Stitching update

Sorry about the red bar behind each picture. If I delete it, then the pictures from past posts start showing up in random places in the center and the otherwise "dead" right-had column. I have been stitching. I have been trying to post also, but apparently my blog is too out of date to cooperate nicely with blogger. Not quite sure how to go up about fixing it. Today is a nasty rainy day. The girls and Jerry and I are sick. I have eaten nothing but tomato soup for a week. I thought I deserved a new start today. :) I have been wanting to stitch this Mary Beale Christmas design for a long time. Yesterday I actually picked up 'Lo a Rose,' and put a couple of words and motifs in. I love the design, but hate the fabric I chose. I think I am on a 15-year plan with it. I have always wanted to have an Old Testament tree for Advent. We do readings with the girls based on the idea of the 'Jesse Tree,' but it focuses on Jesus' bloodline, and so leaves out many Old Testament stories. I stitched 'Elijah' and 'Joshua' from Mary Beale's Christmas ornament. I am adding names. I also stitched 'Jonah and the Whale' from another Mary Beale ornament series. I like those slightly bigger ones better, but there are not as many of them. I actually spent some time this afternoon cutting out pieces of foam board for the ornament-making. Well, that's one step closer to a sampler tree! I also separated this post into paragraphs, but it did not work...

Ornaments and Blogging Blahs

I love being part of the blogosphere, but some things have changed lately that encourage me to avoid blogging. 1. I can't figure out how to blog straight from Picassa anymore. (Louisiana Man fixed that) 2. Whenever I upload pictures, suddenly they are all on top of each other, and I have to go in a separate each one. (got fixed somehow) 3. The right-hand sidebar is way, way down at the bottom of the blog. I looked it up on help, and it instructed me to look at link by link to see what the problem could be. Gee, thanks. (Now that is suddenly fixed too!! What is going on? This morning I had to scroll all the way down...Oh, for crying out loud!) (Now it is gone again! AAARRRGGGHHHH!)

Anyway, I have been stitching like..like...like a what? A house a-fire? A banshee? Do banshees stitch?
Next week homeschool starts back hard and heavy, so this week I am indulging in all my fantasy stitching!
The first picture is an WIP ornament from the November/December 1991 Just Cross Stitch. JCS has been publishing ornament for a long time - I have '85, '87 and '88! I love looking back through the older issues (older? I graduated high school in '91!!!) and seeing how the designers have honed their styles over the years; I also lament designers no longer designing. This issue seems to have left off the designers' names. It is fun to try and guess the designers, but they are only guesses. I wonder if the above is a Sheepish Designs, or Nostalgic Needle, or ... Any guesses?

The design below is definitely Sheepish Designs from the 1999 JCS ornament issue. It was designed for a dark blue (gunmetal?) linen, but I used what I had on hand (wood violet) and adjusted the colors a bit.

Who can resist Prairie Schooler? Such classic designs that never looked dated! This is 'Cranberry Christmas' from the 2007 JCS ornament issue. I think I might try to back this one with felt.
This is a Brittercup design from the JCS ornament issue 2006. I stitched this for our puppy dog Hektor, and plan on backstitching his name on the stocking.
This design is so obviously Homespun Elegance! I found this leaflet on e$ay a year or so ago. It is 'Colonial Celebration I' from 1990. There are 10 designs, and I would like to stitch several of them. This design is called 'Williamsburg Couple.' Louisiana Man and I went to Savannah on our honeymoon and again this year for our 15th anniversary. I thought this would be a good commemorative ornament for those trips. I need a wider ribbon for the edging - the turquoise floss I used for stitching it together shows! (I didn't want to waste a color I use frequently just for binding!)
I have always loved this series by Shepherd's Bush! This is the ornament for the JCS ornament issue 2006. I am just using overdyed threads I have on hand. I keep thinking it looks very Americana!

I am going to hop on the treadmill and read a bit more of 'Ross Poldark.' I started watching the mini-series on Ne$flix. It is very dated (an odd complaint about a period piece!), but still enjoyable. I like the book even better, and there are seven more in the series! It has to be a fantastic read to keep me on the treadmill - if only I could stitch and walk!! :)

Argh! Having trouble posting pictures!!! Do you see them?

