I’m really proud of my FFOs this month because they were challenging and they came out well. First up is Philanthropic Pumpkin from Hands On Design. I’m so grateful to my stitching friend for loaning me her chart! Thank you dear! Coming up with the right color trims was tricky, and ultimately I comprised on color, but it worked out in the end. I already had the perfect pins stashed and that’s one reason I wanted to stitch this one!!

I might put a bow on it if I can find just the right color.

Next is my lovely big Rosehips and Ivy. Oh my, what a beauty! I have loved this design from the moment I saw it. I love the colors and that charming bird with its tiny little beak and the baskets and the cherries and berries and the whimsical flowers and just everything about it.

I finished it with fabric from Blackbird’s Garden Party line and am displaying it with a wax strawberry I bought from a maker on Facebook. I have bought several of her wax items and they are all so nice and reasonably priced for the quality.

The whole thing is hand stitched for the finish. I followed Vonna’s excellent tutorial on drum finishing and I tell you friends, if you follow her directions for any finish you just can’t go wrong. She’s a perfectionist and gives such clear instructions actually showing you how to do each step, and has so many helpful tips to make a thing come out perfect, it’s just worth the weight in gold to have her videos as resource. The keys on this one were how to apply the interfacing, how to create and apply the top and bottom, and how to get that nice rounded top. (A graduated by size stack of batting circles.)

And here are my drums all together! Rosehips and Ivy is my favorite.

It is a Beast drum amongst its companions however! Or maybe not a Beast but definitely La Grande Dame! I need to find some more elegant and matching pins for it!

Now to see more FFOs, head over to our hostess, Rachel’s blog for the full gallery!