Fairy Tales & French Knots

A fly-by thank you!

2012-01-30T18:58:00.002-05:00

I got a lovely and unexpected little package in the mail today - thank you, Kathy, for the pretty red flosses!!! I think the GAST Buckeye Scarlet was my favorite. I just might have to start something new and Valentine-y, just so I can use it!

It is a band SAMPLER, after all....

2012-01-30T09:01:00.003-05:00

...and perhaps I should have checked the chart more closely before I dove into the stitching on Friday night!!

Yes, after completing the first line of the alphabet (a-h), it struck me that there are quite a few (fun!) specialty stitches in the Stag Sampler. And when I looked more closely at the chart, I realized that the band of gold above the alphabet - which I had done in plain old crosses - was supposed to be eyelets. D'oh! So I spent part of last night r-r-r-r-ripping all of that out. Two steps forward, one step back... I still love the sampler, though, despite it all.

I'm weak.

2012-01-28T12:45:00.002-05:00

I joined Measi's WIPocalypse in an attempt to finish a few things....so why did I start this last night??

This is the 17th Century Stag Sampler, by Charland Designs. All of the specialty threads were included (along with the little stag charm), so I all needed to find was a piece of fabric and a few DMC threads. And the colors are even prettier in real life than they are in the model picture!

In addition to my new start, my stash has also grown a bit. I spent the last of my Christmas money on some charts....

I picked up Blackbird Designs' "Winter" Loose Feathers pattern and Nora Corbett's "J" fairy at my LNS yesterday, along with some of the beads for the fairy. This will be for my new niece, Jane, and there is no rush since she is still tiny and her parents will be moving in the near future - no point in giving them something to get lost or broken in the move! (They DID like the Kringle ornament, though.) And from Thyra over on the HDF board, I've acquired "Lamb's Christmas" by Earth Threads, "The Needleworker" by Charland Designs (I've been looking for this for a long time, and finally getting might have had something to do with why I started the Stag Sampler!), and Waxing Moon's "Hitching a Ride."

Ah well. We only live once, right? So I might as well enjoy my stash....both stitching things from it and adding to it!! And for today, I'm working a 9-hour shift at the college library to pad the bank account for future stash acquisitions.... LOL

Unexpected expected stash

2012-01-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

For Christmas, my mom ordered a few things off my wishlist from Stitching Bits & Bobs, and they FINALLY arrived!!! (When she told me what she had ordered - one of the Victoria Sampler "Hearts of America" kits I'd been wanting to stitch for my daughter, to commemorate the state of her birth - I knew it would take a while, since not many places seem to have those in stock anymore.) So along with that little bitty, she also got me Silver Creek Samplers' "Santa's Magic Key."

It was also on my wishlist, but what I DIDN'T know was that it includes a small ornament pattern of a cute little Santa holding a big ornate key. And that will be perfect for my 2012 Santa ornament for the Wee One! I know my mom was a little annoyed at how long the order took, but I'm just thrilled with everything, so I don't mind the wait!!

As for things I'm actually stitching -- I finished the stitching for my Valentine exchange, and just need to figure out what finishing technique suits it best. While I think about it, I've pulled out the Mom's Tea Room tea towel design, so I'll have lots of progress to share for the next WIPocalypse update.

From Morticia with Love

2012-01-23T19:46:00.001-05:00

Woo-hoo, the first TUSAL Report of 2012!! Morticia is feeling lovey-dovey, what with the Valentine's exchange I've been working on....I told her she can't show it off quite yet, though. LOL But you can see from her contents that I've definitely been seeing RED lately!

I've been a bit consumed with the exchange stitching lately, and neglecting my WIPocalypse pieces. Naughty - as my daughter would say! But I'll get back to them soon, and will do my best to have some progress to show for the next check-in....

On (not) Seeing Red

2012-01-18T10:04:00.000-05:00

Having made some more progress on the Mom's Tearoom towel (bleh, icky aida, but I need to get it done), I decided to reward myself by joining another exchange round over at HOE - the Valentine's/Heart Exchange. And last night as I was scanning my freebies and other stash, I was struck by just how little red floss I have! Of course I have DMC red shades, but I was hoping to find a pretty HDF or other dyed fiber...hmph. I'm not in a position to buy stash right now, either, so I guess I'll have to make do with DMC. Or maybe pink.... :)

I've requested time off for Celebration of Needlework this year, and I've been watching for the class list to come out. Some things started appearing on the website yesterday, but I haven't seen anything I'm crazy about yet. I'm curious about Jeannette Douglas' "Island of Hope" pieces, but there are no pictures yet, and her classes tend toward the expensive side. Hmph.

Finally, I've been seeing a lot of Blackbird Designs' "Anniversaries of the Heart" samplers finished lately, and I'm getting more and more intrigued over the whole idea - commemorating bits of family history and all that. But then I think about 1) the cost of all those patterns, 2) my existing gigantic stash, and 3) my inability to decide what to include and where, and manage to talk myself out of it. For now. Ack.

True to my word

2012-01-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the Dark Sorceress. I figure I'll finish out the week with her, then go back to Labyrinth for a bit....or maybe pull out another WIP from the list? We'll see.

And yesterday I picked up Rosewood Manor's "Happiness Is" from Hobby Lobby. Overall, I'm pleased....and the price was reasonable. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the different colored mat cores (the inside one is white and the outside is gray). I could have sworn the corner samples we used to choose the mats weren't like that....hmmm. Still, it is lovely, and it feels good to have something else finally framed!

WIPocalypse check-in

2012-01-09T20:03:00.002-05:00

Wow, that snuck up fast! Here is my progress on Labyrinth (I promised DH it would be up first in the rotation).

(I have posted a starting pic on the WIPocalypse tab, and I'll move this over there as well.)

I also must confess to a bit of stash indulgence....I was placing an Amazon order for 2 books I really want to read and no one ever buys for me (they've been on my Wish List for about 2 years now!), and I was alerted to the fact that I'd get free shipping if I spent $6 more. Shipping would have cost me $6, and this book cost about $10. So if I look at it as really only costing me $4....that works, right? Then it is a great bargain!

And I know, I've ranted in the past about how all the backstitching in Joan Elliott's designs makes me crazy. *sigh* But I adore the Once Upon a Time fairy, as well as the fairy riding the dragon. Here I thought I'd gotten over my fantasy binge.....guess not, eh?

Maybe I'd better work on the Dark Sorceress from my WIP pile when I get home tonight. :D

I think I made a good decision.

2012-01-04T13:41:00.001-05:00

Back in November I ranted a bit about the changes to the online magazine, The Gift of Stitching. It started as a monthly publication, and as of January 2012 it will be bi-monthly and (supposedly) with more patterns and articles.

I got my first "new" issue this week.

I'm not impressed.

Maybe my tastes have changed, maybe I've just reached S.A.B.L.E. and don't feel the need to acquire much of anything...but whatever the reason is, I'm not excited by the contents of TGOSM any more. So I'm glad I didn't renew when the editor tried to "compensate" those of us who were losing issues on our current subscription due to the format change by offering a renewal deal.

OK, back to stitching!!!

Bring on 2012!

2012-01-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

So, 22 hours into the new year and I already have a finish! But it is an exchange piece, so I can't share quite yet. And since it WAS started in 2011, I think it is a WIPocalypse piece as well. LOL

Goals for 2012:
- finish Cross-Eyed Kat's Labyrinth.
- finish a stocking for my daughter. (After reading Vonna's post a while back about waiting until her children were old enough to pick their own stocking design, I hemmed and hawwed a bit over whether or not to do this....but my mom embroidered stockings for our family when I was very small, and I always love seeing that stocking now. It reminds me of our family Christmases! So I'm hoping what I create for Maura will hold the same kind of memories for her years from now.)
- stitch and finish my daughter's annual ornament.
- participate in Measi's WIPocalypse - my WIPocalypse tab has updated pics of most of my current pieces in that rotation - and the 2012 TUSAL.

I think that's enough for now. I think I did pretty well this year, 19 finishes and all, and it is fun to stitch without too many hard and fast "goals" looming! I'm planning to go to Celebrations in NH in April, so there has to be room in the schedule for some fun there.... And I'd also like to send Jill Rensel some more pieces for framing, namely that sand castle I finished last week and Just Nan's Mermaid Heart. Last week I decided to spoil myself and dropped off a piece for framing at Hobby Lobby. I've had bad luck with chain stores and framing in the past (booooo, Michaels), so I'm trying to stay optimistic. Another lady was showing off a piece Hobby Lobby had framed for her at my LNS before Christmas, and it looked pretty good. So I figured, what the heck, and picked a smallish piece (Rosewood Manor's Happiness Is sampler) to give them a try. Pics will come when it is done!

Ornamentifying and Finishing

2011-12-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm attempting to finish up a few things in preparation for the 2012 WIPocalypse....
With the Wee One at daycare this week, I finally got around to charting out my new niece's name and birth date, stitching it, and putting together her ornament.

I'm really pleased with it! It is about 4 1/2" high x 3" wide, and I think I did a pretty good job of hiding the braid tails with glue/floss/beads.... I hope my sister likes it.

I also finished up the Marie Barber sandcastle pattern. I love the shading effects in this one! Although there were SO many blends...and it wasn't even a TW design! I'm thinking about having Jill Rensel frame this one and "Mermaid Heart" together, and using them in my little basement half-bath.

So, counting these along with the 17 finishes in my sidebar, I've finished 19 projects this year. Not terribly impressive, but still, pretty good for me! And most of them were on the small-ish side, too...but it is hard to get into a big project when your stitching time is limited to an hour or 2 in the evenings!

Final Ort Report of 2011

2011-12-27T22:28:00.003-05:00

We made it! Here is Morticia, full to the brim with orts.

The purple bird is a gift from DH - handmade leaded crystal that he purchased in the discount store at the Corning Museum of Glass. We didn't do "big" gifts this year, but I think this little guy is too cute! Plus, I have another bird or 2 that my dad gave me years ago. Now I'm envisioning a shadowbox-style display, perhaps with a stitched piece as the background....hmmm.
The often-dreaded frog perched on the rim was something I picked up myself during the holiday sale at the college bookstore. I tried using him as a fob, but he was just too big, so for now he just sits, ominously, near my stitching. LOL

Christmas was lovely here, although rather crazy with a toddler who still doesn't quite "get it." We've wrapped, assembled, un-wrapped, traveled, eaten, and are now in recovery mode! Hopefully I'll be back before New Year's with a re-cap of my 2011 stitching.

Online Advent Calendar entry

2011-12-20T13:48:00.002-05:00

Jo is hosting the 2011 Online Advent Calendar on her blog, Serendipitous Stitching - check it out!

I absolutely love the Christmas season. Granted, I tend to find myself with too much to do and not enough time (which often means I just give up and say "oh well!"), but the music, the colors, the lights and decorations and cookies and ... everything just makes me happy. Well, except for maybe the annoying advertising campaigns for stores I don't visit or products I don't want.

As for traditions...this year marks the beginning of NEW traditions in our family! My sister and her husband had their first child (a girl) last week, and since they won't be traveling anywhere for the holiday, we decided that it was a good time to start our own little family Christmas as well. My parents are completely okay with this, as are my in-laws (who pretty much have to be okay with this, since they live about 800 miles away). I'm really looking forward to it. Last year I purchased a special plate and mug for Santa's cookies and milk, and although our little one won't quite "get it" yet, I'm excited to start! But I'm envisioning a nice, low-key day, a few gifts, some food, and probably napping. hehehe As she gets older, it will be fun to involve her more in decorating, baking, and other things....

When I was a child, Christmas was usually just my parents, my sister and me. We might head over to my adopted grandparents' house if the "aunts and uncles" were going to be there, and that was always fun. Now that I'm older I understand that it was total chaos, but as a kid it was great! And I'll always remember the big dinner at the dining table - or kids' table, once there were enough of us. I can still hear my grandad saying grace - ..."bless this food and the hands that prepared it..." Gramma and Grampa moved to a smaller home in the late 1990's and then he passed away in 2004, so it has been a very long time since I've heard that.

