2001 Folds: September by Shepherd's Bush

September fold all stitched and framed up!

2001 Folds: August by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

The specialty stitch this month is the floral stitch. Personally, this is too much backstitching for me. But I love the eggplant button.

2001 Folds: July by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

Love the firecracker button. I finally have time and all my tools together to frame these little treasures. Specialty stitch is gold stars.

2001 Folds: June by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

Fabric is 28ct Antique Ivory. Plum Honey Thread Gatherer hand painted silk is used on the specialty stitch: The Rosette Stitch. It is definitely fun to do the Rosette Stitch. I think I would love to adapt it in my other pieces.

2001 Folds: May by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

I was a little late with this piece, as I was busy with finishing the Fanciful Blooms. Another quickie, lovely colors. The specialty stitch is named Floral stitch using #1841 NN overdyed threads. The linen is 28ct Cherub Pink linen.

Gypsy Heart by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 110w x 40h

Mom preordered her Mother's Day gift this year. She wants something a little bigger in size. My first choice was a design by the Crossed Eye Cricket, but it would take too long to gather the chart and material while this one is already packed together. Yes, it is a little smaller in size than what Mom is thinking about. But giving my current travel schedule, it will have to do. This piece is filled with lavender and purple colors, quite strong color family for something designed by SB. I am also trying out a new frame shop. The frames there, unfortunately, are bigger and more ornate than something I normally choose for my stitching. How I miss my framer in Houston!!

2001 Folds: April by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

April shower means May flowers. This one was stitched while I was in DC, in the middle of cherry blossom festival. Fabric is 28ct Monet Blue Linen. Specialty stitch is one called "The Cloud Stitch".

2001 Folds: March by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 60h

This is the perfect kit to stitch on the way to England. That same Sunday was the St. Paddy's Day. Fabric is 28ct Waterlily Linen. Specialty stitch is one called "The Irish Stitch". Somehow the Amethyst Wildflowers in my kit was missing! Improvise, improvise!

Egg Basket by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 14w x 79h

A shop exclusive, simple yet adorable and quick to stitch. The kit includes a beautiful mat. Hand-dyed Threadgatherer silk is Meadow Grass for the basket body. Linen is 32ct hand-dyed green.

Tender Heart by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 29w x 48h

A cutie for my sister as her birthday present for this year.

Pansy Needleroll by Shepherd's Bush

This is one of the older needleroll kit released by Shepherd's Bush! The fabric included is 32ct purple linen. The most difficult part of this one is the one-over-one stitching of the verse.

Christmas Treat Bag by Shepherd's Bush

Stitch ct: 37W x 55H

This is a kit published in 1998 by Shepherd's Bush. By now, I have all four treat bag designs. Including this one, I stitched three out of the four and have not given away any! An unusual for me. Fabric is 32ct natural linen.

Christian's Snowman by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 100H x 62W

What an adorable piece! I love it. The colors are so lovely. The incentive to finish this one is definitely higher, even with all the work over the Thanksgiving holidays. The kit came with 32 ct unbleached Glenshee linen.

The Goblins by Shepherd's Bush

Size: 37w x 104h

While being extremely late for a beach project, I am ahead of schedule for Halloween projects. This is one of the cutest Halloween project I have seen. The kit came with a wonderful mat, I don't even have to think what colors should I pick for mating this piece. This is a small one, I should have finished in 2 sittings, but it actually took me over a week. I was procrastinated on band 2 where a Rhodes stitch is first stitched, then filled in the checkerboard by half cross stitch. This doesn’t sound like much, except for the fact that the half cross stitch should be done over one. Knowing how much I hate one-over-one on linen, I finally decided on satin stitch over the entire 3 threads by 3 threads block instead…

The fabric is 32ct hand-dyed "Antique Cotton". As in most of SB's larger kit, this piece is stitched using Soie D'Alger silk and Threadgatherer handpainted silk: Rusty Amber, Lavender Honey, and Medieval Mulberry.

Sailor Collar by Shepherd's Bush

Nautical theme and blue are some of my favorite combination. What a lovely piece!

Dear Heart by Shepherd's Bush

This is a DMC kit published by Shepherd's Bush. The kit came with a hand-painted mat. This will be framed up as birthday present for my sister, Brenda. Such a dear to stitch!

Millennium Sampler by Shepherd's Bush

This kit was started when I was visiting Minneapolis during the Memorial Day weekend. The color is very very pale. In the instruction, the designer assures the stitchers that we would be satisfied by the chosen colors. As it turned out, the designers were corrected. I am making it into an elegant rectangular pillow with fringes on the sides. I chose a sage green fabric, the fringe is purple/green mix. Let's see how it turns out!

A Mother's Heart by Shepherd's Bush

This kit has been on my To-Do list forever. I have stitched a few of Shepherd's Bush heart designs in the past. Their color selection is more pastel than I like. But what is more appropriate this month than to stitch something lovely for my own mother. She is the big collector of my stitched works. I stitched a verse for her a long time ago. That is still her favorite. But I think the quote on this one may make the second favorite design for her. We'll wait to see about this one.

A Simple Egg by Shepherd's Bush

I have this kit for a while now. Every April, I said I would work on it. Somehow the simpler designs by Lizzie Kate, Bent Creek, and others preceded over it. This year, I purposely did not choose any other easter fun designs. It took me a while, as my heart stills hurt, but I eventually finished it. My favorite part are the swirls on the egg.

Christian's Stocking by Shepherd's Bush

I have this plan of making all the Shepherd's stockings for my family. I think with the number of stocking leaflets already published, there should be enough designs for all my family members. I want to give them during the year so that they can hang them early during the Christmas season. This is the first one. It is for my youngest sister, Vanessa, as her birthday present for this year. This project is not complicated, but due to the size of the fabric. It can be difficult to handle at times. This piece is stitched using 18ct raw linen over two with #5 perle cotton.