Secrets of the Smokin' Needles

Here's another finish for this week: Friends with You, from the booklet "My Heart is True" by Blackbird Designs and Nicoletta Farrauto. 

This is another one I've wanted to stitch for a long time so I can now cross another one off the list. I'm sure I will get tired of the smaller designs and get back to the bigger pieces soon but for now, this is working out! 

So. Someone mentioned something about my smokin' needles last week. Here are my "secrets":

• Smaller designs
• More time because I am not working too much right now
• The biggest "secret"? I'm stitching on 28 count linen!  I have been using up smaller pieces of 28 count linens kicking around as I've been stitching with 36 count for awhile now. Now that I'm on these larger counts, I can see & stitch so much better! No kidding! Not sure if this means I'll be giving up on 36 count but my eyes sure are happier!

So the secrets aren't really anything surprising, are they? 
 I'll end this post with an orchid in bloom at present. The shape of it reminds me of the center flower in the piece above.

Thank you for visiting and I really enjoyed all the comments from last week! No surprise that I get the most comments when I have more stitching to show! ;-)

Oh, one last thing, check out this cute video. It will surely put a smile on your face! 

 

Have a wonderful week!

How many finishes?

This is a fly-by post but I am happy to show you a few finishes!

One - Experience Leyland, from the book A Stitcher's Journey by Blackbird Designs. I have wanted to stitch this one for awhile - so "flowing". 

Two - Love, by Birds of a Feather. Alternate title "Zombie Love" - don't these guys look kinda weird? Happy but weird, right? ;-)

Three - Summer Iris, by Blackbird Designs. Another Oh-so-Pretty design! I love it!

I finished these last two in three days. I was astonished. But then, I look around the house and I can see why - who needs to do housework? 

Thank you for visiting and all your comments. They help me keep stitching and keep blogging! Take care and have a wonderful week!

Beauty from Women's Hands

I think Life is wonderful. I think it's full of surprises if we entertain looking for them or really looking AT them when they do pop up.

A couple of weeks ago I was going through my (online) bookmarks and trying to streamline them. I found this site oddly filed in one of my folders. I have no idea when and how I came to find this site. On further inspection, it peeked my interest. Look what arrived the other day. 

Two Kantha Blankets:

They come from the women of Bangladesh via HandandCloth.org.  You can read more about them here. "kantha, a traditional two-sided blanket made from repurposed vintage sari cloth. Kantha has been a quiet form of self-expression for women in Bangladesh for centuries"

I don't know much more about this organization beyond what you can find on their website but I definitely fell in love with these blankets. They are aged and patched but they just feel so wonderful!  Have a look. 

I was so touched when I lifted these blankets out of the boxes. To think of the women who stitched them, thousands of miles away and trying to help themselves to live better lives, well, how can you not feel the "goodness" in them? 

I feel very blessed to have found them and for them to have found me. Sarah is planning to post more blankets this weekend so I hope you will bookmark their site and visit them again to see their new inventory. 

Now, if you have read this far, thank you. The other thank you is to people who are following this blog. I now have 293 followers. I remember at the turn of this new year, it kept going up and down between 275 and 278 and I was wondering if I was losing followers as soon as I got some new ones! (Was it something I said/did/didn't do?)

The point is, when I hit 300 I will have a giveaway so stay tuned. 

Are you surprised I am posting on Friday? Me too. Life is full or surprises, like a bookmark you never knew you had and that takes you on a new adventure! 

Thanks for visiting. Happy Weekend!