New materials always get me going....

I just recieved some amazing colors of Perle Cotton from Erica's. I nearly drooled as I opened the package. Brilliant pinks, sunny golds, tangy oranges, rich blues and a wonderful assortment of muted colors in green, blue, mauve and rose pink. I rarely order on-line, except for Etsy. I am strongly compelled to touch things before I buy them. But DMC is DMC and the availability of colors was to die for! I just wish they carried variegated skeins. Those are my favorites. I should add that my first order from Erica's was a real pleasure. A few colors were backordered. By the time I responded to their email, which gave me choices on how deal with the back order, the color I wanted the most was in! My shipment came just a few days after that email. The whole thing took less than a week. I will absolutely order from them again.
Here is the first thing I made... A Dizzle Dazzle Pincushion Ring

You can find my rings in my Etsy Shop, Fiberluscious.
I used a few old stitches, such as the satin, bullion, back and seed stitch, but added a stitch I learned for my sampler. Gosh this sampler project is paying off. I'm loving my new stitches. Click here to find a lovely video tutorial on Mary Corbet's site, Needle 'n Thread














Of course, I had to add something to my Sampler with my new brilliant booty. I made a lovely little bird and added it to the bare foundation, which gives it a special little place all it's own, by not having its own place...make sense?

I'm a bit disappointed. I have to admit, it was supposed to be an applique with lovely turned under edges and a bit of stuffing to give it dimension. I was inspired by a blog I found called The Floss Box. Emily Wilmarth, a talented fiber artist and a fellow member of the Hand Embroidery Network Team on Etsy.
Here is Emily's Bird. I think my mistake was my foundation fabric and the tiny size of my bird. I just couldn't get the edges to turn under neatly. I used flannel instead of muslin. Take a look at Emily's tutorial and she'll show you how...

Well, back to my stitching. I have a few Etsy projects to get to and birthday presents to stitch up for my granddaughter's 1st Birthday. Wow, a whole year. Life is good.