Matilda Hornbuckle
I don’t typically decorate with seasonal cross-stitch but I do believe I have been bitten by the bug thanks to the FlossTube community. Last year I stitched Brew Ha Ha by Plum Street Samples. It was a freebie on Paulette’s blog site. This year I stitched Matilda Hornbuckle which is designed by Notforgotten Farms. She reminds me of ‘there was an old woman who lived in a shoe …..’ only Matilda is not an old woman, she is a pumpkin head person.
Click here for the Brew Ha Ha pattern.
I must admit that I am not overly fond of stitching witches or scary things but I do like these pumpkin people! I stitched Matilda on 18 count Star Aida I found in Hobby Lobby. It has a green glitter thread running through it which gives Matilda a bit of sparkle. The pattern has a border on it but I had to eliminate it so that Matilda could fit in this fun Pumpkin Frame that I also found at Hobby Lobby. I used all the called for DMC. The button I used is the kind you can cover yourself.
You can find the pattern for MATILDA HORNBUCKLE here at the Notforgotten Farm Etsy Shop. I believe she is even on sale right now. Lori Brechlan has cute patterns, including some free hand embroidery that I would like to try my hand at some day.
My plan is to add 1-2 seasonal pieces for each season going forward. Here is my October Focus Board. Now that Matilda is finished I have deleted her from my board …. and then there were five.
I’ve longed admired Penny Autumn by Plum Street Samplers and put the first stitches in yesterday. It will hang nicely beside some other Plum Street houses. I’m sort of making a little village and all the houses are on Plum Street.
Life update:
- packing the house up is arduous. I’ve packed five boxes in my fiber room and two boxes in my sewing room with many left to go.
- leaves are falling even though the days are mild in East Texas
- the roofers still have not come to fix the roof and it is a condition in our contract on the house
- the closing is in five days
Things today I am thankful for:
- the black crows under the pear tree
- fallen pears for them, God’s provision
- the beautiful sparkling water on the back pond, every afternoon
FlossTube #21 | Sampler soiree
A few visuals of what I talk about in the podcast.
Cozy Egg Birthday sal
In the world of virtual cross stitch, it is common to host a birthday stitch along during the month of your birthday. It is also common to have a very special piece, usually something purchased at the top end of your stitching allowance or something you have asked for as a birthday gift to start during that time. Having others to start it along with you or stitch something by the same designer makes it all the more special.
My friend Michelle, the CozyEgg, has a birthday this month and she picked Anne Tong Uffindell as her birthday SAL. She had a small start on it already but she really wanted to focus on it the entire month of August. I also had a wee start on Anne and I am eager to make some progress and join in with the birthday celebrations.
I saw this sampler hanging in the Women’s Pavilion at the Texas State Fair a couple years ago. It had won a blue ribbon. I stood admiring it for quite some time before I realized I could ‘google’ it on my phone and find out more information. I discovered it was a ‘sister’ sampler which means two sisters had the same teacher and stitched very similar samplers. They both were preserved and had been reproduced and printed by Hands Across the Seas Samplers in the same booklet. Sadly, it had been a limited edition and was not available anymore. I was disappointed because I think it would be special to have two sisters hanging side by side on their own wall. It would be a conversation piece.
When the designer was told that the original booklets were being sold for exorbitant prices on Ebay she was disheartened. After much contemplation and talking, not only to her customer base, but also other designers she reprinted the patterns individually and sold them separately. Of course I was delighted and bought both.
All this back story just to let you know that this will be a special sampler for me to stitch. It will forever remind me of a day spent with old friends at the Texas State Fair when I explained the ins and outs of historical sampler reproductions. It will remind me of stitching with new friends during a hot Texas month who share an equal passion for antique samplers.
I look forward to sharing tidbits about Anne as I progress along. She is beautiful, isn’t she? Oh, and yes, I use vintage embroidery hoops when I stitch.
FlossTube #18 | Sania
It has been a while since I recorded a FlossTube. FlossTube is a channel on YouTube that cross stitchers share their podcasts on. It is called that because the podcasters on it mostly stitch but there are lots of us who do other things and share those things as well. It is a wonderful community of stitchers and I’ve made lots of friends not only recording my own FlossTube but watching the recordings of others. If you are at all interested in any form of needlework you should watch some. Why don’t you start with mine.
Seasonal Stitching |Salute to Abigail
I have missed writing posts for this blog. In the last few years trends have shifted to video blogging which I’ve tried my hand at. I seem to procrastinate when it comes to keeping a regular schedule with it. It is far easier to sit down with my laptop and type out my thoughts and share a few photos.
My new rotating schedule for cross stitch is working well for me. Fridays have been set aside for ‘Seasonal Stitching’. Last night (after midnight) I pulled out a WIP that I started last year called Salute to Abigail which is a pattern found in the Blackbird Designs book called Sweet Land of Liberty.
This is a very nice booklet and I want to stitch all five patriotic patterns in it. Tomorrow my friend Christine is starting the design on the front of the book for one of her Maynia 2020 starts and I told her I would work on mine with her. After tomorrow ends I will have two patriotic designs underway.
Here is Abigail Adams. I don’t recall the linen I’m working on but since I’m stitching 2/2 I assume it is a 32 count. Instead of using the called for fancy flosses I am using DMC, good old DMC.
Here is the beginning of Salute to Abigail. Don’t you love the shades of blue with the red and the white?
I’ve made a charming floss ring with an old portrait of Betsy Ross in it. It will be my patriotic floss ring this year as there are several upcoming patriotic pieces I can’t wait to stitch.
Wondering what this piece will look like when it is finished? Here is a photo from the book:
I hope you all are doing well during this uncertain time in the world. The pandemic has altered every single human being’s life. Find solace in a creative outlet so you can create beauty in a darker time. We will get through this. We will persevere. Take care, stay safe and stitch on ( or knit on, or quilt on or……)
If you like the thread keep I made and want one for your own patriotic pieces it is available here with the touch of a button. The cost is $12 + $3 shipping.
FlossTube #7 |A Red Cottage
Where would you live in your red cottage?
Stitch With Me #1
I’ve just finished answering the ‘Emily C. Tag’ which has been floating around FlossTube. It is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me, just a bunch of randomness but it was thought provoking for me. Hope you enjoy!
Floss Tube #2
What is all this ‘FLOSS TUBE’ about you may ask. My knitting has been put on hiatus (or near hiatus) while I work through some issues with my neck. Not being able to do something I love, I searched about for some other craft I could do to fill the void and rediscovered my love of stitching.
There is an amazing community of stitchers on YouTube that are called ‘floss tubers’ and I have jumped into their circle. I still talk about knitting in these podcasts but is like seasoning sprinkled on food. I mostly share the new projects I have immersed myself into stitched on linen.
For those waiting for Wonderland Club sock releases —- stay tuned — I have not forgotten — they will come in a few months when I am able to spend time at the computer free of pain. xx
Episode 13 | Just Another Yarn Sniffer
Dribs and Drabs, another podcast posted from the Mum.
In this episode I share a finished Fern and Feather sweater and talk of the next sweaters on my agenda. I bounce inside and outside of the house which is why I mentioned Dribs and Drabs. There is talk of the Colonial UFO Along, the Wonderland Sock Club Kal, and the Iris KAL in which I will knit with silk. I sniff a lot of yarn as I share recent fiber acquisitions and I talk about Swaledale Sheep.
Socks-for-Mum 