Monday, May 5, 2014

O Birdy and Blackbird Designs SAL

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was rainy but productive in a stitchy sense.  I would've rather cycled around and worked out my hips/thighs that have bloomed over the winter, however, sitting on those same hips/thighs catching up on Hart of Dixie with needle in hand was equally exciting!

So I finished La-D-Da's O Birdy. Thinking of a pillow finish with a twisted cord for trim. 


Details: Stitched on 40 ct Flax Newcastle linen, fast becoming my favourite linen to stitch on. Threads are a mix of DMC, AVAS and GAST.

I also threw in a few more stitches into Sarah Chapple and Magic Garden, my SAL with Maggee.  I still can't believe how long MG's fence is taking to stitch up!! Hopefully next Friday I will finish it.



Then after browsing through online stitching stores, and making mental lists of a plethora of designs to stitch, I came across the Blackbird Designs SAL that Alma and Barb are sharing with us.  I have yet to make a simple alphabet sampler and so have decided to participate in this SAL.  I'll need to put down my other projects to make time for this one.  I pulled some threads and had some difficulty with the pinks/purples.  I want to use my favourite Dinky Dye's Madi's Rose but I couldn't find it in my stash??!! Not sure where it took off to! Then I pulled two linens and am unsure of which one to use.  Let me know what you think.

Lakeside Linen's 36ct Buttercream.


This one is much more yellowish in reality, less cream! The yellow is very pretty and brings out the gold.

Or PTP's 36 ct Legacy Linen...nice marbled antique look.


Hard to decide.  Hubby thinks the Legacy but I'm leaning towards the buttercream. Decisions...I'm the worst with them!

Granny stripe progress! I've been crocheting on the train which is great.  I'm about to add another colour in for my ride tomorrow morning.  Can't decide between a teal or a dark plum colour.  I'll bring both.


I also had a surprise in the mail.  I recently won one of those darling little LHN sheep charts from Tricia at The Stamper's Stitches.  She included the most adorable little handmade card with the chart.  Once I stitch the design, I'll pass it on to the next stitcher. Thank you Tricia!!


From last week's bike trip, some black leafed clovers and pretty succulents.  We have a terrible time keeping succulents, no matter how much we DO NOT water them, they ALWAYS die on us.  I so wish to be able to keep succulents at some point in my life!!




Have a wonderful week! It's going to be sunny again when I work....isn't that the way?!

Anne

41 comments:

Margaret said...

Oooh, those succulents are so pretty! Love your afghan. Love your stitching! All of it! Your flosses look pretty for the BBD SAL. I've printed the chart but haven't done anything else. lol!

Krista said...

Lots of great stitching projects! Love your choices for the BBD SAL, either fabric looks awesome! I am still choosing!

Natasha said...

Those succulents are beautiful.... I have a hard time keeping them also. I really like that afghan you are making. Such great colors.

I am on the fence about starting that SAL I REALLY want to but gosh I have so many others things that need my attention... In the end I probably will stitch it though LOL

Hope you have a great week!!

Barb said...

The succulents are so pretty. I just don't think we live in a succulent type of climate. Although it does get very dry some summers. Wonderful stitching! I still haven't made up my mind on the BBD sampler but it is pretty. I will not use the pink shades if I decided to do it. Good luck with your choices.

Anonymous said...

great stitching, love the colors on the design

butterfly said...

Beautiful stitching , have a good week hugs.

Chris said...

Lovely update Anne!
I love the La-D-Da finish, such great colors, the berries remind me of Bittersweet.
You are very close to a finish on Maggie's Garden.
What a lovey mail surprise, that card is lovely.
Hugs to you and my boy Titus!

gracie said...

Love how O Birdy looks...I think I will have to do this one. Wonderful flower pictures.....the LHN Love pattern is sweet.

The Knitting Cross Stitcher said...

A really pretty finish and I absolutely love Magic Garden.
I like the buttecream fabric,can't wait to see you start on this SAL.
Congratulations on your LHN win,the sheep in this set are adorable.
Brilliant photos too..a very enjoyable post:-)

P.J. said...

Beautiful, beautiful stitches! Love the colors in your granny strip....can't wait to see which color you chose.

Annie said...

Birdy and Magic Garden are such nice pieces for spring. I always forget how long things like that fence are going to take too. But it will be worth the effort.

The fabrics for the BBD SAL look too much alike on my screen for me to make a choice. But I suspect you can't go wrong with either one.

Rhona said...

I love the warmth of the buttercream fabric, but it could, of course, be the picture! I'm sure either fabric will look great. Love the colours of your granny stripes, you're making great progress.

Mii Stitch said...

Beautiful finishes & gorgeous thread colours :)

Vickie said...

Sweet Birdy! Buttercream. That's what I think. Granny Stripe is awesome! How on earth do you carry those plants while biking?

cucki said...

Beautiful finishes and lovely threads colors
Hugs x

Shirlee said...

Lovely finishes & WIPs my friend! I eyed that BBD SAL but decided I just didn't have the time to commit to it right now. I may live to regret it though : ) Your blanket is looking great! Sophie wants to know why no picture of Titus : )

Melissa said...

You've been busy! I love O'Birdy - so cute! I need to buy more small designs to stitch and finish! Sarah is coming along nicely and the Granny Stripes are looking great.

