I have always loved embroidery designs with His, Hers, Yours, Mine, and...............

The words Mr.

and Mrs.  like this.............

do you??

Normally, this design would be meant for a set of pillowcases..................

But the carnations., scrolls and french knots..................

as well as the ribbon............caused  me to do something different with them..............

(click on images for a better view)

a set of towels..............for the newly wed..........

or for the guest bathroom. Although I am finished with the stitching, I am thinking about sewing a decorative fabric edging on the bottom.............

what do you think??

Remember this little towel I showed you a few post back?

I love this design............but it seemed to be so small on the bottom of the towel.

So I decided to embroider these sweet little rose buds

all along the bottom half of the towel. It is different, but it is a kind of different I like.

It gives it a nostalgic/shabby chic/ look to it..........

don't you think??

How about you?

Do you tend to start adding small things here or there to a design?

Do you paint them or stitch them on?

Do you enjoy embroidered towels in the bathroom?

I would love to hear!

I came across the path of another little store.................

with various items, new and vintage mixed. Just when I was about to leave without finding a thing, I spotted these two glass swans.

I love swans!

I purchased both as a pair for under $10.00!!

I have been entertaining the idea of embroidering some bath towels with swans, and now that I have found these, the idea is set in motion. Our home has a master bathroom and a guest bathroom. A swan for each! As you can see, the bottom half of this larger swan has been  broken and someone glued it back into place. That is fine with me...........it will be covered in decorative soaps and wont be seen.

The other swan is smaller and I love the design on this..........don't you?

I purchased soap roses, until I can find the shaped soaps and bath balls that I really want.

They work well, I think.

I had embroidered this piece quite a while back. I had meant it to be a dresser scarf for the bathroom.

It is thick enough to serve as a finger towel. I know that there are vintage swan transfers out there, and that is what I truly want to embroider. I will have to do some research.

How about you?

What animal or creature do you love?

A frog or a snail perhaps?

I would love to hear!

It's been a flurry of work in the studio this week...............

From hemming up linens........yes, that's my vintage singer doing the work...........

I love this machine! It never seems to fail me. It is also easy to work on when it decides it wants a break..........

to most of a day being spent drawing and placing designs onto the linens

and of course................there is the stitching................

which I can do all day and way into the night............

and I am also trying to finish embroidery work on a old tablecloth that has a vintage design.

The blooms are slowly coming to life with my embroidery.

 

and then, sometimes, I get side tracked. Some of you do not know that I also have a country/farm blog where I talk about life there and the creatures that live on and around the grounds.............so I did not want you to miss this baby raccoon, that dropped out of it's nest from the ceiling of the well house on the grounds. Luckily, it was not hurt, and I carefully placed it back up into the hole to it's nest................

If you want to read more about this or to visit my other blog just click onto this link

Eggs In My Pocket

 I love hearing from all of you...........so tell me

what are you working on?

Any interesting creatures, dropping in on you?

I would love to hear!

Sometimes, I get so absorbed in my needlework....................

That I get a gentle reminder to stop and pay attention to my cat...........

Salem.

I stepped away for just a moment, to come back and find him lying on my work, with his paw right on my needle, as if to say.............

"enough!.............pet me, and pet me now!!"

How about you?

Do you have a helper in your studio or sewing room, who will not take no for an answer?

I would love to hear!

I love to embroider flowers.............but the bud of a plant

is just as beautiful............I think.............don't you?

While looking through some flower books, this Amaryllis bud caught my eye............

It's one thing to get the design drawn.............

but..........it's another to get it to look like the illustration.............

so, here is my version.

I am thinking about creating another small crazy quilt and I am thinking about using these pieces that I embroider in it. Just a thought.

How about you?

Do you thinks buds on flowers and trees are just as beautiful?

I would love to hear! 

She is 24 years old now..................

Where does time fly away to??..........can anyone tell me?

Hannah age 2

 

When she was a little over 4 years old, we took her and her two brothers on a trip to San Antonio's Sea World. We had two days of fun in the water and shows. It was there that she decided that she was going to grow up to be a whale trainer and to work for Sea World. Throughout the summer, I nervously watched her go under water in our swimming pool, to see how long she could stay under and then come up and be able to talk long sentences. Something that one of the Sea World trainers told her that she would have to learn to do.  Throughout her childhood, any thing that replicated the "under sea life" from bed linens to toys, would be given to her.

 

Which prompted me to start cross stitching this under the sea design for her..................

20 years ago...........

You can see, that somewhere along the way, other things occupied my hands and needle.

 

As for her, she grew up to be a beautiful young woman. Sea World plans got placed aside and she is now serving her country in the Navy.

She is stationed in Hawaii, where on her free days, she surfs, and goes on dives to visit this under sea place that she has always loved. She has spoken of seeing the dolphins, being bumped into by a large sea turtle, and of how really beautiful and colorful this world is underneath the sea.

After talking with her about her adventures the other day, I once again, pulled this unfinished cross stitch piece out. I have decided that I want to get it completed and framed to give to her by Christmas.

How about you?

Have you started some kind of project..............

and has it sat waiting for 20 years or more?

Do you hope to get it completed one day?

I would love to hear!

I have always used various cloth or linen napkins over the years

during my family's meal times. Some napkins are the usual store bought, some are hand made and hand embroidered by myself, and on special occasions, some are vintage hand embroidered linens.

But there are times when some meals are eaten by hand, such as hamburgers or fried chicken. And sometimes the food can be "messy" such as grilled or barbecued meats. Light weight cloth napkins just do not do well for these occasions and I don't want family or friends to worry about ruining the napkins. So woven cotton hand towels are perfect to make napkins out of. I found this wonderful set of towels at a local farm and feed store.

I cut the towels into "napkin size" and just for fun, I decided to stitch quotes or phrases on to the corners, such as Bless this food, Enjoy!  and Come and get it. I finished the edges in a hand embroidered blanket stitch.  I love the "country" look to these as well.

How about you?

Do you use cloth or paper napkins?

I would love to hear!