I purchased these kits from The French Needle, one of my favorites to purchase supplies.    They are a little bit out of my comfort range, but I am excited to give it a try. The sheep kit involves wrapping thread around a wire to create the wool, and the two flower kits are ribbon embroidery, a first for me.  I am working my way through my Daisy ABC's project, and will post a picture when I am finished with the first row of letters.  

I purchased this kit from Rosie LIttle Things several months ago.  I have one letter finished- 25 more to go!

Here is a project that I am in the process of finishing.  I am having so much fun with finishing!  This past summer I took a sewing class at a local sewing school.  I am so fortunate to have been able to do this.  The class worked in my schedule and gave me the confidence I needed to try my hand at the sewing machine.  I have been motivated to try different finishing techniques because of work I have seen on the blogs of other stitchers.  I would read posts and wish so much that I was able to finish my needlework projects so beautifully!  That was my main motivation for taking the class.  I am trying to learn as I go, and to find as much information as I can online.  Also, I have been on the hunt for a good book title on needlework finishing techniques.  Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!  

I have decided to name this "Winter Hat Girl".  I was given this stamped piece of fabric by a very, very dear friend.  She gave me four different 'hat girls'.  I became inspired by red work embroidery, and thought that I would finish the hat grirls in a pseudo- red work embroidery way by only using a single color for each design.  They are rather large in size for a pillow, so I decided to make them into seasonal wall hangings based on the pictures.  With her muff and mittens, this one clearly seamed to be the one for winter!  Here are some of the project details: 

• Design: printed on muslim, given to me by a friend
• Thread: DMC #318
• Stitches: back stitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, French knots 
• Fabric: from Christmas fabric selection at Joann's Fabrics
• Stitching: one or two threads

My grandmother taught me how to embroider, and I kept thinking about her as I stitched this.  She would have loved the design!  After completing the front, I realized that you could see the back of the wall hanging through the muslim, so I am going to attach some interfacing to it.  This is not something I knew about before, so I hope that it works.  I am still not sure on how to make it 'hang', but I happened on a craft show this weekend, where I got an idea, so I am going to try it.  I will definitely post a final picture when it is completed!

I am so pleased with how this came out!  Here are the details: 

• Pattern: JBW Designs Le Chat- French Country cat 
• Thread: Gentle Arts Sampler Threads in Blue Jay 
• Fabric: navy and cream check 

This was a bit of an expirement for me as I had never finished any cross stitch piece before!  I found it much easier than I had thought.  I measured the finished piece so that it would be centered in the pillow, and then figured out how much fabric I needed on all of the sides based on the size of the pillow form I purchased.  The pillow form was 11in. x 11in.  I then made a piece in the back so that the form could be slipped into it.  I feel that the buttons really make a difference on the finished pillow, and add a nice touch.  I couldn't believe how easy it was to make the fabric covered buttons!  It was a little bit of trial and error with the amount of fabric that I needed, but once I got the hang of it, they really look nice.

I tend to imagine things in my mind as being very complicated to do when I have not done it before, and then become hesitatnt to even try.  I am glad that I persisted with this because it is something that was definitely within my skill level, and a project that I would like to do again.  I gave this to a very close family friend who recently lost her kitty, and it was well received.