Cart Before the Horse

I have been working on 'Scottish Alexandria' by Tanya, The Sampler Girl. I love this design! I have been drooling over it on Tanya's blog for some time. It looks good wherever she puts it.

Instead of just finishing it already, I frequently take the unfinished piece around the house to see where it should eventually go. Here are the top three sites I picked today.

1. My bed with the Ralph Lauren comforter I have had since I was 17. Ahem.

(My mom bought another several years ago, but RL has obviously made a dye lot change, so I prefer the old ratty one.)

2. (Well, this is actually #3) the red chair in the front room, aka "The Library"

3. (this is actually #2, maybe #1) This antique chair in the corner of the dining room.

Of course, if I would just finish it already and actually pick out the backing fabric and, oh, I don't know, have it made - we might be able to make a better decision!

In other news, my baby got her ears pierced! It was traumatic - for me. I have done everything I could to protect this child since the day I got the positive pg test. I say "Look left, right, and left again!" in my sleep. And then I drove her to a store and paid someone to poke holes in her ears. It was barbaric.

Look at that smile.

Hmmmm... I still think it was barbaric.

A few stitches

I finished stitching Tanya's Irish pinkeep last night. I want to finish it as a pillow so I added a dividing band down the center. I used DMC with one color change: 407/3373. I made a little more progress on 'Scottish Alexandria." I love those letters!

The girls made a little craft which they insisted be displayed on the mantel! It is a "pop-up" of a medieval kitchen - fun!

Today is our 'long' day: lots of driving, finding ballet tights and piano books, eating healthy, sustaining snacks. I hope to sneak in a few more stitches - I hope you are able to as well!

Keeping It In The Family

I always seem to notice I have not really finished a piece only after I have posted a finish! Here is Lucy Lyons Willis' free chart from 2006 - minus one shamrock! ;)

I next turned to Mrs. Willis' daughter, Tanya The Sampler Girl, for more shamrock-inspired stitching. I plan on making this into a pillow and not a needlebook, so I added a dividing band down the center.

I don't trust myself, family, or cats to keep a pillow clean enough for non-color-fast threads, so I am using good old DMC with one color change. I don't mean to shock anyone into thinking that I am systematic enough to actually begin at the top and stitch my way down - oh no! I just was missing the called-for color of the words which make up the middle of this design.

So I had to start another design tonight! I finally began Tanya's 'Alexandria.' I had to pick a DMC thread (777) to replace the Apple Fritter. I hope I have chosen well - it calls for a lot of that color!

I think I am finally to tired to stitch any more tonight! I love a bunch of new starts!

Top o' the Morning

I hesitate to make stitching goals because that is an open invitation for me to NOT meet those goals! I have, however, made one hesitant goal for 2011- to stitch seasonal designs the month BEFORE the holiday or season. I stitched a couple of Valentine designs in January, and now I have almost finished a design for St. Patrick's Day. I have been stitching a freebie by Tanya's mommie, Lucy Lyons Willis. Wow! I should really get a special little treat for that! I would love to take a little solo trip to a nearby quilt shop to find some shamrock fabric. Maybe after a morning of stitching (and vaccuuming, laundry, and cookie-baking), I might venture out. I really want to finish this this morning - I hope you get in a lot of stitching today!

Finish! What Next?

This afternoon, between loads of laundry, I finished 'Victorian Ribbons." I have been thinking of designs in threes lately- what would make pleasing wall groupings. I can picture this design blending well with several designs!

So now -the big decision - what to start next? I could of course drag out any number of WIPs - but I don't see that happening. I cannot decide on the same design two days in a row!

I was going through my The Sampler Girl file searching for 'Scottish Alexandria,' when I spied an Irish freebie by Tanya's mom. That got me thinking about Irish/Shamrock/St. Patrick's Day/Spring designs, so off I went on another rabbit trail. Now I have a dozen Irish designs in one stack and 'Scottish Alexandria' in another. 'Scottish Alexandria' has been leaping out at me from pictures on Tanya's blog - it looks good wherever she places it. So what to do? It's a thinker.

"Wake Me at Half-Past May"

This quotation from Toad and Frog has been much on my mind lately. The weather is downright balmy all of a sudden - a welcome change from one of the coldest winters we've had! These two designs are calling my name - they look so fresh and springy.

