our great escape

Shhh... don't tell anyone but....we went on a little vacation. I know, crazy, right? Thanks goodness for Vince who insists on these kinds of things once in awhile where as I can busy myself with the day-to-day of home life in oblivion without any trouble at all. It's only once I get there that I slap my forehead and think, "good grief, I almost missed this because I was trying to keep up with the laundry!"

Thank goodness also for living in an amazing state where you simply get in your car and drive for approximately 3 hours to a place where you feel like you are in another world.

So, here is where I share just a few of my favorite photos from our trip to Duluth and Two Harbors on the breathtaking shores of Lake Superior.

 I did take about a million pictures of the boys but I won't bore you with all of those - just this one of little Adam - my blondie - who just looks like someone who was born to run along a beach.

So today I really am going to have to try to catch up with the laundry. And the embroidery!

more free style fun

See, I told you one day I would start to finish up some of my many ongoing projects and here I am with another one. This was something that was born out of some sketches for another project entirely.

It didn't work out for that original project but I still liked something about the little doodle and wanted to do something with it even if I wasn't sure exactly what it would be. Don't you love projects like that? I do! I knew these were the colors I wanted - something Fall-ish but not FALL, ya know?

                           

I told myself I wasn't allowed to hoop this up in an embroidery hoop when I was done either - I had to force myself to try something else. So, I pulled out the sewing machine and made this fabric frame. There is one thing nagging at me though and that is the pattered fabric. I really liked it on the bolt but when I see it here it reminds me of cheetah or leopard spots and if there is one thing I am NOT about it's animal prints.

So of course, that's the only thing I see when I look at this. Isn't that always the way. I'll get over it, I promise.

More soon-to-be completed projects coming soon to So September - stay tuned!

2013 - the slowest year ever

Finally I have crossed the finish line and calendars are in the shop. I won't even go into all the excuses I could give as to why something that I usually have available in Spring is just now arriving. * sigh * Anyway, here is what I came up with for 2013:

1. For the crafter who prefers a blank canvas we have this little number:

I used some bright colors for the text but left the top of this calendar panel completely blank for those who have their own ideas about how they would like to embellish their year.

 You might recognize it from the photos for the free embroidery pattern from a few weeks ago.

2. For the crafter who might need a tiny nudge but wants to add their own personal touch there is this calendar panel.
It has three printed frames into which you can place anything - photos, small embroidery patterns, fabric swatches - anything you like.

I just happened to have some cute photos on hand so I used those. I am also including a half sheet of inkjet photo paper with every panel so you don't even have to make a run to Office Max and buy a bunch of it to make this. 

3. Finally there is the retro inspired, vintage style "Good Day" panel available in pink and in aqua. These are pretty much ready to stitch right out of the envelope - no transferring patterns, no deciding on a pattern - just go. I am including a skein of sepia colored floss with every panel as well.

 You can stitch them up a little or a lot - or even not at all. It's a design that could stand on it's own I think.

 

The other nifty thing is that when the year is over you can snip out the center design and frame it up in a six inch hoop and enjoy it for years to come. Practical - that's how I roll folks.

So that's the round up for this year. I guess my aim this year was to have something for everyone. We all know how easy that is, right? I actually had a lot of fun with these and I hope others will too. I don't know which is my favorite - there are certain qualities about each of them that I like. I may be slightly biased towards the one that has photos of one of my cute boys plastered all over it however.

If you think you might be up for a fun embroidery project and want to give these a go you can find these in both my Etsy shop and my Website.

And now that that's all done I officially need some chocolate!

hello

Hi there, I'm sitting here enjoying some air conditioned comfort (whew!) and thought that  perhaps I should check in since I have been MIA for awhile. I have been scrambling here trying to do some serious catching up. There have been ornaments, calendars and some just-for-fun projects all going on at the same time. Of course when you do that, nothing actually gets done and that is exactly why I don't have much to share. One day I'll just finish everything at once and we will all be in for a shock.

Anyway, today we decided to be brave and venture out on a very hot and humid day to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I have wanted to go for quite some time especially now that we are scouting out potential replacement trees for our backyard. So, we took a lot of photos like the one above. We came looking for trees but found dozens of flowers and shrubs we also liked. So we snapped photos of the labels for future reference.

And then there were the cute kid pics. I like to have these on hand so that when we look back on this day it won't be all the yelling and scolding we did that we will remember - it will be the adorable moments like these.

It's funny Vince and I both noticed a distinct absence of kids there today. I am pretty sure ours were the only ones there. I figure we were the only ones crazy enough to drag our wild boys out onto miles of nature trail in record heat (and expect that it might be fun). What can I say, we will never learn but we will always hope for the best.

can i interest you in a...

free embroidery pattern? Please help yourself to 4 Seasons Freestyle. A free embroidery pattern featuring some simple little designs for each season. I put this together to use for one of my calendar panel examples originally but it can be used for anything. I like the idea of framing them up in 4 inch and 3.5 x 5 inch hoops as well.

The 'freestyle' part comes from the fact that I began with the outlines in a neutral color but left the filling up in the air - making it up as I went along. The idea was to be able to 'play' as I stitched - like coloring in a coloring book. I wanted to use a lot of different stitches and try some new things. Because the designs are relativity small, it lends itself to stitch sampling - there aren't huge spaces to commit to if you just want to try a filling technique.

The assortment of stitches I used include satin stitch, herringbone stitch, rows of chain stitches. My variegated flosses that had been waiting patiently in the flossbox to be used finally had their chance to shine. I love them but always have a hard time finding just the right application. This seemed like a really good fit.

Calendar panels make their way onto the scene next so watch for those in the coming days.

a little patriotic prep

Who is ready for a big fourth of July celebration tomorrow? I'll be doing a little prep work today for my All American apple pie that will be served tomorrow. I only make it at Thanksgiving and Independence Day even though it is soooo yummy that I would welcome it any day of the year. I use this apple pie recipe. I haven't ever tried to do one of those lattice top numbers even though they are quite beautiful. This kind is just as tasty and easy to make.

Also in the spirit of the holiday I share this little contribution to the Spoonflower weekly fabric design contest. The theme was 'Stars and Stripes.' It's not my favorite thing I have ever made but I am glad I gave it a go. I am really working on forcing myself to stretch a little more creatively and make the time to just experiment even if nothing ever becomes of it. I'll do my best to always have the courage to share those attempts with you all here although I can't guarantee 100% that one or two things haven't been tossed in the wastebasket before they had a chance to make it into a blog post.

Have a happy and safe holiday to all my fellow Americans!