THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU 100+!!!

Hi Everyone!

Well!!!  Not only did I reach 100 followers tonight, but it's up to 105!! :) Thank you all so much and welcome to all my new blog followers! This is a fairly new venture for me and I'm looking forward to seeing what this develops into in the coming months.  I read every comment and try to comment from time to time.

DRUMROLL!!!  And the winner of the 3 Lizzie*Kate chart giveaway is...............

Scotstwinmum!

Please send me a message with your snail mail address so I can send them out to the UK for you!

I have some ideas for some fun contests coming up, as well as some ideas for tutorials, etc. so stay tuned.

That'll do it for tonight and remember to just keep stitching! ~Nicole

Lessons Learned...

Hi Everyone!

Last night I took a break after hours of model stitching and worked up a freebie called "My Friend" by Betty at http://primitivebettys.blogspot.com/.  I used a remnant piece of 32 ct. Lt. Taupe Lugana, went thru my silks and chose Crescent Colours "Wild Berries", Weeks Dye Works "Madison Rose" and a Limited Edition sage green color by The Gentle Art (no name--received it as a freebie at BushMountain's Super Bowl Sunday event), also grabbing some Mill Hill seed beads in a pale pink (#00145).  I wanted to try a finishing technique using beading that I'd seen on one of the message boards I check out for new ideas.

After stitching up the design I then backstitched an area around the design, and also backstitched the same sized "box" to use as the backing. 

Then I cut out the pieces leaving about 1/3" around and stitched the front and back together alternating one stitch with a bead and next stitch without.  It took a minute or two but then I got the hang of it and I whipped up three of the four sides.  So... lessons so far:  I love freebie designs, I love remnants and silks, I love beading and loved the way this finishing technique was coming out.  Then came the not-so-happy lesson...

I noticed the remnant had a crease so I got out the iron and decided to block the fabric before I finished stuffing and stitching... let's just say when the tag on the Crescent Colours says "not colorfast"--that's a true statement.

Yeah.  The back hurts to look at, huh?  {Insert sound effect from "Psycho" shower scene here} BUT it wasn't a total loss.  I LOVE the way the finish came out and now I learned a valuable lesson for the colorfastness of some of the silks.  You can't even tell from the front and I'll keep this as a reminder.  :)  Does anyone have any tried and true tips either for being proactive to prevent color bleeding or what to do after the fact?  No amount of running under cold water helped any so I decided not to fight it. 

On another note, I'm only a few followers away from the 3 L*K chart giveaway!  Thank you to those of you who have just started following me as well as those of you who have been here since Day 1.  I have some fun ideas of things to do within the upcoming weeks and I really appreciate all the feedback and lovely comments.

Also--congratulations to my friend Melissa L. who completed her first punchneedle piece after watching my tutorial on YouTube and then coming up to my office on her lunch break for a "make sure I'm doing this right" pep talk. :)  That's all for today...model stitching is calling my name before the weekend is over.  Have a great night and just keep stitching! ~Nicole

Productive Day Off!

Hi Everyone,

My office was closed today in observance of President's Day so I figured I'd get some things accomplished since it was a "free day"... hopefully once I push up this blog post I won't let FaceBook "time suck" the rest of my afternoon!  Isn't it amazing how a person can intend on logging on for only a minute, but then an HOUR whizzes by!?!

I finished "A Little Love" earlier in the month and found the perfect frame I got with a coupon at Michael's.  The frame is 4x4 and it is now hanging where a "welcome snow" sign was hanging in my foyer.  The sign's not working for the snow here in Massachusetts so I figured it was time to change it out.

Yesterday I took a short break from model stitching and finished up the trio of Lizzie Kate's Flora McSample "Christmas 2011" ornaments.  The finishing worked up very quickly with some cardboard, glue, batting, felt and ribbon. 

These will get tucked away with the other ornaments awaiting craft fairs in the fall/winter.

I've also used this day to straighten out my stash and as soon as that's in a presentable enough state for me to show on here I'll take a photo.  Not yet --- the word chaotic comes to mind. :)

That's all for now, hope you all have a great day and just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

Happy Valentine's Day and WIP

Hi Everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day! My niece Lexi received her package yesterday...

 Doesn't get much cuter than that, huh?

This is a model piece I can show you since it's already released to the public.  "Dragonfly Dreams" by The Sweetheart Tree.



I hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day and I'll see you in a couple of days.  Just keep stitching!~Nicole

Back From The Framers

Good Morning Everyone,

I 've been doing some model stitching this week and the one I'm working on now is not released yet so I can't show you progress but I do have "Mermaids" all framed and ready to get sent to my niece as I picked it up yesterday...

This was a really fun stitch and I think it's a cute pattern for a pretty cute kid. :)

Ok, that's all for now; it's going to be a busy weekend so I'll check back in Monday.  Have a great weekend and remember to just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

Fun, A Finish & A Find

Hi all,

FUN:  Yesterday I went to Bush Mountain's Superbowl Sunday "Stitch-In" and it was a really fun afternoon!  Shopping 20% off sale, catered lunch, door prizes, giveaways ---all that AND met some really nice people not to mention finally got to meet Maeann & Gary Bush after several weeks of cyber friendship on FaceBook.  :)  I can honestly say that their shop is my #1 favorite.  It's great to go into a shop and have the owners as happy to have their customers as their customers are to have their shop available to them!  I will be a customer for life.

FINISH:  Maeann set aside the newest L*K release  "A Little Love"... here is it finished.  It's a kit and it was a QUICK stitch.  I've told myself I need to learn to frame my own pieces and I think this is a good one to start with.  (Stay tuned)

FIND:  Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I just yesterday discovered a FANTASTIC product called "Thread Heaven".  I have to say, using it on silks with linen for the "A Little Love" was great and made a noticable difference in how the thread glided, was less apt to catch or tangle.  I will use this each and every time I stitch from now on. You can check it out for yourself at www.threadheaven.com.

Lunch hour is over -- more soon and just keep stitching! ~Nicole

Model Stitching & Superbowl Sunday!

Good Superbowl Sunday morning everyone!

I don't have anything to report on my WIP as I've been model stitching but I will have time to show something on the next post as I'm headed to BushMountain's Superbowl Sunday party from 12-5pm!  :)  It's an hour and a half away from me but I don't mind the drive one bit.  Looking forward to shopping and some fun with some new stitching friends. 

Don't be sad that you can't come with me... Maeann and Gary Bush are having an online sale as well and their new site is just about done!  20% off today only, free shipping with a $50 order in the US (not sure about international) and if you need something you don't see up on the site go ahead and ask them because it just may not be posted yet as they did a complete overhaul on their website in the past week or so.  I have placed an online order from them two weeks ago and got it within DAYS (Milk Chocloate Linen for the L*K Flora McSample ornaments---gorgeous!).

Check them out: their link is in the list on the left.  You won't be sorry, but your wallet might be! :)
I'll take some photos and they'll be part of my next post.

Have a great day everyone, and for all my fellow fans---just keep stitching and GO PATRIOTS!  ~Nicole