Hannah and Her Friends

Today was the last day of May Britt's WISP challenge. I managed to turn Hannah and her Friends into a cushion edged with prairie points. Surprise, surprise! I really have become addicted to them! Kept it simple and just sewed borders around the stitchery panel. I also quilted 1/4 inch from the edge with embroidery thread. Finished about 7.30 pm tonight while watching Eastenders then raced outside for a photo before the light faded too much. Our evenings are quite long here this time of year. Last night we were on the beach til after 9 o'clock and it was still light.



Earlier today I framed three more cross-stitch pieces. These have been sitting in a box for years so it's good to have them finished. Some of them will be good to use as gifts.

Here are before and after shots of Anna's Quilt - an Amish design from Told in a Garden.





These little bear cross-stitches were done very early on in my stitching life, way before I discovered quilting. They are done on aida cloth - these days I mainly stitch on linen - but are still quite cute.





I used store bought frames for all these projects - mostly found in sales and discount stores. If you look at the right time it's possible to pick up quite nice frames. I just backed each piece with thick iron-on batting and trimmed them to fit. When you add the backing board the batting makes the piece sit up slightly in the centre. I like this look and the best bit is you don't have to lace the piece! I only do this for small projects - big things still get professionally framed. Eventually!





Now that the WISP challenge is finished I'll have to spend more time doing riveting stuff like housework. I start school again on Feb 11th so will have to start preparing next week. With four choirs to run,and 15 music classes to teach each week, there is lots of preparation. Oh and I also do Flying Start which is literacy for Preppies (5 year olds) four mornings a week - heaps of fun. I am gradually catching up on my blog reading. Subscribing to feeds is saving a lot of time - I don't like to miss anyone's.