Autumn Leaves Stitching

I started this embroidery project last fall with my stitching group, and I finished it up and had it framed this summer. I currently have this embroidery for fall, and my "Smells Like Snow" embroidery for winter. Eventually I'd like to have one for each season.



This was an interesting project. We collected leaves from our yards (I ended up taking some of my mom's leaves, from the Japanese maple in her front yard), and traced around three of them on the congress cloth. Then we took those same three leaves and rolled paint on them to print the full leaf near the traced leaves. We used hand-dyed thread to work blackwork stitches inside the traced leaves, then metallic copper thread to outline all of the leaves and their veins. It was a great introduction to some of the blackwork stitches and a fun project.

Happy Fall!

Afghan from Aunt Nancy

This is the last of the handmade wedding shower gifts--a hand-crocheted afghan by my Aunt Nancy.


As you can see, it covers our queen-sized bed, so it was definitely a labor of love. (The quilt underneath was made by my great-grandmother.)


It has already been cat-approved. (Luckily, it's also washable.)

If you look closely at this last picture, you can see the two cherubs and the interlaced hearts above them. We love this beautiful afghan! Thanks again to all of our generous friends and family who gave us wonderful gifts.

The heat of summer hasn't slowed down my crafting, but I have switched to embroidery and cross stitch for the moment, along with sewing at my sewing machine. Sewing can be a little tricky in the heat, as it usually involves ironing. I do have a couple of finished projects to share with you next time.

Home Again

Jack and I are now married and back from our honeymoon!



We went to Glacier National Park in Montana--it was beautiful and relaxing and fun, but I'm glad to be home. (The picture above is my hiking boots on the steps of one of the cabins we stayed at.) I'm especially glad to be home and without any wedding projects or checklists to work on! I loved that we did a lot of wedding stuff ourselves but it was also a lot of work.



(This picture is my boots on our front steps.) I have lots to show you--beautiful handmade gifts from our shower and wedding, the crafts I made for the wedding, and the great craft materials I picked up in Montana. I'll be back soon!