Birds and Dishes

Sunday was a good day for hand embroidery. Had to take it easy and to distract myself from how I was feeling what better way than stitching. Used a Sublime Stitching's Fine Tip Iron On Pen in green, and ironed it to an Aunt Martha's 18"x28" Flour Sack Dish Towel. Will leave non-affiliated links below just in case you want to check the design, pen, and towels out.

Went the easy route with Bluework. However, choosing which shade of blue thread to use, proved to be a bit more time consuming. After narrowing it down to two, finally decided to go with DMC no.806. Although there are quite a few other projects that require my attention, this cutie cut in line up ahead :-).  An impromptu project that won my heart at present. Surely you know the feeling, right?
Until next time!

Non-affiliated links:
The design was shared by Flickr user: rectangel here. 
Sublime Stitching's Transfer Pens on her Etsy shop.
Aunt Martha's 18"x28" Flour Sack towels on their website and on Amazon.

Homemade and Handmade

Little by little we (older daughter and I) have hand embroidered kitchen towels with various designs. It put a smile on my face to see these few folded and stacked. Various memories tied to each one of them. Probably all of our hand stitched towels appear in previous posts if you fancy to take a look.

The cooler weather always trigger my desire for hand embroidery, and for more than one cup of coffee a day as well. The flavor of  homemade pour over coffee is the best! No fancy machines or expensive gadgets. Well, I'll take that back... since I do use the microwave to heat up my water in a glass measuring cup. I've been looking into getting a glass electric kettle. In my opinion water boiled in glass tastes much better than boiled in any type of metal. Which in turn makes the perfect cup of coffee ;-).
Until next time!

Vintage Aunt Martha's Embroidery Transfer Designs

Warm thoughts of all these previous hand embroideries are resurfacing.

Aunt Martha's embroidery transfers are the best! Have not work on any of my in progress AM's designs in some time. Cross stitching took over for awhile. 
For the past couple of days, a sudden mass of cold air have cause temperatures to drop dramatically around here. That sudden weather change must have brought the cozy warm memories of working on these mostly vintage designs to mind (the rooster is not a vintage design, but part of a Stitcher's Revolutions pattern also by the makers of AM's... the Colonial Pattern Inc.). 

Some of these were hand embroidered onto kitchen towels / tea towels / dish towels . Some on my personal lap quilt project.
May have to bring that one out and keep working on it!
Until next time!

Non-affiliated notes:
All these patterns are from various designs found at
Colonial Patterns Inc. Their website is:
colonialpatterns.com .

Snow People Bluework, Done!

Here is the completed Bluework kitchen towel! It was fun and quick, mainly all back stitching with a few: straight stitches (e.g. scarf),  french knots (e.g. buttons and eyes), open chain stitches (e.g. flower earmuffs), satin stitches (e.g. red heart), fly stitches (e.g. hat's feather), and blanket stitches (e.g. hat's ribbon, mitten's wrists).

The smiles on this snow couple can be a bit confusing... what do you think?  It is almost like they have no other choice, but to serve as birds' perches, so they may as well try to enjoy it. LOL. What's your take?

I'm so tempted to start another monochromatic embroidery, but first may have to complete a couple of the projects already in progress.

Have a nice weekend! Until next time!

Snow People Bluework

Started this kitchen towel couple of days ago. Was motivated by a post on Rsislandcrafts Blog dated Jan. 9, 2019... she started stitching a snowman from Bird Brain Designs and the design is so cute. I've been wanting to stitch a snowman on a tea towel, so after reading her entry I went on Amazon and searched for Bird Brain Designs and found one I liked, it is called Snowman Season Bluework and it has 3 different designs. 

I'm using Finca / Presencia Perle cotton size 8 in color no.3319 Dark Baby Blue, and a white flour sack towel from the Colonial Patterns company size 18 by 28. For transferring the design: made a copy of the original design omitting the elements of the pattern I didn't want to use, went over the lines of the design using a Sublime Stitching transfer pen in blue, and finally ironed it on the right lower corner of the towel.

