For the Love of Sunflowers

Good morning everyone! First of all, thank you so much for all of your compliments on my sunflower header photo and new blog background--I really appreciate them! This weekend, I was sorting through my drawers and boxes of unfinished finishes in an attempt to count how many I have (and perhaps motivate myself to finish some of them!) when I happened to notice the many sunflower finishes I had stitched through the years. Thought you might like to see them yourself and hopefully, they'll inspire you or just bring you a smile...

First up, is one of my all-time favorites...I actually finished this piece from Prairie Schooler's "Garden Samplers" (Book No. 45) three years ago and still haven't framed it! I really need to get a frame ordered for it soon--it is too pretty to hide away in a dark drawer. I especially love this one because we have a large martin birdhouse in our backyard--not exactly like this one, but similar. If I can recall, I used 32 ct. summer khaki jobelan and DMC threads on this one--but I'm not positive. At my age, I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone what I stitched a three-year-old piece on!


Next up is a finish I showed you last year, but I finally got around to framing it this week. It fit perfectly in a frame that I use for other monthly Prairie Schooler pieces... (see here and here) so I'll just pop it out of the frame and replace it with the September squirrel next month. This is from an old Mill Hill bead kit that I converted to stitching. The original kit came with sunflower buttons so I had to improvise these stitched flowers.


This cheerful Prairie Schooler rooster crowing "Good Morning" to the sunflowers is from an old issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine (January/February 2002). It appears as if this one was stitched on some sort of oatmeal colored evenweave with DMC threads. I always thought this would be fun to finish as a flat-fold and use as a decoration at a brunch. Well, it has probably been almost five years since I stitched this and it still remains unfinished... perhaps I need to schedule a brunch to get me motivated? Want to join me :)


My Prairie Schooler sunflower Santa should look familiar to you (unless you just began reading my blog) because it was my April ornament finish earlier this year. It is from Book No. 48 "A Christmas Visit" and is stitched on 32 ct. natural light linen with DMC floss. This was my first circular finish and I love it!


My final sunflower stitching is called Manuela's Sunflower by Chatelaine Designs and is a freebie available here. There are some really lovely designs on this site. I especially love Kathy's Violets and Debi's Roses. Not sure what I stitched this on--some sort of mystery linen with DMC floss and a few bronze colored beads in the center. I didn't stitch the border that was on the original chart--just liked it better without. So there you have it; all of my sunflower stitchings in one post! Hope you enjoyed seeing them...


I had a wonderful RAK sent to me this week by my friend Cindy at "Cindy's Cross Stitching". Two darling LHN patterns and the overdyed floss to stitch one of them and the cutest Just Nan "Snow Faces" chart. I love everything, Cindy--you have been such a wonderful friend and loyal blog commenter ever since I can remember. I truly appreciate your gifts and even more, your friendship...

I actually gasped when I opened these one-a-kind gifts from Lee at "Notes From Under the Mountain". Just look at the elegant workmanship in the scissor fob and pin cushion--I mean Lee is a true needleworker and I'm just in awe of these beauties. Click on the photo and you'll be able to see all of the beading, bullion-stitched roses, and tiny extra touches that make Lee's gifts so special. And guess why she sent them to me? All because I left so many comments and gave her lots of encouragement and support during her first year of blogging. Please stop over at Lee's blog and check out her stunning work--I especially love the little birds in her side bar under "Lee's Birds"--stunning! Truly, Lee, I hope you know how much I will treasure your gifts. Someday I would love to visit your breath-taking New Zealand and thank you in person :)

So, anyway, back to my first paragraph of this posting--the number of unfinished finishes that reside in my home? Are you ready? 82!! How about you? Are you one of those stitchers who promptly finishes each thing after it is stitched or do you stitch mainly for the love of stitching like I do? How many poor neglected finishes do you have patiently waiting in bags and boxes, drawers and closets just begging to see the light of day?

Well, that's about it for now--I hope your week is a special one filled with all of your favorite things. Thank you so much for visiting me today--your comments are so much fun to read and I really appreciate the time you take in leaving them! Bye now...