And now for my Christmas pictures. At the top is an ornament I stitched up years ago but never ornamentified. I've decided that I'd like to do an annual Santa ornament for Maura, and I've recently posted this year's and last's. But here is my inspiration...DH as Santa!!

Pondering the WIPocalypse and an SBQ

2011-12-12T20:13:00.000-05:00

With the way my stash keeps growing, I'm in deperate need of the WIPocalypse! I think my list of projects will be climbing past the current 8.

First, there was my one little eBay purchase - X's and Oh's "Mermaid Fair." I have no clue why I felt I needed this - there are more than enough mermaid patterns in my stash already - but I just kept coming back to it over and over. So I did. And I won. And it arrived today! I think it is all those blues, they are just so lovely.

Then another wonderfully generous blogger gifted me with a bunch of Shepherd's Bush patterns. I now have "Evening Sampler," "Gathered Hours," "Earth Song," "Robert's Stocking," and "Angel Pie" added to my stash! At first I thought "Robert's Stocking" might be in the running to be my daughter's stocking, but now that I've had it in my hands to look at, I'm thinking it might be perfect for DH....
And in the spirit of Christmas and paying it forward - "Angel Pie" isn't quite my style. So if any of my readers would like it, let me know! If more than one person asks, I'll have Wee One draw a name from the bowl.

To go along with those mermaids, here is my progress on the sand castle. Still loving this one, despite the inordinate amount of time I spend switching colors.

And finally, Lee's December SBQ.
Name your favorite designer(s). Have your tastes changed over time?When I started stitching, I collected anything and everything Celtic and fantasy-related. In that vein, I adored Teresa Wentzler, Dragon Dreams, Black Swan, Mirabilia, MarBek, and a couple other designers. Not necessarily everything by those designers, though - I was always selective. It just didn't seem that way at first, because I had nothing! LOL Now I'm finding that while I still love some of the same designs (obviously, I just bought mermaids!), I can't realistically see me finishing and displaying all the dragons, maidens and castles that are in my stash. So I've switched gears a little bit, and now have more "primitive" designs than I ever thought I would. But I'm still picky... LOL I like some Prairie Schooler, smaller stuff by Bent Creek, Lizzie Kate and such, Shepherd's Bush (does that count as primitive?), geometric stuff..... Hmmm, it seems that I've become more eclectic over time!!!

My castle by the sea, and my castle's kitchen

2011-12-04T17:58:00.001-05:00

With Christmas coming....I decided to start something decidedly UN-Christmasy. LOL

Marie Barber, sandcastle design from a back issue of Just Cross Stitch
stitched on 28-ct. cameo jobelan

I picked up this little design back when I was working on the Neighborhood Round Robin, and needed something "beachy" for Kathy's neighborhood. This was too big and just not quite right, but I still love it and am glad to be able to do it for myself! It is so neat to watch it grow, with all the shading. I never would have thought that blends with purple would make a nice sandcastle, but it really does!

I also thought I'd share my new kitchen. Here is a "before" pic, of what I referred to as the Holly Hobbie wallpaper.... And for the record, this was taken before we moved in, so all the decor - including the freaky owls, they were EVERYWHERE! - belonged to the previous owner.

And after. Complete with the new valance I made. (I really don't think the walls are quite that PINK. It is an antique white with warm undertones.) The contractor told me he and his partner stripped 3 layers of wallpaper off, and found phone-book yellow paint under that. Yikes. I'm glad DH and I didn't decide to undertake this project on our own.

Yes, we still have the 1960s cabinetry and the gold-flecked countertops, and the carpet. But we could afford this (mostly), and it makes me so much happier. For now.
Here is my "accent wall" - it is the wall not visible in the before picture, against which our table sits. I originally wanted a brick red shade, but my interior designer friends convinced me not to try that with the oak cabinetry. So I picked a pale silver-blue, which is probably better since we didn't get rid of the blue carpet yet, anyway.

I really like the 3-D flowers, and the "Family Rules" canvas. It feels so big and open and clean... Hey, anything is better than blue striped wallpaper with pink flowers!!

An ornament and an idea

2011-11-29T11:36:00.001-05:00

Last night I finished the trim on this little guy.

"Winter Landscape"
from Christmas 1992 Cross Stitch Sampler magazine
stitched mostly as charted with DMC floss

I don't think I'll hang it on our tree, though...last week I made my first Etsy sale (!!), and now I'm inspired to put a few more things in my store there. I'm still totally shocked and pleased that something sold there - I don't have a terribly snazzy shop front, and I certainly don't have much inventory. But I figured what the heck, putting things there gave me a little more control than listing them on eBay (I've parted with a few things for ridiculously small amounts of money there, and while yes, I'm happy they've found new homes, I still think they were a bit more valuable than the bidding reflected). So I was amazed when I got an email that this little pillow - something I put together years ago - sold for $15!

Celtic/Druidic "Truth" triad pillow

Of course, it figures that I set the flat-rate shipping without considering bidders outside the continental U.S. And how funny is it that I sent something TO the North Pole, Alaska?? I thought things were supposed to be coming FROM there at this time of year - evidently Santa didn't get the memo. Or else his elves were doing a bit of Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping for themselves.... Anyway, even with the slightly higher shipping costs, I think I did better than I would have on eBay.

They might know me there...

2011-11-28T13:56:00.001-05:00

A meme borrowed from Lee. A list of the needlework shops I've visited - excluding chain stores like Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics, online shops, and places I've browsed on the shop floor at Celebrations.

In PA:
Stitchin' Stuff in Erie

In NY:
Expressions in Needleart in Canandaigua
The Village Sampler in Big Flats
a store somewhere near Buffalo that went out of business in 2006

And that's it. I always check the yellow pages when we travel, in hopes of finding a little shop somewhere, but alas. No luck yet......

November Ort Report

2011-11-27T20:46:00.001-05:00

Just a fly-by post (and late, I know!) with an update from Morticia. Here she is, with my latest start and a teaser - the fabric for my new kitchen curtains!

Making lists

2011-11-17T08:40:00.001-05:00

Lately, it seems that the focus of my stash acquisition has shifted from patterns to floss. Specifically, Vikki Clayton's HDF silk floss. *drooldrooldrool* I stitched Rosewood Manor's "Happiness Is" sampler and Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart" using Vikki's flosses, and they are just lovely to work with! My list of things I'd like to kit, if money were no issue:
1) Patricia Andrle - Four Seasons Sampler
2) La Broderie/Linda Reeves - AZ Sampler
3) Just Nan - Leave It Green
4) Something in Common - Cotton Candy
And I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones that come to mind first. Guess I'd better get to listing things on eBay (my eBay sales are my "fun money")!!

Just a little something

2011-11-16T11:10:00.001-05:00

After pouring over the magazines my mom left, I decided a new start was in order. This is "Winter Landscape," a teeny little ornament design from a 1990-ish issue of Cross Stitch Sampler.

I changed the green (when I pulled the one called for, it was almost teal and looked nothing like any tree I'd ever seen!), and the "snowflakes" are Smyrna crosses. A very basic little design, but still cute!

November SBQ and babbling about magazines

2011-11-14T13:23:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit late in answering this, but here goes -
What's your favorite color of thread? Pick just one. Why do you like it?
I've always loved shades of blue - one look in my closet proves that! And right now, I think my favorite floss is The Dye is Cast's "Bluebells." It reminds me of my daughter's eyes, especially in the early days when they were Newborn Blue. (Now her eyes go from a deep blue-green shade to a kind of hazel, especially in the center.) The dye company is no longer in business, so I can't show a picture of the floss itself, but here it is as the lettering in LHN's "Moon and Stars" and as the blue flowers in the border of "Moon Dance."

So, magazines. First of all, my mother brought me a pile of old magazines that she picked up for a song at a local craft store that was going out of business. Some of them are pretty bad, but there are a few treasures in there! I found the issue of Just Cross Stitch with TW's "Lily Maiden," an issue of Cross Stitch & Needlework with Patricia Andrle's multi-layer "Victorian House" pattern (I won't stitch it, but maybe someone would like it), and Volume 11 of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly. Fun! I'm also amazed at how much more there was to actually read in some of these older publications. And I must say, while I like getting lots of patterns in a magazine, it is refreshing to find an article about the history or how-to of needlework.
Finally (and also related to magazines), I was notified about the changes in publication over at The Gift of Stitching. As you may have noticed, I took down my link to the publication. Suffice it to say I'm not happy with the change - from a monthly publication to a bimonthly one, with no change in the price, and in my opinion, no good way of handling existing subscriptions. I'm very glad I did not buy into the extended subscription packages that were offered in the past, because those with 5 year, 10 year, or longer subscriptions seem to be the ones with the most to lose. As it is, I paid for a one-year subscription/12 issues in March, and as a result of the changes will only be getting 9 issues. I don't want or need any back issues, and I'm not convinced I want to renew again (even at a reduced rate) - and those are the offers the publisher has made to existing subscribers. Ah well. I suppose I could make a giant confrontational stink about it, but more than likely I'll just vote quietly with my pocketbook and let my subscription expire. I'll miss TGOS, but at this rate I'm not sure it will last much longer anyway.

Mr. Bunnypants?

2011-11-11T09:27:00.003-05:00

I haven't been stitching much this week...just not in the mood, I guess. But I HAVE been crafting, nonetheless!
I am going to a baby shower for my sister tomorrow. Now, my sister and her husband are currently leaving in a truly tiny apartment (on-campus grad student housing), and don't have much room for a lot of the stuff many of us would consider necessary - or at least terribly nice to have - for a babies. They are also dyed-in-the-wool tree-hugging vegan save-the-earth type people. So I decided something 1) small, 2) hand-made, and 3) recycled would be a lovely gift. After searching the web for a while, I found this: mooshy belly bunny. So cute! So I pawed through my bins of Wee Bit's outgrown clothing until I found something suitable. Since Sis doesn't know the baby's gender, the overly girly stuff - like pink flowered onesies - was out. And here is the result, made from a pair of old pants and complete with a homemade "hang tag" that explains his recycled past.He is about 6 or 7 inches tall and just the cutest, smooshiest little thing! He isn't perfect, but I think that is part of his chaarm....

Ornamentified BEFORE Christmas?!?!? What has happened??

2011-11-06T13:10:00.004-05:00

LOL!

Yep, the Incorrigible Procrastinator has managed to get an ornament ornamentified in time to hang it on THIS year's tree! (Now, we just need to buy a tree. We haven't bothered before, what with travel and pets and all, but the almost-2 year-old might be of an age now where she'd enjoy it! Hmmm, I saw a cute pre-lit "slim" tree at Sam's Club the other night.)That is the little "display tree" I bought on sale last year, specifically to model my ornament finishes. You can also see the beautiful Words of Christmas ornament I received from Carol last month - here is a link to her blog for an even better picture.

As for "Jingle Jingle," well, I think it is adorable. However, I stitched it on a remnant of some cheap linen that I picked up at my LNS, and it was miserable to sew together. (Also, it probably didn't help that I used some cheap fabric for the backing. I thought it would be fine - heck, it is just the back of a Christmas ornament, it needn't be top-quality quilting fabric or anything! - but it was so hard to keep square....which DOES matter when you're using a gingham check fabric. D'oh.) Anyway. I went simple, which I think suits this rustic design quite well. I added three red jingle bells to the top.

Woof woof?

2011-11-04T08:29:00.005-04:00

As I was stitching along on my little "Jingle Jingle" ornament, DH looked over my shoulder and said, "are those reindeer or dogs?" Sigh. And he wasn't wrong...they were rather odd little creatures, without any antlers. So I took a bit of artistic license with the pattern, and added antlers!

Homespun Elegance, "Jingle Jingle" 2011 ornament
Changes - antlers added to reindeer, different shade of yellow for star, charm added to Santa's hat instead of to lead reindeer
To be finished as my daughter's annual ornament

This was a fun little piece to stitch! Now, back to Cross-Eyed Cat's "Labyrinth" for a while....blah, blue and yellow.... LOL

October Ort Report & a Lizzie*Kate finish

2011-10-28T22:32:00.004-04:00

First, my finish - Lizzie*Kate's Autumn Cottage Boxer. I didn't use the Summer Khaki linen provided, and I swapped out a couple colors (the roof I mentioned earlier, and a few of the leaf colors I didn't have). The fabric next to it is what I plan to use for pillowifying. And yes, the piece IS straight, it was just at a bit of an angle on my work table!

