Pumpkins, Pockets, and Progress, Oh My!

The Pumpkins are finally done! I finished stitching this little baby up on Sunday evening- aren't they cute? Now, what to do with them? Should I frame it? Make it up into a little knick-knack, or a door hanger, etc? Suggestions? Sorry about the fold lines. I still need to press it and probably block it. But it's finished!

I also made progress on B5022:

These are the front pockets. I love the elasticized top edge. It's just a little bit different and looks so cute and feminine. I can't wait to get these sewn onto the front pieces so I can start to get an idea of how this is going to look.

And here is the blingy iron-on applied to the cargo pocket. Application went very well. I followed the directions on the package and all the rhinestones adhered perfectly. We'll see how this goes. I'm still not convinced this is going to stand up to everyday wearing and washing. I'll have to try to remember to at least wash the pants inside out, but I'll have to let you know how this holds up.

And finally, progress on the birth sampler:

I got the verse and several more bands of stitching added. Sorry the photo is so dark. It's so hard to get good shots in my house and believe it or not, when I used a flash, it was even worse. You can see at the top that I'm right in the middle of a band with drawn thread that will feature hemstitching. It will be very similar to the band at the bottom of the photo. I have already completed the left side, and you can see where I still need to finish preparing the right hand side. I carefully cut the specified horizontal fabric threads in the center, then I pulled every other thread completely out of the fabric. Then I pulled each remaining thread carefully toward the center of the piece, threaded it up on a tapestry needle and wove it back into the fabric in place of the removed thread. This leaves a nice, finished edge at each edge of the band and the border stitches will be worked right into the re-woven fabric as if no threads had even been removed. It's not my favorite part of the sampler, but it's relatively easy (once you get over the idea of cutting your fabric and pulling threads out!) and the results are striking.

I'm taking the next two days off from work so I am anticipating a nice, long, four day weekend. I hope to get some more progress made on the pink cargo pants and on the birth sampler. I also have another little UFO in progress that I plan to take with me if I end up out and about this weekend. I'll share that one next time.