To the Beach Freebie - FINISH!

So last time I mentioned a project I'd worked on earlier this summer.  I thought I'd share this finish today and show you all the goodies I made to go with it.

First, a little back story.  I took a Saturday road trip early this summer to The Finishing Touch in Louisville, Kentucky.  I just love Saundra, the owner, and Carol, fabric cutter extraordinaire!  As a parting gift, Saundra gave me the "To The Beach" freebie by Hands on Design.  I have a great affinity for Cathy Habermann designs and I couldn't wait to stitch it.  Let's check it out.

Design:  To the Beach Freebie

Designer:  Hands on Design

Fabric:  40ct. Vintage Pearled Barley

Floss:  GAST as charted

Started:  6/12/16

Finished:  7/4/16

Completed: 10/9/16

I knew from the start I wanted to finish this as a tin topper.  I intended to take it with me as my travel tool box on my trip to Myrtle Beach for the PALs Retreat in October.  I had heard that Hands on Design might be one of the vendors and thought it would be fun to show Cathy in person but she wasn't there.  Want to see the inside?

I decided to put a sheet magnet in the lid for needles and such.  I also padded the bottom and added cording around so the needles wouldn't get lost in the gap.  I also made a matching ORT catcher using the same fabric and some coordinating fabric.  Then I decided those naked scissors needed a fob.  All scissors need fobs, right?!

Design: From the chart On Beach Time

Designer: Hands on Design

Fabric: 40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley scraps

Floss: GAST and DMC

Started:  10/9/16

Finished: 10/9/16

Completed: 10/12/16

And if you are going to make a fob, why not a two sided fob!  I used the finishing instructions from Jeannette Douglas' chart called "Friendship Sweet Bag."  She suggests using two quarters to give the fob weight.  Now this finish could not be easier and it really gives a nice look and feel.  I also just had to add a couple tiny embellishments too where the twisted cords meet.

These are two things that also live inside the tin.  I love those LoRan threaders and always pick one up when I see them.  I'm pretty certain I have one in every project bag.

Now the other "tool" you might recognize from a trip to ULTA or Sephora!  It is one of those spoolies they give you to test mascara!  It works wonderfully as a "boo boo" stick.  Now I can't claim this as my own brilliant idea.  I heard my blog buddy, Vonna, from The Twisted Stitcher blog/FlossTube mention it.  She's really the brilliant one.  Go get yourself some of these 'cause they are awesome and best of all, free!  You're welcome!

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So there you have it, a fun finish I thought you'd enjoy seeing today.  Every time I use this sweet set I think of being at the beach.  The beach soothes my soul and I absolutely love being there.  Too bad I live in the land locked midwest.  LOL!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I'm off to a guild meeting and all day stitch tomorrow.  I'm hoping to make some progress on "Heaven Above" and I couldn't resist a new start last weekend so I'm going to work on that too.  More about that another day!  Thanks for visiting.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Tiara Retreat Weekend - part 1

I spent this past weekend ensconced in the woods of Indiana at the annual Tiara Club's retreat!  It was a much needed stitching getaway.  We basically stitched, ate, and slept a little then repeated.  It was wonderful!

We were greeted with this super cute welcome gift.  Love the fall colors!  I wish you all could smell the wonderful salt scrub, my peep, Marsha made.  Yes, not only is she a talented stitcher she makes awesome soaps too!   Love the little pumpkin waxer and the needle tubes are really going to be handy.  They even came with needles in them!  Cool!

 

We always have a "free to a good home" table.  This year I actually remembered to bring a contribution.  I had a JoAnn's bag stuffed full and I happily got rid of it all!  I can honestly say I only came back home with a few things from the table...that felt good.

 

 

We always have a "show and tell" table too! Just check out the wonderfulness that showed up this year! 

 

 

I thought this one was so cute.  Love that pink fabric!

 

You'll recognize one of the Foster brothers is done now!  It looks great too.  This one belongs to my peep, Christie.  I hope she does a post about it so you all can see more of it.

Speaking of finishes, I had a couple myself over the weekend.  I'm so thrilled I got so much done.  The picture above shows everything I worked on.  Let's take a closer look.

Friday afternoon and evening, I worked on the Hornbook Bestiary.  I got all the third row's squares done and started on "K is for Kitten."  I finished filling in the kitten on Saturday morning.

Then I decided to "ornamentify" my "Bee Happy" heart I showed you in this post.  A little Mouse reminded me of some pretty awesome chenille trim I had received in an exchange this year.  I had tucked this trim away in a "safe" place and promptly lost it.  Don't you hate when you do that?!

I have to say, if you've never worked with this chenille trim, you seriously need to get yourself some and give it a go.  This stuff hides a multitude of sins and it's super easy to work with too.  I can see myself using this stuff more often.  Thanks, Mouse for spoiling me!

Design:  "Merry Christmas" freebie

Designer:  Threadwork Primitives

Fabric: 36ct. opalescent white

Floss:  DMC 115 & 367

Started:  9/28/13

Finished:  9/28/13

Needs to be ornamentified!

Once I finished the heart, I moved onto one of several Christmas ornaments I need to stitch.  This one worked up really quickly and I'm thinking of doing another one.  I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it.  I'm thinking maybe with a beaded edge but then a small pillow would be cute too.  Stay tuned!

Design:  Tin Toppers "ABC Sampler"

Designer:  Samplers and Such

Fabric:  36ct. light sand

Floss:  DMC as charted

Started:  9/28/13

Finished:9/28/13

This was the last thing I stitched on Saturday.  This is one that's been calling me from the basket o'joy for a while now.  It will eventually become a tin topper and fob.  I still need to do the back stitching on the fob and add my name/date to the tin topper.  I love this one!