And here's Morticia, showing off my next ornament start - Homespun Elegance's Jingle Jingle. The snow/border is stitched in GAST Roasted Marshmallow, and wouldn't you know, it looks like it blends a bit too much with the fabric....oh well. I like the rest of it on the lighter linen, and it is the right count to keep it from becoming a giant ornament, so I'm not going to worry. Too much.

Happy Friday

2011-10-28T09:20:00.005-04:00

After taking some mental health days last Thursday and Friday, this has felt like a very loooooooong work week.... LOL

Earlier this week I finished the Autumn Cottage Boxer, and it is quite cute. I even made a trip to Hobby Lobby for some finishing fabric, but haven't yet commenced the sewing (I'm thinking pillow for this one). And I haven't taken a picture yet, either. I need to do that, as well as post my TUSAL pic! Maybe later tonight, or this weekend.

I started another small project, this time it is Homespun Elegance's 2011 "Jingle Jingle" ornament. I'm going to do this one as Wee One's ornament for the year. That's not to say that I won't stitch any other ornaments, just that this one will be her annual one! After doing the Santa Factory one for her last year, I'm thinking I'd like to give her at least one Santa-themed ornament every year for as long as I'm stitching.

Speaking of Wee One, one of my projects last weekend was to make my stitchy corner even more toddler-unfriendly. All of my WIPs migrated from an open-topped basket to a plastic tote with a locking lid! She was having entirely too much fun pulling projects out and dumping thread bobbins all over. Not good!

Oh, and I CAN share a pic of my ornament for the HOE Words of Christmas exchange. I stitched "Windows of Joy" by Primrose Needleworks, in the December 2007 issue of The Gift of Stitching. I had some trouble with the finishing - silly me, trying to use purchased cording instead of making my own. I did my best to cover it nicely with some extra thread and some beads at the bottom.... Gwen was the recipient, and this pic is from her.I'm trying to decide if I want to participate in the next round of ornament exchanges....I'm kind of focused on projects for myself and my family right now.

And the winner is...

2011-10-24T10:48:00.004-04:00

...Mouse! Yes, the Wee One pulled Mouse's name from the bowl, so the Monica Ferris book will be crossing the ocean ASAP.

As for my stitching, I've almost finished the Lizzie Kate Autumn Cottage Boxer, and will have a picture soon. Until then, here is a pic of Wee One at the pumpkin patch we visited over the weekend!

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-16T23:00:00.004-04:00

First, the trick.
Over the weekend I started a new small project - Lizzie Kate's "Autumn Cottage" Boxer kit. However, I was NOT thrilled with the included fabric. I found it wasn't at all true to the picture...so I substituted with a scrap of something from my stash. And I think I may end up swapping out a few floss colors, too. The roof of the little house is stitched in - according to the pattern - GAST Brethren Blue, and my skein of Brethren Blue looks absolutely green! I think the kit pic is much more blue/gray... Right now the front-runner for the substitution is Crescent Colors "Old Blue Jeans."
And now for the treat.
As you can see from the pic, I photographed one of Monica Ferris' needlework mysteries along with my little autumn project. I picked this book up at Barnes & Noble a while back, because 1) it had a lovely spooky little cover, 2) it had a cute witch hat pattern in the back, and 3) it WAS about needlework, after all! However, I must admit that I couldn't really get into it. <:( Which was a little surprising, because I did enjoy reading a couple of Maggie Sefton's knitting mysteries... Anyway. I thought I'd give this book away as a little Halloween treat to my readers! It isn't terrible, just not my style, and I'm sure someone out there will enjoy it more. So leave a comment on this post before Friday, October 21, and maybe this book will end up in your trick-or-treat bucket! (And you never know what else might make it into the package, but I promise nothing. LOL) Make sure I can find your email - either in your blogger profile or leave it in your comment - so I can contact you if you win.

Baby gifts

2011-10-10T09:19:00.003-04:00

After doing a fall photo shoot with the Wee One, I spent the rest of my free time this weekend finishing up some gifts for friend.The bag is one of my favorite baby gifts -- it seems more practical than a sampler, you know? And the square is the chorus to James Taylor's song, "Sweet Baby James." It will be a part of a quilt that another friend is making!

My Sampler

2011-10-05T11:23:00.003-04:00

As some of you may remember, I entered Anna's Challenge this year. Since the winners have been announced, now I can share my piece here! Anna challenged us to take The Workbasket's "Pink Flower" freebie and make our own sampler commemorating a place that is special to us. Well, I picked the Adirondacks of New York State - a place where I always feel exhilarated and at peace. I worked at a summer camp on the western side of the park for 2 years, and convinced my husband that we should honeymoon near Lake Placid!
So, about my little sampler. I changed the colors of the flower to look like the wild columbine, which is - as near as I can tell - native to the northern forests. The border reminded me of mountains, and the owl is a tribute to the night noises in the woods. (I loved the hooting of owls in the night while I was snug in the camp cabin!) The tree....is a tree. LOL And the quote is part of a longer piece by William Chapman White.

"As a man tramps the woods to the lake he knows he will find pines and lilies, blue herons and golden shiners, shadows on the rocks and the glint of light on the wavelets, just as they were in the summer of 1354, as they will be in 2054 and beyond. He can stand on a rock by the shore and be in a past he could not have known, in a future he will never see. He can be a part of time that was and time yet to come."

This little piece was really fun to put together, and even if it didn't win in the prize-getting sense, I love it. So....winning!!!! hehe

Addendum to my earlier rant

2011-10-03T19:16:00.003-04:00

I understand that OOP charts sell for significantly higher prices....heck, that is why I'm hanging on to my autographed copy of TW's "You Were Hatched..."! So I suppose I shouldn't rant TOO much about the cost of the Prairie Schooler designs. As a stitcher/collector of primarily fantasy designs, the OOP market for other designers just wasn't really on my radar before this, I guess. And on the selfish side, I'm also annoyed to find a design I like that I can't ever justify purchasing. (Measi, if you want to check, that would be nice -- it is booklets #60, 66, 77, and 83. 77 is the summer one that I'm not as sure I like, 60 and 83 - Spring and Winter - are my favorites. But please don't feel obligated!)

Also, I searched eBay again, this time ordering ALL Prairie Schooler patterns by price, and then limited it to items with bids. There are plenty of listings at the kinds of prices I mentioned before (for all different Prairie Schooler patterns, not just the seasonal samplers I mentioned), but nothing has been bid up to more than about $15. However, if I look at completed listings....yes, people ARE paying $40+ for various designs (obviously using the Buy It Now option, not straight-out bidding). Wow.

Ridiculous!

2011-10-03T12:53:00.003-04:00

Whilst on my morning blog-cruise today, I stumbled across a finish that I thought was quite cute. I can't remember exactly where I saw it, but another blogger had stitched a design from Prairie Schooler's "Spring Samplers" booklet. So I thought, "hmmm, I might like that one," and set off to scour the Bay of Evil for it.

Well, I found it.....for a MINIMUM of $40!!!! Yikes.
Or I could get all 4 seasonal sampler booklets - for $150. Gee, what a bargain....NOT.

Which brings me to my rant/question (which I'm pretty sure someone - Lee, perhaps? - may have posted a while back). Are people actually PAYING these prices?!?!? I mean, really. While I DO like these designs, I simply can't justify paying $35 (more or less) for them! I suppose there are the collectors....but again, I just keep coming back to the fact that my stash is quite sufficient without these. And in another month or 2 or 3, I'll probably find something else I want, anyway. LOL

Morticia Makes a Friend

2011-09-28T20:51:00.003-04:00

Here is the September Ort Report - Morticia posed with her new - and finished! - friend, Kringle.Morticia is feeling QUITE full....soon she'll need to get to the gym!! Ironically, though, with the holidays coming, she may not be consuming quite so many orts in the months ahead.... LOL Too bad the same can't be said for her human accomplice.

And Kringle is finished, except (obviously) for the baby-to-be's name and birthdate and final assembly of the ornie. Along with him, this month I also finished up an exchange project (still needs some finishing), and another small baby gift that I'll share later!

Quickie Post

2011-09-21T11:58:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to take a minute and point out the Challenge hosted by Anna over at Stitch Bitch...everyone, go vote!! :)

Kringle

2011-09-18T22:07:00.005-04:00

So, I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but my little sister is pregnant! Yes, the one who "just" got married in January of 2010, forcing me to be a pregnant chocolate bon-bon maid (HATE the term "matron") of honor... hehehe She and her husband aren't finding out the baby's gender, and are referring to him/her as "Kringle." Since they live in a teeny-tiny apartment - seriously teeny-tiny, he is a PhD student and the canpus housing arrangement they have gives them about 500 square feet! - I'm not doing a full birth sampler. I was planning to, but then I looked at the gorgeous sampler I did for my own daughter, and pondered its future...once she is old enough to not want it on her wall....and beyond that... And if you think I'M being overly practical, my sister is even more so! So I'm making Kringle a Christmas ornament instead. This is Heart in Hand's Wee Santa 2010, and he is exactly what I think of when someone says "Kris Kringle." So cute!
I'm using most of the flosses called for, with a few substitutions (like I wasn't buying an entire skein of hand-dyed for the 4 stitches making up Kringle's cheeks!). I also substituted beads for the gold buttons on his hat, and am pondering what to do about the buttons on his coat. I have some small black buttons, but I don't think they are quite small enough. And I'm debating whether or not to stitch the border...any thoughts? It doesn't really make the design any bigger, but it doesn't feel "ornament-y" to me. Hmmm. (The child's name and birthdate will go on the back, since I have enough extra fabric. The figure is almost 4" tall by itself, and I think that is a decent ornament size!)

Stashlust

2011-09-15T14:34:00.004-04:00

I seem to go through these phases, where all I want to do is drool over new patterns....

Yesterday I got a (small) order from Stitching Bits & Bobs. I picked up another Just Nan design from their clearance pages, and I finally broke down and bought Homespun Elegance's 2011 ornament, "Jingle Jingle". This will be my ornament for my daughter this year! (Last year - her first Christmas -was the Santa Factory design by Heartstrings.) I like signing them with my little "<3, MOM"...

I also found something on the Bay of Evil. Several months ago I checked out one of the Vanessa-Ann "Holidays in Cross Stitch" books, and found a couple designs I liked. Granted, some of the designs in those books are a bit dated, but some are really sweet! However, checking out pattern books is really not the best strategy for stitchers - at least, not a stitcher like me who has good intentions and then lets things sit for weeks/months/years... So when I saw a set of 9 of those books going for less than $15 (including shipping), I couldn't talk myself out of it.

Now, I'm pretty picky about the kinds of "reproduction" -style samplers that I like, but for reason several designs from The Primitive Needle have been calling my name rather loudly. I loved the Earth Sampler back when it first came out, and I still do.... And Simply Live, as well. Maybe I can blame the impending autumn for my lusting after Tombstone Spots and Wicked Alphabet??

Blurry Mermaid

2011-09-13T20:38:00.001-04:00

Sigh. I didn't realize what a blurry pic this was until I pulled it off my flash drive this morning - no way to re-take the picture at the moment, so you'll just have to make do....

Just Nan - "Mermaid Heart"
stitched on 28-ct. SMF Dolphin Dance fabric using a conversion to HDF silks

I really love this piece!! I'm using it as the inspiration for my downstairs bathroom remodel....I'm envisioning lots of sea blues and greens, with white woodwork and a splash of color here and there....

Here Comes the Sun

2011-09-08T09:30:00.005-04:00

Finally! Tropical Storm Lee seems to have left the area, although many streams and rivers are still quite swollen. Just an hour to the east of us there are mandatory evacuations and many road closures, states of emergency, and other problems. Enough already! New York State can't take much more...

In stitching news, I've been busy - so busy I haven't been taking pictures. I finished my modification of The Workbasket's "Pink Flower," am working on an ornament for the Words of Christmas exchange at HOE, and am thiiiiiis close to finishing "Mermaid Heart." Phew!

