Gingerbread Garden close up

I thought that some of you might like to have a closer look at the details in Gingerbread Garden - this is such a little piece, just over 2 inches wide and about 8 inches long, that it's hard to see the details in the original image I posted yesterday.  Some of the specialty stitches that Thea included in this design are Foursided Pulled Stitches, Sheaf Stitch, Half Rhodes Stitch, Satin Stitch, Drawn Thread with Hemstitching, Backstitches, French Knots, Cross Stitch over One, Kloster Blocks, and Plait Stitches. 

Now time to return to the fireside on this chilly spring night and continue stitching on Kathy's Heart Note Alley from Gracewood Stitches, a project I'm doing over a period of several months through the Sticklounge Yahoo group.

Is it Christmas yet?

In view of the hot weather in many parts of North America (although we're having cool rainy weather here in the west, interspersed with occasional bouts of sunshine), I thought I'd help you cool off by showing a recent finish of a Christmas-themed piece.  Besides which, as I was informed by a young man I know, Christmas is just over 6 months away :) 

Thea Dueck of Victoria Sampler designed this piece, Gingerbread Garden - it's a tiny piece, but took a little longer than I thought it might, as it was full of specialty stitches and a few beads too.  It also has a companion pattern for a tree ornament, but I haven't started that one yet, although I have the linen and threads all set to go for it.   I think I may finish Gingerbread Garden as a little quilted bell-pull/banner, if I can find just the right fabric for it.  But at least I have a while to do this (remind me I said this when the December snows come!). 

I've just finished stitching a model of a new design for a friend, but I won't post a photo of it until she's done that herself, and now I'm getting back to working on two or three unfinished projects - a Monasterium design, an old Drawn Thread sampler, a Derwentwater farm picture, and a couple of Sticklounge undertakings - photos to come next week .....  In the meantime, stay cool :)  

On an evening in May

It's finally the time, I thought, to have a little corner to post some photos and share updates on what kind of stitching I've been doing.  Why Russwood? - that's the name of the remote log cabin in Muskoka that belonged to my family for many years, and on the floor in front of our fireplace, in our home we now call Russwood Cottage, we still have a rag rug with that name woven in wool strips, crafted by one of the original owners of Russwood in Muskoka, William Woodbridge.   I'll be posting  photos of projects completed, projects underway, and  projects that are just waiting for the right time to be started.  And who knows?  maybe even adding a few other topics as time goes on .......

This Victoria Sampler design, "Home for Christmas", by Cathy Jean,  is one that I stitched in 2010 - the cabin reminds me of Russwood ....