Too many swaps

 This year I had decided that I wasn't going to participate in many artist trade card swaps. Then what did I go ahead and do but joined not just one but two trades.  This landscape atc is for The Great Canadian atc swap.  We're supposed to send in 3 with a theme about something related to our province.  

 This atc is for the stitchin fingers atc swap with the theme "Love is...."  This is titled  "Love is .... fireworks" and is heading to the UK today.  I used mainly pistil and straight stitches with a few french knots.

 This one is for the Embroiderer's Association of Canada atc swap in March. It was good practice to use 6 different stitches.

 Wanting to try my hand at a dragonfly, I stitched this atc for my daughter.  That should be it for a bit now as I need to work on some other projects!!

 What a delight it was yesterday when I looked out the window to see 8 fabulous Red Crossbills at our bird feeder.  They are a bit larger than a sparrow and so wonderfully colourful, especially the males.  I had never seen these birds before and hope they come back again.

Here is another Red Crossbill on a lilac bush with a rather blurry Common Redpoll.

A Quad of Owls

 On a fun dyeing day with a few other ladies last summer I randomly dyed this small piece of white cotton cloth.  I took it out and decided to use it to make some artist trading cards.  There's the artist trading card group on stitchin' fingers that I'm a part of and the Embroiderer's Association of Canada is hosting an atc swap between all the stitchery guilds across Canada in March.  I finished the final one this aft, cut them out and put a backing on each one.

 With all the great stitches I learned doing TAST last year I wanted to incorporate some of the stitches I learned in making these owl atc's. 

 The wooden eyes on this owl were from an old necklace. My daughter liked this one the most.

 I free motion sewed the outline and then filled it in with hand stitching.

This is my favourite of the 4 and I have a strong inclination to keep it for myself.  Sometimes I find it's rather hard to part with some of the atc's I've made.  Or maybe I'll just make another one that's similar to trade.  Which one do you like the most?

Owl and the Pussy Cat stitching

 Setting aside the crochet owls I've been working on for the past few weeks, I decided to stitch an owl atc for the Embroiderer's Association of Canada atc swap challenge that's coming up next March.  Last year I made 8 for the swap so we'll see if I can do that many again.

 When it comes to simple cross stitching I can't believe how many mistakes I make!  This is such a small and straight forward little free pattern from Happiness is Cross Stitching that it shouldn't have been a problem! I went from stitching the black with 3 DMC threads down to 2 and then realized my mistake and had to go over the 2 threads with one to fill it in better.  There's a small present yet to do that hangs from the cat's tail.  Hope I can at least do that perfectly fine :)

Such a memorable delight to have this beautiful and sweet chickadee come to my hand for a sunflower seed.  It helped that they were so used to coming to Grant's hand everyday :)

A Riot of Colour

 An atc that I finished today created for my 22 year old daughter who is full of colour but going through a rough patch in her life.  It's mainly straight and drizzle stitches on snippets of organza on felt and a wrapper backing.

 I worried needlessly when only one grouse kept showing up the last couple of days when it was storming, windy and cold.  These two came running into the yard this morning to feast on the wheat we had scattered for them.

 Not long after another 2 showed up and they stayed for quite awhile.

I know magpies need to eat too but this suet log is for the woodpeckers and chickadees and when he's around no one gets anything! Love his long tail feathers though and how striking he is.

Face Doodling ATC's

 Felt a strong urge to sit at the sewing machine and practice some more free motion sewing.  Tried to make a few face images and these are what I came up with.  Added a few drizzle stitches, french knots and buttonhole stitching around each one and voila - 2 atc's ready for my next swap. I haven't done a whole lot free motion machine sewing but the bit I have done is a lot of fun.  No straight lines, seams or doing it right to worry about, just playing and having fun :)

 I won the Embroiderer's Association of Canada 2013 calender last week from their blog contest!  Each month features an original design from members across Canada and it also came with a DVD of the patterns and instructions.  The August dragonfly design looks fabulous as well as the canvas work and hardanger designs.  This is one calender I'll certainly enjoy looking at each day.

Butterfly atc

 Yesterday my eldest daughter came home and while she sat at the kitchen table drawing a dragon, I joined her and finished this atc.  There's something about atc's that I find so enjoyable and relaxing.  Perhaps it's because they are only 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and one soon gets the sense of accomplishment when finishing something.  Then there's the creative fun side of atc's of trying out different ideas and stitches. My next one will be a fall themed trade and then I've had a request from someone in Florida for a recycled material one :) 

Has anyone purchased or had a chance to look at this gorgeous book and make something from it?  I have the pleasurable position of purchasing a few magazines and books this year for The Regina Stitchery Guild Library so I ordered and just received this beautiful book to add to the collection.  I'm just itching to try my hand at these lovely bullion and drawn thread work stitches.  Oh for more time in the day! 

Sunset atc

  HubbyWubby and I went for a lovely and memorable walk in the hills a few evenings ago and saw a gorgeous sunset.  To help remember our time together I decided to make an atc.  Not sure why I chose a Chinese cookie wrapper to begin with but I did and put a piece of blue organza on top and then the brown/green organza for the hills.

 I did some free motion machine sewing to try to represent the dried grasses and chain stitched the sun.  I won't be trading this one :)

One of the beautiful sunset pictures that HubbyWubby took that evening.

Goldfish atc

Tried something different with this atc by first laying down some candy wrappers on a piece of felt, putting a piece of organza on top and then making some wavy scoring lines with the soldering iron.  I also tried some free motion sewing machine leaves using metallic thread.  For the seaweed I used the feather stitch, wheat-ear stitch and straight stitching dotted with french knots. I scored the edge with the soldering iron too.  I really enjoy being creative with atc's and it certainly helps that they're only 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 " in size.

