A recent finish and a start

Hello again!

I'm so thankful that I have two followers, even if one of them is my mom :) Shout out to Belinda of Blue Ribbon Designs for being my first follower! I will work on getting more now that I have a second post and readers can get a better feel for what I will be posting.

Since I have been stitching for about 12 years, I will have to get you caught up on some of my favorite past stitches. The one I want to share with you today is called Glory House '12 by Chessie & Me. Even though this was a very recent finish (just earlier this month, for the Fourth of July), it might be my all-time favorite stitch. I prefer small designs that give quick gratification and I love stitching American flags.

I believe this all-inclusive kit was released at this year's Nashville needlework show, and I purchased it at The Stitching Post in Catonsville, MD. It is stitched on 36 count Vintage Pearled Barley linen by Lakeside Linens with Crescent Colours Belle Soie silks. Everything just came together beautifully for this kit, and the linen and silks were wonderful to stitch with. 

Here is a better look at the top half: 

the Smyrna crosses used for the berry and the outer border and the rice-stitched door: 

and the cute little over-one bluebird: 

The only modifications I made to the pattern were making the right edge of the flag straight rather than giving it a ragged edge and using cross stitch instead of satin stitch for inside the plant pot. Now I have to decide if I want to frame this tiny little piece or make some sort of pinkeep or cushion. Any suggestions on finishing ideas? If I do choose a pinkeep there are all kinds of Americana quilting fabrics that would look so cute for the back of the piece. 

I am anxiously awaiting my Strawberry Collection pattern by Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery and coordinating linen to arrive from the Ye Olde Cross Stitchery website, but it is taking quite awhile since the 40 count Putty linen from Weeks Dye Works is backordered. I hope I like the linen when it finally arrives, since I've never seen the color in person. 

While I wait for my package to arrive, I'm going to try to stitch another relatively quick-looking piece that I've had in my stash. It is "Gentle Stitches" by Shakespeare's Peddler. 

This design was released as a special Nashville Market Release partial kit with another pattern from Little House Needleworks and five skeins of Crescent Colours cotton floss that work for both pieces. I prefer this pattern but there is enough floss to stitch both pieces. 

Last night I started the project on a piece of 40 count Light Exemplar linen by Lakeside that I had in my stash but I decided I didn't like how it looked. 

So I went to The Stitching Post today and bought some 40 count Antique White Newcastle, which is closer in color to what the pattern actually calls for (Porcelain by Lakeside). 

While the pattern calls for 32 count linen, I am stitching on 40 count because I think the piece will fit nicely into a 5 x 7 dowry box from Olde Colonial Designs. This picture is from their website: 

It will make a nice stitching box with the stitching-themed sampler, and perhaps I will pull some of the motifs from the sampler (buttons, scissors, spools of thread) and make some smalls such as a pin cushion or scissor fob. 

So I restarted the sampler tonight with the new linen, and I am liking it so far. I also purchased some "Thread Heaven", a thread wax or conditioner, because I am so spoiled from stitching my last piece in silks that the cotton feels like it is dragging. I'll let you know how the Thread Heaven works.

Well wow, blogging takes a lot longer than I thought! Better wrap this one up. Next time I'll show you another favorite past stitch, my progress on Gentle Stitches, and review the Thread Heaven. 

Thanks so much for visiting. I really hope this blog will come to be read by lots of my fellow stitchers and give the kind of inspiration that other stitching blogs have given me. 

Until next time, 

Kate 

First Post!

Instead of agonizing over it forever, as I do with many things, I am simply going to write this first blog post! I have been following cross stitch blogs for about two years and they are a constant source of joy and inspiration for me. I have decided to create a humble little blog of my very own, and I hope it will bring some brightness to other people's days.

A little background about me:

I am a 25-year-old recent graduate of nursing school. I have been cross stitching since the 6th grade, when a local needlework shop-owner started a club at my school and taught me how to cross stitch. I spent many, many hours at that LNS in middle and high school, stitching with wonderful women who, though much older than me, were kindred spirits. At any given time, one of the "regulars" could be found stitching at the shop and you were always welcome to join. It was not just a store, but a community. That LNS has since closed and I have yet to find a stitching community like that again, though hopefully I will someday. Perhaps I will find some kindred stitching spirits in the "blogosphere"!

Other than stitching, currently my days are spent relaxing while I wait for my first nursing job to start in August, spending time with my wonderful boyfriend, and looking forward to my first home--a new construction townhouse that will be finished sometime in October.

I think that about does it for my first post. Next, I have to figure out how to get some readers!

Up next: my past cross stitch finishes and current WIPs

Until next time,

Kate