A Beautiful Day

It was 70 degrees in Kansas today. Sunshine, birds chirping, it felt like spring. My tulips and daffodils are up about 5" and I pray that they don't get their little noses frozen before the risk of frost is over in a few weeks. All last week it was below freezing so I have no illusions that spring is REALLY here. But to help urge it along, I made a small needlework quilt to remind myself that spring is just around the corner. A wonderful quilter and designer Angela Prince-Bex designed the needlework and I designed and made the setting and quilted it. The stitchery design is available on her Country Cellar site, along with lots of great primitive stitchery patterns. When I first saw it I fell in love with the dainty flowers and whimsical style of the piece. I wanted something that would fit on my front door to herald the coming season and this was just the right size.

I used cross hatching on the background and McTavishing inside the stitchery. The yellow lines were from the chaco marker, and they dusted off when I was done. I used #16 Perle Cotton to embroider this and really love the ease of only dealing with one strand instead of having to use multiple strands of traditional floss. I was able to find Finca Fresencia No. 16 at my local quilt shop. A bit pricey, but worth the convenience and ease of handling. It doesn't come in as many colors as traditional embroidery floss, which is a shortcoming, but still has a nice selection, including variegated styles.

So now Spring can come since I have my Happy Spring Quilt on my front door to welcome it in.