjoy a clean 'feel good' masterpiece movie without distractions or commentaries from company.

I think it was great that we ended up going at the end of summer instead of early/mid Autumn as we usually do. The weather was nice and warm, even hot for a day or two. I love the ocean and I love warm weather... pure bliss!

Now school begins and all that comes with it! Until next time!