Three Pumpkins Scissors Fob

Not much stitching going on here - allergy season is in high gear which makes it difficult to stitch. Sneeze, cough, wheeze, blow nose, wash hands, sneeze, cough, wheeze, blow nose, wash hands....and so it goes. :o(

I have been doing a little charting though, so I will post a few things over the next day or two.

Prairie Schooler Exchange

Hooked on Exchanging recently had a Prairie Schooler Exchange that I just had to join. I love Prairie Schooler designs and they are so fun to stitch! After receiving the gorgeous needlework smalls set that Barbie stitched and sent, I couldn't believe that I was treated to another wonderful set, this time from Hazel! It is a beautifully stitched and assembled needlework set complete with scissor case, fob and needle case - fully stocked with pins and needles, of course! I have had this chart in my stash for a long time but every time I thought about stitching it up, the thought of trying to finish that scissor case totally intimidated me! I just love it and it is even better because it is already finished! On top of the fabulous stitching set, she completely spoiled me with the extra goodies. She included a new pair of scissors (I didn't have any of these in my collection) that I immediately dressed in the fob and inserted in the scissor case. She also sent a Drawn Thread chart from my wishlist (now my set of the four seasons is complete!), beautiful Sea Green hand-dyed floss from Carrie's Creation (I love soft shades of green) and a lovely postcard of her area. Hazel, thank you so much for this delightful gift - and especially for all the hard work and obvious effort that you put into making it!

And the other half of the exchange.....

I stitched for Cathy B this time and chose the November design from Prairie Schooler Book No. 23 "A Prairie Year II". I used Wichelt-Permin 18 ct Lambswool linen stitched over 2 threads using DMC floss. I changed the colors slightly to "brighten" it up a bit. (I hope Cathy didn't mind the change!) I used a flatfold/easel type finish with some bright harvest print on the back.

I really enjoyed stitching this up for Cathy and was pleased with the final result. That is one of the great things about this exchange group, the projects have to be completely finished so they actually get done instead of adding to my "someday" pile! I sent along a few extras as well - a chart from Cathy's wishlist, a couple of pieces of 32 ct fabric, a packet of needles, a small assortment of thread drops, Chocolate Skittles (Have you tried these? Yummy!), some fall -themed items: ribbon, embellishments, pumpkin stickers, a fun little checkered pumpkin and overdyed floss. The last item didn't really fit the autumn theme but I sent it anyway - a small "tuckable" banner with a beaded hanger - I love these little banners - instant finishing and veeeery cute!!

Oooops!

It has kindly been brought to my attention that I made an error in the "Guiltless Dragonfly" color key. I had listed DMC 987 twice and actually the color for the symbol B should have been 3347. I have replaced the color key with the corrected version but if you saved the color key before today (Oct 1, 2008) you will need to save it again. I apologize for the inconvenience and want to thank "monkey22" for letting me know!

What Can It Be?

Ahhhh, a mystery....... It started with an email from a stitching friend wanting my mailing address....hmmm...... yes, I trust this person so I think that will be okay......I'm very curious.....she says I will just have to be curious, she is dropping an envelope in the mail for me......OK, she is probably sending me a card or a note, yes, I'm sure that is what it is......I'll just wait and see....... a few days go by......... and then I spy this in the mail......


I take a closer look.....yes, it's for me........doesn't look like a card or a note.......hmmm....


I wonder what it could be.....?

Let's see what's inside.......yes, there is a card..... and something else.......



Keep going.....



WOOOOOWWWW!


What!?! There's more!?!


AMAZING!!!!!

STUNNING!!!!..... and it's for me?!!!

Well, I'm speechless, delighted and completely overwhelmed by this beautiful, unexpected, generous and completely undeserved gift!

Barbie, even though I have thanked you already, it wasn't enough - I had to thank you publicly, as well. I can not believe the time and effort you put into this wonderful gift, all stitched over one, no less! I will cherish it always - THANK YOU!!!!

Guiltless Dragonfly Photos from Brenda K

Brenda K from England has kindly shared photos of her finished scissors case and fob set! I just love how it turned out and am so pleased that she sent the photos - it is really nice to see the finished projects. Please visit her Cyberstitchers' Gallery for more of her beautiful finishes - and there are many to see! She is amazing! Thank you, so much, Brenda, for stitching the set and sharing your photos!