I would like to finish 'Victorian Ribbons' before I make a new start. I keep thinking this design will be as close to the Bristol orphanage sampler or Jane Rees as I will probably get!

This is usually such an exciting time of year as I plan and replan my vegetable and herb gardens. This year, however, I am still waiting on garden beds, and cannot get motivated to start seeds. I am in a gardening funk.

Buttercup and I took a nice long ramble through the neighborhood while Jerry took Nutmeg to have her sore throat checked. No violin or pointe class for her tonight!

It was a crazy weekend. Our dog had a seizure Sunday morning, and that was a reality check - our beloved dog is 15. She seems perky this morning, comes clattering to the kitchen when she hears dishes rattle, and snuffles around in the sunshine.

Will it be heart-shaped brownies, cookies, or cheesecake for dessert?

The Winner is....

Congratulations, Deb!

Never fear, my friends! I just might have a few other duplicate charts squirreled away for another rainy day!

I finished 'Lady Love' on Sunday and worked a bit more on 'Victorian Ribbons.'

(I changed the blue from midnight to tartan plaid. It is quite a bit mellower.)

I even dragged out 'Adam Alone' and worked on the one-over-one.

One would think that I would jut sit down and finish this one. One would be mistaken.

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary. We have big plans: homeschool, orchestra rehearsal, ballet, tap.... :)

Weekend Stitching & Giveaway Reminder

Here is my weekend stitching on 'Lady Love.' I am really enjoying this design.

Nutmeg is reminding you to 'stay on your toes,' and not forget to enter my Giveaway! Scroll down to the previous post, leave a comment there, and become a follower of this blog! :)

Giveaway!

Since y'all have been so patient as I drone on about my first cross stitch love, Sheepish Designs/Antiques, I thought I would reward you with a giveaway.

In my frenzy to aquire all designs by the beloved SD/A, I sometimes wind up with a duplicate chart or two.

This is 'The McCarthy Sampler, fourth exemplary' designed by C. Daly of Little by Little fame.

The chart is clean and unused, although there is a price written in pen and also a price sticker on the front. (Should that be "There ARE a price and a price?)

The verse reads, "Love the Lord and he will be A tender Father unto thee."

Giveaway Rules:

1. You must be or become a follower. It sounds as though there should be a wicked laugh after that sentence, but really you just become a follower of my blog. (That still sounds a bit scary.) (It reminds me of a button I had on my jean jacket years (and years) ago that read, "Don't follow in my footsteps; I think I stepped in something.")

2. Leave a comment on THIS post. The winner will be drawn at random, but out of curiosity I would like you to include which Sheepish Designs/Antiques you have stitched and a rough count of how many Sheepish Designs/Antiques charts you possess. No, this is not a cunning plan for me to stalk you and trick you out of your SD/A charts! ;) I just thought it would make for interesting comments!

3. Mom, you may comment, but you may not enter. You no longer have any Sheepish Designs charts. If you start to miss them, I will let you borrow my binder on a trial basis every other weekend. BTW, thank you for "letting" me pilfer your charts! :)

4. BTW, I will draw the winner on Tuesday, February 8 at 9am Eastern time. (February 8 just happens to be my 14th wedding anniversary with Louisiana Man)

Sheepish Designs

I started two designs by Sheepish Designs.
I LOVE Sheepish Designs!
I love SHEEPISH DESIGNS!
I LOVE SHEEPISH DESIGNS!

I love them so much I sleep with a binder full of their charts under my pillow. Well, I keep the binder by my bed at any rate. I keep the charts in numerical order. I will not part with these charts. Some people collect pottery faces with buck teeth. I collect Sheepish Designs. Please ask Dawn Bradford to release her patterns in digital form! There are actually a few I do not have.

Back to my new starts: I have long wanted to try 40 count fabric and see what all the fuss was about. I love it. I have done quite a bit on 35/36 before, and this is better. I changed the colors on Victorian Ribbons from 3722 and 223 to 221 and 3722. It is still more pastel than I would prefer, but I think I will stick with it.

I will close with my very favorite Sheepish Designs design. This was in a magazine years ago. I added the bargello in the grass.

PS (I love Sheepish Designs)