Candle Mat Finished

It's been a busy week here at the cottage!  My teenagers are back to school...no more sleeping until noon or late nights for us.  The first week always seems to be a challenge as everyone adjusts to the new routine.

But for me, it means long, quiet mornings with a good cup of coffee and plenty of time for stitching. (That is once they board the bus for school!)  This week I finished this "Autumn Blessings" Candle Mat which is now listed in my Etsy shop:

And of course, there is still plenty of canning to do here as well!  This weekend I'm making Picallili (Green Tomato Relish), so I'll be sure to share that with you as well in a day or two.  Have a great weekend!
~Kim

Finished Projects

I've recently finished stitching a couple more items for Autumn:

For this towel I chose to use "Butterscotch" homespun cotton plaid.

And of course, I finished another pillow tuck:

I love this little black cat peeking out from behind the pumpkin!  This is another pattern from Homespun Elegance that I just adore.  I also opened my Etsy shoppe and now have some of my Autumn items listed.  I hope to add more on a regular basis so please, stop by and have a peek!

~Kim

Finished Stitching Projects

In between canning and cleaning out the boys' closets to get them ready for school, somehow I've managed to finish another towel and a pillow tuck.  I'm hoping to have items listed in my Etsy shoppe before the end of August...just in time to begin thinking about decorating for the Fall holidays!  Of course I have plenty more projects lined up and waiting.

I just love how this little pillow tuck turned out:

And I have three more designs from the same pattern to add to it!  The pattern collection is entitled "Pumpkins 'A Plenty II" and was designed by Sandra Sullivan of Homespun Elegance. (I just love her designs!)

And here's my latest towel....I thought the buttons made for a cute addition:

Hopefully I'll get more stitching done this week but my next project is canning dill pickles later this week.  I'll be sure post some pics and of course, the recipe as well.

Another Finished Project

I just finished stitching together this little guy for Halloween and he seems to enjoy just hanging out around  the rolling pin rack....mmmm...makes me begin to think of pumpkin pie for some reason!  The pattern for this is entitled "Oh, To Be  A Witch" and is designed by Sandra of Homespun Elegance.  Sandra has designed an entire collection of these adorable folk style Halloween ornaments.  You just have to take a peak at her blog, Plain and Fancy Merchant, for her latest designs!  Next on my list to stitch is some more autumn towels and candle mats!

Finished Project

I've been anxious to get to started on stitching some of my homespun towels for Autumn so of course this past weekend I did just that.  I used unbleached muslin for the stitching area that I first dyed in a mixture of coffee and vanilla which was then dried out in the oven to give it an old primitive look....and it doesn't smell so bad either!  These are really quick to stitch up and make for great additions for my holiday gift baskets which usually included homemade apple and pumpkin butters and other homemade goodies.  I'll be stitching more of these this week and I'll be adding some to my Etsy shoppe later this month as well along with other autumn items.

Ready for Autumn Stitching

With today's heat index at an unbearable 110 degrees, I've decided to follow the forecaster's warning and stay inside....with the air conditioning and plenty of water of course!  Perhaps it's the heat of summer that has me longing for the arrival of Autumn with its crisp, cool nights and nature's abundant display of color?  With anticipation for my favorite season, I'm ready to start stitching up some Halloween items.  I've picked four different colors of homespun cotton plaids to create into hand towels with various Autumn Folk Art designs that I'll stitch on by hand. I also purchased this pattern designed by Sandra Sullivan of Homespun Elegance of these four adorable little pumpkins which I'll be stitching into ornaments!  But no matter how much stitching I get done today, you can bet I'll be staying cool!