Crafty – Asbery's Echoes

Stitchy News

I have been busy stitching orders and am having a difficult time keeping up. So busy in fact that I’ve had to start saying no. It’s hard for me to say no but I realize that I just have to. It’s not fair to a customer to have to wait for weeks and weeks for something they’ve purchased and it causes way too much stress on my end. I promised Joe when I started selling my cupboard keeps that if it started to interfere with family life then I would stop. Well, it had gotton to that point where I felt I should be stitching all the time to get orders done. That alone interferes with family time because if I have to be stitching all the time I can’t be involved in other things. It also interferes in that if I’m constantly worrying about not getting my stitching done then I’m not able to enjoy other things. So, I’ve started to say no. I still have a ways to go in doing that but I’ve gotten much better! So, I’m still stitching lots of orders, but I’ve also put a limit to how many orders I will take, and I’ve started to say no. I’m so very flattered that so many people out there want something that I have made to display in their homes. It’s an amazing feeling. I can only hope that some of my humble little stitches bring joy to others. I can’t imagine not picking up a needle and thread on an almost daily basis and to know that I’m making something that others actually want and enjoy just makes the process even sweeter!

Simple Craft

While camping with family my super duper crafty talented cousin Brandi at Lake Darling she brought out this simple little game for the kids to play. Such a sweet little craft – painted rocks in a drawstring bag with the tic tac toe board right on the bag! So of course I had to march right home and make one for myself!

Brandi did hers with Xs and Os, which I loved. But Drew and I decided to do ours a little differently and we painted fun little ladybugs in blue and red. a Sharpie to draw the board on the bag and you’re all set. When you’re done playing you pop those little rocks into the bag and pull the string tight and off you go! Brandi keeps hers in her camper and I’m thinking I will make another set just for that purpose. Maybe paint trees and owls or something campy like that. And another bag for the car to have on hand whenever we need to wait on something, like when we were waiting on an oil change the other day, or at a restaurant. And of course a bag to keep in the house because – well, just because!

Then Drew asked if I could make one for his friends who are brothers only do ladybugs and spiders. And so of course I couldn’t say no!

Stitching

We’ve been so busy lately and it’s been hard to fit in some stitching but I’ve managed! I’ve been stitching orders and stitching things to sell and once in a blue moon I stumble across a pattern I just have to stitch for myself!

When we were at the quilting/needlework store in Amana we found this cute cross stitch/beadwork kit. Two of us purchased the kit and are going to make Christmas ornaments to commemorate our camping trip. I haven’t done beadwork in a long time and it’s been fun to do a little bit of it again. I’m looking forward to finishing mine and seeing how Susie finishes hers. I’m sure they will look totally different from each other and yet both will be beautiful!

You can’t really see how the beads sparkle but they do. And they’ll really sparkle on the Christmas tree! It’s fun to have someone else stitching too as I don’t have anybody local who stitches and I’ve always thought it would be fun to stitch with friends!

I finished my wee little Flower Witch by Lori Brechlin. I love how she turned out. A little more practice and I’ll be ready to start stitching for Bayah.

As much as I’m enjoying learning a new craft, it feels good to get back to making those tiny little X’s. Strawberries and bunnies and a beautiful new needle minder given to me by a dear friend. Doesn’t that dragonfly just scream out warm summer days! And yet here we are, the middle of winter and we’re supposed to be getting quite the snowstorm today. They canceled school as of last night already. According to my phone we’re supposed to get 3 to 5 inches of snow with ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch, wind and near whiteout conditions. We’ll see what really happens. Mother Nature always does her own thing! I guess I’ll head to town to run errands this morning and then plan on staying home the rest of the weekend. I love a good snowstorm!

Old Dog

There’s that old saying, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I’m an old dog and I’m trying to learn a new trick! I haven’t embroidered in years. And when I did embroider, it was very very basic stitches. Then I stitched up Drew’s drawing using a new stitch I’d never done before and I found it to be fun. So while scrolling through Pinterest the other day I stumbled upon some darling designs that I thought would be fun to make for my granddaughter’s bedroom. I showed them to my daughter and she agreed. So, I ordered hoops and thread (I have tubs of thread but I don’t have all those pretty little girl colors) and then realized I should probably practice a little bit before jumping in. So I found a couple of patterns that contained different stitches that I didn’t know and off I went.

I like how this one turned out, it’s called Helen’s Garden. I loved doing the Wagon Wheel Stitch and the Spider Wheel Rose Stitch although I wasn’t supposed to do the Wagon Wheel Stitch. I watched the wrong video and stitched it before I realized that mistake! And forget the Colonial Knots. I absolutely could not master them so I went back to French Knots, which I do not enjoy but I can do. As you can see, the piece is covered in pencil marks. But since it’s a practice piece and just for me, that’s okay.

