Little finish today :)

I stitched this little piece today and will make a pretty pin cushion.

This design is from Pin Pokes I by Homespun Elegance. It stitched up fairly quickly. Such a cute little design! :)

I decided to add the little hearts... Looked like it needed some love ;)

Hope you are all getting some stitching time in today!

Raggedy stitches and Blessings,

Louise

Sewing Hearts! (Giveaway) :)

It was a very busy day at our house today, lots going on as always..but this evening I finally sat down and  decided to do some little projects with sewing tonight...first a couple of stitches more went into "My Everything" Designed by The Sampler Girl. Thank you to Ms. Linda Lee for passing the chart onto me! It is really such a sweet saying. I am having a lot of fun stitching it up! I decided to use Crescent Colors Hand Dyed Floss in "Cupid" How appropriate ! :)
Here is my progress so far:

Yep..I think I am totally giving up on Q-snaps! They frustrate me so much. They always get loose and my hands hurt when I hold them. I really like the tightness of the hoops lately..although I am not crazy about the circle left on the fabric. I do also like scroll rods too though.....
Now onto what I have been sewing tonight..cute , CUTE!
Look at these little Prim looking cushions for pins!
Just in time for Valentines day. I had this red ticking fabric and wasn't sure what to do with it...I also had some vintage looking lace..I put the two together and ..look what I came up with! :)
Cute right?

I filled them up with crushed walnut shells which is supposed to sharpen your needles as you use the cushions to park your needles with use. Now, I would like to give one of these away...well..ok, maybe I will give two away to two different winners! :) It is Valentines Day coming up after all..and I love to give from my heart...and these cushions need loving homes to go to. :)
They are nice and heavy in weight with the walnut shells in them.so you don't have to worry about them falling over off the table or anything like that. hee hee :P

Soooo..if you would be interested in a heart cushion for your needles and pins...and you are a follower of my blog, just leave a comment (make sure I can get back to you with an email)...and...that's it! I will have my daughter pick names on Tuesday..Valentines Day! :)

Thank you again to all of  you that always stop by my blog..I feel the love!

Raggedystitches,

Happy News and a little project

I have been busy volunteering with my daughter and enjoying each and every moment of every day. It is nice not working for the moment and spending time for "me". I have been catching up on some little projects, crocheting, stitching, and now plenty of sewing will be happening! My dear angel of a husband surprised me out of the blue the other day. He said we were going for a drive to a sewing machine shop!!
I have dreamed of owning a real quilting machine, and have wanted one for some time now. After working in a quilt shop in NC, I had gotten a taste of what it was like to sew on a quilting machine and knew that this was something I would like to have one day.
I explored the options in the past..asking friends what types of machines they have, and what would be the best for my needs. I really didn't want an embroidery machine, I wanted one more for craft sewing/quilting.
I never dreamed of owning a beautiful new machine would come sooner that I had ever imagined!
Did I ever tell you that I am married to the greatest man in the whole wide world, well I am! 
I am now the proud owner of a Janome machine!!! It is amazing! It runs so smooth and sews beautifully. I have been reading the book that came with it, and learning about all the features it has.
I truly think I am the luckiest lady in the whole wide world. I was thinking my first project up might be a table runner for our dining room. It is going to be so much fun creating new things.
I am soo excited!!!
Did I tell  you I am married to the greatest man in the whole wide world?!! :) (Can you tell how excited I am?!)
I stitched a freebie design by Carriage House Samplings (sorry I cannot find it on the web at the moment), I had printed it out some time ago. Not sure if it is still available or not?
I decided to omit the border around the edge. It was a quick easy design to stitch that I made into a pretty pin cushion. I used crushed walnut shells for filler, which they say sharpens the needles and pins with use.

I have a thing for purple, and just loved the fabric I found for this little cushion. It has pretty little purple flowers with bits of pink, green and blue. I love using crushed walnut shells as filler, it makes the cushion nice and heavy. I don't think I will use anything else from now on for my cushions!

I am off to tidy up the house a bit. Dinner will be easy tonight. Took out homemade meatballs in sauce from the freezer that I had made not too long ago. Having meatball hero's for dinner!
Tomorrow will be an enjoyable day volunteering at the church then lunch with my daughter :)
Last week we volunteered with young Mom's, teaching them how to make one of my favorite cookies! My daughter really enjoyed that. :)

I wish you all a beautiful blessed day!
Louise

Pin Cushion

Stitched up this freebie design today and made it into a pin cushion. I used 28 count evenweave with DMC thread numbers 3804 and 3021.
I used crushed walnut shells for the filling (just love that stuff!). It is supposed to sharpen your pins and needles as you use the pin cushion too!
This is a freebie from Primitive Bettys, and you can find the freebie by clicking on this link:

Valentine Freebie


I had the day off today and took a trip to Goodwill again...
I think I am their best customer!
We really need new everyday dishes, but I really like the old set from when we first got married. I found some last week of the same exact set, but they were all chipped except for one. I purchased that one plate for a dollar. I need to add to our set, being as we have broken some over the years. I like our old design called "Heartland" very much.
But! Today I meandered over to the dishes and kitchen section today and found a set of four dishes that were in tip top shape. I have a thing for the color blue (along with purple)..and I just couldn't pass these dishes up. They have a nice apple design on them. These dishes are called "Appletime" and were only a dollar each! I am sure we will get good use out of these dishes.
I like the fact that my everyday dishes will be mis-matched anyways..that's the country style right? :)


Although I keep bringing things to Goodwill to drop off I seem to be coming back home with more stuff...this is NOT good.
I had a plan, and I don't think it is working out as well as I thought.
I need to drop things off and NOT go inside..but oh! There are such treasures in that wonderful place!

I am so longing for the warmer weather. I am ready to plant flowers and to spend more time outside. I am looking forward to this summer!

Raggedystitches,

Peacock Pincushion

I stitched up a small motif of a peacock and decided to turn it into a pincushion.
I did some investigating online to see what the best "filler" would be for my pincushion.
I have always used fiberfill in the past, and that didn't seem to work out too well. (The cushion would not stay upright, and would not be heavy enough).

I came across a very interesting idea. Fill your pincushions with Crushed Walnut shells! I have never heard of this before, this was something new to me...
Now, where to buy crushed walnut shells? At the pet store!
It is sold as bird cage litter.

The peacock design is a freebie, and is part of a very old sampler dated back to 1742.
Colors were not listed, so I picked my own DMC colors, and I stitched it onto linen.
I do like the way it turned out, and the cushion is nice and heavy with the walnut shells inside. Supposedly, the crushed shells will sharpen your pins as you use the cushion..not sure about that, but we shall see!

You can always buy emery to fill your cushions, but the walnut shells were more convenient, and I was able to find them right away when I went to the pet store.

If you would also like to stitch up a peacock or two, here is the link for the free design that you can print out:
Free Peacock cross stitch motif


Raggedystitches,

Hugs and Kisses Pincushion

A little something I have recently stitched up.
I used polka dotted fabric for the backing.

Funky Chicken Pincushions

here is my latest creation!
These little chickens were just waiting to be hatched :)
Aren't they cute!
They are quite easy to make, and quick too....
Here is the link for the directions I used
http://www.web-goddess.org/archive.php/postID/2529