I've decided to join Measi's "WIPocalypse 2012," and possibly finish some of the things that have been languishing in my workbasket. My tentative list of projects so far:
1) "Dark Sorceress" - neglected since February 2011.
2) "Melville's Return" - haven't touched it since sometime in the spring.
3) "Mermaids of the Deep Blue" - eep, these poor girls. It has been YEARS since they were on a frame....
4) The "Me, Myself and I" Neighborhood RR. Untouched since my daughter was born.
5) Stoney Creek's "Fox Cubs" - I started this as a birth sampler for a friend's daughter. the little girl will be 3 in the spring.
6) "Mom's Tearoom" teatowel - was going to be a birthday gift for my mom in April...then a Mother's Day gift....now it *might* be a Christmas gift? Or it goes in the WIPocalypse pile.

Yikes, that seems like a lot!!! And of course, I'm already plotting for what I might start before the end of the year that could then be included in the WIPocalypse. Hehehehe. (an ornament/commemorative birth piece for my sister's baby....a wedding sampler or 2...."Letters from Nora - M" for my daughter's room, since she loves the princess - Butternut Road's "Once Upon a Time" - in our bedroom....)

Look, a post with pics!

2011-08-30T23:17:00.008-04:00

I'm sorry I've been away for a bit...classes are starting at the college where I work, and life has just been end-of-summer-crazy lately! Measi asked if we were staying dry -- yes, we are a bit removed from the terrible flooding in upstate NY. We live west of Binghamton and well south of...well, south of most of anything in NYS. The biggest danger here is river flooding from the Chemung River, which has happened in the past, but we were spared this time. My heart just breaks looking at the pics of Vermont and parts of my beloved Adirondacks, though.
Anyway, on to stitching. First, here is my progress on Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart." I love it. (And yes, I started beading before I was completely finished stitching. I can't help it, it is a sickness. LOL)Next, my latest TUSAL pic. This month, M-ort-icia forced me to do some finishing so she'd have something pretty to pose with, so here is LHN's "Moon and Stars" finished as a pillow. And let me tell you, sewing metallic ribbon on with invisible thread is a b**ch.....Finally, last weekend DH and I took Wee One and headed to the New York State Fair. Wee One loves the animals....and selfishly, I wanted to see what the competition was like in the needlework category! Here is my pic of (what I think was) the winning pices in the cross stitch category:I can't believe TW's "Peacock Tapestry" only got an honorable mention ribbon! I don't know the designer of the iris piece - the blue ribbon winner - but that is Nora Corbett's "Fairy Alphabet T" with the second place red ribbon. And I think that is Glendon Place's magi design on the floor? Also, there were 2 versions of The Cricket Collection's design of the spooky ship with ghostie sails...I can't remember the name....but one of the pieces had a blue ribbon and the other had a white one. So evidently they were entered in different categories? I didn't quite get the division of the categories, honestly.
Oh, but this was hanging at the entrance to the exhibit hall.(Damn you, Blogger, for rotating things!! Oh well, it doesn't really matter for this one. Also, I thought the fair pics would be clickable so you could see them biggified....it doesn't seem to be that way. Hmph.) Anyway, this quilt took the blue ribbon in the recycled crafts category. After squinting at it for a LONG time, I think it is made of ties!!! What a LOT of work. And gorgeous, no matter what it is made of...

Stitchy-related Faire Finds!

2011-08-23T08:25:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend DH, Wee One and I ventured to the Sterling Renaissance Festival. It is about 2 hours away, but is the closest faire to where we now live (which makes me just a little sad!). I always tell myself I won't be spending a lot of money when I go to a faire, and I usually do pretty well....but with this being a new-to-me faire, I did find a couple unique vendors. And they are stitchy-ish things, too!

First, I bought a small tapestry bag from Gypsy Wings. If you look at her gallery of bags, I have the "Rebekah" in the Blue Italian Quilt design. Gorgeous, well-made, and deceptively roomy! I love it.
Then I found Rainbow Weavings, a woman who makes god's-eye style pendants and earrings using silk and metallic threads. So pretty! I purchased a pendant from her sale board (because the metal frame was a different color on the back than the front). Mine is kind of like these:

OK, back to stitching..... :)

Anybody want....

2011-08-17T10:37:00.004-04:00

...this kit?

I've listed it on eBay twice and had no takers. :( I hate to give it to Goodwill, but I know I will never stitch it....

Details:
-it includes the printed mat (you only stitch the bells, none of the other stuff) and glass to "frame" it.
-it IS AIDA FABRIC.

I'd really like to do a trade for something....some fabric, a pattern or 2, maybe? Either that or ask that whoever wants it PayPal me a dollar or 2 for shipping.

Leave me a comment ordrop me an email if you are interested!

Quick Pic!

2011-08-09T23:24:00.002-04:00

A quick Mermaid Heart update...
As you can see, I've rolled the piece up to the top. I'm not done with the bottom, though! And as always, a bit of premature beading. I just had to see how it would look....

I spent tonight working on the challenge piece and watching America's Got Talent. I think that show is quite often totally ridiculous, but I think I may have gotten hooked. Sigh.

Where has all the summer gone?

2011-08-09T08:48:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it is August already. We are just a few weeks from classes resuming at the college where I work, and I swear the tree in my back yard has a few orange leaves now... (although that could be due to the lack of rain!)

DH is still looking for a job. It is so frustrating for him...and for me, too. Little Bit's daycare costs are quite a drain on our budget, but we just can't give up her spot - with our luck, the minute we did that DH would find employment, and THEN where would we be? So we're still crossing crossables and hoping that today will be the day someone finally calls him back.

I'm still stitching, but have neglected to take any pictures. I'm sorry! Mermaid Heart has been my focus lately, so I'll try to get a picture soon. I've also been working on my challenge piece. At first I was in love with it, now I'm kind of luke-warm, but it WILL be finished by Sept. 15.

Finally, we went to the local county fair last weekend, mostly because I wanted to check out the needlework category. It was....less than impressive, to say the least. The cross-stitch category didn't have many entries, and quite honestly, they weren't that good. The designs were rather dated country scenes, worked on aida, and not very well framed, either. I mean, they are perfectly fine cross-stitched things, but I was expecting to see at least one or 2 Miras, maybe something with some specialty stitches...but no. Oh well. And the display itself? Framed pieces laid flat on tables!!!

July Ort Report #2

2011-07-31T20:27:00.005-04:00

Another drive-by posting, with the latest from Morticia....

...and a pic of my medieval faire princess. (I love this picture!)
Still stitching away, most of the orts in this update are from Mermaid Heart with a few from the challenge piece that I can't share. I'm trying to resist a new start, though....not sure how much longer I can hold out before I start SOMETHING! Christmas ornament? A (loooong overdue) wedding sampler? Baby gift for my first neice/nephew arriving in December? Stay tuned! LOL

I sense a long journey in your future...

2011-07-25T09:38:00.004-04:00

...if you are the Traveling Pattern, that is! "Count Your Blessings" will be traveling to the UK, where Jo is the next stitcher! I had a terrible time choosing who would be next. But for those who want a chance in the next round, be sure to follow along on Jo's blog.

Since finishing "Count Your Blessings," I've been keeping my stitchy fingers busy with my piece for Anna's challenge (can't share that yet!), and Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart."I am absolutely loving this piece - despite that fact that Nan's constant color changes drive me a little crazy. After all the subtle color changes are part of what I love! Anyway...this is a conversion to Vikki Clayton's hand-dyed silks instead of the AVS the pattern calls for, and I'm using a piece of Sugar Maple Fabric that I've been hoarding for years called "Dolphin Dance." In fact, I think I bought the pattern because I had the fabric, and it has all been sitting in my stash pile for several years!

Ready to Travel!

2011-07-19T08:19:00.004-04:00

Last night I put in the last few stitches on "Count Your Blessings," so the pattern is ready to travel on!

"Count Your Blessings" - Shakespeare's Peddler
stitched on 28-ct. tea-dyed Irish linen (Charles Craft), my own floss choices

If you would like to be part of this Traveling Pattern there are a few rules:

1. Comment on this post before Sunday, July 24, saying you would like to be part of the Stitcherhood.

2. By leaving this comment, you agree (if you are chosen) to stitch the design and send it along to the next person in a timely manner. If this means dropping everything in your rotation to concentrate on this project...so be it. If you can't bring yourself to do this ~ don't sign up.

3. You must have an active blog to participate. If you have a blog but never post to it ~ you won't be chosen to be the next stitcher.

4. This is a giveaway-type Traveling Pattern. That means you must follow it from blogger to blogger to enter each time it is ready to send along. Commenting on this post doesn't make you a guaranteed part of the Stitcherhood.

Please make sure you include your email (if it isn't in your blogger profile), so I can contact you! I'll post on Monday with the name of the next recipient.

I'm a bag lady

2011-07-14T10:08:00.004-04:00

It is true, I do love a good bag. So when I found Made by Rae's free "buttercup bag" pattern last summer, I just had to try it. I picked some fabric, cut all the pieces...and then put them in a drawer and forgot about them. Found them last night and decided it was time to conqure my fear of sewing pleats and curves...Here is the inside, complete with lining and a little pocket.The pattern uses just a fat quarter of fabric, so it is a little small for most grown-ups -- however, my daughter thinks it is a perfect tote. LOL She puts it up on her shoulder and cocks her head to the side to keep it from slipping. So cute!

And I've been stitching, too! Here is the latest progress on "Count Your Blessings." I think it will be done soon!

Home again, home again

2011-07-11T21:08:00.002-04:00

And let me be the first to say, when traveling with a toddler (or really ANY child, I can only assume!) there is no such thing as a "vacation." LOL
We were in Iowa over the weekend for my sister-in-law's wedding. After one delayed flight, a race through the Detroit airport while wearing an almost-30 lb. toddler, making the connecting flight only to realize said toddler had not had a diaper change or lunch (and yes, we did have food for her, but somehow I don't think nilla wafers and a juice box are a good substitute for lunch!), and a myriad of other problems-that-would-not-have-seemed-like-problems-had-we-not-been-parents, it was with a great (albeit somewhat guilty) sigh of relief that I took her to daycare this morning and went home to do all the laundry, watch a movie with DH and take a looooooooooong nap.
While I didn't stitch while we were traveling, I did make some progress on "Count Your Blessings" today between loads of laundry and naps. I'll share later!
I also made a somewhat depressing discovery. When I lived in Erie, I had a LNS (Stitchin' Stuff, for those who've been to the area) that did what I thought was wonderful framing. Her eye for color was very much like my own, and I was always happy with the work she did for me - you can see some of it on the "Framed Finishes" page here. But I was looking closely at some of the pieces on my wall today, and I noticed that the cut edges of the mats are starting to yellow. Every single one. And none of them are older than about 5 years. Ugh. I can't afford to have them all taken apart and re-framed, so for now they'll just have to stay as they are...

July TUSAL update and a start

2011-07-02T20:43:00.008-04:00

Just a quick post to share my updated - and getting stuffed! - ort jar, along with my start on the "Count Your Blessings" traveling pattern. Morticia saved me the trouble of taking 2 pictures by posing with the WIP...
May this first July weekend be a sunny, wonderful kick-off to a great summer for everyone!(And may all of us bigger girls do a better job of keeping our swimsuits on than this little one seems to be doing....oops. LOL)

Almost July...

2011-06-30T09:03:00.002-04:00

...and I have nothing I can show you....

I've been working on my modification of The Workbasket's "Pink Flower"/BBD's "Sweet Alabama" for Stitch Bitch's contest, and her instructions are not to share pics until the contest is over! So for now I'll just keep waving my WIP under DH's nose and asking him how much he likes it... LOL I want to get as much done on it as I can before my Traveling Pattern arrives. (For those of you who are following that project, I'll apologize now if it takes me a bit longer to get that design stitched -- we have a bit of traveling and a family wedding coming up in the VERY near future, and now that I have a Small Person to entertain while traveling, I don't think packing needlework will be a top priority!)

