December Finish for OPAM

This cross stitch design is from NotForgotten Farm. I tea dyed the aida cloth to make it look antique. I finished it as a flat fold with Makower fabric on the back and a gold trim on the top. It will stay on my table until it is time to decorate for Valentine's Day since it is more a "winter design" than a Christmas one.

This is also my 12th and final OPAM finish for 2010. I want to thank Peg Coen for hosting the OPAM for 2010 - it helped me clear old half finished projects and forced me to be creative with finishes.

November Finish for OPAM

This cross stitch turkey is a Lizzie Kate design - the November #F44 Stamp. I used 28 count linen and finished it as a three dimensional foam box. The foam form measures 4 by 4 inches.

October Finish

This "Salem Witch" design comes from the Primitive Needle. I hand dyed the Aida 11 to give it a mottled look and used DMC Variegated 4120 for the letters and numbers. On the back of the flat fold I used a black cotton with white cats. I found a funky trim for the top. The piece measures 7" x 5 1/2".

September Finish

This design comes from the September 2010 Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine. The chart has three segments and I chose to do just two since I could only find a dual, not a triple frame. I took Aida 11 and dyed one piece lime green and the other tangerine. The rit dye website has an easy method for dying fabric with a quick set in the microwave! No more rinsing in water with salt - the high temps in the microwave set the color in under 2 minutes.

The cross stitch was a quick finish and the framing couldn't have been easier. I wrapped the fabric around a mat board and removed the glass.

August Finish

This cross stitch pillow was finished 2 weeks ago with upholstery fabric on the back.

July Finishes - Pillow and Small Quilt

My July finishes were actually started over a year ago. The pillow is made with Laura Ashley fabrics and is pieced front and back. The small Americana quilt was foundation paper pieced - my first attempt. The flag was redone several times until I finally figured out that I needed to shorten the stitch length to "hold" the pieces together. Once that trick was learned I was able to fly through the rest of it. It is machine quilted in the ditch and is finished in the primitive style to look hand made.

June Finish

This is a small quilt perfect for a tabletop. It is wool applique on a heavy cotton.

May Finish

This May finish is a cross stitch on natural aida fabric. I used sunflower fabric and assorted ribbons for the finish over a styrofoam block.

April Finish

Henrietta Turtle is a Heather Bailey design. I used upholstery weight fabrics for this stuffed turtle. It is roughly 5 inches tall.

March Finishes

The Easter display was inspired by the spring Pottery Barn display in the local store. I had painted the ceramic bunnies years ago and have one more companion piece to finish at some point in the "hopefully" near future. The glass vase sits on my latest and most simple finish. I purchased the upholstery sample at Alfred's Fabrics for $2. They have a large selection of similar items - from Toile to heavy upholstery samples - all $2 and under. I added gold gimp and the table display was done - couldn't have been easier.

The two cross stitch easter eggs are waiting for a white wire tree to sit on - problem is - no one has those this year! Oh well - maybe I'll find one before next year somewhere. The patterns for the eggs can be found in a supplement to Cross Stitch magazine from 1990. How scary is that? I still have that magazine but am obviously still using it!! I have one more egg in the works and will finish before Easter next week.

The photo of the foam box finish is from a kit for a Diane Graebner design "Pumpkins and Bittersweets Baskets". You can find her work at http://thestitchery.com/ . The piece has tiny orange beeds to add flower dimensions and is stitched on 18 count white aida.

February Finish for OPAM 2010

This Valentine's Day quilted wallhanging started as a panel that I cut apart and pieced with heart fabric. Of course the heart fabric has a direction which forced me to place insets between the squares. I ended with heart buttons to add interest. This panel is available at Alfred's Fabric for $2.50 - a bargain!!! If anyone wants one let me know. The panel actually has 10 inserts so there is an extra one for a pillow or bag.

The top photo is my Valentine's Day table display - an ice tree, my silver deer which will live on my table year round, and a ceramic heart box I made in ceramics years ago. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Finally a Finish for OPAM!

This finish is just under the wire for my "one project a month" for 2010. I have loads of WIPs but finishes are slow in coming. I started a Valentine's Day quilt a year ago but decided to hand quilt it instead of machine quilting. The hand quilting is wonderful, just a slow process. The quilt will be my next finish!!

This freebie can be found on Primitive Betty's blog. It
was a pleasure to stitch. I finished as a pin keep and used red rick rack around the rim.

The two ceramic pieces in the background are from my ceramic painting days! They are a great decoration for February!