Tale of a Shooting Star…

I haven’t added to my stash in a while, since I’m trying to decrease my stash, not increase it. But with all of the new goodies that I just had come in to One Star’s Light Needlework Supplies, I just had to dive in. I couldn’t help myself! I justified the purchases by using my PayPal balance that I had built up by selling my old stash that I no longer wanted. I still have lots of stash to sell, so maybe I’ll be able to buy some more stash? 😉

Here’s what I bought:

Gentle Art Sampler Thread – Huckleberry

Kelmscott Designs – Heart Thread Keep

JBW Designs – French Country ABCs

The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio – Limited Edition – Bianca’s Scissor Pocket

The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio – Limited Edition – Fabulous Fall

The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio – Limited Edition – Winter Wonderland

The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio – Lounge Chair – The Garden Chair

Silk Pack for The Garden Chair

I received a lovely bit of mail today. The post man brought me my copy of 3-D Cross Stitch. If you’ve never taken a look at this book, I highly recommend that you do. I was first captivated by the potpourri houses that are featured on the cover, but then I used the Look Inside feature on Amazon and found that there is also an entire, adorable village that you can stitch. Well, call me sold! I’ve had it on my Amazon wish list for a little while and decided to get it while I was ordering some of my textbooks for school. The only wrinkle? Amazon doesn’t have it for sale from them directly anymore. You have to get it from one of their marketplace sellers. This turned out to be no problem and I was able to get the hardbound version of the book for less than $4. Even better, it was in perfect shape when it arrived – in brand new condition! I was pleasantly surprised. I paged through it and was in love all over again. It really is a nice book, full of some pretty neat projects. Now, all I need is time and materials!

I beaded the necklace portion of the scissor pocket last night, so, as I predicted, here is my finish:

I decided to leave off the “fringe,” but I value the opinions of my readers, so I’m curious as to what you think. Take a look at the finished photo above and compare it to the stock photo from Mill Hill that I posted a couple of days ago and let me know what you think. Fringe (tassel) or no fringe?

Indeed, I was able to finish the beading and add the backstitching last night, as I had expected. I actually even started the finishing last night while watching the Olympics. I stayed up way past my bedtime to do it, though. Good thing I was already planning on taking a vacation day today so that I could sleep in! All I have left to do is to bead the necklace portion of the pocket and add the beaded fringe. The jury is still out on the fringe, though. It’s only three little beaded strands protruding from the bottom center of the pocket. More like a little tassel, really, which doesn’t seem to fit the rectangular pocket. I could really take it or leave it, so I think I will do the necklace and then decide on the fringe afterward. Either way, I predict a finish-finish by the end of the week.

I was so happy to receive my order from Monique‘s Etsy shop in the mail today. She’s destashing and I was able to take advantage of her sale and buy some new items. Nothing that I just HAD to have, but some things that I was grateful to get for a really good price. They are both Mill Hill kits, which some of you who have been longer term readers know that I absolutely adore. I pulled the photos from Mill Hill’s website and will show those here, in lieu of actual, finished photos, which will come later.

First up is the Treasured Scissor Fob kit called Amethyst Crystal. I immediately ripped into this one and put it together in about 15 minutes or so. I’ll show a scan tomorrow.

The second is a Scissor Pocket kit named Iris Maize Sampler. After I was done with the scissors fob, I tore open the package for this scissors pocket and started sorting the beads. The sorting took me a while and then after dinner, I put the first stitches into the piece. I am now about halfway finished and hope to have a finish to show you tomorrow or Wednesday.

Photos are property of and copyright Mill Hill.

Yet another finish for me tonight, but a good-sized one this time. I’m so happy to have this piece finished so that it can get to the framers. As you can probably tell from the wedding date on the piece, my goal is to have it framed and ready to go by their first anniversary. After all, it’s their wedding present…. Whoops.

I’m sorry that the photo is dark, but I’m not very good at photos and I tried to take it after 10:30 PM, so I was doubly doomed. I tried to take a little closer snippet shot to give a better idea of the colors and textures of the stitching.

As always, click on the thumbnails for full sized photos.