First Friday Freebie

It’s Friday…and the first one of the month too!

At last…my First Friday Freebie that I just can’t wait to share with you all.

The idea came to me one evening not too long ago when the creative part of my brain just refused to shut down.  I guess after designing for so many years in the Decorative Painting industry, that part of me still refuses to rest.  Hence, the idea of FFF was born.  I can still fulfill my desire to design and create and hopefully you’ll like some or all of my designs well enough to include them  with your other creative endeavors.  That would just make my ♥ sing!

Have you felt that Fall is in the Air?

For my first FFF, I designed a mini quilt or wall hanging entitled Fall is in the Air.  It is Fall-themed and is stitched on tea-dyed muslin. 

The PDF file may be found by clicking on the above photo.  There you will be able to download the color picture, line drawing and instructions.

Click on the photo below to see a larger version.

Remember, you may enlarge or reduce the pattern to suit your needs and  all I ask is that you please respect the fact that all parts of the design are copyright protected.

If there is something about the design or instructions that you don’t understand, I am an email away.  There is a link to my email address on the sidebar.

So please grab my button, place it on your sidebar and link back to my blog in order that you can share it with those who might not otherwise find their way here.  This is my way of giving back to all of you who have made my life so much richer since I started blogging back in January of this year.

The button will also be a reminder  that on the First Friday of each month I will be posting a new Freebie design to share with you all.

Thanks for stopping by and as always…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

P.S.  My sincere and heartfelt thanks to Robyn of Daisy Quilts for her unyielding patience and assistance in helping me with all the technical stuff related to bringing you the FFF feature.   I could NEVER have managed this without her.

A Finish…and…Starting Friday…

First, let me talk about my latest finish.

Remember this?

It’s now this! 

My second completed x-stitch! 

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy x-stitching.  I find it both relaxing and challenging at the same time.   On the downside however, it has shown me how bad these old eyes have become.  Not only do I have to use my reading glasses, but my ‘mag-eyes’ as well, otherwise I can’t see where to place the needle.   A small price to pay in exchange for the pleasure derived.  So what if I look like a Martian  granny while I’m stitching!

Now I have to decide whether to frame this sampler or  make it into a pillow.  Any suggestions?

~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

And now for my other bit of news.

As a teacher of decorative art for 25+ years, I also created and published my own designs during this time as well.  Since my retirement, I have ventured into quilting and needle art and have found many similarities between my past profession and my current ♥. 

More and more I find myself translating my ♥ of designing into my stitching, and that is what I’d like to share with you all.

So, beginning this Friday…which is the first Friday of the month…I will be introducing my first,  First Friday Freebie.

On the first Friday of every month, I will be posting a new design for  you all!  With Robyn’s technical assistance,  you will be able to access a link to a PDF file which will include the line drawing, photo and instructions for each of the projects directly from my FFF post.

All the projects will be original designs and will be copyright protected.  However, they will be free for you to use for your  personal enjoyment.  All I ask is that you do not take credit for the designs nor try to sell them as your own.  You may change the colors and reduce or enlarge the line drawings to suit your needs.   And if you have any questions, I’m always just an email away.

So grab the button, tell your friends and be sure to come back this Friday for the first, First Friday Freebie.  The only hint I’ll give you is…‘Fall is in the Air!’

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Confessions of a Scissor Addict

Okay, today’s the day to come clean and to admit that I have a problem.  I’m addicted to S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S!

I ♥ scissors…every size, shape, color and purpose.  Whenever I walk into a shop that sells scissors, I have to look at their selection because you just never know…there might be something different there just waiting for a new home.

Let me give you a little peek.

There are big ones, ulility ones and some still in their original packaging.

There are stork ones, embroidery ones, some with fobs and some without…but that’s another story for another time.  And there’s even one with it’s own matching sheath!

These are my favorite pair which I purchased at the Vermont Quilt Festival this year.    They are Dovo scissors with a gorgeous embossed pattern on the grips.  And admittedly, these are the only pair  for which I paid full price. And these little beauties I generally pick up at Joann’s whenever I have a discount coupon to give as gifts with one of my scissor  fobs.