In other - but related - I've just finished reading Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850, by Susan Burrows Swan. I thought it was a fascinating read, and full of photos from the collections of the Winterthur Museum. And I had to chuckle when I read the caption under a beautiful Bargello pocketbook: "it was started by a young woman, probably in the 1760's, and left unfinished until 1817, when this same woman, who was then 73, remembered it. She quickly finished the purse and presented it to her granddaughter." A WIP for over 50 years?!?!?!? Isn't it nice to know that our ancestors had bins of UFOs just like the rest of us?

Exchange received, and few odds and ends

2011-06-27T18:52:00.006-04:00

Last week I received my snowman ornament, from Jayne in England.(I'm sorry it isn't the greatest picture...I was having issues with the lighting...) Jayne used the snowflake snowman from "He's a Flake" by Little House Needleworks. So cute! And such a unique shape. I love it, Jayne, thank you!

In other news, we're in the midst of planning to travel for my sister-in-law's wedding, to be held in Iowa next month. I'm doing my best to keep our costs to a minimum, and to that end I was scouring the thrift shops for a dress for me. (I found one for the Wee Peanut at Kohl's for $8. Geez, if only I could outfit myself so cheaply!) And? I did it! $6!!! Plus some help from Mom to make a few alterations, and here it is:(Obviously the wee one isn't mine.) Mom and I took in the sides and shortened it significantly, and I love it! Plus, it is casual enough that I can wear it to work after the wedding.

Until next time, may your carpets stay free of pet hair....because you never know when someone might be eating off of them...

Just keep stitching

2011-06-21T08:41:00.002-04:00

Thank you for all the good thoughts about DH's job. He actually had an interview last week, and is still feeling quite optimistic. I also spoke with our daycare provider, and she said we could pay half-rate for a few months and then "catch up" once DH is employed...this is good to know, however, I hope we don't have to take advantage of it.

On the stitching front - I was at a library conference last week, and spent a few evenings in a (VERRRRY uncomfortable!) dorm room in Plattsburgh, NY. With nothing else to do, I stitched! And I finished Prairie Moon's "Moon Dance." I posted last time that this was a 30-ct. linen -- I was wrong, it is actually 36-ct. So my little moon dancer is quite tiny! But I still love this piece. I substituted for almost every color - the only colors that I used as called for are the green vine (GAST Dried Thyme), the stars (GAST Copper), and the top - darkest - layer of the ground (GAST Maple Syrup). I have my full list of substitutions somewhere, but I doubt anyone is THAT interested...and besides, keeping it to myself means that this piece is entirely MINE. And every time I look at it, I think of my daughter the dancing girl, the three unsuccessful pregnancies I had prior to her birth, and sometimes (when I'm feeling quite self-important) me as the moon watching over them all.

With "Moon Dance" finished, and a bag of silk flosses sitting next to my chair calling my name, I didn't see a good reason not to start Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart." The fabric is a piece of Sugar Maple Fabrics' "Dolphin Dance" that I've been hoarding for years now...I think it is perfect. (There is a bit more blue/green mottling in the fabric that doesn't show very well in this picture, at least not on this computer.)Some of the aqua blues may blend a teeny bit, but I actually like the effect.

Oh, and I also have an idea for Stitch Bitch's challenge that I need to get started on......

As the unemployment line turns

2011-06-13T09:22:00.003-04:00

So. Last week, my husband lost his job.

We don't know exactly what that means for us right now, other than the obvious "there will be no fun money" situation.... He is optimistic that he will find employment elsewhere ASAP, and I'm doing my best to be cheery and supportive. But inside I keep doing and re-doing our household budget....wondering if we can afford to keep Wee Bit in daycare...knowing that if we take her out and have her stay home with Dad, the money saved still won't be enough to cover his portion of the monthly bills (namely, his car payment and student loans) for very long....and if we take her out, we'll lose her spot, which would suck if DH finds a job later.

Argh. I'd much rather curl up in a cave and stitch and not acknowledge any of this.

Moon Dance

2011-06-07T13:18:00.003-04:00

My latest impulsive start - "Moon Dance" by Prairie Moon.I don't think my fabric is quite so yellow in person...it is a scrap of 30-ct. Meadow Lark linen from Birds of a Feather. And I've swapped out all but 2 or 3 of the flosses called for!! I just couldn't see buying more hand-dyeds, especially for the small amount needed. I was going to buy the floss for the dancing girl's dress (GAST "Deep Sea") but my LNS didn't have it, so I got some Crescent Colors' "Bejeweled" instead. It looks almost the same - as the picture, anyway, which is what I based my swaps on - and I like it!

I also need to rave for a minute about Vikki Clayton and Hand-Dyed Fibers silks. A week or so ago, I decided I wanted silks for Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart." So I sat down with the pattern and Vikki's conversion tables, and put together something that I thought/hoped would work. And then, 2 minutes AFTER I'd submitted my order, I saw that Vikki had a pre-done substitution package for that pattern. D'oh. So I set a quick and desperate email, hoping against hope that someone would be able to cancel my order...and Vikki replied, quick as a wink! I re-ordered the substitution pack, and assumed all would be right with the world....
WRONG.
Somehow, the ordering system did not use my updated address. And since the last time I ordered from Vikki was over 2 years ago, when we'd just moved and were living in an apartment, I was afraid my silks were lost forever (my mail forwarding order has long since expired). I felt so bad when I had to send Vikki ANOTHER email and explain this. But she promptly replied again, took full responsibility for the error, and sent out a second batch of flosses! What wonderful service. And beautiful flosses, too!

I "ort" to be stitching

2011-06-03T20:12:00.002-04:00

My June TUSAL report:(Morticia thought it would be nice to pose with this picture - which just happens to be one of my favorites of DH and I. Taken at my brother-in-law's wedding, where we were all in medieval garb...)

I really should clean my house a bit tonight...but it is Friday, and I want to stitch! Hmmmm.

My snowman made it to Singapore!

2011-06-03T11:20:00.003-04:00

Without melting, even! :D

My exchange partner was Ellen L., and I stitched "Snow Wishes" by The Victoria Sampler/Designs by Cathy Jean from the 2009 JCS ornament issue. I used 28 ct. willow green Jazlyn fabric, and lots of thread swapping from my stash. I personalized the back, and edged the round ornament with some pearl beads I had.This little guy was so much fun to stitch. I'm glad you liked it, Ellen!

I'll be back later with the monthly ort report...

No (stitching) pictures here.

2011-05-30T20:19:00.004-04:00

Nope, nothing to see. Move along.

(I HAVE been stitching a bit, but the Wee Dictator above demands a lot of attention these days! Granted, I don't mind....she is so much fun.)

Stash? I didn't see any stash...

2011-05-28T14:01:00.002-04:00

I'm blaming Lee for this one. You see, over a year ago she shared this lovely finish/conversion, and I've thought about it off and on ever since. And what did I see on the clearance sale pages at abcstitch.com yesterday? You guessed it - Hands to Work's "Spring Violets." And since it seemed silly to pay shipping for just ONE chart....I picked up 2 other charts by Ship's Manor that I've been eyeing for sometime ("Firefly Dance" and "My Autumn Heart"). I'm envisioning "Firefly Dance" as a cute pillow for my daughter's room, and "My Autumn Heart" just seduced me with the yummy fall colors and knotwork feel.

Sigh. Now I'm at work (Job #2), and cruising Vicki Clayton's site looking for substitutes for the Au Ver A Soie called for in Just Nan's "Mermaid Heart"....

Out-of-season finishing!

2011-05-23T08:31:00.004-04:00

I'm finally getting around to sharing these finishes...

First, here is one of the Halloween patterns from The Floss Box, finished as an ornament. It is a little large (about 4 1/2" wide), but I like it! The pumpkin fabric is what I used for the backing.

Next up is "Autumn Meeting" by Marie Le Gouis, from an issue of The Gift of Stitching.
The fabric it is sitting on is the backing. It came out pretty nicely, but I'm still not crazy about it... (oh, and those little pots are from the student pottery sale here at the college. Aren't they darling?!?)

And I also finished and ornamentified my snowman exchange ornament. I'm hoping to mail that sometime this week, along with some gifts I need to put together. Of course I'll share a pic once it arrives at its new home!

Iris Sampler finished

2011-05-16T18:58:00.010-04:00

I finished this up last week. Not sure what to do with it now, but it is done!

Iris Sampler by Sheepish Designs
in Cross Stitch & Country Crafts (Sept/Oct 1990)

stitched on 32-ct. bay rum jobelan, some hand-dyed flosses substituted for DMC and minor chart changes to date and alphabet

I've been feeling the urge to do some finishing, so that kept me busy this past weekend. I got the little Floss Box Halloween pattern I stitched up last year mostly ornamentified, and picked fabrics for a few pillows. Plus I've got my snowman ornament exchange to work on, and few other projects are calling from the WIP bin...there's never enough time!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

2011-05-05T22:29:00.003-04:00

...but here is my May TUSAL. Morticia wanted to pose with the Iris Sampler.Goodness, that little jar is getting quite full!

I've currently abandoned the Iris Sampler for the latest round of the ornament exchange over at the Hooked on Exchanging blog. This round's theme is "snowmen," so while I won't tell you exactly what I'm working on, it is probably safe to say that I'm getting a little tired of white.... LOL Also, while browsing through all my old Just Cross Stitch ornament issues for snowmen, I've re-discovered the SamSarah Design Studio. I forgot how cute some of their little snow people are!!

Sampler progress

2011-05-02T18:13:00.009-04:00

Mouse asked for a picture of my new stash....there really isn't that much! I haven't taken a picture, but the only things I bought I posted links to pics in the post below. I didn't snag a whole lot of freebies, but maybe I'll remember to take a pic later!

I DO have a pic of my progress on the Iris Sampler. Looks pretty good, don't you think?? I need to chart a "2" for the year, since the original design was from 1990. I also squished some of the alphabet so I could fit the whole thing -- the original left out u, y and z. Since it isn't a true reproduction sampler, and it isn't as if some precocious 8 year-old left out a letter or 2 by mistake, I decided that this could not stand. So the c, i, n, o, and v got squashed....oh, and the y is one stitch narrower, too. Now I just need to finish the row of herringbone stitch under the alphabet, add the bird in the empty space on the right side, and fill in a few other spots. I see a finish in the near future!

Until next time...may you look at dandelions through the eyes of a child, where they are flowers instead of weeds.

Celebration of Needlework 2011

2011-05-01T17:08:00.004-04:00

Or, "How I Suffered a Knee Injury While Stitching." *sigh*

So after much waffling, I made a hotel reservation and signed up for a class at Celebration in NH. DH told me I should take a weekend for myself, and my mother paid for a large chunk of the cost as a birthday gift, so there wasn't (too much) guilt or any financial reason not to go...

I got there around dinnertime on Friday, and met up with Carol (cebmd from The Wagon) and her friend Alda. We all caught up over dinner in the hotel restaurant, and then headed up to the stitching lounge for a while. I worked on "Melville's Return" for a couple hours, and of course I perused the piles of unwanted/donated patterns!

Saturday I got up around 7:30, showered, made myself coffee, and stitched in my room while watching re-runs of Law & Order on cable. Ahhh, it truly IS the little things... LOL (And my room had lovely natural light for stitching, so it really was a perfect morning!) Then I went down and wandered around the vendor booths for a while before my class - "The Witch is In" with Louise Henderson. I felt that this class was better organized and more informative than the one I took in 2009, but most of the focus was - logically - on the finishing, since the stitching is just basic cross stitch. And I'm afraid I'll forget all the little hints and tips by the time I get around to the actual finishing! Oh well, at least I have all the materials, and the Louise's instructions are really very good.
Of course I purchased a few things.
- My mother has requested "something with chickens." Dad has decided he wants to raise chickens - and sell eggs! - so Mom wants a silly chicken stitched piece for the house. She specifically said, "no proud, heroic chickens." Hrm? According to Mom "heroic chickens" = roosters crowing at a rising sun sort of things. So when I saw these, I decided they were the epitome of non-heroic chickens. It was more than I'd planned to spend, but ah well, we only live once, and they are cute little buggers.
- For myself, I picked up With Thy Needle and Thread's Candy Corn pattern, and some yellow linen upon which to stitch it.
- Oh, and a "thread hopper" from My Big Toe Designs...yes, I know it would be an easy enough thing to make myself, just two needles tied together with a pretty bead or 2 in the middle. But I used to have a pretty all beaded one that my cat ATE, and ever since that incident I've lamented my lack of such a tool. Since I've not made one yet, it seems that I probably won't, and it was much simpler to just buy the darned thing!

