Welcome to Friendship Crossing!

Where strangers cross paths to become friends, sharing their love of PRIMITIVE/SEASONAL decorating, CROSS STITCH/ WOOL/SEWING/QUILTING/CRAFTING, recipes and home life.

**I have an Etsy shop filled w/the newest PATTERNS/SUPPLIES/KITS that are mostly PRIMITIVE, SEASONAL or WHIMSICAL in style. To take a peek, just click the button below on the sidebar .

***I LOVE reading your comments and thanks to all who take the time to write them. If you ever need to contact me, the best way is to just leave a comment on the most recent post and it will go directly to my email inbox first, w/out being published.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your visit!!

Tanya (pronounced like the color TAN) : ))


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Have You Seen...?

Well, the merry month of May is coming to a close and all I can say is ~ Hallelujah!! Now, don't get me wrong, I love this time of year. In fact, it's actually my favorite time of the yr.~ when everything turns so green and lush and beautiful again......... oh yeah, where was I going w/this??Well, I'm just glad all the b'days and graduations and parties are over for awhile(I am sooooooo partied out)!! I've had more cake this month than I care to admit!!

So now I can hopefully get back to what I love doing.......stitching, sewing, creating, etc . Which leads me to my blog title today......have you seen the new cross stitch graphs that just came out??
Well, I happen to know a little birdie(ok, more like an ostrich-size birdie)lol, but this birdie has just posted them in her Etsy shop, for those of you who are interested. She also listed some hand-dyed linen in there too.

I've also started working on a baby quilt for my niece who is due in late Oct. ~think I'll get it finished in time??? you all know how slow I am, lol. But I really am trying hard to get things started and finished way before they're due. Wish me luck!!!

***Edited to say that the Coverlet Houses pattern and the June WordPlay pattern have already been sold, but if anyone would like one, just leave me a comment on this post and I'll get back to you right away!)



As always, thanks for stopping by for a visit and I hope you're off to a great start this summer!

**Tanya**

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

What'cha Workin On Wed?

I can't believe it's Wed. already! The weeks are just flying by it seems! Tomorrow is our youngest son's last day of High School, then Fri. goes on a Senior Trip to King's Island (amusement park), has a banquet at the Country Club on Sunday(our church provides it to all the graduating seniors), then next Fri. night is graduation ceremony and finally on Sat. nite is his grad party at our house!! Phew!!! Plus we've already had several b'day parties/dinners for family members, plus Mother's Day thrown in the mix, a busy month for sure!

BUT..........I'm still trying to squeeze in a little sewing time in between~Yippeeeeeeeee!! Gotta keep my sanity somehow! tee hee

So I wanted to share a few things I've been working on recently and some of them are already listed in my Etsy shop, along w/a few things I'm not showing yet(hey, didn't want this post to get too long and drawn out, plus it gives you an excuse to go take a peek)LOL.

'Larry the Lamb' pincushion was so much fun to work on ~ isn't he a cutie? He's from a Hatched and Patched pattern and I tweaked the 'flowers' from wool to buttons, but otherwise he's made of all 100% WOOL!!! I weighted him w/crushed walnut shells so you can add your pins to him and keep them sharp at the same time!

For those of you who might remember the Thimbleberries Quilt blocks I worked on all last yr., I did manage to finally get all 12 done~ I think I had blocks (1 - 10) done as of last fall, but can't remember if I showed you block #10, so here it is!Now just remember I'm more of a 'quilter~wanna~be' than an actual quilter, so don't look too closely! I tried my best to get my points to line up as much as I could, but some are and some aren't quite.

Block #11............I finished last wk. at open sewing day.
Block #12........I finished this one today!!

I am making this for my MIL and she didn't care for the star fabric in block #7 as it is more 'primitive' in nature, so that one I will have to do over, then I will have to sew all the blocks together and also all the sashings and border fabric, which as you can see in the pic below, there are quite a few of them!!

The quilt blocks were offered in two color schemes and I chose the lighter one for her, but if I'd made it for myself, I'd have probably chosen the darker one on bottom.I have some of the borders already sewn, but still have a ways to go on the others, hopefully I can get them sewn up before Christmas THIS yr! ha (hey, I didn't tell her which Christmas she'd receive it). :)))
One thing about each booklet for each separate block is that they always had a extra goodie in the back~like a tablemat or wallhanging using that month's block and adding different borders to it. I may want to try some of them later on too.

The 'middle' square in all the blocks and also the 4 corners in each block are the same style, just different fabrics. It was called 'Border Blast'. I had fun learning new things and it did help get my confidence back in my sewing again, which has been ever so helpful.This last pic is an Americana tablemat/wallhanging I picked up at International Quilt Festival I went to a few wks. ago, from Country Threads booth. It came as a kit, but I really think that the measurements were wrong, because if you look closely, there is a big gap that shouldn't be there. It should all line up when the strips are sewn together and as you can see, it doesn't. So if I make it again, I will make the strips wider. I will just trim the gold square up to make it even on this one. Plus I did have tiny strips leftover w/the measurements they told you to cut it, so yes, I did notice it before cutting, but usually I like to do what the pattern says (at least the first time around).Here's what it's supposed to look like when it's finished. I did manage to 'pick up' some other kits/patterns while there, but I will wait to show them as I get them stitched up~(I don't want to make you jealous or anything) hee hee.


Once again, hope everyone is doing well this beautiful spring and finding time to do the things you love most!

Happy Stitching!
**Tanya**

Friday, May 11, 2012

When Life Gives You Scraps....

First off let me just say that NO, I did NOT make any of these quilts and some of the pics are a bit blurry~sorry, but I wanted you to see one of our local quilt shops that I hang out at every Tues. afternoon for 'open sewing day'.

The owner(Penny) of the shop(Little Red Hen) keeps her prices really low and reasonable and her shop has really thrived even in the midst of a slower economy. We always have such a fun time together as a group and most of them get lots of sewing done. I usually take my hand stitching(cross stitch or wool applique) along so I don't have to drag my machine out, etc. but this past wk. I actually took it and finished another TB quilt block from that quilt I started last yr. (forgot to take a pic of it).

These first two quilts are actually miniature quilts and I thought they were just adorable. I love anything miniature! LOL

Did you notice the lace around the curve??Here's some random pics of quilts hanging in her shop....

This is one I would like to start in the near future. I've had the pattern for the quilt block since way last yr. I LOVE anything w/pinwheels or stars!


Penny also has two big bay windows that she decorates w/quilts. I sure hope you enjoyed the little 'tour'.

I'm working on a b'day gift for my MIL, so can't show it just yet, but hope to be back on here again soon!

Happy Stitching w/whatever you're working on!

**Tanya**