Erica's Stitches

I've finished another old kit from my stash. It is the Cornflower Accent from Periwinkle Promises .  The pattern was copyrighted in 1997 so I've had it for a while.  Actually, this is my third accent and my guess is they were all purchased around the same time. The Acorn Accent was my first one and I initialed and dated it in 1998. Next was the Antique Accent which wasn't initialed and dated. My guess is that it was finished shortly after the first one.  I vaguely remember working on it while traveling, doing one band every night. After that something else new must have come along because the last kit didn't get done until now.  I know that when looking for a travel project, I'd always consider it.  But then I would decide to take something else because of the beads.  Well, now it's done. Unlike some of my other old kits, this one was easy to find on the web.  In fact, you can still get the kits at the link above.  I was surprised at how...

I have a box under the bed where I keep all sorts of kits. They were given to me or purchased at a bargain price.  I took them home wanting to work on them right away.  But, for whatever reason, I didn't get to them.  And they accumulated.  The box isn't that big but its getting full. The more I pay for something the more likely it is to get finished right away.  Being inexpensive, they were a lower priority. My new goal is to work some of these projects over the next year.  The "Oregano" from last month was one of these projects and I'm working on another one. It's hard to pick which one to work on next. Something about the kit had to appeal to me since I brought it home.  I'm sure as I sort through them I'll find some "what was I thinking" type projects.   After all, styles and tastes change.  If I find something I'm not sure of, I'll challenge myself to redesign the contents into something I do like. Let's see what ...

That's a really small victory.  2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches to be exact. It's a small kit I got years ago.  It's by Needlemagic, Inc.  A quick Internet search shows that there were many of these each with different herbs (all for sale).  I picked this kit because of the hummingbird.  Isn't he cute? This was a portable travel project that I started about a month ago.  I'm pleased to say I finished it relatively quickly, cleaned up the messes I made while stitching it and stored off the excess threads. What I like best is my finishing. I fused a piece of coordinating fabric to the back and folded over the fabric and stitched it down, mitering the corners (one with ease and three with great difficulty).  I added a string for hanging and I'm done. For some reason I've started gravitating to simple, easy projects.  I don't feel like doing anything more ambitious right now. However, I can imagine the same hummingbird on linen with a field of ...

I've started on a small portable kit as portable kit as a travel project. I'll admit, I haven't done a kit like this in a while and I did toss the plastic canvas it came with and substituted an indigo blue Aida (which matches the background color eliminating 1/3 of the stitches). There were 2 greens in the kit so I separated them out and matched them to forest green (the darker green) and emerald green (the lighter green) on the chart and started stitching.  It didn't quite look right and I don't have the picture of the finished piece so I kept on stitching.  Then I moved to the next section and looked up the next color:  apple green.  Darn, I missed a green.  Closer inspection under brighter light revealed that I had two darker greens mixed together. My eyes are getting old.  I think the middle green is emerald and the one on the right is forest.  So, I'm ripping out and starting the greens over.  They were generous with th...

Here is a started project I purchased at a White Elephant Sale.   There's not much to look at right now. But, the stitched area will be about 2 by 3 inches and contain a flower arrangement. The instructions are not dated.  The paper is yellowed.  Nothing appears to have been computer generated.  The newest book in the bibliography was published in 1976 so the pattern must be newer than that date. The big clue to age comes from some of the floss in the kit. The first and third skeins are from my collection the rest are from the kit.  Notice the top and bottom edge of the labels - they are black not gold.  The lettering is also bigger.  But, the differences are subtle. Not so much the bottom half - the new labels are much longer.  Instead of just the basic information, there is now a bar code, web address and the universal care symbols.  100% cotton appears in many languages (at least I assume it translates to 100% cotton). The bi...

I'm going on a short trip soon.  I've been mentally packing for a while. One thing I need to have is a small travel kit to work on while I'm stuck in the airport.  I've been reviewing all the small patterns I've seen recently trying to decide which one I would like to do the most.  It was going to be a hard decision. But, look what I found!  An old travel pack forgotten for a few years.  I guess I should work on that one.  It has shamrocks on it and St. Patrick's Day is next month so it is season appropriate and I have a chance to get it done before the holiday.  It's already half way done. My kit comes complete with dental floss - my travel cutter of choice. I know small embroidery scissors are allowed, but I'd rather not take the chance of them being taken away.  I've got some stitching, a magazine and some snacks.  Lets go!

I'm sewing quilt blocks into rows for my guest bedroom quilt and I've started thinking about backing fabric.  Unexpectedly an email arrived with details of a tax day sale at the Local Quilt Store.  Pefect timing! Of course, I wasn't the only one there.  As I stood in one of 4 lines to have my fabric cut (I picked the line that looked like it was having the most fun and I was quickly at the top of the line) I found myself looking at quilt kits ... stacks of coordinated fabric cutely packaged just call out to be purchased.  I resisted.  It will take me long enough to get this quilt finished. However, at the EGA White Elephant Sale last weekend I didn't resist.  I purchased mostly supplies - perforated paper, linen, Medici wools - and books.  But, I ended up with a few kits too.  Normally, I'm not a kit kind of person.  I don't want to end up with something like in the picture. I want to change things around and use different materials....