Soaring atc

 Doing Sharon's TAST weekly challenges are coming in so handy. Here I used the cable chain stitch that was the challenge back in June to hopefully give my bird a soaring effect.  With the soldering iron I fused organza onto felt to make the bird and did some terrible free motion sewing loop de loops for the background over bits of organza and tulle.

 My daylilies have never bloomed as long or as nicely before. My Uncle Walter gave me a bulb from one of his plants a few years ago and since he is no longer with us I have this wonderful reminder of him and his love of gardening whenever I'm in the backyard :)

I snapped this picture of my Mom through the living room window as she was snipping the ends off the green beans.  The tender fresh green beans we had for supper were delicious.  Thanks Mom!

Bunny atc

 A simple summertime swap atc stitched on a small piece of dyed fabric someone gave me.

A posy from my flower bed that I gave to my daughter to brighten her day :)

Doodle artist trading card

 Finished another atc for the stitchin' fingers atc birthday swap group.  This one is being sent to Sharon in Australia.  I randomly snipped pieces of organza onto a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" piece of black felt, fused them down with the soldering iron and then did some doodle type of stitching along with some wooden and glass beads.  Someone I know who's a good friend asked me if this mixed up atc was what the state of my mind is like! I replied that most days it probably is ;)

 It's been super hot here lately with temperatures between 30 to 33 degrees Celsius. On our latest photo jaunt in the hills we came across lovely clusters of wild Brittle Prickly Pear cacti blooming amid the prairie grasses.

Had to snap this picture of my mom last evening giving our deck a coat of stain. This was around 8:30 pm and it was cooling off nicely. My mom has so much energy and just goes and goes and goes. This morning it was dry and since we were both up at 5:30, we put everything back in place.  The deck looks great Mom!!

June ATC's

 There were 2 ladies in June with birthdays that are part of the stitchin' fingers atc birthday swap group. I made this one for Donetta and mailed it to Portland, Oregon. I wanted to take a picture before mailing and the only spot where there was decent light was in front of the patio door.  I put one of our blue placemats down for a better background than our rug and of course Miss Curious aka MooShoo has to come along and plop herself down.  Since she was there and in the way I used her as a prop,

 This 2nd atc was for Kalona who lives in Dover, England.  I fused bits of organza together on a piece of felt and did some random stitching on it.  MooShoo didn't want to be a nice prop and wanted to take a bite out of it instead.

 I shooed her away to take one more.  Hope the birthday atc ladies like these. It's been a fun year long swap to be a part of.

 Instead of going to the oriole feeder, this female Baltimore Oriole insists on drinking at the hummingbird feeder.

 It's definitely awkward for her but she's figured out how to get a sip.  The male oriole goes to the oriole feeder and the hummingbird drinks at both. 

Glad I took a picture of these baby robins still in the nest as they were gone the next day.

Scrap silk paper atc

 Last year someone gave me this small piece of leftover silk paper and I finally got around to turning it into an atc.  The colours are so vibrant and hot pinkish & mauve that at first I couldn't decide what colour threads would even look good on it.  I had recently finished a canvas work piece using this variegated teal thread and it was still on my stitching table so I decided  to use it to make some buttonhole circles, bullion knots and spiderweb roses along with a few white french knots and some couched gold thread.

A small flock of white crowned sparrows have appeared in the yard this week.  They are so smart looking and are fun to watch  as they scurry through my flower bed and these maltese cross plants that are just coming up.  Typically they don't stay long as they continue their journey north but I'm glad they stopped here for even a few days.

Package of 7 atc's

 I participated in the Embroiderer's Assoc. of Canada atc swap again this year and yesterday I received a nice fat little pkg in the mail with 7 lovely, neat atcs from across the country. I certainly enjoy the creativity, variety, different stitches and different ideas everyone has when making these small pieces of art.  So fun :)

The EAC also has a Youth Embroiderer's Assoc. & this delightful atc was stitched by Hannah who is a member of the Starfish Stitchers in Newfoundland. How wonderful to be introduced to stitching at a young age and to part of a youth group of stitchers.

Tatted postcard

Received a lovely card all the way from Maria in Portugal.  I love tatting and am trying to learn via youtube tutorials as I don't know anyone.  Maria's wonderful card is dotted with lovely tatted pink flowers and beads.  Thank you very much Maria! It's a wonderful card but just so that you're aware it's postcard size and not atc size but that's just fine of course!  :)

Recycled ATC

Finished another artist trade card for the stitchin fingers atc birthday swap.  The back piece of fabric is from an old 100% polyester blouse, the star shapes were cut from a piece of old window curtains and the wooden beads were once on a necklace. I did some mark making, holes and cuts along the outside with the soldering iron and then did some random stitching on top.  2 1/2 x 3 1/2" is the perfect size to be creative, have fun with and swap with others!

Pink Burlap atc

Received this neat burlap atc from Kalona who lives in Kent as well as a pkg filled to the brim with goodies!!  The variety of atc's is endless and so much fun to be a part in.  Thank you Kalona :)

Fused atc

Thoroughly enjoyed using my soldering iron this week to mark make and then stitch on this atc. The base material is from a piece of an old curtain which I then snipped various small pieces of organza on.  I divided it up into 6 areas and fused the organza down with the soldering iron by mark making.  Then I did some random stitching and when I was done I took a piece of reddish felt for the back and fused around the edge.