Custodians of Beauty

When I came across Nancy's  40 Catholic Saints in Cross Stitch , there was no question. I purchased her patterns that day. How could you not? These mini saint designs are awesome! The simple details for each one are fantastic. St. Rose of Lima wears a flower crown, St. Brigid holds a reed cross, and St. Pio reveals his stigmata. There are quite a few saints in this batch which made it easy for me to pick out a few to frame and give as gifts. www.dosmallthingswithlove.com  Cross stitch pattern for Maria Goretti I decided on St. Maria Gorretti for my first cross stitch saint, since she is my confirmation saint and because during the  Pilgrimage of Mercy: Tour of the Major Relics of St. Maria Goretti ,  I was blessed to touch the reliquary containing her bones. I didn't have the exact colors called for in the patterns. That being the case, my saints outfits vary slightly. The burlap was leftover from a rug project I did a few summe...

Felt! I love working with felt. For starters, it's cheap and it comes in a multitude of colors and textures. Plus, it's easy to store. I have a growing supply of felt living in a shoe box at the moment. I found an adorable doll pattern in the book: Doodle Stitching: Embroidery & Beyond , by Amiee Ray. The book has a variety of stitching projects ranging from forest animal quilts to placemats and baby bibs. I decided to make the Babushka dolls for the girls this Easter. Using basic stitches like french knot, split and satin stitches, and the lazy daisy stitch, I added decorative flourishes to the doll aprons and hoods. The hardest part was cutting out all those tiny pieces. This was my first embroidery project. It was a learning process but I am pleased with how they turned out. Doll outfit before embellishes Last year, while out on a garage sale binge, I spotted a bag stuffed full of embroidery threads, zippers, and elastic ribbon. Gold mine! I used the yellow,...