It is so cold out there that my husband has helped me with running errands that are normally part of my routine, so I've had a bit more than the usual time to stitch. Almost finished stitching this towel! The little heart on the hat of the other snowman will be stitched in red ;-).
So happy to be able to use this towel in the kitchen soon! What is your favorite indoor pastime? Well, I better go now... until next time!

A Work In Progress and Completed Stitcheries

Clouds have lingered these past few days. Today the sun shined through, just for a bit before sunset, enough to take a few pictures of my projects ;-). 

Above is where I'm at on my Give Thanks project from Stitches from the Harvest book by Kathy Schmitz. Done with the chain stitch on the yellow pods, and practically 2/3 done with the brown stems/branches. Might work a bit more on it this weekend.

These, above, are all the completed stitcheries, and the WIP on the first picture.

Above is this month's One Stitch at a Time design. It was stitched by my daughter on a flour sack kitchen towel by Colonial Patterns. She used DMC threads.

From these ones, the Quilt on the Line and the Hop Along Stitches were also stitched by my daughter. She used Artiste variegated thread in Sugar Plum, and for the house with the quilt she used variegated Valdani 3ply thread in color M66. The other two were stitched by me. Fruit basket was August's One Stitch at a Time design, stitched with DMC Color Variations no.4129. For Skippy's Green Jumper I used DMC Color Variations no.4068, all these patterns are by Kathy Schmitz and available as PDFs on her shop (link at the end of post).
Last but not least is Mrs. Gardening Hen, my daughter stitched this towel as well!

Teaching her a bit about finances, I commissioned this towel from her. The colors were the ones requested and she did a nice job on it.... cash well earned! She did so much stitching this summer that it rekindled her interest in hand embroidery, even said that she was enjoying it! I thought to myself: "Mission Accomplished!" ;-) By the way the pattern for the hen is Aunt Martha's no.3942.
Maybe next time I have some cross stitch progress to show, also hoping to finished an English Paper Piecing project from last year's autumn. Enjoy the weekend! Until next time!

Notes:
Kathy Schmitz's Etsy Shop 

Stitched Blooms

This pretty blooms were hand embroidered by my daughter for my kitchen. Love all the happy bright colors in it! Especially fond of how the orchids and the poppy turned out. 

It's been so hot these days that we've stayed indoors. On most days, salads have been our lunch choice... so refreshing! 

Be well! Until next time!

Non-affiliated info:

Embroidery Pattern stitched on first picture is Little Blooms PDF by Sublime Stitching. 

Winter Kitchen Towels

Couple of weeks ago I mentioned putting up the decorative winter towels,... and here they are!

Gray reminds me of snow days... how outcast the skies look before snowing.

This blue hue reminds me of winter too. Of course, that cute little birdie was the cherry on top! Perhaps the embroiderer could have used a smaller stem stitch and one less strand of floss to stitch the bird, in order to give it a cleaner look, just my opinion ;-). 

I used to have camellia bushes on my previous home, the flower vine on the towel remind me of them. May have to replace the bushes in the front of this home, not fond of the ones that the landscapers planted there. Flowers are so beautiful, so cheery for cold winter days. The crocheted edging is lovely too!

Curious, what do you do to keep things cozy and cheery in your home during winter? 
Next time I'll be sharing some springy embroidery patterns that you might enjoy! Until then!

Fall Towels Down

Briefly stopping by to update the blog before the end of this year. 
Haven't touch needle and thread since my previous post. Its been quite challenging these past few weeks, and I haven't felt motivated for any type of crafting. So thankful for the comfort & hope (Acts 24:15; Psalm 37:29,34; Revelation 21:3,4) from the Scriptures and the concern & love from family and friends that keep me going thru trialsome times!

Well, back to today's post... these were the Fall towels I had on display in the kitchen. Two of the few acquired as housewarming presents when we moved to our new home.
We do not celebrate traditional/popular holidays in our household. Our decorations are seasonal or year round, so these ones were out throughout autumn. 

I think the embroideries and colors in both of these towels match perfectly the fall months.

