Top 'o the morning to you, my sweet stitching friends! How are you doing on this fine St. Patrick's Day? Are you wearing your green? Are you preparing any special Irish foods for dinner? Are you feeling especially lucky today? I always thought I had no Irish blood, but after my middle sister dug a bit more into our family history, she discovered that indeed we do have a tiny bit on my maternal grandmother's side. That might explain why I love stitching with so many green threads this time of year. Or, perhaps, I just enjoy the many shades of green that represent the rebirth and blossoming of nature after our long winter here in the northern hemisphere. Whatever the reason, I have some cute new St. Patrick's Day finishes to share with you today!
I've stitched three new pieces for my Pottery Barn cubby and my favorite of the trio is this wee leprechaun. Isn't he darling carrying his giant clover--he looks like he's going to topple right over from the sheer size of it! This is called "Clover of Clovers" and can be found only in kit form from Bent Creek. I was lucky to be able to borrow just the chart from a stitching friend. Using all DMC threads (which I did change up a bit from what was suggested on the chart), it is stitched on 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle linen. I also gave the little fellow a pair of green socks rather than the charted black. The three golden yellow buttons represent some of the gold he's just found at the end of the rainbow. I thought the polka dot yellow ribbon was a perfect accent at the top.
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| Bent Creek finish: "Clover of Clovers" |
Next up, is this very sweet design by Luminous Fiber Arts called "Gathering Clover." I just love Misty's series of birds which you can see right here. I think I'll be stitching "Gathering Honey" next for my summer bee display. Anyway, this piece marked a first for me! It was the very first time I stitched on 56 ct. linen! I just love how teeny tiny the stitches look and how small the piece came out. I used white 56 ct. Kingston linen with Gentle Arts "Green With Envy" thread. If you look at the button you'll see that I repeated the clover motif found in the birds' mouths. Yes, I made a little covered button and glued it onto the satin ribbon in the left corner. I really love how this one turned out and I'll definitely be trying other designs on the 56 ct. linen.
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| "Gathering Clover"--such a sweet design! |
Finally, a finish from a new-to-me designer, Mamaida Pattern, on Etsy. This design caught my eye because it was so unusual--I don't think I've seen any St. Patrick's Day patterns similar to this one. It was only a couple of dollars and if you'd like to buy a downloadable copy for yourself, you can find it right here. This was also stitched on 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle using DMC 311 and 905. I finished it off very simply with some handmade cording in the same shade of green and added a couple of stacked buttons tied into the middle. A very fun and different finish for the holiday!
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| "Clover" cross stitch design by Mamaida Pattern |
As you can see, I'm quite an eclectic stitcher! Are you, too? Or do you tend to stick with one theme or type of stitching? Below you have the cute Bent Creek, the sweet Luminous Fiber Arts, and the more modern looking Mamaida Pattern...
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| Such varied shades of green in this month's finishes! Which one do you like best? |
I don't have that many St. Patrick's Day finishes for my Pottery Barn cupboard, but I still managed to create the fun display shown below for March. What do you think?
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| My March 2023 Pottery Barn cubby |
I'll give you some close-ups and link to my finishes just in case you have any questions about what's what... Just click on the title of the stitched piece and it will take you to my post with all the information on that particular finish.
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| At the top is a lovely card from Robin in Virginia and two merry Irishmen from the book "Un Air de Fête" by Perrette Samouiloff. Below is: "Basket O' Luck" by Pineberry Lane (in #1) and "Erin Go Braugh" by Pineberry Lane (in #3), "March--the Lion and the Lamb" by Rainbow Gallery (in #6) and Prairie Schooler's March finish from "A Prairie Year" (in #7). The sweet hand painted dish and pitcher (in #2) were from my maternal grandmother and I found the little green stein (in #8) in a thrift shop in Ohio last fall. | |
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| On top is With Thy Needle and Thread's "Holiday Hoopla St. Patrick's Day. Below is Mamaida Pattern's "Clover" (in this post above), Lizzie Kate's "March Stamp Flip-It," and Bent Creek's "Clover of Clovers" (in this post above) |
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| Blue Ribbon Designs "Leprechaun Lodge" (in #14). The little clover cups in #19 were also a thrift store find. |
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| The green bunny pitcher was a Goodwill find! My dear mother's silhouette in cubby #13 is adorned with a little shamrock bow for the occasion. "Two Wee Lassies" (in #17) and "Little Shamrock Girl" (in #18) are both by Pineberry Lane. "St. Patrick's Day kitty" from Embroiderbee's Primary Hive (in #22) and "Gathering Clover" by Luminous Fiber Arts (in #23) in this post above. The darling embroidered hankie (in #22) was one of my maternal grandmother's, too! |
I know I'll be stitching more green-themed designs to add to my cubby next year. So, there you have it... another year of St. Patrick's Day stitching in the books! Do any of you have anything fun planned for the day ahead?
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| The impatient patient! |
Surgery update... First of all, I want to thank all of you who sent positive thoughts and prayers for my husband's shoulder replacement surgery. It appears to have gone well, but we'll have a better idea after we visit the doctor today and get his evaluation of things at the first post-operative check-up. My husband is normally an extremely active man (biking, going to the gym, gardening, house repairs, etc.) so this having to rest and take it easy makes him a very impatient patient. I've actually had to get upset with him a few times and tell him to take it easier. You just can't rush the healing process after such a complicated surgery! It's been a long two weeks--let's just put it that way :) Thank goodness, my stitching is always waiting to help calm me down... I've been able to stitch a lot in between helping him shower, cutting his food, helping him get dressed, icing his shoulder, etc. With one arm in a sling, he is limited, but he is hoping to be rid of the sling in another couple weeks. We aren't sure yet when he'll be allowed to drive again.
My husband received a number of sweet get-well cards and phone calls, but the nicest gift came from my youngest sister and her husband. If you ever want a gift that offers pure comfort, check out this nice box of goodies that came from Spoonful of Comfort. It's a wonderful gift for a far-away friend or family member who could use some tender loving care after an illness, a death in the family, or for someone who needs some cheering up. It's rather pricey, but oh, my--the soup, rolls, and cookies were all so very tasty and they provided two meals for us at a time when we truly needed them. The cute silver soup ladle was also included and I loved how recyclable the packing materials were. This will definitely be on my list to give future loved ones who need a lift!
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| This gift of comfort food from my youngest sister and brother-in-law couldn't have come at a better time! |
So, now it's just physical therapy and hard work to get back to normal for my husband. He's still having some pain and numbness now and then which is concerning, but hopefully it is normal after such a major operation. We'll find out more today...
As the weather forescasters predicted, March has been a colder month than February. So many ups and downs! Just last Saturday, I spotted this beautiful bluebird (which we rarely see here in my yard so I was super excited!) dining at the suet feeder.
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| ♪ Bluebird, bluebird at my window ♪ |
And then just three days later, this was the scene out the back window of our house! Yes, snow--but not much and it melted the following day. It was just beautiful and made me wish we had had just a bit more snow this year. According to the National Weather Service we haven't had a winter with this little snow (only about 14 inches all winter!) since 1931!
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| We often get one last snowfall in mid-March and this year was no exception. |
I hope you enjoy this last half of March and that your spring flowers are soon popping up all over your yards. Our daffodils are about to burst open--perhaps next week which is about the earliest I remember seeing them. Thank you all for your kind comments and emails. I know I have a few emails to respond to--I just haven't been on my computer much since my husband's surgery. I'll try my best to catch up with all of you over the coming week! Take care, everyone. Bye for now...
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| ♣ Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!♣ |
