Blessings Be Thine

Hey, does everyone realize that Christmas is exactly four months from today? I was in a holiday frame of mind, so I went to TJ Maxx to scope out whether they have their Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff out yet and was disappointed to see that the only nod to the changing of the seasons was autumnal. Eh--pumpkins. But it's never too early to stitch Christmas designs, in my opinion. I'd still like to stitch some Christmas ornaments, but I did turn all that early Christmas spirit into a nice finish. By Blackbird Designs: "Blessings Be Thine." My stitching pal, Carol M, loaned me hers so I could stitch it. Thanks, Carol! I poked along slowly on the first half, and then in the last week, I was on fire to finish it. It is stitched on a piece of Lakeside in 40 count from my stash--an older, blotchier piece. There are only four colors in it; it was charted for overdyed cottons, and I substituted Belle Soie silks for the green, the red and the brown, and I used a very white mystery silk (probably white Silk n' Colors). (Pssst--I notice there's a chart of this on ebay right now...$7.99 and no bids yet)

I even stitched some on Blackbird Designs' "Agnes Platt." Again, I have substituted Belle Soie for the overdyed cottons. The effect is a little more vivid, but I prefer the look, and especially the feel of the silk.

I recently took out this project as well--I kitted it up about 5 years ago. I love the fabric (Lakeside in 40 count--I think vintage Meadow Rue), but I don't like the coverage of the cotton, so I'm going to pull it out and substitute Belle Soie. (There's one of these on ebay too--$5.00, one bid).

And I'm about to start this. Patricia loaned it to me to stitch when she heard I'd been unsuccessful at bidding on it in an ebay auction. Thanks so much, Patricia!

Please note the evil Kitten-Kitten, lying on the sampler.

Pink and Peaches say, "Blessings be Thine, and happy week!"