Today these were put away, and out came the ones that will be displayed throughout winter. Will post those later on.
Hoping everyone is doing well, keeping cozy and warm (as we are trying.. so cold here!), or cool and hydrated (for those of you in the hot months or warm weather)! I also hope that at some point during this winter my desire for needlework will return.
Until next time!

New Fall Projects, A WIP Update, and an Outing.

What a month October proved to be! Looking forward to a beautiful November! I started a new towel.

This English Paper Piecing project below, it is the one I made reference to on my last post.  I'm using autumnal fabric prints, mixed with a few hand embroidered 1" hexagons (hexies). It will become a bedside table mug rug. The stitcheries are part of various patterns by Mollie Johanson at Wild Olive blog.


While on an outing I worked a bit more on this work-in-progress (aka: WIP) kitchen towel. Only a few more stitches left to complete it.

It is very interesting to me that I'm not able to read in a moving car without getting carsick, but hand embroidering is not a problem :-).

Well, enough "chatting" for now. I need to keep moving in order to accomplish today's To Do list. 

Hoping all of you are doing well! Have a great weekend!

A Bit of Autumn

Not much happening around here, besides caring for sick little ones while keeping a tight schedule, so I’m posting two oldies but goodies ;-). Above and below are previous projects in autumnal colors. Pictures were taken in our previous home. Oh, I guess a little bit of news is that before my older one got sick, she baked two Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cakes back to back. The second half of the 2nd cake is what is left in the fridge. I do not eat it, but they enjoy it.

I want to start an English Paper Piecing project in Fall colors, (with some of the floral fabrics below) hoping to make my mind up soon. Fabrics below are from Sew Stitching Happy on Etsy, just in case you were wondering ;-).

My next blog update most likely will be towards the end of the month. Thanks for stopping by! Be well! Until next time!

Utility Towels: 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th In Progress

We finished a few more utility towels over the past few days!
The one above was the one I was working on, this one below was the one I commissioned from my daughter last year... finally done.

This one below was the 2nd towel I commissioned from daughter just a couple of weeks ago. She's learning to be more business like and got it done in few days. At the moment she's working on one for herself. We might be adding a few hand embroidered towels to my shop this coming autumn, we'll see. It all depends on how much spare time she'll have while homeschooling, etc. .

I'm currently working on the 6th utility towel, this time in bluework. The pattern is the one I mentioned at the end of the previous post. Was trying to make some progress while watching news on the current conditions of Texas' hurricane Harvey aftermath. Hoping that all those affected are able to cope and find comfort. 

Being from a tropical island I'm very well acquainted and familiar with having to endure thru a few tropical storms and all the devastation that they leave behind. However, with much hard work and a positive attitude it is possible to make it thru.

I'm still in the midst of medical appointments. Still praying things are well, and if not, then to have the power beyond normal (that comes from above - 2 Corinthians 4:7) to endure! 
May all of you be doing well! Till next time!

Kitchen Towel no.3 Update

Here's the progress so far on this 3rd utility dish towel. It's been enjoyable to add a few stitches to it here and there. Might work a bit on it this afternoon if possible (after folding some laundry). What do you call your kitchen towels: tea towels, kitchen towels, or dish towels?

The design is part of this vintage Vogart above. It is Vogart 611 Colorful Fruit Motifs for Dinette or Kitchen. In fact you can see the design I'm stitching illustrated on the envelope. The towels pictured on the envelope show a blanket stitch variation on the towels' edges/borders,  so pretty! I'm keeping my vintage Vogart intact for now, so ended up getting a scan from Etsy seller BlondiesSpot. Then as mentioned on previous post, used my ink jet printer and a sheet of Sticky Fabri-Solvy (by Sulky, the product also comes in a updated packaging with the name of Stick'n Stitch) to transfer the pattern onto my towel.

My lower back/sacrum area and back hip bone started to hurt earlier today (sigh), it is really killing me. This happens to me occasionally. Already took some over the counter medicine and most likely will get my heat pad ready once done posting this blog update, and perhaps squeeze a long nap too. Leave you with the picture above, the only kind of rose (for now) in the front of my home.
Till later! Have a nice end of June!