I'll leave you for today with some comic relief.  This is my peep, Nancy's floss ring.  Yes, it does resemble a rat's nest.  Nancy even said so.  She's such a hoot!  Of course, when I looked at it I saw something else.

I think it makes for a good hair do!  You know like those daisy wreaths the hippies wore in the 60's.

Yep, we were getting a little silly at this point.  You know me, I can't help myself sometimes.  I'm like that dontcha know.  LOL!

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Well folks, this one is getting lengthy today.  I still need to show you what I made for the exchange and what I received.  I also need to share the other exchange pieces with you.  I'm going to save it for tomorrow.  Stay tuned!  I hope you enjoyed the retreat so far.


More tomorrow,

The Inspired Stitcher

Tin Topper Finish

In my last post I mentioned stitching the single pocket from Hillside Samplings' "My Stitching Chair Necessaire."  I stitched the fob from this chart earlier this summer and wanted to stitch a tin topper to go with it.  I'm pleased to be able to show you the finished piece today.

Design:  Single Pocket from "My Stitching Chair Necessaire"

Designer:  Hillside Samplings

Fabric: 36 ct. Parchment

Floss:  DMC as charted

Started:  8/5/12

Finished:  8/13/12

Completed:  8/19/12

I did have to add some stitches to the width to make it big enough to cover the wording printed on the lid.  I tried a "new-to-me" stitch in the center of the flowers called cross tied windmill.  It turned out pretty well for my first attempt at it.

Here it is with the scissors fob I stitched back in May.  I opted to go with the red twisted cord rather than match the green on the fob so it would blend better with the tin's top.

I actually made both the red and the green to see which I liked best.  Hubby said he liked the red better so I went with that.  I like it too.  It gives more focus to the stitching rather than detracting from it like the green seemed to do.

I also used seven layers of thin cotton batting to give the top a bit of pouf.  I think I'll do this again on the next one.  I tend to use the tin topper lid as a needle nanny when I'm stitching.  

I've made several tin toppers in the past seen here, here, here and here.  I really do enjoy making them. They are so useful for stitching on the go.

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I hope you had a good weekend and I hope your week is good too.  Thanks for stopping by today for a visit with me.


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Blackbird Designs Exchange

Now that I know my exchange partner has received her package for the Blackbird Designs Exchange,  I can show you what I sent to her!  My partner was Laura from Mexico.

I was getting a bit worried because she hadn't received it yet.  I mailed it on April 24th and she just received it yesterday, more than 30 days later.  Thankfully she did receive it and here it is!

Design:  “Birds and Berries Pinbox”

 from the book A Stitcher’s Journey

Designer:  Blackbird Designs

Fabric:  32 ct. lamb's wool

Floss:  called for DMC

Started:  3/17/12 

Finished:  3/24/12

Completed:   3/31/12

I finished it as an Altoids tin topper.  I chose to line the tin with a photo copy of  some Blackbird Designs fabric.  I think it turned out pretty cute!  This is one I wouldn't mind stitching for myself someday.

I also sent along a magnet in the shape of the state of Ohio since she collects refrigerator magnets and I included the cinnamon's that came in the tin too!  I'm glad she likes it.

This exchange was different than some of the exchanges I've done.  This one you stitched for the person who was also stitching for you!  So far I haven't received what Laura stitched for me but when I do I'll be sure to share it with you.

Thank you to Patti for hosting the exchange and thanks in advance to Laura too!  If you've never participated in an exchange, I highly recommend you try it sometime.  It's a lot of fun!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far!

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher

QCSG Tin Topper Finish!

Design:  QCSG Tin Topper

Designer: Paula

Fabric:  32 ct. Antique White scrap

Floss:  DMC and Kreinik as charted

Started:  10/4/11

Finished:  10/6/11

Completed:  10/16/11

This chart was designed by my buddy, Paula.  She made 50 of these for the Queen City Sampler Guild's Christmas party before I became a member.  Can you believe that?!  Yep, she's awesome.  Seriously!

I've wanted one ever since I saw my friend Janis'.  A couple folks had theirs with them at the Tiara retreat.  So I asked around at the retreat to find out who might have the pattern.  Turns out it was my buddy Paula!  She was nice enough to share it with me so I could make one of my own.

I think this one turned out pretty good since this was my first attempt at this kind of finish.  The acorn tin topper I shared on Monday was actually the second one I've ever finished.  If you want to give it a try yourself, here's a good tutorial by the Twisted Stitcher.

Thank you, Paula for sharing the pattern.  I can't wait to show you in person tonight at the stitch-in!   Also, thank you to all who've left me comments lately.  You really do know how to make a person's day!

The Inspired Stitcher

Acorn Tin Topper Finish!

Design:  “November - Antique Acorns” tin topper

Designer:  Samplers and Such

Fabric:  28ct. Lambswool

Floss:  WDW, GA and DMC as charted

Started:  11/5/10

Finished:  11/9/10

Completed:  10/16/11

This weekend I was in a finishing mood.  So I decided to run with it.  As you can tell from the dates, this has been in the box awaiting attention for nearly a year!  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

As my peeps will tell you, I love acorns.  The minute I saw this one I had to have it and stitched it up right away.  Unfortunately I didn't finish it right away as Christmas ornaments gained priority last year.  Speaking of, I really ought to get to thinking about them now and start earlier this year.  We'll see how that goes.

Thank you all for the comments on my last post.  I got a kick out of reading them.  Welcome to the newcomers.  I hope you find inspiration here.  Hope everyone had a good weekend! 

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher