Meet Delilah.  My stitching assistant.  I think she has been in other pictures because she finds all things fascinating, and if she determines that you are doing something she finds interesting, she has to get in the middle of it.  Delilah is Dan's cat that he adopted from a city animal shelter.  She is 5 years old, and had been a shelter kitty for a long time, and with him a year.  I think because of that, she is very easy going.  She also posesses many other great character traits: she likes being around people, loves to be carried, is very playful, responds to her name, only scratches a scratching post, doesn't mind the veterinarian, and is very cuddly.  I have never really been around cats much, and really enjoy her.  She also loves thread, watching tennis on TV (she will try to swat at the ball on the screen with her paw), and is known to beg for treats.  After Dan and I are married and I move to his apartment it will be interesting to see how she feels about another female in the house.  Because I often have to find a picture for the blog she didn't try to situate herself into, I thought that Delilah (the name the shelter gave her) was deserving of her own post! 

Anyone else with a furry stitching friend? 

Always, ~Jaime

This is my first try at finishing a flat ornament.  I should start from the beginning!  I found a kit on the floor of the cafe in a bookstore.  It was from the magazine Molly Makes.  I went to find the magazine because I liked the free kit, and the pattern is in the magazine.  I couldn't find it, and then the sales person, said "oh, just keep it".  Well, I tried to stitch the flower from the little picture on the front, so I don't know how successful I was.  Because the piece itself came to me so randomly, I figured that I would use it to do some experimental finishig.  Well, experimental for me who has never done it before!  I used two pieces of foam core.  It was sticky on one side, and made for needlework.  I also used a glue gun to reinforce it.  I covered two pieces of the foam core, and then stuck the two pieces together, wrong side.  Oh! I also put my trim in between to make a hanger.  I have identified a few problems (It looks better from the front):

1. The piece seems very thick to me.
2. Because it is so thick, you can see the trim glued in between when you look at it from the side
3. The corners are very messy.  I cut the corners and I am thinking that maybe I shouldn't do that? 

Otherwise it wasn't too bad a first attempt, but it will be a while before I do this with a piece I spent a lot of time on.  If anyone has suggestions or remedies, please feel free to post them.  I am going to compile everyone's suggestions into a list for making flat ornaments.  Thank you for your help!

Kindly, ~Jaime

I am so happy that it is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, and am very grateful to Joyce for putting this together. The February IHSM I wound up having a fever and cold, and didn't really stitch much at all. I am ready for this weekend though! This is actually the perfect weekend for this. My Honey is a devout basketball fan, and will be avidly watching March Madness- the perfect opportunity to join him at his apartment and do some stitching. I am going to be finishing a big project I hope, and also finishing a course I am taking through the Embroidery Guild of America. We will see! I hope everyone enjoys the weekend. Kindly, ~Jaime

Spring is my favorite season.  Where I live it seems like there isn't really a spring.  It seems like the snow takes a long time to melt, the ground becomes soupy and muddy for a week, and then it is summer.  Needless to say, I savor any springtime that I can!  

I love this series from Lizzie Kate.  It is called Spring ABCs.  I love seasonal motifs and samplers, and I think that this is the perfect combination of the two.  This is the second piece I ever stitched on linen around this time last year- so it is sort of an anniversary for me!  

Before last spring, my stitching consisted mostly of kits I purchased at craft chain stores that used standard floss and 14 count Aida.  I also would stitch stamped cross stitch pieces.  For embroidery, I would often buy kits that included pillow cases or a dress scarf, and then pick colors for the stitches.  

I went to a needlework store that was close to my house, and it opened up a whole new world for me!  I had no idea what 28 count linen was, or what it meant to "stitch over two threads".  A woman working at the shop showed me how to count the threads, and steered me towards patterns she thought would be easier for a beginner- my first introduction to Lizzie Kate!  I couldn't wait to get home to try it, and I was truly enthralled after one stitch. 

Shortly after that, I started searching online for patterns and found blogs devoted to the topic of needlework.  This fostered also a renewed excitement in embroidery and also to trying to sew.  For quite a while I had also been thinking about starting a blog, but didn't know what kind of topic to blog about.  I was in graduate school studying library science, and was learning a lot about technology and social media. The idea came to me to start a needlework blog because of everything I was learning from others- thus Lessons on Linen was started!  

So while it is spring and a time for new beginnings, it is a good time for reflection to help me move forward. Thank you for reading!

Pattern: Lizzie Kate Spring ABC's

Thread: Crescent Colors (called for in pattern)

Button: Just Another Button Company 

Frame: Joann's Fabrics

I have posted before about this wedding announcement project that I have been working on.  I haven't had much time for other stitching or finishing because of this project, so then it seems like I am not blogging very often!  I find it hard when there is a deadline to balance everything.  I am so excited to be doing this, but I miss being free to work on what I want to work on!  I also miss thinking of blog posts to write about especially because I still have lots of finishes to post about and other projects I would like to show.  I still have the commitments I made in my last post to fulfill!

This project has gone through many different color changes, but I have settled on these.  Also, the design has changed, as I have have tried to figure out what was the fastest, fit the best in the heart cutout, etc.  I decided on a lavender sprig because in the language of flowers it means 'devotion'.  There will be lavender in the flowers on the wedding day!  The cards are from Christinae Dahlbeck of Germany.  The lavender design I modified and changed, but found the original idea in a German cross-stitch and craft book from Acufactum.  The English title is translated as All Beautiful Things.  
 I found this paper at Joann's Fabrics to cover the back of my stitching.  The announcement will be written by a calligrapher on the inside of the card.  I have finished 17, and only have 20 more to go!  Now that all the decisions are made, and the design sorted out, the stitching is going to move along much more quickly!  Fortunately, there isn't too much other planning to do.  We have a scheduled elopment in Quebec City with four guests for April 4th at 3:00.  The next day we leave for a Paris honeymoon- and hopefully everyone will receive their announcements that week of our news!