Friends Count

Friends Count ~ A Friendship Sampler

 My latest design is dedicated to Kathy Barrick my dear friend and mentor.

We are far apart physically but near in the heart. I included the alphabet so you can dedicate this to your friend!

I used a frame that was slightly too big.  I cut a piece of mount board and attached antique lace for the background that I had been carrying around for thirty years. You read that right THIRTY YEARS!  I just knew it would come in handy!

It needed a little extra I felt so I added a bow of walnut stained crinkly oatmeal seam tape.  That's a mouthful isn't it? ~Walnut Stained Crinkly Oatmeal Seam Tape~

  This ended up being the perfect finishing touch.

You can purchase the chart in my Etsy store

https://www.etsy.com/listing/620333811/friends-count-cross-stitch-pattern?ref=shop_home_feat_3

In the next few days I have more designs I will be letting you know about. 

Happy Stitching!

Finishing the Stitchy Love Club Be Happy Drumroll

This is a brief pictorial tutorial on finishing the linen part of the first kit of my Stitchy Love Club ~ Be Happy Drumroll.

I go over the linen piece because that is the most unusual part of this finish.

 After you have folded under the top part make sure to trim your ends as shown here.

This is what the back of your linen piece will look like after you have trimmed it up and folded the edges in.

The front should look like this.

Attach the ribbon here folding in the ends to fit in between the sides of the folded linen pieces. I ended up gluing and using a tiny pin to secure my ribbon. The ribbon is not folded up the entire length, just here to fit. 

You will start by pinning the linen to the drum.  I started by pinning right at the top of the border then the point and put a pin between those two.

Close up.

After you have pinned the linen down go ahead and tie it in the back. Make sure the knot of the bow is at the seam allowance for balance.  

A last note, I started stuffing the drum with poly-fill then inserted a bag filled with crushed walnut shells for weight.  I did this because if I had stuffed it with the walnut filler only it would have shown through the white fabric.

Accept This Trifle Gift Tag

This is the month of new chart releases for me.

Behold! Accept This Trifle Gift Tag!

In a land before time - somewhere in Ohio in November - Kelmscott Designs and I were discussing a round shape. She sent it to me.

It sat there looking at me from a corner in my sewing room.

I pondered.

Christmas ornament? Frisbee? Yoyo?

I believe it was three am when lightening struck my brain. I had an apostrophe! Or is it an epiphany?

This round shape would make a great giant gift tag!

Accept This Trifle came to being.

Of course it is double sided because what is a gift tag if there isn't a TO and a FROM?

I loved the idea of old fashioned names. Gertrude is one of my favorites.  

Now, Becky! you may be thinking, my name isn't Polly and I haven't known anyone named Gertrude for at least a hundred years.

I did actually think of that (MIRACLE) so I have a sheet in the chart that has the To and the From plus the flower but the rest of it is blank so you can chart your names! Additional miracles occurred and I remembered to put in the entire alphabet upper and lower case.

When finishing the project it looked a little plain so I added huge rick rack under the linen piece and it really jazzed it up.  A piece of crinkled black seam tape threads through the hole at the top and is a cute hanger for your tag.

How to personalize your gift tag for that special someone. It's easy.

Get a sharp pencil and start counting and scribbling your names in the blanks!   Luke wanted to send a gift to his dear old dad that has ten letters in his name. His Jedi training did not fail him and with a wave of his hand it was done!

Never fear, you can get any name of any size in this project!

You can get the chart here and I also have the gift tag blanks in my shop!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/588607936/accept-this-trifle-gift-tag-cross-stitch?ref=shop_home_feat_4

Even I am wondering how many movie and literary references are in this post......

Quaker Pumpkin - Scary Stitches Club

The first Scary Stitches Club kit is being mailed out this month!

Let me introduce you to my little friend.....

Quaker Pumpkin!

I just love the little tombstones all around the quaker design with tiny pumpkins on their long stems!

I admit I have an obsession with strawberries and crinkled seam tape.

You can find my tutorial on how to make the tiny stitches on the strawberries here  https://lucybeam.blogspot.com/2016/08/strawberry-stitches.html

This was such a fun delicate stitch with just one strand of floss over two. I was delighted with how well it showed up on the dark linen!

I love rick rack too.  I decided to attach it with little black straight pins which are included in your kit of course!

OH! WHAT IS THAT I SEE?

I made everyone a special scissor fob!  A bright and colorful addition to your favorite scissors while you stitch all the Scary Stitches this year. 

If you haven't signed up it is never too late my Halloween Loving Friends!! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/571202546/1-full-membership-to-scary-stitches?ref=shop_home_feat_2

Queen Chicky & The Speckled Egg

I had a wonderful class I taught last year. Queen Chicky & The Speckled Egg. Sounds like the title to a great mystery doesn't it?

It was no mystery that everyone had a great time though!

I am now offering it in chart form with detailed instructions on how to put it all together.

You will need a nesting chicken from the Indiana Class Company.

The scissors are Putford from Kelmscott Designs.

I have a funny story for you from one of the chicken classes.

One of the students was stitching the middle part of the nest and her husband walked up to see what she was doing. He asked her why the word Hell was right next to the chicken.  It says Hen!

I about died laughing.

www.etsy.com/shop/lucybeam

Tea Box Class

I have a new class I am so excited to tell you about! 