I am having so much trouble with Blogger!!! I guess everything changed, and I missed it. I used to upload pictures from Picassa. Now I cannot find the blog button. When I post pictures, there is a divider band between each one, and the pictures are still on top of each other!!! Is there some weird little imp in my computer or has anyone else had problems? Anyway, over the weekend I visited my WIP basket. I was shocked! When I start something, I am usually so excited and think it is the most wonderful design in the world and calculate how soon until it is finished. Then, somehow, it winds up in the WIP basket. I looked at WIP after WIP thinking "Why in the world did I ever put this down?" I took pictures of some of my favorite finds. The above picture is by Little by Little. I have no idea when I started it or why it was cast aside. I LOVE the color combination. I worked on it last night and really hope to finish it up. As I was stitching the inner border, I thought how nice it would look done in satin stitch. Around midnight I glanced at the chart and noticed it actually called for satin stitch!! I decided not to rip out my evening's work though. The next picture is an actual finish! This is 'Anonymous Women' by Sheepish Designs. It is actually their first design and the work of Little by Little designer Cindy Bradford. Very fun piece!
'Anonymous Women' was published in 1985 the same year as Margaret and Margaret published this design. I found it in my mom's stash and began it as soon as I finished AW. I got a chuckle when I noticed the dates! Here is a lovely WIP by Nostalgic Needle. This was in two editions of Just Cross Stitch a few years ago. I started it the day I saw it. The colors and designs are beautiful. How could I put it down??? Wow! This is by With My Needle. I started this during the early phase of my Scottish Sampler passion. I think it was the band of queen stitches that stifled my passion. I hope you enjoyed some of the highlights from my WIP basket. I hope to get this HTML thing straightened out soon! Michele

It's My Turn, Turn, Turn for a Finish!

Thanks, Siobhan, for the post title! Thanks to all of you for the encouragement to stay focused on this piece! 'Renaissance Garden' by Goode Huswife 40 ct Angel Hair & DMC
I really, really love this piece, but I am glad the stripes and shading details are done. Whew!

I love the color combination in this butterfly!

Last night, I worked a bit more on 'Anonymous Women' by Sheepish Designs. Today I am looking forward to FINALLY starting on 'Bridget Power.' Hope you all get lots of stitching done!

Stash and Stashability

I don't have any amazing progress or finishes to show you, so I thought I would share some views of my stash with you. I love making piles of charts and rearranging the "stitching order." These are some that have been at the top of the pile for a while.

You all know how dutifully I have been working on Anonymous Women by Sheepish Designs.

Yesterday, I put her aside when the mail carrier delivered some fabric for Bridget Power Sampler by Of Female Worth.

Unfortunately there was a stain on the otherwise lovely 40 ct Angel Hair, so back it will go. But the linen for Renaissance Garden by Goode Houswife looked perfect, so I thought about starting it.

Whenever I see Renaissance Garden, I think of 1762 Canterbury Tapestry by Barrick Samplers for some reason. They are very like and very unlike to my mind. I have the fabric and could have started it.

But the birds were singing yesterday, and the bees were buzzing, and the day was unusually mild for February.(ETA: Thanks, Barbara! It is January! lol) So I considered English Cottage Sampler by Chessie and Me.

or Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs.

As you can see, I was spoiled for choice. With all this vintage-y goodness spread before me, my capricious needle may another stab, as it were. I sat myself down in my car in front of the ballet studio and stitched this.

I suppose I will always have a spot in my heart for Cross-Eyed Cricket!

I found this freebie in one of the newsletters at Stitchville USA. http://www.needleartworks.com/stv/nwsltr/svnwsltr.htm

Sewing Class

This weekend we went to a craft store. The girls chose some Valentine fabric for little pillows I have in mind made from a Sampler Girl freebie. I mentioned to Nutmeg that it would be cute to stitch up a few for her a couple of her besties. She misunderstood; I was suggesting she stitch them! Maybe we will stick to candy this year...

