stitching and knitting...

I've been working on lots of knitting projects lately but I'm still trying to fit in the stitching projects as well. I wanted this piece of free motion embroidery lace to look like it was the insert in a window frame so I stitched bullion knots around it in a steel gray color. The rest of this piece will be revealed sometime in the future.

click on the images for close-ups.

bullion knots forming a frame around the fme lace

I've unearthed an old UFO....maybe 20 years old....after hearing someone mention 'crinoline dolls' in Karen Ruane's class Simply Stitch 4. Mine is a pillowcase doll that was never finished but now it will be incorporated in my daily stitching project. I will somehow incorporate it into the duvet cover I'm working on with vintage linens. I had already done quite a bit of embroidery on the skirt section.

pillowcase dolls

I'm still working on the front section of the Downton Abbey coat and am getting close to making the button holes. I wanted to make buttons from the same yarn so I made one to get the proper size for the button hole.The tutorial for this button is here, if you'd like to try it. There is an actual button within the one made with the wool.

a button for the coat

I unearthed this little outfit that my grandmother knitted for me when I was just under 3 years old to show to my fellow students in a knitting class I'm taking locally. It is still in very good condition as nobody has worn it since then. I also found some pictures of me wearing the outfit. My dad's hobby was photography so there are pictures of everything preserved in albums. The color of the outfit is close in color to the coat I'm now knitting.

sweater, gored skirt with suspenders and a little hat

me, wearing the outfit with my mom who is pregnant with my sister here

my dad had to capture every pose

My grandma was the knitter....and crocheter....and embroiderer of so many of the things we wore.

grandma....an expert in handwork

I am so grateful to my parents and my grandma, the only grand parent I ever really got to know, for all the things they taught me. I was real lucky to have them in my life.

Hope you all have a great weekend and another productive week to come. Stay safe wherever you are.

a wonderful week...

My Amaryllis bulbs are on their second round of blooms. A new stalk popped up and produced four beautiful blooms.

click on the images for close-ups

4 beautiful blooms

I'm working on a project and needed to create some free motion embroidery lace. I learned this technique from Karen Ruane and just love what can be created.

free motion embroidery with bits of cloth on silk net...damp stretching takes out all the wrinkles

embellished with hand stitching

Karen taught how to make ball buttons this week in Simply Stitch 3.

a bead, perle cotton #5

Simply Stitch 3 ends on the 14th, and Simply Stitch 4 will begin on February 24th. If you think you might like to join in, read about it here.

The 2014 daily stitch project continues but really haven't been getting to it every day....but that's ok.

adding some of my stitch to vintage cloth

Last week, I showed you a picture of some yarn I ordered. I haven't received it yet but here's a picture of the scarf I intend to make and the book where it was found.

it will be a challenge

lots of pretty patterns within. you can see some of them on Amazon

Hope you've created a wonderful world for yourself.
CBS has created a marquee as it looked 50 years ago when the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. You can see it here. and I'll end with some Beatle music from the 60s...

Enjoy...