Miss Littlebury's Beau

I've finally finished this little sampler. It took forever! It's a small, simple stitch. I was just so uncomfortable stitching in such bright colors I would often forgo stitching on this little piece for another of my projects. If you remember, the inspiration came from some 1930's reproduction fabrics I had in my stash. I adore the fabrics but I am much more accustomed to stitching in duller shades. As I said, I wanted to challenge myself by going outside my comfort zone. I still contend it's a good idea, I just now have a desire to stitch a sampler all in shades of brown :)

I just kept telling myself that all those antique samplers I love were originally stitched in colors just as bright. I do think I will stick to stitching reproduction samplers that look as though they've already been aged through time, but I do like the way this sampler turned out.

If there are any other adventurous souls out there who, perhaps with Spring approaching, would like to try a brighter sampler I am offering Miss Littlebury's Beau as an e-pattern for $6.50. I will have the sampler posted on My Designs page soon but in the meantime if you would like to order a pattern for this sampler please e-mail me at appleseedprim@yahoo.com.

Next I have planned a little sewing and perhaps even some punch needle. While continuing to sort through my things I happened upon a huge stash of weaver's cloth and can't bear to see it sit in a box any longer. In the meantime I have a few free patterns to finish up to help everyone welcome Spring so check back soon.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Antique Textured Picture Frame Tutorial

I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted. It's been busy around here. This time of year has a birthday seemingly one right after the other. January 10th, February 12th, March 1st, April 5th and April 6th. It seems that before we've even finished the last batch of cupcakes I'm off baking the next batch. I really should be baking a few more batches now for Jeremy's birthday party tomorrow but . . . I just couldn't keep away from my projects another day.

I wanted to share a quick tutorial with you . . . a finishing technique for an textured antique frame.

Supplies:
frame, any size
latex paint, any color
plaster of paris powder
steel wool or sand paper, fine or medium grade
gel stain or brown shoe polish

I started with an inexpensive frame I picked up someplace awhile back. I didn't paint a base color since the frame had already been stained a light brown. If your frame is unfinished or if you dislike the color of the frame you can paint a base color. Then paint a few coats of your main color, mine was a basic white.

Nice, but too bright and shiny for my taste. I used steel wool to sand away some of the white so the undercoat of brown showed through. Once you've applied the topcoat it will be difficult to sand though to the base color so it's best to do it now.

The topcoat is made of 1 cup of latex paint the same as your main color and 1 tsp of plaster of paris. I used a plastic spoon to measure and mix; nothing too precise. You can add more or less depending on how much texture you want. Now this is obviously more than you would need for an picture frame. I make up a batch and then store it in a small mason jar to be used for other projects. Closed tightly the plaster of paris will not harden but if it does get a little thick you can simply add water until it's the right consistency.

I simply painted the topcoat onto my frame. The texture will adhere to certain parts of the frame and you can always dab more on where you want it. If you added less plaster of paris, it will go on like regular paint with only a slight texture to it. If you added more it will be more like smearing icing on a cake. Either way look greats, it just depends on your own preference. Now I let it dry and then gave it one last sanding focusing on the areas I sanded the first time to bring that base color out. I then rubbed some shoe polish onto it for aging; it gathers in the texture quite nicely. Now, here's the tough part. Plaster of paris does take awhile to set. If you do not allow it to set fully the topcoat will peel right off when you sand. I'm an impatient person so I put mine in the oven on a low heat which certainly sped up the setting process.

Here's a closeup of the frame:

For now it's hanging in our living room with a few old family photos displayed inside. I love the look of frames without backing. I am contemplating another project to accompany this one so this frame may serve another purpose soon and I'll be sure to share.

I am feverishly trying to finish a sampler I've been working on for weeks now. It's so small I can't imagine what's taking so long. Perhaps it's all the cupcakes :) I just have a few more stitches and then the finishing. Hopefully, I'll be sharing that with you next week. Until then, I hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of Winter.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Inspired . . .

I had a plan. I knew the only way I was going to get anything done this past Summer with the children home was to be very organized. I knew I wouldn't have much time to create; I also knew I couldn't spend any of that time looking for things to create with. So last Spring I spent two days sorting, folding, labeling, cataloging, putting like with like, and bundling projects together . . . and it stayed that way most all Summer long (yeah me!). Then came the start of the school year, dance lessons, the rush of the holidays . . . you know what it's like.

Just the other day my husband was running around the house looking for some paperwork. I had it tucked away in a folder for him. I know where my daughter's glasses are and my sons' homework. I can recite everyone's schedules and can rattle off an inventory of our entire kitchen pantry. I know the amounts and due dates of all of our bills and can tell you what we're having for dinner a week in advance. Of course I spent three hours this past weekend looking for my prairie cloth. I did find it (eventually) but had managed to make an even bigger mess in the process. Mina, my two year old, helped a good deal in that department. I find burlap rather itchy; she couldn't stop rubbing it on her feet :)

I'd long since given up the idea I was going to sew up the doll that afternoon and instead gathered everything I had found before I found my prairie cloth and organized it in this little tote. I think it's time for another sorting. Hopefully, I'll be much more productive afterwards and even if I'm not is there a downside to spending a few days admiring all my goodies? I find things I forgot I had and I get a fresh perspective on things I see every day. I will most certainly be inspired to create and with a little bit of luck be able to find the things I want to create with!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

My husband is sneaky . . .

