Embroidery Finishes

Andrea Zuill has posted her free embroidery pattern for June. This one is a cute little Dutch girl. Love her clogs.

I recently embroidered two of Andrea's free patterns. Here's the gnome:

Gnome embroidery
Originally uploaded by PipStitch

I really like Andrea's gnome but I think mine is a little too boring. I should have made him more colorful. I didn't stitch the mushrooms in the pattern because I wanted to put the finished design into a hoop and there wasn't enough room for the mushrooms. And, why did I want to put my gnome into a hoop? So I could hang him on the wall.

Remember the Swatch Portraits on The Purl Bee where you put some gorgeous fabric in a wooden embroidery hoop and voila, instant wall art? Well, I never got around to doing that, as much as I wanted to, but I recently found three embroidery hoops while looking for something else and it dawned on me that I could put something I had embroidered in them instead of fabric, and hang them up.

I also did Andrea's unicorn (yes, that unicorn). I really liked how he turned out, especially the flowers. You can't really tell from this photo but he was embroidered on a piece of the pink pillowcase that I scorched when I was ironing a different pattern on it. And, I swear this was not intentional but notice his right front leg is wider than his left one. Just like my feet these days.


Unicorn embroidery
Originally uploaded by PipStitch

You can find the free gnome pattern here and the unicorn here. And, check out Andrea's artwork and embroidery patterns at her Etsy shop, Badbirds (her donkey pattern is on my To-Buy list).

I had the pattern for this puppy for a long time and finally got around to stitching him up. I went a little crazy with the French knots on his hat but I figured I needed the practice. He's embroidered on linen that came from some pants my mom no longer wanted and he's in the hoops that she got me when she taught me how to cross stitch thirty some years ago.


Party puppy embroidery
Originally uploaded by PipStitch

The Party Puppy pattern is here on Needlecrafter.

Embroidery SAL

The Embroidery group on Flickr is having a Mid-Year 2008 Stitch-A-Long. It runs from June through August.

I didn't finish any ornaments for April or May for two cross stitch SAL's I'm doing, and another one ends on May 31 and all I've done for that one so far is get the floss. I am so on the ball.

I Missed Thursday

Well, I missed doing a Thursday post. I was hoping to get it up before midnight but looks like I missed my deadline. Tonight, I was busy sorting through the stack of papers that has been piling up on my desk for the past month. I found a postcard addressed to me about a lawsuit someone filed against Lenscrafters. The card said (yes, it spoke) I could choose to opt out of the settlement and get a $75 voucher for the store or $30. I decided to take the money. It's been awhile since I bought anything on eBay and I am going through serious withdrawal.


I finally finished Part 3 of the chart for the Hungarian Sampler SAL. Part 4 was recently posted so I'm not too far behind. I'm stitching it in red and black because I read on the blog that those are the traditional colors.

Super Cute Refrigerator Magnets

Just like the title says: super cute refrigerator magnets [link via Craft].

Cross Stitch Chart Giveaway at Stitch Pink

You can win a Survivor Tree Ornament from M Designs over at Stitch Pink [via Patternnuts Place]. Enter by leaving some comments on this post (you have until June 7th). And, please mention the giveaway on your blog to help make people aware of Stitch Pink. Thanks!

(Hey, I am doing pretty good with A Post A Day In May. Yeah, now that's it's nearly over.)

Niki's Blog For Quilters

Niki of Niki's Ventures has started a new blog for a list of quilters. Go here to sign up and be listed on Just Us Quilters. I'm not a quilter but I know at some point, I will be going through that list and clicking the links because if there is one thing in my life that I don't have enough of, it is blogs to read.

And, be sure to check out Niki's Ventures if you haven't been there before. She posts all kinds of crafty goodness (lots of free patterns).

Redwork Quilt From Connecting Threads

Connecting Threads has a free pattern for a redwork quilt.

Patterns At My Craft Book

I just found a bunch of animal patterns on My Craft Book that could be used for embroidery and redwork. There are butterflies, ducks, kittens, lambs, bears, an elephant and a pig. I'm not sure where the patterns are from but that have that vintage look to them. And, there are also some flowers and border patterns on the site. And, a bunch of craft projects too (I'm still going through all of them).

Drawstring Bag Tutorial From Lil Birdie

There's a tutorial for a drawstring bag over at Lil Birdie Stitches and included is Birdie's cupcake design that you can transfer on to your bag. So cute!

Cats At Kissy-Cross

I had this link ready to go in a draft post but since Cat #3 has been posted, I figured I'd better get it posted now.

Kissy-Cross is doing a series of cats cross stitch charts. One chart will be posted every week. Make sure you save or print them because the previous one will be taken down once the new one goes up. Cat #3 is here. (I missed #1 and it's too late to access #2 now. Sorry!)

Make Some Flowers

I just found 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days at Pink Paper Peppermints (thanks to Mostly Knitting) and now I want to go make some flowers.

Monday the 26th

I haven't done a very good job with keeping up with A Post A Day In May so far but I am determined to post every day for the rest of the week.

Uh, I don't have much to post right now (hey, I've been up all night) (never mind that I slept all day Sunday) (I am trying to enjoy my final days of being a bum) so please enjoy these links to pink Pyrex (I'm drooling), blue Pyrex and softie patterns at Meet Me at Mikes.

Fake Liddle Kiddles

My sister and I played with Liddle Kiddles when we were kids. We also had some Kiddle knock-offs. These are the only two that are still around. They have to be close to 40 years old.



Liddle Kiddles knock-offs
Originally uploaded by PipStitch




Fake Liddle Kiddles
Originally uploaded by PipStitch

More fake Kiddles on Flickr:
liddle kiddle wannabes
mini doll suicides
march of the kiddle klones

Wacky Weather

Ok, y'all. Time to guess where I live based on today's weather. We've had thunderstorms, lightning, floods, snow, and a tornado. And, I am freezing my butt off. And, it's May.

This is completely insane.

Time For Some Links

I love that Cute Overload is being taken over by embroidery patterns. Now up is a Doxie for Baroosday. (If baroo makes no sense to you, read this.)

Some people find my blog by searching for free scottie dog cross stitch charts. I just found one by accident at About.com.

I've neglected to link to Linda's Count Down to Japan before now. She and her family will be taking a trip to Tokyo in August and after Linda returns home, there will be a giveaway. But you can't enter unless you've previously left some comments so go get started on that.

There are two springtime biscornu charts (one with bunnies and one with snails) at Les chroniques de Frimousse (English translation). You can find the instructions to make the flower pincushion shown in the post here (translation) or you can make it into a cover for your tape measure (translation).

Roger Ebert has a blog now. So does King Arthur Flour, Bakers' Banter. I like Bakers' Banter because when someone ask a question in the comments about the recipe, it gets answered.

Another blog I've been reading is Matt, Liz and Madeline [via Pop Culture Junk Mail]. Liz passed away the day after Madeline was born and Matt has been blogging about that. You can also read an article about them, Without Liz, but not alone.

Scattergories Tag

I saw this Scattergories tag on Random Stitches and thought it looked like fun. I found an extended version on some other blogs. Use the first letter of your name and find words that start with that letter. I'm not going to tag anyone so let me know if you do this one.


Your name: Patty

Four letter word: puck

Vehicle: Pinto

TV show: Psych

Movie: Platoon

City: Pacoima

Boy's name: Pablo

Girl's name: Petula

Occupation: pilot

Something you wear: pants

Celebrity: Patti Page

Food: potatoes

Drink: punch

Something found in the kitchen: plate

Something found in the bathroom: powder

Cartoon character: Porky Pig

Reason for being late: pregnant (I just crack myself up)

Something you shout: Play ball!

Animal: pony

Body part: pinky

Word to describe you: pumpwearer

I Made Cookies

A couple of nights ago, I saw a link to a recipe for Jam Dotted Shortbread Cookies on Heartfelt (in this post). I've made shortbread before but was in the mood to do something different so I decided to make them yesterday. The recipe was originally from Coconut & Lime and while reading that blog, I discovered a Blogiversary Contest. All the details are here. You have until June 5th to enter.

The recipe mixes up pretty quickly and the cookies turned out really good and buttery. I've lost track of how many I've eaten already. The jar of strawberry jam that I thought was in the cupboard was nowhere to be found so I used plum jelly instead. And, I left some plain too (I like them better with the jelly).

I have to read more of Coconut & Lime and check out the other recipes there. But first I need to go have one more cookie as a midnight 2 am snack.

Pocket Album

I have relatives who either don't have a computer or choose not to use one. Since I can't email pictures to these family members, sometimes I print stuff out and send it off in a letter, which is fine but I have found a better way to share my pictures: the Pocket Album [link via Craftini] It's pretty nifty. I'm off to make some more!

Wanna See My Dead Peony

My peonies are not dead as in "I killed them" but I should have taken some pictures a few days ago. I waited too long and now they're on their way out. Maybe if you squint a little, you can imagine how pretty they were last week.

Yiotas XStitch

You can find a variety of free cross stitch charts at Yiotas XStitch including a Victorian lady (I like her), flowers, a butterfly, some sea shells and Santa Claus. Go check them out!

I also found a several dog charts I would love to order from Yiota, like the Dandie Dinmont. (I don't think I ever saw a Dandie Dinmont dog in person, just on the dog shows on television. I love their big heads and short legs.) She really has some nice dog charts. (I HAVE got to go back to work soon. There is just too much good stuff out there to buy!)