Sunday, April 20, 2014

Blame it on Pinterest!

I know a lot of people spend lots of time on Pinterest. I've had an account for a year or two but never had a whole lot of time to spend on it.  I was on there a few weeks ago browsing some cross-stitch boards and I decided to search on "cross stitch ornaments".  Oh dear........I had one of those "I've got to HAVE IT" moments when I saw a cuckoo-clock ornament posted.  I kept clicking until I got to the source where the photo came from and it was Flamingo Valley's stitching blog.

I hope no one minds I posted this collage of Flamingo Valley's
cuckoo ornaments but I wanted to share how lovely they are!
 
  Unfortunately the blog is in a foreign language (Russian maybe?).  She has a huge number of followers so maybe I was the only one not knowing about her blog!  Anyway I was using the translator function on the blog trying to figure out who the designer was of the cuckoo clocks.  Fortunately someone had asked about that very thing in a comment to her post and the blog owner had responded with the name of some French magazine -  De Fil en Aiguille and something about "hors-serie montagne".  Well thanks to Babelfish translator and Google searching I found out this was a French stitching magazine that has been out of print a few years and she was referring to a special Alpine-themed edition of the magazine from 2004.  I was disappointed to find the magazine was out of print but that didn't stop me...I checked eBay and found nothing then I thought of trying eBay France and voila!  I found the magazine listed there.  I used Babelfish translator again to format a message to the seller and sent her a photo of the ornament and asked her if that pattern was in the magazine she was selling as I wanted to make sure I was on the right track.   She responded with a photo of the pattern that was in the magazine and I put in a pretty good bid to make sure I won the magazine. I was so thrilled to have found it! I 've always had a fondness for cuckoo clocks...my great-aunt had a big antique one from Germany and all of us kids always loved it.    The pattern is for a cuckoo clock sampler and has 9 different cuckoo clocks to stitch - I love it!  I don't give up when I'm on the trail of something LOL.  Thank goodness for the internet  - when you can find a 10-yr old edition of a stitching magazine sold by a lady in Brittany, France then all is right with the world! This is an incredible stitching magazine too, it's a shame it is no longer printed as I wouldn't mind buying more editions - lovely patterns in it.
 

 
I finished up the piece I was stitching for my mother and I laced it myself because I need to get it back from the framer within 2 weeks.  It's only the second piece I've ever laced but I think it came out pretty good and it saves me some money doing the mounting of the piece myself.    I modified the pattern a bit - it's charted to say "Sawyer & Finn Riverboat Co." but I wanted the word "Mississippi" in the piece since my hometown is along the mighty Mississippi river.  I charted it out and filled in some  extra spaces at the ends with little ships wheels.  I think it came out pretty good and is at the framer now.
 
 

 
"Mississippi Riverboats" by Little House Needleworks


My lacing job..........

This piece reminds me of the Mark Twain riverboat at Disneyland.  No matter how many times I've ridden it I always make my husband ride with me every time we go.   I love Disneyland!

 
 
By the way the winner of the "Forever Young" pattern was Cindy (no blog).  She had emailed me to enter the giveaway and I'll have it mailed it off soon.  It's nice to be able to pass along a lovely pattern I'm done with.


19 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finding the magazine you wanted. The designs are really cute. I think the changes you made to your piece are lovely and I would never have known if you hadn't said so you obviously did a brilliant job! xx

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  2. You are one tenacious shopper! Feels so good when that kind of search yields results. Very cute pattern.

    Lovely stitching on the Riverboat. And that is the neatest lacing. I'd certainly never show mine to the public!

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  3. How neat! I am the same way. ;) I don't give up easily.

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  4. You are so lucky to find that French magazine! Isn't the internet wonderful? How did we ever manage before it!? I know your ornaments will be lovely--your finishing is always perfect!
    I also love the Riverboat--I'm from Mississippi so I'm partial to "Southern" things! Your mother will love it!

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  5. Good for you for finding that magazine! Love your finish. Good job on the lacing. I'm afraid to do it myself. lol!

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  6. I love cuckoo clocks My grandpa had one.
    Pinterest has so many good ideas. Congrats on the find. The boat came out great.

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  7. I love it when you can find the item you're obsessing about! The cuckoos are really cute designs, and I agree about the French magazines. It is sad that they are no longer.

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  8. How great that you were able to find the cuckoo pattern! Love the Riverboat....

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  9. My DH travels to Germany frequently so the clock design caught my eye. Congrats to you for searching high and low to locate the design!

    I get lost on Pinterest for hours.

    The riverboat finish looks beautiful.

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  10. What a lovely way to finish the cuckoo clock ornaments. So cool to find inspiration on other blogs and I am so glad that you found the pattern.
    The riverboat finish is beautiful too.
    Have a great week!

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  11. A true detective! Looking forward to seeing your finishes. Love the riverboat photo.

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  12. Wonderful job of tracking! That is a great sampler and I liked the finishes as individual ornaments too. Congratulations on a very nice finish.

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  13. Wow Jeanne! I loved reading your story of how you found the cuckoo clock pattern!! So glad you found it and how amazing is that to come all the way from Brittany, France!! You did an excellent job on lacing! It'll look great framed up for your mother! Hugs!

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  14. Yes, Jeanne, you are perfectly on what you say about the internet. I for one would have given up on stitching completely if I was limited to the charts, magazines and other supplies I get here in my region. So great that you were able to get this wonderful French magazine. I love the French magazines a lot, and this one is no exception.

    Great finish that you could get to the framer.

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  15. Well done in finding the mag . I'd have given up long before you did I think lol!

    Great job on the lacing.

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  17. Thank you! Yes, the Internet has opened up my cross stitching world. I, too, play detective searching out wonderful cross stitch patterns. Thank you so much for posting this cuckoo clock sampler. I'm going to search out my own copy for purchase.

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  18. Jeanne, I love the story of the cuckoo clock pattern. Is there a way to get a copy of this pattern? Thanks

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  19. Jeanne, I love the story of the cuckoo clock pattern. Is there a way to get a copy of this pattern? Thanks

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