June Embroidery from Sarah Jane Studios

I started working on a cross stitch the other day and I found this sweet embroidery that I forgot to share.  I made this for my sister but haven't finished it off yet. I plan to put it onto a beach bag and probably give it to her this summer!

The little girl embroidery pattern is from Sarah Jane Studios. I love all of her designs and fabrics- so sweet and innocent! I like all of her months of the year series, but I thought this little one was so cute.  The Holly Hocks were a free pattern that I don't remember where it came from.

The Holly Hocks remind me of summers growing up because we always had an abundance of them and they are so pretty! Can't wait for the Holly Hocks to grow in at our new house.

This weekend was pretty good- I went for a long walk with my husband and dogs. We were trying to find deer sheds but we didn't find any. The outdoors were beautiful though and it is always nice to be able to spend quality time with my loves.

Hope you all are having a good Monday and that the week treats you well!

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Cheers- 

Zoe

Embroidery and a Giveaway

I love embroidery. It don't know when I started liking it so much, but I remember being really little and loving seeing all the beautiful wall decorations and tea towels my grandmother made. I have done a few embroidery projects- tea towels, wall hangings, but I want to get better at embroidery (I want to get better at all the crafts I am doing actuall, but embroidery specifically).

This summer Floss Box is having a summer stitch school on their blog. I haven't had time to partake yet, but it should be a good skill builder. They have tutorials for a large varieties of stitches and go step by step to explain them.

Here is some pretties from pinterest that have been inspiring me lately.

 Love the colors- love the saying- would be beautiful for a laundry room. Absolutely love her blog too. Source: SarahJane Studios.

Love this- so cheerful- love the fabrics hanging there on a line. Source: Paint Me a Picture.

I love quilts that have embroidery in them. So nostalgic and sweet! Love that the embroidery is also on dofferent fabrics. Source: LeAnne's House.

Another great effect- redwork. I love it so much- I someday would love to make a redwork quilt! Source.

So just in time for my embroidery obsession:

Geeky Sweet heart is giving away this too cool embroidery case here.

Act quick- it ends today!

Elephant Embroidery for Baby Shower

My friend from high school is having a baby girl this August. She is decorating her nursery with an elephant/vintage circus theme- the bedding they picked out is so gorgeous.

When I was thinking of what I would like to make her I knew it was going to be something with elephants, but when I stumbled upon this sweet free pattern at So September I knew that I had to do it. I love the details, the shape and the whimsy of the pattern and I love how it turned out.

I used a 28 count blush linen for this project- If I had been in less of a hurry while picking out the fabric I probably would have found something a little more pink and a tighter weave fabric. It would have made getting all of the shape of the curly details a little easier. But I am very happy with how it turned out- especially the buttons- too cute!

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Back from Vacay, So reviewing my goals a little late!

We just got back from Florida yesterday. We left on August 1st so I didn't really have time to review my goals, but vacation was awesome. We went to butterfly world, went on an Everglades tour, went to the beach several times, went parasailing and went snorkeling! All super fun and I also got a lot of stitching finished on the plane rides!

Today when we got back though, Scout was mad at us. She wouldn't pay any attention to us and kept pouting and whining. After a little while I think she forgave us for leaving her and started cuddling and playing.

Anyways, here goes my stitching update!!

Goals for July-
1. Work on quilt- get all pieces cut and 1/2 of quilt pieced together- Kind of Finished. I had this goal completed until we decided to make the quilt bigger (queen size)- I have most of the pieces cut out and all of the fabric purchased. At least 1/2 of the main part is pieced together.
2. Work on pepper embroidery on towels- Finished. I got the second one done on the plane.
3. August Calendar ornament- Stitched, and I stitched September too.4. Not a goal, but I did work a little on my vegetable wreath.

August Goals-
1. Get quilt all pieced together and ready to be quilted.
2. Get caught up on scrapbooking.
3. Work on Vegetable Wreath cross stitch
4. Get baby birth announcement picked out and purchased.

Quick Update

Well, I haven't posted in a little while, but that's just because I have been so darn busy!

Progress this month: I have over half of the quilt pieced together. But then we decided to make it a queen sized quilt, so I have some border pieces to cut. Once I get those cut I will probably take a short break on this project.

I have also got one of the pepper towels finished and started on the second.

We have mostly been spending extra time canning. We have made a batch of pickles, a batch of salsa, and a batch of diced tomatoes. We plan on doing a batch of salsa today.

This weekend is the county fair. I entered my "Touching the Autumn Sky" and "2006 Cherub". I am a little nervous about how they will do, but it was fun to put them on display at least.

Running has been going well. Yesterday was the first workout that I didn't get done. Last week was 20 min on Mon,Wed, Fri and 30 minutes on Saturday. This week was 20 minutes on Mon and Wed, Skipped Fri workout. 40 minutes today, and 20 minutes(Friday make-up) tomorrow. I feel like I am in a lot better shape already.

New Blog

I am starting this blog as a way to keep track of my cross stitch projects and share them with my friends and family. I plan to post on my completed projects, my work in progress projects and my other crafts I like to do.
This is my most recent finish, a set of huck towels for my kitchen. I really love these patterns and the little puppy reminds me of my little puppy. I have worked on these for about a year and a half, putting them away and then working on them for a couple weeks. It is great to have them done and hanging in my kitchen!