Meet Henry

Here's my new baby boy. His name is Henry Blue, but just Henry for short. He has settled in quite nicely. The girls aren't totally taken with him yet. They don't like to sit or sleep by him unless I make them stay. Notice Ruby in the next photo. He loves to play, and is bigger and stronger than Scarlett already. I, of course, am absolutely smitten with him already. I give it a week, and I think the girls will be, too.

Here is my progress on Ann Rayner. I took the photo when there wasn't much sun. She's a beauty with all those bright colors. I started Sarah Woodham over the weekend. We just updated our guest bathroom, and I've decided that she would look great in there, so I'm anxious to get her stitched.

Thanks for the wonderful comments about Mary Ann. I was asked how I age my pieces. I have a couple of ways. If I'm trying to make my plain linen look more vintage, I use a few drops of Ritz liquid dye in a sink filled with about 2-3 inches of water. I prefer the tan and yellow colors.

For Mary Ann, I got the piece wet and rubbed it with Distress It. It's sold in a spray bottle at needlework stores. Originally, I didn't like the stuff. If you just spray it on dry fabric, it looks too speckled. But, if you wet your fabric first, then spray some on a cotton ball and rub it right on until it looks aged enough, it works much better. I've tried tea and coffee, and I never seem to get the look I want. Email me if you have any questions.