Fruits / Utility Towel no.3

Here are the humble beginnings or the 3rd utility towel ;-).
This pattern is a design part of a vintage transfer, Vogart 611.
I have an original copy in my collection, but this time didn't want to cut into it. Later I'll take a picture of the cover so you can see the other cute designs part of this transfer (storing my collection in my kid's room closet, have to dig it out).  Long story short, ended up buying a cleaned black & white PDF copy of it from an Etsy seller. 

I used Sticky Fabri-Solvy to print my design of choice, and paste it on a kitchen towel, as you see in the above picture. Picture below shows the back. Sometimes when you are press on time, or don't feel like tracing, this is a very nice alternative if you have an ink jet printer. Although you could also use this stabilizer to trace by hand, especially if it is a very small design.

It will also work very well for dark fabrics, which are hard to see through in order to trace. I try to squeeze a few patterns in one sheet of this printable and water soluble sticky stabilizer, so as to waste as little as possible. The package cost around $10.00 more or less (on Amazon where I get mine), the price fluctuates at times. Joann stores use to carry it, but now they only have the one that comes in a roll, you'll have to cut to size. I think they now carry a similar product, precut, that is also sticky, printable and water soluble. 

Picked my colors according to the suggestions shown in the front of the pattern envelope. The scan also comes with a color copy of the transfer cover for reference. Already started working on it! Hoping to be able to work on it a bit here and there through out this week. Little ones feeling much better, so we might be out and about a bit more. Perhaps in the evenings I could squeeze some stitching time.

May your week be beautiful and that all goes as you have planned!
Until next time!

Baking Poodle / Second Towel Finished

I did it! The second utility kitchen towel is finished!
So glad, now I can move on to the third one which is already in the hoop ;-). Any guesses as to what type of vintage design is next?

This second towel is fresh from the dryer. First, I cut the excess Sticky Fabri-Solvy and dissolved it with warm water in the laundry sink. Then tossed the towel in the washer with the rest of the kitchen towels load. A bit of ironing after it dried. Now is folded and put away with the rest. Not sure if I'll start on the 3rd towel anytime soon... my kids are now both sick with high fevers and sore throats. Thankfully my older one pretty much follows this family's "sick drill" with little help, but younger one is different story... at least she's keeping to her room for the most part which helps a lot, for her age that is a big accomplishment!

Before I go, let me share a common trick for doing satin stitch, especially if you have a bit of trouble getting the satin stitches even. First, outline the area with back stitch or split stitch, then go over it with satin stitch (like in the picture above). The outlining stitches serve as your point of reference for going in and out with your needle for the satin stitches.
Oh, and for those of you that missed it, I shared this design as a freebie at the end of this post. Let me know if you get to stitch it and posting it on your blog, etc. I would like to take a peek ;-).
Until later! 

In The Making

Wasn't able to complete my utility towel, instead will show you the one my firstborn is working on. The pattern is from the book Beautiful Stitches by Susan Bates, which I enlarged. As transferring method we used a transfer pen. My daughter offer to stitch it for my new kitchen before the move. Above is where she is at, she started this past winter and doesn't really work at it regularly.

This picture above was taken this past winter. We were still in our previous home. She was working on it in the living room. I was about to eat a piece of homemade rum cake with tea ;-), when I saw how pretty it was coming along. Gave her several compliments, put my tea & cake down to take a picture of it. Hopefully she'll finish it soon. I guess 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree'... in this instance, not a good thing. Makes me think there's room for improvement in the way I approach projects. We as mothers have lots of responsibilities and priorities, which can definitely justify why we do or don't finish something, or where we move it in our To Do List. However little things like this do have a subtle impact in our offspring, especially as such a tender age. 

Basic, simple life lessons like: "Finish what you start", "Be on time", "Work for what you want", "Delight in the work of your hands", "Keep your promise", "Be dependable", etc. , are picked up by our kids mainly through our example... what they see us doing, not necessarily saying. Interestingly, although we most likely are very good at those simple life lessons when it comes to what we have in the top of our list(s), but forget that little things count as much to those little ones whose eyes are on us. Just my thoughts. 

I better get going with that utility towel right after posting this! ;-)
Hoping a beautiful week awaits you!
Till next time!