I divided my weekend stitching time between Mary Queen of Scots and Anonymous Women. I picked up a few DMC colors I was missing and so was able to stitch some of the "fun bits" of Anonymous Women, in particular that big glow-y flower. I stitched it incorrectly. I decided to call it personalization and leave it.

This will be the week the girls and I conquer the sewing machine. If we can get past Latin, French, Math, Composition, et al. hmmmmm....

Tweet Tweet!

Alright, the title is lame.

Here is my first ornament finish of the year - not the first ornament start, no that has already been laid aside.

I confess, I chose a design I knew I could easily finish in an afternoon. As I stitched, I was constantly aware of what an excellent designer Paulette of Plum Street Samplers is. The design is small, yet filled with detail. I stitched this on 32 count antique ivory with the given DMC conversion.

Here is Hector guarding my progress on Sheepish Design's Anonymous Women. I really like this more and more. This was designed by Cindy Bradford, now of Little by Little Designs. As I stitch the bottom portion, I seem to recognize the hand that designed Ann Pennsylvania Peacock. Maybe that is just fanciful! I would love to hurry and finish this up, but I have dutifully laid it aside to work on another piece or two. My definition of rotation is getting looser by the day! ;)

Time for a New Start!!

I am doing a Cross Stitch Rotation this year. Yep. I just got a little side tracked, but I bought a little calendar to keep records so I can get back with the program. 1 and 2 January I finished A Stitcher's Prayer, and 3 and 4 January I dutifully worked on Susan Rambo. 5 January, instead of finishing a 3-day rotation on SR, I chose to start Souvenir de France, a freebie from the Blackbird Designs blog. I used a cream-colored scrap of fabric and DMC 924. I knew I should have chosen a ribbon first and then selected a matching thread, but I didn't. Now I will have to settle for a thematic match instead of a color match. Nutmeg started learning French last summer, and I thought it would be a cute little pillow or pinkeep for her. (I would also like to purchase or borrow French Lessons by Birds of a Feather. I'm not paying 80$ for it on Ebay.) I finished Souvenir up this morning. As I note that in my little calendar, I see that I should work on SR again today. But I don't want to. I want to start something new...

I have some natural light fabric that I think is the correct size for Anonymous Women Sampler by Sheepish Designs. If I can locate my DMC 3011, I will start this after I feed lunch to the Fam. You know I love Sheepish Designs, don't you? So I don't need to go on and on telling you about my SD obsession, how I watch and wait and snap up the designs where ever I find them, how I flip through the charts in a huge binder before I sleep at night (counting sheep- haha-sorry), how I called Dawn Bradford last summer and begged her to release all the designs digitally....yes, I really did. She was sweet to me, but she has moved on...

I also plan on ordering some 40 count linen from Terri at The Stich Store to begin Bridget Power. She's gorgeous. *sigh*

She is also huge. Look at those flowers! Look at that altar! My favorite things in a sampler - how could I resist?

Now look at this.

Jerry and I are going to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary next month. We have a little trip planned, but I don't know if he will be able to leave Hector. What do you think?

Oh, our wedding anniversary! Now I remember that I wanted to stitch Tanya The Sampler Girl's ' Jane Austen & Me...the Emma Project for our anniversary. Hmmm....better get stitching!

First Finish

I was hoping this would be my last finish of 2011, but it turned out to be my first finish of 2012! I finished "Stitcher's Prayer" by Barrick Samplers/CHS last night while watching more of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence on Netflix. This is the year I get serious about blocking and framing. Yep. This. is. the. year. As opposed to all those other years I said it - this is the year. I think this piece will be a good piece to start with: it is not that much bigger than the pinkeeps I have made, and there is no finger nail polish spillage to try and hide.

Now to get going with my rotation! To start, I have included several WIP's and one BAP (or Big Hinney Project, if you prefer) that I committed to at Becky's Stitching Hive. I plan on adding pieces after each cycle. I also plan on taking a few Prairie Schooler and BBD smalls to work on in the car. We'll see won't we, but I am happy with the start I have made!