There are probably a few more that I’ve forgotten to include, but this is my main collection and I’m sure you get the idea.

Am I the only one with this problem, or are there more of you out there?  Come out, come out…wherever you are!

Happy stitching…and cutting…and snipping!

Kaaren ♥

EDIT:  Head on over to Ranette’s blog because guess what?  She came out too!

A Start and a Finish

It’s still hot and humid here and according to the weather forecast, it’s going to remain that way until the weekend.  I tried working in the gardens yesterday but the mosquitoes were brutal because of the high humidity,  so I retreated indoors after a short time.  Now I’m not complaining as that gave me time to finish one project and begin another.

I started on a Cinderberry Stitches pattern about a week ago and I managed to complete it over the weekend.  It is a mini quilt or wall hanging called A Christmas Wish.  I changed some things,  added a few different elements and jazzed it up with some red glass beads.  Just for a change, I hand quilted around the perimeter of the design only rather than travel through the middle as I normally do.  This is going to be a swap gift.

Then Mary from Quilt Hollow sent me this awesome freebie x-stitch sampler that she found in her blog travels.

You may find the link to the pattern here.

I started stitching this on Sunday night and worked on it yesterday as well.

I think this will compliment my Fall decorating quite well.  I’ll wait til it’s done before I decide whether to frame it or make it into a little pillow.

So these are my latest starts and finishes.   Have you been able to set aside some time to work on your favorite projects?

I’m happiest when my hands are busy and I’ve got some great surprises planned for you all starting in September, so stay tuned!

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

Free Pattern!

In my travel teaching days and prior to my retirement, every October for about six years I used to teach decorative painting at a three day retreat in Ligonier, PA. After lunch on Sunday afternoon when everything had wrapped up for another year, my girlfriend and I used to travel to Lancaster County for two days to unwind and shop.

Lancaster County is particularly beautiful at that time of year. All the shops and houses are decorated for Fall, the leaves have started to change color and there’s a slight crispness to the air, especially in the evening. The last time I was there, amongst my many purchases, was a spray of rudbeckia…or black-eyed susans as they are more commonly known…and a salt glazed pitcher from Eldreth Pottery.

Below is a closeup of the rudbeckia spray and Eldreth pottery pitcher that I used as the set up for my painting.

Not long after returning home, I set them both out which ultimately was my inspiration to paint Memories of Lancaster County.

That was a few years ago…before I started quilting.

Just last week when I was doing a walk-about in my gardens, I decided to cut some rudbeckia and bring them indoors to enjoy. Almost instantly, I was reminded of my Memories of Lancaster County painting which I immediately unpacked from amongst my Fall decorating items.

When I saw it again, the idea come to me about taking my original line drawing and working it into a stitchery project. Here’s what I came up with.

I used a tone-on-tone, vintage looking 13” x 16” piece of fabric for my background.

I then traced my line drawing onto the right side of the background fabric with a Micron, red ink permanent pen using my light box. If you don’t have a light box, you can trace the design using a window during the daytime.

I then backstitched the design with DMC 115 floss. This is a variegated floss which transitions from a dark crimson to cherry red many times throughout the entire length of the floss thereby creating interesting shading and highlighting. One skein will do.

When the stitching was completed, I trimmed the background fabric to 12” x 15”.

I used a dark red Civil War fabric for the 1” inner border and a brown with red design Civil War fabric for the 2” outer border. I then hand quilted it right through the stitched design as was done with traditional redwork and used a different red fabric for the binding.

Click on the black and white photo above to take you to the line drawing.

It is my intention to use my completed sample either as a swap or PIF gift. I invite you to throw caution to the wind and to use your creativity when you stitch this pattern. Please feel free to change the colors or to enlarge or reduce the pattern as needed.

Enjoy and as always…

Happy Stitching!

Kaaren ♥