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Sunday, January 12, 2014

Bertie is in the House!

Before I show you the newest Bertie BOM, I just have to share with you the GORGEOUS cross-stitch piece my talented daughter made for me for Christmas.....


This project took her quite a while to work up - how's that for Slow-Stitching?  I had purchased the pattern (see photo below), fabric and flosses - and then they sat in my studio for ages waiting for me to find time to get to it.  Of course, it never happened.  I mean, when there are a million quilts in the world that I want to make, what's the chances I'm going to work on cross-stitching?  So when Christy - who loves to cross-stitch - had some time on her hands and was looking for a project to do, I passed it off to her and asked her to make it for me.  She started working on it last year, but she hadn't gone very far before it hit her that she could make it fit ME a lot better with a little tweaking.

Original colors.....
Peace, Love, Joy & Life Quilt Sampler
Picture from Cross Country Stitching magazine
Although the original is beautiful, Christy thought it would be even more beautiful in my colors, so she changed out the flosses to make it in Moonglow colors!!!  Black, purples, aquas - YUM!!!

Moonglow by Teresa Raleigh 2013

And then she took the redesign even further!  She designed new and more complicated designs for most of the blocks!!!  Oh my!  This proud mama is SO tickled with this sweet Christmas present :*)  Now I have to decide how I want to finish it.... Wall-hanging?  Pillow?  Needlework box cover?  I'm leaning toward mounting it on canvas as a piece of wall art, so it can hang in the bedroom where Moonglow lives :*)

So, now, on to my own Slow Stitching.....

I received my February kit for the Bertie's Year BOM a few days ago - how cute is this?????


 I am smitten with the sweet, shy - dare I say coquettish? - tilt to her head ♥♥♥
And I suppose in the bird world, these bleeding hearts serve the same purpose as mistletoe in ours?

January Bertie is almost done..... sorry - another night picture with a glare :(


All the hand stitchery is done except for the snowflakes.  I used the sharp tip of my needle to "draw" a line to stitch the center seam on the leaves.  I really like the shiny brightness of the threads - it gives it a little color punch :)



Then I used my favorite marking pencil, the Clover White Marking Pen to mark 1/4" marks on the seams where the white Fly Stitches outline the HST border....


I was having trouble keeping those stitches uniform without marking.  I love the way this pen's marks disappear when you iron the fabric, but with these stitches, the marks don't show anyway :)  This Fly Stitch actually took much longer than I imagined it would.  There was a definite learning curve - I kept making the stitches too fat in the beginning and had to pull them out several times.  And it took a lot of thread too.  And while I'm whining, let me say that I would have called this a chicken or turkey track stitch :)  This doesn't look like any fly I've ever met!


Now all I have left to do is sandwich it and lightly quilt it.  There is no mention of quilting in the instructions, and I'm not sure if that's because it won't need quilting or because they just took it for granted that I would??  At any rate, I've decided the little white snowflakes all over the center will probably be all the quilting that is needed.


The instructions also call for an interesting "false" binding and the envelope backing method.  I'll try to take good pictures and show more about how that is done next week.  Hopefully this little quilt will be hanging on my wall by then :*)

And guess what I just found last week while doing some cleaning in the studio????
Another Dinosaur UFO!!!  


This is a hand-stitch applique project from this 1992 Miniature Quilts magazine below .... you can see their finished project there in the middle.... of course mine is done in jewel-toned batiks


I started it several years ago to practice my needleturn skills after Mary Sorenson came to our Guild.  I love the fact that each flower is made from a circle of hearts ♥  I got 3 flowers done, and apparently something more exciting must have come along and snared my attention - can you imagine that?  LOL!!!  I'm thinking to make some templates and finish it up using the starch method that I have come to prefer.  It would be a GREAT little carry-about handwork project!

Now for those of you who have hung around for all of this, I offer the reward of some 
Stash Enhancement!!!

I picked up these pieces at Little Blessings Quilt Shop in Crossville TN on my way home last week.....

LOVE that sewing fabric!!!   I told my husband I want a sewing machine like that!!!!!
And of course I'm always ready to add blacks, whites & grays to the stash ♥
I had been really good about not stopping at any of my favorite quilt shops on this trip, but I was bone tired and getting sleepy, so I had to stop for a bit.  (You know of course that the way home is about twice as far as the way to somewhere, right?)  And it just so happened that I was near the Little Blessings exit, so.... yes, I swear, all a coincidence my friends!  And that's my story, and I'm sticking to it :*D


And my acquisition of these luscious dots is all the fault of my friend Deb over at A Simple Life Quilts!  


