Ornament finishes, a new needlecase and a beginning!

This past weekend was devoted to taking some of my small completions and finishing them into useful and decorative items. And while I didn't get everything I wanted done (who ever does?) I am happy with my progress.

Before I get to the good stuff-- i. e. the pictures--I wanted to make a personal observation. I have noticed there is a flow to my cross stitch activity. I like to do a lot of smalls but then when my to "finish pile" gets rather large, and the guilt of not finishing them in a timely manner gets too overwhelming; I tend to switch gears and work on larger stitchery patterns just so I have time to do finishing.

Right now, since my "to finish" pile is  large and therefore I am itching to work on my larger WIP's. However, that may not happen anytime soon since I still have a couple of small exchange projects to do plus a Mother's Day gift I need to start.

Personal observations aside, I do have some finishes to show you!  First up is the needlecase I made with the Flowering Crown chart by Just Nan. Although it isn't perfect I still love it! It's the first needlecase I have ever completed and it turned out nice. I have learned from the mistakes I made on this particular case and will be sure to make any future attempts better! So here it is:

 When I saw this design I immediately thought it would make a gorgeous needlecase. I used pink fabric with sparkles for the inside of the case, added pink ribbons and used iridescent gold trim. Here is a look at the inside:

I have saved fabric ribbon for decades and finally found a use for this lovely pink/mauve ribbon I received on a Christmas package. I used it as an area for holding needles. Eventually the bottom of the case will have some magnetic strips-- also used for holding needles. All in all this was a fun project and I will definitely be making more!

On to more finishes:

This is the front of the Peppermint ornament from Little House Needleworks--and this is the back:

I actually used the same adorable pink  fabric that I used on the back of the Flowering Crown needlecase.

This is another ornament from LHN. I thought this design was so cute and like all LHN designs a joy to stitch. This is the back:

Seriously, I have enough of this Christmas plaid fabric to use on a zillion ornaments. Get used to seeing it because you will see it a lot over the years...

Yes, I even have a new project to show you! The design is from a blog entitled Alioka and the website address is http://aliolka.blogspot.com. She has so many delightful free designs on her website. It is well worth your time to peruse her blog pages. I had a hard time deciding which pattern to stitch up first, but finally settled on this particular one:

Very timely for Spring....

That's it for now. Happy stitching!

Brightest Blessings!

Beth B.