A fun, new way to finish

Hello, stitching friends!

This past month, I've been busy working on some fun projects and trying to finish a few things in my unfinished stack. I have this pile of needlework finishes on my ironing board, waiting to be framed or sewn into pillows or ornaments. Unfortunately, the ironing board is perched in front of the treadmill, much to the dismay of my 15-year-old, who has been wanting to get in some weekend workouts inside rather than face the dreary March weather outside. Winter has caught up to us, after all. I could put the ironing board away, but he hasn't pushed very hard for that. I think we are all enjoying our lazy weekends.

Watering Can by Marjolein Bastin, stitched over two on 25-count antique white evenweave by MCG Textiles.

First up is Watering Can from Marjolein Bastin's "The Four Seasons." It's from a 2000 publication from Lanarte by Leisure Arts. I found this really cute wooden plaque at Michael's and thought it would be a nice alternative to framing. When I measured and planned the project, I planned on stitching it on 28-count linen. That's what I thought I was doing, until the stitching started looking like it wasn't going to fit on the piece of fabric I cut. Turns out, the fabric was mislabeled, and I was stitching on 25-count! Luckily, I had just figured in enough border that I could still work with it.

I mounted the stitching on foam core, stitching down the corners and lacing the back (see photo on next project below to see what this looks like), then I hot-glued it on the back to the wood plaque. I attached some pretty gold and cream braided cording to the side with 1/2" sequin pins and voilah! Super easy, super cute finish.

I finished my next project in a similar fashion. This is a view of the back of the stitching mounted on foam core with corners stitched down and lacing on the back.

I attached jute cording to the sides with a simple whip stitch.

"A Bee C Sampler" by Country Cottage Needleworks, stitched over two on 32-count lambswool linen with suggested DMC and overdyed threads.

And... ta da! I mounted the stitching to the wooden plaque, which then went into the back of this rustic frame by Jillibean Soup, available at Joann Fabric. It's so rustic and cute! Originally, I had wanted to frame it in the frame suggested by Country Cottage Needleworks, a cute white frame by The Family Tree, but I could not find this frame anywhere! I even wrote to the framing company, and even they could not find a retailer. I wrote to Stoney Creek with no response, so I just thought, "Well, figure something out, then." Isn't it frustrating when you can't find what you need or want? But then sometimes it pushes you to go out on a limb and try something new.

I'll leave you with my March cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks, stitched on 32-count lambswool linen. I adore the little sheep in this one, don't you? So cute! But can you imagine walking out that front door and running into a sheep as tall as the door? No wonder all the lights are turned off in the house. The people are hiding!

Quick question for you. Have any of you ever tried dyeing your own threads? I experimented a bit this past week with coffee-dyeing some old DMC threads, and while they did change a little bit, it certainly was not worth the time I spent doing it. I bought some tan Rit dye and plan to play with it a little bit, but I am curious to know if any of you have had success and how you did it. I would like to give some old threads a "new, antique" look (how's that for an oxymoron?) and use them here and there on ornaments and other small projects.

I hope March brings you lots of sunshine and time to stitch!