Guiltless Dragonfly Scissors Pocket & Fob

I'm not crazy about expensive "limited edition" kits and designs. I don't like the pressure it brings on the buyer to hurry up and get something "right now" when it may cause a financial hardship on them or a big disappointment if they decide they really can't afford to splurge. This is not the same as "shop exclusives" which may only be available from one source but are available for a long time, giving plenty of opportunity to obtain it. There are some gorgeous designs that have appeared as limited edition kits that I would like to have had but just couldn't afford when they were available so I just missed out. Recently, Just Nan came out with the limited edition "Gilded Dragonfly" kit which was limited to 1000 kits. Wow, think how many stitchers there are that would have loved to have had that beautiful kit, but only 1000....? So I asked myself, "What is it about this design that I really like? Is it the flowers? No, not really. Is it the specialty stitches? No, not really. Is it the dragonfly? Hmm, yes, I really like the beautiful dragonfly charm (which I was able to find online here). But what is it I like the most about it? THE COLORS!!! I love the colors and the fact that it is a scissor case and fob set!!! So I decided to design my own set using the features I liked the most - similar colors and a scissors case finish with a dragonfly of some kind. It had to be an original design - I wanted to be sure it would be completely different than Nan's design so there would be no question of copyright infringement. I hope I have achieved that. The first step was to design a suitable dragonfly - I originally called the design the "Poor Stitcher's Dragonfly Scissor Pocket" because it was designed to be stitched with DMC instead of silks and had a stitched dragonfly instead of an embellishment one. I decided on the new name because a stitcher wouldn't need to feel guilty about the cost of stitching this one! I know you will recognize the chart as being the same as the Hummingbird Scissors Pocket and Fob. That's because although I designed the Dragonfly Pocket first, I actually like hummingbirds better so I adapted the design and decided to stitch it that way instead. "Guiltless" Dragonfly comes in two color schemes - a light and a darker one - depending on the fabric you choose to use. The opalescent fabric I like to use needs the darker color scheme to show up on it but I love the lighter color one which was actually the original design choice. A gold dragonfly or a silver one, metallic blue or metallic green, with French knots or with beads - lots of opportunity here to customize the design and make each one unique. I'm including some more fob variations that will match both the Dragonfly and the Hummingbird set. Happy stitching!!

Click on images for larger views

Hummingbird Scissors Pocket and Fob Photos

Click on images for larger views.


Thanks to the generosity of the lovely Olga, I can post a picture of the Hummingbird Scissors Pocket and Fob completely assembled. I am absolutely amazed at how quickly and beautifully Olga stitched and assembled this piece! She sent me the photos on September 1 and I didn't even post the chart until August 23! I'm very impressed! (I am probably the slowest stitcher in the world!) I'm so glad she gave me permission to share her photos here because my own piece is still in pieces....not that I'm surprised about that! Olga has only been blogging a short time but her blog is already one you don't want to miss - be sure to visit and bookmark it because you will definitely want to return again and again. Please visit her blog here for more pictures of the Hummingbird Scissor Pocket and Fob set, and other great finishes. Thanks again, Olga for stitching my chart and for sharing the photos!

Hummingbird Triangle Scissors Case

This is another version of the Hummingbird Scissors Case. This one is designed for the folded, lined square assembly method that results in a triangular case. Linda of Litla Skvís has a great tutorial for this finishing technique on her blog. The dotted lines are not stitched - they just indicate where the flap will lay when closed although it won't be exact. The dashed lines are also not stitched - they are to show the approximate fold lines. The design features a second hummingbird stitched 1 over 1. Don't want to stitch over one? Replace with a charm or button (hummingbird, butterfly, dragonfly, etc.) or leave it off entirely. Have fun with the design - use beads for the flowers and eyes, change the colors, etc., etc. I used the same alphabet to personalize this version as I did for the first.

Here is a close-up detail of the 1 over 1 part of the chart:

Alphabet Chart

Here are the alphabets I've been using to personalize my charts.

Hummingbird Scissors Pocket and Fob

Here is the first of the designs I've been working on. After many revisions, I think it is finally ready. I liked the first color scheme that I chose, but the colors didn't show up well on the fabric I wanted to use so I had to restitch several areas until I got the colors right. Feel free to change the colors to suit yourself and the fabric that you want to use! I used 28ct Natural Opalescent Cashel linen. I've included the alphabet and numbers for personalization and a couple of choices for matching scissor fobs. Knowing how slow I am about doing the actual finishing on a project, I decided to go ahead and post the chart now rather than wait until the scissors pocket is actually assembled.

Here is a preview of what the scissor case will look like when the flap is closed.