Year of the Stitch: A Scary Tree

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The next Year of the Stitch candidate is ready for needle and thread. Sure, the tree looks a little threatening like it could fall on the house at any time. But maybe it’s just wants to be friends with the house? Anyway, the stitching must begin!

Ignoring the imminent danger of a falling tree, our jolly little house gets the full stitch treatment. Blanket stitches surround the door, and shore up the rooftop and sides of the house so breakage will be at a minimum. And note that stem stitches securely anchor the base of the house into place. So take that tree!

One more thing. Just in case there is a wind storm, the windows are outlined with straight stitches holding them in place and protecting all from falling branches. Whew! I think we are safe for now.

Year of the Stitch: One Down

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Whimsy Lane #10 is all stitched up! Finishing it with a fused binding that is machine stitched felt a little bit like cheating but I really want to move on to the next Year of the Stitch project.

This little quilt makes me happy. It was a delight to stitch and gave me something to look forward to every day. We all need small creative goals to achieve to keep life interesting.

If you’d like to keep your life interesting, check out my free tutorial on the fused binding here.

Year of the Stitch: Whimsy Lane #10

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My big distraction right now? Seed catalogs. Perusing the colorful illustrations distracts me from the 10 inches of snow covering my garden beds. And as I complete the final embroidery stitches on the Whimsy Lane quilt, I imagine Spring, Spring flowers, and sunny days.

To decorate the Whimsy Lane sun I use fly stitches around the pinked edges and make arcs of fly stitches inside the sun shape. This hot color for a hot sun, a size 8 Oranges thread, is the same as used on the rooftop and center of the flowers. Each fly stitch is accented with a French knot made with a size 12 Aquamarine thread. There. I feel warmer already during this Year of the Stitch.