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Sunday, September 8, 2013

Slow Stitching & Stash Enhancement!

I've been trying to follow my friend Barbara's (Cat Patches) lead by getting outside each morning to sit on my side porch and putting a few stitches in Winter Wonderland to give my day a great start.  Of course, there have been a few mornings that I just didn't have time, but I think I made it about 5 days - not bad!  One of those days I knitted on Dreambird, but that's still slow stitching to me :*)  

Here is my progress on this block so far.  I have the little Snow-people done.... tell me, do you think the adult is a mom or dad?   or maybe an older brother or sister?  It's hard to tell gender here ...


I decided to give this pattern a little Zzzzzing by doing the birds in red to honor my favorites, the Cardinals.


But I am not really happy with this red color.  It's too drab - I need it to shine brightly in the background of all that blue and white.  I used a turkey red thinking with the blue in it, it would play nicely with the blues.  But maybe that's the problem, maybe it plays too nicely and just blends right in.

So I think I'm going to take it out and try a nice, bright Christmas red...


The spool of Sulky 12 wt is the turkey red I used on the current bird, and the DMC floss is what I am going to use next to see if I like it better.  You can really see the difference in color and brightness with the two flosses side by side.  Hopefully, this will brighten that little bird right up!  I really like the Sulky one-ply threads, but I couldn't justify buying a new spool when I have this perfectly good skein of DMC already, and I don't need that much of it for the entire project.

This is what I have left of this block to do...


......hopefully by next week I'll finish it up and start a new block!

And I promised you some Stash Enhancement, didn't I?

Well, this week I have some FUN fabrics to show you!!!  First, I stopped into a LQS (Lebanon Vac & Sew) to pick up some stabilizer for Genevieve's quilt, and Jan showed me this new fabric she had just gotten in....

The background is a little off - this is a white fabric with black lettering and some grays
 Everywhere you look, there are these hilarious articles....




Of course, I had to have a yard of it, although I have absolutely NO IDEA what I'm going to do with it!  But, someday a project will present itself, and I just know this fabric will be the perfect solution for it :*D

Selvedge info in case you want to try to find some for yourself.  It really doesn't give a lot of info.....

Then I spied a great sale at the Fat Quarter Shop advertised on Facebook one day for these fun fabrics - at 50% off!!!  You all know my love of text fabrics and bright, fun designs, so I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that these fabrics called my name - loudly!!!  Half-yard pieces simply jumped into my basket....


Won't this be a fun selvedge with the letters running down it?
Makes me want to start another Selvedge Box right now!!!

Be sure to check in with Kathy's Quilts to see how others are Slow Stitching this Sunday, and with Judy's Patchwork Times to see how others are using their stash  :*D

Today is the start of the Sunday Football season,
so you know where you'll find me this afternoon!!!
Hopefully our Carolina Panthers can put together a decent season.....

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

22 comments:

  1. That's a fun fabric Teresa. I am sure whatever red you choose for the bird will be fine.

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  2. Your stitching is beautiful. I like the idea of starting off the day with a little creative handwork. I love the newsprint fabric!

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  3. what a cute snow scene and i think the bigger snowperson must be a big brother . . .
    LOVE the idea of using red for the bird~!!!~

    fun fabrics too.

    happy slow sunday stitching.
    :-)
    libbyQ

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  4. SUch fabulous stash enhancements....I am jealous!
    I agree with Libby...the bigger snowperson is for sure a brother ;) And he is giving a lecture on how to care for birds and wildlife in general! Thanks for linking up!

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  5. Well I like Sulky and DMC - think either one will work just fine. And great fabrics added to your stash!!

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  6. I think the DMC will be just the trick to brighten up those little guys. Your stash enhancement is wonderful looking. Great colors. I love your plan to sew some each morning with your coffee. Hope you can continue that practice. My plan is I sew each night from 12 to 1 am, so it works out about the same I guess! ha

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  7. I think the DMC will be just the trick to brighten up those little guys. Your stash enhancement is wonderful looking. Great colors. I love your plan to sew some each morning with your coffee. Hope you can continue that practice. My plan is I sew each night from 12 to 1 am, so it works out about the same I guess! ha

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  8. I do think that the DMC will brighten up the bird. Hope you'll share how it looks.

    What fun fabrics you found! I have to confess that when I first read the title of this post, I thought it read "stash enchantment" instead of "stash enhancement". ha! I've started to pay a lot more attention to the selvages now. Of the fabrics I've worked with since your Selvage Box post, they've all been pretty boring. ;-)

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  9. This is so cute ( Your embroidery AND the fabric! :)

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  10. I guess I'm a traditionalist about some things. I know a lot of people use 321, but I just like the look of 498. If you're dong ALL the birds in red, the 321 could be a little startlingly red, I think. What about some of each? I love the design you're making, and I think that is definitely a mom. She's filled with joy and teaching her daughter how to rejoice in the moment. =) Those fabrics are so cheeful! I laughed as I read the "newspaper" fabric. Thanks for sharing that!

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  11. I enjoyed your post - that newspaper fabric is the kicks! And congrats on your stash enhancement. Those are neat too. I like your red bird. He'll need a red triangle on his head to really look like one - easy to add - what a fun addition.

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  12. I love how you are adding a touch of red to your blue work. I have even doing that too and love the punch it gives! Only 41 days till my little jolting fingers touch down in Nashville!!!

    Lynnie Lou

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  13. Love the idea of doing the birds in red. Cardinals are my favorite too.

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  14. I love the red birds, it reminds me of cardinals. I really enjoyed the timeless treasures newsprint fabric. I may have to get some of that, just too much fun!

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  15. I just love your stitchery, I will have to try and source the pattern in the UK. I'm just about to start a red work quilt, adding winter/ Christmas images.

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  16. Your stitchery is so cute. I think it is a daddy snowman!

    Love that fabric!

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  17. Love the snowman blocks. Snowmen are my favorites for winter decorating. The fabrics are just too much fun. Glad I did not see the sale as I am finally back in the black.

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  18. Your snowmen stitching has me itchin' to get out my snowman pattern. Love all that new fabric, too.

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  19. I love the birds in red and I think the idea of doing them in different shades of red may be a good one. It would give some dimension and depth without the bright red being too overpowering--oh, wait. I forgot that I was talking with Teresa. There is no such thing as bright being too overpowering. : )
    What fun newspaper fabric! I was giggling reading the articles. Your stash has definitely been enhanced!

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  20. Thanks for a great laugh! I need to find some of that fabric...of course I have no idea what to do with it either but I need it!

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  21. Cute fabrics especially the newsprint, and the Andover Thesaurus! I would have never thought of embroidering with the sulky, but then they use it in embroidery machines all the time. Which may explain why there are times at estate sales I come across some stitchery which are so fine and delicate.

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  22. Your new fabric acquisitions are really cool! And, take it from this Cardinal's fan.......Fredbird says to use the bright red! LOL

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