She posted about these Spot On dots by Robert Kaufman on her blog - and she showed pictures!!!  Now how am I supposed to resist that?  I ask you?  Really?  Dots??????  And colorful, fun, happy Dots, at that!!!???  I jumped over to Hancocks of Paducah and pulled a few of these into my shopping basket lickety split!  And I have to confess, I'm glad I did too :*D  These are so beautiful and will enhance many of my projects going forward!  You'll be seeing these again soon my friends ♥

Linking up today at:

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

24 comments:

  1. Oh my word, that cross stitch project is simply breathtaking! That just screams YOU! Whatever you do with it, it must be somewhere where you can see it regularly ... no use where it might get tucked out of sigh from time to time. It's absolutely delightful!

    February's Bertie is so sweet ... I too love that turn of her head ... so sweet.

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  2. Your daughter did a super job on the cross stitch. Love the Bertie - I would call that a turkey-track stitch myself. A the mini hearts (love the mini heart tin) looks like a quick pick-me-up project.

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  3. Oh I love the combination of blues, purples and aquas too!!! Love your wool BOM. I just finished my 2013 BOM...which was applique and am looking forward to the arrival of my 2014 Sue Spargo Wool BOM...which is due to arrive end of the month!! (I can't wait) With that said, thanks for the tip on the clover marking pen...I must get one of these!!! I'm a new GFC follower..next time ya stop by...I hope your inspired to follow! With smiles! Val from myplvl.blogspot.com

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  4. I love the cross-stitch project and the Bertie! They both look great.

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  5. Love love love the cross-stitch project. What a special daughter you have. Also love love love Little Blessings. It always seems like I have to tank up, get a cuppa at Cracker Barrel, or get rid of the last cup (if you know what I mean) just as that exit comes up. Just sayin' .....

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  6. Your daughters's crosstitch is just wonderful! I still can't believe your wall hangings are flannel. Love your stitching on them. Do you use any kind of fusible to keep the edges in place before you stitch them? Looking forward to the others!

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  7. The cross stitch is so very pretty, how thoughtful of your dd to 'personalize' the project, too. Oh, so much work! Your Berty work so going to be an amazing BOM finish, I love the Feb. picture and can't wait to see your version. So much to see today ~
    :-}pokey

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  8. You could die resisting those dots. A wise choice on your part.

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  9. The cross stitch is beautiful. Those dots are great, and I see why you couldn't resist.

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  10. I just saw these Bertie patterns the other day and thought they were precious!! I am so jealous! You are doing a great job... what a fun and adorable project.

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  11. Love your cross stitch gift and your Bertie block is beyond cute

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  12. Your daughter is just INCREDIBLE!!!

    Such a beautiful piece of work and created just for mama...she's a good girl! :)

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  13. You found some great fabrics. I always stop at Little Blessings on my way east. A very friendly shop. Your daughter is as creative as you are! I like the changes she made to thhe pattern. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. The cross stitch is striking. Compliments Moonglow. Your leaf stitching is exquisite. Good tip on marking for future stitches.

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  15. Your cross stitch project is gorgeous! I admire anyone who does cross stitch as it is the only stitchery that I do not do...and like you I would love to have a machine like that on the fabric, but the fabric would do in a pinch:)...I am on a stash buying diet and here you are tempting me with those yummy dots! Oh my, they are so very lovely and would be a great addition to my stash as well...I will have to be strong and resist the urge to buy some...ugh...have a great day.

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  16. I'll say it again ... your daughter's work is simply stunning!! It's a wowzer for sure!! Miss Bertie is coming along swimmingly!! I love Miniature Quilts magazines!! And girl ... you always have the best *enhancements* to your stash!! I love the sewing notions print! And the dots...oh the dots!!! Happy Sunday, my sweet friend!! :)

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  17. You picked up some amazing fabrics! And your daughter's cross stitch is lovely.

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  18. Christy did an incredible job--looks like she made no two blocks the same. It will be a perfect wall piece in your room with Moonglow!
    Your work on Bertie is beautiful, Teresa. Of course, that comes as no surprise. : )
    What a sweet little applique piece. Had you completely forgotten about it?
    I think you are the queen of stash enhancement.
    Another post full of wonderful things!

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  19. Love the cross stitch. What beautiful colours

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  20. Your daughter did a fabulous job on the cross stitch sampler for you. The colors are perfect and so is the entiment. She is a chip off the old block-not that you are old, just a saying, you know.
    Your Bertie looks super. You are a pro at that fly stitch. And you are right, doesn't look like any fly I've seen either!

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  21. The cross stitch is lovely and she did such a wonderful job changing it up. Love Bertie, and seeing your progress.

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  22. This is just creative stimulus overload! Holy moly... so many gorgeous photos! And I love that sewing fabric, with the pretty hand crank machine!!

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  23. Too bad none of my hand cranks needs a new paint job. What fun material. Your daughter did a great job. Sew you!

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  24. What an amazing post! The cross stitch is unbelievable (and I know how long those take all too well!) and the Bertie is way too cute. Your fly stitch was well worth the learning curve as it adds so much. And the dots ;-D... you're oh so welcome!

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