Saturday night I returned to the stitchers' lounge, since I couldn't afford to do both the class and the Saturday night dinner event. And that was fine, because the lounge was practically empty and I got quite a bit done on my Iris Sampler. Plus, I met Measi and her friend Lisa! There was much laughing and weirdness....and stitching, of course. And we stayed up entirely too late. But I still got myself out of bed early this morning and made it back home by about 3 pm, just enough time to spend about an hour with Little Bit before heading off to work at Job #2 from 4:30-9 tonight. Yawn.

Oh, and my knee "injury"? Evidently the shoes I was wearing combined with the length of time I spent with my leg propped up straight out in front of me (usually on a footstool or table or something) created some issues for my knee. Over-extension, perhaps? I don't know, but I feel absolutely arthritic now. Ouch.

I blame my mother.

2011-04-24T14:16:00.002-04:00

Mom came out to watch the Wee One on Friday, because our daycare was closed and my husband and I both had to work. Yesterday she took me shopping, and we had a lovely time in Kohl's. I tend to have good luck finding things that fit and look good on me in Kohl's. I was just making a quick pass through the seasonal clearance racks, and then I saw it.....a Ralph Lauren red wool coat, with big toggle buttons and a hood. Of course I didn't NEED it. I have 2 wool coats already, one gray and one an oatmeal brown. But it was so pretty! And the price tag...well, that was the kicker. Originally priced at $189, it was marked down to $18.50! So it came home with me. :)
And after that...well, my impulsivity was on a roll. We went to the stitching shop, and after drooling over "Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow" for a ridiculously long time, that came home with me, too.
Maybe I'll wear my red wool coat while I stitch it.

Older IS better.

2011-04-20T23:20:00.004-04:00

My Iris Sampler/"Older and Better" project.I'm stitching mine on 32-ct. Bay Rum jobelan, instead of the 28-ct. fabric used for the model. I wasn't thrilled with the way the rice stitch (in the basket) turned out as charted, so I did the bottom stitches with 2 strands as called for but did the overlay stitches with just 1 strand. It looks a bit more delicate, but I like it! And I'm using Six-Strand Sweets "Spice Drop" for the dark green flower stem and border.
I'll try to get a better picture later...

I can resist anything but temptation

2011-04-14T09:37:00.003-04:00

So after *almost* starting Lizzie*Kate's "Spring-ily" Boxer kit, I remembered Lee's "Older and Better" project idea. If you don't feel like clicking the link (c'mon, you know you want to, Lee is a lovely person!), the basic idea is to stitch something that has been living in your stash since the early days of your stitching journey. Now, I'm kind of a young'un when it comes to stitching...I started stitching in my early teen years, then put it away for a while, and picked it up again when I was around 25. My first forays into the craft didn't result in much stash accumulation - I bought mostly kits, and have either stitched them or gotten rid of them at this point! When I started building some serious stash (beginning about 10 years ago or so), I was obsessed with fantasy/fairy tale designs. These, too, have been weeded repeatedly. I DO still have TW's "Fortunate Traveler," but I'm not quite ready to commit to something THAT big. I also considered Butternut Road's "Feathers and Friends," which has always reminded me of the chickens my parents had when I was a little girl. Still, it is another big design. So I finally found something that I think qualifies, yet isn't an overly-ambitious undertaking for me at this point in my life - Sheepish Designs' "Iris Sampler," from a 1990 issue of CS & CC. I would have been 14 then, and probably just beginning to dabble in needlework! Yesterday I was home with a sick Wee One (and the beginnings of a spring head cold of my own), so I put in the first few stitches. I've subbed a few hand-dyed fibers for the called-for DMC, but I'm staying pretty true to the design as it was charted. Although I'm debating how/where I could squish in the missing alphabet letters... And while I'm in the mood to type, my answer to the April SBQ (also from Lee!). Do you keep records of your finishes? We are so lucky to have so many record-keeping tools at our disposal to record our accomplishments. So if you do, what recording methods do you use? What do you think is important to record when you've finished a design? I'm a librarian and a historian, so documenting my stitching has always been a bit of an obsession of mine. I take pictures of everything. At one point I considered starting a needlework scrapbook...yeah, that was a ridiculous idea. I might still someday, but it would be more about the journey than about just compiling all my finishes (as I originally intended it). So anyway. I designed a little form for all of my finishes, and it includes the pattern name, designer, stitched size, dates started and finished, fabric used, changes made, finishing technique (framing, ornament, etc), if it was a gift and for whom, and of course, a picture. Sometimes I have 2 pics, one of the finished stitching and one of the "finished-finished" project (framed or whatever). And sometimes I'll add a note or 2 about my thoughts on the project/process.

Hippity hoppity...

2011-04-11T17:58:00.007-04:00

... Easter's on it's way...(And no, she didn't cry. She looks a bit unsure, but heck, I probably would too! Those expressionless giant bunny heads are more than a wee bit freaky...)

I'm still stitching along on "Meville's Return." Nothing too exciting, but here is the latest pic. I'm fighting the urge to start a little "spring" something-or-other....just a little freebie or something...maybe a Lizzie*Kate design? Ack!

Building houses, collecting orts

2011-04-03T17:46:00.003-04:00

Progress on "Melville's Return" - It is funny, the model pic makes the second house look green, but in real life it is shades of beige! I'm guessing the first (and not-yet-started third) house are supposed to be "brick," while that second one is "stone." Or at least, that's what I think. LOL

And here is Morticia, showing off all the pink and green from this month...Melville and the Pennsylvania heart.

A finish between the waves

2011-03-28T18:31:00.004-04:00

Still working on "Melville's Return," of course, but every now and then I need to switch it up. So I finished up the Victoria Sampler Pennsylvania heart the other day...here it is with the Iowa heart I finished last year. I was originally going to make a double-sided ornament with these, but now I'm thinking about 1) getting/stitching the New York heart, 2) making a 4th heart outline and filling it with our family info, and 3) making all 4 hearts into a little pillow or quilted wallhanging. I don't anticipate having any more children, so it would be our family sampler! (DH was born in Iowa, Peanut and I were born in NYS, and we were married in PA.)

A whale of a time

2011-03-26T13:37:00.003-04:00

I love this piece. The little whale is my replacement for Melville's name....isn't he cute?!?!?! (And as always, I'm working to the bottom first!)

De-Melvilled, more progress, and thrift store finds

2011-03-19T13:07:00.004-04:00

After staring at "Melville's Return" for a few more days, I decided I couldn't deal with the incorrect quote issue. I briefly considered recharting the CORRECT quote, but that would have meant making several adjustments and designing a few letters....more ambitious than I'm feeling right now. Besides, I bought the chart because I liked the quote as it is, even if Herman Melville didn't say it quite that way (confirmed by an email from Vicki, BTW). So last night I frogged out Melville's name and continued the waves across from the ship. The waves originally ended at the little "white cap" closest to the ship. I'm going to continue them across to the left-hand edge, and then maybe add a jumping fish or 2 between the waves and the bottom of the verse.

While I was pondering the Melville dilemma, I fished this out of my WIP bin - Victoria Sampler's "Hearts of America - Pennsylvania" heart. I finished Iowa for DH last year, and Pennsylvania is where I was living when we met. Hmmm, maybe I need to track down the New York heart for Wee One, since she was born here...

And last night I dropped in at the local Salvation Army (or "S.A. Boutique," as my good friend T used to call it!). I didn't have a lot of time to shop for clothes, but I DID have a minute to paw through the books and picture frames and look for neat casserole dishes. No luck with frames or dishes, but I did find a pile of old Cross Stitch & Country Craft and Just Cross Stitch magazines! I bought 4 or 5 of them for .25 each, and found an early Shepherd's Bush sampler ("Flock of Briar-root," I think?), The City Stitcher's "Sweet Briar Sampler," and another one of the Cottage Garden series that I like. I love happy little finds like that!

How disappointing.

2011-03-16T12:35:00.004-04:00

I've been working on "Melville's Return" lately -- here is my progress.I really love this piece, and am already plotting to have Jill Rensel frame it for me. I can just imagine the fun "nautical" touches she might add to the mat!

However. I did a quick bit of Googling the other day, and it would seem that the quote is incorrect. The only Herman Melville quote I've found that is close is "life is a voyage that is homeward bound" -- not "all voyages are homeward bound." I know, the sentiment is similar, and it is still perfectly lovely. But dang it, I'm a librarian, and I can't abide by an incorrectly-attributed quote! I briefly considered either a) changing the quote or b) removing Melville's name and adding another row of waves or fish or something...but then, that seems like a lot of work. I'll try living it for a while, and see how I feel later. Heck, I'm probably the only one who would know or care.....

All stuffed with fluff...

2011-03-14T18:14:00.005-04:00

(Someone gave my daughter a musical birthday card that plays the Winnie the Pooh song - at least a little bit of it - and she loooooves it. So as I was stuffing this, I just kept thinking "tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff".... ack.)

Anyway. Lola's ornament, assembled. I really like how it turned out! I'm especially proud of the knot, as weird as that may sound...I knotted the 2 ribbons and then sewed a whole bunch of Mill Hill beads to the knot, so it looks all "jewel encrusted"!!

Another baby gift stitched

2011-03-12T16:44:00.003-05:00

This is for DH's step-brother's newest addition, Lola Sue.

Charland Design's "Basket of Hearts" freebie
(with pink and green hand-dyed flosses from my stash)

I'm going to use the pink fabric at the bottom to finish it into a little doorknob hanger pillow/ornament.

March SBQ: Lucky enough to be Irish

2011-03-07T18:48:00.004-05:00

Do you have a favorite Irish or Celtic stitched piece? If you don't, what about a piece that represents your heritage? Or maybe a family tree style sampler? Think about it, then tell us the story of your piece and show us your photos, if you have them.
I actually am Irish, and I rather obsessively collect Irish-themed patterns...however, I haven't stitched many of them for myself. This is Joan Elliot's "Celtic Blessing," which was a wedding gift for some friends. I also stitched up a little drawstring bag with a Celtic heart design for my brother-in-law's wedding (they didn't have a ring bearer, and the best man needed a way to carry the rings in keeping with his medieval attire!). While I love the finished products, sometimes the interminable twists and turns of Celtic knotwork make me a little crazy. I do, however, plan to finish something for myself someday - maybe either Rosewood Manor's "Good Night" or Sunflower Seed's "Irish Toast." (Oh, and that's the other thing -- when it comes to Irish/Celtic pieces, I prefer the ones with bits of Irish wit on them. We Irish are born smart a**es. LOL)
As for other heritage or family tree-style pieces...nope, I've not done anything like that, other than wedding and birth samplers.

Today was - I hope! - the last snow day of the season. We woke up to a little over a foot of snow, with wind-blown drifts all over. My work was closed, but DH still had to go in. So we took turns shoveling, and when it was done he took the Wee One to daycare. I spent the day napping, watching movies, and stitching. I started a piece for the latest addition to the family, I think I'll make either a drawstring bag or a little pillow out of Charland Designs' "Basket of Hearts" freebie (you can find it on The Silver Needle's freebie page). I felt a little guilty, not keeping my daughter home with me...but at the same time, we pay for daycare 5 days a week, and even Mommy needs a little time completely to herself now and then! I still haven't figured out if I can afford to go to Celebration, but THIS I could afford.

March TUSAL

2011-03-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update, nothing much to see here....Morticia wanted to pose with my latest start, "Melville's Return" by The Cricket Collection. (I thought it was "The Voyage Home," but that is the entire pamphlet, this pattern is "Melville's Return." Not that it makes much difference.)

I don't anticipate a lot of stitching happening this weekend, as we are planning a small birthday party for the Munchkin. I can't believe she is ONE already -- today, in fact! While we haven't made any big plans - and really not many gifts, because really, what does a 1 year-old NEED that we don't already have? - there will be cupcakes and a grandparent or 2 in the house..... :)

Marching along...but should I celebrate?

