Coming soon...

sometime after the new year, Scarlett's Stitching Pretties! I hope to be up and running with an Etsy shop selling my hand-painted rulers, needle cases, and needle-minders. They are my original designs and will feature my favorite sampler motifs: birds, houses, trees, sheep, ships, flowers, and on and on. I will also take special orders, but mostly I like to paint whatever I'm in the mood to. Eventually, I have plans to include coordinated scissors fobs. Once the online shop is ready to roll, I'll be offering a set as a giveaway on this blog, so stay tuned. Here's a few examples.

A Scarlett house, of course!

This set was painted as a gift. I love painting birds, so I'm sure I'll be doing more.

I hate turquoise!

I've been stitching away on Dutch Spot~Motif Sampler for a week or so, and I'm just not in love with it. The charted colors look nothing like the way it was photographed for the magazine. I knew that I didn't like the colors when I converted them to silk. I should have switched the colors out right then and there. Actually, I do like the rusty reds, but not the turquoise green. But, I went with it, since I always figure that the designer knows better than I, after all it is their design, right? Since I have no desire to ripped out ye offending color, and restitch it, I decided to try my old trick of dyeing the piece. It tones down the colors, and I always like it better. Here's how it looked on vintage Luna from Lakeside Linen.

Fresh out of the dye in the kitchen sink, here's my new version. Instant aging! I think I can live with it now.

Miscellaneous Monday

First things first, Red House Sampler is framed and hanging. I went with a warm colored frame because I thought it suited the colors of the linen and threads. I didn't realize it at the time I chose it, but the frame has carved medallions that are very similar to the border design.

So, with that out of the way, here's a look around at how I decorate our house for the holiday.

I love the simplicity of small wreaths hanging on the Windsors and greenery tucked in with fruit. We put the tree in the dining room this year, our house is fairly small, and it fit well in the corner. I enjoy looking at it at dinner time.

What more can I say? I'm a colonial at heart.

A small collection of Santa's. I like the unusual and skinny ones the best. You won't find any roly-poly well-fed Santa's in the lot.

The kitchen counter tree, filled with small cooking utensils, and sitting in a coffee cup.

More kitchen...

More Santa's on the pie safe. These fellows are all salt-glazed. They are made by Eldreth Pottery in Lancaster, PA., and a new one is issued each year. I just noticed that the one on the right is a roly-poly chubby Santa, so I stand corrected.

Thursday this and that

Here is Quaker Christmas Sampler from Carriage House Samplings. It's stitched on 40ct. leftover linen from my stash with one strand of Sampler Threads in Cinders. I don't often use variegated over-dyes anymore, but I like the color changes for this piece. It's finished very simply into a pillow, and this is where it will sit for the next several weeks.

I hope to have the Red House Sampler framed any day now. I'm waiting for my husband to re size the frame I've chosen, and then I can get to work. The whole time I was stitching that sampler, I was planning ahead to what I would stitch next, like I know we all do. What I thought I would stitch next is not what I've decided to do after all. Yesterday, I sat on the floor and surrounded myself with my stash, wondering what would catch my eye. Do you do what I do, and narrow it down to a few then decide? Well, I ended up choosing to start Dutch Spot~Motif Sampler which was in an issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly awhile back. I have long loved this sampler, especially the stags. Also, notice the simple border. I was able to finish the bottom part last night.

I would also like to give special thanks to Sherry from Blog It for honoring me with this award.

I have been asked to pass it on to five blogs, however, I'd prefer to share it with those of you in my Inspiration list. Your blogs truly do inspire me, and I love sharing common interests with you all.

I've been busy decorating for Christmas, and I hope to post some pictures soon.