I like the floss you chose for your SAL. I like both linens and it's hard to tell the difference in the photo. I know what they look like in real life and I would tend towards Legacy to give it an antique look.

As to the succulents, they need sun but they still need water too, just not as often as other plants and if you grow them in a container you need grittier soil so water can go through easily.

Linda said...

Wonderful update Anne. Congrats on the cute finish. Nice progress on the other pieces. I like either piece for the new design. Sorry, no help. lol

Linda

Melissa said...

Hurrah it's happy dance time :)

Beautiful finish anne.

I think I'm with your hubby on this one - legacy for me. I love the depth the fabric has and think it would go great with the sampler!

Blu said...

Gorgeous stitching! O'Birdy looks great.

I'm partial to Buttercream myself.

KimM said...

Oh my goodness. Gorgeous - everything - gorgeous!!!

Sarah in Stitches said...

Beautiful finishes! You're just jammin' on that granny stripe too, I love the colors! I just ordered a couple of those cute little sheep and can't wait to stitch them up :D

Mouse said...

oooo a feast for the eyes from start to finish :) love your choices but the legacy one will be more older antique looking if that makes sense... succlulants still need water ... not as much as other plants ..lol
looking forward to seeing more granny strips too :) love mouse xxxx

Julie said...

A lovely post.
Super finish, the legacy looks a better colour to me, but of course the computer never gives a true colour, I'm sure whatever you choose will look splendid.

Southpaw Stitcher said...

I just love O Birdy and Magic Garden! Congrats on your chart win! Great progress on your crochet. I can't seem to keep succulents alive, either.

valerie said...

Oh my goodness, So much stuff! How do you get so much done?! Love the O Birdy finish and great progress on Magic Garden and Sarah. I vote for Buttercream. I think the mottling of the other is too distracting for a sweet sampler. Great granny striping too! Rainy weekends are the best to stay home and relax or get things done. :)

woolwoman said...

such a great post Anne - loved seeing what you are up to. I have printed the BBD chart and plan to SAL on that one. Loved the Mailart post but didn't get to comment. Hope your weather continues to inspire you. Cheers! mel

Koala said...

Both linen will be great! Not helping much here :-)) I love your LaDaDa finish!! Somehow I love birds in samplers and am going to stitch one of Kathy Barrick's designs :-)

Lulu said...

Congrats on your beautiful finish!

Sally said...

Lovely finish and your Magic Garden is coming along beautifully.

Love both your fabric choices for the BBD SAL. I've dowloaded it for future use lol!

Those succulents are beautiful.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

I downloaded the SAL but I shouldn't make another new start without finishing something from my WIPs list!

I like the Buttercream myself.

Love the plume on O Birdy's head too.

Ele said...

Oh, I am also getting addicted to 40ct... It's a bit more difficult to work with bit I love the finish

Love your choice of fabric and threads for the SAL. I am going to stitch it too, thought have not kitted up my stuff yet. Was thinking of using Nina's threads.

Great finish you o' birdie, really like the colors

Have a lovely weekend

Dani - tkdchick said...

O'birdie looks great! congrats on the finish!

Annette said...

Ow those hips get some good stitching done. Lol!! I eat to much last days. When I wake up after my night shift Tomorrow afternoon I Will get my hips to work on my bike too. Hihihi
Great stitching on so many pieces!!
Your crochet blanket Is Groningen so fast. Awesome. Beantwoord colors.
I like both colors of fabric. Maybe the one below??
Have a great weekend with los of bike riding and stitching

Karoline said...

O birdy is lovely and your other projects are looking great

I like the colours you've chosen for the BBD sal, I'm going to have to save it for when a suitable slot in my rotation comes up

Carol said...

Oh, how pretty your birdy looks, Anne! I hope you enjoyed stitching him. I still have done nothing with my finish--keep wavering back and forth between finishing him as a pillow or framing him. I've gotten so addicted to my cording it seems that is all I do any more :)

I like the buttercream for the sampler, too--it really is a hard decision! I'm not good at making them either--too many choices out there these days!

How nice that you won the LHN Love Sheep--they are so sweet. And Tricia's cards are always so perfectly made, aren't they?

Hope you had a nice Saturday, Anne--it rained here, but I didn't care as I was at work :) Tomorrow looks very nice for our Mother's Day!

Solstitches said...

Lovely post with lots of eye candy to enjoy.
Your stitching is beautiful and I love the selection of threads for the SAL.
The linens look pretty much the same on my monitor so no help from me re choosing.
The crochet looks great and lovely that you won the sweet little design .
I've never seen a black leaf clover - pretty!
Margaret

♥ Nia said...

Very pretty wips you have on your hands :)
Those succulents are beautiful!!!

Brigitte said...

Oh my, what a great bird finish. I'm completely in bird stitching at the moment and have been gathering a lot of patterns that I found in my old and older magazines and in my freebie folder. T hey are all so lovely and I'd like to stitch them all this year. But there are also the roses that I was looking for last month. And my BAPs ... I think I need more time, lol.
Your granny crocheting is coming along great.

Stitching Noni said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stitching Noni said...

Oops, put the wrong comment on this post....... Silly me!!!
What I wanted to say was... I love O Birdy, can't wait to see him all finished into a pillow :)
I like Legacy.... Love the marble look but then again I am no good at picking fabric colours!!! They both look lovely though so I am sure that either will stitch up beautifully!!
Hugs x