Floss Friday -- Cross Stitch Progress and A Little Bit of Spring

Happy Friday, Friends!

It has been busy here at the house on the ridge. Getting into more organization and spring cleaning has taken up much of my time. I do have some good progress to share on Salute to Abigail. 

This is it where it was when you last saw it.

This is where I am as of last evening.

Linen is so hard to photograph at night!

I’m excited anxious to see if the border matches up so I’m going to continue with the vine and leaves to see.

I decided not to pull out all the Easter and Spring décor, but I do have a fair amount to share.

March's Calendar Crates came down

April's Calendar Crates went up but I can't decide
between the carrots in the jar or...

greenery in the jar?

The kitchen sideboard with designs from
Stitching with the Housewives

This piece was stitched as part of the 

Stitching Book Club when we read 
Sense & Sensibility

A small applique quilt I made in a class
a long time ago

The stitched pieces in the small tiered tray are
by Hands on Design

BloomTopia was a stitch along with the

Fat Quarter Shop to raise money for

Make-A-Wish. I also made the quilt.

The Hoosier stills sports a patriotic theme

but I did place a little spring on top.

Feels Like Home was a mystery stitch along,

again, with the Fat Quarter Shop

I shared earlier in the week that Hubby and I had gone to Sylva, NC over the weekend to do some antiquing. There is a road we’ve passed several times while traveling in that direction and I’ve always wanted to stop and take a photo. Well, I had the opportunity last weekend…

I think I should live on this road, don’t you?

Thanks so much for your sweet visit and I’ll see you soon.

 

Sewcialites 3 -- Block 5 and Antiquing

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

Last Friday I sewed block #5 for the Sewcialites 3 quilt along.

Little Love Block was designed by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique. This one took a little time to put together. And because we had a weekend full of plans, I didn’t get around to making a test block for Lori Holt’s Spacious Skies Quilt.

Hubby and I drove over to Sylva, NC on Saturday to visit some new-to-us antique shops and have lunch. Sylva is a very historic town, and they have old pictures on most buildings that show what the town looked like many years ago.

I loved this old door.

I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without, so we headed home. We decided to make a stop at a place on the way that we’ve been to many times. It is more like a junk store or a flea market. I found a ceramic pitcher and bowl for the dry sink.

I’m sure it isn’t antique as there aren’t any markings or stamps on it at all and it was cheap!

But I thought the colors would work for the blues I have in the dining room.

On Sunday, I pulled out a few spring decorations. I’ll show you those on Friday, along with a cross-stitch update.

Enjoy your week and I’ll see you soon.

 

 

A Weekend Recap

Hello, Friends.

How was your weekend?

We had a very uneventful one…and I’m not complaining. I took Mom to Asheville for an appointment on Friday and we stopped by our favorite antique store on the way home. I found a vintage dry sink in very good condition and at a very good price. It came home with me.

I look forward to decorating it seasonally. And the cabinets will provide some badly needed storage.

It rained most of the day on Saturday, so it was a good day to stay inside and do some decorating. I’ve decided that I am going to celebrate the USA’s semiquincentennial by decorating with patriotic décor all year long.

I started with a pencil tree that holds my White House ornaments as well as some odds and ends from Hobby Lobby. This tree will change throughout the year as I add some stitched pieces, and I’ll likely replace the existing ribbon.

Then I started on the tiered floor stand…

And moved on to the Hoosier cabinet…

This is just the bottom shelf of the Hoosier and it has already changed since I took the photo above. I'll show you more soon.

I also did some baking on Saturday and made some orange ricotta cookies. They turned out great. A ‘cake like’ cookie with an orange glaze…yum.

Here is where I found the recipe if you are interested.

Sunday was cross stitching day with my friends on zoom. I had a start and finish which I’ll show you on Friday.

Thanks for stopping by for today’s post. I hope you have a wonderful week.

See you soon,

 

 

Floss Friday – Fully Finishes and Some Almost Finishes

Have I finished decorating for the holidays? NO

Have I finished shopping for the holiday? YES

Do I have some cross stitch fully finishes? YES

Do I have more to do? YES

I was recently watching floss tube videos and got inspired to pull out the “under the bed box” of finished Christmas stitches and fully finish them.

Santa’s Workshop by Anabella’s Needleart.

