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Saturday, July 23, 2011

New Finish and Bountiful Baskets

 Little House Needleworks
Liberty and Justice
28 ct linen scrap
Called for DMC threads

This little beauty of a pattern was obtained from Teresa in a trade.  Thanks, Teresa!  I have a finish-finish planned for this item and am working on it now. 

I have been stitching mostly on  Part 3 of Mystery Sampler by WTNT. I saw Myra's change to cardinals in her sampler and just love it!  Unfortunately there are no cardinals anywhere around me (stellar jays are about the only real color I see regularly).  

Helpful suggestions needed!
I joined L'Atelier Perdu Mystery Club and got Part 1.  It is a darling mystery piece, but it requires stitching over 1 on 32 ct linen.  :(  I was struggling so bad that I pulled out one of my Crazy January Challenges that is stitching over 1 on 28 ct linen to see if that was any easier. It is easier but not much. 

Now Part 2 of the mystery has arrived and I am still pleased with the design but feeling unsure if I will be able to do it.  My question to you is---Natalie, the designer, has suggested using 40 ct fabric and stitching it over 2 threads as an alternate to the 32 ct over 1.  Do you think this is the way to go?   I normally avoid 40 ct fabric because it is a struggle to see. 

This is something new to me and I wanted to share with my friends/followers. I signed up for a weekly basket of produce called Bountiful Baskets.  Today was my first pick-up day and look what I got!  A huge head of lettuce, one eggplant, one cauliflower, two bunches of broccoli, one english cucumber, one pound of strawberries, 9 bananas (green, not overly ripe throw-aways), six Fuji apples, 4  large peaches (whoops, I forgot to put them in the picture) and 10 nectarines. 

For $15 plus $1.50 handling charge.  There is also a first-time basket charge of $3.  I thought it was a great deal!  Here at my local farmer's market peaches are $1.99 lb. I bought 5 last week and it cost me nearly $6.

Bountiful Baskets is not everywhere across the USA.  And the pickup locations are limited.  Click here to see if this is available in your area.

12 comments:

valerie said...

Cute finish! As for the mystery, I personally would do 40 count because I like stitching on that count but if it's too hard for you, you may want to try a 25 count evenweave to stitch over one. The holes should be easy to see and the threads would be plump enough for a nice stitch. That would be 25 stitches per inch versus 20 (on 40 count) or the 32 stitches per inch the 32 count would have given you. It all depends on what you'd like the finished size to be.

mdgtjulie said...

Wow, that's really awesome. OH and KY aren't listed for that, but I wish they were!!! My mom and I could split them. She likes the things I don't, and vice versa. If you can see okay on thirty two count, I would suggest that you work it over two on thirty two count. You'll have to get a bigger piece of fabby, but if you can't see on forty count, and over one on thirty two count is defeating you, I'd say it's your only option other than twenty eight count, which is almost as bad. Hope you figure it out!! Congrats on the little finish. I love looking at people's patriotic pieces!!

Nancy said...

Cute finish! As to the over one stitching, I would go to the 25 count over one so piece would not be too much bigger than the 32 ct. Great deal on the produce!

Laurie in Iowa said...

What a great deal you got on your Bountiful Basket.

Donna said...

I'll echo the over one on 25 ct. Using 40 ct will not be an easier on your eyes.

Or is there anything you can do to bump up your lighting and magnification?

Gabi said...

I agree with the 25ct. I'm stitching Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow over one on 25ct. If you don't have any 25ct on hand to try out, give me a shout. I can pop a scrap piece for you in an envelope to try it out.

Carol said...

I just love this little finish, Teresa--so cute. I'll have to remember this one for next summer...

I just tried stitching over two on 40 ct. and really enjoyed it, but I like the other's suggestions of over one on 25 ct. or even 28 ct. Good luck--whatever you end up using, I'm sure it will be beautiful :)

Myra said...

I love your little patriotic finish - very cute. I personally do not enjoy stitching on anything smaller than 35 ct and prefer 32 count. I have done a few pieces on 40 ct but that was havoc on my eyes. I am about to attempt something over 1 on 25 ct and hope that will be better for me. I try to stitch on what I enjoy, even if the piece is larger than the designer intended.

Thank you for the compliment on my Mystery Sampler - I can't wait to finish it up!

Giovanna said...

Very cute finish, congrats!

Teresa said...

Glad you were able to start on the trade patterns, I haven't fit them in my rotation yet.
Don't know much on stitching over one.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

Siobhán said...

Congratulations on the finish! It is adorable.

Why don't you just do over 2 on the count that works best for you? It doesn't have to be the same size as the model, right? Or is it just some parts of it that are over one? I love 40 ct--and a lot of that is because I'm too lazy to have to worry about using two threads--but I think stuff on lower counts is just as nice. Good luck with your decision!

Lorrie said...

Teresa, It was such a coincidence to see your finished Liberty and Justice pop up on your blog the exact day I finished it myself. It is lovely and look forward to seeing how you finish it! Lorrie