Quaker Berry

Quaker Berry

Erica Michael's (Linda Stolz)

Linen:  32 ct mystery remnant from stash

Fiber:  Cherry Wine Silk "N Colors from The Thread Gatherer

One of Erica Michael's beautiful strawberries is hot out of my hoop!  Did you see her latest strawberries Wise Men and Honey Berry which she released during the Harvest Market Hop?  At the last Gathering, Linda gave us a sneak peek of the new berries.  Am working up my courage to stitch on silk gauze--am happy stitching on the linen.

With Linda's encouragement, I am going to step outside my comfort zone and "finish" the stitched berry.  I did some "shopping" in my stash and found some Thread Gatherer Silken Ribbons called Berry Spritz which matches the Cherry Wine fiber and will be added to the top of the berry.  Also found some wool for the berry cap and left over gold pin heads for the seeds.  

Our stitch group is so fortunate to call Linda one of our peeps.  She is a great designer, her finishing is beautiful and  once a year she invites us to her home for a stitch in.  We drool over her many models.  She offers finishing tips, asks our input for fiber color choices and is a great cook!  

Thanks Linda--keep those designs coming!

Strawberries

Life is a bowl full of strawberries

Just the mention of the word strawberry and my mouth begins to water thinking about that juicy sweet seasonal fruit.  Strawberries can be eaten and enjoyed in so many ways:  cakes, cupcakes, salads, and plain.  I saw a new way to enjoy strawberries on Pinterest:  strawberries with yogurt served in a waffle cone.  Yum Yum, all of the goodness none of the guilt!

Before I go too far down the bunny trail, this post is about another kind of strawberry--emery strawberry's.  We stitchers do love strawberry's, both the edible kind and the emery variety.  The strawberry's range from very plain and utilitarian to the very fancy made with beads and lace or hardanger.  The Shakers are given much of the credit for the tomato pincushion with a strawberry emery.  The purpose of the strawberry was to "polish and sharpen the needles."

Since finishing the second kit in the Colonial Gathering Club called Strawberry House, I have been considering making a strawberry and adding it to the inside of my box.

Blackberry Primitives has some lovely hand dyed velvet on their web site and one of the vendors at the Beat the Heat event had some of their velvet for sale.  When it comes to fabrics: cotton, wool, linen, flannel or velvet I have no resistance.  Of course, some of those lovely hand dyed velvets came home with me.



Maggie Bonanomi is one of my favorite authors and designers.  I love Maggie's style!  Do you see what I see on the front of the cover?  Yes, a strawberry.  Recipe for a strawberry emery:  cut some overdyed velvet for the body and wool for the berry cap.  Stitch some seeds using DMC 733, stuff with fiber, add a twisted cord or ribbon. 

More goodness to add to my year of Colonial Gatherings