My husband is quite sneaky. My Valentine's present along with these lovely flowers and some chocolates (most of which were eaten long before I could take a photo of them) was the BBC Series The Hour on DVD. Though my husband and I watch BBC America quite a bit I had never intended to watch this particular show. It was complete happenstance I turned on that first episode one evening this past Summer but within the first fifteen minutes I had already decided I was staying up late that night to watch the remaining episodes through our cable company's "on demand" service. I enjoy the show very much and of course had to start watching it that very evening. Now for the sneaky part . . .

Most evenings my husband and I watch television together I'm stitching, so he's relegated to his side of the sofa, opposite me. Now he knows that The Hour is a show I enjoy so much I will not stitch during it, leaving my lap free of linens and threads and available for him to rest his head in. The series is six episodes affording him at least three nights of my running my fingers through his hair instead of stitching. Sneaky. This isn't the first time he's done it either. We seem to have a growing collection of movies and television shows that I will not stitch while watching. Sneaky, sneaky. My husband rarely comes right out and says what he's feeling (he says it's a by-product of being British) but I think this is his way of saying he's jealous of my stitching. His most recent attempt to rid himself of his rival will most likely affect my productivity over the next week but to be honest I would much rather snuggle with my husband than stitch most any night. Just don't tell him that . . . there's a few more DVD's I'd like to add to our collection first ;)

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Happy Valentine's Day!

Young love . . .

I'm sorry I've been so quiet lately but it was chaos last week and this week is shaping up along those same lines. Unfortunately, I have nothing in the way of stitching to share, but thought this was appropriate for Valentine's Day.

Between my two sons I never would have imagined Benjamin to be the first to experience "puppy love". He's always been a bit of a loner, happy in his solitude, showing the most affection to his lovey, a stuffed puppy he's had since he was a baby. We were all a bit surprised when he started talking about a little girl in his class named Lily. Given the smile on his face whenever he spoke of her it was obvious to all of us she was special. Their friendship has grown over the last several months, on the school play ground, across the school lunch table and during play dates and birthday parties. Last month Lily helped his choose the guests for his birthday party and just last week Benjamin came home from school with "I [heart] Lily" scrawled on his arm. She wrote it for him, apparently. Whoever gets to school first will wait for the other at the door so they can walk in together, usually holding hands, but only after they hug. At the end of the day Benjamin holds the door open for her as they leave the school. I asked him awhile back if Lily was pretty. He giggled and said he didn't know how to tell if she was pretty. I told him that someone is pretty if looking at them makes you smile. He said, then yes, Lily was very pretty.

The picture above is of a Christmas card from Lily to Ben. On the inside she has written:

Dear, Ben

Mary Christmas you'r my B-frend. I love you. xoxoxoxo Lily

Benjamin made a point of showing me that there were four xo's at the bottom of the page and telling me that those meant hugs and kisses.

This photo is of one of Ben's writing project from right before Christmas. For those of you who find it difficult to decipher the handwriting of an 8 year old I will translate:

I love to make Lilian smile. I make her smile when we play together, when I tikle her and when we have fun together. I love to make people smile.

I know he's only 8 years old but I think he has the right idea. Who knew so much could be learned from the love letters of children? Is there really any greater joy than making someone you love smile? My son already knows that joy and I hope he carries that with him always. If there's anything I have learned about marriage it's that there are so many things that can get in the way of that feeling, that obscures the purity of just making someone you love smile. I have to thank Benjamin for reminding me of it . . . .

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

A free pattern and extreme aging technique

I've had an idea for awhile now . . . I wanted to stitch a sampler that looked old . . . really old. I began fussing with some scrap linen and a block of sandpaper. Yes, sandpaper, 180 grit. I use the same block when sanding my make-dos and dolls and what have you. I figured it would work on cross stitch linen just as well. After some trial and error I finally happened upon a technique that gave me the look I wanted. I lightly sanded the entire piece of linen in a single direction. I didn't want to put any holes in it (yet) I just wanted to thin the linen so it looked more worn. I then focused my attention on a few spots. I sanded in a single direction (either up or down or side to side, but not both) until I began to wear through the linen. Fair warning, my table looked as though a large dog had shedded its' entire coat onto it :)

Here is a closeup of the tears in the linen.

I continued sanding until I was happy with the amount of wear on the linen. I found that the side I sanded looked "fuzzy" no matter how many times I took my lint roller to it so I chose to use the backside. I sat down and began stitching, keeping the design simple. I intentionally avoided stitching too near to the holes in the linen but couldn't avoid it when I began stitching the border. I simply kept stitching until I reached the hole and then left the thread hanging. Of course I could have stitched a design first and then sanded but I like to look of "missing" stitches. When the sampler was finished I gave it a light wash in my black walnut dye and then brushed on more dye focusing around the worn areas. I thought ahead and stitched using DMC thread, fearing that the hand dyed threads might bleed. Now that I think on it, that might have given it an even more aged appearance. Hmmmm, perhaps next time.

Now, I wouldn't do this to a sampler that I had spent a great deal of time working on, but personally I adore the look of this piece. It looks lovely displayed. Throughout the day it's followed me from my bedroom, into the living room, and is now resting in the family room. It looks so sweet no matter where I toss it. I wouldn't drape a genuine antique sampler over a box on my mantel or lay it across a few books on an end table but this piece just belongs nestled amongst other prims.

I charted the little sampler and am offering it as a free pattern. Of course you are welcome to stitch it however you like, but I would suggest trying this technique if you enjoy the look, and be sure to let me know how it turns out.

If you would like to download the free pattern you can find it on my Free Pattern page, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link below the photo of the finished piece. As always, if you have any trouble downloading the PDF file simply e-mail me and I can send it to you.

Our youngest is turning two next weekend so it will most certainly be a busy week, but hopefully I'll have a finish to show you soon. Until then, happy stitching.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn