Contest Winner Announced & More Finishes

Good Morning!

I'm participating in my first craft fair in about 10 years so every available minute has been going to stitching, punching, sewing, crafting, painting.... :)

First things first:  the contest winner who guessed how many ornaments I made in 2014.  The answer was 41.  Since no one guessed that number, I enacted "The Price Is Right Rules" (closest without going over) and Linda's guess of 36 won it!  Linda, please email me so I can get your mailing info and send you out your prize. Congratulations and thanks to all who participated!

Here are some more of the finishes I've been busy working on:


This is a great Dimensions punch needle design that was so quick to make up...

One of my favorite LHN designs...

And here it is again using vintage 1950's silk ribbon rouching and some homemade rusty bells, then distressed the backing fabric to make it look vintage...

Another favorite LHN design...

... haha... look familiar?...

This LHN was the more involved finishing I've done in a while -- added the red floss and beads evenly spaced around the ornament and then attached the mistletoe embellishments...

I can't tell you how many of these I have stitched up over the past few years...

LOVE this LHN pattern...

 ... so much that I stitched it twice (and LOVE this Moda backing fabric)...

WHEW! Like I said, I've been busy!  Would love to hear what you all have been working on!  You can see more of my stitching finishes as well as other crafting items I'm working on at:  Handmade Heirlooms by Nicole Facebook Page

Talk soon and just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

Some Ornament Finishes

Hi Everyone,

Look at this; another blog posting! I'm on a roll! 

Last night I finished up some ornaments and I wanted to show you the photos here.

First up is "Happy Snowman" from Sheperd's Bush.  I added the seed beads for the snowflakes (the pattern called for JABC snowflakes) and I worked up the adorable sheep with all french knots vs. cross stitches.  I used a combination of over-dyes and DMC and stitched it up on a remnant I had in my stash 2 over 2.  Can you see the snowball trim hanger? LOVE IT :)

Secondly is "Jingle Jingle" by Lizzie Kate's Tiny Tidings XIX.  This is done up using the suggested DMC with white seed beads added and stitched up on a 28 ct. remnant 2 over 2.  Looks like mushroom.  I love the playful fabric and ribbon combination on this one, and I also used a white satin flower on the top of the bow that ties in some of the white beads as well.  Next one will have jingle bells of some kind.

Finally, here is "Seven Pines" by Little House Needleworks stitched on 32 ct. Rue Green Linen 2 over 2 using the suggested DMC. I love the look of the calico print with the plaid ribbon that pulls in a different shade of green.  (Have I mentioned how much I love snowmen?)

Don't forget about my Facebook page for items for sale.  I also take on finishing jobs throughout the year so feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss pulling some of those finishes out of the pile and getting them on your tree! 

Homemade Heirlooms by Nicole Facebook Page

Also---still time to enter my contest (see post from October 16th) and guess how many ornaments I finished in 2013.  

Have a great rest of the day and remember to Just Keep Stitching! ~Nicole

So yesterday was a pretty good day...

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I took a big leap on something I've tossed around for a while now.  I started my own Facebook page for my finishing and then released a couple of new punch needle patterns.  Knowing what I know as far as how huge of an issue copyright infringement is (that's a topic for another day and I can assure you I will talk about it), I'd been thinking it over for close to a year and a half.

Not sure why I chose yesterday to start this up; maybe because I've been getting the finishing juices flowing over the past two weeks (pics to come soon, I promise!) and just decided to set it up.

If you'd like to check out my page here is the link:

Handmade Heirlooms by Nicole

Also, don't forget that my EASY tutorial on punch needle is up on YouTube and you can find that here:

My Punch Needle Tutorial

I am taking orders on Ornament Finishing so feel free to drop me a message if you're interested in making that finished items pile a little smaller.

Don't forget my contest is still going (see previous post) and the winner will be announced on 11/1/14.

Just Keep Stitching ~Nicole

It's been HOW LONG since I've posted???

Wow. I am a total blog-slacker.

I promise you will start to see stitching posts again -- starting today!

Let's start with a contest, shall we?  If you can guess how many ornaments I made in 2013, I will send a surprise to the winner.  Follow my blog (if you aren't already) and put a guess in the comments section. In the event of a tie, I will put names in a hat and choose at random.  Winner will be drawn on 11/1/14.

Talk to you soon and just keep stitching!

~Nicole

Time Flies!!!

WOW!!

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by and that the last time I've posted to this blog was May 14th!!  So much has happened.... #1 graduated High School and is in the final stages of her countdown to college, #2 got her driver's permit and has already hit the road almost every day since last week, I got a new day job and a local college and am LOVING it, had some downtime with the family... and even with all that I've gotten a substantial amount of stitching done. 

I have been asked to stitch four of the BH&G Heirloom Stockings from someone who reached out to me on a message board.  I am about three weeks in to the first one Called "Toys and Games" and you can see the progress below.  They're done with DMC three over two on 25-count mushroom Lugana which I LOVE stitching on.  The photos were taken after 1 week, 2 weeks and then 3 weeks just now.

I have some other smaller projects finished as well as part 1 of L*K's Mystery Sampler just about done but I'll show you those in future blogs.  In the meantime, I'd like to hold a mystery giveaway---leave a comment about what your favorite part of this summer has been and I'll pick a winner this time next week. It'll be a pattern, floss and fabric and I promise you won't be disappointed! (Open to all---not just U.S. followers.)

Have a great week and just keep stitching! ~Nicole