Stitching Strawberries

Good morning, good morning! I'm sure some of you wondered if I would ever post my June bowl of smalls, didn't you? Well, I'm happy to tell you that I just finished them up yesterday and I'm eager to share them with you. Although I didn't get as much stitching time as I would have liked (do we ever??) due to dealing with the estate sale at my childhood home, I did manage to stitch and finish four new strawberry themed pieces along with three adorable fabric strawberries. Is there anyone out there who doesn't like strawberries? I just wish the season lasted longer, but at least these little creations will stick around a while!

First up is a freebie from Cosmic Homemade called "Sweet Strawberry" which you can find by clicking here. I really love the combination of the black crows with the burgundy strawberries in this one. It is stitched on 32 ct. raw natural linen using the suggested DMC colors (although I did switch the two reds here and there). To finish it off, I made a small pillow with the black and tan gingham fabric and a bit of ivory colored trim. Simple and sweet, just like the berries!

"Sweet Strawberry" Freebie

Another freebie finish (available here) comes from the "Le Chalet des Perelles" blog. The chart can be obtained by emailing a request to Cathy, who designs so many pretty things for us (look in the right sidebar under "Contactez l'auteur" to send an email to her.) "La Maisonnette aux Fraises" (The Strawberry Cottage) is stitched over one on 28 ct. natural brown linen using the suggested DMC colors. I omitted the heart and butterflies and added an additional bird. I've used this pink dotted fabric in many of my finishes and, unfortunately, am just about out of it! I think you can tell it is among my favorites--there is just something so happy about polka dots, isn't there?

"La Maisonnette aux Fraises" freebie

Trying to find a piece that included the name of the month with some strawberries was a bit difficult so I ended up combining several Lizzie Kate charts to serve that purpose. I had this charming red and green print fabric which I wanted to use in my finish so I pulled the thread colors from that and I love the final result. I used the strawberries from Lizzie Kate's July Flip-It, the birdhouse from her June Flip-It, and the beehive from the LK chart "Plant a Little Sunshine." What do you think? Outside of the piece being a little wonky (I always have trouble getting those lines straight on flat finishes like this--does anyone have any hints on getting them straight?), I'm very pleased with the final product. It turned out a bit larger than I would have liked and if I ever stitch it again, I'll try doing it over one rather than over two on 32 ct. Jobelan.

Lizzie Kate June Flip-It
(using bits of "July's Flip-It" and "Plant a Little Sunshine" charts)

Finally, I stitched this little pin pillow by Hillside Samplings which can be found in the chart called "A Berry Nice Sampler." It is stiched on 32 ct. gray touchstone linen using the suggested DMC colors. I rather like the salmon colored berries and the variety of stitches really give this finish a different look. The strawberry is made up of Diamond Stitches with Satin Stitched flowers and grass. Throw in a few Smyrna Stitches and it makes quite a lovely, little piece. (I did leave off the words "Berry Nice" that were charted--just liked it better without them). I used the darkest salmon color to make my cording and topped it with a little bow to finish it off (and hide the corner where the cording meets!).

Hillside Samplings "A Berry Nice Pillow"

I had been wanting to try making some fabric strawberries for a while, so what better time than now? Oh, I just loved making these little things and would have made dozens if the end of the month wasn't closing in on me. I followed Martha Stewart's template for the berry itself, but rather than using her template for the top of the strawberry, I simply cut one free-hand out of some olive colored felt. They are filled with fiberfill rather than the sand that Martha suggests. (Do you think she disapproves?) After gathering the top, I just glued on the "leaves" and added a pretty pin. Can you see how making these would be addicting?!

Fabric Strawberries

Below are the fabric strawberries, my four latest June finishes, and "Summer Splendor" which I showed you in my last post:

June 2012--Strawberry Stitching

And here are all five displayed in my bowl of June finishes. Wow! Half the year is over--do you think I can keep this monthly goal up for six more months? I'm afraid my Christmas ornament stitching has fallen by the wayside--sure hope I can catch up at some point!

June bowl of strawberry stitching

I want to thank all of you who emailed me asking how I was faring after the estate sale at my childhood home two weeks ago--your concern meant so much to me. An amazing amount of time and energy goes into a sale of that magnitude--from the hauling, to the sign making, to the pricing, to the organizing, to dealing with the buyers, to the cleaning up afterward. It may have been one of the most physically draining things I've ever dealt with, but even harder was the emotional toll it took. Having moved into that house when I was only five years old meant I had a 52 year relationship with it and it was ever so hard to see it emptied and all of its belongings carted away by complete strangers. Luckily, a few old neighbors and relatives bought larger pieces of furniture, so it's nice to think of some beloved things going to good homes.

In the end, very little was left so I would judge it an extremely successful sale which helped make all of our hard work worthwhile. I do plan on writing a tribute to my old home at some point, but, right now, it is just too hard to do without tears welling up in my eyes. I truly can't believe I'll never spend another moment of my life in that special house...

Thanks so much to all of you who entered the drawing for the newest traveling pattern: "Summer Splendor." The chart will be traveling far, far away--to Australia!! Yes, the winner is:

LISA from Lisa V's Lounge

Congratulations, Lisa--I know you'll enjoy stitching it as much as I did! Please send me your address and I'll get this in the mail to you next week. And for those of you who didn't win, you may want to go check out Lisa's blog--when she is done stitching this, it will be up for grabs again...

I do have a couple of stitched gifts (a birthday gift and a baby gift) that I've finished recently, but I think this post is long enough already and I'll save them for another time. I leave you with these gorgeous flowers that appeared earlier this month. Foxgloves, snapdragons, and wild roses (complete with a "Daddy Long Legs Spider"!)... their blooms have faded now, but they sure were pretty at their peak!

June flowers ~ 2012

Thank you all for your very thoughtful comments and emails--each one is so special to me, I hope you know that! Welcome to my new followers, too--it's so nice to "meet" you... I still shake my head when you tell me my finishes inspire you! My finishes have come a long way over the past three years since I began blogging, but I still find it amusing that some of you find my little creations inspirational. However, I thank you so very much--your compliments truly warm my heart... Enjoy your weekend and take some time to stitch! Bye for now...