This little guy was stitched up for a fall themed towel in TTT4. He's a darling grey squirrel (Akron style!) with a scrumptious ear of festive corn to nibble on. The whole bit is my own design.

Distorted color stitch detail shot:


The towel when I sent it out:



Enjoy the rest that autumn 2009 has to offer!

Little Red, an original design completely by me. Very much inspired by the general work of the lovely Miss Emily Martin (of The Black Apple.) A design for a towel in the Tea Towel Tour Four that I felt had a fairy tale theme emerging. I love this little girl the best out of all of my work (ever!)

Excuse the terrible image quality and pesky shadow (dorm lighting):


And the girls as far as when I sent the towel off:


Watch out for those mean old wolves!

This is a silver floss tree I embroidered last year for the Tea Towel Tour Four swap. I loved this project and it was hard to let it go. It was  PAAAAAAAAAIN to deal with that metallic abomination they call floss but in the end I think it really got the idea across.

This is (unfortunately) the best closeup I have. Terrible dorm lighting. Alas:


And another (bad) shot. This is the whole towel thus far:


Now that I look at these, I think these were taken with the boyfriends cell camera as my digital probably had dead batteries. Too bad these are so grainy, I promise it was awesome!)

Thanks for viewing, have a very merry! Oh, also, you're welcome to use it for inspiration if you choose.

The Back Story: So while perusing my favorite thrift store for lovely sheets I found myself face to face with a true treasure. This seemingly boring mass was hanging amongst the skanky old sleeping bags and cheap platsicy comforters. It was a thin quilt made of soft once-white cotton with hand ties of various shades of yellow acrylic yarn. Very homely, it blended decently with the pack. But something about it spoke to me. I snatched it off the shelf and unfolded it to find a true gem. I was so stunned. Someone's adorable antique hand appliqued/embroidered quilt! Here! At goodwill! Just rejected! I snatched it up RIGHT away. I looked around like a mad woman. I touched the stitches. I looked at the color of the tag, looked at the price list on the wall. It read "Quilts $4.00* ~~ *or as marked~~" I feared this quilt would be a dreaded "as marked" but there was nothing there. Daintly refolded and rest under my arm, I finished up my shopping. I must admit, when I refolded it I made sure the embroidered parts were safely tucked away. Only the boring white and mismatched yellow showed. It was MY treasure. Anywho, then it was time to check out. I rest the quilt on the counter at the bottom of my pile. The nice lady rang me out. Guess what I was charged for that quilt. GUESS! Ninety freakin cents! (My student ID knocked off 10%, saving me a roaring 10 cents off of the dollar) Four dollars four schmallers! Woo Hoo! It was meant to be! What a steal! Do you know what I would have paid for that at my favorite antique store?!?!






white on white leaf applique. note the adorable watering can!





Now heres that part where you lovely craftsters come in. First of all, I'd like to inquire your opinions on how to wash this piece. It is cotton, machine bound, hand quilted, and hand appliqued. Also, being an antique some of the embroidery is beginning to dissolve away. Should I leave this as is and risk time quickly leaching the image away? Or should I step in and go over some of the fading lines to save this womans hard work? Its a tough call for me. I think I'm having an ethical struggle. Please share your opinion with me. Thanks for your input!

PS mods feel free to move. I figured this was a decent place to post because technically it is someones handmade completed project.

My addition to antarcticraft's science themed patches:


The whole thing:


And I believe there was a request for a photo of this piece:


excuse the dreary image quality, its winter.

Here is my addition to ritapizza's towel. I interpreted her theme (or... lack there of) as sort of a fairy tale situation (alice in wonderland, the little mermaid, hansel and gretel...) so I added Little Red Riding Hood to the mix!



Mostly done in split stitch with 3 threads. Learned the red boarder and the basket weave stitch for this one. My own drawing inspired by the work of Emily of the Black Apple. I hope you like it Rita!!!

My addition to amyracinrose's retro-holiday-themed pillow top: a metallic silver tinsel tree with vintage styled ornaments:


And the whole composition so far:


Metallic floss is the devil. Each branch took 2 or 3 starts and stops a.k.a. untangle and re-thread the needle. It was hard work and I hope amyrose really likes it!!! The whole bit is about 6 or 7 inches.
*excuse my poor photos, taken on a borrowed camera phone.

So glad to see another squirrel girl had posted!! That was my first thought when I saw that cupcakeguru wanted a fall theme. So, here is a sweet little grey city squirrel (presumably from Akron, Ohio) snackin' on some indian corn. Inspired by a real life Akron city squirrel snacking on a real corn cob.

eep! I was so excited to see these listed under the new projects thingy. I am the lucky lady who is the proud new owner of these pups. Yeah... they kick ass. They're absolutely gorgeous in person (the sugar skulls are my faves too) and I think jMisSister should make more. Bring back the sweater guard!! I can't wait to wear them out. I think I'll pair the skulls with a black cardi over a white dress with black polka dots. Yeah...

Oh, and I think this picture might be slightly clearer and more true to the color

[love]

Ok, so here is the amazingly exciting package I received yesterday. I wasn't expecting it yet, so when I opened the door I nearly fell over the box and died tragically falling down the stairs. (not really, but I was shocked and excited and I almost dinosaur stomped it because there is usually nothing there)
I'm on a huge 50s kick right now, so jMisSister crafted these fabulosities for me:

Two secksay ladies, which I adore. The blue one is my fave, I love the way she overhangs the edges!!

AWESOME bracelets. One "essentials of a 1950"s housewife" bracelet (so tacky its classy is my motto for... everything i like i guess, cateye shades, a front loading washing machine, I believe this is hot cocoa w/ mini marshmallows, more shades, amazing jello mold of love, red lipstick of course, a blender, and an iron. All made of shrinky dinks, which might I add makes a swell jingly sound when I wear it. I love it. Also, a hot little hand painted cherry bracelet which will be the perfect gift for my cherry lovin' psycho-billy friend!!

SWEATER GUARDSSSSS!!! AHHHH!!! I love these so much!! I put these as a want on my questionarre and she did a super job. They are made from cain, clips, and shrinky dinks  -her first time, didn't she do a great job?!? -

And of course I couldn't be a housewife with out this little number. Her first sewing project ever, an apron, for me, with molded jello on it. I adore it. I wore it around my room last night. I am a nerd. Also, the matching zippered pouch and the list of things she included in the package.
Oh yeah, and I almost forgot:
A super pearl necklace that I forgot to include in the photo shoot because it was wrapped around my neck.
All in all, jMisSister did a superb job and is officially a great partner. I'd swap with her anytime. She either did really good research on me or she just has great taste  I LOVE everything and literally squealed the entire time I was opening it. So yeah... now that puts way more pressure on me to make her package fantastic. -sigh- Off to crafting!! Thanks so much, kitschkween, for organizing this and all that jazz. You ladies rock!!
Oh yeah, and sorry about all the photos.