2011-03-01T08:44:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it is March already...and on Friday our little monkey will be ONE!! Holy cow, time flies.

And I find myself faced with a dilemma. As you may have gathered from my last post, we don't have a whole lot of money for discretionary spending right now. I've been selling a few bits and baubles on eBay (both stitching stuff and other things around the house that I can't see any reason to keep), and it is nice to watch the dimes accumulate in my PayPal account! But last night I saw the schedule for this year's Celebration of Needlework in New Hampshire. Now, I've been once before, in 2009, and I had a lovely time. It was just so neat to be in a place with that many other stitchers! I'm soooo tempted. DH has mentioned that perhaps part of it could be my birthday/Mother's Day gift.... But I still feel guilty committing that much money to something so frivolous, especially when we are trying to figure out how to pay for travel this summer for my sister-in-law's wedding.

Progress and a bit of "whine"

2011-02-27T16:46:00.007-05:00

First, the progress...here's the Dark Sorceress. Yay, the skirt is done! No more blue!!! I actually took her off the scrolls for a while. I need a break! And before I left for Job #2 today, I got all set to go on Cross-Eyed Cricket's The Voyage Home. I've had this pattern in my stash for some time now, and even bought the WDW Aqua floss needed. I treated myself to the fabric after Christmas, at my LNS's pre-inventory sale. So I decided it was time to dive in!

All of which brings me to my whining/ranting session. I'm tired of working 2 jobs. And I'm especially tired of working 2 jobs just to pay the bills -- it would be a bit different if the paltry amount I make at Job #2 was for stash, or going to Celebrations of Needlework, or a family vacation, or something like that. But no, DH and I BOTH work 2 jobs to pay the mortgage, the utilities, and the daycare, and put moderately healthy food on the table. Sigh. Which leads to the second part of my rant -- I've been selling a bit of stash and a few pieces of finished stitching on eBay, saving for a little stash-treat now and then. And it hasn't been going too badly...I have about $20 in my PayPal account right now. However, someone bid on one of my finished pieces and never paid. Grrrr. I HATE deadbeat bidders!!! Even stranger, she's paid for lots of other things, evidently very quickly. So why did she decide to stiff ME???? Wahhhhhh.

Anyway. Spring is coming, hopefully that will improve my mood!

A pillow by the sea

2011-02-26T14:23:00.006-05:00

A quickie pillow finish for JBW Design's "Journey to the Sea" piece, stitched last year....The sailboat fabric was included in the grab bag I bought on Etsy, and just seemed perfect for this design! There wasn't enough for the back, so I used a dark blue denim (the same as what is bordering the top of the stitching).

I'm done wishing. Really.

2011-02-22T11:23:00.004-05:00

Now, where is SPRING?!?!?!?

"Winter Wishes" by Lizzie Kate
stitched on a 28-ct. blue evenweave (although the blue looks a bit wonky on this monitor...hmm)
with floss substitutions, included charm

Since finishing this on Saturday night, I've gone back to the Dark Sorceress and the un-ending blue folds of her skirt.... And I have a pillow started for JBW Designs' "To the Sea" design that I stitched up last year. Nothing else to share yet, though!

The immortality of craft supplies

2011-02-17T13:02:00.002-05:00

After making the little lighthouse ornament for Kathy (see post below), I started thinking about my craft stash. Not just the patterns, fabrics, and flosses, but the assorted bits and bobs I've purchased over the years. And I started to wonder.....will they ever be truly GONE???

Let's consider a little pack of seashells. I bought them when I was looking for a replacement for a beach ball button, part of my "By the Sea" exchange project. I bought a ridiculously large bag - because that was all the craft store had, and dadgummit, they were cheap! - and used exactly ONE on my stitched piece. Then I thought, "hmmm, I will make a scissor fob, too!" Of course, I had to go out and buy a few more beads for that endeavor. And again, there were more beads than I could use in the package I purchased. So, at this point I've purchased a bag of shells, a bag of beads, and used exactly 2 shells and a handful of the beads.

When I made Kathy's ornament, I was rooting about in my bead box and found the shells. "Ah-ha!" I said. "I can use these to make some fun trim!" And again I used.....one shell. A few beads. And the stash lives on.

I'm sure in the years ahead, I'll find more uses for tiny seashells and blue/green bead findings. But if I don't? Will some other crafter buy my leftovers at a yard sale/thrift shop/estate auction, and consider themselves quite lucky to have found such wonderful doo-dads? Will THEY be able to use all of it? Or will they, too, end up passing a few seashells on??

(I also have a "giant" tub of white crystal bugle beads. A tube of black seed beads. Random Mill Hill beads of which I didn't use the entire pack.)

Reindeer Round from Gwen

2011-02-14T09:38:00.002-05:00

Here is the sweet reindeer ornament Gwen sent.Isn't it darling?!?!? I love it, Gwen. She said it is adapted from an Earth Threads chart, and finished as a tuck pillow.

Progress and a gift received

2011-02-12T10:54:00.006-05:00

First an update on the Dark Sorceress:It's funny, I keep saying I want to work on (or possibly start!) something new, but there she is every evening, just hanging out on the stretcher bars....and I sigh and pull out some more blue floss and get to work. Some nights there isn't much progress made, but it is always SOME.

Also, I sent this little ornie to Kathy. I was going through my freebie files, found DMC's "Ocean Alphabet," and when I saw that the motif on the K was a lighthouse, I KNEW I had to stitch it for Kathy. She loves lighthouses! And she always leaves such nice comments on my blog...I couldn't resist. I got the backing fabric from an Etsy seller in a grab bag of nautical fabric scraps -- what a great idea, I must say! I paid less than $4 for a Ziploc bag stuffed full of small cuts of about a dozen different fabrics. Kathy said her friend Beatrice wanted to know what I used for the form underneath. It is a finishing form from Flying Needles. It is a lightweight aluminum, and very easy to use. Plus, no fiddling with cutting and such! (I don't know if you can purchase from the website link or not...I got my forms years ago from Nordic Needle, and they no longer sell them.) I'm so glad you liked it, Kathy!

Stitching stalled...

2011-02-10T09:06:00.005-05:00

(Well, not entirely, but I've been distracted.)

This past Tuesday I was stupid. *sigh* On my way to work, I hit a slushy/icy patch, proceeded to slide across the (thankfully rural and relatively untraveled) road, went across the ditch, kind of glanced off the bank, and swung back across the ditch and onto the road. In the process of this wild manuever, I managed to side-swipe a mailbox. And not just any mailbox....a mailbox that the homeowner had "reinforced" with concrete and steel rebar.Ugh. I wasn't hurt, and my car is still driveable -- however, as you can see there is some significant body damage to my car (that passenger side door doesn't open anymore), and the alignment is all screwed up as well.

You know, I can understand the frustration of having to replace your mailbox. Really, I can. But when you live on a notoriously slippery corner of a rural road, it seems you might be better off MOVING the box a bit? I don't know. I just shudder to think what could have happened had I been driving a smaller car, or if I had hit at a different angle. And I wasn't driving recklessly or speeding! Plus, I took out the box anyway. So all the "reinforcement" served to do was turn a minor dent into the probability that I'll need an entire new door panel, plus alignment and god knows what else.

And that's the news from here. Oh, but on the stitching front, I did receive my HOE Reindeer Round ornie from Gwen!! It is beautiful -- part of an Earth Threads design finished as a little tuck pillow ornament. I love it! I'll post a picture soon.

Assembled

2011-02-06T16:13:00.007-05:00

Daddy and Wee One are napping right now, so I thought I'd take a minute to share a finished finish. This in Wee One's first Christmas ornament - I hope to make this an annual tradition (although hopefully in the future I won't be 2 months behind with the finishing...).(Don't mind my crazy "photo stitching"!! The front and back ARE the same size.) I wish I'd gotten the front and back to line up just a little bit better, though...the perfectionist in me doesn't like the way Santa looks like he might just tip out of his seat there. Hmmm. Also, I don't think I'll do one quite this big again -- I used a CD as a template to cut my matboard forms, and that just feels a little too large to me. Ah well. It still makes me smile, as I'm sure it will when I see it on our tree every December.... (I think my favorite part is my "signature" on the back. I did a teeny heart and "MOM" in caps. Sure, centuries from now no one will have a clue who stitched that, but for once I don't care.)

February SBQ

2011-02-05T13:55:00.008-05:00

I'm trapped in the college library this afternoon - working until 4:30 - and since it is SUCH a hotbed of activity (harhar), I thought I'd take some time to answer the Stitching Blogger's Question. An interesting question this month from Lee: We like to stitch things for people we love. Show us and tell us about one (or more) of your favorite needlework projects that expresses your love for someone.

As I read in someone else's answer, I rarely stitch for someone I DON'T love! Picking out the perfect pattern, making modifications, and stitchng a gift that I know (or at least hope) will be treasured and appreciated is one of my favorite things about my hobby.
I really love stitching for my mom, and I know she loves the things I've given her. She has a little garden elf piece, a "woodsy welcome" that I stitched from a kit years ago, the Wine a Bit flat-fold, a couple ornaments, a Britty Kitty pillow, and the one I'm including here, Cricket Collection's "Reading Sampler."I gave this to Mom in 2008. Mom and I read together for years....I'll never forget giggling about Heffalumps with her, her wonderful Eeyore voice, looking forward to the next chapter in the "Little House" series, and all the other stories we shared. I only hope my daughter and I can do the same soon (right now she just likes to hit books and eat the pages - LOL). I had originally planned on having Jill Rensel frame this, but a coworker recommended a local shop and I'm happy with the end result. In retrospect, I might have changed the fabric or a few of the floss colors, because they get a bit lost...but Mom loved it. So I love it too.

I don't often stitch for my husband. I've done a few little things - a couple years ago I stitched up the Plum Street Samplers' freebie, "Lovely You" with our initials as a Valentine's gift - but while he thinks my stitching is neat, he isn't quite sure about having/displaying it everywhere. That's why I was quite pleased with the stitched piece he DID decide to show off -- his gnome.

This is from an old Designs by Gloria & Pat leaflet. When DH moved into his current job, he was told by the other folks in his hall that he needed to decorate his workspace -- but not with garden gnomes or pink flamingoes. So of course he went right to the internet, printed out a bunch of garden gnome pictures, and plastered them all over his office door! LOL I got into the spirit and stitched this for him. Over one, too, so he'd better appreciate it....

While I have stitched a birth sampler for my daughter, I'm not including it here. Certainly not because I don't love her, and I adore the piece, but at the same time I don't feel a lot of sentimental investment in it like I do the ones above. ::shrug:: I'm really looking forward to a day when she will say, "Mommy, make THAT for me." Then, no matter how much I might hate the piece, I know I'll love working on it.

Quick TUSAL update

2011-02-03T21:48:00.004-05:00

Here is Morticia, as of tonight...She's been a busy little ort jar over the past month!

No exciting project pics to share, though...most of that is from the reindeer ornie, Winter Wishes, and a tiny bit of progress on the Dark Sorceress that isn't really worth photographing yet. In other news, though, I have a new stove! Woo-hoo!! Our old range/stove unit was built in, and about 50 years old. At least it worked....but it had push button controls that were right on the front, and MUCH too tempting for a certain Wee Person in our house. My dad and I stumbled upon an almost-new free-standing model at an auction, so including the contractor who took out the old one and modified the electrical line, this whole project cost less than $500.Next up, get our taxes done and see if we can put the refund toward replacing the icky carpet. I'm not a fan of kitchen carpet - especially not with Little Miss Let's-See-How-Far-I-Can-Throw-This-Spaghetti in the house. LOL

Oops. Did I do that??

2011-01-31T19:52:00.003-05:00

This is what I've been working on for the past week or 2 -

"Winter Wishes" by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on 28-ct. light blue evenweave, color unknown
substitutes made for various hand-dyed flosses

But given the rather ominous snow storm predicted for most of the country now, maybe I need to stop wishing for winter and stitch something springy, eh?!?!?!? LOL

Dashing through the snow!

