Good morning all! I was overwhelmed by so many kind comments and anniversary wishes on my last post--thank you all very, very much!! Your words certainly made it easier to deal with the fact that my husband was so far away on our 35th anniversary. I'm very happy to have him home again, all safe and sound...I don't think we had ever been apart on our anniversary before. But, there was a silver lining to his being in Alaska--I had a lot of free time to stitch (along with the fact that I didn't have to cook all week!). And here is what sprang from my needle. Yes, my finishes for my July bowl are complete--and just in time since a new month begins on Wednesday! Not all of these were done this past week, of course; I've been working on them throughout the month. They're a bit late for the 4th of July, but with the Olympics going on, I've thoroughly enjoyed working with all the red, white, and blue threads and fabrics.
July patriotic finishesSo would you like to see how I finished each one of them? Well, here we go! First up, is this adorable design by Heart in Hand. I'll have to admit, the whole time I was stitching this, I kept thinking of two of my sons. No, they don't remind me of long-legged birds, but the little red and white banner draped over the bird is almost exactly like the University of Richmond crest which is where my youngest and oldest sons graduated from. Do you see the resemblance? "4th of July Bird" is stitched on 36 ct. Belfast linen with the suggested DMC and overdyed threads. I stitched the gold "Cecilia's star" (first time I've ever done that particular specialty stitch--or even heard of it!) in place of the flag charm because the colors on the flag charm just didn't coordinate well. It worked out nicely because I ended up making cording of that same gold and I think the color is a perfect accent. The blue star fabric shown behind is what I used to back the tiny pillow. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
Prairie Schooler designs always seem to make their way into my monthly "bowls" and July is no exception. This patriotic heart (using a bright--for PS designs anyway--DMC 311 blue) is from Book No. 13: A Prairie Year. It is stitched with the suggested DMC threads on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen. For the pillow, I combined two blue fabrics--a stripe and a dotted sort of blue. Topped with a burgundy button and a white star, I think the whole effect is quite classy looking. This is probably my favorite finish of the month, but it's hard to say!
The Lizzie Kate July Flip-It Stamp is my next finish... Another example of taking a very simple design and adding fabrics and trims to turn it into something special! Again, I used 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen (I love that stuff because the whites show up quite well on it) and whatever overdyed threads I had in my stash. I did make a few changes in this one (of course!). I changed the color of the word "July" to match that of the watermelon. I also sewed black matte Mill Hill beads on for the seeds. The original design had ants on the finish, but I decided to leave those off. The striped and solid blue fabrics are both from old shirts (go through those closets everyone--you never know what goodies you'll find!) and I finished this one off with some rope-like trim and a little yo-yo made of the blue fabric. Cute!!
This little cutie is called "Summer House" and is a Little House Needleworks design (it was an old freebie which I don't see available any longer on the internet). For this one I used 40 ct. flax Newcastle with a variety of overdyed threads. If you wonder why I use so many 40 ct. fabrics, it is so the pillows will turn out small enough to fit in the bowl. I actually think I stitch faster on 40 ct., too, because you only have to use one strand of thread and there are no worries about twisting as there are when using two strands. I chose a red and white gingham reminiscent of a summery picnic tablecloth and some red ric-rak to finish it off very simply.
Finally, I found a very cute Prairie Grove Peddler freebie available here. This was such a quick stitch--just took a day. Yep, you guessed it--another one on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen!! I used the suggested DMC threads, with the exception of changing the blue to DMC 824. I wanted it to match the blue in the tri-color ribbon I had chosen for the edging. I usually use only one strand of thread when I stitch on 40 ct., but I wanted the USA to stand out a bit, so I ended up using two strands just for that portion. What do you think? A quick and easy finish in just one day!
Below are my five new finishes along with the Chessie & Me "Love Liberty" finish that I shared with you in my last post. Do you have a favorite this month?
July 2012 patriotic finishes
And here they are all snuggled into my wooden bowl along with three patriotic finishes from last year. Don't they make you just want to stand up and salute?! On to August... I have a theme in mind--can anyone guess what it might be? I'll give you a hint--it's one of my favorite summer things...
July bowl of patriotic finishes
THANK YOU!! Through blogging, I've been lucky enough to "meet" so many wonderful people from around the world. One of my dear friends, Hilda, who lives in Austria, recently surprised me with a pair of French cross stitching magazines. Oh, I was so tickled to receive these--everything from the designs and colors all the way down to the advertisements was simply lovely. My one year of college level French helps a bit with the translation, but honestly, isn't the language of beautiful stitching universal? If you haven't visited Hilda's blog, Hildi's Good Life, please stop by--her stitching and photography are absolutely delightful! Thank you, Hilda, for your thoughtful gifts and even more, for your friendship. 
MY NEW PET (well for one week!!)...
While my husband was on his Alaska bike trip, I was tasked with keeping his garden alive. That meant daily trips to check on the vegetables and watering if necessary. Luckily, we finally received many, many inches of rain last week--the first time all summer--so, I didn't have to water at all. On my very first day of "garden duty," though, just look at what greeted me! Peering through the Havahart Trap, was this little guy--a small woodchuck. Not exactly a friendly bundle of fur; he bared his large, ugly, yellow teeth (he obviously hasn't visited his dentist in quite some years!) and leaped at me when I tried to open the door of the trap to get him out.
I tried and tried, but I couldn't figure out how to release the door so he could escape. I couldn't just let the poor thing sit there all week and die, so my soft-hearted self began feeding him--from my husband's garden. Oh, he ate like a king all week--fresh tomatoes, lettuce, succulent green leaves. All under cover of some shady pine trees. When my oldest son came over for a visit on Friday, he was finally able to figure out how to get the door open. We expected the woodchuck to make a mad dash for his freedom, but what did he do? He just sat there in the cage for a while--obviously he had gotten used to the easy life and didn't really look forward to being on his own again and having to scavenge for food! Eventually, he waddled out to, hopefully, be reunited with his furry family. (Ssshhh...don't tell my husband I let the little fellow go--I don't think he would be quite inclined to have dealt with him in the same way!)
I'll leave you with something far prettier than that image of the homely little woodchuck. Isn't this a lovely photo of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly that was perched on our orange Cosmos? Click on the photo and you can see all the colors that make his wings so special--the blues and little bits of orange along with that pale yellow and black. What a mosaic of beauty!
Thank you all for sticking with me this far--I keep telling myself to make my posts shorter, but it doesn't seem to ever work out that way for some reason! (***Special Note: For any of you who have ask me questions in your comments, the only way I can respond to you is if you leave me your email address. You may email me directly (my email address is in my profile on the sidebar) and I'll be happy to respond). I hope your week is a relaxing one... I'm looking forward to the month of August and lots of family gatherings. Because of those, I may be a bit "absent" from blogging in the coming month, but will try to visit your blogs whenever possible. Enjoy your week, my friends! Bye for now...
