This year, the new piece is this, It's Fall Time, a free pattern offered by Les Grilles de Maryse. Check out her blog- her stitching is beautiful and she has tons of gorgeous free patterns.
This little piece is stitched on 32 ct Lambswool (I think- it came from stash and I've long since lost the packaging.) The pattern calls for DMC which is mostly what I used. I substituted some Sampler Threads from stash for the bricks on the house and the grass just to give a little dimension. I also substituted a slightly darker floss for the backstitched vine in the border. The pattern called for the same light brown in the leaves but I thought that would be a little flat. This finished up at 4 5/8" by 5 3/8". I'm not sure how I will finish it. It's a little big for an ornament type finish so I may put it in a small frame.
I've also pulled out this WIP and put a few stitches in:
This is Homestead Sampler from American School of Needlework's Basic Guide to Band Samplers. I started this back in 2012 when I was in the Philippines, but I haven't made any real progress until lately. I am using the suggested DMC colors but I have made some small changes to the stitches, such as using satin stitch for the blue flowers rather than cross stitches:
This one is stitched on an antique white linen, something I bought pre-packaged from Hobby Lobby years ago. The color is okay but I don't really like the fabric. It's too "slubby." Oh well, I've gone too far to change it now so I will finish it.
I made a visit to my "local" (60 miles away) needlework store yesterday and treated myself to a new project. I'll be stitching "Mini Pineapple Stitches" by Jeanette Douglas (love her designs!)
This one will be stitched on this luscious Burmese Beige 32 ct linen in DMC and several specialty fibers that came with the leaflet. I'm so excited to start stitching some pineapples- a welcome break from pumpkins, which I normally stitch at this time of year.
In sewing news, this project is in the works:
I have the skirt almost finished- it just needs a hem and a waistband hook. The jacket is cut out and ready to be assembled. I'm using a coral red twill. It's probably more of a summer color, but I think it will work with a black top for the winter. Progress stalled on this project a few weeks ago when I ran out of interfacing. I've since replenished my supply, but my mojo went missing. I also am not in love with the buttons I bought to go with it. With Hancock's gone, Joanne's and Hobby Lobby are the only places to buy buttons and they are both lacking in their selection. I will probably search online for something different so if anyone has a good suggestion for an online button source, please share!
Happy Fall, Y'all!