2011-01-24T18:47:00.005-05:00

And if the arrival time of this little guy is any indication, he really may BE one of Santa's reindeer... I mailed him Friday and he arrived at Meari's house today!

Rosewood Manor's Christmas Freebie 2008
stitched on 28-ct. natural linen with DMC
beads added to wreath and in place of stars, some motifs left off to make ornament a bit smaller
red and gold fabric used for back of pillow

The Queen has been too busy to beat the peasants

2011-01-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

Look -- it is the return of Fairy Tale Towne! Although there hasn't been a lot of progress, and it looks as if the local dragon may have taken a bite out of the center of the castle...I've been working this the past night or 2, since finishing my reindeer ornament. I'm going to pop that in the mail tomorrow, so hopefully I can share a pic of the finished product soon! I also started another small project, Lizzie Kate's "Winter Wishes."

This weekend my parents are supposed to coming out with my NEW STOVE (!!!!!), so next week we'll be calling the contractor/handyman service we've decided to use. And hopefully after we get our taxes done we'll have a bit of free cash to replace the kitchen carpet (yuck-o) with some inexpensive vinyl. Happy Friday, all!

The Demise of the Stitching Chair

2011-01-16T18:14:00.002-05:00

Today was a sad day in my house...after spending the day stopping Wee Bit from pulling my stitching table over on herself, from trying to pull up on my Daylight, and from removing everything from my WIP bin, I decided it was time to rearrange. :( My stitching chair is now just a chair, and all stitching paraphenalia has been relocated to the corner between the end of the sofa and a bookcase, unreachable by little hands. The folding table is in the spare bedroom, to be used only when Wee Bit is asleep for the night.

Sigh. It is a sacrifice I knew was coming, but now my living room looks so NAKED.

My little chef

2011-01-14T09:24:00.006-05:00

Still no stitching pictures to post, since I'm working on the reindeer exchange, so instead I'll show you all why stitching goes a bit more slowly than it used to...She's not walking yet, but she DOES pull up on everything, including that ancient stove! Yikes. (And no, I don't typically let her do that, but it made for a funny picture. She was immediately whisked away after the picture was taken!) We actually have a newer stove that we purchased cheap at a household auction, and we're meeting with a contractor next week to see how complicated/expensive it will be it replace the old built-in model. And possibly replace that icky carpet with vinyl, too!

Thank you all for your input on the ornament size issue. I've decided to go with Annette's advice -- ornaments DO come in all sizes. Raychill, your suggestion of the Just Nan design was a good one, but my budget is a little tight (see above, stove project!) and that one isn't in my stash. And I do love Daffycat's little freebies, but I've seen them stitched a lot recently and I'm hoping not to duplicate something my partner already has.

Oh, and have you ever been pawing through your stash - or in my case, browsing your freebie files at work (!!!) - and found something that would be just PERFECT for someone you know? This just happened to me, and now I'm terribly impatient to start something! But I can't, I keep telling myself, at least not until the exchange piece is done!

So, on that note, Happy Friday....may your weekend be full of stitching, cooking, and good eats!!

ABCs of me, and questions of scale

2011-01-12T08:48:00.003-05:00

First, borrowed from Dani and other bloggers...
A - Age: 34, and like Dani, I often get mistaken for being in my mid 20's
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: can I say all of 'em?? LOL
D - Dog's name: Lily
E - Essential start of the day item: insulin and thyroid meds (glamorous, I know)
F - Favorite color: blue, or maybe purple....especially rich jewel tones
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'6"
I - Instruments you play: oboe
J - Job: librarian
K - Kids: 1 daughter who will be 1 in March
L - Living arrangements: me, DH and DD plus one dog and a cat in a little 3-bedroom ranch in town. "Town" = population of around 30,000.
M - Music you love: Rock and folk, especially Irish-influenced stuff. Love Great Big Sea, Barenaked Ladies, and 80s-90s rock.
N - Nicknames: I don't really have any
O - Overnight hospital stay at hospital: giving birth
P - Pet Peeve: when I go to the grocery store for one specific item, and that is the one thing that is out of stock.
Q - Quote from a movie: "Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas." (I know, I know, Kevin Costner was an atrocious Robin Hood....but Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham has some wonderful lines!)
R - Right handed or left: Left
S - Siblings: one younger sister
T - Time you wake up: 6:00 am-ish
U - Underwear: yeah I wear it
V - Vegetable you dislike: brussel sprouts
W - Workout Style: currently, mostly walking or running. I used to swim regularly, too, but the only lap pool in the area is tough to get to now with the baby and everything.
X - X-rays you've had: dental, right foot/ankle, brain (MRI)
Y - Yummy food you make: I'm becoming a pretty decent cook if I do say so myself -- I make a tasty spinach lasagna, crock-pot beans and beef, a broccoli-cheese casserole DH loves, and I "invented" a low-sugar banana strawberry dessert that is a hit at our staff luncheons!
Z - The best place to visit: new places. I love an adventure!

Now, on to a stitching dilemma. I'm currently hunting for an appropriate reindeer pattern for the HOE exchange, and getting frustrated. Many of the designs I'm finding are.....odd. That goofy cartoon one of a reindeer eating a candy cane from one of my JCS issues? Blah! LOL Or not ones that I think will appeal to my partner, based on digging around in his (or her!) blog. Or they are ones that I've seen stitched many times, and I just want to be original. I DO have one that I've started, but I'm afraid it is going to be too big to qualify as an ornament when it is finished. However, my idea of what is "ornament"-sized may be a bit skewed, because I haven't had a full-size tree in years! So, do you think a 4-5 inch square is too big for YOUR tree??

Well, it is almost a resolution...

2011-01-07T08:54:00.003-05:00

I didn't join any of the stitching "challenges" for the new year, but I HAVE resolved to try and make progress/possibly finish a WIP or 2 this year. In keeping with that, I've been stitching pretty steadily on the Dark Sorceress since Christmas.That's her foot there...for some reason I love working to the bottom of a design first and then filling back up toward the top. (That works especially well for this pattern, because there is a Mill Hill treasure bead that is part of the wand in her left hand, and this way it won't get crushed in my scroll frames.)

A few folks asked about the cording in my last post...I make my cord using something like this. I've heard that there are electric cord-makers (and some people even use a power drill!), but this is what I learned on at the finishing workshop at Celebrations of Stitching, and I like it. It can be a bit fiddly, especially when you have a very long twisted thread and you're trying to get the weight to drop nicely in the middle, but since I usually only make enough cord for ornie-sized things, it is fine.
As for attaching it to the ornie, I have in the past done it was a hidden whipstitch. For this one (and the San-Man ornament I posted recently) I just glued it! I started at the bottom center of the ornament, and let the glue set/dry on each side before going around the corner. When I got to the top I put the braid together and wrapped it with a bit of coordinating thread, then tied a knot to make the hanging loop. Then I cut the braid just above the knot and let it untwist. Does that explanation help??

Braided cording hides a multitude of sins.

2011-01-06T19:57:00.005-05:00

My first finish for 2011! This is a little Christmas tree design from Debbie Draper Designs, in the 2007 Gift of Stitching ornament issue.I stitched it over-one on 28-ct. mint green lugana, with The Dye Is Cast's "Grace Kelly" green. The model was stitched over-2, but I wanted it smaller - this came out to be about 2 inches high by 1 and 1/2 inches wide (the stitched area, the assembled ornament is 3 inches high and 2 and 1/2 inches wide). I also used some DMC brown for the trunk, and did the cross at the top in silver metallic. The tree fabric is what I used for the back, and the braid is made with 2 shades of green floss I found in my "unknown manufacturer" drawer.

As for the "sins"...I had a heck of a time making a triangular ornament. As you can probably see, one corner - the bottom left - came to nice point, the other 2 ended up kind of lumpy. And the braid covers some of the raw edges that wouldn't tuck under nicely....

But it is still pretty cute!

January Ort Report

2011-01-04T22:01:00.004-05:00

My first TUSAL post for 2011....Not bad for just 3 days, eh?? I've worked on the Dark Sorceress a bit, and the green in there is some of my favorite skein of The Dye is Cast's "Grace Kelly" that I used for a little ornament. It is actually finished and being assembled as I type (waiting for some glue to dry)!

One final finish for 2010

2010-12-31T15:32:00.008-05:00

Amongst all the holiday craziness, I managed to finish my little La-D-Da Santa!Yes, there were many changes made. :) The fabric is something I grabbed from the 50-cent remnant bin at my LNS - based on the measurements I *think* it is a 32-ct. linen in some shade of blue. Santa's robe is stitched with "Swamp Water" from The Dye is Cast, and the "Merry Christmas" text is stitched with the DMC 3858 used elsewhere in the pattern. I changed the initials to my own (obviously) and wrote out the entire year instead of just the last 2 numbers. And I used GAST "Tarnished Gold" for Santa's boots and pack. I'm envisioning this as a flat-fold, when I get some time... (LOL, like THAT is going to happen anytime soon, with an almost-mobile 10 month old in the house!!)

I also have neglected to show off M-ort-icia much this year, but here she is in all her year-end glory.
Although it seems that Yoyo has abandoned the "Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long" and her blog altogether, Sharon has resurrected the TUSAL for 2011, and I'm planning to try again! So watch for Morticia updates on every new moon, starting January 4.

True-color photo FAIL

2010-12-24T12:39:00.006-05:00

Several months ago I picked up La-D-Da's "Merry Christmas" pattern from the bargain bin at my LNS. According to the front of the pattern, this is what it looks like: So I decided to start this as my Christmas project -- small, cute, appropriately seasonal. And I did a floss toss. NONE of the colors looked anything like the picture!(My toss is missing the white for Santa's beard and coat trim, and also the "green" (DMC 3021, which is way more gray than green) for the little tree and the border, but you get the idea.) The pamphlet picture is so washed out. Blech! And in real life, many of the browns are so similar that there is, IMO, no definition. I know it is supposed to look antique and all, but I was not happy. So after some fiddling with my DMC chart and my drawers of hand-dyeds....Much better.

And from our house to yours, Happy Holidays!!!

Croakity-croak-croak, croakity-croak-croak...

2010-12-15T11:38:00.005-05:00

Yep, I seem to have lost my voice. :( I've spent the past few days at home, but that isn't helping...and it honestly seems silly, since I FEEL fine, I just can't talk! No fever, no stuffy head, nothing nasty like that. Just no voice.

So, the Wee One went to daycare and I stayed home and stitched. Here is my progress on the Dark Sorceress...
And I did a bit of finishing - this is a San-Man design that I stitched up last winter. It will be a gift for a friend.
The tree fabric is the backing, and I made the twisted cording myself from a pack of that no-name "value" floss.

December SBQ

2010-12-09T08:56:00.002-05:00

No pictures today, as I've been dealing with a bout of stitching ADD...you know, where you pull out something, put in a few stitches, then put it down and pick up something else, repeat ad infinitum? I've also been trying to thin my stash a bit, so I've listed a few eBay auctions. I finally weeded through the patterns that I KNOW I'll never stitch -- mostly things I was given by friends when their relatives passed away, and they knew I stitched so they gave me everything. Way too much Paula Vaughan and other stuff that is not my style at all. So 3 big lots of patterns went up on eBay, with a starting bid of 99 cents each. I think when it was all said and done, I "made" less than $3 (thanks to eBay & PayPal fees), but hey, at least the stuff isn't in my house anymore!

So I thought I'd take some time to answer Lee's December SBQ.
Tell us your best story about some holiday stitching.
I often have grand plans for holiday stitching -- ornaments for everyone, nifty handmade gifts ,etc. etc. -- and I usually fail miserably. I just don't stitch fast enough! LOL But in 2006 I really outdid myself. I stitched things for my mom, sister, SIL, and a family friend, plus I made a "quilt" (of sorts) for my sister and a scrapbook for my mom. I was so proud of myself, in fact, that I arranged all of my gifts and took a picture! Now that we have a child, I am looking forward to stitching an annual ornament for her....the beginning of a fun tradition for both of us (I envision letting her pick out the patterns herself in a few years). Her first ornament will be the Heartstrings Santa that I finished last winter.