Fabric: 28 count Monaco, White by Charles Craft
Floss: The called for DMC
Stitch count: 64 x 41

Stitched two over two, finished stitching in December 2022.
Finished into a pillow with black ric-rac trim. Backing fabric is Chelsea’s Checks in black and white. The back features a couple of layers of felt with a bulb pin and Lori Holt Cute Little Buttons.

Gingerbread Cottage by Stitching with the Housewives
Fabric: 14 count Aida, Aqua by Zweigart
Floss: The called for Classic Colorworks over-dyed
Stitch count: 58 x 38
Stitched two over two, finished stitching in January 2021.
Finished into a pillow with tiny white ric-rac trim. Backing fabric is a piece of red and white check from stash. The back features a piece of felt and a gingerbread star button.

Cocoa Quilt by Primrose Cottage Stitches
Fabric: 32 count Linen, Vintage Homespun by R&R Reproductions
Floss: My own conversion, from stash (I can send that to anyone who is interested)
Stitch count: 73 x 73
Stitched two over two, finished stitching December of 2024.
Finished into a pillow. No trim was needed since the pattern had a substantial border. Backed with fabric from my stash, layered felt, a bulb pin with more of Lori Holt’s buttons.

The next fully finishes are from a seasonal series by Hands on Design and Priscilla Blain called Chalk Full. The large piece was a design centered around a mason jar and the small was a piece that coordinated with the jar.

Merry Jar
Fabric: 14 count Aida, Chalkboard black from Wichelt
Floss: The called for Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts over-dyed
Stitch count: 67 x 93
Stitched two over one, finished stitching January of 2020.
Flat finished. Stitched piece is layered on sticky board with two layers of plaids behind it. The first layer is Chelsea’s Checks in red and black and the back layer is Priscilla’s Pretty Plaids in red and black. Each piece was placed on sticky board. I made a bow using matching ribbon and added a matching sticker to the center of the ribbon. This is displayed on a piece from Hobby Lobby, which is no longer available.

Merry Small

Fabric: 14 count Aida, Chalkboard black from Wichelt
Floss: The called for Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts over-dyed
Stitch count: 65 x 49
Stitched two over one, finished stitching November of 2019.
Finished into a pillow. I didn’t have any trim to match so I added three Christmas pins. I place a red/black plaid bead under the Santa pin for interest. The back is finished with Chelsea’s Checks in red and black, a little felt and a tiny Merry ornament.

Snowy Jar

Fabric: 14 count Aida, Chalkboard black from Wichelt
Floss: The called for Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts over-dyed
Stitch count: 63 x 94
Stitched two over one, finished stitching March of 2025.
Flat finished. Stitched piece is layered on sticky board with two layers of plaids behind it. The first layer is Chelsea’s Checks in blue and white, and the back layer is Priscilla’s Pretty Plaids in blue and white. Again, each piece is placed on sticky board. I made a bow using matching ribbon and added a snowman bell to the center of the ribbon. This will replace the Merry piece on the Hobby Lobby stand in January.

Snowy Small

Fabric: 14 count Aida, Chalkboard black from Wichelt
Floss: The called for Classic Colorworks and Gentle Arts over-dyed
Stitch count: 70 x 46
Stitched two over one, finished stitching February of 2020.
Finished into a pillow with an aqua ric-rac trim. I added snowflake and cardinal pins to the front. The back is finished with Chelsea’s Checks in black and white, layered felt and another bulb pin with Lori Holt buttons.

The last fully finish will be displayed after the holidays.

Snow Love by Country Cottage Needleworks

Fabric: 14 count Aida, Aqua by Zweigart
Floss: The called for DMC threads
Stitch count: 61 x 45
Stitched two over one, finished stitching December of 2019.
Finished into a pillow with an white ric-rac trim. I added a snowman and snowflake pins to the front. The back is finished with plaid fabric from Lori Holt, layered felt and another bulb pin with Lori Holt buttons.

I started making pillows out of the small Lori Holt Vintage Christmas charts that I shared here. They just need to be stuffed. Hopefully, I’ll show them completely finished next Friday.

The kids start arriving tomorrow and we couldn’t be happier. I’m hoping to put together one more post sharing the final Christmas décor for this year. It shouldn’t be hard, but I keep changing things! 

How are your holiday preparations coming? I hope they are going well enough that you can enjoy the real reason for the season.

See you soon,