More retail therapy and...

Punch needle!

About ten years ago I came across some examples of punch needle embroidery in a needle shop in Ligonier, PA while I was there teaching decorative painting at a retreat.  I immediately fell in love with it, probably because it resembles traditional rug hooking but in miniature.  Of course I had to buy a kit but never did anything with it because by the time I arrived back home, the quickie instructions that were graciously given to me by the shop owner were long forgotten.

And so it sat...until this morning when I decided to drag it all out and give it a go.

Back then, You Tube wasn't developed to be the virtual on line classroom that it is today.  Last night I spent about an hour watching "how to punch needle" videos by some of the best in the business and do you know what?  

It's as easy as it looks!  All you need are the right tools.

I had some weaver's cloth in my stash, lots of Valdani thread to choose from, a Morgan hoop that was gifted to me by a friend years ago and of course a Cameo punch needle.

So this morning, I sketched a design, transferred it to the weaver's cloth and started punching!

I didn't get as far as I would have liked because we had friends drop over but you can rest assured that I'll be back at it tonight!  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I'm still working on my redesigned Down in the Garden stitcheries by Leanne Beasley but as you can see, I have been a little distracted.

However, the exciting part is that I've finally found the P-E-R-F-E-C-T fabric to use to do the patchwork part of the quilt.

Twenty-one glorious fabrics from Kim Diehl's A Vintage Farmhouse line of fabrics!

  
The colors are virtually identical to the floss colors that I am using in my stitched blocks.  I've been having a heck of a time trying to decide which fabrics to use to complete the quilt.  Nothing seemed appropriate.  It's almost as though these fabrics "found" me...and just when I needed them!  

Happy stitching!