Then there’s this piece. More my primitive style. It’s a Lori Brechlin with Notforgotten Farm design. I love her designs and have done many of her cross stitch pieces. I’m really enjoying learning a new craft and I’m looking forward to making a couple of pieces for my granddaughter’s bedroom. But, I’m ready to get some cross stitching in before I get started. It never fails, no matter what I do and no matter how much I enjoy it, I always go back to my cross stitching!

Stitching Keepsakes

Now, a few months ago my uncle gave us a vintage camper. A very very old, very very well used vintage camper. It has a whole story behind it. And it’s going to take lots and lots and lots of work to get it usable. Well, Drew absolutely loves it. He talks about it all the time, reads about vintage campers, asked for vintage camper books for Christmas, I think he dreams about vintage campers! So when I told him I wanted him to draw me a picture of course he drew one of the camper that he named Ruby.

Here’s Ruby, the little vintage camper. She’s been spiffed up with the power washer and Drew and Rambler decorated her for fall! Oh she needs soooo much work!

A friend of mine shared an article with me about taking a child’s drawing and turning it into a keepsake. I had seen this before and at the time I thought it was a good idea but then I totally forgot about it. Well, I’ve joined a group on Facebook that is more of an embroidery group versus cross stitch and I have been wanting to try my hand at this form of stitching. Specifically the split stitch that Lori Brechlin uses. (Lori is an absolutely brilliant designer of all things handiwork and primitive!) So all the stars were aligned and I jumped in! Here’s Drew’s drawing:

And here’s my progress so far:

This has been such a fun project. And Drew is loving it! He’s planning on hanging this in Ruby when we get her done! I think I’ll have to have the grandkids draw me pictures next so I can make keepsakes for Abby!

Taking the Day Off

Creativity and chaos go together in my world! This looks good today. Some days it’s sooo much worse! There will come a point where I can’t stand it any longer, I’ll put everything away, pull out only what I need for the project I’m working on and promise myself I’ll put each thread away as I go. And then before I know it – it’s right back to this. Creative chaos and a cup of coffee!

School is back in session today. Two full weeks is a long time off and Drew was so ready to go back and see his friends. Joe is gone until Wednesday. And I’m taking the day off. I’ve been to the grocery store, there’s laundry going, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is on the iPad and I’m stitching the day away. I still have a pillow to stuff, trim and post for sale, chicken feed to purchase after I pick up Drew from school, outside chores to do since Joe won’t be home tonight and supper to fix. I’m thinking Sweet and Sour Chicken since Joe won’t be here. I try to fix meals that I enjoy but he really doesn’t when he’s gone. Plus I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow night. That’s my day off. I’m not going to clean the bathroom or pick up the messes around the house or tackle the myriad other things that need my attention today. It will all wait until tomorrow. Do moms really ever get a day off when they’re home? I think not. But that’s okay. Having a bathroom to clean and supper to prepare, chicken feed to purchase and messes to pick up mean I’m needed. And that is a wonderful feeling – being needed!

It’s A Little Froggy Around Here!

Little Miss Bayah is turning one! It’s hard to believe that that little four pound peanut is going to be a year old! Her mommy gave me a list of ideas for gifts and I always try to follow the list. Things like a hooded bath towel and a soft baby doll. But I think she needs something special from grandma too! A couple of years ago I made Braxton and Drew frogs. I remember having a frog like this that my grandma made for me and I loved it. The boys really loved theirs too. They’ve been played with enough that they’ve had to be stitched back up in places. So, I thought maybe Bayah would like one too! Drew picked out the fabric and helped me stuff it with beans so it’s been a labor of love for a sweet little grandbaby/niece who has us all wrapped around her little finger!

Witchy Stitches

Even when I’m feeling “under the weather” like I have been the last week or so, I can usually still stitch and it’s a good thing. I had orders for 16 pillows after posting my last grouping. That’s a good thing of course! But 16 pillows – that’s a lot to get done. I’m getting there though – only 2 1/2 half to go! Lots of pumpkins and witches. It’s getting to be that time of the year!

Planning Ahead

I was wanting to embroider a couple of pillowcases for the bedroom and/or camper when I ran across this adorable pattern of an old red truck. So I’ve put the pillowcases for me on the back burner and started on Christmas gifts instead! I ordered two of these thinking I could do one for Braxton and one for Drew. I changed the license plate to say IA and personalized it with Braxton’s name and I really like how it came out. But my plan for Drew’s pillowcase has changed as he saw this, asked for one for himself, but of course he wants a train on his. So, I guess I’ll be looking for a train pattern or at least a train picture that I can modify to fit on a pillowcase. Since I won’t be able to work on it until school starts when Drew won’t be around to see me working on it I’ll need to find something for Bayah to work on now. That shouldn’t be hard and it will be fun to work on something girlie in pretty pastel colors for a change!