Tuesday, April 20, 2010

another stitchalong?




Do you want to do another stitchalong?

I've gotten a few emails and comments asking what's next and I have a few ideas.

idea no. 1: Do a passalong stitchalong where we'll each do an inch square on a grid and then mail it to the next person. We'd have to move it around rather quickly and I'd have to require that you only participate if you knew that you could turn it around super quickly. But I think it would be fun for all of us to work on the same cloth. We could either donate the finished piece to a worthy cause or do a giveaway for it.

idea no. 2: We could do another grid-sampler for counting our blessings. Each square would be something representing a blessing in our life. I imagine that the stitching would help us keep our lives in perspective and appreciate what we have.

idea no. 3: This might not be everyone's cup of tea but I think it would be powerful and personal. Similar to idea no. 2, we could do a prayerful sampler. Each square would represent a prayer. We would pray as we stitch, thinking deeply of what prayer the square represents and then when we post the square we also post an accompanying prayer.

idea no 4: Stitching swap. We could stitch something useful, like pillowcases, napkins, tea towels, and swap them. And maybe to make it even more special, instead of sending the gift to one another, we could think of someone in our lives who could use a pick-me-up and have it sent to them instead. So if Mary and Jane were partners, maybe Mary requests that Jane send the gift to Mary's cousin who just had surgery and maybe Jane requests that Mary send the gift to Jane's friend who's feeling blue.

So I'm putting it up for a vote...look on  my main blog for the poll and vote for which you think would be the most fun. You don't have to commit to participating...this is just to let me know which idea we should go with. Sign up will be later.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

finished!

Here's my finished sampler...I'm loving it so much. Even the squares I didn't love so much at the time have a sweetness to them all nestled in. My favorites? the mary janes, the spools, the gumball machine, the bunny. 

I had planned to make this into a pillow but it seems too small now...and some of the squares are too fragile to be touched or sat on. I think I'll make a shadow box for it...maybe out of a cigar box with spools for feet.

What are you going to do with yours? Share pictures! (amy (a) inspireco.com)

square thirty-nine!


Can you believ it? Square 39, at last. This project has given me a new appreciation at what a large number 39 is.

It looked a little funny to have the 40th square blank so I added a little shrinky dink tag with my name on it...

Thank you to each of you 100+ stitching along! It was so much fun sharing this project with you...and I loved seeing all your fabulous squares.

Send me pictures of your finished sampler and I'll post them here! (amy (a) inspireco.com)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Monday, April 5, 2010

square thirty-five


I used textural yarn to make a fuzzy chick...isn't he adorable?

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Friday, April 2, 2010

square thirty-three

I love these fun tiny scissors. They really open and close and I didn't want to sew them so that they wouldn't function so I sewed a bead through the hole to hold them into place.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

square thirty

I got a little behind. Yesterday I needed a little reminder, a little cheering up...so I stitched "be happy".


Today is going to be busy so it might be another easy one...

square twenty-nine

Monday, March 29, 2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010

square twenty-five

I need to work on making the balloon look more like a balloon, don't you think?

When I'm stitching something like this I start with a sketch using an air erasable fabric marker in case I make mistakes. Here's the sketch for this one...

And here's how the whole sampler is looking...

It's a little wonky because it's stretched funny in the hoop...

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

square twenty-four

Maybe this is cheating? I printed a little picture of me as a little girl onto fabric, cut it into a square and then stitched a beaded border.

I had a question about the flower a few days ago...that was another little cheat. It was a flower cut from some lace trim and then stitched in the center. I'm hoping to do more real stitching on the next row but sometimes time is tight. I'm sure you know what I mean....

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Monday, March 22, 2010

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Friday, March 19, 2010

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

square sixteen

I wanted to make these daffodils really 3-d. I remembered that I had a bunch of tiny little beads that would work perfectly. I think I got these from Janice. They were a bit fragile and I think I'll have to reinforce them with a bit of glue.

If you asked to be added to the blog list and don't see your name on the right, please comment below. I fell a little behind and think I may have missed a few when I updated the list today. Can you believe we're nearly 100 strong?

As a follow up, wouldn't it be so much fun to do this as a pass-along project? I'll figure out how it will work and what we'd do with it at the end...maybe we could donate it to a great cause.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Sunday, March 14, 2010

square fourteen

I got the idea to use oblong pearls for eggs from Jill.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

square thirteen

It is, indeed, a rainy day, so the picture isn't the best. You can't even see the delicate rain stitched with fine silvery thread. I felt like I was making the emperor's new clothes with that thread...I even made a few stitches without the needle threaded without even knowing it!


I'm getting to the point where all the ideas I had are getting used up...and we're not even half way there. So I thought I'd make an inspiration list. Add to it, if you'd like...or post one on your blog.

house
nest
spools of thread
cake with candles
teapot
mushroom
basket of eggs
bunny
four leaf clover
mouse
self portrait
home sweet home
stitch over a piece of lace
tulips
daffodils
bicycle
sugar bowl with spoon
sunshine
bon-bons
egg in egg cup



That's better...

Friday, March 12, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Monday, March 8, 2010

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Friday, March 5, 2010

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Monday, March 1, 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

gathering

 
Here are the supplies I've gathered. I'm using my favorite palette of floss:
red: 349
light pink: 761
medium pink: 603
aqua: 597
light aqua: 747
yellow: 745
green: 3819
black
white

Here are some little beads, buttons and other embellishments to inspire me. I'll keep these in a little circle tin.

And I always have a selection of needles, including one with a larger eye and a sharp one for going through tighter weave fabrics. Of course I also keep a pair of scissors handy for clipping threads.

Are you ready for the fun to begin?

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

badge

Here's a badge you can add to your sidebar if you'd like.