The Tea Box 

Who doesn't love tea?  I do! I grew up in England and learned from a young age the joys of Tea.  Thristy? Make Tea. Four O' Clock? Make Tea. Guests coming over? Make Tea. Crisis happening? Make Tea.  My mom was told by her British friends that I made a perfect British citizen when there was a motorcycle accident in front of our house and I started running to the kitchen hollering "I'll make the tea!"

Tea & Honey, what a perfect combination.  Tea grows on trees and was discovered in China thousands of years ago.  

Here we have a potted tea plant that grows tea bags, how convenient!

The box is covered in vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook pages.  Inside the box you can store your tea packets or tea related paraphernalia.

There is a paper tea bag made from tea stained vintage cookbook papers with a coffee filter tag.

 Six weeks before the class I will be mailing you your kit! Stitch your project with a steaming mug of tea and maybe a Jane Austen movie on in the background. 

When you get to class I will show up with all the finishing supplies and show you how to finish your box!

OH MY! What fun we will have!

I am teaching this class at Notforgotten Farm on July 14, 2018. Contact Lori at notforgottenfarmwitch at gmail.com to register.

For those shops who would like me to come and teach this project at your shop email me at lucybeamthreads at yahoo.com

Now I'm going to go and make a pot of tea!

The Club Life

I've decided that I love clubbing.  The club life is the life for me!  Now, I'm not talking about the going out and tying one on and dance all night club. 

I'm talking about the receiving four spooky cross stitch kits a year club.

Oh, the scary stitching ideas that are whirling through my Halloween Brain day and night.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

I BET YOU DO TOO.

I love it so much I got married on Halloween. That is dedication if I do say so myself.

The first kit will come out in March of this year.  

Sign up and stitch Halloween all year long!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/571202546/1-full-membership-to-scary-stitches?ref=shop_home_feat_2

She Works Wool

I love to knit! Paula from Kelmscott Designs does as well so we teamed up to bring you this adorable design that you can mount on a custom made black sheep board.

I love the knitting needles and ball of yarn motif stitched into the sheeps wooly body.

You can get the pattern in my etsy store.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LucyBeam

This won't be the last collaboration between Kelmscott Designs and  Lucy Beam!  We have fun designs planned all year long. 

Stay tuned and I will let you know when they are released!

2018 Stitchy Love Club from Lucy Beam

Welcome to the 2018 Lucy Beam Stitchy Love Club

I had so much fun last year designing fun beautiful project for my members!  I can't wait to dive into my fabrics and threads to deliver four more kits this year!

The Stitchy Love Club ~ is a members-only club, where members receive a full kit for one original design {cross stitch} shipped directly to you once every quarter. Once you are a member, it is a FULL YEAR membership with no cancellations accepted.

Kits Ship: March, June, September, December.

Full kits include:

~ linen to stitch project on

~ all threads to complete project

~ color photo

~ chart/graph

~ finishing instructions

~ any trims/fabrics needed to complete specific project 

Click link to go to my etsy store

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LucyBeam

Below you will find pictures of the four finished projects that everyone received in 2017.

** Photo of projects shown are from last years club and are not for sale **

Holiday Sale!

Hi! Oh my goodness, I bet you thought I had forgotten all about this blog.  It sure does look like it doesn't it?  I have been very busy designing, traveling, teaching and moving since August.  No excuse though!  I plan on being more active here next year, I bet I have said that before......

But, since I'm here I thought I would let you know I am having a Holiday Sale in my etsy store!  20% off everything. Just put in HOLIDAY2017 in the coupon code at checkout!

Sale runs from November 27 -30th!

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and see what I have been up to lately!

One Eyed Jack - I love white pumpkins, don't you? Oh, and Cyclops too.

Bee A Haunting - the first in a Bee Series. The hive broom is my favorite detail on this one!

Leaves Fall - second in my seasonal series

Plenty

Snowflakes Swirl - third in my seasonal series

Bells & Holly - my first of many collaborations with Kelmscott Designs!  She makes the boards and I make the design!  Paula is wonderful to work with and we have many fun things coming up in 2018!

Winter Flakes

My newest product line - Project Bags! I love this bag design and right now, literally, I have one left in my store.  Inside pocket on this size is a very roomy 11x10.

Bee Merry - second in my Bee series. I just love the bees santa hat and tiny ornament he is flying around with!

That is it for right now!

I have a huge list of things that will be coming out next year starting in January.  Stay tuned!

Tombstones

I have a tombstone series in the works with two designs so far!  April Taylor from Homestead Needleworke designed the boards for me and they are available in her etsy store.  You can find the link in my pattern listings. www.etsy.com/shop/lucybeam

 Something Wicked

Vlad's House

Stitchy Love Club ~ Huswife

Introducing the first project from the Stitchy Love Club!

A gorgeous huswife!

In your kit you will receive everything needed to make this huswife.

Linen or Aida fabric, lining fabric, backing and handle fabric, threads and charted instructions.  Instructions for finishing the bag are also included!

If you haven't signed up yet here is the link!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/506990943/1-full-membership-to-the-stitchy-love?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Enjoy!

Stitch Always

Stitch Always is here!

My newest cross stitch design is now available in my etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/513264522/stitch-always?ref=shop_home_active_1

I just love her!  From her tomato hat to her tiny high heels.

Such a delight to hang in your stitchy corner.

In other news......

I'm going to be teaching at a retreat in Ohio next week! 

GASP!  

It's almost here!

This is the project (my side), students will be learning how to put together a scissor pouch.  I designed one side and my co-teacher designed the other. 

I will take lots of pictures and post all about it when I return!